Seabrook, TX

18 hours early again. They let me hit a dock, so all I gotta do is get woke up in the morning. This is one of the reasons I'm always early--nothing to worry about anymore.

I'm "reading" an audio-book on Alexander the Great. This one relies mostly on the word of Ptolomey, one of his generals, and Aristomulus (sp?), his chief architect--and other reliable sources, and I've decided he really was great. I have also suddenly remembered that I was him in a past life.

I know what you're thinking: "What took you so long to realize it? We knew it all along!"

Well, it's just that I'm too humble to realize stuff like that.

Anyway, I should set the record straight. I was the son of King Philip of Macedon and Queen Olympia of Barbaria. (Mom wasn't Macedonian, hence was a barbarian, and out of the gate people were saying I wasn't a legitimate heir. Really pissed me off.)

Anyway, Dad helped organize the League of Corinth, which united the Greek states (except for those bastards in Sparta.) He was named King of it. This alliance was neccessary, because the Persian Emprire kept invading and conquering everybody, and then there were a bunch of lesser tribes that were running around raiding and pillaging.

Worse, the rich Persians kept bribing people and setting us at eachother's throats. The City-States were separate countries, and constantly at war over one thing or another. Athens was a shadow of it's former self, too, and there was a lot of corruption there. But they had to admit that Dad had built the toughest army in the world, and could protect them.

When I was thirteen, Dad sent me to Aristotle's school in Athens for four years. Know Aristotle? Well, he favored me especially, and taught me what a King should be. The DUTY of a King is the welfare of his subjects. He's not there to gouge them and rob them, but to provide leadership, stability, and protection. It's a two-way street. Tyrants wreck everything for everybody, including themselves.

Aristotle is known to you as a perhaps the greatest Greek Philosopher, but in my time was the acknowleged expert in many fields, including the hard sciences. Later came Da Vinci--Aristotle was like that. And he was my teacher for four years, can ya dig it?

I believed in the highest Greek ideals; largely formed by Aristotle's predecessors, Socrates and Plato. (Socrates was a soldier first, you know. Fought in five campaigns.)

Men should be free, and allowed to speak their minds. We still had slavery, of course. That's what we did with people we defeated. But it was more like indentured servitude, and you could earn or win freedom. You'd get fined heavily or sent to prison for abusing a slave.

People should be educated, and then make intelligent decisions about their own government. Although in Macedon we had a monarchy, and this was hereditary, the new king had to be approved by the Companions. This was the ruling class.

Now, see--monarchy and "ruling class" triggers revulsion in you, but that's because most of them throughout history have been abusive and self-serving. We had a very strong code of ethics in Macedon, which understood that our duty was TO our people. We were a nation of farmers, mostly. People had to work hard, and were glad to have us take care of the larger affairs of state, so long as we didn't tax the hell out of them or push them around.

In Athens, thanks to abuses in their DEMOCRACY, people were impoverished, and many of their young men were mercenaries--some employed by the Syrian Empire--you believe that? (Don't get me started on the Spartans. They had actively fought alongside the invaders whenever it suited them. And, too, they were ruled by ruthless tyrants.)

At any rate, Dad (King Philip) wanted to knock out the Syrian threat once and for all, but first had to bring the rest of our enemies under control, or they'd be all over us as soon as the army left. All along our northern border, there were large tribes who kept raiding and pillaging us.

Before he could really get started, though, he was assassinated. At the time, I was about twenty. I'd served as one of his generals, and done a nice job. I had also replaced him at the Palace while he was away, seeing ambassadors and running things, and people liked how I did that, as well.

I was pretty popular among the common people, most of the companions, and especially the soldiers (we had a professional army, by the way.) But some said that because mom was a barbarian, the real legit heir was my half-brother from his second marriage; and infant. There was a big move to install a regent on his behalf. (His mother's Aristocrat father).

Further, Athens eagerly declared the league of Corinth null and void, because that deal was with Philip. (Athens never liked us much: "buncha farmers".) Thebes, too, split away. Everything looked like it was going to collapse. But I got named King of Macedon, anyway.

I had to take action fast, and I did. I went up north and kicked the hill tribes' butts. I left garrisons, but also well-diggers and other experts to help those people learn modern agriculture and stuff. They were expecting me to sack, pillage, and enslave them, but I didn't. In fact, my soldiers were forbidden from molesting any of the women. I put two of them to death for doing so. I set one captive woman free--she'd killed a soldier who'd raped her, and was honest about it. I would have killed him myself.

Because I was benevolent, and even allowed them to continue governing themselves, they loved me. DUH!

Point is: I wasn't a conqueror. I was a liberator. You don't seem to know the difference. Wise up.

But Thebes crossed the line. They killed two of my emissaries. It was bad enough that they'd withdrawn from the league the first chance they got. They were very powerful, and felt they could defy me.

I'm telling you here and now, I did what I did for the sake of the league, and that I had a broader vision. Ask Ptolomey or Aristomulus: I spoke of all men as brothers, beyond race or country. I spoke of one overriding God. I did what I did to make the world a better place for everyone.

Well, when I showed up with my army 6 miles from their capitol, they wouldn't even apologize for killing my people. They even killed more of them, and called me names and stuff. I tried everything to avoid a conflict and reunite us. Hey, you remember Abraham Lincoln? See how it was?

Well, they wouldn't listen, so I had to kick their asses. Now, when it was over, I turned to the various peoples that Thebes (another tyranny) had been stomping on for generations, and left their fate up to them.

Big mistake. They slaughtered and enslaved them. My bad. But it was sort of neccessary:

You see, upon hearing first of my mercy in the north, and then my brutality with Thebes, people saw the writing on the wall, and sent emissaries to me from all over to offer their allegience--to me, as to my father. (Except Sparta, naturally. Today you romanticize them, but let me tell you--they were rotten bastards.)

By the way, my soldiers loved me because I shared all their hardships, and LED them into battle. Yes, in my shiny armor and plumes and stuff. And I don't mind telling you, I personally killed a lot of enemy soldiers. (The Oracle of Delphi had told me that I was invicible. And I was not afraid to die).

Today, many think I was just a maniac who loved war. True, I was unafraid, but didn't do it just to prove something, or to get my jollies, or for any of the other crappy reasons you assign to me. You are jealous, and simply WANT to think that I was just as lousy as you are. Your level of cynicism is disgusting. You want think everybody sucks, so that you don't feel so bad that YOU suck. WRONG. I really WAS a superman. DEAL with it.

Aristotle's student believed in peace and freedom for all people, and had to do some nasty stuff to get there.

Anyway, with most of Greece at peace and the hostile tribes subdued, it was safe for me to get after King Darius and the Persian Empire.

That clown Demothsenes in Athens was always orating against me, for some reason. Wanted them to pull out of the league and act like Sparta. He'd produced witnesses to my death in the North, which was partly why Thebes grew big ones...they'd thought I was dead! Demothsenes would, throughout my life, campaign against me, and everything I did--and many would believe him.

Oh! I forgot. While I was away trying to get confirmed as King, mom had both my half-brother and his mom killed. I raised hell, but what was I to do? Put my mother to death for protecting me?

Anyway, my dad (King Philip) had assembled a professional army of 40,000 infantry. The Companion Cavalry 10-15,000 consisted of sons of the aristocracy, and themselves were severely well-trained, professional, and fearless. It was recognized as the most effective force in the world, and this was partly why Dad, with Aristotle's help and influence (and despite Demothsenes), was able to unite most of Greece...uneasily...sorta.

Now, I was going to put a stop to constant Syrian wars of conquest against us...you see? It was my duty to protect my people, even if I didn't have the higher ideals I mentioned in mind.

To be continued.