maskormenacelogs | THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING

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THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING

WHO: ImPorts! But especially the NONAH AMBASSADOR CANDIDATES!
WHERE: The Dolley Madison Library in Nonah, North Carolina.
WHEN: Evening, Sunday November 13th.
WHAT: The Nonah Town Hall for an evening of rigorous debate about the issues that matter!
WARNINGS: N/A.

The Dolley Madison Library is a two story structure brimming with books and neoclassical architecture. Clearly a well-funded facility, this library is a bright, warm, and welcoming environment for polite (if political) conversation this evening. The main floor, near the back of the building and behind rows and rows of looming bookshelves is the slightly risen stage destined for tonight's event. It is but a darkly painted plateau nearly a foot off the ground, a little stage intended for reading events and author interviews. Nine simple wooden chairs are set upon the stage, and a microphone greets them all.

The audience portion is complete with organized, open seating and a table of non-alcoholic refreshments. There are muffins and cookies, too, for those of you who have come hungry for both IDEAS and SNACKS.

EACH CANDIDATE gets a time slot to speak about tonight's theme: THE ROLE OF IMPORTS IN RELATION TO METAHUMANS IN A HISTORICALLY NON-POWERED COMMUNITY.

Candidate imPorts may address their solutions and visions, or even drudge up more complications, in response to the thematic prompt. You can be a candidate of hope, or of fear -- it all depends on your perspective. Concerned imPort citizens are allowed to speak with the candidates about their answers, and debate them if necessary. ImPorts are also allowed to debate among each other after the candidates have all spoken.

The event begins at 7PM EST, but may last well into the night.

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[Anastasya still wasn't great at 'dressing up' when it didn't involve the fancy and admittedly somewhat morbid robes of her station back home, so for this all she was wearing was a simple green blouse and black skirt. But hey, she didn't get shot this time, so she actually looks pretty normal! Admittedly, also, a bit young, even if she doesn't carry herself that way. But that wasn't stopping her.]

[And the question was one she'd actually already thought about, which was handy. Mostly because she was very interested in convincing one of the newly powered natives to come let Tesladyne poke and prod at them, but she hadn't figured out how to approach them yet. Still, it counted.]

That's not exactly a simple question, is it? [She said, her lips pursed faintly.] I mean, yes, I want to say that the import community is more than willing, eager even, to reach out to these newly powered natives. In many ways they are just like us, people suddenly thrust into lives and powers they didn't understand and maybe didn't even want. It's a situation I've found myself in more than once.

But at the same time... [She hesitated, sorting her words out carefully.] This is their home. This world is where they are from, where they want to be, and for many imports, if not most, it is not ours. We are waiting. Holding our breaths and our lives and doing what we can to survive until we find a way back where we belong.

We always have to remember that. We might see these people as brothers and sisters, and we can help as much as they can help us, but we should always be careful to remember our differences too.

We have seen already that some of these people can be dangerous. The natives seem to look to us to police other imports who...misbehave. If we embrace these superpowered natives, will that responsibility fall to us as well? Should it? And if they cause enough damage, and laws are passed to keep them in check, and we have said we are the same, will those laws fall on us as well?

This simple fact is, I don't know. None of us do. And until we do, we must be careful. In what we say and what we do and what we offer them.

But I will say this. I do think we should reach out to them, to help them learn to control themselves, at the very least. Because we are the only people who can, and there is a responsibility in that.

But we should be careful, and cautious, in any action we take.

[Ana will be hanging around to argue or discuss or just chit-chat with whomever wants to. Occasionally a large black raven with blue runes carved into her feathers will flutter down from where she is perched ontop of various bookshelves to land on Anastasya's arm, and she'll exchange a few whispers with it before it flutters back up.]

[ While Anastasya does have Petyr's support, he has to ensure she stands out as a strong candidate. Her viewpoint is a smart and cautious one -- less optimistic and more indicative of a leader who has been here and done that and doesn't want any more bullshit to befall on her people. So he has to prepare her to see how she would respond to the criticisms she would inevitably face if she is elected ambassador. ]

It is because of the power of a single imPort that these metahumans were created. In the eyes of some, because we created them we are responsible for them. How do you respond to those who hold our entire community accountable for the actions of only one among us?

[Anastasya shifted a bit at the question.]

I would say that they're wrong. [She says this quite directly.] You cannot hold the whole of a group responsible for a single member. While that doesn't mean imports can't choose to help the...[Victims? No that wasn't the right word...] people affected by his experiments, you can't force us to either.

Our willingness to aid them is not the same thing as accepting some kind of guilt or responsibility for their reaction.

It all boils down to each individual making their own choices. I do agree with this sentiment. But you will also hold a certain responsibility over your city. Is there anything you would do as a preventative measure to keep the metahumans' powers from getting out of control? Or perhaps this question could even extend to imPorts and their powers as well since many of us do not arrive here knowing how to utilize what was given to us. For example, reclaim the imPort training facility that is now in the government's hands after the port outs of both former ambassador Gamagori and former ambassador Urquhart?

[ She also seems pretty crazily powerful, which would definitely be beneficial to the city of Nonah. ]

Doesn't everything boil down to that? [Anastasya asked with a small smile, perhaps hoping to illicit a laugh from those who were listening.]

I would ask for volunteers to help teach the newly empowered natives, to help them control their new abilities and what they might do with them. [And to keep an eye on them, though she certainly wasn't going to say that out loud. But it was fairly implicit.] As for other imports, from what I've seen, there are often people on the network willing to assist. And I believe there is a school that can assist with that, as well. More encouragement to attend might be warranted, though.

[She hesitated at the second question, because she didn't really have much of a stake in the previously owned places. But she knew they were important to many imports...]

I'd see little problem with petitioning to have them returned to our control. And given that they were once ours to begin with, if the government refuses, perhaps something could be done in the courts.

['Courts' were not really something she was really accustomed to, though. But people seemed to swear they could fix things...]

You could always build something new. Something improved -- should the government refuse your request. It would be something in which to call your own. These are, in part, some of the abilities we have as ambassadors for our cities.

[ But Petyr does smile at the effortless ease Anastasya possesses. Interjecting humor into her speech and choosing her words carefully, she is definitely making a good impression. He does hope the audience will take notice of these things. ]

But may I ask you what the position of ambassador means to you, my lady?

[The Count looks unenthusiastic throughout Anastasya's speech. So much caution, so much care, so much uncertainty. It smells like weakness to the Sith. It's unlikely he will back her this time around if this is her stance.]

Greetings, Hierophant. As I am sure you are aware, answering 'I don't know' to these great questions will be insufficient if you are elected Ambassador. You will be expected to act when the time comes.

My question to you is whether you are prepared to go beyond guidance in helping these new metahumans. We imPorts are so often targeted for what we can do. If the metahumans face the same dangers, from the same enemies, will you be prepared to defend them as our elected representative?

[Maybe she's just learning to play the game a little more, Dooku. She offers him a faint smile at the question, though her gaze is...thoughtful. They haven't spoken recently, and his attitude is a bit different than before. Hm.]

Yes, I would defend them. With words and with actions, if necessary. [She looks out at the rest of the people then.] But I would not force other imports to do the same, if that's what you mean. I would hope that they would would do so, but in the end it's a decision they have to make themselves.

Of course, I also hope it doesn't come to that, and the same...courtesy...that they have extended to us will be extended to these newly empowered people.

[Dooku allows his features to soften somewhat as Anastasya speaks. This is more like it. He has largely discarded the Hierophant since her defeat in the last election: blaming her for failure was preferable to accepting how totally overwhelmed his own campaign had been when the actual voting happened. But maybe there is still hope for her.]

I am pleased to hear that, m'lady. It strikes me that they are in a terribly vulnerable position, with few of the advantages we enjoy.

A further question, if you will indulge me. What will your stance be if the authorities choose to treat the metahumans the same way we are? Which is to say, with Registration and mandatory injections of nanites.

[She had thought this over some, and she wrinkles her nose faintly at the prospect.]

While I would hope that they would not choose to do so, I can understand why they would want to. But I would be against it. We have little say in the matter, when we arrive, but these people, this is their world, their home. To be treated like... [What was the right word...] Intruders? In their own homes?

It is not the choice a just government would make, I think.

Indeed it is not.

[Dooku's voice is sombre as though he was at a funeral, yet there's an ironic tinge to it as well. His views on the 'justness' of the government are available to anyone who wants to look at the Network.]

But if they do make that choice... what options would you, as Ambassador, exercise in order to oppose it?

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THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING

Anastasya Griffin

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