PicoWriMo

"I've known people who were reprogrammed. Didn't take on me, but it usually does. They make you not want to do the things you used to, not steal or rebel or whatever, and that means something's gone from that person. Something that made them them. Sometimes it's not that big a part and they can still do stuff, work and suchlike, but there's a spark missing. Not always a bad thing in really nasty cases, but you see, if they took away all emotion and drive like Avon said, they wouldn't have a reason to do anything at all. I've seen that. People who just sit there and look at nothing much and have to be made to eat."

"Oh, Vila." Soolin squeezed his hand.

"It's all right. I mean, it wasn't, but I'm glad I didn't know them well." Vila wished he hadn't said that; it sounded so callous. And it was, really. You had to be hard to stay afloat in the Federation. He went on quickly. "So they must give mutoids something to make them good officers and soldiers, and they are. Maybe it's pride in what they are."

"Really?" Soolin sat up and looked at him. "That's... something, anyway."

"And Ilka, she's not a bond slave or anything like that. She's an officer, with officer's rights and all. Not a bad life really, compared to some."

"Not compared to who she was."