Vox Populi Dispatches- Dispatches from the Midwest Conference
Nov-23
Welcome everyone, it is 7 pm Vox Populi Radio Evening Dispatch. Williams is still within New York, and we are continuing our efforts to introduce other Vox Populi Broadcasters and reporters. I am Cera Anderson, I previously worked with the Chicago Daily for 3 years and will continue to publish articles there. Some of you may recognize the dispatch I did on the challenges the Army was facing in a post-victory world.
Post-Victory the Commonwealth has been aggressively pursuing peace as enthusiastically as it pursed its defense of Detroit. Among it's projects are the integration of both Detroit and Toledo, the Great-Lakes conference, outreach to both former US territories and foreign contacts. The Johnston administration has even taken the controversial step of negotiating with Victoria, a move that has sent ripples throughout the Commonwealth and the cities that are soon to join.
This heavy diplomatic offense has not been without issues. As one anonymous official explained, "We've always relied on our wealth to be able to help smooth things over, buying parts or expertise, but diplomats aren't like steel for farming equipment or bribes for bases, they take time to train and you can't just buy someone else's."
According to sources, the Department of State has been stretched to its limit and beyond, with those inside working overtime and other departments, such as Technological Recovery, being leaned on to complete non-vital work. Many privately speculate that had the Detroit and Toledo integration not gone so well, it would have been impossible. As is the Commonwealth Department of State is already heavily leaning on Detroit's Diplomatic corps to help bolster their own ranks, well before the official integration.
Even with those advantages, this has resulted in prioritization, a move that worries some. Said, one anonymous official. "The big prestige posting is Victoria. Go see New York, lord it over the Victorian's, and the upper Administration is drooling at the Seaway. Anyone with enough clout is there, though a few of the senior staff had to stay back for foreign calling. If you are skilled but can't get Victoria you want to take off to the former US. If you can get us on friend terms with large polity, or help secure Mississippi access, well that could make one's career. But, the local conference? Not a lot of opportunity for career-making there, and most people figure between Chicago, Detroit, and Toledo, what we say goes.
Those who have chosen to focus on the conference worry that it may end up lacking in qualified staff. While few doubt the Commonwealth will, ultimately be able to dictate terms as it sees fit, such a move would not mend the fences that the Johnston Administration has set as the ultimate goal of the conference. And there are fears long-term resentment would require an already stretched Commonwealth to maintain constant forces at home, making it's Mississippi and revivalist plans more difficult, and risking potential allies available for more powerful enemies.
While the administration is looking to pursue a reconciliation strategy, this may prove difficult, as the Great Lakes are made up of dozens of polities, many of whom are actively hostile to each other. While Vox Populi reports have uncovered evidence that some of these were a result of Victoria encouragement, only a few can be provably demonstrated, if the Commonwealth wants to convince the Great Lakes that all the anonymity was purely a result of Victoria, it will have a challenge ahead of it. Many remain optimistic, however, pointing to Toledo and Detroit.
More difficult may be selling this reconciliation strategy to voters back home. The foundational crisis of the Commonwealth, and the one that, until the victory over Victoria, the Johnston Administration most drew its authority from, was the near-famine following the initial founding. A program of technological and industrial focus on farming helped end the crisis within 6 months, those first 6 months lead to near-starvation. This was only staved off by the purchase of massive food imports for great lakes communities.
Such purchases were not uncontroversial as the prices were at a heavy mark-up from typical food imports along the great lakes. This has generated heavy resentment from many in the Commonwealth, a resentment that was further fueled by embargo in the wake of the war. Many in the Commonwealth do not feel kindly to their neighbors, as I found when asking for opinions on the street.
[Recording plays, multiple voices]
"Buncha cowards."
"They tried to starve us twice."
"I don't think about them much, but they were awful to Burns. Anyone who is an enemy of Burns is no friend of mine."
"Don't care much one way or the other. We are reforming the US, and they can get with the program or watch as we build something beautiful without them."
"At this point, I say let's just focus on the Mississippi and Erie, they like us."
[Recording ends]
This leaves many officials worried that this will push towards a harsher stance in the conference or risk a domestic backlash. Still, others remain optimistic, arguing that while the resentment is widespread, it is shallow, must people be far more focused on the Commonwealth development or Victoria. A few years of normalization should help heal any rifts, and domestic politics will be far more dominated by the Administration's ability to keep people fed and the new voting blocs of immigrants, Detroit and Toledo than resentment over light treaties.
Others are not so optimistic.
"I've been part of the merchant marine, so I was helping to ship the food during the famine, and shipping to the troops during the war. People say it's like Toledo, right? At least these guys never actually let troops in, right? But it isn't. Sure, Toledo let Victorian's base in them, but it wasn't like it was personal. Don't know about you, but spite's a powerful thing and something about the way they just looked so happy to put the boot in us. It's pretty enraging you know? Plus, Toledo went and fought and died. They didn't just leave us to handle the Victorian army and then expect us to be okay with going back like nothing happened."
Still, many officials are hoping that the conference will be able to smooth feelings, both foreign and domestic, but are worried about their ability to do so with limited staff. Nor are the Commonwealth the only participants who have set their hopes on the conference. Join us tomorrow for a selection of reports on those attending. The eager, the hopeful, the reluctant, and the resentful.
This is Cera Anderson Vox Populi Radio, signing off.
---------------------------------
IMPORTANT: If this work gets canonized, please do not bring this us during the Conference voting as an argument for why we "need" a harsh treaty. As pointed out in the omake itself, there are a lot of other considerations that mean that means fears of a domestic backlash may be overthrown. Nor should it be taken as some indication we have a malus for negotiation, the diplomats here are more untested, but that doesn't mean bad.
Less Important but potentially interesting: This Omake was inspired by three things. First, the difference between the abstract game mechanics and the ground level thought. We have merchants, which makes us rich, and gives us free ap. In-universe, this can be thought of as buying shit when we need to focus. However, you can't really buy diplomats, and sure, some actions can be abstracted as bribery (see basing right turn 3), but none of the turn 4 ones really can, so the thought of the overworked State department stuck in my mind.
The second is the dissidence between in-universe and out-of-universe feelings. For the questors, the neighbor's resentment is something we voted for. It's a problem we took the points for, and as such merely the consequences of our choices, to be dealt with pragmatically. But in-universe, it isn't, and while the later actions can point to Burns not talking to them, the first time, the overcharging for famine food, wasn't. This in-universe anger has been reflected in the way poptart writes them, especially with the buy food option on turn 1. This dissidence, between the questor's view of this as a problem we took that should be solved pragmatically, and the real (and not unjustified) in-universe anger intrigued me.
The final is that I wanted to write an article that was kinda… bad for the Commonwealth. We want this conference to go smooth, and reminding the other polity how much resentment there is and that we aren't sending out best, is rather inconvenient for us. Not devastating, but an article that, were we willing and able to censor, we would have. Williams has expressed doubts in articles before, but most of them have been giving a useful view of the war that repeatedly reminds people that Victoria is terrible, the Commonwealth wasn't acting like monsters, and Detroit still lives. By and large, they were good for us. The Vox Populi aren't out to shill us, and that means a lot of times they act similarly to us, but it's not 100%.
Also, welcome Cera join our cast of Commonwealth native whose names are pronounced the same way. Cera is trying to be a professional in a group that includes Max. Pity her.
Also if you like my writing, and like quests about fighting evil empires run by guys named Alexander, you may want to try out my quest.
Crimson Wired Metamorphic I just updated.
eos.com
