Silver’s greatest fear throughout his time alongside Flint was that one day, the man would learn the truth of him – and all would be lost. Knowing himself as he did, Silver knew it would be more profitable for Flint to dispose of him than it would ever be to keeping him around – especially after he learned the truth of the man’s past. Although he weaponized that truth immediately, there was a small part of him that did so knowing full well that were their situations reversed, Flint would do the exact same.
Silver never once deluded himself into thinking he had value to Flint in any capacities outside of that of tool. Once he as a tool ceased to be of any use to Flint, he would be discarded as Gates was. Considering the origins of their relationship, the idea of trusting Flint not to turn on him in the end was as mad to Silver as the fact Flint seemed to willfully allow himself to be lead by the nose at times.
In truth, Silver believed that part of why he got away with the things he did was because Flint considered him valuable enough at the time to excuse it. So long as he maintained usefulness, he was untouchable – there was just no telling when that usefulness might slip, and for that reason, Silver never once allowed himself to offer Flint so much as a single hint to who he had been prior to becoming John Silver in the first place.
Because even when he held Flint’s secrets in one hand, he knew those secrets would not destroy Flint the way his own secrets could be his complete undoing. Even once he knew Thomas Hamilton was alive, he had no guarantee he would be able to fully eradicate the threat Flint posed overall – because for as close as he got to Flint, as much as he hated to admit it, Flint in turn got close to him.
In short, Silver’s greatest demon throughout the entire story was both himself and Flint, and when the tale reaches its conclusion, there is a possibility that both demons could be faced – but it is, in all honesty, incredibly unlikely either man would allow for it.
Ocean Archive 