[How can a man kill?]
According to Dave Grossman, an Army Ranger and military historian, only 15 to 20% of the thousands of WWII soldiers he interviews would fire at their enemy.
Most soldiers either shot into the air at random, or refrained from shooting altogether. “Intentional Misfire” is a common phenomena among all wars of the modern era.
Thus, it can be argued that human beings, naturally, have a strong aversion towards killing each other! Once the assailant recognizes their victim as a fellow human being, their desire to kill decreases sharply- in other words, they appeal to their humanity.
Due to these various mental barriers, many distancing “methods” are necessary to soften the psychological burden of murder.
One such distancing method is physical distance. The more impersonal a murder, the less guilty one feels about their heinous acts. American pilots who dropped the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki lived long and peaceful lives. However…their fellow compatriots on the beaches of Normandy were racked with horrific trauma for the rest of their lives. They saw the mangled bodies of the opposition, their screams, their splattered blood, and their fearful eyes racked with regret.
And thus, man created tools - weapons that would make the act of murder as impersonal as possible.
With all that being said, what is it that drives the belligerent Callos? How is he able to slice, stab, bludgeon, and maim his fellow man so easily? Just what type of world could produce such a devil?
A man devoid of hatred. A man devoid of malice. Killing simply because one has the ability to do so. Is that not the most pure form of man, unbound by moral standards and societal norms that have been biologically programmed into our psyche?
It is in that blinding light that he may view himself as God, and thus, he derives the ability to destroy.
___
Reed's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes narrowed with determination as he weaved through traffic like a daredevil. The rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins, drowning out the scorching heat of the summer day. Callos, his companion, egged him on with laughter, feeding into the reckless energy that fueled their escapade.
As they sped through the wide streets of North Borough, Reed felt a surge of exhilaration, the wind whipping through his hair as he pushed the car to its limits. The blaring horns and startled shouts of other drivers only added to the thrill, spurring him to go faster, to push the boundaries of what seemed possible.
But beneath the facade of excitement, a sense of unease lingered. Reed knew he was flirting with danger, dancing on the edge of disaster with every reckless maneuver. Yet, at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. The thrill of the ride, the rush of adrenaline, was all-consuming, drowning out the voice of reason that whispered warnings in the back of his mind.
“Reed! Faster faster!”
“Shut it, asshole! This shitty car is just too slow!”
“Haha!”
“Listen up! We’ve got eleven more bombs, so you better make good use of ‘em! The police will definitely be hot on our tail, so I’ll be busy thinking of an escape route!”
“Aye Aye captain!”
Callos leaned into the back of the car, his hand gripping the duffle bag filled with bombs. With a sense of anticipation coursing through him, he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and climbed onto the roof of the red convertible. A rush of adrenaline surged through his veins, a mix of excitement and danger that ignited a primal thrill within him.
"I've got something for you, kid!" Callos shouted with a twisted grin, his voice tinged with malice. With a cruel disregard for the innocent bystander, he snatched two canisters from the duffle bag and hurled them with deadly accuracy towards the unsuspecting child standing at the entrance to the corner store.
The explosion ripped through the air with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves of destruction in all directions. The force of the blast tore the child's body apart in a gruesome display of violence, leaving devastation in its wake as the corner store was reduced to rubble.
?
"Banzai!!!" he cried out, his voice laced with madness as he unleashed a barrage of thermos bombs into the midst of the terrified crowd. Each explosion sent shockwaves of fear rippling through the streets, leaving devastation and despair in its wake.
In the red convertible, a strange broadcast was being transmitted through the custom-made radio.
[All units, suspect location is being distributed now.]
[Deploying barricades on the Ji river. Support will shortly arrive.]
"They're onto us, Cal! They're blocking the bridge to West Borough!" Reed's voice rose with urgency, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Callos remained fixated on the chaos around them.
Tch, the fucker can’t hear me…
Reed took a sudden left turn at the intersection, nearly throwing Callos off balance.
“Hey! What was that for?!”
“Get in, dumbass! We’re headed for East Borough! We’ll break their chase in Gunner’s forest and regroup with the other lieutenants.”
“Kay!” He scrambled into the passenger seat as Reed pressed on the gas.
Suddenly, loud police sirens rang out from behind them. A male voice demanded, “PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY!”
Reed's lips curled into a defiant smirk as he raised his hand, extending his middle finger in a rude gesture towards their relentless pursuers. The tension in the car was palpable as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with the strain.
With each darting glance in the rearview mirror, Reed assessed their situation, calculating their next move with precision. The flashing lights of the police cruisers remained a constant presence behind them, a reminder of the danger that lurked just beyond their tail lights.
The radio announced once again, [Sending reinforcements.]
Despite the harrowing news, Reed was determined not to let fear dictate their fate. With nerves of steel, he navigated the twists and turns of the city streets with expert skill, his senses honed to a razor's edge as he sought to outmaneuver their pursuers.
As they raced through the urban jungle, Reed's mind raced with adrenaline-fueled thoughts, his focus unyielding despite the chaos unfolding around them. Every passing moment brought them closer to freedom, but also closer to the brink of disaster.
Haha…this is insane…
Really…what am I doing? What is my purpose behind all this? If we get caught, we’ll definitely be in jail for life. It’s scary, so scary…
Reed's breath caught in his throat as he glanced at the interior mirror, his eyes meeting a reflection that seemed to ripple with an all-too-familiar darkness. It was a darkness that whispered to him, pulling at the edges of his consciousness like a siren's call, beckoning him to a place he had long tried to forget.
"▂▂▃▅▅▃…please…put an end to this bloodshed," the voice murmured, its words echoing in the depths of Reed's mind like a haunting melody.
"Come home...come home..."
From the shadows emerged the voices of his parents, their words weighted with a sorrow that pierced through the darkness. Reed felt a pang of unease gnaw at his heart as he remembered the life he chose to abandon in pursuit of destruction.
No! I refuse! I’ll never go back to that horrible place…not again!
Go ahead and weep in the afterlife, you old bags. See if I care! I’ll survive all by myself, just as I always have! I refuse to be killed! I will live!
“Reed…?” Callos turned to his troubled colleague, his interest piqued by the subtle change in expression.
“Hey Cal, what do you wanna do after all of this? When we’ve escaped from this shit show, what’ll it be from now on?”
Callos's smirk widened into a sly grin at Reed's question, his eyes gleaming with a dark intensity. "Ain't it obvious?" he replied, his voice dripping with a sinister edge. "We'll keep killin'."
Reed's lips curled into a knowing smile as he nodded in agreement. "That's right!" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with a fierce determination. "We are alive, and thus, we kill! No one can take that from us, the sacred right that all living beings are endowed!"
With a fierce determination burning in his eyes, Reed raised his fist high into the air, his voice ringing out with undeniable conviction. "WE LIVE!" he declared, the words echoing through the tumultuous air like a battle cry.
[How can a man kill?]
According to Dave Grossman, an Army Ranger and military historian, only 15 to 20% of the thousands of WWII soldiers he interviews would fire at their enemy.
Most soldiers either shot into the air at random, or refrained from shooting altogether. “Intentional Misfire” is a common phenomena among all wars of the modern era.
Thus, it can be argued that human beings, naturally, have a strong aversion towards killing each other! Once the assailant recognizes their victim as a fellow human being, their desire to kill decreases sharply- in other words, they appeal to their humanity.
Due to these various mental barriers, many distancing “methods” are necessary to soften the psychological burden of murder.
One such distancing method is physical distance. The more impersonal a murder, the less guilty one feels about their heinous acts. American pilots who dropped the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki lived long and peaceful lives. However…their fellow compatriots on the beaches of Normandy were racked with horrific trauma for the rest of their lives. They saw the mangled bodies of the opposition, their screams, their splattered blood, and their fearful eyes racked with regret.
And thus, man created tools - weapons that would make the act of murder as impersonal as possible.
With all that being said, what is it that drives the belligerent Callos? How is he able to slice, stab, bludgeon, and maim his fellow man so easily? Just what type of world could produce such a devil?
A man devoid of hatred. A man devoid of malice. Killing simply because one has the ability to do so. Is that not the most pure form of man, unbound by moral standards and societal norms that have been biologically programmed into our psyche?
It is in that blinding light that he may view himself as God, and thus, he derives the ability to destroy.
___
Reed's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes narrowed with determination as he weaved through traffic like a daredevil. The rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins, drowning out the scorching heat of the summer day. Callos, his companion, egged him on with laughter, feeding into the reckless energy that fueled their escapade.
As they sped through the wide streets of North Borough, Reed felt a surge of exhilaration, the wind whipping through his hair as he pushed the car to its limits. The blaring horns and startled shouts of other drivers only added to the thrill, spurring him to go faster, to push the boundaries of what seemed possible.
But beneath the facade of excitement, a sense of unease lingered. Reed knew he was flirting with danger, dancing on the edge of disaster with every reckless maneuver. Yet, at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. The thrill of the ride, the rush of adrenaline, was all-consuming, drowning out the voice of reason that whispered warnings in the back of his mind.
“Reed! Faster faster!”
“Shut it, asshole! This shitty car is just too slow!”
“Haha!”
“Listen up! We’ve got eleven more bombs, so you better make good use of ‘em! The police will definitely be hot on our tail, so I’ll be busy thinking of an escape route!”
“Aye Aye captain!”
Callos leaned into the back of the car, his hand gripping the duffle bag filled with bombs. With a sense of anticipation coursing through him, he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and climbed onto the roof of the red convertible. A rush of adrenaline surged through his veins, a mix of excitement and danger that ignited a primal thrill within him.
"I've got something for you, kid!" Callos shouted with a twisted grin, his voice tinged with malice. With a cruel disregard for the innocent bystander, he snatched two canisters from the duffle bag and hurled them with deadly accuracy towards the unsuspecting child standing at the entrance to the corner store.
The explosion ripped through the air with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves of destruction in all directions. The force of the blast tore the child's body apart in a gruesome display of violence, leaving devastation in its wake as the corner store was reduced to rubble.
?
"Banzai!!!" he cried out, his voice laced with madness as he unleashed a barrage of thermos bombs into the midst of the terrified crowd. Each explosion sent shockwaves of fear rippling through the streets, leaving devastation and despair in its wake.
In the red convertible, a strange broadcast was being transmitted through the custom-made radio.
[All units, suspect location is being distributed now.]
[Deploying barricades on the Ji river. Support will shortly arrive.]
"They're onto us, Cal! They're blocking the bridge to West Borough!" Reed's voice rose with urgency, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Callos remained fixated on the chaos around them.
Tch, the fucker can’t hear me…
Reed took a sudden left turn at the intersection, nearly throwing Callos off balance.
“Hey! What was that for?!”
“Get in, dumbass! We’re headed for East Borough! We’ll break their chase in Gunner’s forest and regroup with the other lieutenants.”
“Kay!” He scrambled into the passenger seat as Reed pressed on the gas.
Suddenly, loud police sirens rang out from behind them. A male voice demanded, “PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY!”
Reed's lips curled into a defiant smirk as he raised his hand, extending his middle finger in a rude gesture towards their relentless pursuers. The tension in the car was palpable as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with the strain.
With each darting glance in the rearview mirror, Reed assessed their situation, calculating their next move with precision. The flashing lights of the police cruisers remained a constant presence behind them, a reminder of the danger that lurked just beyond their tail lights.
The radio announced once again, [Sending reinforcements.]
Despite the harrowing news, Reed was determined not to let fear dictate their fate. With nerves of steel, he navigated the twists and turns of the city streets with expert skill, his senses honed to a razor's edge as he sought to outmaneuver their pursuers.
As they raced through the urban jungle, Reed's mind raced with adrenaline-fueled thoughts, his focus unyielding despite the chaos unfolding around them. Every passing moment brought them closer to freedom, but also closer to the brink of disaster.
Haha…this is insane…
Really…what am I doing? What is my purpose behind all this? If we get caught, we’ll definitely be in jail for life. It’s scary, so scary…
Reed's breath caught in his throat as he glanced at the interior mirror, his eyes meeting a reflection that seemed to ripple with an all-too-familiar darkness. It was a darkness that whispered to him, pulling at the edges of his consciousness like a siren's call, beckoning him to a place he had long tried to forget.
"▂▂▃▅▅▃…please…put an end to this bloodshed," the voice murmured, its words echoing in the depths of Reed's mind like a haunting melody.
"Come home...come home..."
From the shadows emerged the voices of his parents, their words weighted with a sorrow that pierced through the darkness. Reed felt a pang of unease gnaw at his heart as he remembered the life he chose to abandon in pursuit of destruction.
No! I refuse! I’ll never go back to that horrible place…not again!
Go ahead and weep in the afterlife, you old bags. See if I care! I’ll survive all by myself, just as I always have! I refuse to be killed! I will live!
“Reed…?” Callos turned to his troubled colleague, his interest piqued by the subtle change in expression.
“Hey Cal, what do you wanna do after all of this? When we’ve escaped from this shit show, what’ll it be from now on?”
Callos's smirk widened into a sly grin at Reed's question, his eyes gleaming with a dark intensity. "Ain't it obvious?" he replied, his voice dripping with a sinister edge. "We'll keep killin'."
Reed's lips curled into a knowing smile as he nodded in agreement. "That's right!" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with a fierce determination. "We are alive, and thus, we kill! No one can take that from us, the sacred right that all living beings are endowed!"
With a fierce determination burning in his eyes, Reed raised his fist high into the air, his voice ringing out with undeniable conviction. "WE LIVE!" he declared, the words echoing through the tumultuous air like a battle cry.
