Naturally, since we human beings are social mammals, there is an innate need for connection, for physical and emotional warmth with other living creatures, most especially those within our own species. In order to make our products effective killing machines, we must do our best to erase this, but that is a very difficult task. Therefore, instead of trying to completely remove it we simply displace it. The actors who perform as the “angels” in the spiritual experience treat the product with unconditional love, closeness and affection … all feigned of course. The product, who has never been treated in such a way in his or her life, quickly becomes hopelessly enamoured with the “angel”, and their dogmatic belief in our unique religion is thus cemented.
These spiritual experiences we produce enable us to harness the power of that innate need for comfort and affection that has proven so hard to erase, and to use it to further our authority and control over the product.
We have created a god, a religion, if you would like to call it that, in which we have melded elements of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism, taking from each what we find to be most useful in terms of establishing purpose and control, and we indoctrinate the products into this religion from the time of their birth.’
Sigurd stroked his beard as he masticated on this information.
‘This is quite remarkable!’ he eventually said. ‘You certainly have established unquestionable control over the minds and bodies of these products. This method reminds me of that of the Old Man of the Mountain, many centuries ago…’
‘The Old Man of the Mountain?’
Sigurd chuckled strangely, his eyes gazing at some far-off vista in the distant past.
‘Never mind,’ he eventually muttered. ‘Myself, I have used fear and intimidation and violence to subdue those who need to be brought under my thumb … but I see that your methods are perhaps far more effective.’
‘I appreciate the compliment, Mr Yolkov.’
‘Tell me, what are the tenets of this religion that you have created?’
‘Oh, it is rather too complex to explain in full, but let me tell you that the basics state that life is meaningless, that it is suffering from birth to death, that physical pain and hardships are holy and noble, that everyone who is not part of the religion is a vile infidel, worthy of nothing but contempt and hatred … and that dying a noble death in aid of the cause – in other words, completing any assigned mission by whatever means necessary – assures a permanent place in heaven, the glimpses of which they have already “seen” by virtue of our simulated spiritual experiences.’
‘You’re fucking geniuses is what you are,’ Hrothgar said with a wicked grin and a sardonic chortle.
‘Again, I thank you for the compliment. As you can no doubt tell, our products have neither attachment to nor empathy for any living being, and not only do they not fear pain, they long for death. Mission success is guaranteed, for we preach to them that failure to complete a mission results in great wrath and disappointment from the deity, who will cause them to be reincarnated as animals in the factory farms and slaughterhouses in which they all work as young children.’
Sigurd whistled slowly through his teeth.
‘You’ve got it all covered, don’t you?’
‘Yes, yes we do.
‘Efficient. Very efficient.’
In response to this, Mr Li simply gave a subtle bow.
‘Now,’ he continued, ‘with regard to our religious angle, there is one very strict condition that must be adhered to when purchasing our products: the missions assigned to them have to come directly from our “priests”, you see.’
‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ Sigurd said, frowning.
‘No, no, it is not what you think,’ Mr Li stammered with over-eager haste. ‘You retain complete control over whatever mission you wish to assign to the product. However, you cannot personally assign them a mission; they are brainwashed from birth to accept only the authority of the priests, who they believe speak as the direct mouthpiece of their god. Thus, whatever the priest orders them to do becomes a divine-sanctioned crusade on behalf of their god, the success of which will culminate in their release from this existence of vileness and suffering, and a return to the heavenly “nirvana” that they have been promised.
All you will need to do is to inform us of the exact specifics of your mission; targets, dates, and all that. When all of this information is confirmed, our priests will convey this to your product as if it were a message from their god. Also, this serves as a further benefit to you, because in legal terms there will be absolutely no connection between you and the product whatsoever. If the law should come knocking, you’ll be totally covered against any accusations. Regarding selection of targets, we do not judge, we do not refuse, and we make no suggestions whatsoever. Whether your target is the president of the United States, a rival gang leader, a judge’s toddler child, or the volunteer matron of a home for war refugees, we do not care. Your money, your target, with no restrictions; this is our philosophy.’
Sigurd stared at Mr Li for a while, and then grinned abruptly and savagely.
‘And what if I ordered my product to execute you, and your ugly manageress over there? Would
