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[weaponwithoutpurpose]

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[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[Jacob just sits in what he has started to think of as "his" chair.]

No, I'm not. He didn't get a hit on me.

[pharadyne]

[Norton settles onto the settee, one leg crossed daintily over the other.]

So. Tell me what happened. [He says in an almost lilting voice.]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[He groans, but leans forward, trying to parse through the fragments of memories.]

We spoke at port. Tried to help him out. He went off about some holy war that he's fighting against. A hivemind that was claiming the rights to their ancestral home.

Told him that he might want to understand his enemy if he had any chance of fighting against them properly. He got mouthy and I left him alone.

He works at the gym. Insulted my fucking work [At least in his actions, not his words.] and I told him exactly what I thought about him.

He called me a zealot, told me to take a walk, so I punched him. And - then I kept punching him.

[pharadyne]

This is the second, no, third time someone's been mouthy and you've gone straight to escalated violence.

[It's not exactly surprising, considering the violence of Old Man Seed, the foster home, borstal, his time in the military. So many places where violence was simply the normal response to things.]

As someone who's usually the mouthy one in these sorts of scenarios, I can't say I approve.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[He shrugs because Norton's right. It is the third time. And Jacob goes straight to violence because that's the only language that he knows and it's the only way to react. As a child, his father used the belt to tell him that he was displeased with him. In foster care, Jacob did the same with an axe and a match. In juvie, he told the guards that he was unhappy, that he was angry at them, by throwing punches and being defiant. In the military, he used a gun. With Joseph, he was encouraged to be violent, to train others in that violence, to teach them to embrace it.

And the outcome has been favorable here. Arthur's since left him alone. Rawne's left him alone. Everyone's left him alone after he "tells them" that he doesn't want to be fucked with.]

What do you want me to say?

[pharadyne]

Any thoughts on preventing a fourth, fifth, and sixth time?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[He spreads out his hands.]

I don't think there is preventing one. Unless you, as the mouthy one, have an idea to keep people from saying the exactly wrong thing.

[pharadyne]

As the mouthy one, I think you might want to consider the possibility of not punching people when they're not a physical threat. You don't have to respond to everything that angers you with a heavy fist.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[Jacob links his fingers together, letting his hands dangle between his knees.]

Great talk, warden. I'll be a good boy next time.

We done here?

[pharadyne]

No, we're not. For one thing, I know you absolutely will not be a good boy next time.

This sort of thing is why John's scared of you. The bursts of uncontrolled violence. I don't expect you to turn into a pacifist or anything like that, and I don't expect a solution overnight, but we are going to address it.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[There's the briefest tension in his fingers at the mention of John, but he's exhausted, so it doesn't extend beyond that.]

Didn't think it would - get out of control. Sometimes it doesn't. Most of the time it doesn't.

[pharadyne]

So, tell me what happened. The details. What was it about what he said that caused the response it did.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[At least that's an easy answer.]

I don't like to be told what to do by little pissants who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

[pharadyne]

Blimey, and you managed not to punch a single officer in the armed forces? Ever?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

They were my superiors. There's a difference.

Remember what I fucking said about hierarchy here, Norton? That's what I fucking meant.

[pharadyne]

Why does hierarchy matter? And I mean this as a serious question and not in a 'let's all become Red anarchists' sense. More...what does it mean to you?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Means - someone stronger than me in some way. Smarter, bigger, worthy of respect.

[pharadyne]

Even if the strength is purely institutional, by having a higher rank in the hierarchy, even if they aren't smarter or bigger or particularly deserving of that rank?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[That gets a headshake.]

Nah. They gotta deserve it. Or earn it.

[pharadyne]

And all your officers had earned their rank? In my day, sons of wealthier families become officers or pilots, and sons of tradesmen, labourers, and farmers don't. That's just the way it is, nothing much earned about it.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

The ones I followed did. Cuz they had the power to kick me out to the streets.

[He shakes his head.]

I didn't have a problem with any of them. I liked it there.

[pharadyne]

The best ones, what did you like about them?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

They - had reasons for the shit they did. Even if I didn't get to know them. I scrubbed toilets, but at least I knew why.

[pharadyne]

So you don't like arbitrary cruelty or abuse of authority. What other qualities did the good officers have? I mean, "not being capricious sadists" is a pretty low bar. There must be other things.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[He sighs.]

You are really fucking annoying about this.