Warlord

There was a man of peace who brought a war to the world. Allow me to tell you his story and his unbearable fate. Before starting, it's necessary to announce that I'm not going to name the two countries involved in the conflict, the reason being that what I am going to tell can be considered a revisionist version of history and I don't want to offend anybody. For the same reason, I will give the protagonist a new name, because his origin can be derived from his ancient surname.

Olaf Brams was always a man of reference and precise advice, more insightful than talkative. Many admitted to being unable to challenge him, not because of a superlative physical presence, which he lacked, but because of the logic of his thinking and a talented use of rhetoric. He had been a judge for many years, with a formal and immovable style. There was a sinuous contrast between his labour rectitude and an adolescent idealism that encouraged him to create a better world, a world of peace that, in his opinion, humanity deserved.

These good intentions led Olaf Brams to make the common and fatal mistake of thinking that politics can fix a problem. He quit his job as a judge and became part of a political party's legal team. The years gave him a reputation as an honest and efficient man, and his colleagues sought his advice not only in matters of the law.

Brams' party was in government when relations with the neighboring country began to deteriorate. The war rumors threatened the idealistic project of Brams. However, the situation was such that neither country was justified in starting a war, and becoming the aggressor would compromise their geopolitical position.

Olaf Brams met with his teammates. They wanted to analyze the details and establish a plan. They were aware that the leaders of the party, and also of the country, had no intention of initiating hostilities. But that day, Brams' talent appeared at the worst of times. He thought of the possible justifications that the enemy could offer, in order to refute them with ease. He expressed one of them out loud. He started with a simple idea but the inertia of logic propelled him forward and he ended up weaving an argument that was as complex as it was coherent. He spoke in hypothetical terms, and yet it became more real with each word. The power of that reasoning prevented him from stopping even though he glimpsed the evil he was going to cause. He was sweating when he finished the explanation. The others remained silent, looking nowhere, one started to cry. The case for war was irrefutable, so perfect that despite its complexity it could be summed up in two simple sentences. One of his teammates got up, he knew that he had the obligation to transmit the message to the party leaders. The next day war was declared. And although everyone had rejected it, everyone accepted it, including the enemy.

Brams suffered from understandable depression; he had given birth to an endless monster. The conflict began in a bloody way and he knew he was responsible. Within a few days he regained some strength and tried to make a reverse argument. His talent betrayed him and he could only build a couple of flimsy reasonings. The third attempt produced a more stable result, which, together with the wickedness of war and the original rejection of the people, managed to significantly alter the volatile popular opinion. Unfortunately, the war had taken on a life of its own and was no longer dependent on political decisions. It was nothing more than a deplorable inertia that Brams saw as his creation.

A week later, unable to see an end to the battles, Olaf Brams went to the front lines. Some say that he went there to witness what he himself had created, others, more ignorant, that he abandoned his pacifist ideals and went to fight for his country. The reality is different and more tragic. Olaf Brams went to the front to die. Interviews with soldiers who recognized him confirm this. They describe an uncontrolled and erratic man, they relate how they tried to talk him out of his suicidal intentions. Brams finally escaped the attention of the soldiers. At some point during those gray days, an invisible projectile brought him down on the damp soil.

Just two days after his death the war was over. The unexpected ending added even more pain to the situation. Those who knew him regretted not foreseeing Brams' self-destructive outburst, keeping his sanity for a couple more days would have allowed him to see the end of the misery and stay alive. I, who knew him better than anyone, have another theory: the war ended because Olaf Brams' life also ended. He knew the relationship that bound him to the monster, he went to the front to stop it and to die with it.