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The complexity of the world was partially to blame for that, he felt. When things got messy. And tedious. And exhausting. That was when the temptation to “simplify” often arrived.

He didn’t want to imagine how strong such temptations might be after becoming one with a “god.”

His ego didn’t need that kind of boost. It was hard enough to remain humble, already.

Though, his current circumstances were certainly helping in that regard. He hadn’t felt this pathetic in quite some time.

While it was true that he’d never wanted to be a part of Project Blacksong, it was still tough being stuck here while everyone else was out there fighting so hard.

With so many of their leaders captured, it was impossible to deny the importance of Blacksong, right now. If things didn’t go well... if they suffered another major loss here...

Not to worry.

Abolish was getting absolutely hammered, and not just by the Vanguard.

Jackson stopped and blinked again. Where had that thought come from? Avar?

Silliness. Still making a distinction when there was none. The information was already there. Available to him. If he would just allow himself to see--

Jackson cut the notion off with a shake of his head. Enough.

He returned to his papers. There were plenty to go through. Thankfully, even in his current state, he could still make himself useful.

And it was calming work, too. Perhaps because he’d never really grown out of those early years as an accountant. If anything, his passion for thorough record-keeping and organizational beauty had only ever seemed to grow stronger, much to the chagrin of many of his subordinates and contemporaries.

Where they all saw tedium and hassle, Jackson saw a slow, wonderful march toward perfection. So slow, perhaps, that it might not always make it there, but that was okay. Steady progress was itself satisfying.

For the life of him, he’d never been able to understand why so few others felt the way he did. So many of them wanted to skirt the rules, spend their time on “more important things,” or otherwise avoid “busywork.”

Meanwhile, this was what kept everyone accountable for their actions. And what kept everything operating.

Very few things were more important than that. In fact, maybe nothing was.

The logistics of this war were certainly nothing to take for granted. At the very least, he was glad for the opportunity to go over everything personally.