Beyond Doubt: Whispers of the Unseen - Chapter 78

Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.

As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.

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Chapter 78

Dear Reader, In all honesty, what drives you?

"What really drives you, what gets you up every day?"

As far as I see it, the actual motivations are quite limited. Love, lust, financial gain, the game called life?

Search deep within yourself and don't stop at being responsible for your environment, children, parents, etc. None of that I want you to go deeper.

What is the essence of what drives you, hate, revenge, the urge to survive, or is it a loftier feeling?

Have you found the answer Dear Reader, and are you now smiling or pale in the face

Half-dressed, I run back to where we had camped that night. If Reiko isn't awake yet, I will wake him. I can no longer control my desire to know.

Luckily for him, he has already woken up and is going through his things. I push the package into his hands a little more roughly than should have been necessary. I don't mean to, but my haste makes my movements a bit uncontrolled.

"What do I have to do with this?" He asks, staring at the leather bundle.

“Read and translate immediately,” I respond.

Still hoarse in the morning, Reiko starts reading the text;

The council of generals, sworn advisors of the Sikhs, hereby authorizes all officers to use the Sharido and dog squadrons in the battle to conquer new land. In the name of the Sikh, the terrorized remaining population will be placed under the care of the empire.

If there is still refusal, it is permitted to take all necessary tactical measures to ensure complete surrender. No report needs to be made of this nor of the use of the Sharido. The reports need only contain the conquests, with their great and estimated value.

These should be sent every 12 days to the Council of Generals, who, partly through these reports, can inform His Highness the Sikh of our progress. For the sake of clarity of merits, the reports are sent to his own commander in the council, so that his fame or failure will be clear before the eyes of His Highness.

Board of Advisors.“

“What the hell does this mean, and why is it so important that that dead soldier had this on his body?” I ask, irritated; at first glance, this doesn't mean anything good.

Reiko thinks for a moment; “Did the man have a different colored uniform than me, or my soldiers?”

“His uniform was neater, black, and with gold emblems, not silver ones like you wore.”

“Damn, I should have known this. That's how it is. The Sikh has a number of troops that you don't like to encounter. Animals without conscience, out for blood, sex, and profit. How they get so messed up is a mystery to me, but I suspect it takes a long period of training beforehand.

Previously, the use of any means was permitted to expand borders. However, our state is not only warlike, there are also scientists, philosophers, and people with common sense. The stories about these bloodthirsty dogs, who acted in the name of the Sikhs, reached them.

They then asked the Council of Advisors to only deploy these troops under emergency regulations. The council stated that this was already happening and that in a single case of miscommunication, a group of Sharidos may have been deployed to execute a village for no reason.

This response gave satisfaction and it could be assumed that these men, who gave their word that the newly added tribes would be dealt with in a civilized manner, were telling the truth. Too often the cities we captured surrendered without a fight. The mere sight of our uniforms was enough for many to burst into tears. Deep down I knew it was wrong, but the soldier in me didn't want to know.”

"I believed that our fame and the stories about our well-oiled war machine advanced us and people were afraid just by the sight of our uniforms. At least that's what I told myself. Only during a single interrogation was I told about the Sharido."

"Not that they knew the name, but the actions seemed familiar. Yet I made myself believe that these people had brought this on themselves with their rebelliousness, there was no other way. And since there were never many who spoke about the atrocities, it seemed clear to me that these were just incidents."

"In retrospect, it made sense that few told me about the Sharido's actions. They left few people who could tell the story, which meant that, apart from the Sharido himself, only the direct commanders had knowledge about the frequency with which they were deployed."

"My father was a Sharido, although he was not as sick as the rest, this man still had no feeling. My staying alive was a selfish act. That I became a soldier was his order. These men love nothing more than to turn their frustrations into atrocities against a population that does not know what is happening to them. I always kept this far from my mind, but I knew it."

"After years you start to believe he is your only family. You can't believe your father is capable of such atrocities."

"I know it sounds strange when you think that he and his troops were responsible for the deaths of everyone I loved, but as a boy you need love. At least the idea that someone loves you so that you can love him back."

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Picture By Me And My Artificial Intelligence