STRANGE, WHERE WERE YOU WHEN WE STARTED THIS GIG?

[maskormods]

WHO: All diplomatic imPorts that have signed up HERE.
WHERE: The capitals of Mexico, South Korea, and France. UN-attending imPorts will be placed in Davos, Switzerland.
WHEN: January 26th.
WHAT: Democracy in motion as imPorts attempt to use their skills of persuasion to convince each government or organization to lend the imPorts - and America - their help. Players may also use this log to play out the long flight over, planning, and other associated activities.
WARNINGS: None anticipated; let us know if we should change this!



Depending on their assignment, all imPort diplomats will find themselves either in Seoul, South Korea; Mexico City, Mexico; Paris, France; or for UN attending imPorts, Davos in the Swiss Alps. They will be housed in the American Embassies and regardless of their Registration status, will be treated as American citizens. UN-attending imPorts will be housed in a hotel close by. Their accommodations will be that of an extremely luxurious hotel, and they will be provided with anything that they should require, be it books on the art of rhetoric, access to state of the art computers and laptops, food or drink. They will also be provided with boardrooms in which the teams may convene to assemble a strategy. Don't be distracted by the free drinks; this is a task that will require clear minds!

After one night of preparation, on January 26th, each team of imPorts will meet with either the government of their assigned nation or the UN. They will be placed at a podium in front of a room full of politicians and diplomats, and will be expected to state their argument. They will be allowed to have an opening speech before each assembly asks each group three questions.

When either the opening speech has been concluded OR the question has been answered to each player's satisfaction, please put QUESTION NEEDED in the subject title of your comment, and we will deliver the next question.

Just remember: an invasion is coming! Even if acquiring the alliance of these governments and organizations do not help with the imPorts' immediate predicament, it will impact the future of the game at large!

Get ready, our silver-tongued imPorts, and good luck!

Comments

[rathercommon]

Hm.

[ She taps her lip, very lightly. ]

So then...what does being a Vor mean?

[vorbarra]

[He snorts.]

God, Kitty. How am I supposed to answer that? Do you know we run into this with non-Barrayarans constantly? My foster-mother thinks the whole thing is a mass delusion.

[rathercommon]

[ Her lips quirk up in a little smile. ]

Well - is it?

[vorbarra]

[This one he actually doesn't have to think about. He's already thought on it long and hard for years.]

If you mean are we needed, is there something intrinsically valuable in being Vor or in being Emperor for that matter, no. We're an obsolete system. If you mean is it delusional to feel that you owe protection and service to those you are personally loyal to, no to that, too. Parts are delusion-- other parts are necessary.

[rathercommon]

[ She nods. ]

Though...Loyalty is not an inherently Vorish value, is it. Can you be that even if you were just...Vorthys-minus-the-Vor? Thys, I suppose that would make you.

[ She smiles, thinking that's a joke. ]

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor can't help it -- he laughs, a little morbidly. ]

Oh, God. I've done a really crap job explaining this if you think loyalty isn't inherently Vorish. People can be executed for disloyalty. [ He sounds bleakly amused about it. ] Thankfully that doesn't really happen anymore. I suppose I could be loyal without being Vor, but what's the point?

[ Spoken like a true proponent of the religion. ]

[rathercommon]

[ She arches an eyebrow. ]

The virtue without the shackles?

[vorbarra]

Fair enough to call them shackles, but... [ He drifts off, as if looking at something else. ] If I'm determined to see them that way, doesn't that preclude them ever becoming anything else?

[rathercommon]

Mm. Can they ever be anything else, even if you decide to view them otherwise?

[vorbarra]

If it's a delusion, isn't how we see it all that matters? [ he shoots back immediately. ]

[rathercommon]

[ A smile touches her lips. ]

Mass delusion. Sounds as though you'd have to get everyone else to agree.

[vorbarra]

[ Here Gregor had forgotten that she likes being debated with. It's sort of relaxing for him, too, actually. He's used to having to keep these comments to himself, or at least modulate them before they come out, but he's always had to poke holes in everyone else's arguments the second they presented them. He has to be critical, as Emperor. ]

What makes you think they don't already? I'm the odd one out. Not too many Vor flee into the night.

[ And there might be just a hint of real, tired bitterness beneath that comment. Gregor really is the odd one, and being that isolated is wearing. ]

[rathercommon]

Then they agree with each other. I meant more that you'd have to get them to agree with you.

[vorbarra]

Right, but-- maybe I should do the reverse, and agree with them. Not entirely, but enough to be going on with.

[rathercommon]

[ She points at him. ]

Rubbish. That's conformity. No progress is ever made like that.

[vorbarra]

[ Of course. What else was he really expecting her to say? Mildly, ] Isn't absolute rejection of conformity just another form of it?

[rathercommon]

[ She shakes her head. ]

Not a bit of it. If you do the opposite of what they want of you - then yeah. That's conformity. Absolutely. But not if you just stop caring completely what they want. It's like - When I started out, I was very much a tool of the entrenched powers. But I've shaken free of that now.

[vorbarra]

[ It sounds very seductive, that line of thinking. When he'd first started his reign, he'd have bought into this whole-heartedly. ]

Much more difficult to not care when it's the man who raised you you're telling to go to hell, [ he murmurs. ] I couldn't do that to him. [ And Aral as a representative of millions more loyal subjects who have sacrificed no less than him. ]

[rathercommon]

[ Her smile turns a little crooked. ]

It's actually pretty easy to do. When you're in the moment.

[vorbarra]

I did it once, actually. Not in so many words. It was... not satisfying.

[rathercommon]

[ She looks down and smooths her skirt down over her knee, feeling weirdly...weird. Uncomfortable. ]

Oh? What happened?

[vorbarra]

[ He has no idea why she'd feel uncomfortable about this, when it's his personal failing they're discussing. ]

I believed a false accusation of treason placed against him. [ Because really, that's what it'd amounted to. ]

[rathercommon]

Mm.

[ She doesn't look up. ]

It was all worked out, I assume. Otherwise you'd be a lot more worked up about it.

[vorbarra]

... We've gotten over it since, yes. I'm sorry, this isn't really relevant, is it? I can't even remember what we were talking about.

[ Issues with her father, he imagines. Gregor tosses her this out if she wants it. ]

[rathercommon]

[ She looks off away from him. And prompts: ]

Conformity.