We mentioned earlier that Carl knew the mayor of his city. We did not mention that this man is currently in prison for war crimes.

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"He was charged with crimes against humanity, inciting mass rape, horrible things. He and I developed a relationship that was bizarre. He presented himself as the mayor of the city who cares for people who need help. And he's the one who led me to a couple orphanages that needed helping. There was never any open conversation about genocide."

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You'd think something like this would come up.

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Carl dealt with more mass murderers and war criminals in three months than most people ever read about. The rogue's gallery he met could have filled whole seasons of Law & Order: Genocidal Intent.

"The leader of one killing squad and I knew each other. He'd stolen one of the vehicles from my office. So we had somewhat of a tense acquaintanceship. But others were more friendly -- relationships with the people at roadblocks, or a couple of brothers who ran killing squads and changed my U.S. dollars to local money for me. It was all in the name of trying to supply water and food and medicine to the orphans. Everything was done in a hurry, often with gunfire or mortars nearby. There was no time for chat. It's kind of strange how you'd just talk about what was at hand."

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Which meant a lot of conversations about how we should talk literally anywhere else, because mortars.

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For the politicians, at least, Carl figures it all came down to control:

"I think some people were just demonstrating they had the power. ... Motives matter, but unless you can really talk to people and get inside their heads, that's a tough one. People who we've labeled the enemy, people we're sure are wretched and horrible ... those same people can make a decision and be your ally, too. Once you really believe that allies can come from anywhere in society, it opens up a whole new range of possibilities.

In a movie we ask who is the good guy, who is the bad guy? It's more complex than that, and your most important ally can be a bad guy. He can be the difference between life and death."

For more insider perspectives, check out 7 Ways My Modern Country Turned Into a Dystopia Overnight. And then check out 25 Real Facts That Make Common Fears Way Less Scary.