Dialog

Hey! Hey you! Quit playing that power game, that get-ahead game, that who-is-useful-to-me game. People can tell when you’re not on their team, you know. Not at first, not everybody, but it becomes apparent. They’ll tolerate you as long as they know your interests coincide with theirs. But they know that when there’s a sacrifice to be made, you can’t be trusted. I know that when the cards are down you’ll be exposed for the charlatan you are, and you’ll be dropped like a hot rock.

You don’t think I care about this as much as you do? I’m tired, you’re tired, it’s been a goddamn long day. And I do respect you, you know that? But I’ve been around this sort of thing longer than you have, and I will tell you this: the organization does not love you back. It can’t. It’s not a person. It will use you, because that’s its job. I know you’re angry because it’s letting you down now, because it can’t return your love. I’ve been there. It happened to me more than once. I gave everything to a team, to a job, to whatever, and when I’d given as much as I could, one of two things happened: either it was enough, and the org threw me away because I was used up; or it wasn’t enough, and the whole thing collapsed and everybody got fucked. I know how desperately you need to be loved and how much you hate yourself, and me, for it. Let me give you one serious, honest piece of advice: take care of yourself first.

You selfish fuck. You miserable, selfish, egomaniaical little shit. You’re a complete fucking sociopath, you know that?

Call me what you want. Self-preservation is your first directive. People help each other, and make sacrifices for each other, and that’s what makes a society, but you and I both know what happens when there’s two people left on the lifeboat and the society is long long gone. You can’t depend on that society to take care of you– use it, contribute to it, maintain it, but don’t depend on it because one day when you look for it, it won’t be there, and you’ll have to do without.