thread policyDiscussion of politics that does not directly relate to the Quest or to Quest votes are banned from hereon out. This thread policy will be enforced by the Moderation team. Do not ignore it.
Yeah. I actually live right next to a major river here in Cali, but we don't have many of them. There's actually a big controversial thing up here with our river because so-cal wants us to pipe more down to them, and we're not happy about it.
Yeah. If so-cal's farmers would go for less water intense crops and farm animals it would be great. Especially since the land they are farming in was originally freaking desert.
They are draining so much water from the aquifers that we've got land sagging at places as water is pumped out.
We actually have a city in the county that's well known for exporting it's corn. My buddy went to Disneyland one time, and the restaurant he went to was like "you should try the corn we got shipped in, it's special seasonal from one location." And my buddy was like. "I'm good, I live there, I get it all the time."
Huh. I would have expected Victoria to at least posses Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Also I see that Puerto Rico is on the map. Surprised they stabilized but I guess you had to include them due to that tidbit of Victoria trying to foist New York City off on them. I do find it strange that Russia claimed the entirety of Panama and not just the canal zone but what ever. Also what is known about Mexico because I expected them to be as collapsed as the rest of NA that isn't Russian puppets and US successor states?
Huh. I would have expected Victoria to at least posses Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Also I see that Puerto Rico is on the map. Surprised they stabilized but I guess you had to include them due to that tidbit of Victoria trying to foist New York City off on them. I do find it strange that Russia claimed the entirety of Panama and not just the canal zone but what ever. Also what is known about Mexico because I expected them to be as collapsed as the rest of NA that isn't Russian puppets and US successor states?
Short descriptions are available in the Map Key in the Status Screen, but quickly: Puerto Rico is noteworthy because of the massive amount of deported Hispanic Americans Victoria shoved their way. It made for a big population boost and also a spectacular food crisis. The government basically went collaborationist in exchange for Russia not fucking with their food imports. The result is that Puerto Rico now has a huge population, and also is in too deep with Russia to casually climb out.
Panama as a whole got taken because Russia figured that'd be easier to defend than just the Canal, and also because there's at least the pretense of the Canal not being under Russian control.
Mexico is usually punted down just as badly, but they're a lower priority. They're currently a loose league of city-states and are slowly making gestures towards federation as it becomes clear that Russia really is distracted this time.
Hm... looks like we might be able to pull a American Federation of sorts. Mexico can be much improved if their economy is linked to the rest of the continent.
I'm liking the idea of creating a federal nation from the former United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Anyways, after the Spooky story the GM posted about Cheyenne mountain, Imma just throw this idea in here.
"There are no existing accounts as to what happened at SAC-NORAD. No electronic records, no personal anecdotes, nothing. All we know is that at 23:33:10 on [DATE EXPUNGED], USSTRATCOM went silent... and never came back online. The same can be said for all local settlements surrounding the site. All electronic transmissions went dark - no cellular, fiber optic, microwave... not even ham radio. Zero. Zilch. Nada."
"Expeditionary units from the 437th [REDACTED] were deployed for Force Recon and to reestablish contact with SAC-NORAD; said units did not report back. Attempts for further reconnaissance efforts were halted due to lack of available manpower and resources. Current status of the region is unknown, since our SATLINKs are no longer available, so no reliable GEOINT or SIGINT can be obtained. Attempts to relink with Site MEGALITH are no longer considered viable since the invasion of Alaska and are to be halted pending further operations."
"We do know one thing though - the Russians avoid the area like the plague. Nothing goes in or out - we've got intel indicating that they've sealed the area off with several hundred miles of fencing, landmines, the whole nine yards. They've even thrown in armed patrols, which can't be helping their already strained manpower. Whatever happened there, it scared the hell out of them. It still scares them now, to be frank."
Anyways, after the Spooky story the GM posted about Cheyenne mountain, Imma just throw this idea in here.
"There are no existing accounts as to what happened at SAC-NORAD. No electronic records, no personal anecdotes, nothing. All we know is that at 23:33:10 on [DATE EXPUNGED], USSTRATCOM went silent... and never came back online. The same can be said for all local settlements surrounding the site. All electronic transmissions went dark - no cellular, fiber optic, microwave... not even ham radio. Zero. Zilch. Nada."
"Expeditionary units from the 437th [REDACTED] were deployed for Force Recon and to reestablish contact with SAC-NORAD; said units did not report back. Attempts for further reconnaissance efforts were halted due to lack of available manpower and resources. Current status of the region is unknown, since our SATLINKs are no longer available, so no reliable GEOINT or SIGINT can be obtained. Attempts to relink with Site MEGALITH are no longer considered viable since the invasion of Alaska and are to be halted pending further operations."
"We do know one thing though - the Russians avoid the area like the plague. Nothing goes in or out - we've got intel indicating that they've sealed the area off with several hundred miles of fencing, landmines, the whole nine yards. They even thrown in armed patrols, which can't be helping their already strained manpower. Whatever happened there, it scared the hell out of them. It still scares them now, to be frank."
Context: Somebody on Discord asked me what happened to Cheyenne Mountain. My description of the eerily-sterilized aftermath of the Russian assault to prevent a military continuation of American governance from there was sufficiently spooky as to briefly convince the Discord that I'd brought in some Elder God bullshit just to blow up that particular branch of NORAD. :lol
Non-canon, of course, but very interestingly done.
Anyways, after the Spooky story the GM posted about Cheyenne mountain, Imma just throw this idea in here.
"There are no existing accounts as to what happened at SAC-NORAD. No electronic records, no personal anecdotes, nothing. All we know is that at 23:33:10 on [DATE EXPUNGED], USSTRATCOM went silent... and never came back online. The same can be said for all local settlements surrounding the site. All electronic transmissions went dark - no cellular, fiber optic, microwave... not even ham radio. Zero. Zilch. Nada."
"Expeditionary units from the 437th [REDACTED] were deployed for Force Recon and to reestablish contact with SAC-NORAD; said units did not report back. Attempts for further reconnaissance efforts were halted due to lack of available manpower and resources. Current status of the region is unknown, since our SATLINKs are no longer available, so no reliable GEOINT or SIGINT can be obtained. Attempts to relink with Site MEGALITH are no longer considered viable since the invasion of Alaska and are to be halted pending further operations."
"We do know one thing though - the Russians avoid the area like the plague. Nothing goes in or out - we've got intel indicating that they've sealed the area off with several hundred miles of fencing, landmines, the whole nine yards. They even thrown in armed patrols, which can't be helping their already strained manpower. Whatever happened there, it scared the hell out of them. It still scares them now, to be frank."
Context: Somebody on Discord asked me what happened to Cheyenne Mountain. My description of the eerily-sterilized aftermath of the Russian assault to prevent a military continuation of American governance from there was sufficiently spooky as to briefly convince the Discord that I'd brought in some Elder God bullshit just to blow up that particular branch of NORAD. :lol
Non-canon, of course, but very interestingly done.
Adhoc vote count started by gutza1 on Mar 20, 2019 at 10:26 PM, finished with 1774 posts and 133 votes.
[X][IDEALS] Socialist: Having come to refer to a specific political movement rather than an entire branch of ideology, modern socialism is focused on giving the state the power to care for all citizens, and claims that the modern Social Democrat platform does not go far enough in pursuit of this. It also calls for a massive investment into healthcare in order to revitalize the field and make sure that there are enough medical professionals to go around (long-term, they want free healthcare, but there needs to be enough of it first). They also grant unions extensive privileges over private employers. They are fervently in favor of democratized workplaces, and openly campaign in favor of granting them special concessions.
[x][TEXT] The Constitution serves as a broad guide for the structure of this document, and many legal concepts integral to it carry through, but it is rewritten from the ground up to serve its new situation rather than simply amending it until it fits.
[X][IDEALS] Social Democrat: Centered around the idea that it is the state's responsibility to ensure a bare-minimum standard of living, the Social Democrats add to the New Capitalist agenda with a push for a government guarantee of adequate housing, food, and water to all citizens -- itself a fairly titanic task. It remains rooted in the fundamental ideal of private enterprise. The Social Democrats have some interest in the potential of democratized workplaces and are willing to support them in an experimental measure.
[x][IDEALS] Communist: The old revolutionary ideology has elected to push for their aims in the democratic process. Their modern platform, in this setting, is centered around the absolute implementation of workplace democracy in addition to the same welfare and legal measures proposed by other movements. The aims of the American Communists in the present day are to break the concept of private ownership of businesses, which places them in stark opposition to Capitalist and Social Democrat thought of this era. This is a part of a larger drive towards a transition to a fully Communist society, but the Communists have quite enough to be focused on at the moment and are leaving that aside.
[X][IDEALS] New Capitalist: Aims to restore the old system with badly-needed revisions to address some of the obvious flaws. Among other things, it mandates a living minimum wage tied to government-collected measures, writes into foundational law the de-personhood of anybody who is not, in fact, an actual person, and institutes broad protections for employees against their employers (protected right to unionize, protections for whistleblowers, pension laws for companies, etc.). The New Capitalists do not give a single shit about democratized workplaces, positively or negatively, as long as they pay their taxes.
[X][POWER] You are a centralized federal state along the lines of the later United States.
[X][TEXT] The old Constitution had its flaws, but it was a document of many strengths as well. It lasted two and a half centuries. We shall honor that and preserve the original. Our changes will be amendments, as intended, with our population approving them as specified in the text.
[X][TEXT] The Constitution serves as a broad guide for the structure of this document, and many legal concepts integral to it carry through, but it is rewritten from the ground up to serve its new situation rather than simply amending it until it fits.
[X][REVIEW] The new Constitution will serve just fine with a standardized system for proposing amendments.
[x][IDEALS] Socialist: Having come to refer to a specific political movement rather than an entire branch of ideology, modern socialism is focused on giving the state the power to care for allcitizens, and claims that the modern Social Democrat platform does not go far enough in pursuit of this. It also calls for a massive investment into healthcare in order to revitalize the field and make sure that there are enough medical professionals to go around (long-term, they want free healthcare, but there needs to be enough
[x][CRUSH] The founding ideology forms a political party, and membership is mandatory for government service. Foundational law is a manifesto of the party's aims.
[x][POWER] You are a centralized unitary state with no subordinate governments.
[x][TEXT] The old Constitution had its flaws, but it was a document of many strengths as well. It lasted
[x][CRUSH] Some of the central tenets of the founding government's ideology are written into foundational law, making it difficult for even violently opposed successor governments to fully roll them back without immense popular support.
[x][TEXT] The Constitution was utterly bereft of any kind of legal, political, or ethical merit and shall be cast into the trash heap of history where it belongs. We shall start anew from a blank slate.
[X][TEXT] The old Constitution had its flaws, but it was a document of many strengths as well. It lasted two and a half centuries. We shall honor that and preserve the original. Our changes will be amendments, as intended, with our population approving them as specified in the text.
The business lunch was a little unusual, Alex admitted, and he was tempted more than once just to blow him off. But the threat which Jackson had levied at him was simultaneously too subtle and too threatening to ignore. For the tenth time, Alex reviewed everything the otherwise unremarkable man could've possibly known, to piece it all together, but he just couldn't figure it out. How could Jackson have figured out enough to threaten him with "I've figured something out about you, and I'd like to meet over lunch to discuss it"?
Uneasily, he stepped through the crumbling street, trying to avoid ruining his dirty suitpants. On some level, he knew that it was a lost cause, but still, something demanded that he still put in the effort to appear as presentable as possible. He hadn't even heard of the place Jackson was talking about, which put him further on edge: just how many resturaunts and diners could a crumbling city on the bleeding edge of poverty support, anyway?
Finally, he found the place. It was...something. No, that wasn't quite right. It looked like the last time it had been prosperous was a century ago, and that it was dilapidated even during the Collapse. The hastily nailed-in saloon door was supported by the pieces of wood that once marked it out for demolition, the tiles were cracked, and the shattered windows did not even look remotely safe to touch.
The only reason why Alex knew it was the place was because of the slight evidence of fingerprints on the dusty door, the relatively swept floor, and Jackson sitting in one of the chairs, whistling a merry tune. In front of him was two hot bowls of soup, on a table that looked relatively swept. Jackson's tie was conspicuously missing. The soup itself had floating chunks throughout, as though it were half stirred and unprepared yet reheated anyway.
"Good to see you, Mr. Chen," Jackson smiled. Alex could feel how fake it was from where he stood. "It was an effort to arrange this, so I hope you find it to your liking," he oozed, miming smoking a cigarette with his index and middle finger. The sound of Jackson's long, intentional exhale roused Alex's anger something fierce.
"I hope so as well," Alex said, sitting down. For just a moment he cursed; he hadn't meant to be that rude, but honestly Jackson had just been so aggravating that he was willing to let it slide. "It must have taken a lot to arrange for warm soup, in," he gestured, "these conditions."
"Indeed," Jackson smirked. "But ultimately manageable. Truth be told, the vegetables were the hardest part - "
"Please. Spare me the pleasantries," Alex cut in, exasperated after only thirty seconds of his pointless bloviating. "What do you want?"
Jackson's eyes sharpened.
"What I want? I want to talk to you, Mr. Chen. Or rather, I suspect, about you," Jackson started. "When I was younger, I chose not to confront you about it; no point introducing needless tension about something I thought you'd fix as you got older. The fact that I'm having this talk with you at all means that you haven't," he said flatly.
"...what is it?" Alex said, suspiciously. From the way Jackson phrased that, it could be an oblique reference to his immigration certification, but that seemed less likely than Jackson not knowing; moreover, the bit about knowing him younger? Who could've -
Oh.
So that's where he went.
"About your attitude, mostly." Jackson said, loudly sipping his soup.
"So, what, is this a former competitor finally about to unload on his more successful counterpart?" Alex goaded.
Jackson mimed smoking a cigarette again; the sheer brazenness got Alex's eyebrow twitching, just a little.
"No, just an old man recognizing a pattern; stop me if this sounds familiar. Smart man continuously excels in solving problems, and is not hesitant to correct his own errors when someone else spots them. His reward is success; he does not want for wasteful luxuries. He doesn't make mistakes very often, but when he does, he's the first to know about it, and all of them have a myriad of excuses. Unfortunately, he has a bad habit: he treats everybody else slightly different: when he does it, it's an honest mistake, but when someone else does it, it's because they aren't dedicated enough to seeing it through. Taking the idea to its logical conclusion, and we see that he is the most capable man for any situation and that he should garner all the responsibility and thus the glory."
"Am I hitting a mark, Mr. Chen?" Jackson said, tipping his glasses.
Alex scowled.
"Tell me if I'm hitting my mark," Alex emphasized. "An old man lectures a younger, more successful man, going at long lengths to make him feel smart and accomplished. He could've summarized what he said in a single sentence, but chooses to use seven because that way he looks smarter. Along the way he states facts about human psychology so obvious that anyone with a passing familiarity with the field would spot it out as among the most vacuous statements possible, and then acts as though it is some great insight into the younger man's psyche.
Am I hitting a mark, Mister, mmm, Losey?" Alex said.
Jackson mimed smoking again, tilting his head and wincing. Halfway through the exhale, he started coughing, and Alex couldn't hide the smirk that he was feeling.
"Well, damn, you got me," Jackson chuckled. "I can't refute a thing you said! You are technically correct about the framing of my argument, and so therefore I must concede the entire argument to you, o brilliant paragon of intellect," he said, eyes closed.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. I had originally thought that I might be able to work with you on getting your ego to match your skills, but now I think I'll settle for this," Jackson said, opening his eyes. They looked sharp enough to cut glass.
"I know the difference between the aesthetic and the action. I'm not so sure that you do. I look forward to caucusing with you tomorrow," Jackson said, miming smashing a cigarette butt, and choosing to pay full attention to the soup.
Intro: This is True New Capitalist Radio. True New Capitalist Radio.
Ghost: I am your host, the man they call Ghost!
Intro: The badass of revivalism, give him New Capitalism or give him death!
Ghost: That's it, period!
Intro: Broadcasting from his skyline office studios in downtown Chicago of the former Illinois.
Ghost: "You sound redder than a slice of watermelon, for Christ's sake."
Intro: And now, he'll take it from here, your host, the prognosticators of prognosticators, your host, the man they call... Ghost.
Ghost: What's going ooonnn, everybody! What a show we have tonight!
Ghost: Now, let's get on to the daily news! The Social Democrats have come out on top in the political negotiations of the Congress of Chicago, with the Socialists coming in at a close second and the New Capitalists trailing last... Now, folks, I'm going to have to be honest with you, but I don't like the way the wind is blowing. Yes, the Social Democrats claim to preserve New Capitalist property rights and business structures, but a lot of them have closeted socialist sympathies and have been significantly influenced by socialist or even communist ideals. Many of them are saying that we should emulate the old European states and their welfare, or drawing from old European or even, God forbid, Russian theorists to advance their beliefs. Do you really think that our budding nation, which claims to be the successor to the United States of America, should borrow from foreign socialist elements, when it was capitalism that made America great? Do these people realize that every time the proles take over a country, like in Russia or China or whatever other communist hellhole of the twentieth century, they always end up putting a dictator in charge? Do these people realize that our nation was at war with these ideologies for fifty years, and that Russia was the main proponent of them. You see folks, this is why any ideology that puts the uneducated working class first turns into a failure, because the workers need men of education and men of business acumen to make the decisions that keep the government and the economy running smoothly. Now, I think we should keep a very close watch on the way that the upcoming Chicago government forms, because the populist demagogues are going to watch our new nation like a hawk for any opportunity to empower themselves. Anyway, I'm going to take a caller here... 609, what do you think about this?
609: Ghost, why are you being so classist, and why are you being racist against the old Russians just because they supported communism? I come from a working family, and everybody thinks I should be allowed to vote for the officials who run the government, so why shouldn't I be allowed to vote for the people who run the place that I work at?
Ghost: God damn it, I'm not a racist and a classist, I'm a melting pot of friendship! I'm a nice guuuyyy! Ah, you know what, I'm not going to listen to this stupid, uneducated, pinko bastard! Get him off, Engineer! This show is for men of reason, and I will not see it besmirched by these idiot socialists who want to send people like me to gulags, alright?! Ah, I'm not gonna take anymore calls until I can actually shoot pearls of wisdom into my listeners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghost: Anyway, let's get to the best part of the broadcast, and I'm talking about Radioooooo Graffiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! HAHAHAHA! Alright Engineer, do we have any callers?
Engineer: Nyeh neh neh!
Ghost: Alright. Now, you all have exactly three to four seconds to say whatever it is that you want to say, and that's why we call this, "Radio Graffiti."
Ghost: 137, Radio, Graffiti!
137: You are a classist millenial Jewish hambone and I hope that you die on the toilet, you bougie pig!
137: God damn it, how many times do I have to say this, I AM NOT A JEW! I USE YAMAKAS FOR COFFEE FILTERS! Ugh, 614, Radio Graffiti!
614: Hello Ghost, how are you?
Ghost: How's it going?
614: I'm just running a bath. Goofy dear, could you please hand me my soap?
Ghost: Wait a sec, are you seriously calling me from the tub?!
614: Well, it's a good way of relaxing after a long hard day of being a New Capitalist, so why not?
Ghost: Aww, Jesus Christ, I can't believe it, this guy is actually calling me from the tub!
---------------------------------------------------Thirty Minutes of Trolling Later-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghost: 459, Radio Graffiti!
459: *Ghost voice splice* "Aww yeah, I want some of that hot communist deep dish pizza ass! Aww yeah, aww yeah... AH AH AHAHAHAHAA-
Ghost: Jesus Christ, is this seriously what you people come up with?! Pornographic commie splices?! Ah, you know what, I'm done with this crap. I'm going out to get some deep pizza, because you trolls have RUINED my Baller Friday!
[x][CRUSH] None. This is a democracy. If your ideology cannot make its case to the people in practice, it deserves to fail.
[x][REVIEW] The new Constitution should be put to review and possible revision every thirty years.
[x][POWER] You are a centralized federal state along the lines of the later United States.
[X][TEXT] The Constitution serves as a broad guide for the structure of this document, and many legal concepts integral to it carry through, but it is rewritten from the ground up to serve its new situation rather than simply amending it until it fits.
[X][IDEALS] Social Democrat: Centered around the idea that it is the state's responsibility to ensure a bare-minimum standard of living, the Social Democrats add to the New Capitalist agenda with a push for a government guarantee of adequate housing, food, and water to all citizens -- itself a fairly titanic task. It remains rooted in the fundamental ideal of private enterprise. The Social Democrats have some interest in the potential of democratized workplaces and are willing to support them in an experimental measure.
The Founder
You watch from a side gallery as the Moderator shuts down yet another shouting match between the various delegates. This Congress isn't turning out as well as you'd hoped...but it is at least doing better than you'd expected. You've worked too long and hard to restore order in this region to see it fall apart at the last moment.
Despite yourself, you feel tension flowing out of your body. It's working out. It's stressful and not without flaws, but it's working. After seeing so many previous experiments fail, you'd come to entertain some creeping doubts about whether or not democracy was worth the risk at all. Briefly, treasonously, you'd considered simply ruling this city like a dictator, sweeping its neighbors under your dominion and forging an iron fist to shatter Victoria's grip on the continent.
No longer. With each passing moment that the doors fail to crash open, that Russians fail to rappel from the ceiling, shooting everybody, your faith is restored. With every heartbeat that the spirit of accord and cooperation fails to shatter into backbiting and infighting, your fears drain away. There is something to all of this. Democracy was not a lie.
You lean back in your chair, sighing. You're old, now, and tired. You've worked so hard to see this day come to pass that it sometimes seems like you haven't rested in years.
But you're not done yet. Until this Congress is over, and until this new republic, in whatever form it settles, elects its first leader, you're still on duty. Possibly even beyond then.
For now, you still need to watch and keep your finger on the pulse of things.
Somebody led the efforts to reorganize civilization on the southern tip of Lake Michigan. That somebody is still in charge and will remain so until they finish organizing public elections (through Turn 1). What kind of leader do you have?
[ ][BOSS] Local Hero: You first came to prominence as a young woman during the neo-Nazi occupation of the northern Midwest. You fought back against them, helped to throw them out, and presided over the slow emptying of Chicago in the aftermath. Since then you've been managing the city and keeping it on life support. You've slowly built things back up and forged a new state around your home. You will see things fixed once more. You will ensure that your home never again knows the terror of being at a monster's mercy. You will do what is necessary, to the shores of Maine if you must.
Sara M. Johnson.
Start with 6 CP.
If not taken, becomes a member of the legislature.
[ ][BOSS] The Old Boss: The Daleys have been big names in Chicago since the '50s. The 1950s. A hundred and twenty years of political prominence will grind itself in. You're no different. Your family managed to hold onto its influence throughout the collapse, and you were the one to take charge of things afterward, leveraging various friendships you made during the bad years. Chicago's been on the outs too long. The Daleys will be the ones to bring it back.
Richard D. Daley.
Starts with Restart the Machine, Domestic Connections, and Import/Export Professionals. 5 CP.
If not taken, the Daleys lost all power and wealth during the Collapse. You'd have to search to find out if they're still alive.
[ ][BOSS] Springfield Schemer: Illinois did not fall to the Nazis. The state government pulled through all of the chaos just fine...and when you came to the Governor's office, you made sure to keep an eye on things. When Chicago started pulling itself together, you were far-sighted enough to recognize the opportunity. You left for Chicago and put your political skills to work on trying to build something bigger than your own patch. A fair amount of people have taken your foresight for aggression, though. You will need to keep your eyes about you.
Audrey F. Jameson.
Starts with Ear to the Ground, Good Security, Aerial Reconnaissance, Hostile Neighborhood. 4 CP.
If not taken, swore to the new federal government along with everybody else.
[ ][BOSS] The Old Guard: You have fought in parts of the world most Americans haven't even seen. You unit returned home in the wake of the Collapse, and you've been wandering the country ever since. You fought for the New American Confederation, Cascadia, and the Pacific Republic in turn. Your commanding officer died in California, and you took command. Your unit has been fighting the Victorians ever since, striking from the shadows and desperately keeping their weaponry maintained. You were young when your war started...now you're old. So damn old. But the fight's just kicking up. You're not done yet. You cleared the southern tip of the Lake of Victorian eyes. Time to get ready to strike a stronger blow against the bastards.
Ron J. Burns.
Starts with Old World Equipment, Old World Soldiers, Professionals Study Logistics, and Victorian Attention. 4 CP.
If not taken, he and his unit died in the fall of the Pacific Republic, choosing to go out in a blaze of glory.
[ ][BOSS] The Last Echo: You were chosen as Secretary of State by a woman who had been Speaker of the House before those before her in the line of succession died in transit to a safe location amid the chaos of the Collapse. You were confirmed by the last Congress of the United States minutes later. You served your President for years before a Russian assassin killed her and most of her cabinet, and you took up her role. By the slimmest of technicalities and a lot of bluffing, you hold a position that grants you precedence in the eyes of many. You convinced Chicago to call the Congress; you presided. It has been years, and you have been hunted for all of them. You have no room left in your heart for nostalgia. This country is a broken thing. No matter how much it must change, you will see it fixed and better than before. And once you serve a country that deserves the pride of the United States, you will tear Alexander from his throne.
Tamara C. Marsden.
Starts with Revivalist Connections, Good Reputation, Independent Merchants, Established, Russian Attention, and +2 Legitimacy. 0 CP.
If not taken, died years ago at the hands of a Russian assassin.
In addition, the Social Democrats have won control of government, but not a majority. The Socialists are just behind them. A coalition government, foreign an idea as it is to Americans, is the logical solution, but it's at least possible for the Social Democrats to rule with a minority government. What do they do?
[ ][GOV] Form a coalition with the Socialists. Together with them, you will dominate the government.
-[ ][GOV] Cave in on the healthcare issue. You are worried about the state of healthcare, to be honest, you were only worried about the cost.
-[ ][GOV] Cave in on the unions issue. You're a little leery of granting them that much power, but it's not like there's no need for strong unions. -[ ][GOV] Cave in on democratized workplaces. Like I said, central issue to modern politics. This one is not negotiable.
[ ][GOV] Just to lock down the government completely, also invite the Capitalists. You are Social Democrats; the only people you don't like are Communists. Of course...the New Capitalists and the Socialists really don't like one another...
-[ ][GOV] Cave to the Socialists on healthcare and the New Capitalists on unions. Roll a d100 with a DC of 50 to sell this to both parties; on a fail, the New Capitalists back out.
-[ ][GOV] Cave to the Socialists on unions and the New Capitalists on welfare. Roll a d100 with a DC of 50 to sell this to both parties; on a fail, the New Capitalists back out.
-[ ][GOV] Play the Socialists and the New Capitalists against each other in order to compromise on nothing. Roll a d100 with a DC of 70 to sell this to both parties; on a fail, one of them backs out. On a success, your government looks extremely competent.
[ ][GOV] Do not form a coalition. Rule with a minority government.
APPROVAL VOTING; MANUAL MORATORIUM.
As per the usual, folks, you needn't vote for every task! I hope you enjoy this vote. After this, we dive straight into the rest of customization. See you around!
The business lunch was a little unusual, Alex admitted, and he was tempted more than once just to blow him off. But the threat which Jackson had levied at him was simultaneously too subtle and too threatening to ignore. For the tenth time, Alex reviewed everything the otherwise unremarkable man could've possibly known, to piece it all together, but he just couldn't figure it out. How could Jackson have figured out enough to threaten him with "I've figured something out about you, and I'd like to meet over lunch to discuss it"?
Uneasily, he stepped through the crumbling street, trying to avoid ruining his dirty suitpants. On some level, he knew that it was a lost cause, but still, something demanded that he still put in the effort to appear as presentable as possible. He hadn't even heard of the place Jackson was talking about, which put him further on edge: just how many resturaunts and diners could a crumbling city on the bleeding edge of poverty support, anyway?
Finally, he found the place. It was...something. No, that wasn't quite right. It looked like the last time it had been prosperous was a century ago, and that it was dilapidated even during the Collapse. The hastily nailed-in saloon door was supported by the pieces of wood that once marked it out for demolition, the tiles were cracked, and the shattered windows did not even look remotely safe to touch.
The only reason why Alex knew it was the place was because of the slight evidence of fingerprints on the dusty door, the relatively swept floor, and Jackson sitting in one of the chairs, whistling a merry tune. In front of him was two hot bowls of soup, on a table that looked relatively swept. Jackson's tie was conspicuously missing. The soup itself had floating chunks throughout, as though it were half stirred and unprepared yet reheated anyway.
"Good to see you, Mr. Chen," Jackson smiled. Alex could feel how fake it was from where he stood. "It was an effort to arrange this, so I hope you find it to your liking," he oozed, miming smoking a cigarette with his index and middle finger. The sound of Jackson's long, intentional exhale roused Alex's anger something fierce.
"I hope so as well," Alex said, sitting down. For just a moment he cursed; he hadn't meant to be that rude, but honestly Jackson had just been so aggravating that he was willing to let it slide. "It must have taken a lot to arrange for warm soup, in," he gestured, "these conditions."
"Indeed," Jackson smirked. "But ultimately manageable. Truth be told, the vegetables were the hardest part - "
"Please. Spare me the pleasantries," Alex cut in, exasperated after only thirty seconds of his pointless bloviating. "What do you want?"
Jackson's eyes sharpened.
"What I want? I want to talk to you, Mr. Chen. Or rather, I suspect, about you," Jackson started. "When I was younger, I chose not to confront you about it; no point introducing needless tension about something I thought you'd fix as you got older. The fact that I'm having this talk with you at all means that you haven't," he said flatly.
"...what is it?" Alex said, suspiciously. From the way Jackson phrased that, it could be an oblique reference to his immigration certification, but that seemed less likely than Jackson not knowing; moreover, the bit about knowing him younger? Who could've -
Oh.
So that's where he went.
"About your attitude, mostly." Jackson said, loudly sipping his soup.
"So, what, is this a former competitor finally about to unload on his more successful counterpart?" Alex goaded.
Jackson mimed smoking a cigarette again; the sheer brazenness got Alex's eyebrow twitching, just a little.
"No, just an old man recognizing a pattern; stop me if this sounds familiar. Smart man continuously excels in solving problems, and is not hesitant to correct his own errors when someone else spots them. His reward is success; he does not want for wasteful luxuries. He doesn't make mistakes very often, but when he does, he's the first to know about it, and all of them have a myriad of excuses. Unfortunately, he has a bad habit: he treats everybody else slightly different: when he does it, it's an honest mistake, but when someone else does it, it's because they aren't dedicated enough to seeing it through. Taking the idea to its logical conclusion, and we see that he is the most capable man for any situation and that he should garner all the responsibility and thus the glory."
"Am I hitting a mark, Mr. Chen?" Jackson said, tipping his glasses.
Alex scowled.
"Tell me if I'm hitting my mark," Alex emphasized. "An old man lectures a younger, more successful man, going at long lengths to make him feel smart and accomplished. He could've summarized what he said in a single sentence, but chooses to use seven because that way he looks smarter. Along the way he states facts about human psychology so obvious that anyone with a passing familiarity with the field would spot it out as among the most vacuous statements possible, and then acts as though it is some great insight into the younger man's psyche.
Am I hitting a mark, Mister, mmm, Losey?" Alex said.
Jackson mimed smoking again, tilting his head and wincing. Halfway through the exhale, he started coughing, and Alex couldn't hide the smirk that he was feeling.
"Well, damn, you got me," Jackson chuckled. "I can't refute a thing you said! You are technically correct about the framing of my argument, and so therefore I must concede the entire argument to you, o brilliant paragon of intellect," he said, eyes closed.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. I had originally thought that I might be able to work with you on getting your ego to match your skills, but now I think I'll settle for this," Jackson said, opening his eyes. They looked sharp enough to cut glass.
"I know the difference between the aesthetic and the action. I'm not so sure that you do. I look forward to caucusing with you tomorrow," Jackson said, miming smashing a cigarette butt, and choosing to pay full attention to the soup.
Intro: This is True New Capitalist Radio. True New Capitalist Radio.
Ghost: I am your host, the man they call Ghost!
Intro: The badass of revivalism, give him New Capitalism or give him death!
Ghost: That's it, period!
Intro: Broadcasting from his skyline office studios in downtown Chicago of the former Illinois.
Ghost: "You sound redder than a slice of watermelon, for Christ's sake."
Intro: And now, he'll take it from here, your host, the prognosticators of prognosticators, your host, the man they call... Ghost.
Ghost: What's going ooonnn, everybody! What a show we have tonight!
Ghost: Now, let's get on to the daily news! The Social Democrats have come out on top in the political negotiations of the Congress of Chicago, with the Socialists coming in at a close second and the New Capitalists trailing last... Now, folks, I'm going to have to be honest with you, but I don't like the way the wind is blowing. Yes, the Social Democrats claim to preserve New Capitalist property rights and business structures, but a lot of them have closeted socialist sympathies and have been significantly influenced by socialist or even communist ideals. Many of them are saying that we should emulate the old European states and their welfare, or drawing from old European or even, God forbid, Russian theorists to advance their beliefs. Do you really think that our budding nation, which claims to be the successor to the United States of America, should borrow from foreign socialist elements, when it was capitalism that made America great? Do these people realize that every time the proles take over a country, like in Russia or China or whatever other communist hellhole of the twentieth century, they always end up putting a dictator in charge? Do these people realize that our nation was at war with these ideologies for fifty years, and that Russia was the main proponent of them. You see folks, this is why any ideology that puts the uneducated working class first turns into a failure, because the workers need men of education and men of business acumen to make the decisions that keep the government and the economy running smoothly. Now, I think we should keep a very close watch on the way that the upcoming Chicago government forms, because the populist demagogues are going to watch our new nation like a hawk for any opportunity to empower themselves. Anyway, I'm going to take a caller here... 609, what do you think about this?
609: Ghost, why are you being so classist, and why are you being racist against the old Russians just because they supported communism? I come from a working family, and everybody thinks I should be allowed to vote for the officials who run the government, so why shouldn't I be allowed to vote for the people who run the place that I work at?
Ghost: God damn it, I'm not a racist and a classist, I'm a melting pot of friendship! I'm a nice guuuyyy! Ah, you know what, I'm not going to listen to this stupid, uneducated, pinko bastard! Get him off, Engineer! This show is for men of reason, and I will not see it besmirched by these idiot socialists who want to send people like me to gulags, alright?! Ah, I'm not gonna take anymore calls until I can actually shoot pearls of wisdom into my listeners.
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Ghost: Anyway, let's get to the best part of the broadcast, and I'm talking about Radioooooo Graffiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! HAHAHAHA! Alright Engineer, do we have any callers?
Engineer: Nyeh neh neh!
Ghost: Alright. Now, you all have exactly three to four seconds to say whatever it is that you want to say, and that's why we call this, "Radio Graffiti."
Ghost: 137, Radio, Graffiti!
137: You are a classist millenial Jewish hambone and I hope that you die on the toilet, you bougie pig!
137: God damn it, how many times do I have to say this, I AM NOT A JEW! I USE YAMAKAS FOR COFFEE FILTERS! Ugh, 614, Radio Graffiti!
614: Hello Ghost, how are you?
Ghost: How's it going?
614: I'm just running a bath. Goofy dear, could you please hand me my soap?
Ghost: Wait a sec, are you seriously calling me from the tub?!
614: Well, it's a good way of relaxing after a long hard day of being a New Capitalist, so why not?
Ghost: Aww, Jesus Christ, I can't believe it, this guy is actually calling me from the tub!
---------------------------------------------------Thirty Minutes of Trolling Later-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghost: 459, Radio Graffiti!
459: *Ghost voice splice* "Aww yeah, I want some of that hot communist deep dish pizza ass! Aww yeah, aww yeah... AH AH AHAHAHAHAA-
Ghost: Jesus Christ, is this seriously what you people come up with?! Pornographic commie splices?! Ah, you know what, I'm done with this crap. I'm going out to get some deep pizza, because you trolls have RUINED my Baller Friday!
I don't want to canonize this in case people think that I'm endorsing this as an accurate representation of one of the political parties. Non-canon, for now...
I'm leaning towards the 'Last Echo' myself because it calls to old world grandiose thinking in my mind...
Also it reminds me of Javik.
"The Last thing these new Tsars shall ever hear are the screams and rage and fury of a Free America, dragging them into the abyss they themselves thought us consigned to!"
There is no amount of yes to state how much I want this option. Not even for the perks, but the lore. Sure, victorian attention isn't great, but holy heck is this a good base to start on. It gives 1 more net CP than the base option with the exchange of those taken.
OTOH this is amazing and I kinda hope this happened too. If only from the lore implications. However, Russian attention is kind of unsettling for obvious reasons and losing out on CP is pretty dangerous. Then again Legitimacy might be worth its weight in gold (that is, if we even want legitimacy).
-[ ][GOV] Play the Socialists and the New Capitalists against each other in order to compromise on nothing. Roll a d100 with a DC of 70 to sell this to both parties; on a fail, one of them backs out. On a success, your government looks extremely competent.
