Reinstate - by Ratte

"Making the world a better place begins with us."

They told us that a long time ago, back in training. I suppose it was true-- we were there to ensure the safety of the civilians, to keep the people hopeful and do some part to improve society. Some security - even what we offered - could go a long way and it showed in their faces. Relief, just like any other emotion, has a way of catching on. It was better than the alternative...

...But despite all that, there was an ugliness to the work that caught up with me.

Like how doctors often grow desensitized to seeing the suffering of patients, I could see the same happening to us. People would make themselves numb to the ordeals we faced, some worse than others, by various means. I didn't want to see myself turn into the very thing I was pushing against. No matter how perfect the system in theory, a fatal flaw still shone through.

I had to get away from that. I left and started fresh somewhere new. Before I knew it, I was rearing children who weren't my own, all from circumstances beyond their grasp. It was but a symptom of a much larger, more pervasive disease.

Nothing really improved at all, had it?

I had hoped I would never need to go back to this, but...

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[Music]

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