Ruthless: Path of Conquest

Mina waited for James to answer her question.

She could think of many things that he might be able to do with the incredible powers he now possessed. She thought she knew where her husband’s mind would go, but she wanted to hear what he would say.

James seemed hesitant. He turned away from her and walked over to the section of wall that he’d turned into a swiveling window. Opened it up and looked out. Breathed in the fresh air. Then he turned, looked back at her, and smiled.

“I’m going to go out and conquer as much of the world as I can,” he finally said.

Mina nodded and smiled. She was a little afraid of what the future would hold, but she had known that her husband would say something like that. He was still the same ambitious, unscrupulous man she’d fallen in love with and married. Despite her worries, she was also excited.

“Well, I believe in you,” she said, blinking away the traces of sleep from her eyes. “I’ll help you however I can.”

She began pulling her clothes back on. Now was no time to nap. There was work to be done.

It seemed to her good and proper that her husband should be the ruler of as much of the world as he could lay his hands on.

In this situation, the governments of the world were certain to lose their holds on most, if not all, of the lands they had once controlled. Rulers could not hold a territory where the foundations of their power had been shattered.

Technology was a critical part of their control. Now their equipment, their buildings, and all symbols and semblance of their authority had been destroyed by the System.

Anarchy was sure to break out in regions without rulers. Violence and disorder.

Then new leaders would emerge. Some form of order would take shape in the unsettled regions.

It was only rational to want to be in the ruling class. Anyone else would be subject to the rulers’ whims.

If James had said he wanted to become a conqueror pre-System, she could and would have raised a million objections, all relating to difficulty. Who would let him take over any piece of land? How would he protect it and enforce his authority?

They were just one man and one woman, after all.

Following the System’s arrival, things were flipped on their head. James was one of the strongest people in the world, capable of defeating hundreds of enemies by himself. Even weaponizing the land itself. Any power disparities ran completely in their favor.

Now the question was: who could possibly stop him? And what if he didn’t try to seize this moment? The immense power he had shown would inevitably draw danger toward them even if he wasn’t ambitious. The monsters in this world had levels and a System just like humans. Surely they would seek out powerful enemies to destroy.

“What’s your first step?” she asked.

“Get the people around here to accept me as the leader.”

Mina nodded. “I don’t think you’ll have much trouble selling that. You’re a very persuasive speaker.”

“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “How would you write my speech? I think what I can actually promise is kind of limited, and these people are used to living in a democra—”

“Bah, don’t worry about that,” Mina said. “People will understand that reality is different now. You just need to convey how strong you are. Make sure they know that you have some plans, but don’t promise too much. Above all, you need to boast about the things you’ve already done. Your story about Orientation would have won me over, if I wasn’t already on your side. Clearly, you’re stronger than any of them will be. So brag about your victories, and basically tell them that if they join you, they’ll be winners in this crazy new world, and if they go elsewhere, they’ll end up being victims. ‘Join the strong’ is always a winning pitch.”

She knew that this wouldn’t be easy for James to frame in a palatable way, but he really was a persuasive person. He seemed to be even smoother with words since he came back from Orientation, because of those new Skills, no doubt. And if there were items that were harder for people from a democratic society to swallow, maybe he shouldn’t sugarcoat them. She was confident that there wouldn’t be a better deal on offer anywhere.

“Well, I’ll think about what you’re advising,” James said, smiling. “I’m glad we had this chat. It means a lot that you believe in me. You’re really the only one whose opinion I actually value. Still more to talk about, but I’d better look at getting some food ready for all of us.”

Mina nodded and returned to a relaxed posture. “Please and thank you,” she said sweetly. “I still have some rations left from my Orientation.”

“Whatever you have would probably be helpful,” James replied. “In my Orientation, I only found meat to eat.”

Mina didn’t know how he prepared it without their kitchen appliances, but James left the bedroom, and half an hour later, he came back to announce that food was ready.

—

For the first time in weeks, James, Mina, and Yulia ate a meal together. Along with James, Jr., Abhi, and his siblings, Indira and Deepam.

The table conversation was delicate. Mina, James, and Yulia had an impromptu huddle before they called Abhi to the table. They agreed to avoid discussing what had happened to them in Orientation for fear of worrying Abhi about his parents. But James also felt it was imperative that they learn, as soon as they could, what had happened to children during Orientation.

“The kids here aren’t the only ones in the complex who came back without their parents,” James explained. “Yesterday, when I went out for a bit before the rain really started pouring, I searched the rest of the buildings. I found about a dozen children. Other people agreed to look after them for the moment. But I think it’s best that we figure out what sort of experience they all had, if we can.”

Mina and Yulia spoke first. They thanked James for the meal, and Abhi chimed in as well.

“Thank you for breakfast,” he said, smiling shyly.

“It’s my pleasure to feed you all,” James said.

Then there was some back and forth over the table about the condition of the buildings they had come back to, how everyone had slept, and changes that people wanted made to their current living space, if they decided to stay there.

Abhi and Yulia, without being asked, took care of feeding Indira the toddler and Deepam the baby respectively. James found himself impressed. Did Abhi do this when he was at home with his parents, too, or did he just implicitly understand that he had more responsibility now? Naturally, James couldn’t ask such a potentially painful question, but he thought he was going to like this kid.

Finally, James decided that the table had become comfortable enough for him to try, gently, broaching the subject of where the children had been. “So, Abhi, were you guys waiting in your apartment long before we came and found you?”

The little boy picked at his food quietly for a few seconds before he answered. “Not long, no.”

“I guess you got back the same day as us, then.”

Abhi nodded.

A series of gentle questions and answers followed before James felt confident in asking, “Do you know where you and your siblings were these last few weeks?”

The little boy shook his head silently and leaned down over his plate so his long bangs covered his eyes.

“I mean, I don’t expect you to know exactly where you went, but could you describe the place?” he asked.

“Yes,” Abhi said. Slowly, faltering and repeating himself, he told a story about being transported to a purely white room. This setting was familiar to James, Mina, and Yulia, and they gave each other looks as they listened to this part.

But there, Abhi’s story diverged from their own. He described the room being like a classroom. He was with other children his own age.

“We played games, answered questions, did puzzles—and they tested us.” He spoke with a shiver in his voice.

James barely had to prompt him to provide further information. It was as if the boy had been eager to tell someone about his strange experience, but he hadn’t thought the strangers around him would listen.

Children are used to adults not taking them seriously, James thought.

The picture that emerged was of a series of aptitude tests. Tests intended to establish the children’s latent abilities in many areas. Mana manipulation, physical power and speed, intelligence, empathy, creative thinking, teamwork, problem-solving.

Most of them were disguised as games, pop quizzes, puzzles, storytime—anything the System’s agents could disguise as something fun. But for an adult, the description made it transparent. James thought that whoever controlled the System must have genuinely wanted this experience to be comfortable for the children.

But there was also something terrible and disturbing about it.

As Abhi said, horrified, his voice trembling, “Whenever someone didn’t do well, if they messed up on too many of the tests, the grown-ups would ask the kid to go with them.” A tear sprang to his eyes. “Then the grown-up would take them through a door, and we never saw them again.”

James, Mina, and Yulia exchanged silent, disturbed looks.

“Okay,” James said. “Okay, Abhi.” He put an arm around the boy’s shoulders and squeezed him. “You don’t have to tell us any more unless you want to.”

The little boy shook with sobs for the next few minutes before he was able to finish his meal. Then he asked to be excused, and James let him go.

“The things the children went through…” Mina murmured under her breath.

“What did they do with the babies?” Yulia asked quietly in obvious distress.

Mina looked, horrified, at James, Jr. Of course, he was safe beside them, but what if they had decided to have their child a little earlier?

“Well, I wanted answers,” James said to himself. “We already knew the System isn’t exactly a benevolent force, but this is beyond anything I imagined.”

Now his imagination extended further. What else would the System have done with these children? Ranked them and rewarded them accordingly, probably. He thought about the handful of countries in the world that still created child soldiers. How would the System have tested them? Would it have treated them as children or adults? What about their life histories? Was it possible that one day, James would run into a violent, abused child with insane powers like his?

It was beginning to feel as if the System had set out to create the war of all against all that Hobbes had warned about in Leviathan.

“I hope Abhi will be alright,” Yulia said quietly. Her tone wasn’t reproachful, but James felt guilty all the same.

I needed that information, he thought. It might allow me to anticipate future threats.

But he felt he had crossed a line. He rose, leaving his meal half-finished, and went to find Abhi.

The boy was in the room that he shared with his siblings, sitting in bed with a book. James doubted he was old enough to read yet. But Abhi’s eyes were glued to the pages, and James found himself smiling.

I’ve been there, he thought. A whole new world is opening for you.

He stepped into the room, and Abhi’s head popped up immediately.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked, voice quavering.

What did the System do to you? James thought. What did I do?

“No,” he said aloud. “I just remembered that all my books were in our apartment. I wanted to do some reading. What’s that you have there?”

Abhi held the book up. “It’s The Little Engine That Could,” he said. He teared up a little. “My Mom and Dad used to read it to me.”

Oh, my gosh, I didn’t know what I was doing, I don’t know how to help these kids, James thought. Then he took a deep breath, and he made himself give his usual confident smile. His emotions were back under control.

“Do you read yet?” he asked.

The little boy shook his head. “I know some of the letters, and I remember some of the words from the book, but I don’t know how to read. Mom said I was learning fast.”

“Would you like it if I read to you?” James asked.

Abhi nodded, and James spent the next fifteen minutes doing his best impression of an engine that thought it could.

Then they moved onto Babar the Elephant books, and after that, James made Abhi actually laugh with stories that he made up. Twisted versions of “The Three Little Pigs” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” James had originally made his own, funny variations on those stories to tell his sister when they were both children, but they turned out to be useful with strangers’ children too.

Finally, Yulia came in to bring Abhi’s siblings back. The little ones were apparently ready for a nap.

Abhi decided to join them, and James was saved from pretending that he knew what he was doing in this area.

“Thanks for taking care of them,” he said to Yulia.

She beamed with pride and then got back to putting the little ones down.

He got up to leave the room, and Mina stood in the doorway, looking bewitched with him.

“How long were you watching that?” he asked, faintly embarrassed.

“I knew you would be a good father,” she said very quietly. Just for his ears.

“I’m starting to wonder,” he said, smiling despite himself.

“It’s also probably how you’ll succeed as a conqueror,” she added.

James raised an eyebrow.

“If you want people to accept your authority, without elections to give it theoretical legitimacy or a military to enforce it, you have to remember how you made that little boy feel just now.” She drew closer and placed a hand on his chest. “The people you want to follow you have to feel that they have your love and protection. You have the advantage of being the sort of person people naturally trust and want to follow.”

“So you say,” James said. If his goal of conquering territory and reunifying the local society behind a common set of purposes was comparable to this matter of taking care of children, he was a complete novice.

“I’m serious,” she said. “Get people here to accept that your authority and your protection are a package deal, as explicitly as you can. They would probably follow you implicitly anyway, but to make this place safer for all of us, you need to be able to organize the community. That means that people have to agree to follow your orders, at least in some things.”

James was about to reply when a knock came at the door.

He stood, looking at Mina and wondering who that could be, when the knock came again.

“I guess I should just be glad we had the time to ourselves that we did,” James said finally. “I did promise to discuss the future of this community with people today. I guess some of them are taking me up on it.”

Then the knock became a pounding.

With an annoyed expression spreading across his face, James descended the stairs.