Deus Occidere - Part I

15th March

Staghead, Artemis, Freehold territory

"What I want isn't to become god. What I need to do is kill god."

When I say that, Alexander's face goes pale, and his eyes go wide. I don't know if he understood what I meant by that. There's no easy way to say what I want. But I guess I have to try if I want Alexander to stay here by my side, and work with me to achieve our dream. My and Aria's dream.

"War. Discrimination. Starvation. Poverty. Corruption. This world is rotten. But we can make it better. That's what I need to do. To make things better. That's my duty to humanity."

"How do you plan to improve the world? What do you mean by killing god?"

I smile, "they say the winners get to write history. But the winners also get to set the course for the future. And that's what I intend to do. To win. And end this rotten world, so that it can be replaced with something better. To achieve that, of course at the bare minimum, I'm willing to do anything and everything."

I can see that Alexander is thinking about that hard. You can see how rotten this world is can't you, Alexander? You can see that it has to be this way if we want to change it. That this world won't change no matter how hard you try if you play by the rules. That's why I created Artemis. To create something new, out of the reach of the rules and restrictions that the world placed on me. Where I could create something that aligns with my belief, with my purpose. And from this place, we will change it all. Everything will change. Don't you see, Alexander? Everything up till now, was for this moment. All that I have done so far, was just to reach a point where I could begin to change the world. And now I've almost achieved it. Through the Freehold and the Project Gaia Foundation, all of the world will change, and be remade into something better. Evolve into something new.

"Alexander, do you see it now? Will you help me achieve my and your mother's dream?" I extend out my hand towards him.

Alexander sighed loudly, "I see it. I understand now, but... I can't accept it."

"Huh?"

"Your dream is right. It's correct. It's beautiful, it might be what the world needs, but I don't think your the right person to change it. Yes, your right. The world needs to change, but your way of thinking, and your methods are wrong. The world won't change like that."

Alexander's rejecting me? He's rejecting the legacy of his parents? No, I can still convince him. I can convince Alexander that this is the only way. If I can just make him see, I can make him understand that this is the only way to change the world.

"What do you intend to do then?" I retort, "what would you do then? Are you just going to accept this rotten world like the rest of them? Every single person on the Earth's a living corpse. People who've lived empty meaningless lives. Is that the life you want to lead?"

"No, I'm not going to accept the world the way that it is. I'll change it. But I'll change it from the inside. The way your going about it, lots of people are going to die, aren't they?"

"Of course people are going to die. No real change can be made without sacrifice," I respond.

"You say that like it's a given. That it's okay for people to die if it helps you to achieve your dream."

"One million or even ten million deaths are nothing compared to the ten billion who do live because of their sacrifice."

I can tell that these words won't make Alexander happy, or make him trust me. But if I want him to see my point, he will have to come to understand this. Of course, people are going to die. Of course, the path to achieving my goal will cause a lot of people to die. I can't even begin to imagine that there is a way where no one will die. Where no one will get hurt. Where no one will lose. Of course they will. Even without me setting things in motion, that's just a fact of life.

"But, that's wrong. You can't take human lives so lightly," Alexander retorts, slamming his fist on the bench, "if you take the world through actions like that, then people will hate and despise you. The world won't become a better place."

"No it will. It doesn't matter if everyone hates me. As long as I create the right circumstances, the world will be able to move forward. Humans are quite adaptable to change."

In Alexander's eyes, I can see a fire encompassing him. A burning flickering light, a bright determination. It reminds me of Aria.

"Not with the wrong methods. The world can't change. People can't change that easily. With the wrong method, you won't get the results you desire."