Kimblee nods a bit at the assertion about the war - his own thoughts regarding anything that happened there aside, objectively speaking yes, it was terrible; there's no sense in denying that. An entire group of people was annihilated; he supposes it's a shame.
As for her next question...well. He'd expected that eventually; he keeps his gaze downcast, continuing to fuss with his gloves, while he answers her.
"Well, first of all, given what I've told you about alchemy, I wouldn't be surprised if you found it to be a horrible craft; that's far from the case. Those of us who join the military are looked down upon in society - considered freaks, called the 'dogs of the military;' one of the basic tenets upheld by alchemists is that of 'Be Thou For The People," meaning that alchemy is to be used for the benefit of mankind. Most alchemists interpret this as requiring a pacifistic - or at least nonaggressive - standpoint. Those in the military see it differently; they see no reason why using alchemy to defend their own shouldn't be considered as valid a means of service as anything else.
With that in mind, there are certain things that are considered unforgivable, even among those of us who have chosen to serve the military. Unfortunately, the first law binding State Alchemists is that we must obey the military at all costs, regardless of how repulsive we find their orders or actions."
And all of that is true. It's perfectly true; just misleading as hell. This is what Kimblee does, what he's good at; not necessarily lying, just presenting things in a way that's favorable.
"The men I killed had ordered and taken part in one of the acts considered an abomination, both against nature and against humanity. When the war broke out, there were soldiers of Ishvalan heritage among our ranks; they had sworn loyalty to Amestris, yet they were sequestered by the Amestrian military anyway - they were imprisoned deep in Ishval and, as it turns out, subjected to horrifying human experimentation while locked behind bars or tied down like dogs. Several of these experiments involved using alchemy in ways that I won't describe unless asked; should you choose to do so, bear in mind that these are things that human weapons consider unforgivable.
Again, having joined the military in the first place, it was no longer my place to judge or speak out against such things. However, these people had committed sins against nature; from an alchemist's standpoint, they had forfeited their right to even be considered human, the things they had done were that hideous."
He leaves it there for now; he imagines the implications will do the rest for him.
no subject
As for her next question...well. He'd expected that eventually; he keeps his gaze downcast, continuing to fuss with his gloves, while he answers her.
"Well, first of all, given what I've told you about alchemy, I wouldn't be surprised if you found it to be a horrible craft; that's far from the case. Those of us who join the military are looked down upon in society - considered freaks, called the 'dogs of the military;' one of the basic tenets upheld by alchemists is that of 'Be Thou For The People," meaning that alchemy is to be used for the benefit of mankind. Most alchemists interpret this as requiring a pacifistic - or at least nonaggressive - standpoint. Those in the military see it differently; they see no reason why using alchemy to defend their own shouldn't be considered as valid a means of service as anything else.
With that in mind, there are certain things that are considered unforgivable, even among those of us who have chosen to serve the military. Unfortunately, the first law binding State Alchemists is that we must obey the military at all costs, regardless of how repulsive we find their orders or actions."
And all of that is true. It's perfectly true; just misleading as hell. This is what Kimblee does, what he's good at; not necessarily lying, just presenting things in a way that's favorable.
"The men I killed had ordered and taken part in one of the acts considered an abomination, both against nature and against humanity. When the war broke out, there were soldiers of Ishvalan heritage among our ranks; they had sworn loyalty to Amestris, yet they were sequestered by the Amestrian military anyway - they were imprisoned deep in Ishval and, as it turns out, subjected to horrifying human experimentation while locked behind bars or tied down like dogs. Several of these experiments involved using alchemy in ways that I won't describe unless asked; should you choose to do so, bear in mind that these are things that human weapons consider unforgivable.
Again, having joined the military in the first place, it was no longer my place to judge or speak out against such things. However, these people had committed sins against nature; from an alchemist's standpoint, they had forfeited their right to even be considered human, the things they had done were that hideous."
He leaves it there for now; he imagines the implications will do the rest for him.