‘And the G-graders? Is there an “H” grade too?’ Hrothgar asked.
‘Oh yes. As I said, G-graders are the combat trainees who fail to meet the minimum standards. They are still tremendously effective fighters, and are much cheaper, but they do not come with any guarantees, so we often sell them off in groups to be part of elite private military forces. There are many businesses around the world who need the use of such units, and we are happy to provide them with disposable yet highly skilled soldiers. H-graders are the pleasure models who likewise fail to meet minimum standards. Sometimes we sell them in groups too, for wealthy clients with very … unique … sexual urges. Some men take pleasure in using young bodies in ways that can only be done once. The ones we don’t sell, well like I said, there are other uses we have for them.’
‘I can imagine what that fate is,’ Sigurd commented darkly.
‘Can you, Mr Yolkov?’ Mr Li asked, his smile unwavering. ‘Anyway, the last two areas are the long-range weapon training range and the classrooms. If you like I can just tell you about those rather than showing you. It will save us an hour or so, for the next place we are going to visit is an hour’s drive away.’
‘Fine, talk away little man,’ grunted Hrothgar.
‘As you may guess, at the target range the products are trained in the mastery of a large variety of projectile weapons; there are of course the standard range of firearms – everything from tiny .22s concealed in ballpoint pens through to assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and all manner of machine guns, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. On top of this they are trained in other forms of projectile weaponry; bows, crossbows, blowguns, throwing knives, throwing axes, javelins, catapults, slings and other such improvised arms. Our minimum standard for target striking is an average that falls within a two-centimetre diameter grouping on bullseye for A-grade models, a four-centimetre diameter for B-grade models and a six-centimetre diameter for C-grade models. Failure to meet this minimum results in the product being downgraded to G-grade. Very few candidates achieve A-grade status; perhaps only one per year. Sometimes in a bad year we have zero A-graders. This is why our A-grade models command such a premium price tag.’
‘Fair enough,’ Sigurd rumbled. ‘Now tell me, what happens in the classrooms? Do the little assassins learn about the birds and the bees and “A” “a” “apple”, “B” “b” “ball”?’ he asked with a smirk.
‘Both combat and pleasure models are taught to become fluent in ten different languages. In addition, the combat models are instructed in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, geology, climatology, biology and anatomy; everything they need to become absolutely efficient killers. The pleasure models learn behavioural codes, the art of sexual intercourse and its innumerable variations, as well as domestic skills.’
‘Well,’ Sigurd remarked, ‘you really do have the bases covered, and I can’t say I’m not impressed. One question though, and this one is important: how do you crush their spirit whilst simultaneously keeping them motivated enough to master all of these skills? Surely there is a fierce contradiction at work here, no?’
‘You are quite right, Mr Yolkov. This is what the early research discovered: while the mind of a child is incredibly malleable, there is an innate desire for freedom, for pleasure seeking, as there is in all living creatures. Crushing this completely meant the subject inevitably becoming a zombie-like being, unwilling to and indeed even incapable of performing anything but rudimentary survival tasks. Conversely, allowing the spirit of independence to flourish made the subjects rebellious and desirous of their own wants rather than unquestioning compliance with orders, which is counter to absolute obedience, which itself is of the utmost necessity for what we are trying to achieve.’
‘So how did you find a way to solve this?’
Mr Li looked up at Sigurd and smiled mysteriously.
‘We gave them a god.’
7
SIGURD
‘You gave them a god?’ Sigurd asked, an eyebrow raised with scepticism. ‘Are there not enough man-made gods already that you had to invent yet another?’
Mr Li’s smile broadened.
‘When was the last time you had a truly spiritual experience, Mr Yolkov? Have you ever had an angel from heaven descend from the skies to blind your eyes with holy brightness, accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets and harps, to explain your purpose in life as deigned by some almighty creator from above?’
‘You are saying that you can give this to your products?’
‘This is exactly what we give our products. From the time they are old enough to understand the concept of a supernatural power, we begin to replicate “divine” experiences. In order to do this, a combination of powerful hallucinogens and opiates is surreptitiously given to the subject. The symptoms at first mimic those of an illness, so the subject is moved to solitary confinement in the medical facility. Well, this is what the other products think is happening to their sick comrade, anyway. However, the subject is actually taken
