Revolutions: Week 12, Period 5

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Back in the classroom this week, Aly waited until the majority of students were present before breaking off her conversation with a dark-haired man sporting a large eyepatch that covered his left eye and most of that side of his face. She smiled at the class, eyes checking off who was there, then took a seat on her desk to speak.

"Afternoon, everybody. First thing, I'll remind all of you that your exam is in two weeks. No, you aren't going to have to overthrow a country to pass." She grinned. "At least probably not."

"For the rest of the class, you'll not be actively revolting - I hope-" she threw a wink at Mustang. "But General Roy Mustang has agreed to speak to this class today. He has quite a bit of experience in little matters like working within the system - and military - to change it. Two things that I'm less than familiar with," Aly added with a wry smile.



Recognising his cue Mustang stepped forward. "As Miss Aly has already indicated," he paused for a moment and looked down at his blue uniform, "and you quite possibly might have guessed from my uniform, I am a military officer. Even if she had my rank wrong and I am merely an enlisted man, not a General. My country, Amestris, used to be under martial law. Our Fuhrer, King Bradley, was both head of the state and the military. I am certain that you are all aware of the possible consequences such a condition can have."

His features hardened, giving little insight into what exactly he was thinking, but he kept his tone soft as he reminded himself that he was dealing with children. "Fuhrer Bradley used our military for his own personal agenda. A costly one at that. He used a science meant to help the people to destroy an entire population. Good officers were forced to perform acts they could have never imagined. You probably can imagine that this is a hard situation to change and I hope that none of you will ever be in this position. There is no right way of acting or changing the government around you. I can't offer you a 12 step program, but I can offer a few insights hopefully that will help even in situations less grave than the one I have just described," Mustang continued.

"We are each just one person. We can only do so much and influence so many people and yet that is the key. In a world where you can't trust the person above you, you will have to surround yourself with people who you can rely on. Don't assume that you can deal with everything on your own, but trust in them and give them your back. Keep them safe and expect that they in turn keep the people around them safe. Don't trust easily, but when you know that you can rely on them, do so fully and give them the chance to create room around you to come up with a plan to rise to the top." He paused and glanced around the room. "I think that this is the best advice I can give you, but if there are any more questions that you would like to ask, I'll be more than willing to answer."



[OOC: Again, many, many thanks to the fabulous Queen of Pimping herself for playing General Roy Mustang. OCD threads are coming up]

Comments

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

Roy waited patiently to answer any questions the students might have.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"What if we are more than just one person?" Jamie said with a snicker.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

Roy raised an eyebrow as he looked Jamie up and down. "I'm not sure I understand your meaning."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Almost on cue three Jamies walk in. One is carrying coffee from the perk, the other is carrying a bag from J'GOB and the third is carrying a box of dog biscuits.

Jamie smirked at Roy as he absorbed his dupes and sipped his coffee. "Some of us can be an army of one."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

Roy's eyes widened as he watched the duplicates be absorbed. It felt like something that humonculi would be able to do, but there were a lot of world converging at Fandom so he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"That's quite a skill you have," he told Jamie. "One many would be envious off. It wouldn't be very low key however as you would be literally putting your face out there a bit too much."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" Jamie said with a mock serious face.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

"A lot of things can change from one world to the next. Tactics, history, how far folks are willing to go to get the job done. Aside from what you just told us, what are some of the things you think are important that would carry over to just about any type of world when trying to kick some ass?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"I think people stay the same, no matter where you go," Roy replied, thinking on it for a moment. "Deception is a powerful weapon. Let the enemy think you have a weakness and it will become your strength. Make them underestimate you."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

"What about your allies who aren't too sure about you because you're the outsider?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"Let your actions speak," Roy said. "Trust needs to be gained, you can't expect someone to have your back if you're not willing to put yourself on the line for them."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge raises his hand.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

Roy smiled and nodded at Bridge. "Go ahead."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Why did you join your country's military in the first place, if it was a bad institution?" Bridge asks. This... may have been something he's personally been giving a lot of thought to lately.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"It was also the only institution available to change things," Roy pointed out. "But I'd be lying if I said that I joined knowing what I was getting in to. I didn't understand the full extent of what was going on until very recently. I just knew that the only way to keep the people around me safe was to change the system from within."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"You said that science was misused to destroy a population," Sam began, "What safeguards and ethics do you think should be in place to stop that from happening again?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"In Amestris there was a lot of possibility for corruption," Roy started. "The military was responsible for funding the research, demanding fast and quick results from its alchemists in order to keep that funding. The collaboration had its benefits, but it also had its drawbacks as in time of war, that research and the alchemists were called upon. I think that now that there are no longer any State Alchemists and the research is happening under the watchful eye of a civilian government, that alchemy will be less likely to be abused. But this is very specific to my own world."

"As for ethics. Isn't the purpose of science that it helps the people?" he asked Sam. "It should never come at their cost."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Well, I've always believed that, but our history is full of examples of scientists who thought they were going to be helping people, only to find out later that their discoveries led to weapons of destruction and decimation," Sam explained, always a little concerned on some level that one of her SGC projects would lead to the next atom bomb. "And you really have that much trust in the government? To believe that they're less corrupt than the previous one?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"Human beings are flawed," Roy said. "I'm not naive enough to believe that corruption will completely disappear, but I have faith that the National Assembly unlike Furher Bradley is not willing to take thousands of lives for their own gain. If I'm wrong about that, then the last few years would have been all in vain."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[strahl-pirate.livejournal.com]

Balthier frowned deeply as the situation Roy was in sounded at least somewhat similar to his own. "What did you do to stop him?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"That is a rather complicated question," Roy said wryly. "Fuhrer Bradley turned out to not be as human as we would have expected. When he started to get wind of what my true plans were, he sent me and my unit into another battlefield in the hopes to get rid of me for good. I had him believe that I had followed orders and stayed in Central. When the time was right, we set up a disctration for him so I could get my hands on the one weapon that would get rid of him. It didn't all go as planned, but we won in the end."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[strahl-pirate.livejournal.com]

"Interesting. Subversive, yet I'm assuming effective?" Sadly it wasn't going to work in his situation as he'd cut all the ties he could with Archadia.

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"In an organization based on mistrust," Parker said slowly, "What would you recommend as a method for finding those that can be entrusted with an agenda to undermine the whole? Tests? Research of their background?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"You need to have some insight into people's minds," Roy admitted. "It's not always easy, but it's something you learn after a while. In a way I was lucky as you really learn about someone's character in a time of war. There's tests, but you need to know what you're doing for it to work. Throw the unexpected at them and see how they respond."

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker's eyes narrowed, and she nodded, thinking. "I suppose you have to be ultra-careful about the unexpected yourself, so as not to be caught out. Were you ever at risk for being exposed?"

Re: [Rev 4-10] Ask Questions

[light-a-spark.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Roy said. "When the stakes got higher and it became harder to keep everything low key, the fuhrer became aware of the risk I could pose to him. It worked out in the end. My whole division was transfered and he thought I was with them while I remained behind in Central. It allowed me to set up a final strike against him."