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Notes re: the delay in updates:
1) It is the last week of classes of the first summer session, which means papers to write.
2) The second summer session, during which I am also taking classes, starts next week and I should really prepare.
3) Instead of working, or updating, or anything, I have been swallowed alive the last week and a half by something. Finally managed to tear myself away enough to do actual work, but not AAR writing. I hope for Friday.
4) Dwarf Fortress is incredibly, dangerously, addicting.
5) In light of #4, refer back to #3.
6) Did I mention Dwarf Fortress is addictive? Because it is.
1) It is the last week of classes of the first summer session, which means papers to write.
2) The second summer session, during which I am also taking classes, starts next week and I should really prepare.
3) Instead of working, or updating, or anything, I have been swallowed alive the last week and a half by something. Finally managed to tear myself away enough to do actual work, but not AAR writing. I hope for Friday.
4) Dwarf Fortress is incredibly, dangerously, addicting.
5) In light of #4, refer back to #3.
6) Did I mention Dwarf Fortress is addictive? Because it is.
We understand. Good luck with everything, can't wait for the next update. Oh, and have FUN!
well remember us, your keen fans. I have after all not long since described (but not on this forum) this as the most innovative AAR being written on the forums at the moment, so intriguing though your drawves are I'd love to see some updates ... please?
Power to (some of) the people
The work part of the work was, needless to say, not terribly exciting. Mostly, it involved counting things. People. Solders. We counted capitalists, not once, but many times. The government, it was understood, was highly concerned with the exact state and being of the capitalists. This was simple enough as a statistical matter, my mentor, Ricardo, had given me a copy of LaPlace's writings estimating the population of France and outlined the general concepts for me.
But not everything we did was statistical.
Some of us were sent out and about the country to "gauge the mood" and were asked to estimate the risk of revolt, and whether said risk was falling or rising. This exited the realm of statistics and entered....I am not sure what. Magic.
Nonetheless, estimates stated with the authority and certainty that only numbers can possess that the revolt risk throughout most of the Republic was currently at or near zero. Apparently, Santa Ana did his work well: a mere seven months after the battle and subsequent looting of Zacatecas, it was, like much of the rest of the republic (with the notable exception of Texas), at peace.
I had been there for about half a year when Ricardo informed me I was about to go on one of these fact finding trips.
We were once again in his office, like we ahd been when I first met him.
"I want you to understand something that is going to happen." he says, as he leans back in his chair.
"There is a new player on the board, and he is moving as we speak." he gestures towards the map on his desk, pointing at Texas.
"He is using various connections, rumors, articles, what have you, to do two things: to plant the idea of victory in Texas in the minds of the people, and secondly, to paint certain parties as being against this idea."
I frown. "I'm not sure I understand."
"What kind of system of government do we have?"
"A Republic?"
He snorts.
"Far from it. A very small portion of this country can vote. Wealthy men. Powerful men. A very small select circle. True, we have elections, parties, elected bodies of representatives, the window dressing, if you will, of a Republic, but no, we are not even this. In a small circle of voters, the difference between a coup and an election can become hazy. If you use a combination of force, inducements, and the press to convince the voters of something, and the voters enact, bloodlessly, the governmental change you want, does it constitute a coup? Students of this sort of thing focus on the 18th of Brumerie, but at least as educational is the 22nd of Floreal or 30th of Prairial."
"So... someone is planning a coup?"
"A bloodless one..well.. mostly bloodless. I wonder how he's going to deal with Santa Anna. There's a man who won't go quietly."
As so I left, traveling around the country. It was not a rapid process, but I had money for the best coaches or horses, and could make decent time. My fact finding consisted of me attending parties.
Everywhere around the Republic, the higher classes, the ones that could vote, met socially, in parties. Words were exchanged. Victories, and losses, in the battlefield. A name. [post=13442790]Muzquiz[/post].
There was something else, too. Nationalism. The war seemed to be making people proud. Suspicion followed pride. Suspicion of foreigners. Suspicion of liberals, who were seen as having fomented the revolutions in the first place.
At first, it seemed to me that all was proceeding as Ricardo said it should. But as I continued to go to these events as some sort of minor anonymous functionary, I wondered. The thing being born here, this consciousness, was it perhaps bigger than a thing which could be "manipulated" into being? These victories, after all, were real, tangible things. The Republic had seemed to go from one disaster to the next since the revolution, and here for once we seemed to be having a clear victory, something we could be proud about. And its not as if the Liberales had ever had a huge following among the powerful elite of Mexican society.....
When I got back, Ricardo hugged me, like a Father welcoming a Son. A few days later, he took me to the Senate, where the next step in the plan, he said, was going occur.
I watched it unfold, and, for a moment, I believed. By the time the day was over, by hook or by crook, half of the Liberals Senators were gone, all legally. The "votes" that were counted all seemed legitimate. And who knew? From what I had seen in the countryside, they might even be so.
Ricardo nodded appreciatively, not in agreement, but as a man will nod in appreciation of a well rendered part if he is himself an actor
I looked at the remaining Liberals, and that is what gave me pause: half of them were gone, but I could see: the half that remained, their determination had only increased.
The work part of the work was, needless to say, not terribly exciting. Mostly, it involved counting things. People. Solders. We counted capitalists, not once, but many times. The government, it was understood, was highly concerned with the exact state and being of the capitalists. This was simple enough as a statistical matter, my mentor, Ricardo, had given me a copy of LaPlace's writings estimating the population of France and outlined the general concepts for me.
But not everything we did was statistical.
Some of us were sent out and about the country to "gauge the mood" and were asked to estimate the risk of revolt, and whether said risk was falling or rising. This exited the realm of statistics and entered....I am not sure what. Magic.
Nonetheless, estimates stated with the authority and certainty that only numbers can possess that the revolt risk throughout most of the Republic was currently at or near zero. Apparently, Santa Ana did his work well: a mere seven months after the battle and subsequent looting of Zacatecas, it was, like much of the rest of the republic (with the notable exception of Texas), at peace.
I had been there for about half a year when Ricardo informed me I was about to go on one of these fact finding trips.
We were once again in his office, like we ahd been when I first met him.
"I want you to understand something that is going to happen." he says, as he leans back in his chair.
"There is a new player on the board, and he is moving as we speak." he gestures towards the map on his desk, pointing at Texas.
"He is using various connections, rumors, articles, what have you, to do two things: to plant the idea of victory in Texas in the minds of the people, and secondly, to paint certain parties as being against this idea."
I frown. "I'm not sure I understand."
"What kind of system of government do we have?"
"A Republic?"
He snorts.
"Far from it. A very small portion of this country can vote. Wealthy men. Powerful men. A very small select circle. True, we have elections, parties, elected bodies of representatives, the window dressing, if you will, of a Republic, but no, we are not even this. In a small circle of voters, the difference between a coup and an election can become hazy. If you use a combination of force, inducements, and the press to convince the voters of something, and the voters enact, bloodlessly, the governmental change you want, does it constitute a coup? Students of this sort of thing focus on the 18th of Brumerie, but at least as educational is the 22nd of Floreal or 30th of Prairial."
"So... someone is planning a coup?"
"A bloodless one..well.. mostly bloodless. I wonder how he's going to deal with Santa Anna. There's a man who won't go quietly."
As so I left, traveling around the country. It was not a rapid process, but I had money for the best coaches or horses, and could make decent time. My fact finding consisted of me attending parties.
Everywhere around the Republic, the higher classes, the ones that could vote, met socially, in parties. Words were exchanged. Victories, and losses, in the battlefield. A name. [post=13442790]Muzquiz[/post].
There was something else, too. Nationalism. The war seemed to be making people proud. Suspicion followed pride. Suspicion of foreigners. Suspicion of liberals, who were seen as having fomented the revolutions in the first place.
At first, it seemed to me that all was proceeding as Ricardo said it should. But as I continued to go to these events as some sort of minor anonymous functionary, I wondered. The thing being born here, this consciousness, was it perhaps bigger than a thing which could be "manipulated" into being? These victories, after all, were real, tangible things. The Republic had seemed to go from one disaster to the next since the revolution, and here for once we seemed to be having a clear victory, something we could be proud about. And its not as if the Liberales had ever had a huge following among the powerful elite of Mexican society.....
When I got back, Ricardo hugged me, like a Father welcoming a Son. A few days later, he took me to the Senate, where the next step in the plan, he said, was going occur.
I watched it unfold, and, for a moment, I believed. By the time the day was over, by hook or by crook, half of the Liberals Senators were gone, all legally. The "votes" that were counted all seemed legitimate. And who knew? From what I had seen in the countryside, they might even be so.
Ricardo nodded appreciatively, not in agreement, but as a man will nod in appreciation of a well rendered part if he is himself an actor
I looked at the remaining Liberals, and that is what gave me pause: half of them were gone, but I could see: the half that remained, their determination had only increased.
very neat rendition on the nature of oligarchy and republics ... but if Santa Ana doesn't want to go, I'm not sure I fully understood the 'brumiere' reference (prob just means I need to brush up on my knowledge of the French Revolution?)
Actually, two things are being discussed here. One is the ousting of Santa Anna, but the 18th of Brumerie is a reference to the purge of the liberals from the Senate. Ricardo is syaing that it's *not* like the 18th of Brumerie, which was a military coup, and more like the other two dates, which were *not*. Hope that makes it clearer. 
ps. it's good to be back. Still playing DF, but it no longer swallows all things in the universe.
ps. it's good to be back.
Still playing DF, but it no longer swallows all things in the universe.
Welcome aboard.
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Apropos of nothing, apparently the the [post=14053746]AARland Choice Awards[/post] are ongoing again. I see many of you have already headed over there to vote, but if you haven't consider this your reminder.
Actually, two things are being discussed here. One is the ousting of Santa Anna, but the 18th of Brumerie is a reference to the purge of the liberals from the Senate. Ricardo is syaing that it's *not* like the 18th of Brumerie, which was a military coup, and more like the other two dates, which were *not*. Hope that makes it clearer.
ps. it's good to be back.
ah that makes more sense (my misreading). My conceptual knowledge of the French revolution comes from the sort of politics where the phrase 'Thermidorian reaction' doesn't mean you've just cooked a lobster the wrong way.
My current secret gaming vice is Warlock-Ardania, so can appreciate how other things can come to fill up those limited slots available for game play
The worst form of government...
"The liberals are going to win the election."
He said this in an off hand manner, as he said most things. It was a game to him.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Because the powers that be desire that the Liberals are win an election. They want them to understand the responsibility and limits of power, and to teach the 'voters' the reality of what it would mena to have them in charge."
"And so, just like that, they'll win?"
"Just like that."
"But.. only the rich can vote and.."
"Hmph. Aristocrats. They are rich men, to be sure. Powerful men, in their way. But they are men. They can be manipulated just like other men. They will see what they want to see, or what they fear to see. As for the capitalists, there, what, two hundred of them?"
"Didn't they lose half their seats in the Senate just a few years ago?"
"Yes. But you and I and everyone else who knwos what's really going on knows that was as much parliamentary maneuver as an actual vote. An actual vote is going to occur now, and while anything, in theory, could happen, one thing, in practice, will happen. The voters are sheep."
"Is it your view, then that we should not rely on votes?"
"Of course not. Kings and Emperors are men as well. Easily manipulated like all the rest. No, our current system is the best that can be devised. A small multitude of voters. The least foolish of the fools. In the Republic of the Blind, only the rich men might have a semblance of vision. And if they don't...well..keeping the number of voters small makes the whole thing easier to manage."
"The Americans let everyone..."
He laughs. "The Americans bicker over whether it is right to own a human being. They can beat the British in Canada but can't agree on what to do about this Kansas. Well, the distraction will allow us to get Oklahoma and Colorado, although God knows why we would want those stretches of dirt and rocks."
"Needless to say, the alleged universal suffrage of the Americans is a farce. The slaves they hold in bondage no doubt laugh about it between beatings. Mexico, at least, is honest about what it is and what it is not, we will not follow the American path. Do not speak to me of them."
He gathers himself a bit.
"I did not mean to speak so harshly, my boy. But it is a point of pride. The Americans are unfolding their own tragedy, right in front of us, for us to see. We should learn from it from our unique vantage point, and avoid their mistake. Their ideology of democracy versus the reality of their govenrment can only end in tears and blood. Much better to have your language match the reality of what you do."
He makes a throwing away gesture.
"Let us focus on what is important, for I want you to learn from this. The election. The liberals will win. They will not win because they expected it. Nor will they win because the Conservatives gave up. No. In fact, the current government, not understanding the forces arraigned against it. will do everything in its power to avoid the tide sweeping over it."
"They will speak of how the government needs to intervene in the economy, and the people, will, by and large agree. No one will agree with the Liberal policy of leaving the economy alone. And yet, they will vote Liberal.
"They will speak of the sanctity of the church, how it must not be attacked. And people will agree. Hell, these days, the Liberals will agree, since the clergy seems to be transforming into a force for their ideas...and people will vote Liberal."
"They will warn of how the Liberals will allow foreigners who do not follow our ways more right in this country. But the aristocrats will not care, one way or another. They will vote liberal.
"They will speak of how our nascent industry must be protected from abroad. They will find, surprisingly, that no one agrees. And the aristocrats will vote for the Liberals."
He smiles. "Against expectation, against prediction. Against, in argument, their own interests, the Aristocrats, the very people who most represent the old ways..will vote Liberal."
"And why? Because those who truly understand the game told them to. They will not even realize they were manipulated. It will make perfect sense to them. They will vote the Liberals in, watch them flail around for four long years...and then vote them out...forever."
"The liberals are going to win the election."
He said this in an off hand manner, as he said most things. It was a game to him.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Because the powers that be desire that the Liberals are win an election. They want them to understand the responsibility and limits of power, and to teach the 'voters' the reality of what it would mena to have them in charge."
"And so, just like that, they'll win?"
"Just like that."
"But.. only the rich can vote and.."
"Hmph. Aristocrats. They are rich men, to be sure. Powerful men, in their way. But they are men. They can be manipulated just like other men. They will see what they want to see, or what they fear to see. As for the capitalists, there, what, two hundred of them?"
"Didn't they lose half their seats in the Senate just a few years ago?"
"Yes. But you and I and everyone else who knwos what's really going on knows that was as much parliamentary maneuver as an actual vote. An actual vote is going to occur now, and while anything, in theory, could happen, one thing, in practice, will happen. The voters are sheep."
"Is it your view, then that we should not rely on votes?"
"Of course not. Kings and Emperors are men as well. Easily manipulated like all the rest. No, our current system is the best that can be devised. A small multitude of voters. The least foolish of the fools. In the Republic of the Blind, only the rich men might have a semblance of vision. And if they don't...well..keeping the number of voters small makes the whole thing easier to manage."
"The Americans let everyone..."
He laughs. "The Americans bicker over whether it is right to own a human being. They can beat the British in Canada but can't agree on what to do about this Kansas. Well, the distraction will allow us to get Oklahoma and Colorado, although God knows why we would want those stretches of dirt and rocks."
"Needless to say, the alleged universal suffrage of the Americans is a farce. The slaves they hold in bondage no doubt laugh about it between beatings. Mexico, at least, is honest about what it is and what it is not, we will not follow the American path. Do not speak to me of them."
He gathers himself a bit.
"I did not mean to speak so harshly, my boy. But it is a point of pride. The Americans are unfolding their own tragedy, right in front of us, for us to see. We should learn from it from our unique vantage point, and avoid their mistake. Their ideology of democracy versus the reality of their govenrment can only end in tears and blood. Much better to have your language match the reality of what you do."
He makes a throwing away gesture.
"Let us focus on what is important, for I want you to learn from this. The election. The liberals will win. They will not win because they expected it. Nor will they win because the Conservatives gave up. No. In fact, the current government, not understanding the forces arraigned against it. will do everything in its power to avoid the tide sweeping over it."
"They will speak of how the government needs to intervene in the economy, and the people, will, by and large agree. No one will agree with the Liberal policy of leaving the economy alone. And yet, they will vote Liberal.
"They will speak of the sanctity of the church, how it must not be attacked. And people will agree. Hell, these days, the Liberals will agree, since the clergy seems to be transforming into a force for their ideas...and people will vote Liberal."
"They will warn of how the Liberals will allow foreigners who do not follow our ways more right in this country. But the aristocrats will not care, one way or another. They will vote liberal.
"They will speak of how our nascent industry must be protected from abroad. They will find, surprisingly, that no one agrees. And the aristocrats will vote for the Liberals."
He smiles. "Against expectation, against prediction. Against, in argument, their own interests, the Aristocrats, the very people who most represent the old ways..will vote Liberal."
"And why? Because those who truly understand the game told them to. They will not even realize they were manipulated. It will make perfect sense to them. They will vote the Liberals in, watch them flail around for four long years...and then vote them out...forever."
wonderfully cynical stuff ... and the US has grabbed some British cores in Canada - that alone should guarantee ongoing fireworks
In a word? Luck. Go back to Ch.1 and you'll see the that the UK DoW'ed the US for, of all things, Minnesota. This kept the US from intervening in the Texan-Mexican war, a war that then ended with me crushing the Texans.
That alone bought me more time. This AAR, remember, has only gone through 1852.
In test games, I have also determined that if you can get the US to ally you, that buys you time. Also, your odds of having peace until and through the ACW are good.
Made that unclear. They WP, no territory gains. The US just occupied most of Canada and then WP'ed the UK.
While I'm on the subject on this post, let me briefly discuss my irritation at the way the political parties are constituted in Mexico. It's a minor thing, but irritating.
Quite simply, the Partido Liberal should not have Moralism as its religious policy: the attitude towards the church was the primary flashpoint between the conservatives and Liberals in Mexico until..well.. the present, really, but the issue kept leading to conflicts and civil wars and such until the Cristero War of the 1930's.
Pluralism or even Secularism would be more accurate.
Quite simply, the Partido Liberal should not have Moralism as its religious policy: the attitude towards the church was the primary flashpoint between the conservatives and Liberals in Mexico until..well.. the present, really, but the issue kept leading to conflicts and civil wars and such until the Cristero War of the 1930's.
Pluralism or even Secularism would be more accurate.
Just to say, I've passed you the Weekly AAR Showcase for this superb tale. Come and meet your fans over here
I don't think it makes that much *mechanical* difference, so I'll probably leave it be. It just *looks* wrong.
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Loki..thanks. All I can say, really.