explosivecombat | NIETZSCHE; DEAD PHILOSOPHERS' INBOX

An alchemist, then?

Yes. One I've...worked with in the past, to use the term extremely loosely; he's an interesting one, though we don't get on well at all - our ideologies are a bit too different for that.

He tried very hard to spare my life once; in what was actually a completely unrelated turn of events months later, I ended up saving his.

...Was he in Ishval? He looked awfully young.

No, he wasn't. The war in Ishval ended a bit over seven years ago; he would have been maybe eleven at the oldest, which is nowhere near old enough to be sent to the front lines.

Then you worked with him after.

...Is he employed by the family, too?

Oh, not at all. Quite the opposite, really.

We struck a bargain up at Fort Briggs, where I was stationed to carry out two assignments for the family. I had something he wanted rather badly in my possession, but I wasn't about to part with it for free; I had also been seriously injured to the point of nearly dying shortly before I met him. The agreement was that I would give him what he wanted if he assisted me in my work.

Needless to say, that went absolutely nothing like was planned.

Briggs is...on the border with Drachma, in the north.

And when were you seriously injured? How?

That would be the incident I've told you about before - the one on the train, involving an Ishvalan I was sent to kill and a steel pipe through several of my internal organs.

Oh. That one.

Yes, that one.

I met Fullmetal shortly after; while ultimately he sided with the group of soldiers that tried to snipe me in the middle of a mission, I have reason to believe he didn't want to see me shot. He seemed uncomfortable about deceiving me while the snipers got into position, and I'm fairly sure he was standing too close for them to get a clean shot. He's valuable to our military; they wouldn't shoot me if there was a chance it might harm him.

He tried to subdue me after that - so that I could be captured without being killed, and without sustaining any more injuries than were really necessary.

It's...sometimes a little unsettling, you know, to listen to you say things like that so casually. Not that I doubt that's exactly what happened, but...

I don't know. It's not that I mind listening to your war stories, but I guess I just don't always know how to respond to them.

There's a difference between hearing about them in a historical context and hearing about them as something that happened to a friend of yours.

I also imagine Fullmetal's age is a bit disconcerting, in this circumstance.

That, and it's the way you phrased something about the snipers. That they wouldn't shoot you if there was a chance of risking one of their own.

I don't know if I have it in me to pull a trigger and take someone's life. I think that can make it complicated for me, when it comes to hearing about situations filled with people who wouldn't hesitate like I would. I don't know if I could obey an order like that, even if I were told to, and that's why I wouldn't make a good soldier.

I know that's egocentric of me, but it's what I usually end up feeling at times like this.

It doesn't strike me as egocentric; those who know they wouldn't make good soldiers are often...disgusted, in some way, by those who do. I think it's a natural reaction, and I don't take up issue with that reaction itself, nor am I offended by it. Where I take offense is when others attempt to take some sort of moral high ground about it - whether it's those who wouldn't make good soldiers passing judgement on those who do, or those who have enlisted trying to make themselves out to be anything other than what they are.

This is likely sounding horribly condescending of me and that's a bit rude overall, but it's not intentional; I just don't expect you to react to these things in the same way I would.

...Do you know why some of your friends became soldiers? I'm using the term "friends" loosely, but — your fellow alchemists, the other soldiers you've mentioned before. I know you've told me before that the State Alchemists are considered "the dogs of the military", but surely they didn't all join the military with the intention of being its hired killers, did they?

...If we're being realistic about what a soldier is, I'm...not sure of a gentler way to phrase it, that's all.

Some enlisted because they wanted to defend Amestris from potential threat; some, because they were displeased with the state of things and wanted to gain a position where they might be able to influence the direction our country was going in. Many joined because our government is highly militaristic and as such joining the military itself is a stable job with steady income and good benefits.

But if we're being realistic about what a soldier is, they also should have known when they enlisted that they were being hired with the expectation that they would kill if ordered to do so. Taking lives is a soldier's job, and it's not a hidden aspect of their work. Whatever one's primary motivation for joining the military may be, killing is very much a part of it; some people just aren't ready or willing to accept that.

It makes for a hard choice, though, doesn't it? From what you've told me before, being a soldier is one of the few stable jobs with steady incomes and good benefits in Amestris. That doesn't seem like a fair exchange, to me. Take someone in a situation similar to Hughes, with a wife and a family — to give them a stable, comfortable life, the trade-off is that the breadwinner has to be willing to kill for it?

I'm probably just not seeing the whole picture, but...it doesn't sit right with me, a situation like that.

Tell me how you would define "fair," then.

It's never going to be entirely fair; that's just how life is. But...well, take that hypothetical soldier again. What if he has strong moral convictions against killing, but war is the only way he can provide for his family? If he keeps to his convictions, they suffer, but if he provides for them, he has to become something he despises.

I...suppose in defining "fair", I'd at least start with a scenario that didn't make people choose between compromising their livelihood or their morality. Wouldn't that be better anyway, since in theory it'd weed out some of the people who'd be most inclined to deny what they are, as soldiers?

...I'm almost entirely sure that this is going to sound hideously ignorant to you, but wouldn't it likewise be fair to assume that one shouldn't start a family that they aren't prepared to provide for without compromising their morals?

No, that's a perfectly fair assumption. At least from the point of view that a person should make reasoned choices and take responsibility for them, which is I think the approach you're taking to it. In Amestris, it sounds like that is the calculus of the choice — this is the economy we have, so don't take on the responsibility of a family if you're not willing to support them through the means we have to offer.

Where I'm from, the perspective is a little different. The right to have a family and the right to not be made to compromise your conscience are seen as equally-weighted values. So maybe it's just that for me, the thought of only being able to have one seems unfair, since I'm used to being guaranteed the right to have both.

[.......... :|a ]

That's the choice we're looking at, yes, and it's the way decisions are generally made.

For most of Amestris' citizens, the quality of life may not be as good as it is here (to an extent where it's strange for me to think about sometimes, but I digress) but as far as their personal welfare goes they're generally safe, at least. Those who live near our borders do so knowing that it's dangerous to be there in the first place, because the borders tend to be unstable, but the rest of the country is...not necessarily well-off, but content.

There are some cities that have an entirely self-sustaining economy on their own - Rush Valley specializes in producing a certain kind of prosthetic that's unbelievably high-quality, something that would be considered advanced even by your standards. Mining cities also tend to be rather well-off, because their products are consistently in high demand. Those who provide food for their cities also tend to make a fair amount, because again, Amestris isn't like this place - we don't have any large corporations tasked with feeding the population, everything is done locally. Everyone tends to be able to at least provide for themselves somehow; the smaller cities are very community-oriented and look out for their own. Our government doesn't provide assistance for others outside of what they can afford; our Fuhrer ensures our safety, our security and our economical well-being as a country, but it's expected that our citizens will look out for each other rather than looking to their government for individualized assistance.

The military isn't the only way to make money, and it's entirely possible to do so without killing anyone. However, unless what you're offering is incredibly specialized and in high demand, you're not going to make terribly much, and your chances of getting medical assistance will be lower because that's just how things are. Obviously, if one is going to start a family that ought to be taken into account. It may not be fair - and honestly, I'm inclined to agree that it isn't, if we assume that one has the right to a family - but it's more or less as you've described it. This is what we have, and it's the choice we have to make; really, it seems like several things you consider "rights" are things we consider "privileges," or at least something that we can only have after enough preparation and consideration.

Maybe that's why I always end up perceiving things in Amestris as so bleak. My expectation of where the baseline is supposed to fall is different, just by virtue of how my world's cultural values have evolved.

Of course, it's not as though we don't have people who choose to go into our military for the sake of getting ahead; frequently young adults will do it so that the government will pay for their civilian education, in exchange for a tour of service. That sort of calculus still exists, and responsible people still do consider their situation and available means before starting families. It just usually isn't as...severe as "If you want to have a family, accept that you might have to kill people to support them."

One of the things my nation prides itself on is being "the land of opportunity". That doesn't always hold true in practice, but it does seem as though, in general, we tend to offer more in the way of opportunity than Amestris does.

I still say I'd be interested in seeing this world of yours someday, even if I doubt I'd know what to do with most of it.

For what it's worth, however, Fullmetal doesn't kill, despite being part of the military. That's something he's always been very adamant about with me.

Call me sentimental, but if I can find a way to take you with me if and when I leave, I'll make sure to extend the offer.

What does his alchemy do? He manipulates metal?

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