Men in the Machine (The Silent Fallen)
by Rex J. Taylor
We were all trained by the machine.
The machine trained us all to be able to turn love, caring, & killing on and off like the flipping of a light switch.
One moment we cared about everything.
Then we get an order to flip the light switch
So our innate ability to wreak pain & suffering upon others takes over.
For some of us the pain & suffering of others is like candy it is an addiction.
They crave for more.
The ones that crave the pain & suffering of others often remain in battle they thrive on the carnage.
Never to leave the machine except in death, or retirement even then most do not survive more than a few years after they are out.
Then there are the few that are trained by the machine that have feelings.
They take a good long look around and watch the pain & suffering to their own people & people that are foreign to them.
They see small children & adults lying dead in piles along the road and around bombed out buildings.
This sickens them but they continue to fight for the machine.