Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (6 page)

As you know, my Dad, your granddad was a soldier, but not by choice. He wasn’t conscripted or anything but rather he felt duty bound.”

The two boys began to listen more intently as they rarely heard Philip talk about their granddad’s role in the war.

“Your granddad specialised in sabotage missions. This meant that rather than killing people in the war he in actuality risked his life to save those around him. He would sneak behind enemy lines and sabotage the heavy artillery that would cause so much havoc, often undertaking missions that others would refuse as they were seen as suicidal. Actually on one occasion a squadron was pinned down and surrounded in a large wooded area. It was the depths of winter and they were running out of supplies and on the verge of starvation. Your granddad was under strict orders not to attempt a rescue, but feeling duty bound to the men, he did exactly the opposite. In one night my Dad, your granddad went behind enemy lines and using the cover of night he sabotaged four heavy artillery guns, two tanks and…” choosing his words carefully so that he didn’t scare the boys he continued “…neutralised countless infantry. He did all this virtually unarmed and undetected. Making his way to the troops that were pinned down.” Philip’s face started to show pride as he told the boys the outcome. “In one night he saved forty-eight soldiers. Taking no credit for his actions he swore each one of them to silence, so as not to make his presence known to his superiors. Each man he saved won the medal of valour for their bravery in the face of an insurmountable force and were allowed go home. If not for my Dad they all would have been going home anyway but each would have been draped in a flag and to the tune of a lonely fife player.”

Philip walked over to the cabinet by the fireplace and reaching his hand into the back of the top shelf he pulled out an old tin tobacco box that was rusty around the side. It rattled in his hand as he took it down as if it was full of coins. Handing it to Tom he opened it and looked inside. “After the war this was sent to your granddad and he kept it. Each offering a testament to his bravery.”

Tom opened the box and Lee stood over his shoulder and peered into it. The rusty box opened and the boys could see heaped together covered in fine dust, forty eight medals, each a token representing a life saved. They looked up into each other’s eyes at the same moment, each boy speechless as the weight of this reality rested in their hands.

“Your Granddad often wondered what became of the men after the war, but was content with knowing that because of him they survived it and each of them knew why.”

Philip
broke
his
lesson,
checking
with
the
boys
that
they
understood
what
he was teaching them.
He asked them
questions
to
make
sure
all
the
information
he
was
throwing
at
them,
although
complex,
was
being
absorbed. When he was
happy
that
the
boys
understood
what
they
were
being
told
he
moved
the conversation away from his father’s role in the war and
went on to
explain
the
policy
history
that
in
turn
caused
the
war. It
was
in
teaching
the
boys
about
the
war
that
he
revealed
his
true
opinions
on
world
politics.

“The
war
was
very
basic
in
its
composition.
There
were
two
global
factions,
each
representing
one
of
the
world’s
two
superpowers;
the
old
faction
and
the
new.
You
know
these
factions
as
The
Old
World
Alliance
and
The
United
New
World.
The
United
New
World
faction
preached
that
all
men
were
free
and
were
to
be
treated
so,
irrespective
of
whether
a
person
had an
ability
or
not,
the
Old
World
Alliance
faction
had
a
policy
of
embracing
the
evolutionary
leap
to
further
the
human
development.

Nations
aligned
themselves
accordingly
with
their
government
policies.
There
was
a
third
class
of
countries,
neutral
in
all
matters.
These
countries
did
not
adopt
a
new
name
for
their
alliance,
but
maintained
neutrality.

The
Old
World
Alliance
outwardly
had
a
policy
of
treating
all
individuals
the
same.
The
appropriation
of
wealth
was
to
be
divided
out
equally
between
the
inhabitants
of
countries
allied
to
their
cause.
People
who
lived
in
the
countries
of
The
Old
World
Alliance
were
told
that
they
were
living
in
paradise
and
given
propaganda
touting
the
evils
that
lay
in
The
United
New
World.

The
Old
World
Alliance
preached
that
the
people
in
the
lands
of
their
foe
were
living
under
a
corrupt
and
a
moralistic
regime,
rife
with
crime,
and
did
not
know
what
freedom
was
or
what
it
meant
to
be
free.

The
Government
of
The
Old
World
Alliance
ruled
with
an
iron
fist
and
was
to
be
obeyed
at
all
times.
Anyone
who
openly
questioned
the
government
was
interned
and
never
heard
from
again.
Everyday
crime
was
low
here,
as
the
atrocities
inflicted
on
the
citizens
were
not
seen
as
crime,
but
law.
Large
criminal
gangs
had
influence
on
the
streets
and
with
certain members
of
the
Old
World
Alliance.
The
alliance
used
people
with
abilities
to
create
a
super-human
army
and
used
the
threat
of
war
against
anyone
who
stood
in
their
way.

In
contrast,
The
United
New
World
actually
employed
the
freedoms
that
were
preached
by
its
adversary,
creating
a
capitalist
policy
in
terms
of
economic
matters.
This
created
a
very
clear
and
evident
class
system,
where
the
rich
would
only
get
richer
and
the
poor
would
get
poorer.

If
a
person
were
to
look
at
how
The
United
New
World
applied
policies,
it
would
seem
the
perfect
system,
but
a
person
delving
deeper
could
see
how
these
policies
affected
the
lower
and
middle
classes;
these
people
might
take
another
point
of
view.
As
the
United
New
World
allowed
people
to
protect
their
abilities,
they
did
not
have
the
military
strength
that
their archenemies
had.
What
they
lacked
in
military
manpower,
they
made
up
for
in
economic
terms.

Through
education
and
self-advancement,
the
people
were
of
superior
intellect
and
were
much
stronger
financially.
This
meant
they
had
fewer
soldiers
who
embraced
their
powers
for
the
purposes
of
war.
They
were
able
to
rectify
the
gap
through
investing
in
technology
that
would
level
the
military
playing
field.”