## Chapter 146: The Humanized Devil
Robert Owen was startled by the surging crowd, his voice drowned out by their chaotic shouts. “Friends! Calm down! Calm down!” he cried, but his pleas were lost in the din.
Tom, his face slick with sweat, turned to Arthur, “What do we do now? There are already hundreds here. If this escalates, we could be looking at thousands, and then it’ll be a full-blown riot!”
Arthur, without a word, grabbed Tom and Tony, leading them to two passing public carriages, shoving them inside. “Tom, you go back to Greenwich Police Station. Tell them that Arthur Hastings, the Superintendent of the Greenwich District of the Metropolitan Police, has issued an urgent order. Deploy all available police force to the Royal Arsenal and Royal Dockyard in Woolwich, under the jurisdiction of Greenwich.
Every ten paces in the vicinity of the Woolwich Arsenal, set up a post with three officers. Increase patrols. If you find anyone attempting to assault the Arsenal, apprehend them without question. We’ll interrogate them later to determine their intent.
Also, inform the Royal Artillery stationed near the Woolwich Arsenal to remain on high alert. The Cabinet and the War Office have not issued any suppression orders. If the situation escalates into a large-scale riot and local police are insufficient to maintain order, then request the Royal Artillery to deploy a guard company to assist.
Finally, I reiterate, no firing of weapons is allowed. All flintlock muskets from the Greenwich Police Station are to be brought to the Woolwich Arsenal for safekeeping. Anyone who loses a single weapon will face a criminal trial!”
Tom saluted, “Yes, sir!”
“Tony, go to Tower Hamlets. Inform the Coldstream Guards, responsible for guarding the Tower of London, of the emergency. If the Duke of Cambridge, the Commander of the Coldstream Guards, is present, report directly to him and request local police assistance to strengthen the guard at the Tower of London armory.
Also, transport all firearms from the Tower Hamlets Police Station to the Tower of London. I know how many guns are there. If any are missing, I will hold them accountable!”
Tony gritted his teeth, “Arthur, Tower Hamlets is different from Greenwich. Greenwich is our base, Tom knows them well, so you have authority there. But I don’t have an official warrant from Scotland Yard, those guys might not listen to me.”
Arthur understood Tony’s concerns. Since his promotion to Superintendent, the new Inspector for the Greenwich district was yet to be appointed. The local constables were all his former subordinates, so Tom could easily gain their trust. But Tower Hamlets was more complicated. The Inspector there, like Clemens, was a former member of the Horse Guards.
While it wouldn’t be fair to assume they were on the same side, seeing Fred openly operating his detective agency in Tower Hamlets suggested the Inspector wasn’t a good guy either.
Arthur licked his lips, grabbed Tony’s shoulder, and shoved his tobacco pipe into his hand, whispering, “If the Inspector in Tower Hamlets doesn’t listen, find Jones and give him my pipe. He’ll know what to do.”
Tony sighed and nodded, “Alright, Arthur, I know what to do. You take care.”
Arthur watched them leave in the carriage, his heart half-relieved. He hailed another carriage, about to step in when Agareus blocked his path.
The Red Devil spread his wings, obscuring the morning sun, casting a shadow over Arthur’s face. He filed his nails, shaking his head, “Arthur, why bother? They want to die, let them. Even after millennia, humans haven’t gotten any smarter.
Those religious texts call me a devil, say I entice human souls with various benefits. I do tempt souls, but I at least offer something in return!
We have fair contracts, honest exchanges. Humans enjoy the benefits I provide, they should naturally pay the price we initially agreed upon.
But now, they’re given some vague promises, a cry of ‘Down with Wellington, overthrow the Tories’, no guns, no cannons, they rush in to die unarmed.
Honestly, this is even worse than the Crusades. At least the Crusaders, after winning, got a real share of the spoils, everyone benefited from the land and glory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Tsk, it seems easier to be a human fraudster than a soul trader. Arthur, I’ve told you countless times, don’t get involved with these fools. They probably think that by overthrowing Wellington, they’ll get something good.
So what if Wellington steps down? It’s just a change of government. Property ownership in common, equal labor, sounds good, but if humans were truly selfless, there wouldn’t be heaven or hell.
Forget about common property ownership, go out on the street, pick any beggar, and ask these workers if they’d let this stranger live in their houses. Ten out of ten would say no.
In the end, I, the one willing to let a beggar live in my house, am the devil in the books.
The real doers are devils, while those who talk about love become angels. Tsk, tsk, tsk, that’s the hypocrisy of humanity…
Arthur, I advise you, don’t go down that road. Just take care of your own jurisdiction, let others do as they please. Even if the army gets involved, it’s their own fault. Don’t they shout about not talking about morals? So why do you want to save them out of morality? Don’t be foolish, Arthur, morals can’t change hearts.”
Arthur just chuckled, “Morality is not for others, it’s for yourself. I don’t do anything to change anyone, I do it to make myself feel better. If you think I’m moral, it just means you’re becoming more human. Because in human eyes, it’s not emotions but actions that define the good and evil of those rational social animals.”
With that, Arthur walked through Agareus’s shadow and entered the carriage. “Take me to 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s Residence.”
The coachman, taking off his hat, spoke cautiously, “Sir, what are you doing there?”
Arthur smiled, “What else? Of course I’m going to see our Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington.”
The coachman flicked the reins, the carriage slowly moving, “I mean, why are you going there?”
Arthur pulled out two coins from his pocket and handed them through the front window, “For the duty of the Metropolitan Police, to protect the public’s property and life. So for the sake of this property, please hurry.”
(End of Chapter)