The enemy

At dusk, a weary sergeant watches trucks carry the day’s enemy casualties through the gates. This is a war unlike any remembered conflict: there are no walking wounded, no certainty about whether the fallen are dead, and strict rules govern even the words soldiers use to describe them. As rumors spread through the ranks, the sergeant begins to question what victory means—and what, exactly, his side is doing to its enemies.

A strange shipment of lipstick-tipped cigarettes and the unsettling rituals of military life deepen the unease. Beneath the bleak battlefield humor lies a thoughtful science-fiction story about dehumanization, obedience, and the fragile boundaries between “us” and “them.” Told through the tense exchange between an aging sergeant and his shaken lieutenant, it invites listeners to look past the official language of war and confront the personal cost hidden beneath it.