Uncertain Destiny
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Post by Dylan Gray Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:51 pm

Dylan rubbed at his nose, looked at the scrap of paper he had in his hand, then looked at the address the note indicated. This was the doc's place, all right. For some reason, the detective felt a little disappointed...it needed more lightning and foreboding parapets. Ah well. Trotting up to the door, he rapped twice, then leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he waited.
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Post by Dr. Quantum Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:33 am

A small speaker box next to the door frame came to life, barking out a short reply. "Sun Cheng will be there to let you in."

Moments later, a gentleman of distinct Chinese features opened the door and let Dylan inside. "Ah, herro. I am Sun Cheng. The Doctor is in his study, where he asks that you join him. I will show you the way. Is there anything I can get you?"

When found his way through the elegant halls of the beautiful Perisian-style home, they wound up near what was probably the back corner of the home, if Dylan had any natural sense of direction. Opening the door to the office, Sun Cheng left to gather anything Dylan or the Doctor would have liked. When Reinhard saw the detective, he rose from his desk and approached to offer a chilly hand-shake. "Ah, Dylan. What a surprise to see you. Come, have a seat, tell me why you've come."


Last edited by Dr. Reinhard von Luftwitz on Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:42 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Early post)
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Post by Dylan Gray Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:52 am

The middle-aged man ran his eyes up and down the man who answered the door, before giving a small shake of his head at the offer. As Dylan was lead through the resplendent manor, he eyed the Persian motiff, and finally gripped the doctor's hand when he was ushered into the office. The detective dropped into the sofa Reinhard gestured to. "Chinese servant, Middle-eastern decor, modern home office. You've got eclectic tastes, doc."

"Well, you've been challenged to work out the chantry's document, and I was serious when I said I wanted to help you. Got time to talk things out?"
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Post by Dr. Quantum Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:15 pm

Reinhard takes his own seat back before Dylan begins speaking, and he looks off into space for a moment after he makes his claim about a challenge. "I did?" He raps his metal noggin and shakes his head. "Damn this positronic brain."

Sun Chang came back with a tray of coffee and juice and the doctor's favorite mug, with a large logo for the Center of Otherworld Science. He left just as quickly. Reinhard took his coffee and sipped it for a moment before blinking and rapidly, then looking to his guest. "I remember now. I was there, but it was Josiah who was tasked with writing such a document. Because of his insistence that one be written. You're remembering the facts incorrectly, detective."
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Post by Dylan Gray Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:28 pm

The visitor tucks a leg over the other, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "Yeah, that's right...the first time. The second time, Josiah pretty much said it was on the shoulders of anyone who wanted his group to join in. That's when you got tapped, in a roundabout, indirect way. But there was some cross talk going on at the same time."

Dylan leaned forward. "Either way, is this something you're opposed to working on? We pretty much have been given carte blanche on setting the initial tone for the chantry. Even if Barrowspring does walk in with a writeup, what's to say we shouldn't have one of our own at the ready?"
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Post by Dr. Quantum Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:55 pm

"Hmm. If my advanced age was the factor that led you to come to me, you're still barking up the wrong tree. I've never been able to politic my way out of a paper bag. I still can't get past the fact that everyone threw all the effort that Harlan had put into that Council Chamber away. I'm certain almost none of the former council have any idea of the effort and cost that goes into the creation of even the doors. Primium! Primium doors! But the last thing I want to do is keep the current model of 'Let Dorian Munther do what he likes.' Mark my words, you'll all regret that decision before something new takes it's place."

Finished with his rant, the mechanical man pulled a bit of very old looking parchment from his desk drawer and began to draw a curiously uniform outline for collecting ideas to put into such a document. He may as well have been a Xerox machine, because he produced a duplicate and handed it to Dylan, along with an ink pen, the well between them on the coffee table. "I suppose I can do some brainstorming. Any idea where to start?"
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Post by Dylan Gray Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:07 pm

The Verbena gave a small shrug when the rant completed. "I don't know all the details about how it got disbanded. I just know that the decision was a good one for the present time. Everyone wants to bring the Council back, but we're just not living in that era anymore. We need to prove we can handle something smaller, more practical and functional, something that fits what we're starting here in Defiance."

Dylan observes the creation of the document with silence, arching a brow, but he takes the parchment anyway, rolling his pen between his fingers. "Best place to start is at the beginning. Every chantry has a goal. What's ours? Jasper's going to be killing us all in March, might not be a bad idea to form a goal around preventing that. Something short-term everyone can agree on working together towards."
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Post by Dr. Quantum Thu Sep 19, 2013 6:34 pm

A metal eyebrow raised. "No wonder you're a poor detective. You don't seem to understand the why's of anything going on. But as far as a council is concerned, the only thing lacking is motivation from the Barrowspring and the others to actually show up to council meetings and come to decisions about policy. It doesn't help that the seat of Time, Prime, and Correspondence couldn't be bothered to even get off their asses and check in on things. Pitiful."

Reinhard considered the question of goals. "Everyone has their own methods of defense for their Tradition. The difficulty would be in finding ways to make them work for others. I can't hand everyone a Lightning Gun and expect them to know how to operate it. But I do have some plans in that regard. Perhaps we could make a point of looking for his old haunts, and the remnants of those who've come before us. There are answers in the past. Someone could go looking for answers in the spirit dimension. The place where Beovyn's dragon sits. I think our goal should be to take him down so he can't kill any more of us. Then I say we let his old Cabalmates decide his fate."
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Post by Dylan Gray Thu Sep 19, 2013 7:20 pm

The remark about his skill as a detective was met with a grin, though there were teeth in the smile. "I know what I think I know, and you think you know what you think, doc. Let's keep this friendly, I've got lots of practice being a real arsehole if it has to come to it." Dylan shook his head and contemplated Reinhard's response. "Not a defense, then, but a collective cooperative in investigating the Barabbi. I can get behind that." The pen spun in his fingertips, before he put it to paper. "We could even take a larger step back, saying our goal as a chantry is to break the Defiance cycle. Jasper's actions will perpetuate things, but putting him down doesn't guarantee Fate won't have a backup plan."

He jotted that thought down, and then glanced up. "What about roles and responsibilities? The security officer. The seneschal. The person who maintains the ley lines. The person who handles issues in the Horizon Realm, if there is one. The chantry ambassador, if we reach outside of Defiance for relationships and support. The guy who feeds and cares for the Guardians. All of that needs to be stipulated, so there's no confusion over who is doing what, why and when."
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Post by Dr. Quantum Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:28 pm

His posture was straight, his writing precise. Watching the doctor, one could easily form the opinion that the clockwork precision with which he moved was downright creepy. "I appreciate your intentions, Dylan, but I've been practicing Science since before your father was a twinkle in your granddad's eye. If you think that makes me feel entitled to my opinions, you're damn right."

"Even if it takes us years to stop Jasper, we ought to plans this with the future in mind. We're not just putting down a staging grounds for a battle with one Barabbi. The war with the Technocracy is quickly going from cold to hot, and our actions lately haven't done anything to stop that. Before we worry about breaking any cycle we have to figure out why the cycle is occuring in the first place. It might be a very natural flow of energies. And while I have no compunctions about disrupting what people consider to be the natural flow of time, it might not be the popular opinion. Especially with so many of your Tradition around."

"As far as structure is concerned, my thought is something of a triatic structure. Three leadership positions who's combined concerns are enforcing Tradition Law, identifying threats to the Traditions and the Chantry in specifics, and mediating conflicts. Any other duties that require delegation can be decided by those central deciders. A fourth, who stands apart from the central leadership structure but helps to keep it in check would be important. A Big Brother, or Warden, if you will. What do you have?"
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Post by Dylan Gray Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:57 am

The man suppressed a snort. "We both know that time doesn't mean jack in this business. You might be born a Buddha, or spend five lifetimes trying to grasp the basics. Feel entitled all you want, doc. Hubris is a common theme among our kind, and more lethal than a fireball."

Dylan tapped his pen against his chin. "I agree we should have plans for the future written into this. Would be a hell of a waste to get everyone together, only to have it fall apart when the small work is done and the greater plan is left to do. That being said, we need something folk can wrap their head around, something both immediate and long-term that can't be targetted by factional thinking. So are you saying we should rally around understanding the Defiance cycle instead of stopping it? It's more diplomatic," he mused. "And it's broad enough to encompass everything else going on, including the Technocracy. What's to say they're not wrapped up in this cycle as well? We don't know enough about it to discount that yet, which merits investigation in the meantime. Hell, anything happening in the area could be part of the cycle. Setting up this chantry with that goal would let folk keep doing what they're doing, but in the new mindset that they're working together towards something bigger."

"I like the idea of Three," he commented. "And checks and balances are important as well. The problem with the fourth is that nothing's really there to make sure he's doing his job the right way. It's better to have a set of values that determines who is fit to lead, or if the values are constantly changing, to have leadership based off what the people want. A meritocracy, or a democracy."

He snapped his fingers. "Or some combination of that. One post is determined by vote. Another is determined by Certamen. The third...I'm not sure about yet. But that gives every walk of the Tradition an opportunity to have their say, and shows that the leadership is tempered by the power to lead, the charisma to lead, and the wisdom to lead. Which means the last post should reflect wisdom."
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Post by Dr. Quantum Tue Sep 24, 2013 9:16 am

"The only suggestion that comes immediately to mind is to ask for an opinion of as many of the Traditions as can be approached on who they'd seek as a third representative from those in the area. The difference being that the general election would allow every individual member of the Traditions to have their opinion represented."
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Post by Dylan Gray Tue Sep 24, 2013 4:06 pm

"That sounds like a second popularity vote," He mused. "What about a public debate? There's still a vote, but this time it's over who argued their side of the issue more effectively. Or perhaps some kind of written test, or series of tests, to gauge a person's aptitude."
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Post by Dr. Quantum Wed Sep 25, 2013 8:42 am

"It's a bit more like a popular election and an electoral college. The reason I don't see tests or a debate going particularly well is what you might refer to as paradigm. Each of the Traditions has their own idea of what constitutes a 'correct' answer to any particular question as far as debate goes. And what sort of tests gauge someone who should sit in authority of a Chanty? I'm sure the answer is different for many."

He sits back in his chair and sips his drink a bit more. "Once we determine leadership, where do we take it? What sort of rules do we seek to have enforced?"
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Post by Dylan Gray Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:42 pm

"I thought 'paradigm' was the generic-friendly term," the detective quipped, but he gave a nod all the same, agreeing to the point. "So no method to really determined who's the wisest, then."

"The value of a chantry is having like-minded individuals working towards the same cause...but knowing that no two Mages will agree on everything at all times. We'll need to outline the things that are non-negotiable, in terms of laws and goals, as well as set up some guidelines that more flexible for each Tradition's needs. That should include a few conflict-resolution processes. Don't need to read into the future to know we'll have plenty of those."
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