Design

I asked Pip whether she considered herself a soldier. When she pressed me for a definition, I told her that it was someone who fought on behalf of others, so that they would not be endangered, and with a capacity to obey orders. By this definition, she said that she was. She felt that it was important to fight for the ones that you love so that they do not feel pain or loss.

She asked if I would also consider myself thus, and I do. It is what I am designed for, in part.

Pip followed with an interesting question: whether I felt hateful for being designed for war instead of something else. I countered by asking if she was given a bowl and spoon upon her creation, and told that she was made to cook, would she feel any less pride in it? Of course, she said that she would still be proud and happy to cook.

I do not regret my design, because it gives me comfort to do what I am intended to. The tiger does not hate its teeth and claws, nor does it feel remorse for hunting. It hates the man that cages him, beats and starves him, and then sets him loose upon his own kind for entertainment.