1. I remember the swearing in. The rest of the day was a blur of tension, clothes, and congratulatory slaps on the back followed by drinks. Lots of smiles, and a half as many guarded looks. Everybody thought they knew why I was there. They thought they knew why I had joined up. In their eyes, it had to do with family honor. I was supposed to succeed where my brother had failed. While that had a certain amount of truth to it, I was mostly there to find him. Some said he went native, others thought he had been killed, assassinated really.

2. Humans changed at somepoint. Twice. Those that believe in such things think that God is responsible. They are right. But it is not the god of the Isrealites, nor the god of the Muslims, nor the new Christian god. It is something else, and when it changed us, we inherited a dark seed.s

3. I’m not sure what was worse, the continual thoughts of suicide, or the fact that it was indefinitely postponed, my very own sword of Damocles, reflected in everything. Waiting.