Twelfth Dispatch - [written]

[captainhornblower]

Sunday, February 5th

[It's cold and it's snowing... but Captain Hornblower is still on his ship, in the captain's cabin. The best place to think.]

There is a constant war going on. People are fighting and dying every day.

We get no reports, we don't know their names, we don't know anything about the tide of war. We don't even really know much about the combatants. Not on either side.

But there is a war.

We are kept from it, most of the time. Protected from even the news of it.

Has anyone given it thought: What would you do if the heart of the Third Party army was upon us tomorrow?

Hornblower

Comments

[Written]

[captainhornblower]

Would you do the evacuating yourself? Or would you have others shoulder the responsibility? And once you have the non-combatants in what could be a safe place-- bearing in mind the possibility of a hidden front lying in wait-- one must keep them safe.

To stem the flow of Third Party soldiers, combatants are needed. But combatants are also needed in case the non-combatants are suddenly threatened again. Would you stay and protect them? Or join the heart of the combat?

How would the evacuation plans be known throughout the village? And how would you, without any warning, rally and organise the groups needed for each task?

[Written]

[shadedsunlight]

Last question first, as we are currently lacking a village-wide notification system outside of the journal, something I plan to discuss tomorrow, emergency announcements would have to be made across the journal.

For the other questions, I would defend those who are unable to fight and do whatever is in my power to keep them safe.

I hope you can understand why I don't wish to discuss to much over the network, but I've been working on a proposal regarding evacuation plans I will be presenting to the village tomorrow. While the weather makes travel a bit difficult, I am willing to discuss this in person.

[Written]

[captainhornblower]

They would have to be made over the Journal. Easily missed depending on the hour or activity. I mean the question genuinely-- How reliable of a system are these Journals when a panic is spreading?

Then, of course, there is the question of how to enforce an evacuation. Not all non-combatants might wish to go.

[Written]

[shadedsunlight]

Which is why I would also like to propose an idea of an off-journal system that can be heard and/or seen across the village. Something like a bell.

No, they might not, and that is in their right. This we saw during Halloween. There are things that can overrule the need for safety and even sense.

[Written]

[captainhornblower]

And those who would not comply. Would they be dragged, protests be damned? Protected individually, fracturing what combatants there are further? Or left to die?

Who would make these decisions?

[Written]

[shadedsunlight]

I believe decisions should be left to them. There are many that are non-combatants, but they still know how to survive, how to find other ways to help out. The best laid plans can always be ruined by the human element.

I will do all I can to help as many people as I can, but if someone has their own plan, then is it my job to stop them? Even if I wanted to, I would have to prioritize in a time of crisis.

[Written]

[captainhornblower]

Then you take responsibility for those who will agree to your ideas-- whether as they stand now or modified by this council-- and those who will not are to fend for themselves and must bear the consequences.

[Written]

[shadedsunlight]

Yes. Or rather, I will bear the burden of responsibility for those under my charge, whoever they will be, and the burden of guilt for not being able to help others. I will do all I can to aid those, but if someone does not wish for aid for any number of reasons, then I cannot waste time when it is precious enough in a time of crisis.