Etcetera

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Considering how much of human media depicts the collapse of love, whether it be erotic, romantic, or platonic, I find such sentiments laughably inauthentic. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you on the idealism part, but it's like humans have never once looked in the mirror whenever they say that.

*I look out over the city, and point to the northeast horizon.*

In North Union, in between where Philly and NYC used to be, there's a skyscraper over a mile tall. They call it Union Tower--creative, I know. 400 short years ago, they struggled to make any building taller than, oh, eighty feet. In the last 300 years, they went from crude ballistic rockets used to bomb cities to relativistic arkships capable of ferrying tens of thousands of people to other stars. When they obliterated their previous civilization with their bombs, it took them less than fifty years to claw their way back to their old standard of living.

These people have potential, but they don't understand it and they don't understand themselves. They never will, not in an environment like this.

@Tank O The Lake

And yet, though you show us all the horrors of death and war, there is a force more powerful. Tell me, what is it that gives death its power? Why do humans rule by death?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*I smile.*

You understand now. Only that which unites itself in the eternal can ever be eternal. Unfortunately, it seems ideals of liberty can very much perish from this earth, as this world shows; the fall of the Axis Powers, and the fall of the Berlin Wall forty years later, shows that neither communism nor fascism is what we're looking for either. Even technocracy, government by the learned man, doesn't last, as this pitiful little world government can show you.

The question, then, is what, in a universe defined by laws of entropy and inevitable decay, can ever truly defy death? Can anything?

In truth, I doubt such a thing exists.

@Tank O The Lake

*Chuckles to myself*
You know, I've heard humans use "love" to answer that question before. I do truly wish that idealism was correct. It humbles and reminds me that we're all coming from a different place.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Do you know the definition of a state? It maintains sovereignty over a territory, it has a government, and it is the only legitimate user of force in that territory.

There is no state that rules by any other method than threat to life. That's why this little experiment humanity made, this idea of rising above itself, failed.

@Tank O The Lake

Ah!
*Claps once*
I see why you've brought us here. Yes, a government's power comes because it wields death. Even in brief periods of order, chaos lurks beneath the surface as the stabler state, ready to erupt at a moment's notice. But the key is that while they agreed to set aside death momentarily, wielding its power proved greater than the power of their agreement. So in order to rob death of its strength, mankind must bind itself behind something that naturally defies death.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

<Snipped quote by Legend>

How dare they, indeed. A... history lesson of sorts might illustrate my point.

*With a flick of my hand, I conjure an image, or multiple, to be exact. US Marines land on the shores south of Shanghai, advancing against heavy enemy fire with the aid of the Air Force. The last oil derrick in Texas falls still as the reservoirs dry up. Stock indexes fall to lows not seen since 1929. People march in the streets crying out for change; others take the opportunity to loot whatever they can grab. People are hungry, broke, and deeply afraid.*

*Then, boom. A mushroom cloud over Washington, DC. When it clears, half the city is simply gone.*

I'll give it to this world; freedom and liberty lasted quite a while under quite a bit of pressure. But nothing lasts forever. Resource wars, global famine, economic crisis after economic crisis... by the end of it, all it took was some domestic terrorists and a loose nuke from the Great Asian War to obliterate democracy forever. Martial law came; the rest of the world soon followed.

*Then, rebellion. Student protests in Europe and Asia escalate into a proletarian revolution. Borders fall, nations unite under the Terran Cooperative, a collective built on the ideology of Technocratic Socialism, a socialism for the new age. There is war between the Cooperative and the military juntas of Africa and the Americas, and then, again, kaboom. New York, London, Beijing, Moscow, and a hundred other cities all gone. Above their ruins stands the flag of the Cooperative, finally triumphant.*

This is what they fought for. The world unified under a common banner for the common man, where people could finally live free of capitalistic domination and pursue their passions as part of a unified, post-industrial collective. All it costed was eight years of war, three thousand nuclear bombs, and a third of humanity.

*I point upward.*

That's not a storm cloud. That's ash from the cities that went up in smoke 130 years ago, still in the atmosphere; nuclear winter doesn't end, you just get used to it. They bulldozed the still-smoking remains of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York and compacted them into the foundations of Union. This city is a memorial to how far the Cooperative's forefathers went in pursuit of freedom.

*I laugh darkly.*

Now look where we are.

@Tank O The Lake

I see... As always, my deepest regrets go out to these people. It is a shame to be ruled by threat to life, the very thing they hold most precious. It's certainly a condition ripe for abuse.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

See for yourself.

*I gesture to a newscast blaring from one of the enormous screens. A made-up female anchor speaks into the screen, while videos of parked police vehicles and protestors being taken into custody by faceless enforcers scroll past.*

NEWSCASTER: A riot in South Union was broken up yesterday following a disturbance at an unregistered religious meeting. Police say the self-proclaimed priest attempted to flee when asked for his credentials and was taken into custody, leading to a confrontation between armed agitators and government forces. No one was hurt and the disturbance is under--

*I clench my fist and the screen begins to distort.*

Now let's see the truth.

*The screen changes. Now it's bodycam footage of an apartment door being kicked in, of scared parishioners gathering behind a man in Catholic vestments. One of the rifle-toting policemen demands the names of everyone there; the priest refuses. He steps forward and cracks the old man across the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him to the floor as his flock screams and scatters, and the footage ends with the recording officer reaching to turn his bodycam off. Then, there's footage of bottles and rocks bouncing off of riot shields, of those same faceless enforcers knocking down and beating the protestors, and finally, gunsmoke and blood in the air as live ammunition is discharged into the crowds. People hit the ground. Some are screaming and writhing as they bleed. Some aren't moving at all.*

*I release my fist and the screen returns to normal.*

Fourteen "commonfolk" died yesterday. Seventy-three are still in the hospital, survival doubtful. Not one of the men who fired those shots will face any consequences from the law or their superiors.

*I huff.*

Of course, if any of those men were to happen upon some misfortune while treading through the more dangerous parts of Union, I doubt any workingman would report it.

@Tank O The Lake

*Pauses to consider the scene for a moment*
Ah, once more the law of nature comes into effect. The strong rule the weak, by threat of death—the common thread of mankind's woes.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Of course. Socialist, but degenerated enough from its prior ideals that, in some places, it's a kleptocracy with a red coat of paint. Everyone skims a little off the top and treats their sons and daughters like royalty; you stay in line and you get your pork, same as the rest of 'em. Princelings, I think they were called in the old People's Republic of China.

*I smirk.*

I ought to find myself a princeling or two to live off.

@Tank O The Lake

Mmmm... how about the commonfolks of society? What sorts of lives do they live here?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

<Snipped quote by Legend>

*I turn and head for the door. As we pass through, space warps and seethes for a moment, and we are somewhere else.*

*We stand atop the flat concrete roof of an office building, its tinted windows gleaming in the city lights. Overhead, the night sky roils with dark clouds; it's not raining, but it's not far off from it either. The surroundings form an endless sprawl of urban construction, a yawning monster of steel and glass and asphalt. Jumbotrons mounted atop the various buildings display advertisements for all manner of luxuries, from the mundane--fine dining, cruises, exotic entertainment--to the fantastical--domestic service androids, autonomous cars, and pleasure journeys across the Solar System. Interspersed between the ads are recruitment messages depicting men in mottled camo exo-armor and icons of a black flag with thirteen gold stars arranged in a circle, a single larger star in its center.*

The Sol Cooperative. The City of Union, to be more specific. Beautiful, isn't it? In a brutalist, technocratic sort of way.

This is an illustrative tool of sorts; I'll bring us back in a moment.

@Tank O The Lake

*Nods, taking in the scene*
Fascinating indeed. You said this is a meaningful civilization to you?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Legend>

What fun.

*I stand.*

Care to walk with me?

@Tank O The Lake

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

I—...
*Glances over to Vector*

@Legend

We'd love to.
*Stands as well with a smile, cup in hand*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Yes. Building character.

*I look to the side, as though hiding something.*

@Tank O The Lake

Mm...
*Raises an eyebrow*
Something wrong?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Eh. I've half a mind to move on from this one soon enough. I've done my errands here. I visited another timeline recently; they've their own world government, their own little luxuries that this rather archaic world struggles to match. I might return there for a few months, find a trust fund baby and live on their dime. It's a good life, really; you ought to try it.

@Tank O The Lake

Ah, suffering produces character. How could I build relationships with those who struggle if not for struggling myself? I must know both hardship and rest.