Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 16

Lightbringer

During the next weeks his “liberated” cities devoted all their efforts to building the new war machine. Without counter-revolutionary activities to distract him, he organized the army and oversaw their training at the fields near the fishing town. Then one day came two men from his neighboring city, threw themselves at his feet and said,

Oh, lightbringer, it is terrible—The “lightbringer” was an ancient northern hero, and his flunkeys were quick to give him the title which spread like wildfire—Our new mayor rules with despotism and cruelty. Everyone is suspicious of being loyal to the capital. They hold trials. Terrible, terrible trials.

The first man broke down in tears so the second man continued,

Nobody watches over the neca. People starve because neca officers confiscate the food from peasants. They sleep with our wives and daughters as they please and threaten us to hurt them if we refuse to obey. Help us, please, put an end to this.

His first impulse was to think the two men were liars, but then he decided to believe them. He said,

Can this be true? Has my friend truly betrayed me? My friend, whom I gave a city to rule with honor. Before I take any drastic measures I must see it with my own two eyes.

He rode to the neighboring city with his Liberation Army. He went straight to the mayor’s office and summoned to the main square the mayor and the neca officers that the two wretched men had accused of big crimes. He declared the rest of the day free with the excuse of celebrating an award ceremony to outstanding children of the revolution. Once citizens had gathered on the main square for the ceremony, his soldiers put the accused neca officers in fetters.

I am not blind, I am not deaf, and I am definitely not stupid. So how did you disgusting, scum-of-the-earth criminals think I wasn’t going to find out?

The mayor shook his head,

Find out what? That we did what you did?

Oh please, you’re nothing like me. You have corrupted the pure spirit of the revolution I started. Rape, theft, holding hostages, all these are against the revolution.

Are you actually insane? All of those things were worse under your administration, you just turned a blind eye on them because it suited you.

No.

Yes—The mayor laughed—You can’t accept it, can you? You created this… monster. All those things you mentioned are only some of its consequences.

Shut up, shut up, SHUT THE FUCK UP! People, listen. I made a mistake putting these men in charge. But trust me, the revolution works, I just have to put the right men in charge so that—

The mayor interrupted him with his laughter,

Revolution doesn’t work. You used crime to get to power, so criminal is your revolution. Can’t you see it’s all a big joke? Your revolution is way worse than what we had before, and I’m honestly glad I don’t have to pretend otherwise anymore, fearing you’d put me in prison. Yeah, honestly I’m just tired of you and your—

He beheaded the mayor with a single strike, and the mayor’s head tumbled off the wooden platform to the expectating crowd. They didn’t know whether to clap or grimace. Then he took a neca officer accused of rape, kicked in his legs to force him on his knees and beheaded him too. Some neca officers tried to crawl away, begging and pissing themselves, but his soldiers pinned them down. One by one he executed all of them until his suit and shoes were drenched in blood. He held his bloody sword with his arms extended and his eyes wide open. He spoke as though he was a messiah that had just spoken to god:

Behold, I am the lightbringer! I am the watcher over the watchers! I am he who rides the storm! No man is above the law. I sentence to one year in work-camps those neca officers accused of hoarding food or otherwise abusing their power for personal gain. I appoint as new mayors the two men who were brave enough to come to me.

His brother read the news of the massacre during an emergency inner-party plenum while the leader was away, and said,

My brother has gone completely mad. We need to remove him from power. But I need your support.

All the Party members looked at each other. The Hammer said,

But how can we stop him when he’s surrounded by his Liberation Army?

The Party members nodded. His brother continued,

We are doomed if we let him stay in power. One day he’ll wake up and decide we’re traitors too because he sees it in a vision or, or some old fart tells him so. No, I refuse to live like that. We are the brains of this revolution. We have to take him out, and we have to do it quietly.