Lucas walked on towards the levee and sighed.
"Okay... You told me your reasons, so I'll try and explain mine. What do you know about me?" - Asked Lucas.
"You are directly responsible for overthrowing several less savory governments, both allies of ours and enemies of ours. You also provided incentives for the governments in general to play nice by allowing them to do research on the Moon..." - Said Makepeace - "And... You helped save the world. Several times."
"Right. This is what I did. What about ME?"
"Your files say you greatly dislike militaries and are distrustful of... Well, intrusions upon rights." - Said Makepeace.
"Yeah. And then I found out a military unit was spying on me. And on my friends. And, well, in my country?" - Said Lucas - "Without getting into the morals of it, as I was being rewarded for saving the world by being spied on, tell me, what did you think would happen? Makepeace..." - She said, not realizing she used the faerie's actual name for the first time instead of a slur - "...let me put it this way. Do you know why I distrust militaries?"
Makepeace nodded.
"Yes. Your country was a military dictatorship."
"Correct." - Said Lucas - "Nineteen sixty-four to nineteen eighty-five. They tortured people, general, they did horrible, unspeakable things. They oppressed the entire population. They left behind a legacy of horror, of torture, and a country broke, economically, culturally and spiritually. Only now is it starting to heal. General, it was horrible."
Lucas went on.
"And then I find myself being spied on by military people. In my country. Invading it. Military invasion and overreach in my country. What did you think I would see in that? How did you think I would react?"
"Well... Fair enough. But I will disabuse you of a few things... One. We did not invade Brazil. We worked with its authorities."
"What." - Said Lucas, in that kind of calm that gives off utter rage.
"Well... The Brazilian government allowed us to spy on you as long as we shared the information with them." - Said Makepeace, carefully.
"I'll pay a visit to BrasÃlia later..." - Said Lucas.
"That's not really my concern." - Said Makepeace - "But the next question. Lucas. Consider what you had been doing. Do you really think governments would not consider you a person of interest? Or Jen or Lilly? Frankly, I thought you knew you were being watched." - Said Makepeace.
"We saved the world. Why would you spy on us?" - Asked Lucas, crossly.
"Because you represent a lot of power in a very small spot." - Said the general, simply - "And in your case, Lucas, you overthrew several governments. Heck, you teleported a former dictator to The Hague in a chicken suit. What did you think would happen?"
"You know that's not okay, right?" - Asked Lucas.
"I'd think you'd expect to be watched." - Said Makepeace.
Lucas sighed.
"I did not. I helped people. I saved the world. So did Lilly and Jen..."
"Jen greatly changed the world. And... Lucas. Those people, those dictators you removed, were there guaranteeing several interests, both specific and general ones. Of course the countries that installed them there would see fit to investigate upon you. And make no mistake, there was only one reason a lot of them did not simply try to take you out, Lucas, and get your sword for themselves."
"And that was?"
"Fear."
"Yeah, well." - Said Lucas - "They still spied on me..."
The general could feel the thirst for revenge in her tone.
"Suppose you do what you feel like to them." - Said the General - "I don't think you'll kill anyone, but suppose you do whatever else. Lucas. You asked how I thought you'd react to being spied on. Now. These countries, mine own included, see you as someone that, reasons nonwithstanding, challenged several interests. One individual holding enough power for entire countries to fear you, Lucas. And then you go ahead and make an example of one. Or of several. You steal their entire oil reserves or you make it so all their leaders are stripped to their underwear or... Whatever. You, in short, make a big show of power. What do you think big nations will do if someone they already fear, Lucas, makes a big show of power held by a single individual? In short, Lucas, if you began removing or otherwise humiliating the leaders of actual, legitimate, democratic nations to wreak revenge on them for infringing your rights, and I ask this without regard for morality, what do you think would happen?"
"They already fear me." - Said Lucas.
"And right now, that fear makes sure they only spy on you. It doesn't make sure they get scared enough to, say, attack Brazil or otherwise act completely irrationally out of pure desperation. That, however, would change if you began to do that kind of thing. Take it from someone who knows, Lucas. Make a big enough show of power to your enemies and they back down. Make too big a show of power and they will be willing to die and take a lot of people with them if it means killing you." - Said Makepeace.
"Own experience?" - Asked Lucas, smirking.
"Yes." - Said the faerie - "Oderint dum metuant, Lucas, meaning Let them hate so long as they fear, will only get you so far. Besides, Lucas... I don't think you should think of yourself as Brazilian. Not anymore... Not with the kind of things you did, with the world you now live in, with the moon you represent. You can have feelings for Brazil, but no country, Lucas, should have access to your power... Now. I spied on you and didn't really get any decent intel. You made me picture my daughter, headless, but you did not lay a finger on her. Between us, at least, can we call it even?"
"Fine..." - Said Lucas, sighing - "But the others that spied on us and the people in Brazil that let it happen..."
"Well, I'm sure they have loved ones you can threaten." - Said Makepeace, sarcastically.
"Hey, sarcasm! Nice!" - Said Lucas, smiling.
"Thanks." - Said Makepeace, smirking.
She felt, oddly... lighter after that remark. She went on.
"Lucas... I understand we were born in a different world, but things have changed. Even if... Rights to privacy didn't." - Said the General.
Lucas sighed.
"Yeah, I may have overreacted, too, what with calling you names and... The thing with your daughter. Listen, so you know, I'm not gonna do a THING to her."
Makepeace nodded.
"I trust you."
Lucas sighed.
"And yes. I know the world changed. I was there. I faced things, General, I saw things... Look... Reason with me here... Tell me, what did you see in me? I mean... What about me got you so afraid? Before I found out and, well, reacted."
"Without entering ideological debates: You're an extremely powerful individual with a history of affecting the politics of nations based on specific views of how the world should be ran." - Said the faerie - "This resulted in, well, you being seen as a person of interest by the countries in general. All in all, Lucas, we saw you as powerful and uncontrollable, which, of course, meant we feared you enough to look into you. With some variations, more or less the same held true for all others. Now. What did you see in us?"
"Well... There was the whole military in Brazil thing. Plus the intrusion upon rights I view as pretty serious... You fear an individual with a lot of power. I fear groups with it." - Said Lucas.
"So. You looked at us and saw oppression by groups. We looked at you and saw a threat of an individual." - Said Makepeace - "And... Both of us reacted to the best of our capability to the perceived threat. We set up a structure to... Well... Spy on you and copy the technology..."
"...and I went on a one-person rampage, scared the living fuck out of you all and threatened what you hold the most dear. Likewise, if I had started softer, you might have reacted with your big guns. Yep. I suppose now is that annoying time when we, general, realize we are not that different..." - Said Lucas.
"That's gonna sting both of us for a bit, isn't it?" - Asked Makepeace, smirking.
And again she felt lighter.
