Imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever.

I didn't have to nuke France. I didn't have to nuke that city. It wasn't heavily defended. It wasn't of any strategic importance. It wasn't even a big city. It just happened to be in range and I just happened to have an atomic bomb. One of my own units was nearly killed in the blast. It was, by any reasonable calculation, a complete waste. The war was won and there was no one who needed intimidating. My vast and advanced army took care of that.

I have ruled this land for thousands of years. I have not been a kind ruler. Early on I decided that the English cities were in sub-optimal locations and burned them down, replacing them with my own settlers. Eventually I did it again, but never got around to building replacement cities. What you might call Africa has a vast empty area along the western coast. And what you might call Canada received similar fiery treatment as I rolled over the French army.

It wasn't always like this. We used to be friends. France was distant and did not threaten us at all. They had gold and I had resources. We traded together. We researched together. A war made no sense at all from any economic perspective. Even when their economy slowed and they had less to spend, they still were worth keeping as a friend. But then I noticed their culture. They could have been on the verge of cultural dominance of the world. This terrified me. All my land, wealth, and science could not stand up to the Utopia Project. So I did what I always did: I invaded. While their cultural power was without peer, their military strength was a joke. They did have a moderately effective air force, but fighter planes can only do so much against such a large army, and were helpless when they found themselves grounded when tanks rolled into cities.

All of it was a means to power. Friends are not friends, but friendly faces who ignorantly give us more power than we give them.

They should have saved China. China was the gateway. Once Almaty fell I had a route out of Africa and China in the Middle East was the first to fall. From China I could attack anyone. And I did. Persia was shattered and driven to the cold north. The Ottomans may be safe in the far east, but France looked safe on that distant continent to the west. On the other hand, I know they have the ability to create nuclear weapons. That war could be more trouble than it is worth.

If any courts existed with power, I'd be the first one against the wall, with a noose around my neck and poison in my veins just to be certain. I destroyed the greatest culture the world had ever seen. I killed millions. Maybe more. I burned down cities that did not conform to my vision, with no regard for the vision of others. Maybe I'd be against that wall, but I'm on the spaceship.

I wonder if Alpha Centauri has any alien life. They should be fun to kill.