Chapter 2 — I Am One of Them
Hello.
My name is Adrian Kyle.
I am forty-one years old.
If you search my name on the internet, you will find thousands of articles describing me in many different ways. Some call me a strategist. Some call me a manipulator. Others prefer the more flattering title of a "visionary politician."
Titles are amusing things.
They make people feel safe.
They make the world easier to understand.
But titles rarely tell the truth.
The truth is far less elegant.
I currently work within the United Nations, though "work" is not the most accurate word. Officially, I am the right hand of the organization's president — the man who whispers advice when the cameras are turned off and the microphones stop recording.
The public sees speeches, agreements, and handshakes.
But power does not exist on the stage.
Power lives in the shadows behind it.
And that is where I have spent most of my life.
Still... I regret many things.
Far more than I am comfortable admitting.
But regrets are useless. They do not change the past. They merely remind us how powerless we once were.
And now it is too late to repay those debts.
I was born in a place called the Central Union.
A gray country built on promises that were never meant to be kept.
Most people there grow up believing in two things: survival and silence.
I grew up believing in neither.
In truth, I was raised in an orphanage.
I never knew my parents.
No photographs. No letters. No records.
Just a blank space where a family should have been.
Children in orphanages learn something very quickly.
Kindness is temporary.
Hope is dangerous.
And trust is a luxury you cannot afford.
Perhaps that is why I left the Central Union the moment I had the chance. Staying there would have meant suffocating slowly beneath a system designed to crush ambition.
I refused to live like that.
So I left.
Years passed.
The world opened its doors, one by one.
And eventually I arrived where I am now.
A man who supposedly holds tremendous influence over global politics.
People often describe me as powerful.
I hear it all the time.
"Adrian Kyle is one of the most powerful men alive."
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what that means.
Yes, I have influence.
Yes, my words can change the direction of negotiations.
Yes, a single phone call from me can move armies or collapse economies.
But power is a strange illusion.
The world is not ruled by individuals.
It is ruled by systems.
Invisible systems that shape the decisions of billions of people every single day.
This world is built on deception.
Everyone is trying to control someone else.
Governments control citizens.
Corporations control markets.
Media controls perception.
And people... people desperately try to control each other.
Fear.
Greed.
Hope.
These are the real currencies of civilization.
I stand somewhere in the middle of that machinery.
Not entirely free... yet not entirely controlled either.
There are only a handful of people in the Western political sphere who exist in that strange space between authority and independence.
And I am one of them.
Tonight, the city outside my window is drowning in light.
From the top floor of the building, the skyline stretches endlessly — glass towers, highways glowing like rivers of fire, helicopters cutting through the night sky.
Somewhere down there, millions of people are living their lives.
They believe the world is chaotic.
Unpredictable.
Random.
But it isn't.
Everything follows patterns.
Everything follows interests.
Take politics, for example.
People like to believe that politics is about ideals.
Democracy.
Freedom.
Human rights.
Justice.
Beautiful words.
Words that sound noble in speeches and declarations.
But in reality, those words are tools.
Nothing more.
Tools used to guide public opinion.
Tools used to justify decisions already made behind closed doors.
Human dignity.
Freedom.
Democracy.
Rights.
Religion.
All of them can be turned into weapons when placed in the right hands.
Especially religion.
Religion is a fascinating phenomenon.
It was born from fear — the fear of the unknown, the fear of death, the fear of suffering.
For thousands of years, humans have used faith to comfort themselves in a universe that refuses to provide answers.
There is nothing inherently wrong with belief.
But belief becomes dangerous when it becomes absolute.
And those who sit at the very top of society understand this perfectly.
Religion, when used carefully, becomes the most efficient system of control ever created.
You do not need chains when people believe obedience is sacred.
You do not need armies when fear of divine punishment keeps society in line.
Faith can guide millions with a single idea.
That is why every government in history has had a complicated relationship with religion.
Some embrace it.
Some suppress it.
But none of them ignore it.
Because controlling belief means controlling people.
And controlling people means controlling the future.
The wind rattles softly against the glass window beside me.
The office is dark except for a single lamp on my desk.
Papers lie scattered across the surface — reports, diplomatic summaries, economic forecasts.
All the small fragments that together shape the direction of nations.
I pick up a document and glance at it briefly before setting it aside.
Another crisis.
Another negotiation.
Another illusion of stability.
Sometimes I wonder how ordinary people would react if they truly understood how fragile the world really is.
Civilization balances on a knife's edge.
One mistake.
One miscalculation.
And everything could collapse.
Perhaps that is why I no longer believe in the idea of absolute trust.
You cannot fully trust governments.
You cannot fully trust allies.
You cannot fully trust institutions.
In fact...
You cannot even fully trust yourself.
Because the worst decisions in history were made by people who were absolutely certain they were right.
Confidence can be more dangerous than ignorance.
A faint sound echoes from the hallway outside my office.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone is approaching.
I glance toward the door but say nothing.
Security is everywhere in this building.
Nothing happens here without multiple layers of surveillance.
Still...
Something about the atmosphere feels slightly different tonight.
Perhaps it is simply fatigue.
After all, I have spent the entire day moving between meetings, negotiations, and briefings.
Presidents.
Ambassadors.
Generals.
Everyone wants something.
Everyone believes their cause is justified.
Everyone is convinced they are saving the world.
The door opens quietly.
One of my aides steps inside.
He bows his head slightly.
"Sir," he says, "your car is ready."
I nod slowly.
"Thank you."
He hesitates for a moment before leaving the room.
For a brief second, I notice something strange in his expression.
Fear.
Or perhaps guilt.
Hard to tell.
I stand up from my chair and walk toward the large window overlooking the city.
The lights stretch to the horizon like a sea of stars.
Billions of lives.
Billions of stories.
All moving through history without ever realizing who truly guides the currents beneath them.
People often ask a simple question.
Who controls the world?
Politicians?
Corporations?
Religious leaders?
Secret organizations?
The truth is both simpler and darker than most would expect.
The world is controlled by those who understand how to manipulate systems.
Those who know how to move pieces without being seen.
Those who stand above ideology, above faith, above national borders.
I exhale slowly.
The reflection in the glass shows a tired man in an expensive suit.
Forty-one years old.
A politician.
An orphan.
A strategist.
A liar.
Perhaps all of those things at once.
Outside, sirens echo faintly in the distance.
The city continues breathing.
Unaware.
Unconcerned.
Unprepared.
I close my eyes for a moment.
And when I open them again, a small smile appears on my face.
Because there is one final truth I have not yet mentioned.
A truth that most people would never accept.
If the world is truly controlled by people like that...
Then the answer becomes obvious.
I turn away from the window and whisper quietly to the empty office.
"After all..."
"I am one of them."
---
I left the building.
The night air was cold. The street lights reflected dimly on the wet asphalt. I looked around.
A car was waiting by the roadside.
I took a deep breath.
I was very tired today. Meetings, arguments, political games all day long... everything felt like it was crushing my mind.
I opened the car door and got inside.
As the door closed, the noise from outside suddenly seemed to fade away.
The car began to move.
A few seconds passed in silence.
There was a strange emptiness inside me.
"Interesting..."
"I never started a family."
This thought came to my mind unexpectedly.
I chuckled.
It really was funny.
So much power, so much influence, so many enemies... yet no time found for a simple life.
"But it doesn't matter."
I looked out the window.
The streets were slowly receding behind us.
Suddenly I spoke.
— Hey... driver. Pull over to the side for a moment.
— Yes, sir.
His voice was calm as usual.
The car slowly turned towards the roadside.
At that moment, that strange feeling arose inside me again.
Anxiety without reason.
"Hmm..."
"Is something wrong?"
I leaned my head back against the seat.
"Maybe I'm just tired."
The car began to slow down.
And then —
In an instant, everything changed.
BOOOOOM!!!
The sound of the explosion felt like it was tearing my ears apart.
Everything suddenly seemed to slow down.
Glass fragments floated in the air.
The sound of metal bending was heard.
My body was lifted from the seat.
"So... this is it..."
Suddenly I understood everything.
This wasn't an accident.
This was an assassination.
A strange calmness settled inside me.
"I knew this day would come."
I have overcome too many people in this world.
Made too many enemies.
So...
This is not surprising.
The driver's scream was heard.
— SIR!!!
He didn't know either.
Poor man.
He too was a victim of this game.
Flames began to consume the car.
The heat was burning my face.
Breathing became difficult.
"Yes..."
"So this is the end."
Interesting.
I am not afraid.
There is just one strange thought.
"My life..."
My eyes began to close slowly.
"Come to think of it..."
A very faint smile appeared on my lips.
"It wasn't bad."
"Actually..."
"It was interesting."
Darkness filled my vision.
And then...
Nothing remained.