A Sub-Digression on the Subject of Being a Good Person
Avery commonly held—and perfectly understandable—idea about the nature of good and evil is that anyone who is nice and kind and pleasant to be around in their personal life must also hold views about politics, society, and their fellow man that would withstand the scrutiny of future generations, and, on the flip side, that nasty, selfish, rude individuals must be philosophically in favor of things like the divine right of kings, sacrificing doe-eyed toddlers to the sun gods, and making virulently green molded gelatin salads out of celery, canned orange segments, and mayonnaise.
Janet Findimatabar was a perfect example of how quickly this assumption could fall apart.
Janet was (as she would readily admit) a shrewd, scheming, manipulative person who would happily drive several knives deep into a friend’s back just to use the hilts of said knives as a ladder to a higher level of fame and fortune.
She was also a fervent supporter of the democratic experiment in a time and place when the vast majority of people preferred their ruler to be selected via the whimsical caprices of a lady who, given all of the available options, chose to live at the bottom of a pond.
Most people contain multitudes or, at the very least, a multitude or two. Janet’s multitudes were simply slightly more multitudinous than most.