Suicide on a Grand Scale
by Daniel Beadle - Thursday, September 6, 2007
“I feel a swell of pride in what this planet has accomplished in recent years. Thanks to the decision-makers in Washington, and others around the world, firearms are relics. No longer will the decent people of this world be burdened with guns in their homes.”“Quite an achievement, Mr. Thorne. No one can argue that fact.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, Mr. Glenn. Did you know that in the last century, approximately fifty-six million people were killed in various genocides around the globe?”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“Genocide is a horrible business. But it doesn’t happen all at once. It takes planning, and it requires certain… policies to make its implementation effective.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Mr. Thorne.”
“The Soviet Union, 1929. Gun control was established, and twenty million people were exterminated before 1953. Turkey, 1911. Gun control took effect, and one point five million Armenians were killed. And of course, no one will forget Germany, who killed thirteen million citizens after establishing gun control in 1938. The list goes on… China, killed twenty million political dissidents, Guatemala, killing a hundred thousand Mayans, Uganda, killing three hundred thousand Christians, and Cambodia, executing one million of their people… all after instituting gun control.
“…And now. Crime is at an all-time high. Record-keepers have to now re-adjust all their charts to express how horrible this world has become.”
“And you expect gun control will curb this?”
Dylan laughs. “No. Gun control has caused this. Today is the day that mankind is finally defenseless. The only humans on this earth with firearms are the governments and the criminals. The rest of the populace is no longer citizens… they are subjects. And seeing as how I now control the governments of this world, no one is in any position to challenge me or my dealings.”
Dylan turns his back on his guest as he pours himself a glass of brandy. “Did you have any idea?” Dylan laughs. “Don’t worry; nobody else did either. You see, that’s the great thing about most humans: They only see what they want to. If something is inconvenient to them… if it doesn’t fit into their understanding of the world… they reject it.”
“I think your imagination has gotten the better of you, Dylan.”
Dylan takes a sip of his liquor and chuckles softly to himself.
“What are you planning?”
“Death.”
“G-genocide?”
“Oh, something a little more ambitious than that.”
“You’re dreaming. You’re nothing more than a… a misanthropic businessman.”
“Do you know what the true source of power is, Mr. Glenn? Money. Not knowledge. Knowledge is useless without the means to use it. Yes, with enough money, any man can rule this planet… …or destroy it.
“I have agents all over the world who will do anything I ask, provided I throw enough money at them. Many of them are heads of state. In fact, I had a United States president killed so I could get one of my own men into office.
“But I find… the most accomplishments in life… are sadly disappointing. I effectively own the world, and now I don’t know what to do with it.” He sighs and looks up at stunned listener. “Did you know that there are at least twenty ways in which the world can end abruptly? Nine of them are within my power to execute.”
“But… why?”
“Ah yes, ‘why.’ ’Why’ is the most important question anyone can ask. The ‘what,’ and the ‘who’ are just frivolous details… scenery. You ask me 'why'?” Dylan’s voice turns into an icy whisper. “Think of it like... suicide on a grand scale.”
