Tunnels 04, Closer

him with a stare to let him know he was overstepping the mark.
    "Yeah... I know -- he was pretty ill," Chester finally said.
    "There are some thoroughly unpleasant pathogens knocking around down there, which is the point of this whole exercise," Drake said, now shifting his gaze back to the gas masks. "And, to be frank, if you're wearing one of these Noddy suits and we're spotted, then you're less likely to be recognized by your old oppos. On that topic..." Drake indicated the pairs of pistols and rifles. "These fire tranquilizer darts in case we bump into anyone from the Division once we're inside. The dose in the darts is enough to put a man out for a good fifteen hours." Drake glanced up at Eddie. "So nothing lethal, just as we agreed. The worst that will happen is your former buddies wake up with a blinder of a headache."
    "Thank you," Eddie said.
    "I don't get it, Drake," Chester snapped, his head lowered as he glowered at Eddie. "Just because you're working with a Styx, you're prepared to let the rest of them off the hook?"
    "Now just a second," Drake objected.
    "No, let him say his piece," Eddie put in calmly, his normal implacable self. "I can see he needs to get something off his chest."
    Chester was red in the face as he went on. " They wouldn't think twice about killing any of us -- or my parents for that matter -- if it came to it, but you're happy to let them off the hook because you've thrown your lot in with your new best mate." He flicked a glance at one of the dart guns on the floor. "You should be using real bullets, not these kid's toys."
    Eddie nodded. "I don't know what I can say that will change the way you feel, not after what you've been through," he said.
    "Yes, what can you say?" Chester scowled.
    Eddie walked to the wall of windows and looked down on the view of the Thames, and then across to the buildings on the opposite bank. "But what I will say to you is that this world you've built yourselves is doomed. It's not sustainable. You strive for growth at any cost -- more technology, more people, more freedom, and all the time you're strangling the planet, the basis for all life."
    "But we're doing things to save the--" Chester began to object.
    "Save the environment?" Eddie rebuffed him, then laughed loudly. Both Chester and Drake were taken aback at this -- neither had heard him as much as chuckle before. "Your politicians are weak, and have neither the will nor the power to make the changes in time, because the people themselves are weak and won't forego their luxuries. But my people, the Styx, would take immediate and complete control of industry to slash population levels, and also implement a feudal system so that every member of this nation knows precisely where he or she stands."
    Chester frowned. "A feudal system?"
    "Yes, just as there was in the past. Everyone would work for the common good, and there would be no unemployment, because those who refuse to work would be consigned to ghettoes, and be excluded. We will change everything. We will save everything. We will save you from yourselves."
    Chester was completely thrown by all this, glancing at Drake, who said nothing. "But that's rubbish. If you really want to save people, why do you go around killing them all the time?"
    "Because it's the only way we can achieve our aims. I grant you that using the Dominion virus is not the right approach, which is why I'm here, but remember..." Eddie turned to Chester and locked eyes with him. "We have to share this world with you, so you're defiling our home too. Why should we just stand by and let you do that? If we're forced to take a few lives along the way in order to rescue the planet from a foul, lingering death, wouldn't you say we were just acting in self-defense?"
    Chester shook his head emphatically. "No, what you're saying is crazy. It's twisted. Everything will be okay without all this stuff you're suggesting. Nobody has to die ."
    Eddie swept his hand at the vista through the windows. "You won't be telling me that in twenty years' time when the sea levels have risen, and all this is under thirty meters of water. When the food riots start, and you have to kill for your next meal."
    "Drake, tell him he's wrong," Chester implored.
    "You started it," Drake replied.
    Eddie left the window and went over to his battle scene, taking something from the corner of the table. "Chester, I bought you these films to watch." He glanced at the uppermost DVD. "This looks like an interesting one