Naked Empire

It's an intolerance of violence, made real by an unwavering willingness to crush any who would launch violence against you. The unconditional determination to destroy any who would initiate force against you is an exaltation of the value of life. Refusing to surrender your life to any thug or tyrant who lays claim to it is in fact embracing life itself.

"If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You think their ways are wrong. They think you are dinner.

"The Imperial Order preaches that mankind is corrupt and evil, and therefore life is of little value. Their actions certainly bear this out.

They moralize that you can only win salvation and happiness in some other world, and then only by sacrificing your life in this one.

"Generosity is fine, if it's by your free choice, but a belief in the primacy of self-sacrifice as a moral requisite is nothing less than the sanctioning of slavery. Those who tell you that it is your responsibility and duty to sacrifice are trying to blind you to the chains they are slipping around your neck.

"As D'Harans, you will not be required to sacrifice your life to another, and by the same token you cannot demand that others sacrifice themselves to you. You may believe as you wish, you may even feel that you cannot take up arms and fight directly for our survival, but you must help support our cause and you may not contribute materially or spiritually to the destruction of our values and therefore our lives- that is treason and will be treated as such.

"The Imperial Order has violently invaded innocent lands, like yours.

They have enslaved, tortured, raped, and murdered in order to seize rule.

They have done no less in the New World. They have forfeited their right to be heard. There is no moral dilemma involved, no ethical question open to debate; they must be ground into dust."

A man stepped forward. "But common decency in dealing with our fellow man requkes that we must show them mercy for their misguided ways."

"There is no greater value than life-and that's what you partially recognize by your confused notion of granting mercy. Their conscious, deliberate act of murder takes the irreplaceable value of life from another.

A murderer, by his own choice to kill, forfeits the right to his own life.

Mercy for such evil is nothing short of excusing it and thus allowing evil to prevail-it codifies the taking of innocent life by not making the murderer forfeit their own guilty life.

"Mercy grants value to the life of a killer, while, at the same time, it strips away the value of the life of the innocent victim. It makes the life of a killer more important than the life of an innocent. It is thus a trade of the good to the evil. It is the victory of death over life."

"So," Owen wondered aloud, "because the Order has attacked your land and murdered its people, you intend to try to kill every living person in the Old World?"

"No. The Order is evil and from the Old World. That does not mean that the people of the Old World are evil simply because they happen to have been born on a patch of ground ruled by evil men. Some actively support these rulers and therefore embrace evil, but not everyone does. Many of the people in the Old World are also the victims of the rule of the Imperial Order and suffer greatly under its brutality. Many struggle against this evil rule. As we speak, many risk their lives to rid themselves of these evil men. We fight for the same thing: liberty.

"Where those who seek liberty were born is irrelevant. We believe in the value of the individual's life. That means that where someone lives does not make them evil-it's their beliefs and actions that matter.

"But make no mistake-many people are an active part of the Imperial Order and its murderous ways. Actions must have consequences. The Order must be eradicated."

"Surely, you would allow some compromise," one of the older men said.

"If, hoping to appease it, you willingly compromise with unrepentant evil, you only allow such evil to sink its fangs into you; from that day on its venom will course through your veins until it finally kills you."

"But that's too harsh a sentiment," the man said. "It's just being stubborn and obstructing a constructive path. There is always room for compromise."

Richard tapped his thumb against his chest. "You men decided to give me poison. That poison will kill me; that makes it evil. How would you suggest I compromise with poison?"

No one had an answer.

"In trade between willing parties who share moral values and who deal fairly and honestly with one another, compromise over something like price is legitimate. In matters of morality or truth, there can be no compromise.

"Compromising with murderers, which is precisely what you are suggesting, grants them moral equivalence where none can rightfully exist.