Enlightenment and Persuasion

Enlightenment and Persuasion or any other name that might be used, is almost always a government or corporate funded secretive group whose purpose is to change the perceptions of any opposition. Often a frowned upon protest group, dissident element or rebel faction. With psychological means, physical methods or both.    In this case let us discuss the branch name unknown used by the Europarty, PNE The Party for the National renewal of Europe. There are also aligned parties within member states. The PNE has been known to during protests against it to send in it's security forces. For the most part the security forces bust heads and break up black blocks. However, there are times when unmarked vehicles are seen to aggressively drive up, disgorge heavily armed men who grab whoever is the opposition of the moment, subdue, bag and gag them, before taking them off to parts unknown.   There was a single instance of one of the taken being recovered. A university aged girl, who before was fully committed to environmental groups, anti-racism and anti-fascism. When found she was like a wholly new person, personality, outlook and all. Everything she believed in before seemed to have been completely purged from her mind. She was examined and it was determined that she was in excellent health. The only anomaly being that she had appeared to have been given fertility drugs during the time she was missing and eggs had been removed from her ovaries. She spoke freely about what had happened to her, all but ignoring her prior beliefs and new outlook and perspectives. She always came back to wanting to get to her children.   The girl explained that when taken, that she and the others were cuffed, hooded and gagged. They were marched and dragged through what seemed to be endless halls including being taken up and down multiple flights of stairs. It was an extremely disorienting experience. Through all this she ended up alone, only hearing the orders of the guards, moans of other prisoners and screams. From time to time there came the crackling and sizzling of electricity, always with the guard saying "That was room thirty-six, you do not want to go there."   She described the method if it was one that her questioner used. If it was one.   The man who interviewed her told her that everything he said to her was the truth, that he would not lie to her. That his job was to convince her to sign a confession and make a sincere apology.    First he explained what a truism is. A truism being something that regardless of how many times you examine it or by what method, you always come to the same conclusion. A truism is always true. "You need air, water and food to live. Without them you die."   Then he explained what the truth is. The truth is subjective, the truth is fluid, the truth is what you choose it to be.  "One week a soldier's commanding officer says that the people over there are the enemy, that you must fight them and kill them. The next week the commanding officer says that those people you were fighting are now your friends and that you will help them to rebuid and have trade and commerce with them. What has changed from one week to the next other than the commanding officer's words? The truth for the soldier is to obey his commanding officer."   So the girl learned to obey. Perhaps too well, for, she and the team she lead to rescue her children were never heard from again.