Merritt Article 3 [Mild Spoiler: Merritt's Story Book 3]

I actually had the end of this article written too, but it seems weird to post the beginning and end without the middle, so here's just the beginning.  There's a bit more insight to be gained if you have the time to glance back at the Merritt's Story chapter where Odell first appeared.  One particular exchange about Merritt not wanting to be the subject of one of Odell's articles...

This one is long so I had to decrease the font size in order for the image not to be too long.  Looks like I screwed up a line break in the process, but oh well.  Here's the text in case it's not readable on your screen:

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When I first met him, he was a nameless blond blue-tie on a rickety motorcycle who threw me his only poison blocker before taking out my West Sphere attackers—and himself—with a long range knockout vial. I would later identify him as Private Merritt North, perpetual duty soldier and member of Chem Ops Squad 264. Merritt had no stake in my altercation with the gang of West Sphere hitmen hired to punish me for an article I’d written about the sex trade. Nonetheless, when he’d had only a split second to follow his gut, he’d put himself in harm’s way to give me a chance at escape.

To understand Merritt, one must first understand the process of indoctrination into the North’s military ideology. North Sphere soldiers, drafted from orphanages as children, are taught in their formative years that their lives belong to their King. They live and die at their leader’s behest, and to be taken down in service to their King is the noblest form of death. To qualify as a perpetual duty soldier, one must exhibit an even higher dedication to servitude. Perpetual duty soldiers are charged with defending their sphere’s citizens whenever they inhabit a public space. In the event of a confrontation between North Sphere citizens, their mandate is to protect the highest-ranking blue-tie.

The stereotypical perpetual duty soldier is a person who’s been brainwashed into subservience. They carry out their orders without question. Merritt passed his perpetual duty exams with flying colors, but he was never the mindless, docile soldier he was supposed to be. This, I believe, was a consequence of growing up with a free mind. Merritt was taught the same pervasive attitudes as any other PDS, but he also sought out additional—and often restricted—avenues of education.

As a rising star, Merritt was one to test his boundaries and question authority. Those vital qualities, which would have taken him far as an elite, were bound to be his downfall as a soldier. Now, when the weakest of his sphere depend on him the most, those qualities are nowhere to be seen.

I know what changed him.