Great Freedom
21-11-2004, 03:29
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.
For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown to in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." - Cicero, 42 BC
It started with just five million and a promise - a promise to give the people of the town the freedoms it deserved. Five million people worked from scratch to build a town, which they named Great Freedom. Over time, the town grew. People moved more to the frontier and expanded it. Immigrants from dozens of nations around the world came to Great Freedom. Within a matter of years, it became a country of 56 million.
Great Freedom was no longer a town. It was a small city of 47 million and growing. The frontier was filled with millions of settlers. Great Freedom not only covered the city, it also covered hundreds of square miles around the city. A town of 4 million sprang up on the coast and made it more accessable to the wave of immigrants.
However, with its growing size came a price. The direct democracy system meant that anyone had a say in the country, not just elected officials, but it was optional to attend meatings. The giant beauracracy needed a leader, or at least some representative. A Chief Speaker was elected by the people, but because there were so many choices, the Speaker was chosen with a minority of the popular vote. Corruption grew within the young nation and threatened to tear it apart....
Of Beginnings and Ends
The Founding of Great Freedom
and
The Traitors Who Could End It
Thomas Watson was unhappy. The nation was corrupt. The military was weak. The young nation could collapse any moment and all of the people would just move on to another nation. Watson dreamed of something better, something stronger, something that would be a world superpower. He wanted something better than the weak direct democracy that ruled the country.
The city-state already had had its share of corruption and treason. Thomas wasn't surprised when the first Chief Speaker was assasinated. Or the second. Watson hoped that the people would have a revolution that would overthrow the government. If not, he'd try to incite a revolution. He just needed to find people who shared his views and then he could bring down the system.
Erica Young wanted supreme control over Great Freedom. Yes. It would have pretty much make "Great Freedom" a not true name, but she didn't care. The name would just help in spreading the propaganda. She dreamed of a time when she would be Supreme Ruler of the nation.
She was the one behind the assasinations. "If the people thought that the Chief Speaker system didn't work," she reasoned, "then they would elect me as Supreme Ruler, where I'd rule with an iron fist." She just needed to find a group of people who would support her, fight for her, die for her, help her take over the nation.
There were many more than two traitors in the nation, in total having at least a million followers. Treason from within might bring an end to the freedom of Great Freedom. Two things were sure: Great Freedom began and something had to end....
For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown to in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." - Cicero, 42 BC
It started with just five million and a promise - a promise to give the people of the town the freedoms it deserved. Five million people worked from scratch to build a town, which they named Great Freedom. Over time, the town grew. People moved more to the frontier and expanded it. Immigrants from dozens of nations around the world came to Great Freedom. Within a matter of years, it became a country of 56 million.
Great Freedom was no longer a town. It was a small city of 47 million and growing. The frontier was filled with millions of settlers. Great Freedom not only covered the city, it also covered hundreds of square miles around the city. A town of 4 million sprang up on the coast and made it more accessable to the wave of immigrants.
However, with its growing size came a price. The direct democracy system meant that anyone had a say in the country, not just elected officials, but it was optional to attend meatings. The giant beauracracy needed a leader, or at least some representative. A Chief Speaker was elected by the people, but because there were so many choices, the Speaker was chosen with a minority of the popular vote. Corruption grew within the young nation and threatened to tear it apart....
Of Beginnings and Ends
The Founding of Great Freedom
and
The Traitors Who Could End It
Thomas Watson was unhappy. The nation was corrupt. The military was weak. The young nation could collapse any moment and all of the people would just move on to another nation. Watson dreamed of something better, something stronger, something that would be a world superpower. He wanted something better than the weak direct democracy that ruled the country.
The city-state already had had its share of corruption and treason. Thomas wasn't surprised when the first Chief Speaker was assasinated. Or the second. Watson hoped that the people would have a revolution that would overthrow the government. If not, he'd try to incite a revolution. He just needed to find people who shared his views and then he could bring down the system.
Erica Young wanted supreme control over Great Freedom. Yes. It would have pretty much make "Great Freedom" a not true name, but she didn't care. The name would just help in spreading the propaganda. She dreamed of a time when she would be Supreme Ruler of the nation.
She was the one behind the assasinations. "If the people thought that the Chief Speaker system didn't work," she reasoned, "then they would elect me as Supreme Ruler, where I'd rule with an iron fist." She just needed to find a group of people who would support her, fight for her, die for her, help her take over the nation.
There were many more than two traitors in the nation, in total having at least a million followers. Treason from within might bring an end to the freedom of Great Freedom. Two things were sure: Great Freedom began and something had to end....