Spark
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
A deafening, crackling sound erupted from the massive electric loudspeaker, its booming voice reverberating throughout Rhine Harbor, shaking the very cobblestones underfoot.
The working laborers, their faces streaked with grime and sweat, and the soldiers, standing at rigid attention, gathered densely on the ground below, all raised their heads in unison, their gazes fixed with a mixture of profound respect and fervent fanaticism on the imposing figure on the second floor of the tavern.
His familiar, resonant voice had already begun to speak, its hypnotic cadences washing over them. And even though they couldn't clearly see Mr. Van der Linde's face, obscured slightly by distance and shadow, the sheer power of his presence, his words, still excited everyone, sending shivers of anticipation down their spines.
Their lives, they knew, had undergone a complete, miraculous world of change compared to before, a transformation from ceaseless toil to unimaginable comfort. The paradise depicted in the sacred Bible seemed to them nothing more than a true, tangible reflection of their current lives, a vision made real.
How could this not make them fanatical, utterly devoted? Their lives had been saved, reshaped.
Under the fervent, almost worshipful gaze of the surging crowd, Mr. Van der Linde's powerful speech continued, his voice ringing out, filling the air.
"Hello everyone, I am Dutch Van der Linde." He paused, allowing the weight of his name to settle.
As soon as Dutch finished speaking, the vast crowd at Rhine Harbor could no longer contain their boundless excitement and erupted in a single, deafening roar, a primal scream of devotion that nearly tore the very sky apart.
"Van der Linde!"
"Van der Linde!"
"Van der Linde!"
The enormous sound, like a colossal tidal wave, echoed through Rhine Harbor, shaking the very foundations of the buildings and startling the surrounding birds from the sky, sending them scattering in panicked flocks.
However, this massive and fervent shouting instantly ceased, dying into an abrupt, almost supernatural silence, the very moment Mr. Van der Linde merely raised his hand, a simple, almost imperceptible gesture, yet one of absolute command.
Mr. Van der Linde stood on the second floor of the tavern, his figure silhouetted against the morning light, his face filled with a radiant fanaticism, his spirit soaring, utterly impacted by this fervent, intoxicating atmosphere, absorbing their collective adoration.
"Gentlemen, ladies, do you remember when we first met, when I spoke to you then?" His voice resonated with a captivating blend of warmth and power. "I told you that everyone, every single one of you, has the undeniable right to a happy life! To live with dignity, with purpose!"
His voice swelled with pride, his arm sweeping in a grand, encompassing gesture over the crowd. "And now, through our collective, unwavering efforts, gentlemen, ladies, our lives have truly stepped onto the shining ladder of happiness! We have achieved the impossible!"
He leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly, becoming grave, laced with a new urgency. "But this, my friends, is still far from enough. Our power, compared to the forces that seek to crush us, is still too meager; those damned capitalists and the foul, corrupt United States Government will never willingly watch us live such beautiful and happy lives. Their greed will not permit it."
Dutch's eyes narrowed, burning with conviction. "Because our very existence, our thriving prosperity, fundamentally obstructs their oppression and exploitation! We are a living, breathing testament to their lies!"
His voice grew louder, gaining momentum, a fiery sermon. "Our lives, our freedom, are simply too wonderful; once known by the common people of the American East, they will inevitably use this, our example, as a potent basis to resist the brutal oppression of the United States Government and ruthless capital! They will demand their own liberation!"
He pounded a fist lightly on the railing. "The greed of capital is boundless, an insatiable beast, and the oppression of the United States Government is evident, a crushing weight! They will stop at nothing!"
"At that time, to protect their own wicked interests, to maintain their suffocating control, they will surely suppress us forcefully, brutally, revert our lives to their original state of misery, or even massacre us, these true awakened thinkers, these trailblazers of liberty!" Dutch's voice was now a roaring thunder, his eyes blazing with a prophetic fury.
"Therefore, to guarantee our own fundamental rights, for our common future, for the happy lives of our ancestors and descendants, a sacred trust, I, Dutch Van der Linde, vigorously develop the army, diligently produce weapons, and actively recruit personnel, fortifying our ranks, in order to cope with the brutal suppression that may come at any time from the United States Government and global capital! We will be ready!"
He raised both fists to the sky, his face contorted with fierce determination. "We must use our own strength, our collective might, to tell the whole world, every corner of this Earth, that our happiness is only, and always, in our own hands!!! It is our right, our power!"
Mr. Van der Linde's speech was deafening, a cascade of powerful, inciting rhetoric that resonated deep within the hearts of the common people.
His red book, meticulously written during this period of intense ideological development, had already caused a huge stir in New Hanover and Lemoyne, its words spreading like wildfire, detailing in stark, unambiguous terms how terrifying the boundless greed of capital and the crushing oppression of the United States Government truly were. It vividly painted a picture of how these forces would inevitably treat the people in the West who had already achieved a good, prosperous life. Therefore, Mr. Van der Linde's speech today also timely shifted its approach, adapting to their growing awareness.
It subtly transformed from emotional blackmail based on past favors and shared history to a more potent, undeniable interest-based blackmail, a clear threat to their newly acquired comfort.
Maintaining power through favors alone, Dutch knew, might be effective in the early stages, but the ancient Chinese ancestors had long sagely warned that great favors can, over time, become like great enmities; favors should only be strategically used in the early stages of establishing influence. If mentioned too often, if relied upon too heavily, they lose their profound effect and can even cause annoyance, resentment.
So Dutch appropriately, brilliantly, changed his thinking, categorizing American capital and the United States Government as a unified, monolithic imaginary enemy, a singular force of oppression, and inextricably tying his own interests with those of his loyal workers, thereby forming a powerful, unbreakable community of interest to completely, irrevocably, consolidate their ideology, their shared purpose.
Of course, this crucial point was mainly based on the inherent, unchanging nature of capital and the United States Government, who would never, ever willingly let go of the immense interests and power in their hands. If the common people in the East saw the happy, prosperous lives of the Western people and started widespread riots and crippling strikes, American capital and the government would certainly not choose to increase their income, to share their wealth. Instead, they would definitely choose to brutally crush the West, to destroy this inconvenient example, because this was their greedy, unyielding nature, their only mode of operation.
And this undeniable truth, this grim inevitability, undoubtedly forcibly bound Dutch with the people who had achieved happy, prosperous lives by faithfully following him, their fates now irrevocably intertwined.
No one, not a single soul, wanted to return to their past lives of misery and exploitation, to the darkness from which they had been pulled, so everyone would only, unequivocally, support Van der Linde, their savior, their protector.
As expected, by directly touching upon their fundamental interests and their very lives, the shouts of this group, this galvanized populace, became even more frantic, more fanatical, more desperate in their devotion.
"Van der Linde!"
"Van der Linde!"
The roar was deafening, a primal scream of unity.
"Very good, then from now on, from the very beginning of this war, this righteous struggle, let everyone in the world, every nation, every capitalist, realize that our interests, our happiness, are inviolable! Sacred! No one shall touch them!"
Dutch placed his fist firmly on his chest, a gesture of profound commitment, his voice hoarse from the passionate, extended speech.
With a final, sweeping wave of his large hand, a signal to advance, the soldiers in the army, their faces flushed red with excitement and a fierce determination, were so energized they wished they could immediately rush onto the battlefield, tearing all enemies apart with their bare hands, their strength fueled by the sheer fanaticism and excitement in their hearts.
"Victory is ours!" they roared, a deafening, unified cry.
"Victory is ours!"
"Victory is ours!"
The crowd roared madly, their combined voices like a rolling thunder, overwhelming and astonishing, shaking the very ground.
Under continuous, undiminished cheers that vibrated through the air, the massive engines of ten gleaming Tanks roared to life, their powerful internal combustion engines rumbling, and then, under the fervent, awestruck gaze of over four thousand workers, they rumbled out of Rhine Harbor, a parade of unstoppable might, precisely according to Hosea's meticulous instructions.
Wagons pulling Maxim guns and artillery, their metal gleaming, followed closely behind the powerful Tank convoy, the long line of vehicles stretching almost out of sight, an endless serpent of war.
Over five thousand disciplined soldiers, their footsteps synchronized, their faces grimly determined, followed closely behind, their boots thudding in unison, so much so that even the fervent shouts of the four thousand workers, though immense, could not completely drown out the crisp, rhythmic sound of their marching, a testament to their order and discipline.
A solemn and cold atmosphere had permeated the air, a sense of impending conflict, but this atmosphere did not cause fear among the populace; instead, it only made everyone's hearts more fervent, more proud, more unified.
Because this disciplined, solemn army was their army, the people's army of these very workers. Their brothers, their family members, and their cherished friends were among them, and they would forever safeguard the happy lives of all of them, a sacred vow!
This situation, this profound connection between the army and the common people, is actually extremely rare in the United States. Americans at this stage generally do not like their army and police, viewing them with suspicion, because calling the police costs money, and both institutions are seen as subservient to capital, tools of oppression. Americans cannot truly feel any genuine sense of security from American soldiers, because their American soldiers will indeed steal their money, rape, and kill their family members, their very protectors becoming their tormentors. Their police are no different, often corrupt and brutal.
And now, after Mr. Van der Linde corrected the army, purged its corrupt elements, and infused it with his ideology, they truly began to feel secure, safe in its protection.
Because this army now had a profound, unifying belief! It fought for them, the people.