random pointless swirls

[sturdycoldsteel]

The shaper known as Steel is flying down the right side of a road, shoring up the edges of the bluestream that lets her lift herself off the ground as she goes. Sure, she'll be a bit clumsy and weak when she gets to Opri, but she's not planning on doing much more stream-shaping today, so might as well.

She glances at the bluestream (the magical vision blinds her physical vision for a short moment, but not long enough to crash into anything) and determines that this next crossroads is where she needs to turn. She tilts to the right...

...And lands on a patch of orange grass in a forest clearing. This is not the town of Opri. She opens her eyes and ears to the bluestream, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

The bluestream here isn't a nice, orderly, useful pattern like on the roads, or the formless fog that it usually decays to after a while. Instead it's a riot of random patterns swirling around, wispy and confused and obviously not designed to do anything useful.

Steel, deaf and blind for a few seconds thanks to her peek at the bluestream, stands very still and is very confused.

Comments

[sturdycoldsteel]

The authorities should not be able to take your stuff without your permission.

"And they shouldn't get away with anything that everyone else would be punished for, just generally."

[imeanforever]

Write write. "...There's an implicit exception for taxation, I assume? Or is it actually customary to ask permission about that?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Implicit exception for taxation, yes. But taxes should be - fairly applied. Perhaps an even percentage of one's income from everyone. The poor will pay only a little, and the rich will pay a lot."

[imeanforever]

"That sounds reasonable, at least as a first approximation. Is that not how it usually works?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"No. The rich and powerful decide what the taxes are. And this makes them more rich and more powerful."

[imeanforever]

"I'm sensing a theme."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Yep. It's not quite as bad as you seem to be thinking. A lot of the rich people have, you know, principles. Those without principles tend to restrain themselves at least a little bit for the sake of reputation. And doing anything too nasty will sometimes get everyone angry enough to hit back in a big way. For example, this war we have on our hands."

[imeanforever]

"I did notice that."

[sturdycoldsteel]

I suggest we start writing out our reform conditions in more detail. It will look better, less hasty, if we have a well-written document to present.

[imeanforever]

Promise nods. New sheet of paper.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel and Morn make suggestions and discuss points with Promise. The result defines their goals fairly thoroughly, but not down to every little detail.



And when they're done defining their agenda, Steel copies the heavily crossed-out and margin-noted result onto a thick, crisp, almost perfectly white piece of paper from her backpack in perfectly neat, regular letters. It fits on one page. Barely.

What now?

[imeanforever]

Have either of you thought of any flaws in the plan of Steel presenting herself and offering to be publicly alive conditional on the changes being implemented? I can be a backup enforcer if they renege.

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Her being publicly alive won't convince them all the way into the changes we want. We need to have credible power hanging over their heads. Sorcery might do it, but a demonstration in the form of a simple harmless order like 'blink twice' would be much more effective. And we need to convince the Star to go along with it as well, but that won't be hard."

Steel lights to explain, Morn is a close friend of two members of the Star Council. He will have no trouble convincing them. The rest will likely want to change the details of our manifesto, but will be on board with the general principles.

[imeanforever]

"I can make people blink twice," Promise sighs.

[sturdycoldsteel]

We'll need a gate near the capital city. Unless you want to hike through several hundred miles of wilderness.

[imeanforever]

"I still have wings. I can even eat in the mortal world if you feed me. But I suppose I can make one more gate."