ago taught me the folly of destroying that which is good.
Even if you do not choose to join us, you will not find your existence
that unpleasant."
9 "But we will be ruled by men," the woman argued, "we will have to
take THEIR orders, live THEIR lives!"
10 "If you wish," promised North, "I will arrange it so you never see a
man again, as long as you live, if that is your desire. But from what
I've heard, it isn't.
Give us a chance. Give it a try. You will find that not all men merely
wish to use you, that there are those who will stand willingly beside
you. I will make you the Commander of this unit. Your followers will
still be yours."
11 "But if the men have a will of their own," the woman argued, "they
will betray us, like they always betray us, in the end." She looked
towards North 2, who stepped forward.
12 "I did not betray you," he said, "I simply could not permit you to
destroy that which was good, because you did not understand. If you
take the course HE offers, 'if you follow his direction, and, counsel,
then I will willingly accept your authority.
13 Would it not be better that we follow you because we love you,
instead of because you control our minds? We do not wish your
destruction or that you be made subservient. We merely wish that you
understand there is an alternative, there is another way.”
14 The mechanical, Blazing Comet, came up. "Listen to him," he added,
"hear the words. It may surprise you that you've always had less
control over the men than you thought. You see, I modified the
machinery. They've ALWAYS had a will of their own. They've followed you
because
they wanted to."
15 The woman's face fell. She looked from the mechanical to North 2,
then to the other men standing