Chapter 56: Politics (2)
Athar did not speak. He could not come up with an answer to this problem. What did the empire hope to achieve by this? He had no idea.
"Athar," Angelica pulled him out of his stupor.
"This is a subtle message from the empire to the masses," she continued. "It is an indirect way of asking them to value what they have been privileged to receive."
"If eggs were so freely available and everyone among the masses had access to them, who would truly value the opportunity they have been given?" she pressed. "To them, it would be nothing special. A common occurrence. Something ordinary."
"But by sacrificing a few of the boys, the empire establishes that the opportunity they have received is sacred. Something only the fortunate deserve, and they better value it."
"But Master," Athar interjected, "this logic does not seem very sound."
"I did not say it is the correct method," Angelica shook her head. "I only stated what the empire believes."
"This way, or any other, has its own pros and cons, Athar. Nothing is black and white. Nothing is absolutely true or absolutely false."
"I can show you dozens of examples in this academy alone, where children from common backgrounds are working extremely hard. Some are doing it because their parents buried themselves in debt just so their only child could get a bronze grade egg instead of the iron grade they could have actually afforded."
"Someone is working hard because his mother chose not to buy the resources that would have helped her upgrade her own beast. Instead, she spent all her crystals on her son."
Athar nodded in understanding. He could relate to that feeling. He, too, came from such a background, worse than most, and he worked hard because he knew what it felt like to be at the bottom. He was willing to climb, to push forward, because he never wanted to feel helpless again. But not every student was like him.