"It's indeed different, but...is this difference important?" Lieutenant Colonel Brian glanced at Joseph, who was silent, and continued to express his doubts.
"Of course it's important. One is to talk about cooperation politely and exchange benefits, and the other is to tell him that we have the ability to kill him at any time and force him to do things for us. These represent two completely different modes of getting along with each other.
The results are also very different." Verak said.
"Kiddling is definitely not possible. In the eyes of people like him, kidnapping would push him further towards Francois, forcing him and Francois to stick together to form an indestructible alliance." Joseph shook his head.
Determining the route, "To start, we must negotiate cooperation, give him enough benefits, or absorb him into the Equality Association."
"...Okay." Verak followed the route designated by Joseph to solve the newly created problems, "Next we will discuss the second link. If we must reach cooperation with Arthur, then the only way to achieve cooperation is——"
Lieutenant Colonel Brian interjected: "It is impossible for that kind of person to join the Equality Society. If coercion fails, the only option is inducement."
Verak thought so in his heart, and was about to speak, but after Lieutenant Colonel Brian said so confidently before, he thought of his own experience again: "...Have you ever been in contact with him? Yes.
Have you helped him understand the things of the Equality Association? Have you ever invited him to join the Equality Association? If he really joins the Equality Association, can you let go of your prejudices?"
Joseph, Adel, Brian, and Ross stared blankly at Verak.
Keating sat upright and raised the corners of his mouth slightly when he heard Verak's question.
"...No, I..." Lieutenant Colonel Brian said.
"How do you know if you haven't tried it? Since we don't know at all, how do we get the qualifications to judge so easily that a person will make the wrong choice?" Verak glanced at everyone.
Adel didn't know about Verak's experience at first, but later after joining the Equality Society, he heard it mentioned by others, so he knew that he had been in the same situation as Arthur in a sense: "I understand what you mean, but this man is not
Likewise, you should know something about his background, behavior, and personality. We don't just give someone a chance casually, not to mention it's so dangerous."
"I also understand what you mean. At the same time, I know very well that even if we issue an invitation, the possibility that Arthur is willing to join is very slim and it can easily lead to danger, but -" Verak didn't know what he wanted to say next.
Whether it can be considered objectively correct.
"Go on." Keating encouraged him.
When Verak saw Keating beside him, he immediately felt relieved: "But really speaking of the threat to the Equality Society, in the eyes of Morais and the others, the hidden danger I posed was much greater than that of Arthur, but they
He still accepted me and trusted me unconditionally. Later, I often thought of admiring Morais for making such a decision, because I probably wouldn’t have such a broad mind and courage, and I undoubtedly want to learn from him.
of."
"You mean, no matter what the result is, we have to make such an attempt?" Joseph wanted Verak to make his meaning clear.
"I... think so." Verak decided to express his thoughts bravely regardless of whether he was wrong or right. "Should the Equality Society give up trying to help others without doing anything, even if the other party was us?"
enemies."
"Huh..." Having been fighting on the battlefield all year round, Joseph felt that Verak's idea was somewhat naive, "Then do you have any specific ideas? For example, how to spread the ideas of the Equality Society to him? How to invite him? If he agrees to join
How can you be sure that he is sincere about the Equality Society? If he calls you a comrade, do you dare to say that you will tell the details and plans of the Equality Society without any reservation? People's hearts are very complex, and you are playing tricks on this idea.
But theirs.”
"Well." Verak fully agreed with Joseph's concerns. These were the reasons why he was worried about whether to speak his mind just now. "These are all questions. Whether we should accept others for the sake of equality remains to be discussed."
There was a subtle change in Lieutenant Colonel Brian's eyes. He originally had great expectations for Verak and Keating, but he never expected that they would come up with such a funny idea: "I don't think there is any need to worry about this."
There is no unnecessary discussion here. Let’s not talk about how many encounters we have encountered while marching and fighting. Let’s just talk about the Equality Society. Haven’t we experienced it before? I remember the incident with Dunman. It was because the Equality Society trusted others too much that I gave it to others.
The opportunity to stab someone in the back resulted in the death of hundreds of people..."
Verak's heart seemed to be tightened, and he looked at Lieutenant Colonel Bryan.
After Lieutenant Colonel Brian saw Verak's indescribable look in his eyes, he was subconsciously speechless.
"Brian." Joseph reminded Brian.
"Yes." Lieutenant Colonel Bryan closed his mouth after coming back to his senses.
"You're right." Verak calmed down, "I was responsible for the Dunman branch incident. The reason why so many comrades died was because I underestimated the ambitions and desires of some people and overestimated the ambitions of some people.
Sincerity and the pursuit of equality. At the very least, I should try Arthur. I also know that there are many problems that need to be solved. I don’t even know whether it is right or wrong, but I think I have to say it no matter what.
To come out, even if we have to give up, it must be a decision we make after careful discussion, rather than so easily erasing a person's more possibilities."
"Comrade Verak, time is running out now, we..." Adel, Joseph, and Brian had an idea, that is, there is no need to thoroughly implement the concept of equality, and there is no need to gamble a hundred percent of danger for one point of hope.
"I support Verak's idea." Keating listened to the discussion with a smile and pointed at Adel jokingly, "Verak will not be the last beneficiary of this idea, and Arthur will not be the first."
A person who is so persistent. Don’t forget the situation you were in. Who brought you in against all the odds."
Adel was speechless.
He was once the warden of Verak's prison, but he lost his job because Verak escaped from prison. But later when he wanted to unite with the Equality Society and join the Equality Society, Verac still believed him.
If Verak had had the same idea as he does now, that he might be a spy deliberately spread by the government and that he had evil intentions, he would not be where he is today.
"Both of you have one thing that is worthy of recognition. First, we cannot be sure that a person will not change without trying. If we do this, then if I think it is impossible for this person to join our Equality Association, I will
Can we mark this person as our enemy and kill him? Second, trying is risky, and the risk is extremely high. If we want to help others, we must also take the risks into consideration, and we cannot compromise for the sake of one person's possibility.
The safety of tens of thousands of people is put into question." Keating formally came forward, "Do you have any objections to these two points?"
"No." Verak himself considered the risks and did not want to give Arthur a chance no matter what, so he completely agreed with Keating's words.
"No." Joseph nodded.
"Okay. To solve the first point, we need to either thoroughly implement the concept of equality, or we introduce definitional rules, and the rules clearly indicate who can help and who can choose not to. Of course, this is something for later, we are now
I don’t have time to study this rule, so I’ll start with the second point and propose a solution. Let’s see if it’s acceptable.” Keating balanced the two sides and made the truth as simple and understandable as possible. “Everyone has neither point.”
Objection, we will first explore the feasibility from the risk aspect of the second point. If we can find a way to avoid the risk, we will do it. If we can’t find a way, we will give up for the sake of the overall situation. As Verak said, even if we have to give up, this giving up will be
It must be the result of our hard work.”
"Okay." Joseph agreed.
If there was a safe way to try and pull Arthur, he wouldn't mind at all.
"Okay." Verak doesn't want everyone to take such a big risk, so the best way is to act within your capabilities.
"It's just that you can do it if you can, and forget it if you can't, right?" Ross said, "We don't need to argue about this matter, just do our best."
"I hope you don't misunderstand me. I don't want to give Arthur a chance regardless of the consequences, but I have had a similar experience and I know what it means to a person if that one percent is actually one hundred percent.
"Verak noticed that Joseph and Brian were a little unhappy just now, so he went out of his way to explain his thoughts to them.
"I understand." Joseph put on a smile, "We have been fighting for so many years and have developed a vigilant mentality. This mentality has inadvertently caused some conflicts with the concept of equality. In fact, if I think about it carefully, I can feel your
This kind of idea is precious. Arthur's things may not be possible, but you have once again made me deeply feel the tolerance of the Equality Society. There is no force, organization or even individual in this world that can be as advanced, brave and tenacious as you.
He is also tolerant. He has all these points at the same time, and he still persists in implementing them. I admire him from the bottom of his heart."
Following Joseph's words, Lieutenant Colonel Bryan looked at Verak and Keating again.
At first, he thought that Verak didn't understand the danger involved, and he just came up with such an irresponsible idea for the sake of his ideals and his sense of morality.
However, later discussions revealed that Verak has a deeper understanding of risk than he does. He is not floating in the air to touch the clouds, but trying to embrace the sky while being down-to-earth and find a balance between reality and ideals.
"Sorry, I just misunderstood you. What I said may have hurt you." Lieutenant Colonel Brian is a very straightforward person who doesn't hide anything. After realizing that Verak is not as naive and ridiculous as he thought,
Afterwards, he sincerely apologized.
"No, no, that incident did happen, and it indeed sounded the alarm. There is no need to list it as a taboo, to bury it and avoid it, that is irresponsible." Verak did not take it to heart, "And you
It was a timely reminder that such a tragic failure has already occurred. If we want to stick to something in a similar incident, we must be very cautious and consider not only this person, but also the tens of thousands of people behind us."
"Yes! This is not one person's business, it is related to everyone's safety, and we have to take it all into consideration!" Rose felt that Verak's last sentence was particularly good.
Keating, who had figured things out clearly, said with satisfaction: "Then let's move on to a new issue. If we want to pull Arthur's hand, how can we spread the concept of equality to him, and how should we invite him? He refuses, and then agrees.
How should we deal with each?"
Verak mentioned his new idea: "We can place our people around him and create some opportunities for him to understand the concept of equality in a less direct way to see his reactions and changes."
"I have a question about this. The Equality Association has been doing publicity work for a long time. Arthur should have no shortage of opportunities to learn about it. If he was really interested, he would have joined us long ago, right?" Adel said.
He just returned to Lezein and saw the Equality Society's flyer, and got books such as "On Equality". After reading it, he immediately decided to find the Equality Society, instead of waiting for the Equality Society to find him.
"Not necessarily, like me." Joseph took himself as an example, "I have seen more or less the things about the Equality Association before, but before you came to see me and matched me with the Equality Association, I also
I don’t have a clear idea. To put it simply, in addition to the idea itself, other factors are also important, and some people just need a push.”
"Yes." Keating said, "This situation is not uncommon, so such testing is necessary."
"The key is not to be so direct. The person we installed hints at him and creates opportunities for him to contact him. Even if Arthur doesn't like it, he won't doubt it. If he likes it, then we will take advantage of the situation and increase the intensity." Verak continued,
"If it's really possible, we'll make an invitation, and if he agrees, we'll join in. But we won't be so open-minded and we must approach him with reservations."
"I think if he really comes in, we can spread some false news, such as telling him that we plan to assassinate Francois tomorrow. Then we will know whether he has leaked the secret by looking at Francois's reaction the next day.
." Ross suggested.
"Huh." Joseph smiled disdainfully, "Arthur is not as smart as you think, otherwise Francois wouldn't have left Maguire indifferent and pulled him up. He can be where he is today.
, part of the reason is that he is easy to control, and although I am not as stupid as him, but because I have a civilian background and have no interest relationships with other forces, I was able to make Francois put aside his doubts. To put it more directly, that is
I, Arthur, have certain shortcomings that Francois values."