The Story of the Flood

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***

- Now let's discuss our plans for the Flood," Arthur said, still beginning the formal council. Finally...

- We are still against starting an open hunt for all members of the Flood. Our opinion on that hasn't changed much,' Elder Koa said, looking at Arthur.

- Why? - I blurted out. I still couldn't understand why the authorities didn't want to destroy the terrorists who were operating in their country.

- It's not so easy for you to understand the situation, since you're a surface dweller. But all the members of the Flood are disgruntled Atlantis residents from the ninth trida, you could say the slums of Atlantis," Kae shook his head, who had somehow become more sympathetic to me. Not to say that the elders love me now, but after Arthur's order, they were no longer trying to set me up and cause trouble, but rather just being neutral with me.

Though I'm sure that my show of strength is also to blame, because now they're sure that I can really help them.

- But something has to be done, we can't just passively watch the Flood's actions without doing anything," Arthur said, looking at the elders.

- Yes, but we shouldn't be so harsh. We need to approach this carefully, or there could very well be an uprising in the ninth trid," said Koa.

- I think in that case we should concentrate on the parts of the Flood that are outside Atlantis. And through them we will be able to reach the leaders. It will be much easier to eliminate them, because without a leader, the Flood will quickly fall apart, - I said my plan of action, without much detail.

- It's a pretty simple plan, but it's still pretty decisive compared to what the King suggested before," Kae said with a grin, looking at Arthur.

- I don't think it's necessary to act so drastically... We can still try to get the people of the ninth trida on our side, without any violence. I want to be King, not Tyrant," Arthur said with a confident expression. The Elders smiled oddly in response, and Mera sighed heavily.

- I'd like to have a word with you after the meeting, King," I said respectfully to Arthur. I shouldn't get too cocky here, though; I need to maintain Arthur's authority.

- All right," Arthur said with a strange look at me.

The rest of our conversation was completely pointless, as we talked about the same topics in circles. I did realise something, though. Arthur had no idea how a real king should behave. He was trying to be some kind of fairy-tale King who did everything perfectly. But it doesn't work like that.

It's impossible not to get blood on your hands when you're in power. But it's your decisions that determine whose blood you get your hands on. The blood of civilians killed by criminals because of your weakness, or the blood of scum who want nothing more than the destruction of your country.

- What did you want to talk to me about, Ed? - A tired Arthur asked me when it was just him, me and Mera.

- About your decisions and your words," I said with a sigh.

- Is something wrong? - he said, not quite understanding me.

- Tell me, Arthur... Do you know exactly what a King must do for the prosperity of his people? - I asked him.

- 'A King should endeavour to uplift his people and also be kind and just,' Arthur said.

At this point, even Mera had a slightly annoyed look on his face. Arthur was sounding a little too... naive.

- Fuuuuh," I sighed heavily as I looked at him, "Perhaps no one wanted to tell you this, but you're wrong.

- Why? - he asked perplexed.

- You see, Arthur, you can't be in power without getting your hands dirty with blood. Your decisions affect thousands of living beings, and therefore excessive mercy can only lead to problems. I take it you don't want to kill the leader of the Flood? - I asked, looking at him.

- Yes, but what's the big deal? I want to catch him and put him in prison. Killing him will just make me the same," Arthur told me.

- Yeah, I get it. It's the same dilemma that plagues many teenagers who glorify justice. If you kill a murderer, the number of murderers in the world doesn't change? - I asked him. People like him, like my brother, like Batman. I don't understand what exactly tells them to do what they do. Mercy? Naivety? Stupidity? Or maybe just fear?

Somehow I think it's the latter.

- You could put it this way. Killing doesn't solve all problems. If you kill all your enemies, you'll end up with everyone being your enemy," he said.

- Well, haven't you thought of something else? You can't keep dangerous people in prison forever. Especially if they're not alone. And every time they escape from prison, innocent people will die. And all those lives will be on your conscience. Are you willing to live with that? - I asked with a smile.

- But it is possible to create a prison from which you cannot escape. What makes you think they'll get out? - Arthur continued to push his line.

- Have you ever thought that if you put an enemy in prison, you might make another enemy. And that enemy may release your enemy's past from prison. And together, they'll do many times more damage. Are you sure you can prevent that? - I asked my interlocutor. And he immediately turned dark, apparently realising what he meant.

- A king is responsible for an entire nation, and because of that he has to make hard decisions. Just think about what I'm saying. What do you value more - the happy smile of an innocent child or the life of a crazed maniac? - I said one last time as I left the office.

Yeah, I know, it's not exactly fair. Still, children are the weakness of many people. And to avoid their suffering many are ready to go to murder. But still, Arthur must decide for himself what is right. You can't get rid of a problem by hiding it.

So I headed for the local archives, which I was allowed to enter at the council. Elder Kae even advised me to go there and study the history of the Flood. And I think it will be quite useful indeed.

When I reached the archives, I met a rather old Atlantean who was something of a librarian. When he saw me, he didn't bother me, but instead pointed out the section I needed. Apparently he had already been told what I was here for.

Going through the rather large archive, I found the section I needed, which was not particularly large. It was a section devoted to modern-day criminals, if you could call it that. But there wasn't a lot of information on Flood, and most of it was about Flood's leader.

The information was stored in something like tablets, which were part of the local technomagic, as I realised.

Well, the information itself was interesting to me. The leader and creator of the Flood, Corum Rath, was at the beginning an ordinary inhabitant of the slums, which here were called the ninth trida.

His father was a construction worker and died quite early when the boy was still a child. That was the only known information from Corum Rath's childhood. Further information about him came to light fifteen years later, when he began to gather allies in the ninth trid.

As in any slum, everyone around him was not a rich man, nor did he particularly like power. Especially those who were younger. And because of that, it wasn't hard to gather the first Flood's first lineup.

Initially, the organisation wasn't even exactly terrorists. Basically, they were trying to get the people of the Ninth Trida to be treated better. But it was almost pointless.

However, this organisation also preached other ideas along with it, which turned out to be much more popular. The basis of these ideas was that the surface dwellers were lower than the Atlanteans, and far more backward, but somehow ruled the entire earth while the Atlanteans themselves were submerged on the sea floor. And that needed to be changed by giving back to the Atlanteans what was rightfully theirs.

And because of this, Flood has many more allies, as well as more aggressive people. However, Flood himself didn't stand out much, as Queen Atlana's reign was rather passive, and didn't take sides.

But after Arthur came to power, things got much worse. It could be said that the methods of the Flood became many times more radical after that, and they began planning a full-blown attack on both the surface dwellers and the new King.

Attacks on weapons storage sites, theft of bombs, and the disappearance of human ships. It all started six months ago, and it's only getting more serious by the day.

And as it turns out, my arrival has also made things much worse. Flood somehow found out about our first meeting with Arthur, and Corum Rath declared that the royal family was now with the land dwellers, not with them.

In other words, he was officially opposing the King and his decisions, which was already serious. However, I now understand the fears of the elders. If we start arresting all of the Flood's accomplices in Atlantis itself, the entire Ninth Trid may revolt, even those who did not support the Flood.

Now I understand the situation in Atlantis a little better, but now it all depends on what Arthur decides. I will help him either way, but my sincerity may change.

If he decides to spare Corum Rath, he will ruin Atlantis with his own hands, and he will not make a good ally. However, I have already got to know Arthur a little bit and realise what kind of man he is. So I still believe he'll make the right choice.

Well, it's about time I got back to him and asked him when we're going to start. I like Atlantis, but I don't really want to stick around.

And who wants to stay in a place where people look at you with either dislike or judgement?

***

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