Divide and Conquer: The Art of Manipulation | The Immortal Gazette
The Immortal Gazette studio was in a bit of chaos today. Alice was lounging dramatically on her chair, Loki was leaning against the wall with that knowing smirk of his, and Rumple was pacing back and forth, muttering about “how humans just don’t get it”.
Alice, still twirling a quill, broke the silence with that tone that made you wonder if she was entirely joking.
“Well, well, well. Mortals, gather ‘round—today, we’ll be educating you on one of the oldest tricks in the book: Divide and Conquer.”
Loki raised an eyebrow. “Ah, the classic. Oldie, but goodie.”
Rumple, not one to be left out of a good rant, scoffed. “And yet, mortals still fall for it—time and time again. Makes you wonder how stupid people really are.”
Alice leaned forward with a devilish smile. “Oh, it’s not that mortals are stupid, darling. It’s just that they don’t see the strings. They don’t know what’s pulling them.”
Loki smirked. “I can think of a few times I’ve pulled some strings myself.”
Rumple rolled his eyes. “We all have. Moving on.”
Alice, unfazed by the interruptions, raised a finger. “Divide and Conquer—the simplest and most effective tool in anyone’s arsenal. You break up your enemies, get them fighting amongst themselves, and—voila—you win.”
Loki leaned against the wall. “It’s like playing chess, but you don’t even need to play the game. You just make the other side destroy itself.”
Rumple grinned, finally getting into the mood. “Oh, I’ve had a few fun games with that tactic.”
Alice nodded slowly, all too aware of the immortal bickering. “You know, mortals are pretty easy to manipulate with this one. You simply sow the seeds of distrust, make them feel divided—whether it’s through ideology, religion, power, or just plain fear—and then watch them tear themselves apart.” She leaned in, voice low, “And, naturally, no one even realizes they’re playing into it.”
Loki’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Don’t we all love watching the chaos unfold?”
“Absolutely,” Alice said, sipping her tea, completely unbothered by the world around her. “It’s like a beautiful car crash—horrifying, but you can’t look away.”
Rumple chuckled. “Historical examples, anyone? You know, for educational purposes?”
“Oh, I can think of a few.” Alice smirked. “Take the Romans. The Roman Empire was brilliant at Divide and Conquer—conquered land, sure, but they also broke up entire groups of people. Keep the slaves divided by nationality, keep the rich Roman citizens divided from the poor, make sure the generals don’t trust each other, and voila—you rule an empire without ever really needing to fight a war.”
Loki nodded, impressed. “And when one group gets too strong, you turn them against each other.”
“Exactly,” Alice said, waving a hand. “It’s simple.” She looked over at Rumple. “Do you have a personal favorite example?”
Rumple grinned widely. “Ah, do I? Take my good friend, Loki, for example.”
Loki narrowed his eyes. “What now?”
“You know that little stunt you pulled with the gods of Asgard, don’t you?” Rumple’s grin grew. “Getting Thor and Odin to distrust each other? The whole thing with the Tesseract?”
Loki sighed dramatically. “Must you always bring up that one? I’m over it. I got what I wanted. And it was beautiful.”
Alice laughed darkly. “Isn’t it always? And let’s not forget the ultimate classic: Julius Caesar. Divide the Senate. Turn them against each other. Then—bam—you have the power.”
Loki grinned. “Ah, yes, good ol’ Caesar. That’s a textbook example of dividing the opposition.”
Rumple raised his hands in mock admiration. “He didn’t just divide, he conquered - ultimately that Did not end well for him!”
Alice nodded sagely. “And then there’s the more modern example—divide society with technology, race, and class. It’s the easiest way to stay in power in the current age.”
Loki looked at her, intrigued. “You’re so cynical, but it works.”
“Always does,” Alice replied, twirling her quill in the air. “One simple idea: keep them fighting. Keep them distracted. And you win.”
Rumple leaned back, looking smug. “It really is too easy.”
Alice tilted her head, her tone darker than before. “But—and here’s the kicker—don’t let them realize that they’re doing all the work. You never want them to see the puppet strings.”
Loki chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. They’ll never catch on. Too busy fighting each other to look up.”
With that, the trio fell into a comfortable silence, knowing full well that the divide and conquer method had been used for millennia, with results often catastrophic.
And so, The Immortal Gazette added yet another tale of dark wisdom to its collection.
🖋️✨📜🖤
