genessia | video

The Guardians are chosen among the pendant bearers here, and the elections are run every six months. Guardians don't have authority over everything, just things that are related to crime, punishment, and protecting the people.

It's not just humans who get to vote, either. Every single person here, no matter what their species, gets a vote.

So Guardians are kind of like... The Kingdom Knights?

I thought the King got to choose those. [She shakes her head slowly,] At least, that's what I thought. I haven't heard of who our King in Genessia is.

[This is Silicon's first Democracy.]

Genessia doesn't have a King, but a Knight isn't a bad comparison for what a Guardian does. Just imagine if there was a King who decided that the people could have some say in who became Knights, where whoever got the most votes would be the Knight protecting a particular city. That's roughly what the Guardian elections are.

Did you see the broadcast of the debates before?

I guess that does make sense...

[Silicon is holding her tongue, figuratively. She doesn't want to admit that the resistance movement she was created for did want to abolish the Monarchy. This does interest her, but she's afraid of being 'caught' betraying her own King.]

I did. It was very strange. In Sevia, we're told that it isn't our place to talk about political things. Not unless we're born into families that have that right in their blood.

Leaders who decide it's only some people's place to talk about politics are the ones who have the most to lose if everyone else gets a say.

I mean... There is some truth to that, I'll admit. But the political families were chosen by the Creator themself. It makes sense that they get to decide what to do with a world that was given to us by the Creator.

But if none of the people from the chosen families are here, then it's best to choose from the people who are ready and willing to protect everyone.

Well, you're not wrong about that.

Maybe it's just me. I just don't trust me. This place makes me feel so stupid, so I don't think I should be voting on anything important...

You're not stupid, and you deserve a vote just as much as anyone else does. This is just very different from what you're used to. It's less scary than when you first got here though, right?

A bit less... The box monsters in Genessia still try to kill me. I haven't figured out how to make them happy. But I'm getting better at using those blessed "crosswalks."

Box monsters?

[She blinks in confusion, then realizes what this might imply and holds up a picture of a car advertisement in a magazine.]

Do they look like this? Those are called cars.

Cars..?

So they're not wildlife here? That's a relief. They didn't seem very friendly.

They're vehicles. Like...a horse drawn carriage, only there's no horses and you drive them from inside. I don't think anyone was actually trying to kill you, so much as they're not expecting people on the road. People who are travelling on foot are supposed to stay on the sidewalk and only cross at crosswalks.

Guardians are protectors, not rulers. There are mayors and others that deal with the political side.

You are choosing who you think can best protect you.

... I'm trying to understand. I really am.

But that... debate? Felt very political. I don't know if it's my place to make judgments about things like that. Shouldn't the "mayor" decide that?

They are separate entities. It is up to the people to decide their Guardians.

I am General Grievous, a deputy Guardian of Nova City, now for a standard year and a half. I once ran for the position but the people put their faith in another. I stayed on as Deputy. Yet the debates gave me another purpose and idea to start my Trauma Centre to aid those in emotional distress.

And so they are important, for both choices and ideas. You have this power as much as every citizen here. To choose.

I do, huh...

Even if... I mean, what if. What about? The ones here who don't have real souls? Do they get to vote? L-Like uh the lady in The Bay. With the white hair, and the brochures. [She means the Weiss hologram, because Silicon still doesn't understand what a hologram is.

She assumes the hologram can be compared to herself: An artificial being, with an artificial soul.]

The lady? Do you mean the one who greets you? Weiss Schnee? She herself was a Guardian. She was the one who hired me as a deputy. Everyone gets a vote.

[He also could be mistaken for an AI; a robot. Rather than an alien with mostly cybernetic parts.]

She did? Even though I'm told she's not real?

[Poor Grievous: Silicon doesn't understand AI, or technology. She finds automatic toilets fascinating enough.]

That's amazing, though... Do you think that this system works? Voting?

She is as real as you.

[He assumes she is human.]

I do not believe that all the people know what is best for them or I would have won the time that I ran for the position... However, it is their right to individually vote.

Me neither... That's why I'm so worried. I think humans are pretty amazing, and creative, and they can accomplish a lot. They were born for a reason and they've proven, time and again, that they deserve respect...

But they can also be really arrogant. Maybe that's what I'm worried about. I don't want to be arrogant and assume I know what's best for everyone else. I don't even understand how that "Nova City" lights up. How can I decide who could protect things I don't understand? [She sighs.] And everyone here makes me feel stupid.

Where are you from?

I'm from a Kingdom called Sevia. We're a desert oasis, and the Creator provides everything that we need. We use magic to make up for what the land can't provide for us, but we're really humble people.

The way people in Fayren use magic baffles me. We would never use magic for hurting people, or making luxury items that we don't need.

Each world has its own priorities. There are people from many different worlds here, but we must live in relative peace. The Guardians make certain of that.

I'm realizing that. But with how different my world seems to have been, I worry about making the wrong decision.

What do you think Nova City needs in a Guardian? Or Fayren?

Any Guardian needs to have the will and strength to protect the people. They need to be able to defeat any foe.

I see... Mm! Okay then. I'll go back over the materials and choose with that in mind! Thank you, sir!

Not a lot of people believe that royalty are somehow better than commoners anymore. Now we believe everyone has equal rights, at least to start with; there are ways to lose and gain them. Those rights include having a say in the government and often, who's in that government.

[There are parts of government that the people don't choose directly, like appointments, but that's the basic idea.]

A government is only legitimate if it has the consent of the governed. Otherwise, it's a tyranny.

I... I don't think I said that. I hope I didn't imply anything like that.

The people in Sevia support the monarchy. [Mostly.] Our rulers were chosen by the Creator themselves. That's why they were born into those families... But I wasn't really born into any family that gets to decide on these things. I get that a lot of you might have that right, but I don't.

Well, why would we be any more likely to mess things up than royalty would?

The problem with the divine right to rule is that you can't prove there's a Creator or that their judgement is infallible. Even if royalty sincerely believe that's why they're royalty, it could all be based on a lie someone told a long time ago.

You live here now, don't you? Then you get to vote. That's how things work here.

[Silly is briefly at a loss for words. Did he just say her religion wasn't real?

She shakes her head.]

But... The Creator is real. How could you deny something that's scientifically proven?

[Again, she tries to wrap her mind around the different worldview. They are all from different worlds, but...]

Maybe. I would have to do a lot more research. Even Prince Lien and I didn't talk politics very much, and he's a Prince.

Edited 2018-12-27 20:12 (UTC)

No religion I've encountered has ever been able to prove their god was real. Not that there's anything wrong with faith, but believing in something is different than knowing it.

You don't have to vote if you don't want to. Abstaining is always an option.

Just because you experience it, doesn't make it right. You sound like the Kings in other Kingdoms when you talk like that.

... But if voting is what's expected of me... I guess I'll give it a try. Gosh, now I'm wishing that I had asked more questions during the debates.

You still haven't proven anything. That's my entire point. Your religion is no concern of mine, but the divine right to rule can't stand without proof.

Edited 2018-12-27 23:23 (UTC)

I told you that it was a scientific fact. Wasn't that enough? You never asked for me to elaborate, so I assumed we had some level of trust between us.

[Silicon closes her eyes and sighs.]

Let's start over, then. I've never heard of religions that weren't proven facts. The idea that faith can be blind is very strange to me. I've never considered it.

I'm not familiar with this type of government, but I can see the advantages. With royalty, you can get some who are great rulers, but many who are insane or cruel. [His island was lucky; it seems like 8/10 of the nobility in his world consider the common people to be less than trash.] At least here, people have a say in who leads them, so anyone who's clearly dangerous doesn't get the chance to rule.

Royalty shouldn't see themselves as being better than the people that they rule over because of their position; that sort of thinking only leads to trouble.

Edited 2018-12-27 14:49 (UTC)

[Someone who understands royal families!]

It isn't their thinking, though. Isn't it the Creator, who put them into those families, that decided their worth?

What if we make a mistake with our decision? We're only humans. We aren't the Creator. We might put the wrong person in power...

The people who founded my world's government thought that way as well. They figured that, since they brought the nations of the world together, they and their families had some sort of divine right to rule.

Now, their descendants are allowed to enslave, murder, and torture just about anyone they please, all because they have "the blood of the world's creators" in them. [Jinbei spits - he can't stand to think about the World Nobles, given everything that they've done to his people in particular, and evenly mockingly repeating them disgusts him.] If anyone stands up to them, the government sends their strongest soldiers to make an example of that person.

If that's the sort of person that a Creator puts in charge, then we're better off picking for ourselves.

Edited 2018-12-27 23:27 (UTC)

Oh my goodness, how horrible! I'm so sorry to hear it, sir. I can't imagine living in that kind of place.

[Silly shakes her head,] If our royal family did something like that, they would lose their magic for sure. We're a very peaceful nation, you see. Not everything is perfect, but goodness. To kill your own people... I would agree. A divine protector who allows that to happen does not love their humans very much.

We do have good rulers as well! Queen Otohime was one of our best - somehow, she managed to convince one of those nobles to allow our people to move to the ocean's surface! She was quite compassionate, treating the pain of everyone on the island as though it was her own.

If we had more rulers like that, I'd have no problem with it, but the World Nobles - those descendants - could have enslaved Queen Otohime and nobody would have batted an eye. Thankfully, that didn't happen, though to this day, I have no idea how she got out of there.

[The phrase "their humans" stood out to Jinbei, but he'll wait until the time is right to ask about it.]

So can anyone else use magic where you come from, or is it just royals? [Magic was a new concept to Jinbei, and the only time he'd heard it back home was when people in isolated areas misunderstood what Devil Fruits were.]

I'm glad she's okay. I haven't heard much about the other Kingdoms, if there even are any. We're in a desert and no one has managed to travel beyond the far mountains. At least, no one who came back to tell about it...

[She nodded slowly,] The Creator gave human souls the ability to use "magic," so that they could take care of the world they were given. Because of that power, we're able to live even in the desert. There are some laws about magic, but they're mostly things that humans agreed upon out of respect for the world and each other.

It's so strange to me that some people apparently don't have magic here.

She was okay after that, yes. She has... passed away since then.

I can understand the problems of living in an isolated area. Many of my people live in a single underwater island, and most of those who travel elsewhere of their own free will are pirates.

I suppose it would be, but from my perspective, I find it strange that there are people who use magic here! It's something we'll have to get used to - I'm sure that many have never seen fishmen, or humans, or even birds before.

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you remember her fondly.

[Silicon feels some guilt for bringing it up. She briefly hesitates, then decides to lighten the conversation. Granted, he's already made that easy.]

That's quite true! In Fayren, I've heard are even boats on huuuge bodies of water!

We don't have such luxuries. Our water comes from underground. I've heard of boats in stories, but I long to see one. To me, that's as unusual as "magic" must be to some others!

Wahahaha! Our worlds are quite different, then! Where I come from, most of the world is ocean, and boats are our main way of getting around. There's some desert kingdoms, but they're few and far between.

[Jinbei hasn't been to many of them - a place where water is scarce does not really appeal to him.]

I'm not sure where I'd be able to find a boat in this place, but if a shipwright shows up, I'll see if they can make one! My crew has a shipwright of its own; you'll probably know it if he shows up. I haven't talked to him for long, but he seems rather... eccentric.

As someone who is a princess, I can assure you that even royalty can make mistakes. My birthright does not make me infallible but I do what I can with the best interests of my people and kingdom in mind, and I can only hope the same for other kingdoms. But this is not any typical kingdom, wouldn't you say?

I think you are receiving the notification because you are just as worthy as anyone here to have a say in what goes on in this city.

A princess? Oh no! They even captured a princess...

But if you think that... Mm. I'll trust that judgment. I hope my Kingdom won't hold it against me if I participate in this system.

Oh, I was cursed long before they captured me.

I do not think your kingdom will find fault with you by participating in the customs of this kingdom.

Well... If a princess says so, then---

Wait, cursed? Are you okay now?

It... is hard to say, I am alright so long as I am here. But when I return home, I shall return to my curse.

But thank you for having such concern for me.

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