Peculiar Soul Chapter 64: Involution

War is a construct of sacrifice. Whether it is n, materiel, land or resources, loss and gain define the motions of war. Economics is a helpful guide, here; at its most primitive it is easy to understand that one should secure a positive return on investnt in order to progress in war.

It is so apt as to hardly be a taphor at all, but many struggle with the notion of evaluating the worth of human life in such cold terms. How many lives is land worth? How many of each hundred should die to secure comfort and security for the remainder?

The answer, as with many things, is found in the truth of ones own self. Ask what would entice you to trade your own life, sacrifice your dignity, send you crawling through mud and rust until you are left as a bloody ruin.

The n who never find their answer inevitably die upon the swords of those who do.

- Saleh Taskin, On Reclamation, 687