Chapter 12
"Think about this for a moment; the science is spot on. Nature makes one out of five thousand with the potential of being a genius. Think about that. Nature makes one out of ten of us sociopathic. You tell me which trait nature is pushing.."
~ Oswald Laurent, "Science Now, Nov. 17 Edition"
"But don't become as some men become; so haunted by their past mistakes that they cannot build a future.." ~Karth Proverb, early 2nd era, SGC
"..and even more people wonder why God doesn't speak to them. They pray and pray, and hear only silence. And then they begin to doubt that God exists, not realizing God has been there, in the silence, waiting for them to make a move, so He could help them. Hoping that they realize that even the silence is a voice, a tool.." ~ Tarsha Apocrypha, Book of Edom.
Faith is a funny thing. Throughout Mankind's long war with its varied enemies, that faith in eventual victory had never wavered, despite the numbers stacked against it. It had paid enormous dividends, as race after race had retreated from seemingly insane attacks.
Defenses considered untenable by the Enemy proved too costly, in the end, to take without massive numbers of troops and overwhelming logistical support. And even then, places like Buran IV, well away from the major traffic lanes, held on indefinitely, even in the face of insurmountable enemy advantages in men and materiel. Why?
Faith, perhaps. A stubborn refusal to see facts, or to blithely ignore reality, to use weakness as an advantage, and the ground itself as a weapon. It is faith that held Humanity together. Faith that 'we', the one-hundred and fifteen separate Republics, could somehow overcome thirty-thousand to one odds. She laughed mirthlessly at the thought, walking tirelessly through the darkness of a Summer's evening on Buran, Aurora dancing softly over her head. She'd thought about it often as she walked; the 'why' and the 'how' of her existence. The mechanism that had brought her into being. She was a firm believer that nature produced only what was needed, and seldom made gross errors. Perhaps she was here, on this icy hellhole, for a reason greater than merely the love of the hunt, or the burning itch to be away from people, or the petty crimes too numerous to count that had landed her on the draft-docket to begin with. Maybe there was a God, above her, watching. Just as the ancients believed. Rewarding faith. She sighed, pausing to scan the dark bowl of Kissimer Valley ahead of her, and adjusted her sniper rifle to a more comfortable position. Another ten klicks, and the Enemy Crawler would be parked. She'd bet a months pay. She had faith.
She laughed, startled at her own admission. Yes. Faith.
And perhaps that's why she existed, in the end, she thought. To answer the prayers of her fellow Humans, and to stand on the icy battlements like a gargoyle, warding off the Enemy in the unnamed valleys below.
Or perhaps she existed only as an extension of Mankind's thirst for blood. Either way, she had a job to do.
And the faith in herself to see it through.
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~ Oswald Laurent, "Science Now, Nov. 17 Edition"
"But don't become as some men become; so haunted by their past mistakes that they cannot build a future.." ~Karth Proverb, early 2nd era, SGC
"..and even more people wonder why God doesn't speak to them. They pray and pray, and hear only silence. And then they begin to doubt that God exists, not realizing God has been there, in the silence, waiting for them to make a move, so He could help them. Hoping that they realize that even the silence is a voice, a tool.." ~ Tarsha Apocrypha, Book of Edom.
Faith is a funny thing. Throughout Mankind's long war with its varied enemies, that faith in eventual victory had never wavered, despite the numbers stacked against it. It had paid enormous dividends, as race after race had retreated from seemingly insane attacks.
Defenses considered untenable by the Enemy proved too costly, in the end, to take without massive numbers of troops and overwhelming logistical support. And even then, places like Buran IV, well away from the major traffic lanes, held on indefinitely, even in the face of insurmountable enemy advantages in men and materiel. Why?
Faith, perhaps. A stubborn refusal to see facts, or to blithely ignore reality, to use weakness as an advantage, and the ground itself as a weapon. It is faith that held Humanity together. Faith that 'we', the one-hundred and fifteen separate Republics, could somehow overcome thirty-thousand to one odds. She laughed mirthlessly at the thought, walking tirelessly through the darkness of a Summer's evening on Buran, Aurora dancing softly over her head. She'd thought about it often as she walked; the 'why' and the 'how' of her existence. The mechanism that had brought her into being. She was a firm believer that nature produced only what was needed, and seldom made gross errors. Perhaps she was here, on this icy hellhole, for a reason greater than merely the love of the hunt, or the burning itch to be away from people, or the petty crimes too numerous to count that had landed her on the draft-docket to begin with. Maybe there was a God, above her, watching. Just as the ancients believed. Rewarding faith. She sighed, pausing to scan the dark bowl of Kissimer Valley ahead of her, and adjusted her sniper rifle to a more comfortable position. Another ten klicks, and the Enemy Crawler would be parked. She'd bet a months pay. She had faith.
She laughed, startled at her own admission. Yes. Faith.
And perhaps that's why she existed, in the end, she thought. To answer the prayers of her fellow Humans, and to stand on the icy battlements like a gargoyle, warding off the Enemy in the unnamed valleys below.
Or perhaps she existed only as an extension of Mankind's thirst for blood. Either way, she had a job to do.
And the faith in herself to see it through.
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