"Yes," said the nervous boy.
"You haven't been tormenting them or conducting experiments on them have you?" asked the Invincible Overlord.
"...no," admitted Ranma.
Repressing the impulse to beseech the heavens at this failure in the family line, the Invincible Overlord merely let his cold stare fixate on the boy. "That's what I thought."
"So..." drawled out Ranma.
"I am disappointed but not surprised," said the Armored Emperor, getting up and walking past the boy, letting his cape flutter dramatically. "Accompany me."
Ranma moved along as quickly as he could to keep pace with his great grandfather.
"Do you know how the peasants feel about me, Ranma?"
Ranma was startled by that and sought to answer. "They fear you."
"Yes, they do. Are their lives better off than they were prior to my rule?" The armored helm moved slightly to regard Ranma.
"Yeah, I've seen the stuff of the bad old times," admitted Ranma.
"They fear me, yet they also love me," said the Overlord. "There is almost no crime, no starvation, no pestilences that sweep the land. They are ruled but their rule is fair and their ruler cares about them enough to seek their benefit. As long as they abide by the laws, they have nothing to fear. I have brought about an age of peace and prosperity within my borders, but in order to do this I have had to be brutal at times. Do you know why this is?"
Ranma shook his head - no.
"Because, Ranma, people are idiots. Individuals are intelligent, mobs are not. Unwise decisions are made all for personal short-term gain and no one cares much what happens in the longer term because they will 'get around to it later' or come up with other excuses for acting selfish and stupid." The Overlord led Ranma to the stairwell and began down it. "The moronity of the universe tends towards maximum. Emotional buzzwords and a smooth pitch will convince groups of people of just about anything. Take these 'warriors of love and justice' - they truly believed they were fighting on the cause of right and that would give them the power to defeat me."
Ranma couldn't believe ANYONE could beat his grandfather. "They were stupid."
"Yes. Able to access some measure of power, but the outcome was never in doubt even if they did manage to surprise me," admitted the Overlord. "In my rule, there is little waste though, which is why I have use for these prisoners."
"Oh?" said Ranma, hoping that they weren't going to be hurt. He really didn't like to see people - especially girls - hurt.
"Yes," said the Overlord.
(Posted Sat, 31 Jul 2004 10:13)
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