Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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TL;DR

- Modern-ish setting. Jan-Feb 2021 is the start of the new administration and it is walking into a crisis.
- First contact; alien civilizations are starting to talk to Earth.
- The RP starts around the time that the military, intelligence agencies and NASA are able to feed coherent information and analysis to the White House.
- The characters are the American government - vital roles include the President of the United States, the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Press Secretary, other cabinet members, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, the minorities in both chambers...and others as people make a consistent argument.
- The intent of the plot is how the organs of American government grapple with the facets of the potential crisis. Aliens, multiple types, are communicating with Earth.
- We are keeping this down to the American government, with other governments effectively NPC'ed as a matter of perspective. Characters are the organs of a government, grappling with the immense consequences of first contact with extraterrestrials.
- Inspirations; Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, the Cuban Missile Crisis and so many others. Ironically, we talked about "West Wing" in the brainstorm between co-GM's, but also referred to "The Best and the Brightest."
- Chat here.


In Character

For most people, first contact is something seen on TV, or argued about on the internet. And while society has a huge argument and speculates, there are people who have greater access to information on the inside, but are still fallible, mortal, and capable of making mistakes. Nonetheless, on their shoulders ride the decisions, though not always the consequences.

Multiple alien civilizations have reached out to the governments of Earth, at first, and while a lid is on the information, it's starting to leak out. The clock is ticking, and decisions have to be made. Unilateral negotiation with the ET factions, or consult with allies? Bring in the Russians? The Chinese? Put it to the Security Council? What about the General Assembly? How much information gets released? What are the aliens doing? What are their intentions? Do we brief the press, stonewall or go fully public?

These are only some of the questions. The decisions shape the events, though they do not fully control them. The unexpected happens. Decisions matter, but consequences aren't always apparent. You inhabit the world as it is.


Out of Character

Hoo dangy, it's a big RP idea, which is why I brought in two Co-GM's, guys that I brainstormed with. The idea is to create an RP that is more about sweating bullets and trying to get it right, the sort of cabal/factional infighting that can occur within a government and how dicey these pressure situations can get.

When thinking of this RP, we talked about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Desert One, the Manhattan Project and other major decision points that had a huge influence on events to follow. The RP isn't about tanks and bullets, but it is about strategic position, trying to glean out the intention of multiple alien factions and other human ones in the delicate business of figuring out how Humanity enters into the wider interstellar civilization and on what terms.

If you have a yen for playing this sort of situation room/political thriller/sci-fi juxtaposition of an RP, come and get us! We'll be in the Discord for the RP and we're looking for creative partners!
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Currently, the President is an NPC.

Andrew James "AJ" Shepard, an experienced federal prosecutor and senator from Colorado, Republican. Just won the presidency against Joe Biden's VP, who we haven't named yet, because Joe Biden died from the pressure of office at his advanced age. (Sorry Joe, I actually love you bro.)

Your characters joined the campaign at various times...or, unexpectedly, the President-Elect reached out to people as if forming a crisis cabinet, ignoring party lines and conventional thinking and picking people for raw capability. This results in a diverse cabinet, including some democrats, and some holdovers, similar to Robert Gates and others staying on in 2009 during the worst of the financial crisis.

The press is speculating as to why, but has so far not cracked the code.

Of course, during the transition, people are fully briefed and realize what they are dealing with. There is proof out there of alien life in the form of a probe that arrived in the Solar System whose communication was deciphered by scientists, which led to the 'initiation of communications protocol" by the probe, which instructed that Earthly authorities, "Reporting receipt of response. Stand by for followup communication."

The intelligence and science types are doing every sort of analysis possible even while initiating communication through the probe. The secret is burning people's consciousness, and someone is bound to let the cat out of the bag.

Then they were told that followup communication will ensue, standby.

Your characters are thrown into this.

@Byrd Man@Jester@Darth Shadow@CaptainBritton@Romero@Ferrocerium
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by thedman
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I'm interested, although i'm not sure if i'll be able to join, at least for right now.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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I'm interested, although i'm not sure if i'll be able to join, at least for right now.


If you can, awesome! We're pretty flexible on roles right now, except President.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by thedman
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Well, right now I have finals and all that, so i'll be a lot more available after school ends (which is a week from now, so not that bad). Maybe I can put those Global Relations classes to use.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Unless the planets are all flat, in which case interglobal relations are a lie. Some dude is going to drop acid and fly in an unmanned rocket somewhere in Arizona, Nevada or Utah to prove this all soon.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by thedman
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top 10 secrets the government doesn't want you to know
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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I am taking the role of WH chief of staff. There's a narrative involve because this guy interned (and staffed) for Senator Edward Kennedy and is himself a US Senator...probably from Massachusetts or New Hampshire.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Byrd Man
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Character Sheet


Name: William "Bill" Birch

Position: National Security Advisor

Age: 60

Sex: Male

Physical Description:
Bill is 6'2 and thin. His salt and pepper is hair always combed in a left-handed part. He wears metal-rimmed glasses that are so thick they distort his hazel eyes.


Brief Bio:
Born in the early 60's, Bill was the youngest son of a conservative upper middle class New England family. He attended Yale and studied political science and international relations. He joined the State Department in the latter days of the Reagan Administration, serving as a junior staffer in the South and Central Asian Affairs at Foggy Bottom. There, he witnessed the diplomacy involved in the Soviet-Afghan War and was among those that thought US involvement should not end after the Soviet retreat. As an Assistant Secretary of State during the Bush Years, Bill helped the White House build its multi-national coalition for the Gulf War. After the '92 election, he took a job with a prominent Washington think-tank, the Committee on Global Affairs, and gained a reputation as an expert on US national security in foreign relations in the post-Cold War world of the late 90's.

In 2000, Bill served as a foreign policy advisor for John McCain's ill-fated presidential run. The backing of the wrong horse led to Bill being left out in the cold as George W. Bush won election in a contested race and filled appointments at State with other people. Bill took a job as a professor at Columbia University. That would be a short lived job, however. After 9/11, Bill was brought back into the cold and joined the Department of Defense as a special advisor to Secretary Rumsfeld on international relations as the US prepared to invade Afghanistan.

As the talk inside the administration shifted from Afghanistan to Iraq, Bill was asked by the White House to be among the figures leading the charge. He famously went on Face the Nation one Sunday and told the American people that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. His work in the region during the First Gulf War mixed credibility among the diplomatic community helped the Bush White House gain support for the eventual invasion. That interview on national TV would end up being used against him when it was discovered that Iraq did not have any chemical or nuclear weapons. He quickly became one of the faces of American folly in Iraq, one journalist entitled their book on the run-up to war "Without a Doubt", taken from a quote Bill gave in the nationally televised interview. Bill resigned his position just before Bush was sworn-in to a second term.

Going back to the think tank-world, Bill was a senior fellow for The Institute on American Affairs. With his reputation still marred, he served sub rosa as foreign affairs advisors to Republican presidential candidates McCain and Mitt Romney in their unsuccessful runs against Barack Obama. When a third Bush ran for president in '16, Bill was not asked to contribute to his campaign.

Seemingly out of the blue in 2020, Bill was offered the position of National Security Advisor by the president-elect. The move drew a lot of chatter from Washington insiders and people who still remembered how Bill's last job in government had gone. While puzzled at the offer, he still accepted. Shortly there after he was let in one of the biggest secrets of all times: Man was not alone in the universe.


Issues/Agenda:
Work style, Bill believes that issues should be approached from all sides and discussed. After the fiasco that was 2003, he has taken the position that he will question major policy decision many times to see if it holds up and will stand his ground if he does not believe in an idea.

On the topic of foreign affairs, Bill is very much of the belief that American hegemony over the world is key to global security. He sees the US as the world police and believes that the US should be the only contact for the new alien people who have come to Earth. He is strongly for keeping the rest of the world, friend and foe alike, in the dark about what is going on. He also subscribes to the concept of Realpolitik in regards to dealing with less than ideal people and situations. To Bill, pragmatism is always the number one rule when it comes to furthering the nation's goals.

Politically, he is a conservative in fiscal policy and advocates free trade and lower taxes/less social programs. As a secular New Englander, Bill does not agree with the evangelical right and their ultra-conservative outlooks on abortion/religion/gay marriage/whateverelsetheyhate
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Mao Mao
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Name
Benton Haynes

Position
Press Secretary

Age
Thirty-four

Sex
Male

Physical Description
Benton is a 6'3 and thin individual with his light blue eyes and brown hair. He often dresses professionally with his dark navy
blue suit and his light purple tie. And he began to grow a beard where he plans on keeping it thick to keep more professional
with the press.

Brief Bio
Benton Haynes grew up in Seattle with his parents who were originally from Portland. His parents kept him homeschooled for most
his childhood until the beginning of high school. Transferring to a public school environment was a surprise for Benton as
he didn't socialize with the other kids as much as he should have. And he was often picked on because of it. He found comfortin
writing during his first two years of high school. Often writing short poems or lengthy stories during lunch time to keep
himself busy. Eventually, he made friends, but kept on writing. Benton's twelfth grade English teacher took notice of his
writing and encouraged him to seek a degree in the field. With that in mind, he graduated high school and got accepted to the
University of Washington to earn his degree in journalism.

Once he obtained his degree, he was hired as a journalist for the Washington Post. Benton worked with the Post for a few years
before he quit to pursue work in the political field. He began by maintaining Wyatt King's campaign for U.S. Senate in
Washington, helping him secure the spot for Patty Murray until 2010. After the election, Benton moved to Washington D.C. to work
as a senior adviser for Joe Biden's campaign; however, he identified as an independent. When Biden won the 2016 elections, he
was assigned the position of deputy press secretary for a year until the resignation of the former press secretary. Shortly
after taking over the spot, he went on to sever for three years. The sudden death of President Biden and the victory of
Republican Andrew Shepard thought it spelled the removal of Benton Haynes.

To the surprise of the media and Haynes, Shepard was one of the few holdovers that survived the change. Regardless, he was
working on addressing the press about the election until he was called into a sudden meeting. After the meeting, his deputy
press secretary substituted for Benton on that day. He released a short statement saying he had a sore throat; however, the
truth was that he fell ill after learning that aliens were real and tried to contact with the American government.

Issues/Agenda
Being a press secretary caused Benton to double check the facts since one misinformed statement will be a field day for the
media. And he understood the reporters and journalists since he was one of them in the early 2000s. He also acknowledged the
return of yellow journalism during the '16 election and the midterms of '18. Thus, he knew how to keep the media in control
while giving them whatever they desired. He believes that the media will do more bad than good if they find out that aliens
contacted the government. Thus, he supports the policy of keeping the press and citizens quiet about the presence of aliens.
However, in the terms of foreign affairs, he believes that there should be a UN Security Council meeting about the possible threat.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by CaptainBritton
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Name: Abraham Randolph Farran
Position: Secretary of Defense
Age: 66
Sex: Male
Physical Description:

Abraham Farran is an individual with a more elongated stature and leaner build, standing at about 5’11”. He often wears suits of black with dark colored ties, a precedent set mainly by previous SecDefs, with a SecDef sterling silver lapel pin on his right lapel and a US flag pin on his left lapel. His hair is a wiry light grey, most likely previously blonde, and his eyes are dark blue.


Brief Bio:
He was born Nov. 16, 1954 in Alcoa, TN, going on to achieve the equivalent to a secondary education before making the decision to attend VMI in Virginia. Halfway into his degree, he was nominated to West Point, eventually graduating with honors in the class of 1978, being awarded a degree in Military History and in National Security Studies, additionally having achieved the qualifications to receive the Air Assault Badge and the Airborne Badge, qualifying him to be in either of the airborne divisions of the US Army.

He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division in late 1978. As an infantry officer, he participated in maneuvers with allies in both Europe and Africa throughout the 80s, achieving a promotion to Captain within the decade. As part of the 101st Airborne element deployed in Kuwait in 1991, he led his company in the operation to cut off the supply lines and stop the retreat of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, forcing their capture, earning him the rank of Major. Later within the 90s, he helped orchestrate humanitarian missions in the Balkans, Africa, and the Caribbean, as well as being part of the NATO forces in Kosovo ensuring security during the elections. For his efforts, and the retirement of an upper echelon commander, he made Lieutenant Colonel.

After the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, his regimental commander was promoted, giving him command of the entire regiment and the rank of Colonel. His unit in the 101st was deployed in the ISAF invasion of Afghanistan, with the division being one of the first non-SF units deployed. Later in 2003, his regiment was part of the spearhead force into Iraq. After the fall of Baghdad and the sense of somewhat stability, the 101st was rotated back in and Abraham made Brigadier General, transferring to the staff at Fort Bragg, NC, where he would eventually make Major General and then Lieutenant General, assuming multiple positions within the XVIII Airborne Corps, eventually coming to command it.

He retired from the US Army in 2012, a year later taking an advisory position in General Dynamics, making connections with multiple companies in the military industrial complex. In 2021, he was offered a position in AJ Shepard’s administration as Secretary of Defense due to his knowledge concerning combat situations, national security, and the workings of the military industrial complex.




Issues/Agenda:
Abraham often did not make his political views clear, especially when serving. But as his name has reached headlines as the newest nomination for Secretary of Defense, more and more has been revealed. He’s a conservative and a Republican at heart, generally a moderate on most issues save national security, where he suggests a level of caution. He generally has been opposed to the drawdown of troops abroad under previous administrations which led to increased volatility in the Middle East region and vulnerability elsewhere, namely the removal of peacekeepers in Iraq, the decrease of advisors in Syria, the complete withdrawal of armored assets from Germany, and the stagnation of Pacific bases.

He is religious, albeit not fanatically, and is a member of the American Episcopal Church, the American sect of the Church of England (Anglican Church). He attends church every sunday, generally at the Washington National Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Washington, where he is active in the community and makes monthly donations.

Abraham is a diligent worker in his field. His overall interest in national security studies and management which have been with him since his days at VMI and West Point drive him to work harder and smarter to improve and simplify the management and allocation of assets within the US Armed Forces.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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At this juncture, Secretary of State is far and away the most important role here. Their outlook will influence a lot of things as one of the principals, and the primus inter pares among the principals, in this scenario. VP will also be vital.
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Ooooh I'm interested.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Ooooh I'm interested.


I put the first post up, but we're still very much recruiting. Secstate and VP are needed.

Edit: As a note, bear in mind that there are international consequences to the choice of venue, as well as the press reaction. The press, of course, tends to complain no matter what is done, but it's also true that the message can be controlled and that certain voices are more important than others in that sphere.

Also, though this is the chief of staff's role more than anything, congressional/senate leadership typically is advised of this in order for them to start spearheading it as well.

It's a lot of communications. It's good to get this started, because it was a fun idea being brainstormed by three friends where we were kind of looking at a presidential admin RP and we thought it'd be more interesting to have a crisis. Then we went way afield for a crisis that would allow all kinds of shit to happen.
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mmmm...Interested, but don't know. Actually with school ending in just over a week, I should have time for something of this size. I don't know what role to take. If you want to give me a role, HS, I can do whichever role you need me for; VP or SecState. CJCofS is probably right up my alley, but I'm a politics guy too.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Byrd Man
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mmmm...Interested, but don't know. Actually with school ending in just over a week, I should have time for something of this size. I don't know what role to take. If you want to give me a role, HS, I can do whichever role you need me for; VP or SecState. CJCofS is probably right up my alley, but I'm a politics guy too.


Yes. Yes, thank you.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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I've read over the character sheets in the Character's tab and copied the IC to a word doc so I can begin reading. Hopefully, I will have time to add to the IC this evening. At a first glance, this is VP Sylvester's impression of the other administration members mentioned.

Michael Gerard, 43, WH Chief of Staff - The VP is suspicious of the CofS and questioned the President's decision to bring him on. She has her eye on him, but respects his opinion regardless.

William "Bill" Birch, 60, NSA - The VP respects Bill's experience in Washington Politics and for most part trusts his advice. She does check some of what he says due to his storied past. She is overall warm to the NSA.

Benton Haynes, 34, Press Secretary - The VP prefers that the Press Secretary allow her to read over his speeches before briefing the press corps. She has grown to respect his writing ability, but is uneasy about his political orientation. She is neutral, but warming to the West Coast Liberal.

Gen. Joseph "Joe" T. Edwards, 63, CJCoS - As a fellow West Point grad, the Vice President loves General Edwards. She trusts his word and will help the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff as much as possible. As a fellow Army Officer, she agrees with the General on his positions regarding sending the nation to war. It is something that needs to thought out for a long time with all other options exhausted.

Abraham Randolph Farran, 66, SecDef, - Who knew there were three West Point Grads in one administration! Bri loves General Farran and supports the man 100%. They are both Airborne qualified, Airborne All The Way! (AATW) They are also both Desert Storm veterans. VP Sylvester secretly wishes she could have had the opportunity to be an infantry officer instead of a quartermaster officer when she was younger.

Hyo “Hill” Araki, 65, SecTreas - Mr. Araki is someone the VP has a lot of respect for. He has a vast knowledge and understanding for the Internal Revenue Code. She trusts his opinion in this realm and is pushing the Treasury Department for a Balanced Budget amendment. She has shared her ideas with Mr. Araki.

@HeySeuss@Byrd Man@Star Lord@Jester@CaptainBritton@Darth Shadow
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Let's also start a reading list of interesting books for this RP. We'll put it up on the first page of the OOC.

"The Left Hand of Darkness," by Ursula Le Guin
"The Sirens of Titan," by Kurt Vonnegut
"The Foundation Trilogy," by Isaac Asimov (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation)
"The Uplift Triolgy," by David Brin (Sundiver, Startide Rising, the Uplift War)
"The Forever War" and "Forever Peace" by Joe Haldeman
"The Fountains of Paradise" by Arthur C. Clarke
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