Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #70: Contact Sports (11/13/00)
Nick wades briskly through the snow, squinting at the glare of reflected sunlight.
Nick has been inside in infirmary most of the day, and welcomes the chance to be outdoors, even if it is chilly.
Nick has the excuse of retrieving Riyyh's figures on the Gen camp to justify dropping by for a cup of tea, and a change of scene.
Mr. Birch ascends the trail from the cliff-side blasting site. The snow has pretty much put a halt to out-door work for the day. He is not sure how many clear workdays the crew will have left before winter descends in earnest.
Mr. Birch also got an update from Sayward on the Narosian plan for Gen relief. It bears absolutely no relation to what he originally proposed.
Mr. Birch's head still aches a bit from the drunken argument with Elte last night, in which the journalist convinced him that bringing in Gen Border Troops would cause a riot.
Nick pauses briefly in a sheltered spot to look around at the scenery: he feels its aesthetics are much improved by the blanket of snow.
Mr. Birch can't believe these Simes would believe that any Gen would want to own this bit of frozen wasteland.
Mr. Birch bundles himself tighter in his maroon, down-stuffed coat.
Nick spots a colorful figure approaching.
Mr. Birch would like a second opinion on all this, and just as this thought occurs to him, he sights a likely subject--Sosu Nick!
Nick lifts up an arm in casual greeting.
Mr. Birch signals violently with a maroon arm that ends in bright red leather gloves.
Mr. Birch: Sosu Nick! Just the man I want to see!
Nick: Mr. Birch! What brings you out here?
Mr. Birch hurries to the nook where the Donor was enjoying the natural beauty.
Mr. Birch: Checking up on operations. This snow has put the kabash on the cliff work.
Mr. Birch: And yourself?
Nick: Well, it was bound to happen soon. The snow is late this year, I'm told.
Nick: I was just heading over to visit my... er, Sectuib Riyyh.
Nick would rather not discuss matters of Narosian genetics if it isn't absolutely necessary.
Mr. Birch: Ah! Riyyh! Now, I understand the Narosians have come up with their own plan for assisting our excess Gens.
Nick: There is talk of such an effort, it is true. Whether it can be implemented is another matter.
Nick looks at Mr. Birch speculatively.
Mr. Birch: From what Sayward told me, it's completely different from what I requested them to do.
Nick is not surprised.
Mr. Birch: If you have any further details on their proposal, I'd like to hear your take on it.
Mr. Birch: Sayward's Simelan isn't the best; she misses nuances, I think.
Mr. Birch makes no pretense of picking up any nuances at all himself.
Nick: As I understand it, they propose building a sheltered camp where the Gens could receive food and other necessities, to be paid for by donations over the course of the winter.
Nick: The most urgent difficulty at the moment is getting the up-front funding necessary to import the necessary supplies, before winter makes that impossible.
Mr. Birch: So no attempt will be made to return these people to their homeland?
Nick: Those who wish to return will be encouraged to do so, of course. But I don't think that any of the Simes here are going to allow them to be forced to leave.
Mr. Birch is perplexed.
Nick: If nothing else, they represent a local source of selyn, if the weather prevents channels from getting through.
Mr. Birch: So your government will accept them as provisional in-Territory citizens? Grant them visas and provide assistance?
Mr. Birch cheers up a bit. If they become in-Territory citizens, they will cease to be any concern of his.
Nick: They might, eventually. But governments being what they are, it's not likely that anything much can be done before spring.
Nick: In the mean time, they will remain out-Territory citizens. I don't suppose that your government would see its way to providing emergency aid to help them survive the winter?
Mr. Birch: The Gen government could provide for them if they were on our side of the border. If only to put them all in prison. They are all law-breakers, of course.
Nick: It's against the law for Gens to leave the Territory?
Mr. Birch: Well, they're supposed to register officially if they plan to come back.
Nick is a little astonished at this revelation: he had assumed that the Gens were only violating in-Territory law.
Nick: If they're to be treated as criminals if they return, how can you expect them to leave voluntarily?
Mr. Birch: Well, the indigent are drafted to do public work under our laws. I would think your own border police would be as eager to get rid of them as we are to have them back where they belong.
Mr. Birch: Historically, it's been only escaping berserkers who ran over the border.
Mr. Birch: Having an exodus of Gens like this is unprecedented.
Nick smiles wryly.
Nick: I think you're underestimating how much Simes appreciate having their selyn supply where they can zlin it.
Mr. Birch: Well, I confess I never thought about it.
Mr. Birch stamps his feet. Even in the thigh-high boots, they are getting a bit numb.
Nick: Tell me, don't you look at that huge pile of coal you've got over there....
Nick gestures towards the construction site.
Nick: ...and get a feeling of security, knowing that whatever else happens this winter, you're unlikely to freeze any time soon?
Mr. Birch turns his head to look, despite the fact the wind is blowing from that direction.
Mr. Birch: Quite frankly, coal doesn't have that affect on me.
Mr. Birch: A good stash of well-aged whiskey, now....
Nick: It would if you'd ever been in danger of freezing to death, due to a lack of it.
Nick: Mr. Birch, every time Simes experience need, they are reminded of just what would happen to them if selyn isn't available. We've already had one selyn shortage, although that only affected augmentation.
Nick: When they zlin Gens around, they know they won't actually die of attrition.
Mr. Birch: My sense of security is based on analyzing the situation and planning for contingencies.
Mr. Birch: I don't have to hold the coal in my hands to know that I ordered it delivered.
Nick: But would you be willing to stake your life on having deliveries continue uninterrupted, all winter?
Mr. Birch: The world always pitches a few curve balls.
Mr. Birch: I pride myself on being able to adapt.
Nick: A Sime can't adapt to the absence of selyn, Mr. Birch. If it's not there on time, the Sime dies--unpleasantly.
Mr. Birch: Which is why you have selyn managers, right, Sosu Nick?
Mr. Birch: You rise to the challenge or die.
Nick: Yes. And most of the time, the system works.
Mr. Birch: And these Gen border-crossers are outside the system for both our governments.
Mr. Birch: I think we should sit down and discuss contingencies.
Mr. Birch: I don't want to see those fools starve and freeze to death any more than you do.
Nick stamps his feet, trying to shock his toes to life.
Nick: I was on my way to discuss the issue with Riyyh--he was going to write out a proposal for Arat.
Mr. Birch nods.
Mr. Birch: I'd like a chance to hear the details from the horse's mouth.
Mr. Birch: If only to report back to my government.
Mr. Birch: If in fact those Gens are changing their citizenship, we'll have to make a record of it.
Nick: In the mean time, will your government contribute supplies to prevent them from starving?
Nick starts walking down the path to the Narosian encampment.
Mr. Birch's eyebrows raise.
Mr. Birch follows Nick.
Mr. Birch: I thought you said your country was adopting them in order to get their selyn?
Nick: It would take a month for a message to get to Capitol and back--maybe more, if the weather is bad. If it could be done at all.
Mr. Birch: If they decide to stay, I'm afraid our government may wash their hands of them.
Nick: The legal situation notwithstanding, if supplies are to be furnished to prevent mass starvation, they will have to be ordered immediately.
Mr. Birch: I realize these laws are antiquated-- but in the past it was assumed that only Gen-runners and traitors would do such a thing.
Nick: I hardly think treason is part of those people's agenda.
Nick: And I can hardly blame them for wanting to escape forced labor.
Nick thinks what a choice: slavery in their own land, or a Pen here.
Mr. Birch thinks what normal Gen would refuse simple honest work to laze around as a selyn generator?
Mr. Birch: These work shortages are a new phenomenon.
Nick nods, looking around as they enter the Narosian camp for signs of Riyyh's presence.
Mr. Birch: In the old days, with all the people lost to kills and changeover, there were never enough people for the jobs to be done.
Nick: Times change.
Mr. Birch: And bring new challenges.
Mr. Birch glances around at the Narosian encampment curiously. He looks at the bathhouse construction.
Mr. Birch wonders if a greenhouse design is really practical, given the local climate.
Nick notes a crew of Narosians and other volunteers hard at work on the bathhouse.
Mr. Birch heard about how Sayward headed off a raid on his sand pile; Nick's comments make him wonder where Naros expects to find the coal to heat this place.
Nick spots a particularly elegant cape in a sheltered spot with a good view of the proceedings.
Nick leads Mr. Birch in that direction.
Riyyh: Oh, that's very nice. [calls out, to a Narosian who is holding up a bit of carved wood for him to see]
Riyyh: Oh, dear. [to himself]
Riyyh does suppose that he is lucky there were any building skills at all represented in the bunch of Narosians he brought.
Riyyh had, after all, selected them for being trouble makers, not for their individual skills.
Riyyh sips tea from a tea cup. He has a nice little table set up, from which he can encourage and, when necessary, restrain his members in their work.
Mr. Birch assesses Riyyh's appearance with interest. He has already heard Elte's gushing over the Householding regalia. Mr. Birch himself thinks that fussing over clothing is a bit sissified, even though he does like to dress well. Elte is, of course, an artistic type, so allowances must be made.
Riyyh is wearing his not-as-good cloak, but it is still nice: yellow-gold and gray, with wheaten emblems and entwined tentacles.
Riyyh's cloak's lining is white. Sort of.
Nick's nager is, of course, readily zlinnable for some distance.
Riyyh therefore has some advance warning that Nick (and therefore Mr. Birch) is showing up.
Riyyh reaches into a box under his chair and retrieves two tea cups, so that tea will be ready for his guests.
Riyyh arranges the box of donuts more squarely on the tiny table.
Riyyh has learned that donuts are traditional on commercial construction sites, and went to the effort of obtaining some from Salmonton.
Mr. Birch is particularly impressed by the hair, considering the singed appearance in the proof sheets of the furnace incident. It takes quite a bit of finesse to achieve those perfect curls here at the back of beyond.
Riyyh stands to greet Mr. Birch and Nick, smiling.
Riyyh: Why hello! What a pleasant surprise.
Riyyh especially smiles at Mr. Birch, since he zlinned him admiring him.
Mr. Birch: Good day, Sectuib Riyyh!
Riyyh: Do have some tea and donuts.
Riyyh: It's so cold out, and Gens require heat and energy.
Riyyh: I had these brought all the way from Salmonton. Aren't these little sprinkles delightful?
Riyyh: I am afraid there is only the one chair.
Riyyh proceeds to wring his hands apologetically, quite without realizing he is doing so.
Nick: That's all right.
Mr. Birch's eyes widen at the sight of what appear to be genuine Gen-style doughnuts with sugar coating and colored sprinkles.
Nick adds a ~~ calming ~~ note to his nager, not to excess, of course.
Mr. Birch: Well, thank you. What a treat!
Riyyh beams at the combination of Nick's nageric help and Birch's appreciation.
Riyyh hands each of them a cup of hot tea.
Nick notes the brilliance of the smile and backs off just a hair, as he accepts a teacup.
Nick: Has the proposal for Arat been completed yet?
Mr. Birch has put on a Sime cook in order to placate the union, but darn it, Simes just don't have any sense of taste.
Mr. Birch accepts his teacup and lets the warmth penetrate his gloves.
Riyyh: Well, I do have those copies of the figures I promised you.
Riyyh distinctly remembers avoiding promising an actual proposal.
Riyyh: They're in my tent on the side table. You can't miss them.
Riyyh looks innocent; he's not asking Nick to leave him alone with Mr. Birch briefly, is he...?
Mr. Birch sips the tea with appreciation. He doesn't care for trin, but anything warm would taste good in this weather.
Nick: Thank you. They will be a great help in planning.
Nick notes that Nikki isn't around.
Mr. Birch: Sectuib Riyyh, I understand that your proposal involves accepting these Gens as in-Territory citizens in return for their selyn donations?
Nick concludes that she is probably in Riyyh's tent, where the proposal also is...
Nick adds important papers + small child, and it comes out "impending disaster".
Nick: I'll just go fetch them now....
Nick hurries off towards Riyyh's tent.
Riyyh smiles at Mr. Birch as Nick leaves.
Riyyh moves closer to him, as his sense of personal space is just about nil.
Riyyh: Actually, that is not quite right. [apologetically]
Mr. Birch is faintly alarmed by the move in his direction, although the smile is very nicely done.
Riyyh: They are in violation of the law, as they have never been properly processed at the border.
Mr. Birch nods.
Riyyh: They would first be detained, and those who wish to be deported would of course be accommodated as weather permits.
Riyyh: Those who wish to gain Sime Territory citizenship would have to apply to do so using the ordinary legal channels.
Riyyh: There would be the added complication of their current illegal status.
Riyyh: We do have some experience with immigrants, and we will do everything in our power to assist those who do want citizenship. However, it is not clear how many of them will want that.
Mr. Birch: The ones who do not fall into a kind of legal limbo.
Riyyh: My plan is to house the remaining illegal Gens until spring, when they would be deported en masse.
Riyyh: As I see it, the only way to succeed in collecting them all is to have somewhere local to bring them. We have so few people for such an effort, you see.
Riyyh: The hunting, if you will forgive the term, could go well into winter.
Riyyh's manner is gracious and apologetic.
Mr. Birch: Yes, we have run out of time to move them.
Riyyh: Now, I have prepared a list of the supplies required to build and enclose their camp, and feed and warm them for the winter.
Riyyh: This includes Gen medicines, one letter home for each of them, and free lessons in Simelan by our people.
Riyyh: Controller Arat has provisionally agreed to arrange for transport of the supplies here, if they can be purchased.
Riyyh: He cannot, however, commit to purchasing them.
Riyyh may be exaggerating slightly as to Arat's level of commitment vis a vis the transportation, but then he has fairly high confidence in his own powers of persuasion. And he does have the ears of both Jeniard and Nick, after all.
Mr. Birch frowns.
Mr. Birch: By crossing the border without permits, these people have forfeited the protections of Gen citizenship.
Mr. Birch: If they returned, of course, they would be eligible for government assistance.
Mr. Birch: The Gen government would endorse the mass deportation you suggest, and would even provide troops to assist.
Riyyh: A pity that could not happen until spring.
Riyyh: But certainly we should lay the groundwork for it to happen then.
Mr. Birch: I wanted to mobilize security forces to take action immediately.
Mr. Birch: Let me apologize, by the way, for Sergeant Edka's intrusion into your compound.
Riyyh tuts and places a gentle hand on Mr. Birch's arm.
Riyyh: I am quite recovered, and the swift collection of the weapons was a reassurance to all of us.
Mr. Birch: Unfortunately, with the rumors going around accusing us of planning a military invasion or worse, my hands are tied.
Mr. Birch: Neither my own security teams nor the Border Police could enter the area without causing a riot, I am told.
Riyyh: That would seem to be the case, I fear.
Riyyh: Nick encouraged me to try to obtain the services of the Sime Army detachment stationed near here, but Arat wouldn't hear of it, and I confess I feel it would be a mistake for the same reasons.
Mr. Birch: I can find accommodations for Gens who are willing to return to Salmonton.
Mr. Birch: Why do these people refuse to leave?
Riyyh winces.
Riyyh: Most of them are, shall we say, not quite in favor on your side of the border.
Riyyh: Many of them are wanted for crimes, some have deserted their families, and others have been homeless for some time and crossed to escape the work camps.
Riyyh finds their gravitation to the Dam site rather poignant.
Mr. Birch rubs his chin. He can't help but think of this defection as a kind of treason.
Mr. Birch: But your proposal is essentially to set up a poor house in this Territory.
Mr. Birch: Or a prison-- as you say, their presence here is illegal.
Riyyh: Well, it is involuntary confinement. There is no way around that.
Riyyh: It is unfortunate, but those who wish to leave and are willing to go through the legal procedures to do so may be able to.
Riyyh: And they will be paying their own way, which may improve morale enough that more are willing to be cooperative as time passes.
Riyyh has had enough experience with the outreach programs to know that the needy are not always terribly cooperative or self-improving though.
Mr. Birch's hand, yearning for a pipe, sneaks out to snag a doughnut instead.
Mr. Birch: Paying their way? What work do you have for them that will support their up-keep?
Riyyh inhales as Mr. Birch leans past him, and discovers he rather enjoys the Gen's aftershave.
Mr. Birch knows that Poor Houses can be made self-supporting, but not in a frigid wasteland in mid-winter.
Riyyh sidles unobtrusively nearer.
Riyyh: Well of course, it isn't real work as such. They will only be donating their selyn. But it would allow a clear reckoning of their debt.
Mr. Birch nods.
Riyyh: And naturally they would be encouraged to maintain their camp in livable condition.
Riyyh hopes that encouragement will come from within, but supposes that will be patchy. It generally is.
Riyyh replaces his hand on Mr. Birch's arm... the one not holding the donut.
Riyyh: Mr. Birch. I know you care deeply for the plight of these Gens.
Riyyh: Is there any way your company can loan the funds for their housing and feeding, to be paid back from their selyn donations?
Riyyh appears perfectly sincere.
Mr. Birch starts as the Sime touches his arm. What is all this touchy-feely nonsense with these channels, anyway?
Riyyh appears about as harmless as harmless can be. Well, about as harmless as a Sime can be.
Riyyh removes his hand, though, as Mr. Birch seems to dislike being touched.
Mr. Birch hopes no Sime could possibly mistake him for a Donor. He would consider Nick's life of fussing a fate worse than death.
Riyyh thinks that is odd; most Gens seem to enjoy hugging, hand shaking and back slapping.
Riyyh realizes that Mr. Birch's position may require more dignity, however.
Mr. Birch: My company is swimming in a sea of red ink.
Mr. Birch: I am fighting with every weapon in my arsenal to complete this project despite the setbacks we have already had.
Riyyh thinks that Genlan has such colorful phrases.
Riyyh: Of course. [soothingly] I understand.
Riyyh accidentally touches Mr. Birch's hand.
Mr. Birch starts again. He wonders if Riyyh is trying to read his mind.
Riyyh smiles reassuringly at Mr. Birch.
Mr. Birch would think that zlinning, whatever it is, would surely let Riyyh know that Mr. Birch has no care whatsoever for the plight of the Gens except that their presence is interfering with his own project.
Riyyh actually does know that Mr. Birch doesn't seem to care. He also knows that Gen herd mentality charges a dominant male Gen with the protection of those around him, even as they must struggle to be out of his debt.
Mr. Birch takes another bite of dough-nut to distract himself from the Sime's proximity.
Riyyh sighs, as Mr. Birch only seems more uncomfortable.
Riyyh: I am sure something else can be arranged.
Riyyh: I had only hoped... well.
Riyyh: It was too much to ask. I apologize.
Mr. Birch: Uh, give me a moment. Let me think.
Mr. Birch starts to pace, conveniently unentangling himself from the too-close channel.
Riyyh is not used to people who find his physical proximity distasteful.
Riyyh knows it is not simply that Birch is from Gen Territory; he has had plenty of contact with OT Gens since coming here, and they are perfectly delightful people and rather friendly once they thaw a little.
Riyyh returns to his chair and sits.
Riyyh pours a little tea into his cup to warm it.
Mr. Birch much prefers to deal with objects, like granite blocks, that stay where you place them, rather than people who have a tendency to move of their own volition.
Riyyh crosses his legs and brushes some dust off his mantle, looking thoroughly out of place in the surroundings, him and his little table and tea set.
Mr. Birch: Would the selyn payments actually cover all the expenses of the Poor House?
Riyyh watches the Narosians and their construction worker volunteer helpers trying to erect the frame of a wall.
Riyyh: Why yes, I think it could. Assuming some care was taken in the purchase and storage of goods, and assuming there are not substantially more Gens than estimated.
Riyyh: Any who could gain either Sime Territory citizenship or a legal work permit could be put to work on your construction site for an additional pay back... if you and they are willing, of course.
Riyyh suspects relatively few of the Gens would be interested, but one can never tell.
Mr. Birch grimaces.
Mr. Birch: The project can't employ any of them without causing problems with SWAT.
Mr. Birch: We have political problems because the the number of Gens we've put on the payroll already.
Riyyh: I see.
Mr. Birch paces and munches some more.
Mr. Birch often finds himself coming up against unexpected obstacles in the construction business.
Riyyh: The selyn payments are predictable and regular. It is simple to keep track of which Gens are paid off and can be deported without debt.
Riyyh: It is for the best.
Riyyh thinks it is also for the best that the internment camp be collectively low-field, what with all the renSimes in the area.
Mr. Birch: So this Poor House has a ready-made marketable product.
Riyyh: Yes. [smiles]
Mr. Birch: Funny. If these Gens were just on the other side of the Lake, there would be no problem getting start-up funding for such a relief enterprise.
Riyyh forbears to point out that if they were on the other side of the lake, hundreds of miles away, they would not be either Mr. Birch or Riyyh's problem.
Mr. Birch: It sometimes takes a Poor House years to become self-supporting.
Riyyh simply nods sympathetically.
Riyyh: Charitable organizations are rarely profitable. It is against their purpose.
Riyyh: Why, even the largest of them must continually accept outside funding. It is simply the way of the world.
Mr. Birch: And the New Washington government knows that. The funds are there-- for New Washington citizens.
Mr. Birch has cut a few corners in his career, and he has noticed a possible shortcut now.
Mr. Birch: We're going to ship all these Gens home in the spring.
Mr. Birch: But winter is here now.
Mr. Birch: Soon the roads will be blocked.
Mr. Birch: Perhaps we should just... fudge the dates a little.
Riyyh looks puzzled.
Mr. Birch: I doubt any Inspector will make it up here to check before spring comes.
Riyyh: My dear Mr. Birch. Whatever are you suggesting?
Mr. Birch calculates dreamily, the same way he does when organizing a big project.
Mr. Birch: Apply for emergency relief funding to set up a Poor House for all these unemployed Gen citizens.
Riyyh: Do you think that would work? [genuinely wants to know]
Riyyh: And would your company be willing to take the risk that it would?
Mr. Birch: Choose a location over the Lake, and when winter breaks, ship them over there fast.
Riyyh: But surely they would tell their stories, and the truth would become known.
Mr. Birch: By then it would be spring.
Riyyh: There would be scandal, and, why, certainly an investigation.
Mr. Birch: And they'd be alive, so we wouldn't have thousands of frozen corpses to explain.
Riyyh: Oh, dear.
Riyyh thinks this is a cockamamie idea. Although he doesn't think of it in those words, of course.
Riyyh: Well, it's certainly... er....
Riyyh: A bold plan.
Mr. Birch: Well, you're right of course.
Mr. Birch: There would be trouble.
Mr. Birch believes that, in general, the means justify the end.
Riyyh: And the logistics... depending on the site chosen, that could be three hundred miles by boat. For two to three thousand Gens?
Riyyh: Perhaps it would be simpler to apply in the spring?
Riyyh: And explain that it was necessary to begin the project in winter, to save lives?
Riyyh may be somewhat naive as to how funding appropriations work in Gen Territory.
see note 1
Notes:
1) This scene was never finished. [return]
Go on to Episode #71: No Foot Rub Required
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