Phoe
Alby47
SyrenreiBrown!
"A friend of mine has a tattoo I really like," said Brown. "AM=FM. Actual Machines = Fucking Magic. In her mind the fact that her inventions have to work inside the laws of physics is what makes them so impressive, in a way that pure magic wouldn't be. I've been thinking about that basically non stop since I saw it, but Actual Government = Fucking Magic isn't as catchy an acronym.
"At its base, though, is the problem of resources. It's possible Yellow figures out some way to imanentize the eschalon and usher in the singularity but I need to plan on the assumption that we're going to be constrained by material reality and that Green isn't going to get a reproduction fetish. That places constraints on what's possible. Yes, the plan is absolutely to do the fairy godmother thing, but what's actually involved in that? If someone wishes for a castle then that requires mobilization of construction crews, payments of salaries, movement of tonnes of material, integration with surrounding electrical grids and emergency planning - the backend requirement is huge, especially if we want to make it happen on Fucking Magic timeframes. We'd need an entire dedicated Ministry of Wishes, a branch of government dedicated to transferring resources on ludicrous timeframes, the Make a Wish foundation with the budget of the military-industrial complex.
"And that's where the political questions come in. The question of stability is ever present, especially if we've seized power in a coup. Every resource we dedicate towards maintaining order is a resource we're not dedicating towards making dreams come true. The more wishes we grant the more we shift people's perceptions of reality, entrench our worldview, build legitimacy and loyalists but that's pointless if an armed uprising starts. There's a huge amount of resources that can be mobilized by liquidating the billionaire class so there's a huge advantage over the previous regime, but that doesn't cover everything. It's especially dire if those resources need to be directed to a new generation of oligarchs in order to buy the elite loyalty required to prevent a coup, and that's the problem inherent to authoritarian systems.
"This is why I think of the example of Hugo Chavez. Chavez was the rare politician whose mastery of the media was so profound that he rarely needed to wield authoritarian power. He was charismatic enough that he was able to implement communism without a civil war, he was able to govern as a marxist without cancelling elections, he announced major policy changes spur-of-the-moment on live television which made everyone hang on his every word. Through sheer charisma, political adaptability and decisiveness he was able to defuse strikes and outmaneuver opposition. He didn't need a secret police when the people loved him, he didn't need to outlaw dissent when he just held a press conference whenever his opponents were talking and everyone flipped to his channel. Politically he walked on water his entire career. He died in office, had a glorious funeral, and was entombed next to Simon Bolivar. Fucking magic for someone who started his political career by fucking up a coup.
"Now, the problem with Chavez was that he was kind of an idiot with no consistent policies. The same off the cuff changes in direction that made him so compelling on TV were a bureaucratic nightmare; the agricultural ministry didn't know what crops to plant if it could change at any moment, the police became corrupt without strong legal oversight, a nation heir to spectacular oil wealth walked into an economic crisis. But that's my value proposition, the thing that I as November can do that he couldn't. We can provide a level of internal unity that could never exist between Chavez and his ministers, which means we can resource the public exaltation of magic without collapsing the government functions that keeps the ring spinning. And that's the absolute baseline we can accomplish if we don't develop any sort of hidden technology, or an army of securitrons, or if Green decides to expand to like a hundred colours or some other unexpected windfall."
Red!
"Quick check," said Red, dialing Black. "Do you need these guns to go to Selene, or do you need the cops to not find the guns? One of those operations gives me way more options than the other."
Yellow!
She holds the flag.
This is everything to her.
Some days she's barely even sure she exists. A daydream. A fantasy. So unreal that if you touched her she'd turn back into stardust and sighs. The idea that she could do something, that she could make a change, that she could make the world better seems so fragile. A delusion, a false colour, a trick of the light before she sinks back down into the depths of everyday browns and tans and greys.
She who holds nothing holds this. A banner. Something to believe in. Her belief made manifest. The dream she carried. The dream she was unworthy of. The dream that they might follow despite her. It takes both her hands and all her strength to keep it aloft; in a world with wind the slightest gust would knock it and her over.
She flicks the hidden switches and it expands to its full size and glory. It raises above the rainbow like a roar, like a prayer, like a nation. Here in this colour are all your hopes and dreams, close enough to chase. All you need to do is march after it.
The holy maiden shivers and takes her first lonely step forwards. Bare feet leave the drawbridge and touch the bare surface of Aevum.
She does not look back. She could not survive this dream failing her, and so she must proceed as though it won't.
"A friend of mine has a tattoo I really like," said Brown. "AM=FM. Actual Machines = Fucking Magic. In her mind the fact that her inventions have to work inside the laws of physics is what makes them so impressive, in a way that pure magic wouldn't be. I've been thinking about that basically non stop since I saw it, but Actual Government = Fucking Magic isn't as catchy an acronym.
"At its base, though, is the problem of resources. It's possible Yellow figures out some way to imanentize the eschalon and usher in the singularity but I need to plan on the assumption that we're going to be constrained by material reality and that Green isn't going to get a reproduction fetish. That places constraints on what's possible. Yes, the plan is absolutely to do the fairy godmother thing, but what's actually involved in that? If someone wishes for a castle then that requires mobilization of construction crews, payments of salaries, movement of tonnes of material, integration with surrounding electrical grids and emergency planning - the backend requirement is huge, especially if we want to make it happen on Fucking Magic timeframes. We'd need an entire dedicated Ministry of Wishes, a branch of government dedicated to transferring resources on ludicrous timeframes, the Make a Wish foundation with the budget of the military-industrial complex.
"And that's where the political questions come in. The question of stability is ever present, especially if we've seized power in a coup. Every resource we dedicate towards maintaining order is a resource we're not dedicating towards making dreams come true. The more wishes we grant the more we shift people's perceptions of reality, entrench our worldview, build legitimacy and loyalists but that's pointless if an armed uprising starts. There's a huge amount of resources that can be mobilized by liquidating the billionaire class so there's a huge advantage over the previous regime, but that doesn't cover everything. It's especially dire if those resources need to be directed to a new generation of oligarchs in order to buy the elite loyalty required to prevent a coup, and that's the problem inherent to authoritarian systems.
"This is why I think of the example of Hugo Chavez. Chavez was the rare politician whose mastery of the media was so profound that he rarely needed to wield authoritarian power. He was charismatic enough that he was able to implement communism without a civil war, he was able to govern as a marxist without cancelling elections, he announced major policy changes spur-of-the-moment on live television which made everyone hang on his every word. Through sheer charisma, political adaptability and decisiveness he was able to defuse strikes and outmaneuver opposition. He didn't need a secret police when the people loved him, he didn't need to outlaw dissent when he just held a press conference whenever his opponents were talking and everyone flipped to his channel. Politically he walked on water his entire career. He died in office, had a glorious funeral, and was entombed next to Simon Bolivar. Fucking magic for someone who started his political career by fucking up a coup.
"Now, the problem with Chavez was that he was kind of an idiot with no consistent policies. The same off the cuff changes in direction that made him so compelling on TV were a bureaucratic nightmare; the agricultural ministry didn't know what crops to plant if it could change at any moment, the police became corrupt without strong legal oversight, a nation heir to spectacular oil wealth walked into an economic crisis. But that's my value proposition, the thing that I as November can do that he couldn't. We can provide a level of internal unity that could never exist between Chavez and his ministers, which means we can resource the public exaltation of magic without collapsing the government functions that keeps the ring spinning. And that's the absolute baseline we can accomplish if we don't develop any sort of hidden technology, or an army of securitrons, or if Green decides to expand to like a hundred colours or some other unexpected windfall."
Red!
"Quick check," said Red, dialing Black. "Do you need these guns to go to Selene, or do you need the cops to not find the guns? One of those operations gives me way more options than the other."
Yellow!
She holds the flag.
This is everything to her.
Some days she's barely even sure she exists. A daydream. A fantasy. So unreal that if you touched her she'd turn back into stardust and sighs. The idea that she could do something, that she could make a change, that she could make the world better seems so fragile. A delusion, a false colour, a trick of the light before she sinks back down into the depths of everyday browns and tans and greys.
She who holds nothing holds this. A banner. Something to believe in. Her belief made manifest. The dream she carried. The dream she was unworthy of. The dream that they might follow despite her. It takes both her hands and all her strength to keep it aloft; in a world with wind the slightest gust would knock it and her over.
She flicks the hidden switches and it expands to its full size and glory. It raises above the rainbow like a roar, like a prayer, like a nation. Here in this colour are all your hopes and dreams, close enough to chase. All you need to do is march after it.
The holy maiden shivers and takes her first lonely step forwards. Bare feet leave the drawbridge and touch the bare surface of Aevum.
She does not look back. She could not survive this dream failing her, and so she must proceed as though it won't.