The Citizen

[Anonymous]

[center:3kgji118]The Citizen
Aedolis's Voice of Reason[/center:3kgji118]


This publication is not primarily meant as a refutation of the extremist Sylph Report.  It is meant as a reasoned approach to the problems of Aedolian citizenship.

My name is Alesku Macario.  My title is Pilot Royal, Aedolian military.  My topic is free will and its aporias.  My topic, in short, is how to be a moral agent in our society.  I do not think that Aedolis is perfect.  But Aedolis has my allegiance.  I do not think Aedolis is without flaw.  But I think we can improve it without reasonless strife and destruction.  My cause is reason.  

1. The caste system and Aedolian life.  The living conditions of the Middle and Upper Castes are undoubtedly optimal.  The Lower City faces the persistent problem of resource allocation.  The problem is, quite simply, economic in nature.  I suggest, as a citizen of Aedolis, public works foundations implemented by the upper castes to alleviate some of this burden.

Logistics aside--and logistics are, do not mistake me, important--I wish to address possible misconceptions about caste life.  It is not inherently better to be in one caste than another.  We are all beings of merit and existential worth.  A low-caste citizen is no less, in fact, than a high-caste.  Those who are blind to every value but the system itself are blind to the reality of human life.  The caste system merely organizes what already is the organizing principle behind any functioning society at Aedolis's technological level: there is specialization of labor.  We can and should attempt to mitigate any compromises made to the quality of life of the lower castes.

Again, however, the castes are not utterly impermeable.  Performance artists, for instance, can 'rise' in caste.  But, I argue, there is nothing inherently superior in wealth itself, nor in the type of job one possesses--the same claim would need to be made by any offer of an alternative system.  And if wealth and extravagant consumption do not matter, why must they trouble the lower-caste citizen?  Perhaps an educational program aimed more broadly at the lower castes would help them to refocus on less specious--and I mean that straightforwardly--concerns.  I have no problem suggesting that upper and middle-caste credit be shunted in this direction.  Freedom is freedom of mind, not freedom of expenditure and consumption.  The Aedolis that I love is the Aedolis of principled Pilots and hard-working low-castes as well as the Aedolis of upper-caste corporate executives and performers.

2. Capitalism.  We are, some may say, 'run by our credit chips'.  Then again, what is capital?  Capital is based upon simple principles: liquidity, exchangeability, value.  That is all credit is.  It is useful; it is necessary for prosperity in our society.  So are a thousand other mechanisms of exchange.  Language.  Infrastructure.

3.  Surveillance.  One of the ways in which credit functions, of course, is as a working map of each citizen's capital transactions (some of which are in fact untraceable).  And, as everyone knows, we employ other surveillance techniques, as well.  I argue that those who do not wish to be watched are those who should be watched.  It is childish to insist upon the illusion of free will.  An immoral act is not a free act.  The moral agent acts as though he or she is being watched when she is not, and as though he or she is not being watched when she is.  The watching should not matter.  And we are reasonable people.  Our power is only that of surveillance.  As surveillance increases, the chances of falsely positive guilt attribution will decrease.  Think of surveillance as a chance to prove your innocence.  No!  That view is not naive.  It is the view of reason and maturity.

4.  Environmental concerns.  These may be the most worrisome to me of all of the concerns some have about Aedolis.  We are, however, not far from gleaning some of Edanith's terraforming capability.  In any case, the environmental question is not one of principle but one of practical concern.  But ask yourselves: what do we have to gain from neglecting our planet?  Nothing.  

5.  Aedolian military policy.  I am of course not free to speak of this in detail.  (The censorship hysterics may decry is a simple matter of security.)  Suffice it to say that there is clear and present danger.  The Seruna stations and Edanith are not passive.  Edanith, we know, has designs on retaking their now-expired position on Earth.  And even if our design were conquest: why should we not conquer?  The value of safety is higher than the price of continued strife.

6. The Dragons.  They are useful and sympathetic technology.  They are very powerful and very intelligent.  In my view, the Pilots are at fault for their reputation if anyone is at fault.  Too many Pilots today are lax, make excuses, and accept not living up to their internal standards.  If the Pilots have the proper goals in mind, the specter of faceless rule will become far less plausible and frightening.  Pilots: your training is hard, your life is hard, and that is a gift given to you by Aedolis.  The bond with your Dragon should not be a matter of Network addiction.  When we lapse into addictive behavior, whether to wealth, to Dragons, to drugs, or to sex, we forget that we are beings capable of reasoned, principled behavior.

No structure, no power, should be blamed for human misbehavior.

Broadly speaking, I apply the same ethos to every aspect of public life.  How do I act as a moral agent in the situation in which I find myself?  What place is there for choice, for free will, in such an environment?  Much of the outcry we hear, and it is a petulant one, comes from malcontents who claim they desire freedom.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but freedom is not a simple quantity.  Freedom is all of self-mastery, self-knowledge, and moral conduct according to inner prompting.  Our society does not run us.  We run ourselves.  Society is not evil--no, nor even are individuals.  Actions are evil.  The actor is not.  You will always have the freedom to choose the right action, the action guided by the inner promptings of your rational conscience.  Act accordingly.  

7.  Sylph and 'The Sylph Report.'  Sylph is an unknown quantity--but not wholly unknown.  

Traces indicate that 'Sylph' is not an Aedolian citizen, but resides on the Cancer station.  Think, really think: what motives might someone from Seruna have in wishing to dismantle the Aedolian military from within?  Do you still scoff at our cautious treatment of Seruna and Edanith?

Sylph's suggestions are regularly unproductive and even ludicrous.  I do not encourage you to read the Report (and cannot, as it is illegal--for good reason), which contains hysterical, unfounded accusations of our 'freedomlessness' and the possibility of 'class revolution,' and the flimsiest of selective data on military policy.

I love my country and I love my city.  More than these things I love reason and the spirit of rational thought, which is the true freedom we, as beings, possess.  I mistrust extremists and dismissive, childish fools who think freedom means 'doing whatever you want.'  In our short lives--and every life is short--to do whatever we want is an impossibility; and to do what we must is the only path to peace.

Yours,
Pilot Royal Alesku Macario


This blog is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to respond. I respect only those who use their real names but I accept anyone who wishes to present a reasonable argument. I reserve the right to delete posts that compromise military security but will answer them as fully as possible over private channel.  Anonymous posts should be sent via private channel [see PM button].  (More on contribution).[/color]

[Anonymous]

First of all, greetings to my readers.  

Incidentally--and somewhat surprisingly--I can see that approximately 20% of my readership is not Aedolian.  9% of connections are via Edanith, 7% are via Seruna, and 4% are extranational or untraceable.  

In that spirit, today's topic regards messages all of us can see around Edanith- and Seruna-based sites, not to mention the oft-overlooked TRIM.

It is no secret that we like to keep some control over which channels Aedolian citizenry can access.  Why?  Let's take a look at why we tag messages as subversive, and why that's a good thing.  

There is a lot of information out there today--too much for anyone to sort on his or her own.  Because the conflict with Edanith and Seruna isn't currently hot, many people assume it's absolutely fine to read their broadcasts.  Not so.

Information is one of the key weapons in any 'cold' conflict.  Information trafficking is alive and well, though we try to prevent the interception of classified Aedolian military communications as best we can.  Information pollution is a lesser-known phenomenon, and it can be just as dangerous.  What is information pollution?  It is an Edani or Serunan tactic whereby they send out anti-Aedolian messages and let them propagate.  They start VCN channels, radio broadcasts, and blogs.  

It is imperative that we, as good Aedolian citizens, treat any Edani or Serunan broadcast or blog post as a hostile force.  In fact, I urge you to treat any message with an unknown source as hostile.  Any message unmarked with a name and location; any message unmarked on the Network.  These messages are subversive, cowardly, and most likely the result of Edani or Serunan pollution.  As I mentioned in my last post, it's probable that Sylph him- or herself is a Serunan information pollutor.  It is an unfortunate truth that people are susceptible to things they read, things they are told.  

Lately, even TRIM has refused to cooperate with an Aedolian investigation of terrorist 'Gospel' activity.  Where does TRIM's allegiance lie?  Should we continue to allow them access to psychics who have proven defective in training?  I leave this decision open to Command.

Do not let agents of information pollution convince you that our 'censorship' is a symptom of our repression.  Aedolis got where it is through strength and integrity.  Aedolis does not keep slaves simply because they happen to have magical power.  Aedolis does not refuse to share nonmilitary technology that could better the earth's environment.  Aedolis does not tolerate terrorist activity or harbor known terrorists.  Aedolis does not kill its agents when a plan goes wrong.  Aedolis does not repress--it protects.  

I encourage anyone who has come across a subversive post on any channel to report it here if they think citizens would benefit from hearing a reasoned refutation of its message.  Report it here, report it to me over private channel, report it to the military--just report it! This is the ordinary citizen's chance to help us combat the Edani and Serunan threat.  We need your eyes and ears.  We need your minds and consciences.  We need you to be the kind of citizens that make Aedolis great.

I, of course, cannot respond to all of the ludicrous, fearmongering messages Edanith and Seruna manage to cook up--there are simply too many.  I suggest instead that Aedolian citizens who might feel themselves swayed by the power of untrustworthy words--I suggest that they trust the evidence of immediate experience.  Of course Aedolis is not perfect.  Of course Aedolis could use some reform.  I myself think we should work on educating the lower castes and raising taxes for the upper; improving the planet's environment; and routing certain immoral practices from amongst the Pilots.  But I suggest reform for these minor failings, not treason.  

Make no mistake: the 'Gospel' terrorists are de facto on the side of Edanith and Seruna.  What they are trying to do would destroy Aedolis if it had any possibility of success, and we would be under Edani or Serunan rule.

The question, readers, is simply this: do you want Aedolis to survive and prosper, or do you want Aedolis to fall?  I can only hope that we all want what is best for our country.

Yours,
Pilot Royal Alesku Macario


This blog is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to respond. I respect only those who use their real names but I accept anyone who wishes to present a reasonable argument. I reserve the right to delete posts that compromise military security but will answer them as fully as possible over private channel.  Anonymous posts should be sent via private channel [see PM button].  (More on contribution).

[Anonymous]

Question of the day: what is best for Aedolis?  

That's not only the question of the day--it's the question of the week, month, year, and lifetime.  What's best for Aedolis?  What's best for Haviah?  What's best for us?  Now, I'm aware we in Haviah have a reputation.  We like entertainment, we like food, alcohol, and drugs.  We're selfish.  Or are we?  

Self-love is the source of love for others.  Self-hatred, the source of hate.  I don't expect any of you, my fellow Aedolians, to be selfless or self-abnegating.  

But I expect you to rise above mere selfishness and to understand that we are a nation.  We may be a nation of individuals, but we are, above all else, united.  When you work your job, you're contributing to everyone's wellbeing.  You are not an Edani Mage.  You are not a slave.  You choose, every day, to take part in the exactly run machine of Aedolian society.  You choose, every day, to do your part.  And your reward is in your direct control.  What more can anyone ask than a few nights off a week, to spend with loved ones?  Than liquid credit, to spend as you will?  Every society involves exchange.  Every society is economic.  Human life is economic, a system of the exchange of oxygen for carbon monoxide, of interpersonal exchange, of the exchange of words, feelings, thoughts and genetic material.  Aedolis is miraculous because its artificial structure is clearly visible on the surface.  It's totally transparent.  The lower caste plays a part just as valuable as the upper, and it is easy to see how.

Our economic system is a great thing.  What you earn, you earn with your own honest labor.  Your reward is quantifiable.  And the fact is, with prosperity comes happiness.  It's a simple happiness, and one everyone in our society can share.  That's the truth the treasonous and the terrorists won't share with you.  You may think of freedom, but I tell you, in this sense of the word it is not freedom.  It is idleness the terrorists are peddling, and it is a false and ugly dream.  When you hear the word 'freedom,' don't think of sitting in the sunshine with nothing to do.  Think of the ugly squalor of suffering and poverty.  That's the fruit of that sort of so-called 'freedom.'  

Honest work will bring us happiness.  Prosperity will bring us happiness.  We'll never be 'equal.'  We'll never all perform the same functions.  In fact, the easy organization of the caste system is what allows us all to prosper.  Those of you from the lower caste who rise, so-called, do so only to achieve the prompting of their own potential, which we do not deny.  We say only that it is a rare and burdensome thing, talent, and it serves itself.  Talent will not make you happy.  Painters and CEOs are not happier than custodians.

We psychics are called to serve as Pilots, a duty that is painful and difficult and endlessly satisfying.  Rulers should not be content.  That is not our job.  Our job is to think and to suffer over everything that you, Aedolian citizens at large, need not.  We suffer so you can prosper.  We suffer, but we are not unsatisfied.  Our satisfaction is something above bodily comfort.  I can hope civilian citizens understand that, but I can't demand it.  I hope we can soon afford to educate the lower caste and the middle caste more fully, but I understand that not everyone can reap the benefits of education, which aren't always tangible and don't even serve happiness, but the higher master of reason.

For you, a family may suffice.  Some useful occupation and some leisure may suffice.  Note that I don't think immense wealth makes anyone happy.  No.  You may consult your own experience for proof.  Wealth is not happiness.  When I speak of prosperity I don't speak of excess.  I don't even speak of plenty, though plenty is our goal.  I speak of enough.  I speak of comfort and satisfaction for all castes, lower to upper.  For you, for all of you, prosperity will bring happiness.  

At present here is needless suffering amongst the lower castes.  We aren't prospering as we should.  Why we aren't is the subject of today's discussion.  

Now, I hope you'll forgive me a seeming digression.

I want to disclose the source of my bias against Edanith.  First, as anyone who's looked me up can tell you, I was in active service during the Edani conflict.  It was, in fact, my first combat mission as a Pilot.  While on Edanith, I saw how their society functioned.  I saw how they used Mages in combat.  It was not uncommon to see one of their 'Mordecai' lethally exhaust his Mage on the battlefield, then send another Mage in to retrieve the all-important headband.  Often the fallen Mage's skull had to be cracked open for this purpose.  It was impossible for us to take Mage prisoners without 'their Mordecai'--all too often, Mordecai induced them, from afar, to kill themselves or each other.  

So I ask you--excuse me my prejudices.  I will strive to address only reasonable concerns.

And those I do have.

I have, indeed, a major grievance with Edanith, and one that has nothing to do with their slaveholding tradition.  In the aftermath of the conflict, they failed to respond to every overture we made regarding their terraforming technology.  Now, Edanith wants to restore the earth's ecological balance, or so they say.  Why, then, would they fail to turn over a technology that would enable this project?  Why fail to agree to Aedolian terms?

I can think of only one answer.  The Edani goal is not earth's restoration.  It is earth's conquest.  We are weakened economically without this technology.  You in the lower castes seek the source of your suffering?  Find it on Edanith.  Find it in the Edani refusal to share technology.  

I am not ashamed to admit that Edani production outstrips ours.  But they are not therefore a superior society.  They have access to more useful technologies of this sort, and, of course, little-limited unpaid slave labor.  I admit: our food synthesis technology is only 48% as efficient as theirs.  Our terraforming capacity is, at present, nil.  Our pool of slave labor?  Sadly for our economy and happily for our nation, it is also nil.  If we had concentrated our resources on these developments, Aedolis would have fallen.  Millions would have died.  It is not only that our economic might depends on our military might.  Our very existence depends on our military might.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to share with my readers, Aedolian, Edani, and Serunan alike, a copy of the Aedolian terms of cease-fire given at the close of the Edani conflict in which I fought.  

Terms of Cease-Fire
Aedolian Military Archive

In the name of intergalactic peace, Aedolis promises to withdraw from Edani territory and airspace if, and only if, the following conditions are met.  Failing that, Aedolis will engage its full complement of tachyonic weaponry against "Tynova" on the planetary surface and space station "Base Alpha."  The Pilot Imperial of Aedolis demands the following:

I.  A halt on all slaving operations outside of Edani borders, defined as planetary atmosphere.  Edani vessels suspected of 'Mage poaching' in neutral space will be subject to immediate seizure by the Aedolian Military.

II.  Immediate disclosure of all EcoCorp (Inc.) records, including all technology pertinent to so-called ProjecTerra, in specific, effective generation of mineral-bearing soil and atmospheric generation and purification.  Include full records of all technology pertinent to nutritive synthesis.  

III.  The disarmament of all weaponry outside of Edani borders, defined as planetary atmosphere.

IV.  A halt on any classified communication with the Seruna stations or affiliated.  Trade in Class C materials and above will be considered a hostile act against Aedolis and treated as a declaration of war.  

If we receive no response within 24 hours, we will consider the terms of the cease-fire broken and mount an immediate strike on Edani territories.

As you may know, Aedolis never mounted its attack.  Edanith agreed to our terms, and we declared an end to offensive hostility.  They've since failed to follow through on any of the terms we presented.

The question: What is best for Aedolis?

The answer: Access to Edani terraforming technology.  

Edanith, I ask you in good faith.  If you are not trying to cripple Aedolis, if you are not trying to force us to start or restart a war we don't need, in the service of our own suffering people: why refuse us this technology?  We have fulfilled our side of the agreement.  

Rest assured that I have discussed this matter with the Pilot Imperial.  Aedolian citizens, look to your happiness.  We will look to your prosperity.

Yours,
Pilot Royal Alesku Macario


This blog is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to respond. I respect only those who use their real names but I accept anyone who wishes to present a reasonable argument. I reserve the right to delete posts that compromise military security but will answer them as fully as possible over private channel.  Anonymous posts should be sent via private channel [see PM button].  (More on contribution).[/color]

[Anonymous]

<message deleted>

>>Initializing trace...

Code: [Select]

Trace complete. Displaying WHOIS.

OrgName: Tynova Classified
OrgID: TYN-VCNSP
Address: 7 Parthenon Dr., Floor 6, Rm. 14D
City: Tynova
Jurisdiction: Edanith

Designation: Relay Server A
NameServer:  GV.TYN.EDT
Comment:
Contact: admin@tyn.edt

[Anonymous]

Apparently, someone in Edanith did not like the suggestion that they share.  QED.  

Connections to the Edani site have been and will be monitored.  As usual, reports of subversive information proliferation on any channel are appreciated.



This blog is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to respond. I respect only those who use their real names but I accept anyone who wishes to present a reasonable argument. I reserve the right to delete posts that compromise military security but will answer them as fully as possible over private channel.  Anonymous posts should be sent via private channel [see PM button].  (More on contribution).[/color]

[Tally]

It is an unfortunate truth that people are susceptible to things they read, things they are told.

Hi, let me introduce you to my friend Irony.

Aedolis does not keep slaves simply because they happen to have magical power.

Quite right!  We get our unpaid workforce from criminals and dissenters convicted on questionable and sometimes nonexistent charges and sent to toil in labor camps for the rest of their lives in sentences disproportionate to whatever minor transgression they may have committed.  Funny how a period of underproduction in the slave camps—oh sorry, containment facilities—always predicts a crack down in the courts on charges typically shown leniency.  Have to keep the manufacturing sector supplied with a steady workforce eh?  

Thirty years for possession of a banned book?  Praise to the gods above all those dangerous bookworms are behind bars.  Paper cuts really hurt! D:

Around eleven million people—that's one in 23 Aedolian adults—are incarcerated right now, and the general populace goes to sleep every night without a clue that this secret population even exists.  These are real people, Aedolian people, people who will spend most of their lives as part of the manufacturing machine producing goods for a society that will never know that their comfort has been bought by the suffering of others.  The labor camps are NOT prisons.  They're a form of slow physical and mental torture.  Did you know people in the, ahem, containment facilities on average live SEVENTEEN FEWER YEARS than people in the general populace? Did you know the suicide rate is nearly eightfold for these people?  These forgotten people?

It wouldn't even surprise me if you edited out that last paragraph.

Aedolis does not repress--it protects.

Oh puh-LEAZ.

Of course Aedolis is not perfect. Of course Aedolis could use some reform. I myself think we should work on educating the lower castes and raising taxes for the upper;

Diversionary goals meant to distract citizens from the real changes that need to be made.  The lower castes need more rights to determine the paths of their own lives, not more math skills, and the upper castes don't need to give more credits away.  They need to give their influence and support to GENUINE reformation efforts.

But I suggest reform for these minor failings, not treason.

They're not mutually exclusive.

The question, readers, is simply this: do you want Aedolis to survive and prosper, or do you want Aedolis to fall?

I hope at least some people reading this recognize the sky-is-falling hysteria you're trying to invoke.

loving you more every minute~
- Blaine Clé