mission Uchi had mentioned would start.
I kept my eyes open for anything I could use to communicate with Nat but there were no landlines in the house and I was guessing the only computers were kept in the one locked room – off
the hall on the ground floor – that Spider had merely pointed to in passing, saying it was ‘Uchi’s office’. He had a really upper-class accent, very different from both
Riley’s and Uchi’s. That, together with his sneering attitude, was starting to make me think he was a total snob.
After I’d been shown around indoors, Uchi took me outside, saying if I didn’t need a rest he was eager to explain a little more about his philosophy to me. It was chilly but
beautiful in the back garden. We sat on the patio, looking out at the sea just a hundred metres or so away beyond the grass which sloped sharply down to where the waves crashed against the rocks.
Uchi tucked a blanket over his legs as he spoke. I pulled on my fleece and tried to follow what he was saying, but it was all just so complicated.
‘Were you really a soldier?’ I asked after ten minutes or so. Apart from anything else, It was hard imagining someone so old and slow and deliberate in their way of speaking ever
having leaped about firing a gun.
‘I was,’ Uchi said. ‘Though I don’t think I was a very good one: too thoughtful, too independent, too clever.’
‘And yet you must have killed people,’ I persisted.
Uchi’s dark eyes pierced through me. ‘Sometimes the means justify the ends,’ he said.
‘And what are “the ends”?’ I asked, determined to make him explain his stupid ideas in language that made sense to me. ‘What is it exactly you’re aiming for?
Because I can see that a lot of democratic governments might be a bit useless, but what’s the alternative that’s so much better?’
Uchi leaned forward. ‘Let’s start with what you just said: “a bit useless”,’ he said. ‘The truth is that democracy is
extremely
useless. It’s
entirely half-arsed. It doesn’t get enough done. It’s always a compromise. No country can become truly great as a democracy.’
I frowned. ‘What about America? That’s a world power.’
‘Riddled with corruption,’ Uchi said, waving his hand dismissively. ‘At any one time at least half the city mayors are taking bribes. Ditto the state governors. And don’t
get me started on Congress or any of the post-war presidents.’
‘But—’
‘A great country needs a great leader. He – or she – will give the nation hope and prosperity. In return, all the citizens have to give up is the
illusion
of democratic
freedom.’
‘
Illusion?
What do you mean?’
‘Well in a democracy the majority always wins. So lots of people – sometimes the most vulnerable – end up ignored. They’re not “free” at all. Meanwhile
politicians put all their efforts into winning votes and gaining power, rather than doing what’s best for the country. And most of the time it leads to chaos. Look at the UK right now.
Coalition after coalition government, each reversing the previous government’s policies. How can a system like that ever get anything done?’
I stared at him.
‘What Uchi’s saying is that you think you’re free because you have a vote, but actually that vote is bought and sold at levels you’re not even aware of,’ Gracie
said softly from the door that led back into the cottage.
I started; I hadn’t heard her come outside. Gracie walked over and placed a plate of pasties in front of us.
‘Ah, my favourite.’ Uchi’s eyes twinkled as he took one. ‘Help yourself, Charlie.’
I shook my head, unwilling to be deflected from the conversation.
‘Well, personally speaking I don’t have a vote yet,’ I said. ‘But when I do, what both of you are saying is that I should – everyone should – give my vote to
just one person?’
Gracie nodded. ‘Roman.’ Her cheeks flushed as she said his name. Was she still in love with
I kept my eyes open for anything I could use to communicate with Nat but there were no landlines in the house and I was guessing the only computers were kept in the one locked room – off
the hall on the ground floor – that Spider had merely pointed to in passing, saying it was ‘Uchi’s office’. He had a really upper-class accent, very different from both
Riley’s and Uchi’s. That, together with his sneering attitude, was starting to make me think he was a total snob.
After I’d been shown around indoors, Uchi took me outside, saying if I didn’t need a rest he was eager to explain a little more about his philosophy to me. It was chilly but
beautiful in the back garden. We sat on the patio, looking out at the sea just a hundred metres or so away beyond the grass which sloped sharply down to where the waves crashed against the rocks.
Uchi tucked a blanket over his legs as he spoke. I pulled on my fleece and tried to follow what he was saying, but it was all just so complicated.
‘Were you really a soldier?’ I asked after ten minutes or so. Apart from anything else, It was hard imagining someone so old and slow and deliberate in their way of speaking ever
having leaped about firing a gun.
‘I was,’ Uchi said. ‘Though I don’t think I was a very good one: too thoughtful, too independent, too clever.’
‘And yet you must have killed people,’ I persisted.
Uchi’s dark eyes pierced through me. ‘Sometimes the means justify the ends,’ he said.
‘And what are “the ends”?’ I asked, determined to make him explain his stupid ideas in language that made sense to me. ‘What is it exactly you’re aiming for?
Because I can see that a lot of democratic governments might be a bit useless, but what’s the alternative that’s so much better?’
Uchi leaned forward. ‘Let’s start with what you just said: “a bit useless”,’ he said. ‘The truth is that democracy is
extremely
useless. It’s
entirely half-arsed. It doesn’t get enough done. It’s always a compromise. No country can become truly great as a democracy.’
I frowned. ‘What about America? That’s a world power.’
‘Riddled with corruption,’ Uchi said, waving his hand dismissively. ‘At any one time at least half the city mayors are taking bribes. Ditto the state governors. And don’t
get me started on Congress or any of the post-war presidents.’
‘But—’
‘A great country needs a great leader. He – or she – will give the nation hope and prosperity. In return, all the citizens have to give up is the
illusion
of democratic
freedom.’
‘
Illusion?
What do you mean?’
‘Well in a democracy the majority always wins. So lots of people – sometimes the most vulnerable – end up ignored. They’re not “free” at all. Meanwhile
politicians put all their efforts into winning votes and gaining power, rather than doing what’s best for the country. And most of the time it leads to chaos. Look at the UK right now.
Coalition after coalition government, each reversing the previous government’s policies. How can a system like that ever get anything done?’
I stared at him.
‘What Uchi’s saying is that you think you’re free because you have a vote, but actually that vote is bought and sold at levels you’re not even aware of,’ Gracie
said softly from the door that led back into the cottage.
I started; I hadn’t heard her come outside. Gracie walked over and placed a plate of pasties in front of us.
‘Ah, my favourite.’ Uchi’s eyes twinkled as he took one. ‘Help yourself, Charlie.’
I shook my head, unwilling to be deflected from the conversation.
‘Well, personally speaking I don’t have a vote yet,’ I said. ‘But when I do, what both of you are saying is that I should – everyone should – give my vote to
just one person?’
Gracie nodded. ‘Roman.’ Her cheeks flushed as she said his name. Was she still in love with
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