Thursday, April 12, 2012

Minions. A.K.A Shashi’s Evil Overlord List

Minions. They’re not an essential requirement for someone like me, but darkness knows they’re useful. In fact, many of our kind depend on having a decent posse of minions to take care of their dirty work, to take the fall for their evil deeds, and/or to be experimented upon. But like any other sort of raw material, they come in a wide variety of qualities, shapes, and sizes. And as always, some are more suited to the task at hand than others. Therefore, it is a very serious life decision to decide whether or not to put yourself and your empire in the rather grubby hands of a lowly minion. So you ask, what sort of qualities does a good minion need?

First and foremost is Loyalty. A good minion MUST be loyal. To ME. The important factor here is that a minion has to follow ME. Not my partner. Not my buddy. Not my dog (though that may at times be more tempting), and definitely not some hero, who can imbue him with an insignificant moral compass that can one day be used to turn him against me. If the minion does not serve me wholeheartedly with all his mind, body, and soul, then either his priorities need to be straightened out, or he needs to be permanently terminated and removed from his position. Because if he can be turned against me, anything I've trusted him with is going to go against me too. So I demand absolute control over their teeny tiny little brains! 

Next is Survivability. No, I do not mean serviceability! I maybe a few ants short of a picnic, but I know the difference between the two words!  Sure, I can just replace them, but that means finding and training the new minions, fitting them for uniforms, having to worry about personnel shortages and/or difficulties with finding cheap labor. I also have to deal with the general decreases in morale due to the a) constant losses at the hands of the heroes, b) the fact that either the numbers are changing every "incident" or c) I’m getting cases where number 152 has seniority over number 3 because I hired him 5 minutes before, for the simple reason that I needed to fill in the gaps left by those who came (and went) before them.  But if my minions are tough and difficult to kill, not only do I not have to worry about replacing them, but hopefully they will come back with some useful information, possibly learn from their mistakes (I wouldn't count on it, though), and maybe even lull the heroes into overconfidence because they always seem to lose so miserably.

Then if possible, a minion must be competent and useful. (Though chaos knows that’s impossible! I know! I've looked in the darkest pits, on the tallest mountains and everywhere in between!! Good help is so hard to find!!!!!) If for instance a minion is supposed to be able to take on ten normal men at one go, I would also normally make sure they can also handle women, children, abnormal men, nonhuman species, things without concept of gender, shape, form etc, etc...  This would be a consideration in applicable sorts of contests of say, intimidation or general destruction, rather than being able to outwit them (because most minions I know aren't that gifted in the brains department). Basically, these creatures are supposed to be instrumental in carrying out my evil plans. If they can’t carry them out, why would I waste my valuable, albeit ill-gotten resources on them?

I also prefer my minions to be primarily accustomed to taking orders without asking too many questions. No one likes a lippy minion when they are trying to concentrate on a particularly fiddly dastardly deed. On the other hand, I cannot have minions who only have the brain capacity to follow orders, because they freeze up when acting on their own, and that’s just not pretty. Besides, minions with a few working brain cells in their heads tend to come in handy from time to time; I can steal their ideas, take the credit, and maybe even save my own skin when  the lowly minion turns out to be right. They also make good bait to put angry mobs off my trail, because they, the minions, can be torn apart and poked with pitchforks and all manner of murderous sharp objects that mobs may prefer, while I make good my escape. Therefore, I find followers in the I.Q range of 75-80% to be optimal. 

Finally, I do not settle for substandard minions! They break under stress, crack and disintegrate under pressure, slow me down, and generally make trying to execute an evil plan even more difficult than it would be otherwise. Scrupulous Standards are EVERYTHING to someone like me. So if YOU feel you fulfill my minionic requirements... please do not hesitate to apply. Great rewards (I offer no guarantees) await the members of my horde! Join me! Travel to exotic places. Meet new people! Kill them! It’s the minion’s life for YOU!


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