Chapter Twenty-four – In the army
Mark was taken to a small camp that had been set up just outside of the kingdom. The organization impressed him. He had never seen anything like it. He saw men that were his superiors in the Kingdom reduced to common prisoners. They had been relieved of the tools to make war and the privilege that they enjoyed before had been stripped away. Mark didn’t speak to any of them. The fact that this enemy defeated them so easily disgusted him. Any respect he had previously had for their position vanished away in a puff of smoke. They were not any better than he was. He could see that now. Their approval that had meant so much to him before now meant nothing to him at all. Maybe they should have been defeated and the rotting carcass of their lopsided social order left to die in the ruins.
All the men who remained alive were rounded up and brought here. The purpose was to add them to the ranks of this formidable army. Mark wanted nothing to do with it. He didn’t want to fight and die in someone else’s war, but he had to do whatever he needed to survive, and he wasn’t the one in control of his own fate, at least not yet.
When the men were all lined up, the man in charge of the camp addressed the men.
“You fought valiantly.” The man started off, “There is no shame in being defeated by a superior foe. You did the best you could and that is to be commended but you were defeated. Your kingdom has been added to our own. Your people and resources now belong to us. This is not a bad thing. Instead of our resources and wealth being used to support a few privileged individuals, those resources will now be used for the common good of all people. Everyone deserves the chance to work hard and to live a peaceful life. Once the entire world is under our rule, there will be no more hunger, no more wars to fight. Everyone will be able to reach their potential and make everyone’s life better. We are all in this together. You have been men of war. If you would like to continue that tradition, fight with us. If you want to go back to your families and earn an honest living, you are free to go. If you decide to revolt, you will forfeit your life. However, you will find that living under our rule is the best thing that ever happened to you. If you want to fight with us, there is a cart here that will take you to a training camp. If you want to be peaceful, you may leave.”
Mark was happy after the man had finished speaking, not because he bought into anything the man said but because the man said he could leave and go back home. If he was allowed to go about his business, what did it matter who was in charge. It’s not like he was the one who was losing some kind of life of luxury. Mark started to walk when he was interrupted.
“Not you.” A voice said behind him. Mark turned around.
“The man said if I didn’t want to fight, I could go home.” Mark explained.
“That’s true.” The man agreed, “for most people, except you.”
“What?!” Mark answered, “I don’t want to fight, I just want to go home.”
“These older men have seen better days, you on the other hand have your best days ahead of you. We need men like you to fight in our army.” The man explained.
“I don’t want to fight in your army.” Mark shot back.
“You have no choice.” The man continued, “If we are to continue to unite the world into one glorious kingdom, we need more men to fight.”
“I don’t care about uniting the world. I just want to live out my life in peace, like the man said.” Mark insisted.
“You can do that when the war in over.” The man went on, “Get in the cart.” Mark stood there for a moment. He was thinking about his options. After thinking about it for several more minutes, he complied with his orders and got in the cart. There were several men who joined him. He wasn’t sure why these men would volunteer to fight for the enemy but maybe they were not given a choice. He watched other men walk off toward their fallen Kingdom and their homes in utter defeat.
Mark still couldn’t get over the fact that the Kingdom was overrun so easily. He had seen the men of the kingdom fight, and they were no cowards. They had trained for most of their lives, and they knew how to fight. It didn’t matter. They lost all the same. How could it not matter? What did these invaders know that caused their defeat so easily.
None of the men spoke as several horses pulled the cart, they were all sitting in. The horses seemed in no hurry to get to wherever they were going. In fact, Mark thought that walking would be faster, and a march might do them some good, but they just sat there. The horses plodded along at an even pace. Mark thought about Carla and all the time he spent with her in the future. If only these men could see the way they lived in the future, with their cell phones and automobiles and TV’s. Even if Mark tried to describe it to someone, no one would believe it. They would all think he was crazy.
Carla was amazing, he would have done anything for her. He didn’t want to think of what plans the other man in charge might have for her. He knew she could take care of herself; he had seen that time enough, but maybe this time she was in over her head. She wanted to stay in the future. A future where she could be anything she wanted to be. Mark tried to put the thought of Carla out of his mind. There was nothing he could do for her. He had his own fate to worry about. As the horses plodded along, Mark could tell his fate was in no hurry to meet him.