Gunshots sounded in the large hanger as Snake pulled the trigger on his M4 assault rifle while backing up from the mechanical beast in front of him, which began to move forward after a few seconds of it taking bullets from his gun. Before it reached him, it suddenly made a hard right and drove up the wall in front of it, firing the machines guns on its back at Snake and forcing him to duck back close to the opening of the tunnel he had entered from to avoid being hit. The machine drove up the wall until it got near the top and then pulled a 180, driving back down to the ground and then towards the wall across from it while still firing its machine guns.
Above Snake, safe for the time being behind the glass, Twilight and the doctor watched as he engaged the enemy, one still having a shocked expression and the other with a look that was a cross between anger and determination. The doctor called to Snake over the loudspeaker after a moment, “That’s an AI weapon – the Pupa! It’s fast, so be careful!”
Twilight looked over at the scientist and asked, “You know how that thing works?”
He didn’t look back at the alicorn, keeping his attention on the fight happening below as he said, “Of course I do. I designed it; it’s part of my research.” Twilight looked at him a moment longer before returning her attention to the fight, at which point the doctor called to Snake, “Aim for the cylindrical AI pod!”
Twilight watched as the Pupa stopped firing its machine guns at Snake and went up the walls again while Snake moved back near the hanger entrance again in case it tried to shoot at him while moving. It didn’t, though she could hear it singing some sort of song as it drove. It soon came back down onto the floor and spun around to face Snake before stopping in the middle of the hanger. “Engaging shock units,” she heard it say in a lifeless, mechanical voice before it began firing bolts of electricity from the weapon on the bottom of its front.
“It can shoot lightning too?!” Twilight asked as she watched Snake move around, trying to dodge the bolts while firing where he’d been told.
“That’s its less powerful electroshock attack. There’s a stronger one where it launches lightning rods on the ground,” the doctor said, still watching.
After a minute of Snake dodging around the lightning shocks and machine gun fire, the Pupa started to move again, but instead of going up the walls again, it moved forward and spun around, going back before spinning around again. It didn’t move right away, and Twilight noticed that it was lined up perfectly with the entrance that Snake was standing in. After a moment, it lowered its arm-treads down as it said, “Firing boosters.” A second later, the two engines on both of its sides roared to life and it shot straight towards Snake.
“Lie flat to avoid getting hit when it charges!” the doctor called and Snake, seeing that there was no time to get out of the way, did so. Twilight got nervous when he disappeared underneath it, but relaxed when he came back into view and stood up a moment later. She saw him turn his head to look back at the tunnel it had disappeared down and guessed he was wondering the same thing she was: where had it gone?
The doctor spoke, “There’ll be some warning signs when it’s coming out…” Twilight didn’t know what he meant by that, but as she looked around the hanger, she could hear the song that the Pupa was singing earlier echoing out. It must’ve been in one of the tunnels, but from where she was, she couldn’t tell which one it was coming from. While she was listening, she saw Snake run out into the center and then to the wall on the left, where he climbed up a short ladder that was indicated by some yellow lines on the ground and the wall.
As he got to the top, they all heard the AI weapon say, “Commencing jump.” A second later, the machine shot out of the opening above and across from where Snake was, landing perfectly on the ground and spinning around a few times as it moved to face him again.
Twilight tore her eyes away from the scene below and looked at the doctor as she said, “We have to do something! He can’t keep fighting that thing like this!”
He looked back at her with a neutral expression as he replied, “Well, as you’ve already seen, there’s not much that I can do. You could probably do something if you knew what to do.”
Twilight looked back down at the fight, seeing Snake moving around again to avoid fire from the Pupa’s machine guns, though it looked like he might have been hit by a few bullets. “He’s going to run out of ammo eventually. He needs more, or… a better weapon!” she realized. She turned and ran away from the viewing window a moment later, remembering that there were crates at the base entrance. The doctor followed her retreating form with his eyes for a moment before he turned back to the fight, his focus being on the Pupa.
Fortunately for Twilight, it seemed like everyone in the base had cleared out after the man from earlier had left as she didn’t run into anyone as she hurried back to the entrance. She ignored the goats still hanging around the entrance as she made her way over to one of the crates and used her magic to rip the top off. Inside, she found several different small boxes that contained bullets. She smiled at this, but it quickly faded as she realized she didn’t know what kind of ammo Snake’s gun used. She started to panic again as she moved onto the next box, only to find more ammo that she didn’t know what used it.
After several more ammo crates, she found a box that was longer and flatter than the rest that contained some sort of pipe that was longer than she was. She didn’t know what it was, but as she looked it over and calmed down, she was reminded of Pinkie’s party cannon as well as the main gun on the tank earlier. Twilight remembered that the latter had been strong enough to topple a train car and hoped that this, whatever it was, was strong as well as she grabbed it and the small cases that were also in the box with her magic. She considered grabbing everything in the other crates as well, but decided to make sure Snake was still fighting and that he could use what she had found first. “I can teleport back here and bring him these ammo boxes if this doesn’t help,” she reasoned to herself as she ran back the way she came.
She managed to reach the hanger after a minute of running. As she came out of the tunnel, she heard the doctor call to Snake, “Take those lightning rods out! They direct its electroshock attack!” She came to a stop in the entrance and saw Snake shooting at discs on the ground that had red lights flashing on them and guessed that they were the aforementioned lightning rods.
She set her cargo down in the entrance and looked around for any lightning rods near her. She noticed a few nearby and fired magic beams from her horn at them to destroy them. Snake noticed this and looked to see the lavender alicorn still in the entrance. He looked at the Pupa and saw it charging up to go up the walls again, so he hurried over to her. He crouched next to her to get out of the AI weapon’s machine gun fire and started, “Twilight, what are you…” He stopped when he noticed her gesturing with a hoof to the weapon next to her. “An RPG-2? Where did you find that?” he asked.
“It was in a box near the base entrance,” she replied.
“On-site procurement, huh? Not bad,” he said as he reached for it and opened one of the cases, starting to load a grenade on the end of it.
“Is it something you can use?” Twilight asked.
Snake replied, “It would really help right now. And as long as you’re down here, how do you feel about helping take this thing down?” He took the way the alicorn’s horn lit up with magic as a sign that she wanted to help.
The Pupa still seemed to be going strong, but Twilight guessed that Snake had managed to do some damage to the AI pod and parts of its frame while she had been gone. It certainly didn’t last very long now that Snake had the RPG-2 and Twilight was using her magic against it. All too soon, the front part of it slumped forward and the doctor called, “Blow the hatch and climb into the AI pod!” Heeding his words, Snake moved around to the front of the Pupa as he loaded one of the last grenades onto the launcher, the machine saying and repeating something as if it was trying to reboot. Snake fired at the pod once he had a clear shot and the red rings going around the top and bottom of the cylinder changed from glowing red to flashing yellow.
“You should be able to get in the AI pod!” the doctor called. Twilight, being not exactly sure what was going on, watched from a short distance away as Snake tapped his left fist once on top of the AI pod, causing a hatch to pop open. He opened it all the way and hoisted himself up to it, sliding in feet-first. Twilight tensed up when the hatch closed and the Pupa raised itself up, the rings on the pod glowing red again. She quickly noticed, though, that it seemed to be frozen in place. She didn’t know what Snake was doing inside the AI pod so she watched and waited.
A minute later, the Pupa seemingly began to self-destruct, explosions coming out of its body. Twilight flapped her wings to fly back away from it and watched worriedly. “Come on, Snake, get out of there!” she thought. She calmed slightly when the hatch opened and Snake pulled himself out despite the pod’s rocking, leaping to the ground a few seconds later. Almost immediately afterwards, the pod detached from the Pupa’s head, its rockets sputtering for a moment before it shot up and out of the hanger opening overhead.
Twilight and Snake both looked cautiously at the Pupa for a second before relaxing when it seemed like it wasn’t going to get up again. Snake stood up and walked over to where he had dropped the RPG-2, putting it on his back. He then walked over to Twilight and said, “Nice work finding this.”
Twilight smiled slightly, “Uh, no problem, Snake.” She then looked back at the Pupa and asked, “But this thing… what is it exactly?”
They both got an answer when they heard the doctor say, normally this time, “That was an unmanned weapon – a prototype. I made it myself.” They both looked and saw him coming down a flight of stairs set in one of the walls of the circular arena.
“Who are you?” Snake asked.
“I work here. Well, used to, anyway. Name’s Huey,” he replied. Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he looked at Snake and drove his wheelchair closer to him and Twilight as he asked, “And who might you be? You don’t look like one of those mercenaries.”
Snake hesitated, “Me? I’m… an entomologist.”
Huey asked, “A… fighting entomologist? With a winged unicorn assistant?”
Snake answered, “She’s a new find. I actually specialize in butterflies. I’m here to catch a Ulysses…”
Huey turned to look at the small personal computer on his wheelchair and typed on its keyboard as he spoke, “Ulysses? Hmm, I didn’t think they lived in Costa Rica.” He looked up a moment later, “…Morphos, maybe?”
Snake quickly seized the excuse, “That’s it. Need to get some before the Washington Treaty goes into effect…”
Huey turned to his computer and typed again before saying, “Says here Morphos aren’t covered under the Treaty…”
Snake grunted, “Ugh… must have slipped my mind.”
Huey looked up at him again, “You sure you’re feeling all right?”
Twilight stepped closer to Huey and said, “When we first met, he told me he was a hippologist. Now that he’s saying he’s an entomologist, it makes me wonder how many other jobs he’s had.”
Huey cracked a smile at her at that as he said, “Not an ordinary entomologist, huh?”
Snake cleared his throat and said, “Anyway, long story short, the BUTTERFLY got away.” He then looked straight at Huey and asked, “So how about it, Doc? Did you make that big ‘butterfly’ too?”
Huey looked down and pushed his glasses up his nose as he hesitated. “Yes… and no,” he admitted after a moment.
Snake asked, “What was that thing? What are they doing here?”
Huey held a small tube up to his lips and breathed in for a moment before pulling it away and blowing a puff of smoke out. Twilight took a sniff of the smoke and made a face before turning away, not liking how it smelled. Huey then said, “The nukes were loaded on that machine. The project’s entering its final phase.”
Both Twilight and Snake looked at him curiously at that, both asking, “Project?”
Huey nodded, “That’s right. The thermonuclear warheads they brought in, the bases scattered throughout Costa Rica, the mercenaries, the AI weapons, the research we were conducting here… It’s all for this.” He spun his wheelchair around and gestured for Snake and Twilight to follow him, both of them falling in step behind him as he led them to another part of the base.
Huey led them to a room that had computers and robotic parts all over. Parking himself behind one of the computers sitting on a desk, he called up some plans that were displayed in green. As it loaded, he explained, “We used this facility to develop unmanned weapons.”
Snake, who was standing behind him while Twilight stood at their sides, asked, “Unmanned?”
Huey replied, “Robots. The one you just fought was a Pupa. There’s also a flying type called Chrysalis and a treaded type – the Cocoon.” Green side views of each of the robots appeared on the screen as he talked. He took a puff from his e-cigarette before he continued, “Motor control, target detection, tracking, attack, capture, and transport functions are all controlled by an electronic brain. There’s no need for a human pilot. They can only follow simple commands, though.”
Snake asked, “Why build them here?”
Huey answered, “For the CIA. They invited me here a year ago.”
Snake said, “That’s who that guy was.”
As he leaned over Huey’s shoulder a little more, the scientist went on, “The CIA’s Station Chief for Central America. Goes by the name of Hot Coldman. Apparently, he was some sort of hero back at the height of the Cold War. He’s the one running the show.” He pushed his glasses up his nose again, “We called it the ‘Peace Walker Project’.”
Snake muttered, “Peace Walker…”
A green geographical map appeared on the screen as Huey said, “They’re going to deploy a new type of nuclear weapon along the Caribbean coast of Latin America. A mobile, unmanned nuclear platform.”
Twilight uttered, “Unmanned nuclear platform?”
Huey glanced at her, “A fail-deadly system that can automatically move into position and launch a retaliatory nuclear strike.” He looked back at the computer monitor, which was now displaying the range of movement for the new weapon along the coast, “It can move on its own, and stealth technology shields it from radar and satellite detection, drastically reducing the risk of it being destroyed in a pre-emptive strike.”
Snake asked, “And this is the new deterrent?”
Huey replied, “Supposed to be. The problem is the locomotion system.” The screen changed to a weather map of the same area as he went on, “There’s no dry season in the Caribbean. It rains all year round. The terrain is full of tropical rainforest… a lot of the time you can’t even build a proper road. …So, I went back to where it all started.”
Twilight asked, “What’s that?”
Huey placed his right hand on his right leg and patted it, “Legs. Walking power.” The side views of the prototype robots appeared again, though it added the final result of the research at the bottom of the screen: a new robot that stood on two legs with the words ‘Project Peace Walker’ next to it. “A mobile launcher carrying a thermonuclear warhead even more powerful than the Soviet RDS-220s. That’s Peace Walker.”
Snake muttered, “Chico’s basilisco… A walking nuke…”
Huey said, “We did the assembly and field testing here. I sort of borrowed the original idea from behind the Iron Curtain…”
Snake knew what he was referring to, the design for Peace Walker reminding him of what he saw ten years ago in Russian territory. “The missing link between infantry and artillery. Metal Gear…”
Twilight looked up at him curiously while Huey uttered, “Metal Gear…” He shook his head and called up the screen of Peace Walker’s range again as he said, “But… they’d actually need to deploy dozens of them. Coldman needs funding for that, and to get it, he’s planning a test, which will also serve as a demonstration for the folks back at Langley.”
Snake asked, “Wait… he’s launching a nuke to prove that his perfect deterrent works?”
Huey replied, “In his words, ‘…to prove that if someone attacks us, we will strike back’.”
Twilight spoke, “I’m familiar with the meaning and concept of deterrence, but I’m a little confused by how it’s being used here. Could you explain it a little, Huey?”
The doctor called up a new screen, this one having a line going down the middle and two rows of ten missiles on both sides. The missiles on the left were empty in the middle and the missiles on the right were opaque. “Put simply, nuclear deterrence is the idea of using nukes to keep nukes in check.” Three missiles from the first row on the left side were launched at the right side. “If one side launches nuclear weapons, the other is sure to launch theirs in retaliation, which makes launching an act of suicide. In the end, neither side can use its nukes.” As he was explaining, both sides ended up using all of their missiles, numerous radioactive symbols taking their place. “It’s thanks to this doctrine that the world’s two superpowers have avoided all-out confrontation. Nuclear deterrence has brought us peace; at the very least, its prevented another world war from breaking out.”
Twilight said, “So that’s why it’s called deterrence.”
Huey replied, “Yes, but here’s the thing. The theory of nuclear deterrence exists only on paper. In reality, there’s no guarantee that either side would follow through with retaliation.” He began typing on the keyboard as he went on, “There’s the chance that a pre-emptive strike could destroy all the missile bases – render them unable to retaliate. But the biggest flaw in the theory is that the decision to retaliate has to be made by human beings.” He stopped typing, “Let me give you a real-world example. Let’s say Country X launches first against Country Y. If the people in charge of Country Y are anything like we are, they’re not gonna be able to retaliate knowing that they’re effectively ending all human life.”
Twilight asked, “So the uncertainty of retaliation is the major unaccountable flaw in nuclear deterrence theory?”
Huey nodded, “Bingo. And that creates a loophole that Country X can exploit to launch the first strike, which is why we designed the system to be unmanned. With Peace Walker, retaliation is certain.” The nukes on the right side of the screen changed to two rows of four Peace Walker symbols. “It chooses the appropriate target and launches a retaliatory nuclear strike – every time, without needing human input to make the call.” This time when the simulation played out and three nukes were fired at the right side, the Peace Walker symbols each fired a nuke of their own, destroying the nukes on the left side. The difference in the number of radioactive symbols was very noticeable. “Launching a nuclear strike against Peace Walker is tantamount to pushing the launch button against yourself.” He adjusted his glasses again, “It closes the loophole in nuclear deterrence theory, rendering our friends in Country X completely unable to launch. What Coldman is saying is that to achieve this goal, we need to demonstrate that retaliation will be carried out by a machine. He will launch his nuke… and then his version of deterrence will be complete.”
Snake asked, “And you believe him?”
Huey continued to look at the computer screen, “…I believe in peace through nuclear deterrence.”
Twilight asked, “Why?”
Huey looked over at a framed picture sitting on the desk showing a man that looked a lot like him. “My father worked on the Manhattan Project. He put his whole life into that research… and all it created was this illusion of peace called deterrence.” He looked back at the screen, “And then I was born… unable to walk. …I had no choice but to face up to the nukes.”
As they left the room and came out into the hanger area, now on the upper level, Huey said, “But… if they end up launching, it’ll all have been for nothing. They’ve got to be stopped.”
As he and Twilight walked behind the doctor, Snake asked, “Where’d they take the warheads?”
Huey answered, “To a base near the border. The final test is five days from now.”
Snake questioned, sounding a little gruffer, “Where’s the base?”
Huey came to a stop and looked back at Snake as he asked, “You’re gonna stop them?” After a moment of looking up at Snake’s face, he continued on with them following as he said, “It’s kind of a hike. And besides, there’s a surefire way to halt the project… You see, Peace Walker… isn’t quite finished yet.”
Snake asked, “What do you mean?”
Huey answered, “It’s missing one last critical structural component: the AI. Its brain.”
Twilight asked, “What do you mean ‘its brain’?”
Huey explained, “The Reptile Pod, the electronic brain I was working on, can only follow commands like ‘go there, attack that.’ I guess you could compare it to the human cerebellum. But for nuclear deterrence to work, it must function in place of a human decision-maker. It needs something to analyze the huge volumes of data coming in and select an appropriate target for retaliation. Hence, it needs the high-level decision-making ability of a cerebrum.”
Snake uttered, “A mechanical cerebrum…”
Huey continued, “The hardware configuration is modeled on the human brain, similar to the pod I worked on – but its role is completely different.”
Snake asked, “Where’s it being made?”
As they all came to a stop in front of an elevator, the screen on Huey’s personal wheelchair computer changed from a picture of a green human brain to a map of the area ahead. “A research lab to the north. An AI expert named Dr. Strangelove is developing it. Very hush-hush.”
Twilight and Snake muttered, “Dr. Strangelove…?”
Huey looked at the two, “Strangelove was recruited from the States, too. In the field of AI, there’s no one better, that’s for sure, but man, what a basket case!” He pushed his glasses up, “She hates EVERYBODY.” He looked up at Snake, “Go to the lab and destroy Peace Walker’s cerebrum. I’m pretty sure they haven’t finished the final calibrations yet.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a yellow card with his picture on it. “I’ll lend you my ID card. It’ll get you through security at the lab.” Snake took the card and slipped it into one of his pockets. “Oh, and, uh, one more thing…” he added as he pulled out a white envelope.
Snake looked down at it. “What’s this? A letter of recommendation?”
Huey tried to keep a straight face as he looked up at him. “Yeah, it’s, um… It’s from me to Dr. Strangelove.” He looked down and adjusted his glasses, “…Don’t read it, okay?” Snake just grunted as he took the envelope and put it away too.
There was a ping and they all looked up to see the elevator doors opening. Once they were all on and the metal box started to ascend, Twilight asked, “So… what are you going to do now, Huey?”
The doctor stammered, “I… I’m done with science.” He sighed, “At this rate, I’m probably already halfway to Hell anyway.”
Snake spoke, “Not so fast. Why not join us? Our place is Outer Heaven. You’d fit right in.”
Huey questioned, “‘Outer Heaven’…?”
Snake nodded, “Yeah.”
Huey shrugged, “I’m probably better suited to something like that than this ‘paradise’.”
Snake replied, “Good. You get a free balloon trip for signing up. Enjoy it – you’ll feel like a butterfly.”
The elevator soon reached the top and the doors slid open again. As they all exited out onto a metal platform and started moving across it, Huey asked, “You’re an agent, right? Who do you work for?”
Snake replied, “Me? I was a Cold War tool, same as you. Now I’m not so useful anymore, so they cut me loose… I don’t answer to anyone. Call me Snake.”
Huey looked up at him, “Snake… The name seems… familiar somehow.”
Snake grunted and said, “Probably just déjà vu.”
Huey looked at Twilight and asked, “And you? Who are you?”
The lavender alicorn replied, “I’m Twilight Sparkle. I come from Equestria. I ended up here by accident, but as long as I’m here, I’d like to help.”
Huey nodded with a hum and faced forward as they came to the edge of the platform. “You see that there? Beyond the cloud forest. See those ruins?” he asked, pointing to what looked like a large temple off in the distance.
Snake nodded, “Yeah.”
Huey said, “That’s where you’ll find Dr. Strangelove’s lab.” Twilight looked over the top of the trees at the ruins. Naturally she wondered if it would be possible to make it there in five days, but she also wondered what the ruins looked like up close and marveled at the beautiful view. Unbeknownst to her, it was going to be the last view like it she’d be seeing for a while.
________________________________________
Twilight paused to take in a breath of air and sighed, “So… yeah, that encounter with the Pupa and meeting Huey really put into perspective what kind of world I’d ended up in. Of course, I had no idea what else was going to happen, but that was enough for one day.”
Her friends and family stared at her in amazement. “Wow, Twilight! They actually had robots that were not only tanks, but could fly and walk and think like we can?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight nodded, “Oh yes, Rainbow. I didn’t really get to see the Chrysalis for myself, but I did see the Cocoon once. And Peace Walker… it really was one-of-a-kind. Of course, the public wasn’t allowed to know about it at the time, so… lucky me, I guess.”
Fluttershy murmured, “I’m… not sure how to feel about the way Snake, um… used the word ‘butterfly’ to refer to a giant robot…”
Twilight replied, “Yeah, it is a little weird, Fluttershy, but apparently that’s what people do in that kind of world. They use animal names like that.”
Luna asked, “You mean like the ‘FOX’ on your outfit’s patch, Twilight?”
The lavender alicorn looked over at the folded-up uniform on her nightstand as she replied, “That’s right, Princess Luna. FOX was the name of Snake’s old unit, then it became FOXHOUND. And I guess… Pupa, Chrysalis, Cocoon… Peace Walker really was a butterfly in its own way, and not just because it had one on the side.”
Cadance spoke, “I guess I’m a little surprised by how Huey and this ‘Hot Coldman’ talked about peace. Calling it an illusion seems a bit jaded to me.”
Twilight looked back at her, “I know, Cadance, and I want to agree, but… I guess when you live in a world that has experienced two global wars, the most recent of which introduced weapons that could flatten a population center the size of Manehattan or bigger and led to a climate where things are kept in check by talks of using more such weapons…” she shrugged a bit, “well, maybe it’s not easy to believe in ‘normal’ peace.” Cadance glanced down, thinking about that.
Shining asked, “So is that when you joined this MSF unit, Twily?”
Twilight replied, “No, not yet. Snake did send me back to Mother Base with Huey, after we salvaged what we could from those crates in the base and he took what he wanted, but I didn’t officially become part of the staff until later. I think even then they tried to hide my presence from the rest of the world.”
Pinkie piped up, “Did you get to ride on a balloon, Twilight?! Did you?!”
Twilight let out a chuckle and said, “Yes, Pinkie. I got a free balloon ride too.” She smiled, “It was a real shock the first time, suddenly being pulled up by a Fulton recovery balloon, but it was kind of fun too.”
Cadance started, “So…” Before she could say any more, they all heard a knock on the door and turned to look. They saw the nurse from earlier standing in the doorway, a cart with food on it in front of her.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but it is lunchtime,” she said.
Celestia replied, “Of course, miss. Twilight should have the opportunity to eat. We will step out so that you may serve her.”
The nurse said, “Actually Princess, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you all to leave now as well. The doctor said he would like to see Princess Twilight after she is done eating and see how she is doing. He’s going to want to do a physical and check-up on her, and depending on how that goes, she may get to check out tonight or tomorrow morning.”
Celestia nodded, “I see.” She looked at the others, “Come, everypony. Let us go find something to eat ourselves and leave Twilight to her own meal and exam.” She then looked at Twilight, “I will check in with you later, Twilight. I hope it will be good news.” The lavender alicorn nodded in reply. It was a bit of a quick and stiff nod, but no one seemed to notice. One by one, the princesses and Twilight’s friends and family filed out of the room, Spike taking a little longer than the others since he wanted to get one last hug in. Finally, Twilight was alone with the nurse, who handed her a tray of food that she looked down at detachedly.
While everyone was chatting with each other as they left the hospital, talking about everything that Twilight had shared with them, Shining Armor was the only one who was rather quiet, the stallion occupied with his thoughts. “My sister, my baby sister, part of an army. And not a regular army; an army of what sounds like a bunch of mercenaries, the kind of soldiers that will do anything if the price is right, make anyone an enemy, even turn on each other if that’s what they’re being paid to do. And all this talk about everyone being at each other’s throats and weapons of mass destruction… What a horrible world to end up in.”