Children of the Hessians

[Victor Steiner]

He moved to the front of the classroom, his each step tracked by the children and by Kuhl. A bare metal desk was positioned at the front of the classroom and he placed his satchel and his notebooks on the desk and turned to the classroom. No child had sat down and all still stood in a rigid upright stance. Alfred spoke in his rusty Rheinlandic, which was slowly improving, please, be seated and in a well practiced series of movements, they did so. Steiner thought that a good place to begin was to explain who he was and why he was here. Kuhl of course knew, but he doubted that the students knew the exact details.

I am Professor Alfred Wilhelm Alexander Steiner, I'm an Anthro-sociologist which means I go 'round and speak to people about lots of different things. Today, I am here to talk to you all about your schooling and your lives. So I'm just going to ask a few questions, and write down your answers. Now I don't want you to worry, if you don't want your names noted down, just tell me. So, first question: Do you believe that your education is preparing you well for the future?

Silence and confusion set on the classroom, a few children looked at each other, slightly confused. For a moment, Alfred feared he spoke in English rather than Rheinlandic, fortunately on young boy spoke up Of course.. he said No one else is teaching us, and it worked for our parents. We are taught well and we will be ready to carry on the cause when we are done.The boys response surprised Alfred slightly, not only were they all confident that they were being taught well, but they were also all aware of the Hessian cause, at such a young age he'd have thought that more emphasis would have been placed on basic reading and writing skills, but considering the Hessian organisation as a whole, surrounded and constantly pushed on all sides, it was ultimately hardly surprising that the soldiers of tomorrow were trained at such a young age. Using his ignorance to his advantage, Alfred pulled up a chair and, facing the class again, feigned an exaggerated ignorance of the Hessian movement.

So, what is it that Hessians do? what does your organisation do? He attempted to ignore Kuhl's look of surprise at the question while the children slowly managed to find their voices. Are you..terrorists? Alfred asked, hoping to jolt a reaction out of them quicker than they were willing to provide. No! A young blonde haired girl with a shrill voice quivering with fear said harshly We fight for a better Rheinland. We are strong, and Rheinland is weak, we fight so all can be strong.
But you use violence, is that acceptable? Alfred asked
Yes, sometimes it is the only way make people strong. she said again, finding her voice.

Alfred was slowly beginning to come to the conclusion that the education system of the Hessians revolved partly around brainwashing, unless they actually had some supporting evidence, although he doubted that any high school child would know that. Still, while the child kept talking at him, he began to write.

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