Challenge #02084-E260: Warned You So
It's been said, regarding history, that "Everything repeats over and over again. No one learns anything, 'cause no one lives long enough to see the pattern..."
...but what if someone did? -- Anon Guest
My name is Loth. It rhymes with moth. I've taken up variations on the surnames Smith and Jones, all over the world. I know a lot of people who do illegal things to make certain my identities are stable. See... when you're immortal, you don't always want the people in charge to know.
Try spending fifty years in Bethlehem, some time. Fifty years, unageing. Fifty years before someone who had been there long enough deigned to notice that I looked exactly the same without the kind of genes you need to be effectively ageless. Try only being released when said doctor actually witnessed you taking a fatal injury and then getting back up again.
And no, I don't know why I'm immortal. I just am. And believe me, I have perfected the art of staying the hell away from medical science. Nope. Not going near that. Fifty years in Bedlam was enough. Another century or so while modern science slices, dices, and juliennes me is not on my to-do list. But... that said, there are still times when I try to stop bad things from happening.
See, you live long enough, you see patterns in history. Corrupt officials and economic disparity lead to revolution. Even in that one case where the rich people in one colony didn't want to pay taxes. The difference lies in how the administration deals with the bad news.
Did you know I told King John to sign the Magna Carta? He was one of the few who listened to me. The list of the ones who didn't is very long, and includes a lot of nobility.
This one is my first president.
He sat in his chair of office like an unexpected toad in a throne, an image not helped by his flappy jowls, obvious corpulence, or general dour demeanor. He was offended by my presence, and the fact that his secret service didn't stop me entering his space.
"Who the hell are you? Why aren't you stopping that?"
There are people you wish could be immortal. One of them said, True evil begins with treating people as things. So this man showed his true colours in seconds. Nevertheless, revolutions are not pretty and lots of innocent people die.
"Perhaps you don't understand the meaning of the word 'service' in their job description?" I said. "They provide a service to the Presidency. Not to the president. I, also, provide a service."
He leered and started undoing his belt.
"Keep that sad flap of flesh out of view, you're being recorded," I intoned. "You think Nixon knew that the watergate tapes existed? Sure, he recorded things, but not those things."
Now he looked properly frightened. That was when I presented my credentials. "This was signed by Abraham Lincoln."
"Yes. He ignored my counsel to legislate true equality amongst all citizens of the states. Lots of them ignored my counsel. They all died." Some of old age, but he didn't need to know that.
"And what counsel do you have?"
"You're about to cause the ruin of a great nation. You need to free the people in the concentration camps. You need the rich to pay their taxes, you need to pay for infrastructure and support of those who cannot support themselves. You need to end racism endemic in this nation. You need to upend everything your party allegedly stands for. And, most importantly, you need to stop thinking that you can do whatever you want."
He stared blankly as all that sank in. "No," he scoffed. "You can't tell me what to do."
I stared him in his piggy eyes and said, "Six months."
"What?"
"That's how much time you have left. Treasure every day." I left without a further word, though he had plenty of things to rant about.
Two months, and the elections swept the map with a different colour. Two more months, and he was in a dock for treason. They had plenty of evidence, thanks to the secret Secret Service. Two more months, and they executed him by a firing squad.
Six months. To the day.
I just provide counsel. Whether or not they listen to me is their problem. And their consequence.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / FreedomMaster]
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