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This reality of controlling your environment. Near and far. And now, if the inner circle was relatively controlled by the pressure of his well-deserved authority, the outer circle, the people, were very loose. The people knew the Mountain, understood his nature of action and his rigidity in making decisions and enforcing them. But all the advantages ended there. After all, he was not feared, as once the plagues were feared.

Yes, he was the sole owner of the power of several production facilities and even a certain portion of the surface over them. Yes, his orders were unquestionable and the only thing to be obeyed was execution. Yes, everyone was confident in his strategic thinking and firmness of will. Yes, everyone was afraid to interfere or even pretend that they did not like something But no one

was afraid of him anymore. And they weren't afraid of losing him because of it either.

The security the prefect had given them was already taken for granted. A given that could be and would be without him. And it was that message that began to give rise to wrong thoughts.

Wrong thoughts. Dangerous thoughts. The ones that shouldn't have been there by definition, but which were formed because they had to fill the vacuum of fear with something. And since there was no other fear, that vacuum would be filled by thoughtlessness.

Yeah, that's what happens. When people are afraid of something for a long time. That something disappears, stops weighing on them, and they start to think they've done it. By

themselves. And if they did it themselves, they will be able to cope with it again, if it arises. So they relax. This is the very levity that arises in the place of the vacuum where fear used to be.

This is it. Where this and the last assassination attempt came from. None of the people were afraid of losing their leader. They weren't afraid of being left alone to face what the chief used to face. Because they'd come to think of it as nothing. A worthless trifle, handled by a worthless chief, whom nobody fears It is very common for people to mistake kindness for weakness, and it is this

attitude that causes the need to become a terrible ruthless despot who does not value their lives, their attitudes, or their needs. Because now their needs and their life will become the iron necessity to keep the leader alive. And their attitude will become so insignificant in its importance that it will simply be forgotten.....

Now it's simply not possible to be kind and caring while still alive. Either you have to sacrifice your life or these qualities. And people themselves do not realize how important it is to sacrifice the latter in order to preserve their lives. Nothing requires security as much as the need to preserve life first of all. And nothing demands fear as much as security itself, which without fear is simply not appreciated. They do not see that it is there. They do not want to realize that it is the life they have.

There was a knock at the door. First Lesin came in with a report of Tikhomirov's arrival, and only then did Tikhomirov himself come in after approving his entrance. Something had clearly changed in him, something very deep inside, but this change was more surprising than alarming.

There was no competition for him in this something – it was as if his inner core had changed, which probably made him act differently himself. It was reflected in his eyes, in the way he moved, and even in the way he breathed.

– We have much news, Mr. Prefect," Tikhomirov began at once.

– Have a seat and let's go through this in order. Start with who was it? Who tried to put a knife to my throat?

Tikhomirov sat down on a chair opposite the Mountain. It was obvious that there was neither fear nor doubt in him. Only pre-calibrated steps. There were already a thousand of them in his head.

– We have only theories, Mr. Prefect. He never regained consciousness, and there's nothing to hook him to....

– You don't have to hook it. No need for that. Organize a public execution by hanging.

– Mr. Prefect…

– I know what you want to say. But no. I don't need that, either. Executing him, on the other hand, would be a good idea. Let everyone watch.

– As you command, Mr. Prefect.

Gore was all impressed with the qualities of the man he once looked out of the crowd. He was clearly progressing, and very quickly at that. It was still unclear why this was happening, but his performance was encouraging.

– Here's a look at the new set of laws I'll be distributing this week. – The Mountain handed him a piece of paper on which were handwritten, point by point, the "Rights and Responsibilities of the Self-Governing Territory". – Study it now.

Rights and obligations of the Self-Governing Territory

Everyone is responsible with his life for the life of his boss.

Failure to obey the orders of one's superior is considered an act of sabotage and is punishable at the discretion of the superior up to and including the death penalty, approved only by the prefect

Members of the SMERSH organization shall have the right to search, detain and use any physical restraint, if necessary, against any citizen of the Self-Governing Territory.

The Prefect has the power to reward, pardon and execute any citizen of the Local Government Territory without cause

All efforts and measures taken by the citizens shall be directed solely towards the fulfillment of the will of the prefect

No one has the right to question, even in thought, the correctness of the prefect's actions.

Openly not accepting the will of the prefect is considered an act of sabotage

Tikhomirov continued to hold this piece of paper in his hands, reading it, and didn't even blink an eye when he finished doing so:

– Most of these measures have in fact already been approved by me, Mr. Prefect. There are no superfluous words here, except one. In the last paragraph, the word "open" is still superfluous. If in the previous paragraph we believe that one should not be against it even in thought, then we should also consider sabotage a crime even in thought. Whether we know about it or not, we must consider it a crime.

Gora looked at the paper, then at Tikhomirov, then shook his head slightly affirmatively:

– Yeah. You're right. The word "open" doesn't belong here.

Inquisitor

This cell was even smaller than the one he'd been sitting in a few days ago. This one contained only a bunk and a garbage bucket. It seemed to him that the warders had something special to do with buckets – you couldn't just take them out, or cover them with something, or even fill them with water at first. They are inviolable except when you defecate in them. I guess that's what it looked like in their heads.