L'état, c'est moi
"The very core of being a good ruler...is to make the people belive that's exactly what you are," The man smiled at the camera, a charming and almost seductive smile from a man looking far younger than his actual age. Already closing in on his sixties with every passing moment, the man looks like someone in his early thirties, something he acquitted to a good health, strong physique and sharp mind. Leaning slightly backwards in a high-back leather office chair, the man's hands rest loosely on the chair's armrests, as he suddenly, in a fluid motion repositions himself, leaning his head to the side into the palm of his right hand. "It's simple really, you keep those above you and those below you happy. You make those that are above you believe that what you have accomplished was their idea to begin with and you make those below you believe that what you do is what they desire. It is when you can pull that off, that you truly are without equal on the political scene."
The man closes his eyes for a moment, letting out a soft chuckle, as if he was remembering something. "The sith almost always seemto be helbent on the idea of never suffering any rivals, but I think that philosophy is wrong," Again he chuckles, as if to emphasize that he ment no harm by saying those words, though in truth, he might've actually used that perspective for some sort of poignant reason. His lips curl upwards into a rather seductive, yet somewhat faint smile. "A rival is not a bad thing to any person in power, they are a necessity. A rival gives value to a man's own ideology and path in life. They can be used to evaluated once ownworth in the grand scheme of things. The one thing to aspire though, is to be able to control this rivalry to suit one's needs. If you lack strength in subduing and playing the masses, find a rival in the circles below you, if you are unsure on how to placate and twist the minds of those above you, it is best to seek a rival above your own status."
"Do I have a rival?" The man chuckles again, his eyes squinting a bit when he looks at you, almost piercing through to your very soul. "Perhaps I do, perhaps it's you...who knows...who knows."
"If you think I had any problems with playing the masses...no, no I didn't," Again that same faint seductive smile on his face, that calm, slightly cold glance towards you as he slightly shifts the position of his head as it leans upon his hand. "The masses are the easy part, that is...if you're smart, it's the ones above you which makes it harder. You need to figure out their virtues, but more importantly their vices. Are they cynical, trusting, honest, dishonest, ambitious, frugal...those are the things you look at and those are the things you play on. Trust me when I say: not everyone has virtues, but they all have vices."
"If I have any vices...sure I do, would I tell you my vices? No...that's your job to discover them, is it not?"
The man's faint smile vanished, you feel the cold sweep over you when you notice that hint of darkness, that glimmer of unnatural red within his silver eyes. Yet before you can react, he shows that smile again...again that mysterious, seductive grin which draws you in completely. "To put it simply, I know how to play the masses and how to play my superiors, allowing me absolute freedom in between. To put it simply: L'état, c'est moi.
