THE CO-CONSPIRITORS
The halls of the Shinra building were quiet as Tseng made his way to his office. The secretaries and the office staff were long gone. Tseng glanced down at his watch. Almost nine thirty. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten out of here before dark. But being a Turk was no nine to five job. Tseng didn't expect anything less than 110% from any of anyone who wore the uniform of a Turk, and that went doubly for him. When he first joined the Turks, they had been only a small part of the Shinra organization, but he had seen a lot of potential here, and he had been determined to make it into something much larger. It had taken a lot of sweat and hard work, but he had done that. The Turks were an integral part of almost everything Shinra did these days, and Tseng had played a large part in making that so. One of the main reasons that had happened was that Tseng had always been willing to walk the extra mile to get things done.
He reached his office and pushed his hand into his pocket, searching for his keys. There were panes of frosted glass on either side of the door. No light shone through them. It was good that everyone had gone home. It would give him some time to think.
Yes, he had worked hard for twelve long years now to make something of the Turks, to get where he was. It was his whole life really. He had no family, no one to go home to. His apartment was as dark as the office in front of him. Being a Turk was his whole life.
So why was he willing to risk his career on one girl?
This was a question he had been wrestling with for years now. But he still didn't seem any closer to an answer.
Shinra wanted Aeris. President Shinra had specifically requested they search for her, that they let him know immediately if anyone became aware of her whereabouts. Tseng knew the order really came from Hojo. It was for his research that she was wanted. But he obviously had the President's backing. If they ever found out Tseng knew where she was and hadn't told them, well, he imagined it wouldn't be the best thing for his career as a Turk.
He pulled his keys out of his pocket, unlocking the door.
"Tseng!"
He was well acquainted with the source of that annoying pig like voice. The only real question was, what was Heidegger doing here so late? He was usually long gone by this time.
"I need a word with you."
Tseng wanted time to think. He wanted to go sit in his office, alone. The last thing he needed right now was to hear Heidegger's incessant yapping.
But, no matter how he felt about it, that just wasn't an option. Heidegger was his boss. He was also a paper pusher who had somehow managed to make it through the entire Midgar Wutai war without seeing any combat action at all. A rather impressive feat considering who badly Midgar had been in need of able bodied soldiers during the early years of the war.
But then again, Heidegger could hardly be considered able bodied by any stretch of the imagination.
Still, no matter how it had happened, or how much Tseng loathed the man, the was still Tseng's superior, and Tseng had gotten to the position he was in by keeping his emotions in check.
"What is it, Heidegger?" he said, lifting his head, his face showing mild interest.
"They're starting new construction on mako reactor three next week," Heidegger replied. "I wanted to go over security precautions with you."
Tseng resisted the urge to sigh.
"I already submitted a report to you on that last Friday," he replied.
"Yes, I know, but I had some questions. You've only got four guards on duty at night. That seems a little thin to me."
"Would it be possible to discuss this in the morning?" Tseng suggested politely. Normally he wouldn't have made such a request, but not only did he need time to think, he also had suddenly developed a headache.
"I need this report completed correctly in the morning," Heidegger said. "We've only got four days. The President wants the finalized version on his desk tomorrow."
Was that why Heidegger was here now? It didn't seem likely. Heidegger wasn't one to stay late, no matter how important the work was that needed to be done. If he didn't have it in time, he'd just find a way to blame someone else. If that happened in this particular instance, Tseng knew he'd be at the top of the list.
"I think four is more than sufficient," he gave in. "There haven't been any security threats to the reactors in more than nine months. There have been no reports of suspicious activity among the groups known or suspected of inciting acts of sabotage. Under those conditions, I don't think more than four is warranted."
"I disagree," he said. "I think we should at least ten."
Tseng didn't try to mask his surprise.
"Ten? How can you justify that? Even if you wanted that, how could we fit it in the budget?"
"President Shinra has doubled the budget for security for this project," Heidegger replied.
Tseng frowned.
"Why would he do that?" he questioned.
"It's not your job to ask questions," Heidegger replied rudely. "That's what the President wants. Can you do it?"
They'd provided security for construction on the reactors before. If fact, it was a common occurrence. They always seemed to be upgrading something on those things. Since there were no major threats, the security procedures that were implemented were pretty much by the book, which was exactly how Tseng had planned this one. No one had told him about a budget increase. He was tempted to point that out to Heidegger, but it seemed likely the man would just claim to have sent a email or a memo about it, and it was obviously Tseng's fault for not having read it. Apparently this was no ordinary construction job, but Heidegger had already made it plain he wasn't going to spill the beans, even if he knew himself what was going on. Knowledge was power. That was the way Heidegger, and a lot of other Shinra execs, played the game. Each trying to one up the other on how much they knew. Each trying to get a step ahead on the ladder to the top.
Tseng wasn't interested in that. He didn't play politics. He was perfectly happy as head of the Turks, and had no desire to do anything else. But if they were doing something unusual, it might affect his job as head of security. It was difficult to know how to assign men if one didn't know what one was protecting. But he knew Shinra didn't work that way. Most of the execs would carefully guard any information they might have. If he was going to find out, he would have to use his own information system.
Yes, he did have one. He didn't play politics, but as head of security, he needed to know who was, and what their game was. If one exec was out to sabotage another, he didn't consider it any of his business. If, on the other hand, they took it too far and were damaging the company by doing so, he wouldn't hesitate to intervene.
"Of course I can do it," he replied.
"Good. And you also need to beef up security during the day, of course. Especially in the morning because that's when they'll be bringing in most of the supplies."
In other words, redo the whole thing, Tseng thought.
"Very well," was what he said.
"All right, and another thing..."
Heidegger looked up, over Tseng's shoulder. The Turk turned to catch a glimpse of red as someone walked into an office behind them.
"I've got to go," Heidegger announced. "Just make sure you have this corrected and on my desk by ten a.m."
Before Tseng could reply Heidegger turned and stomped off. He stopped at the office the other person had disappeared into, then turned to glare back at Tseng, who took the hint and stepped into his own office.
He closed the door behind him without turning on the light, so anxious was he to get away from Heidegger. He had only gotten a glimpse, yet even so, he had immediately recognized the woman who had entered the office. Now he understood what Heidegger was doing here. Another exec with a little rendezvous with Scarlet. It really shouldn't surprise him. Except for himself, and perhaps the President's son, Tseng was pretty sure she had slept with every other senior exec in the company. The woman was taking the term sleeping your way to the top to a whole new level. But still, Heidegger? Just the thought of it made him shudder. In fact, just the thought of either one of them left a foul taste in his mouth.
And it didn't help his headache either.
He started toward the office bathroom, intending to gulp down some water and a couple of aspirin, but he only took a step when he stopped short.
There were large windows opposite the door. Stars twinkled in the sky. The view outside looked out over the city far below, and the faint light from the streets below filtered into the room. Enough so that it was not completely dark. He could only make out vague shapes, but he knew his office well, and his peripheral vision had spotted a shape that did not belong. A vague, humanlike shape.
Tseng's hand smoothly slipped inside his jacket to curl around the cold steel of his gun.
He spun around suddenly, hand coming up.
There was a ring of steel sliding from a sheath, and a glint of light flashed from the weapon. Tseng stopped, his hand halfway to the firing position, as he felt rather than saw the long blade that hung suspended just a hairs breath from his throat.
For a moment, neither one moved.
"You're still as fast as ever," Tseng finally said.
For a moment, the blade remained where it was, poised to strike, but then it was withdrawn.
"Still not bad, Tseng. Not bad at all. If I were any other man, you've have beaten me to the punch."
Tseng slipped his gun back in his jacket, then stepped over to the desk, clicking on the black metal light that stood upon it. The glow outlined a man in a black soldier uniform standing beside him.
"I thought you were in Wutai," Tseng commented. He didn't have to ask how Sephiroth got in. The hero of the Wutai war could into get anyplace he wanted merely by asking.
"I was, but I'm a warrior, not an administrator. The war's long over now. The last pockets of rebels have been flushed out. There are no more battles to fight there."
Tseng glanced keenly at Sephiroth.
"That may be true, but that still doesn't explain why you're here. There aren't any battles to fight here either, and somehow, I don't think you're quite ready to retire."
"We'll see," Sephiroth replied, sliding his masamune back into it's sheath. Tseng looked at him for a moment, not sure whether Sephiroth's comment had pertained to battles to be fought or retiring, but he couldn't tell just what the General was implying. "As it turns out, I have business here. And it involves you."
Tseng's eyebrow rose just a hair.
"Oh really?" he questioned, showing much more interest than he had in what Heidegger had to say. Sephiroth wasn't a man who played politics either. He didn't have to. He didn't have to vie for power, he already had it. As the man who almost singlehandedly turned the war in Midgar's favor, he could probably have had anything he wanted. He had proven himself in battle, both as an individual and as a leader. He was the only man in Shinra that Tseng actually admired.
"Yes," Sephiroth said slowly. "Do you have any idea of the research Dr. Hojo is currently conducting?"
Tseng walked over and stood beside the window, pondering this. If anything, Hojo was more secretive about what he was doing than anyone else in Shinra. Which was saying a lot. Almost no one knew exactly what he was up to. But as head of security, Tseng had to have access to the lab, and though he didn't always understand what was going on, had got some inkling into what Hojo was up to. Still, it was all guesswork on his part, and given the situation with Aeris, he really didn't want to bring it up.
"Not really," he said eventually.
"Hojo is searching for something called the Promised Land," Sephiroth stated.
The Promised Land. Tseng had heard that before.
"What is that supposed to be?" he questioned.
"I'm not sure," Sephiroth replied. "It's a Cetra term. In their mythology, I believe it's where the Cetra go after they die."
"Like heaven?" Tseng said skeptically.
"Not exactly," Sephiroth replied. "When human's die, their body returns to the earth, or the lifestream, as the Cetra would put it. But no one knows what happens to their soul. But for the Cetra it's different. They're able to communicate with the planet and those that have passed into the lifestream. It may be considered heaven to humans, but for the Cetra, it's a real place, and has a real physical location."
Tseng frowned. He'd heard theories like this before. He had never really paid much attention. To him it was all in the realm of the metaphysical. It didn't seem to have any relevance to him and the Turks.
"Sounds like a lot of nonsense to me," he proclaimed.
"Perhaps, or perhaps not," Sephiroth replied. "It may or may not exist, but the important thing is, if it does, it must hold an enormous amount of energy. I think President Shinra is trying to find the Promised Land so he can harness that energy for his own uses."
Tseng was still skeptical.
"What are you saying? That he's going to use the energy from the souls of the dead to power reactors? Seems kind of...ghoulish."
"You're thinking in human terms," Sephiroth replied. "When the Cetra die, they pass into the lifestream, but it's not the same kind of death that humans know. They can still communicate with the living. I don't even know if you could correctly classify them as 'dead'."
"That's even worse,' Tseng replied.
Sephiroth nodded.
"Somehow I don't think what happens to the souls whose energy they use is high on the list of concerns for Shinra."
Tseng had to agree. Though he had expressed a certain distaste for the idea, Tseng wasn't really all that disturbed by it. It was no concern of his how Shinra obtained his power. It just seemed that the idea was so ridiculous as to border on fantasy.
No, he was more interested in practical matters.
"I assume there's a reason you're telling me this," he prompted.
"Of course. Hojo has been searching all these years for the Promised Land, but he's never found it. Apparently only the Cetra know where it's located, but Hojo could never get Ifalna to tell him, and after she died, there were no others left...except one."
Tseng tried to keep his face neutral.
"Aeris Gainsborough," he stated. "Yes, I know the story. We've been searching for her for a long time."
"With no luck," Sephiroth replied. "Why do you think that is?"
Something in the way Sephiroth was looking at him put him on alert. He tried to keep himself from staring at the General, from showing on his face the thoughts that now entered his head. He had noticed the way Sephiroth was looking at him, as if carefully gauging his reaction. It hadn't escaped him how Sephiroth had looked at him when he had spoken Aeris name. Without saying anything at all, Sephiroth had made it clear what he was thinking, and what he knew.
They weren't exactly close friends. Since they both worked for Shinra, they had met each other on a fairly regular basis. Tseng admired Sephiroth's courage and strength, and he suspected the feeling was reciprocal, to a certain extent. Tseng had fought in the war as well. The Turks had been in charge of covert operations against Wutai. He hadn't fought on a battlefield, but that didn't mean he hadn't faced danger. Sure, it was more dangerous in the middle of a battle, but if a soldier was captured, he faced a military prison cell, if a spy was captured, he faced a death sentence. Tseng had shown his bravery more than once during the war. No, they had never been friends, but they weren't enemies either, and Tseng had a feeling Sephiroth didn't have a great deal of esteem for President Shinra. All this, plus the fact that he wasn't under arrest already, led Tseng to believe Sephiroth wasn't going to betray his secret out of hand.
"How long have you known?" he questioned eventually.
"For quite some time," Sephiroth replied casually. "I've got my own spies out there, you know. But don't worry, I won't give away your little secret. In fact, one of the reason's I came back was to make sure that you didn't tell Hojo where this Gainsborough girl is."
Tseng wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. It was obvious Sephiroth had his own agenda here. The only real question was if he was willing to share it.
"And why is that?" Tseng asked.
"I'm not saying I believe what they say," Sephiroth replied. "But I've seen some things..."
The way he said 'things' made Tseng take notice. Had that been nervousness he had detected?
"...that make me believe what they are saying could possibly be true," Sephiroth continued. If it had been nervousness Tseng had heard, it was gone now.
"You mean about the Promised Land?" Tseng questioned He just couldn't picture General Sephiroth, the man who had lead Midgar to victory in the Midgar Wutai war, believing in a fairy tales.
"Yes," Sephiroth replied, perfectly seriously. "And as I said, if it does exist, there would have to be enormous power there. So much power that I don't think even Shinra realizes."
He stopped, and they both stood there looking at each other for a moment. Finally, Sephiroth leaned forward slightly.
"Tseng, can I trust you?"
The Turk was taken by surprise. He had hardly expected Sephiroth to confide in him. Yet his response was unhesitant.
"Of course."
Sephiroth stepped closer to him, resting one gloved hand on Tseng's desk.
"President Shinra is running this company into the ground. Once upon a time, he was a savvy businessman, but no more. The only thing he's interested in these days is profit. The more gil he's made the more he's craved it. Now he just sits in his office counting his gil and letting his top executives run the show, and you know what a bunch of morons they are. The company still looks good on paper, it's still expanding, but maintenance programs have been cut. Sure, the mako reactors are new, but most of the infrastructure, the equipment that actually gets the energy from the reactors to the customers is getting old, and all the programs that were in place to maintain that equipment have been lost to budget cuts over the years. The truth is that if Shinra is going to continue to grow, it's going to have to dramatically increase it's maintenance costs, which means, they'll either have to cut back or find a new source of revenue. And, considering what a cut back would do to the price of their stock, I'd say that would be the last thing they would want to happen."
Sephiroth turned and walked slowly over to the window, looking down at the city below them.
"In other words, they're desperate to find a new source of power, especially if it's cheap. That's why President Shinra has given Hojo such a free hand. As things get more desperate, President Shinra will grasp at wilder theories on how to solve the problem, including Hojo's theories about the Promised Land. I don't know whether it exists or not, but I firmly believe that if it does exist, it's a very bad idea to let President Shinra find it."
Tseng folded his arms across his chest.
"Oh, and why is that?" he questioned.
"Because I think Shinra is underestimating the potential. If there really is a Promised Land, if it really contains the souls of the Cetra concentrated in one spot, I don't think even Shinra can imagine how much power that would make available. Frankly, I don't think it's safe for Shinra to attempt to harness that much power. It's just too dangerous. It might be too dangerous for any man."
"So you think it would be better if it remained hidden," Tseng mused.
"Yes," Sephiroth replied. "But I don't know if even that is sufficient. If it really does exist, someone is bound to stumble upon it eventually, even without the help of the Ancient. Who knows what kind of repercussions that might have."
Sephiroth lifted his gaze to Tseng's face.
"Does she know where it is?"
"The Promised Land?"
"That is what we've been talking about," Sephiroth reminded him.
"No," he replied. "She has no idea."
"She's told you this?"
"Yes."
"And you believe her?"
Tseng paused for just a moment. The truth was he couldn't picture Aeris lying to anyone about anything. But he couldn't say that to Sephiroth. The General would just think him naive. He didn't know Aeris like Tseng did.
And just how well do you really know her, he thought.
Was it possible she really did know more than she was letting on? Could it be she was even now playing him, using him as a shield because she knew he wouldn't turn her in. Just exactly who was playing with who here?
A moment he pondered this, then dismissed it. He had known her since she was a little girl, long before anyone learned how to hide their feelings, or manipulate others. She had always been open and honest, and in all these years she had never changed. As the leader of the Turks, he had to be a pretty decent judge of character just to survive. Everything he knew about human nature told him she was telling the truth.
Except Aeris wasn't completely human, now was she?
"Yes," he said finally. "I'm convinced she doesn't know."
Sephiroth paused for a moment, then seemed to accept this.
"Too bad,' he mused. "If we knew where it was ourselves, we could guard it against discovery. But maybe it's better this way. Shinra is concentrating a lot of it's resources trying to find the Ancient. If she doesn't know anything anyway, even if they do find her, they're just wasting time on a wild goose chase."
"True," Tseng replied. "But it still might be wise to keep our knowledge about her hidden. For all the research Hojo has done, there's still a lot we don't know about the Cetra. I would assume that the Cetra learn about this Promised Land, if it does exist, from other Cetra. Of course, that can't happen to Aeris. But then again, it might be just an inherent thing. Just something that happens to a Cetra as he or she grows up. Perhaps even the Planet reveals it to them when the time is right."
Tseng watched Sephiroth think this over. He wasn't sure if what he was saying was possible, but he didn't really like the idea of Aeris suddenly being expendable.
"I suppose that's possible," the General finally replied. "In any case, it would probably be best to keep the Ancient out of Hojo's hands no matter what. Anything that thwarts Hojo's plans are a plus in my book. The man's an imbecile."
Sephiroth looked down at the ground, shaking his head. He couldn't understand how Professor Gast had ever agreed to take Hojo on as an apprentice. It seemed that everything that had happened after that had gone downhill.
"So what is it exactly do you want me to do?" Tseng said, returning to the topic at hand. "Just keep them from finding Aeris?"
"At the moment, yes," Sephiroth replied. "For now just keep doing what you're been doing. Keep an eye on her and tell Shinra nothing. This company isn't going to last forever. It's difficult to hold onto this much power even with competent people, and Shinra has far from that. Eventually things are going to come unglued. When the time comes, I'm depending on you to support me."
For a moment they stood there face to face. Tseng was well aware of what Sephiroth was telling him. By asking for Tsengs support, he was tacitly giving his own support to Tseng as well. They would look out for each other.
Tseng nodded. For a moment Sephiroth continued to stare at him, perhaps looking for a sign of weakness? Tseng made sure he maintained eye contact until the General himself turned away.
"Very well," Sephiroth said. "I've taken up enough of your time. I probably be in town for at least a few days. We may get to talk again."
"If you wish," Tseng responded.
Sephiroth gave a curt nod of his head, then walked over to the door and opened it. Before exiting, he turned toward Tseng once more.
"The time is coming when you're going to have to decide exactly who's side you're on," he stated. "Choose well."
Then he was gone.
Tseng stood there quietly for a moment, not quite sure of what to make of all that had just transpired. Was that a threat, what Sephiroth had said as he left? Slowly he sank down in the chair behind his desk. Things were becoming complicated, and he didn't like things to be complicated. Sephiroth had made it seem like he was prepared to make a play for power. Was he trying to wrest the company from President Shinra? If so, to what purpose? He already had all the prestige and power a man could ever want, or at least, it seemed that way to Tseng. Had he, like President Shinra, fallen into the trap that power or money could cast upon someone, making them lust for more, no matter what the cost? He didn't think Sephiroth was that kind of person.
But if that wasn't it, then what was? Tseng wasn't naive enough to believe that Sephiroth had told him the truth, well, at least, not the whole truth. And what was all that about the Promised Land? Sephiroth had said it might be a myth, but he had talked about it as if he actually believed it existed. Sephiroth didn't want Shinra to find it. If it held as much power as the General claimed, Tseng wasn't sure they should either. He said he wanted to guard it from being found, but could Tseng believe that? If he really was thirsting for power, wouldn't that be just what he was looking for? Did Sephiroth want to find the Promised Land for himself?
And what did this all mean to the young Cetra he was...he wasn't even sure of the word. Looking after? Hiding? What exactly was he doing with the Ancient? Why hadn't he told Hojo about her?
He'd asked himself this many times over the years. He wasn't fond of Hojo. The man had no morals whatsoever. Well, that wasn't really it. The Turks weren't know for their high moral standard either. But at least they had a code of honor. They never betrayed one another. They never hurt others for no reason. They were ruthless when they had to be, but only in the line of duty. Only because they were doing their job.
Hojo on the other hand, had no scruples at all. He would do anything, to anyone, to get what he wanted, or ever just for the hell of it. Tseng has seen the results of some of Hojo's experiments on some of the less fortunate. As a Turk, he had seen a lot in his lifetime, but he had to admit that what Hojo had done to these people had turned his stomach.
So Tseng could explain his reluctance to hand over Aeris as simple spite. Hojo had never done him any favors, why should he do any for that lunatic?
But it wasn't just Hojo that wanted Aeris. The orders to capture her had come right from President Shinra. He didn't take orders from Hojo. He couldn't say the same about the President. He had always stayed out of the political maneuvering of the Shinra executives, or so he told himself. But maybe when it came down to it, he was no different from any of them. As they all said, knowledge was power, and knowledge of Aeris whereabouts could be very useful indeed. Was he just using this as a way to gain power for himself? Was he just waiting for the right moment to play this card?
He knew deep down inside that wasn't a satisfactory answer either. He was perfectly happy as head of the Turks. Handing Aeris over would only enhance that position. If he was really concerned about that, he would have turned her over long ago.
Which left only one other possibility. A possibility he found deeply disturbing.
Could it be he had actually become fond of the girl?
That, of course, went against every edit there was when it came to being a Turk. Tseng had never been married, had never had a lasting relationship with a female. He had done that deliberately. Because of the nature of his job he couldn't afford any emotional baggage. When it came to being a Turk, love could only be viewed as a weakness. If there was someone who could be used to get to you, then that could be exploited by an enemy. He had been with women many times in his life, but none of them had ever meant anything to him.
So how was he supposed to explain this?
He had on occasion felt something for a woman. He was a Turk, but he was human too. There was no denying that. But whenever he had begun to think he might be falling for a woman, he had hardened his heart and broken off the relationship. He would walk away from it, bury himself in his work, and the hurt would soon fade away.
But how could he do that with Aeris? She wasn't just some girl he had met on the street. She was an Ancient, and Shinra was after her. In this case, he couldn't just walk away, he couldn't just forget about her, she was too important. And he couldn't send someone else to watch over her, because no one else knew where she was, and he obviously couldn't tell anyone.
Well, that wasn't exactly true anymore, now was it? Sephiroth knew where she was now as well. And what had he done, told Tseng to keep on eye on her. If he asked Sephiroth to find someone else to do the job, the General would surely want to know why, and what could he say? Because he was in love with her?
Was he in love with her?
That seemed so absurd. She was only fifteen years old. What was he, some kind of pedophile?
No, that was too harsh. He had never thought of doing anything like that to her. He had the Turk and his own personal code of honor. There were things that even the Turks drew the line at doing.
No, he had just wanted to look after her. To be with her. And maybe someday...
Maybe someday...what? Marry her? He had to laugh at that thought. Was he as insane as Hojo? They had nothing in common, he was much older than she was, and that was beside the fact that she obviously hated his guts.
So what then? What was the best possible outcome?
He rested his elbows on his desk. His head hurt worse than ever. Abruptly he stood up. He had thought about this on occasion before, but had never come up with a satisfactory answer. Even under the best of circumstances, it was impossible for him to have any kind of relationship with the young Ancient.
This was insane. It was stupid to even think about it. He was a Turk, he had a job to do. That was more important than anything else. Always had been.
He walked over to the bathroom, opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out a bottle of aspirin. He popped three in his mouth, then washed them down with a glass of water.
He had more important things to worry about right now than the Ancient. Sephiroth had given him plenty to think about. He had to forget about the Cetra for now and concentrate on that. Whatever Sephiroth was up to, he was certain it would have much more of an impact on what he was doing than anything he did with Aeris at this time. If he expected to get through this with his skin intact, he'd have to stay one step ahead of both Sephiroth and Shinra. A daunting task, and one that would take all his wits. He didn't have time to waste with a distraction like Aeris.
A daunting task, yes, but not an impossible one. When he was younger he would have relished the challenge. Everything had been running so smoothly as of late. He used to enjoy change, used to actively seek it. He used to be a risk taker, but now he avoided it. Now he wanted everything to go on as it was. Was that because he had already obtained what he wanted in life? Wasn't it just a few short years ago he felt disdain for people like that? Had he become too complacent?
This might be a good time to find out.