“The Universe is already mad, anything else would be redundant.”

“Evil I can do, but matters of the heart baffle me.”

It is quite difficult to define ‘evil’. It is a word each of us knows, yet none of us know what it really is.  It is widely considered a negative adjective (or, at times, noun), but it is not always so. For ‘evil’ people, ‘evil’ is more of a compliment, a statement of work well done. Basically like calling ‘smart’ people ‘smart’ or ‘abnormal’ people ‘weird’.

Let’s go out on a limb and call manipulation ‘evil’. This means the ends do not always justify the means (using manipulation for a ‘good’ cause does not make manipulation a ‘good’ method). So the status of manipulation is a constant and therefore is unaffected by other factors. It is the general consensus that manipulation is evil, so any blames of bias go to the general population, not to me in specific.

Manipulating with other people and situations is an easy task any of us can do. Doing it well, on the other hand, takes some finesse. It is especially straightforward and simple for people that are cold and calculated. People who prefer to analyse every situation before it has had the chance of occurring. People who prefer knowing everything remotely possible about the situation and people involved therein. It is basically determining the outcome of any situation by knowing the current location, direction, speed and influences of every single particle. Sure, while that is as of yet impossible, generalisations based on certain known groups of particles (say, people) can be made. This means the ability to predict the probable, not definite, outcome of any influence of any factor, including the spectator. You could call it playing God, I call it overthinking life (not thinking over life).

Manipulation is easy as 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C, if you prefer. Turning situations into one’s favour is generally not a difficult task as one can benefit in numerous ways. And that is what ‘evil’ is generally all about – profiting the ‘evil-doer’. This is precisely the reason why so many people decide to join the dark side – it gives them great power without great responsibility.

Matters of the heart are a different matter altogether. They are sometimes selfless, sometimes extremely egoistic. Well, they are always egoistic in the sense that selfless actions are motivated by our desire to feel ourselves better about something or alter public opinion, but that is not the point. Acting on those feelings tends to be irrational. Emotions do not obey the rules of logic, and that is seriously bugging. This means that emotions, just like surprises, can throw a cold, calculated person off-balance.

Some say that being cold and calculated is heartless and robotic (as if that was always a bad thing!), some say acting upon emotions is illogical and hence certainly not reasonable (as if that couldn’t be a good thing!). It is a debate with no clear victory for either side. But having both, as a compromise, is kind of contradictory.

 

“I'm one card short of a full deck
I'm not quite the shilling
One wave short of a shipwreck
I'm not my usual top billing
I'm coming down with a fever
I'm really out to sea
This kettle is boiling over
I think I'm a banana tree”

- Queen