FH: Political Graph

[Jim Roberts]

[Feb 5 AM – The Waterworks]

> All eyes fell on Abbot Kenobi, who seemed oddly silent. After an
> awkward moment, Tramma stepped forward and diplomatically interjected,
> “May we defer the question about investing into the effort, and for a
> moment focus more on learning more about the effort? As a professional
> bard acknowledged by Stone House and Forest People alike, I know it
> would most certainly help me if I could hear more of your story
> first.”

The Foreman considered for a moment, and then nodded. “The big picture,
tall folks have already seen. Kobolds running the show up on the surface
call themselves the Social Justice Engineers, because living in a kobold
swamp is a basic right that EVERYONE must obey. Whether they want it, or
not.”

“Charming,” Tramma observed with a frown.

“Talkative Silver Hair has it right,” the Foreman agreed. “Now, swamps
are not BAD for kobolds. Can actually be quite nice. But working
generation after generation of kobolds literally to death, and then
recycling dead kobolds as zombie army to help build swamp utopia, that
not so nice.”

“But removing the entire population,” Finfin mused, “by force if needed,
does not seem to be a solution you would wish us to pursue.”

The Foreman shook his scaly head. “The SJE leadership, I would not cross
the trail to spit upon to extinguish if they were on fire,” he growled.
“And most of those above are just as bad, if not as powerful, and LIKE
the toil, strife, and subjugation. But is fancy pants elf aware of
population attitude distribution?”

Finfin was not used to being asked such sophisticated questions by a
creature as unassuming looking as a kobold. But once again he was aware
that the Foreman, and quite likely many of the kobolds on both sides of
this kobold divide, were not “ordinary” kobolds. So he instead
considered the question, and finally nodded. However, both the elf and
Tramma answered together, the two overlapping each other.

“A political graph in attitudes,” the elven officer began, while Tramma
was stating, “History shows that in any population…”

The two stopped, looked at each other, and Finfin bowed for Tramma to
continue.

“Thanks, Fin,” the silver haired bard replied. “And I guess it IS both
political and historical. So I don’t need to tell a group that has a
Great Medicine Woman as well as a Tellic High Priest and Priestess that
‘relative morality’ is a self serving myth, and that there really IS
measurable Good and Evil out there. As well as a predisposition for Law
and Order,” and here she nodded towards the Abbot, “or Free Will.” And
here she nodded towards both Jeyshann and Laurelin.

“Go ahead and call it Chaos,” Laurelin observed mildly. “So many of our
detractors do.”

Tramma nodded. “So, Mr. Foreman, am I right that the SJE’s and their
minions are what the clergy would consider to be Evil?”

“Very,” the Foreman replied, and emphatic nods from both Jeyshann and
Laurelin confirmed the leader’s words.

“And by and large a preference for Law and Order?” Tramma next asked.
And a nod from the Foreman was her answer.

Turning back to the rest of the Away Team, the bard continued her
explanation. “So that’s it, then. While MOST of the kobolds above are
both into Evil and Organization, there is a somewhat smaller percentage
that do not really care between Good or Evil. And an even smaller
percentage that we would consider some form of Good.”

“With a vanishingly small but nonzero percentage,” Finfin added, “that
prefer both Good AND Freedom. Or, to use our detractors’ words, Chaos.
Though I can not recall the overall percentage numbers, as much of
Carchost’s Army is Undead, with no distribution in attitudes.”

“Something like ten percent,” Tramma mused. “From what I can remember
from my classes.”

Lomi snorted. “What can’t you remember, Miss KnowItAll?”

“Closer to five percent,” the Foreman corrected. “These are the ones
that I – and very likely YOU – would consider to be Good. With an equal
number of the Neutrals leaning strongly towards Good. These are the ones
that I would very much like NOT to see slaughtered.”

Finfin grimaced. “So we ARE back to that ten percent number. Which is
why a campaign of carpet bombing with Fireballs, Cloudkills, Lawnmowers,
and other Arcane applications of mass slaughter are to be avoided.”

Jeyshann, too, grimaced. “Every one in ten that we killed would be those
that SHOULD be our friends and allies, and not part of a great kobold
charnel pit.”

“But not to worry!” the Foreman barked happily. “No nice kobolds at
Infernal Ceremony that you blew up last night. And they tend not to be
at further SJE leadership events on our Hit Lists!” And once again, a
kobold staffer happily poked a long pointer stick at the nearest of the
list of proper names and ranks that had not yet been crossed out.

Finfin nodded, but asked, “But what is the long term strategy? A series
of Surgical Strikes executed from the Top Down against the SJE
Leadership will indeed eventually weaken their hold on the surface
society, but it will not materially change the stranglehold the ‘bad’
kobolds have on the ‘good’, nor will it address the environmental and
political problem the swamp the SJE’s are building is causing for the
Plains situation.”

“Give it its right name, fancy elf!” the Foreman exclaimed. “It is
called… The Waterworks! And for long term strategy, it comes down to
Politics! And Prophecy.”

That was enough to get everyone’s attention. “Please, help us
understand,” Tramma gently prompted.

The Foreman nodded emphatically, and waved a claw at first himself, and
then those around him. “Those of us who do not LIKE killing working our
fellow kobolds to death to engineer a swamp where properly there should
be none call ourselves the Upwinders. We are, as silver hair says, a
small percent of the larger population.”

“But.. you’re not ALL in this prison camp,” Tramma gently objected. “It
isn’t big enough to hold ten percent of the whole kobold population.”

The Foreman nodded emphatically. “Silver Hair has it right. There is
another camp, connected by underground tunnels now too dangerous for us
to use. As well as tunnels leading to all sorts of other strategic
places in Waterworks. Currently dangerous, but could be made safe to
travel again. But yes, many, many sympathetic to Upwinders and NOT
friends of SJEs are forced to live among nastier kobolds, hiding their
true feelings and allegiances. And SJE’s know they cannot afford the
distraction of launching a pogrom to hunt down and exterminate all of
those among them who are not True Believers in the SJE way.”

“The more they tighten their grip,” Finfin quoted from an obscure
political text, “the more will slip through their fingers.”

“Claws,” the Foreman corrected. “But yes. So slaughter is not in SJE’s
interests. Incarceration is. Any ‘goody good’ kobolds caught not willing
to die for The Cause are quietly shipped off to this camp, or to
another. Less mess, less fuss, and most important for the SJE’s, less
distraction for the masses for the MAIN goal of transforming the
Waterworks into a kobold paradise on earth. No matter how many kobolds
have to die to make it happen.”