These soldiers wouldn't know because they had not been exposed to the outside world and had not learned the distinction. Besides, the Brotherhood itself was also a cult. And the female organization mirrored the male.
"How long ago was it founded?" Kian asked.
"Approximately four years."
Interesting. Four years ago, Navuh had changed his approach toward his breeding program. He'd realized that an army of brutes was not as effective in modern warfare as a smart army, so instead of bringing in brutes to impregnate the women, he started to bring in smart men. Perhaps when the breeding became less traumatic, the women could find a way to reframe their experience.
Nevertheless, it was surprising that it hadn't happened sooner. People had to find a way to endure the isolation and systematic violation. The human mind had ways to protect itself, and one of those ways was to assign meaning to the suffering. It worked especially well when that meaning was offered by a charismatic leader.
The First Mother had built herself a small empire out of the despair of her sisters.
"They can still be helped," Kian said. "If they are extracted from the island and separated from their cult leader, most of themcan be brought back. Cult de-conditioning is hard, but it's not impossible."
"If you say so," Number One said in his flat tone. "We wouldn't know. The more immediate problem is operational. If the Sacred Mothers learn about the escape plan, they will report it to the guards inside the enclosure, and those guards will communicate it to the immortal army. If even one woman in a dormitory is a member of the order, the entire dormitory becomes unsafe for extraction. Many of the women we might otherwise have brought out will not be able to leave because their roommates will turn them in. My friend in the enclosure is carefully identifying which women can be trusted on a case-by-case basis."
"How many do you plan to take?" Kian asked.
"We are still working on the number. Vetting the candidates is time-consuming and our window of opportunity is closing."
"I want a head count as soon as you have it. We will need to prepare."
"Of course."
"Update me after the council meeting on Friday," Kian said. "I want to know whether the brothers took the bait. Don't wait for the standard check-in window to contact us."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"I just want to wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you." The call terminated on Number One's end.
Kian let out a breath. "Did you record all of that?"
"Naturally," Onegus said. "I'm sending you the recording."
"Thank you."
"Do you want me to call a meeting?"
"I'll do that. I want Turner, Toven, Kalugal, and Lokan. And you, of course."
"Let me know if you need anything from me."
"I will." Kian ended the call.
Lokan knew the senior brothers personally, so he would have insight into how and if they would respond to the bait. Kalugal hadn't had operational contact with them in over a century, but he also knew them, and he was a smart guy, so he might have something useful to add.
27
NAVUH
Navuh held the remote control pointed at the tiny television across from his bed and scrolled through the menu of available content.
The clan's library was extensive, but it was all recorded material. Movies, series, documentaries, lectures, and what the menu cheerfully called curated content, which contained nature programs and cooking shows.
He had no access to the news or live broadcasts of any kind. He could not watch the political theater play out in the parliaments and senates and presidential palaces around the globe, so he couldn’t enjoy witnessing the fruits of the cultivated chaos that the Brotherhood had spent decades planting and watering.
The thing about democracies was that they were so much easier to infiltrate than dictatorships. The price of a senator was modest. The price of a regulatory commissioner or a district judge was a rounding error in the Brotherhood's budget. They had been quietly buying or blackmailing the right people in the right offices for years, nudging policy in directions thatdid not benefit anyone under their jurisdiction or beyond, and destabilizing as many as possible.
