About Lev BronsteinThe Revolutionary Council did not grow the wheat, they did not mill the flour, they did not mix the dough, and they did not fire the ovens, but by some weird alchemy all the bread belongs to them!
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Character Sheet:
Male halfling bard (demagogue) 7 (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 26)
LG Small humanoid (halfling) Init +3; Senses Perception +12 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 shield, +1 size) hp 52 (7d8+14) Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +6; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic, +2 vs. fear -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 20 ft. Melee rapier +9 (1d4-1/18-20) Special Attacks bardic performance 21 rounds/day (move action; countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 18], gather crowd, incite violence [DC 18], inspire competence +3) Bard (Demagogue) Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +12) . . 3rd (2/day)—aura of the unremarkable[UI] (DC 18), seek thoughts[APG] (DC 18) . . 2nd (4/day)—honeyed tongue[APG], invisibility, raiment of command (DC 17), versatile weapon[APG] (DC 17) . . 1st (6/day)—compulsive liar[UI] (DC 16), deja vu[OA], ears of the city, memory lapse[APG] (DC 16), sow thoughts . . 0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic, scrivener's chant -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 8, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 20 Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 16 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, Power Attack, Prodigy[UM], Scholar[ISWG], Skill Focus (Perform [comedy]), Skill Focus (Perform [oratory]), Spellsong[UM] Traits Freedom Fighter, Historian of the Red Revolution Skills Racial Modifiers Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Infernal SQ bardic knowledge +3, famous, finesse weapon attack attribute, rules changes, versatile performances (comedy, oratory) Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (2); Other Gear mithral shirt, mwk buckler, rapier, belt of incredible dexterity +2, cap of human guise[ARG], headband of alluring charisma +2, sleeves of many garments[UE], backpack, halfling jugglesticks[ARG], ink, inkpen, inkpen, knife for cutting quills into pens (0.5 lb), pen nibs, ruler, small (0.1 lb), tome of epics[ACG], trail rations (5), vial, sheet of paper x20, 26 gp, 2 sp, 1 cp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB Bardic Knowledge +3 (Ex) Add +3 to all knowledge skill checks. Bardic Performance (move action, 21 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects. Combat Expertise +/-2 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack. Deadly Aim -2/+4 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage. Famous +2 (Le Commune) With natives of selected region gain bonus to Bluff & Intimidate. Fearless +2 bonus to save vs. fear (stacks with halfling luck). Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute The “light weapons” category has been renamed to “finesse weapons.” Characters can choose to use either their dexterity bonus or their strength bonus to hit with these weapons, no feat required. “Finesse” is also now a weapon attribute li Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Prodigy (Perform [oratory], Perform [comedy]) Gain a +2 bonus on two Craft, Perform, or Profession skills. Scholar (Knowledge [local], Knowledge [history]) +2 bonus on two Knowledge skills. Spellsong Combine spellcasting and bardic performance (perform vs. sense motive or perception) Versatile Performance (Comedy) +22 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Comedy skill for Bluff or Intimidate checks Versatile Performance (Oratory) +22 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Oratory skill for Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks ------------------------
History:
Lev Bronstein was born the son of a freed slave to a family of Halflings in Edme, Galt. When he turned fifteen, Hossiter (author of Imperial Betrayal) led the First Revolutionary Council to overthrow the reigns of Cheliax and lead the bountiful nation of Galt into its bright future. Not yet politically aware, Lev watched the reactionary forces of the Rane Council round up political dissidents during the time of martial law and execute them- his parents were among the first to fall. Shaken but not cowed, Lev immediately began organizing in Edme, eventually helping to supplant the autocratic Rane with the Galtan Unity Council. Though too young and inexperienced to himself obtain any rank or position of note, his devotion earned him a reputation as a young firebrand for the cause of wealth redistribution.
Unfortunately, that led him into direct conflict with the Golden Council when it arose a few short years later. Now undeniably a man, Lev was convicted of property rights violations and imprisoned in the walls of what was once Torvin Academy. He studied history, philosophy, economics and military strategy during his time in prison, smuggling in any literature he could through guile or stealth. Though many future councils had no quarrel with Lev, the bureaucracy and upheaval between rivals kept any action from being taken until the Council of Enlightenment took power and released the Old Unity members, as they were known. Finally released from almost two decades of hellish imprisonment, Lev knew he couldn’t stay in Edme any longer and moved to Isarn. Reintegration into society after so long wasn’t easy, but the acclimation may have saved his life. Shortly after his release, the necromantic cabal known as the Cabinet of Skulls rose to power, taking clandestine action against the Council of Enlightenment, who mysteriously and swiftly met gruesome ends. Initially thrilled with the rise of the New Revolutionary Council, Lev quickly began to have apprehensions about the new government and how it related to the people it claimed to defend. Far from being accountable to the will of the people, instead it sits idle as poverty and crime run rampant. Lev began to create pamphlets, copy them, and spread them clandestinely, even getting some of his better anonymous polemics printed by the Galt Gazette. His revolutionary rabble rousing is slow going, but now he’s caught the attention of a group that seems to be on track to do more... Orientation towards other groups:
The Halfling journalist views the New Revolutionary Council and the Grey Gardeners as a reactionary degeneration of the true revolution. Though he sees them as obviously superior to Chellish rule, his pamphlets often describe what he views as a return to Chellish values in the ruling echelons of Galt. “Neither Egorian nor Isarn,” is his infamous motto, refusing to support imperialism by either entity. He views the Parliament and Confederate parties as dangerously misguided- the Parliamentarians seeks democracy only for the powerful and the Confederate decentralization would result in powerlessness against tyranny. The Court of Bees is Lev’s idea of the ultimate evil- its agenda is diametrically opposed in every way to his political and ethical philosophy, representing private and elite control of resources rather than the collective and democratic ownership he fights for. Lev has the same opinion of most criminal organizations in Galt- any group that self-governs in the face of the state is a potential apparatus for revolutionary movement, with a significant exception. The Vice is perhaps the most worrisome of the gangs to Lev, and the most exploitativel. He has often printed that they are indistinguishable from the Isarn City Guard, both selectively enforcing laws in favor of the powerful. On the other hand, he sees the Caydogs and The Starving Artists as very similar to Torag’s Children- citizens oppressed by the state, organizing independent of it to greater effect. No group has his respect more than Le Commune, though Lev himself disagrees on the best way to establish a nation-wide commune. Those in the Egalitarian Party seek to enact legislative solutions, while Lev believes that only through political action by the people en mass can Galt establish such a society. The Milanites are the most interesting groups in Galt to Lev. Himself a Milanite, he aligns more closely with members of the Blood Rose than any other followers of Milani, but their lack of cohesion and revolutionary discipline keeps him from joining them directly. He views the Courageous Council as naval gazers who have abdicated their responsibilities to the people of Galt, and too cowardly to take the risks involved with presenting a political program. He disagrees strongly with the Sister of the Everbloom, but respects their work for providing healthcare to the public. Pamphlets, polemics and essays sent to The Voice of Revolution were rarely published and met with official scrutiny that Lev refuses to read the paper and often vocally disparages it. Meanwhile, his contributions (always through a dead drop, never in person) to The Galt Gazette have rendered him a die-hard fan. Laws, Religion, and Heirlooms:
Generally, Lev sees the laws as progressively reactionary. The outlaw of diabolism, seizure of noble property, even the prohibition against expensive textiles all seem justifiable to him. The curfew and especially the ban on automation is extremely counterproductive to Lev and demonstrates the changing nature of the government as it degenerates further and further.
According to Lev, most non-Evil Gods have their place in Galt. The Sarenrites are the best allies to be had when cleansing is necessary, the Erastilians help foster and maintain community, the Milanites confront systemic oppression, even the Calistrians have their place for letting off steam. The exception to this is Abadar. Though no longer a significant threat to Galt, the influence of finance capital and international banking represented by the Gold Fisted miser is something he will always be vigilant about. He sees Pharasmans who seek the destruction of the Final Blades as having poor priorities and myopic sight, but isn’t overly concerned with them. While most of the Bronstein family’s wealth was confiscated in the revolution, Lev’s father hid the family circlet away before being executed by General Rane. He retrieved it before leaving Edme and has kept it with him since. In his time in Isarn, he’s learned the need to both defend and disguise himself. Using what little inheritance he had left, he commissioned a cap of human guise, sleeves of many garments and a belt of incredible dexterity to help stay alive. He has also taken to wearing a mithral shirt under his coat, and keeping a buckler on him which he uses as a makeshift desk table with which to jot notes on. Daily life:
Lev spends most of his time between Le Commune, where he sleeps and eats, and the Theater Quarter where he assists with Rosa Bohneur’s marionette show, providing voices and quips to help make the children laugh. He also frequents The Sloppy Scribe and the Clerk of the Cork, though he rarely buys anything, preferring instead to entertain the regulars in exchange for a drink or two. During his travel between the Le Commune and the Theater Quarter, Lev often finds himself in the Sud Riviere, stopping by the Bakers Guild to rabble rouse and try to beg bread to bring to Rosa Bohneur’s marionette show and give to the audience. He also keeps close ties with Jean-Andre Broduer, the Freedom Smithy, the two often attending the same protests and gatherings (though Lev usually brings more rhetoric and less weaponry than Broduer). Recently, he’s been ending his days on Brewer street in the Wine Quarter after stopping by La Guilde des Vignerons, both fascinated and inspired by the tireless efforts of Isarn’s brewers, bakers and winemakers. Role:
Lev uses his oratory and comedic performances in place of his bluff, diplomacy, intimidate and sense motive skills. As a demagogue he can use his bardic performance to gather a crowd then incite them to violence, but never does this casually. Instead, most of his rabble rousing is done via his writings that he dictates with scrivener's chant (using his linguistics skill to disguise the handwriting) and leaves them at relevant locations, hoping that his work will be seen by a relevant party and published in the Galt Gazette. He avoids direct combat assiduously, preferring to flee until he can act with subtlety instead of force. If he needs information, the spell “ears of the city” helps him gather information without alerting anyone to his inquiries. He can use spellsong during his oratory performances to cast sow thoughts and win an argument or compulsive liar to humiliate an opponent. ------------------------
Polemic: Chellish Morals and Ours:
DURING AN EPOCH OF triumphant reaction, the parliamentarians, egalitarians, confederates, and other representatives of the Senate begin to exude double their usual amount of moral effluvia, similar to persons who perspire doubly in fear. Parodying the Pilgrims Cave or the Tenets of Iomeade, these moralists address themselves not so much to triumphant reaction as to those revolutionaries suffering under its persecution, who with their “excesses” and “amoral” principles “provoke” reaction and give it “moral justification”. Moreover they prescribe a simple but certain means of avoiding reaction: it is necessary only to strive and morally to regenerate oneself. Free samples of moral perfection for those desirous are furnished by all the interested state offices.
A moralizing Chelaxian’s favorite argument is the lumping of reaction’s conduct with that of revolution. He achieves success in this device through recourse to formal analogies. To him authoritarian reaction and people’s revolutionaries are twins. Twins are likewise discovered in violence used to oppress and violence used to liberate. An inventory is compiled of the common features in Aroden’s dead dogma and the values of the revolution. Thrice damned Thrune’s propagandists wish us to believe that parliamentarism, egalitarianism, and people's revolutionaries represent merely different manifestations of one and the same 'evil'. Undoubtedly the currents grouped above have certain common features. But the gist of the matter lies in the fact that the future of Galt manifests itself not by Senate rule, nor by blood and honor, nor by the dogma of the decentralization. The historical process is moved primarily by the masses; moreover, different groups in the name of different aims may in certain instances utilize similar means. Essentially it cannot be otherwise. Armies in combat are always more or less symmetrical; were there nothing in common in their methods of struggle they could not inflict blows upon each other. The conception that the New Revolutionary Council and the First Revolutionary Council are “essentially” one and the same now enjoys the joint approval of parliamentarians, egalitarians, devout Asmodeans, idealists, pragmatists, and confederalists. If the New Revolutionary Council are unable to adhere to this unity of dark forces, then it is only because they are accidentally occupied with the extermination of the actual revolutionaries. Polemic: Diabolism- What it is and how to fight it:
Sentors and even most of those who consider themselves revolutionaries are guilty of using the word diabolist very loosely today. They fling it around as an epithet or political swearword against figures whom they particularly despise, or against reactionaries in general.
Indiscriminate use of the term really reflects vagueness about its meaning. Asked to define diabolism, Senators reply in such terms as dictatorship, mass neurosis, anti-Halfling sentiment, the power of unscrupulous propaganda, the hypnotic effect of a mad-wizard orator on the masses, etc. Impressionism and confusion on the part of Senators is not surprising. But the Revolutionary’s superiority consists of their ability to analyze and differentiate among social and political phenomena. That so many of those calling themselves revolutionaries cannot define diabolism any more adequately than the Senate is not wholly their fault. Whether they are aware of it or not, much of their intellectual heritage comes from the parliamentarian and Gossite movements, which dominate Galt while diabolists in Cheliax score victory after victory. These movements not only permitted Thrune to retain to power in Cheliax without a sword being raised against it, but they failed abysmally in understanding the nature and dynamics of diabolism and the way to fight it. After diabolisms triumphs, they had much to hide and so refrained from making a Revolutionary analysis which would, at least, have educated subsequent generations. The gigantic growth of Chellish diabolism is an expression of two factors: a deep social crisis, throwing the artisans and merchants off balance, and the lack of a revolutionary council that would be regarded by the masses of the people as an acknowledged revolutionary force. If the revolutionary council is the party of revolutionary hope, then Diabolism, as a mass movement, is the party of counter-revolutionary despair. When revolutionary hope embraces the whole Galtan mass, it inevitably pulls behind it on the road of revolution considerable and growing sections of artisans and merchants. When revolution falls into despair, diabolism tempts the desperate and Asmodeus gains a foothold into the heart of Galt. Fight Diabolism- Fight Despair- Fight for Revolution! Polemic: Parliamentarianism and Bureaucracy:
If it is true that theories are only the images of the phenomena of the exterior world in the human consciousness, it must be added, concerning parliamentarism, that theories are sometimes inverted images. Think of a theory of instituting Revolution by means of social reforms in the face of the complete stagnation of the Revolutionary movement in Galt. Think of a theory of bureaucratic control. Consider the theory of winning a majority in the Senate, in view of the New Revolutionary Council’s mandate against the universal suffrage that is the right of every citizen of Galt.
At present, the bureaucracy and legislative practice are considered to be the means of guiding and educating the people of Galt in preparation for the task of taking over power. From the degeneration’s standpoint, this conquest of power is at the same time impossible and useless. Therefore, bureaucratic and legislative activity are to be carried on by approved parties only. The immediate amelioration of the condition of the people of Galt is an objective common to our a revolutionary program as well as to the degenerated parties- the difference between the outlooks is, in brief, the following: according to revolutionary analysis any bureaucratic or legislative activity are important for Galt only when such activity prepares the people to rule themselves, that is to say, creates the subjective factor of the social transformation, for the task of realizing a new society. According to Gossite degeneration, bureaucracy and legislative activity gradually reduce diabolist exploitation itself. They remove from our society the remnants of its Chellish character. They realise objectively the desired social change. As seen by Goss, bureaucracy and legislation has a revolutionary character because it exercises a progressively beneficial influence on the remnants of Chellish culture which plague us today. This influence is purely imaginary. The relations between Galt and the Chellish economy with the influence of diabolism develop in entirely opposite directions, so that the daily practical activity of the present Council loses, in the last analysis, all connection with work for the Revolution. From the viewpoint of a true revolutionary, the bureaucracy and legislation are only important in so far as they make revolutionary the awareness, the consciousness, of the people of Galt and help to organise them. But once they are considered as instruments of the direct reform of Chellish influence, they lose out not only their usual effectiveness but also cease being means of preparing the people of Galt for the conquest of power. Korran Goss and Madame Lacroix suffer from a complete misunderstanding when they console themselves with the belief that even though the program of the Council is reduced to work for social reforms and ordinary bureaucratic work, the final objective of the revolution is not thereby discarded, for each forward step reaches beyond the given immediate aim. Legislative reform and revolution are not different methods of historic development that can be picked out at the pleasure from the counter of history, just as one chooses hot or cold sausages. Legislative reform and revolution are different factors in the development of Galtan society. They condition and complement each other, and are at the same time reciprocally exclusive, as are the north and south poles, the reactionary and the revolutionary. These so called Revolutionaries who pronounce themselves in favor of the method of legislative reform in place of and in contradistinction to the conquest of political power and social revolution, do not really choose a more tranquil, calmer and slower road to the same goal, but a different goal. Instead of taking a stand for the establishment of a new society they take a stand for surface modification of the old society. It is contrary to history to represent work for reforms as a long-drawn out revolution and revolution as a condensed series of reforms. A social transformation and a legislative reform do not differ according to their duration but according to their content.
Polemic: The Gossite Degeneration and the Need for Revolutionary Democracy:
In the field of political relations, the development of democracy brings – in the measure that it finds a favourable soil – the participation of all popular strata in political life and, consequently, some sort of “people’s State.” But this participation takes the form of mere parliamentarism, in which the current antagonisms are not done away with, but are, on the contrary, displayed in the open. Exactly for this reason must Revolutionaries seize political power and suppress completely the diabolist system.
Of course, Korran Goss draws other conclusions. If the development of democracy leads to the aggravation and not to the lessening of these antagonisms, “the current Council,” he answers us, “in order not to render its task more difficult, must by all means try to stop social reforms and the extension of democratic institutions”. Indeed, that would be the right thing to do if the Council found to its taste, the futile task of picking for itself all the good sides of history and rejecting the bad sides of history. However, in that case, it should at the same time “try to stop” the relations with all Chellish culture in general, for there is not doubt that is the rascal placing all these obstacles in the way of the Revolution. But the people of Galt furnish besides the obstacles also the only possibilities of realising the Revolutionary program. The same can be said about democracy. In a word, democracy is indispensable not because it renders superfluous the conquest of political power by revolutionaries but because it renders this conquest of power both necessary and possible. When Darl Jubannich, in his preface to “On Government”, revised the tactics of the modern Revolution and urged the legal struggle as opposed to the barricades, he did not have in mind the question of a definite conquest of political power, but the contemporary daily struggle. He did not have in mind the attitude that the people of Galt must take toward the State at the time of the seizure of power but the attitude of the people while in the bounds of the State. Jubannich was giving directions to Galt oppressed, and not to Galt victorious. On the other hand, Hossetter’s well known sentence on the agrarian question on Horun Plain (Goss leans on it heavily in his rhetoric), in which he says: “We shall probably succeed easier by seizing the estates of the landlords,” does not refer to the stance of the people of Galt before, but after its victory. For there evidently can be a question of seizing the property of the old Chellish owners only when the people are in power. The possibility envisaged by Hossetter is that of the exercise of true democracy and not the replacement of democracy with mere parliamentarianism. There was no doubt for Jubannich and Hossetter about the necessity of having the people of Galt conquer political power. If democracy has become superfluous or annoying to the degeneration, it is on the contrary necessary and indispensable to the Revolution. It is necessary to revolutionaries because it creates the political forms (autonomous administration, electoral rights, etc.) which will serve the people of Galt as fulcrums in its task of transforming Chellish society. Democracy is indispensable to the people of Galt because only through the exercise of its democratic rights, in the struggle for democracy, can they become prepared to seize power and change society. Polemic: Confederates and their Tiny Utopias:
Let's begin with the final objective of the Revolution and that of the Confederates. According to the way the problem is posed at present, the Revolution and its degeneration presuppose the conservation of the state, whereas confederacy eliminates the state. “Advocates" of the state against "adversaries" of the state: that is how the "contrast", between revolutionaries and confederates is usually depicted.
One must recognise that such an impression is not the work of the confederates alone. The degeneration are also very much to blame for it. Talk about "the state of the future" and "the people's state" has had widespread currency in the realm of ideas and the phraseology of democracy. Furthermore, propagandists of the degeneration always strive to lay special emphasis on their "statist" nature. The catchphrase of The Voice of the Revolution used to be "We are the true representatives of the state". That sort of thinking was spread by others, too, apart from The Voice. The Revolution sees the state as the organisation of the ruling class, an instrument of oppression and violence, and it is on these grounds that it does not countenance a "state of the future". In the future there will be no classes, there will be no class oppression, and thus no instrument of that oppression, no state of violence. The "classless state" - a notion that turns the heads of members of the degeneration - is a contradiction in terms, a nonsense, an abuse of language, and if this notion is the spiritual nourishment of the degeneration it is really no fault of the great revolutionaries Hossetter and Jubannich. If this is the case - and there is no doubt that it is - then what, in reality, does the distinction between confederates and Revolutionaries consist of? Does the distinction, as such, vanish at least when it comes to examining the problem of the society to come and the "ultimate goal"? We revolutionaries believe not only that the society of the future must free itself of the exploitation by Cheliax or the Council, but also that it will have to ensure for all citizens the greatest possible independence of the nature that surrounds him, that it will reduce to a minimum the time and effort required to survive by developing the social forces of production to a maximum and likewise the productivity itself of social labour. Our ideal solution to this is centralized production, methodically organised in large units and, in the final analysis, the organisation of the Galtan economy as a whole. Confederates, on the other hand, prefer a completely different type of relations of production; their ideal consists of tiny city-states which by their very structure are disqualified from managing any large enterprises, but reach "agreements" with one another and link up through a network of free contracts. From an economic point of view, that sort of system of production is clearly closer to Taldane secession, rather than the mode of production destined to supplant the Chellish system. But this system is not merely a retrograde step: it is also utterly utopian. The society of the future will not be conjured out of a void, nor will it be brought by a heavenly angel. It will arise out of the old society, out of the relations created by the economy. Any new order is possible and useful only insofar as it leads to the further development of the productive forces of the order which is to disappear. Naturally, further development of the productive forces is only conceivable as the continuation of the tendency of the productive process of centralization, as an intensified degree of organisation in the "administration of things" that replaces the bygone "government of men". Essay: A Newspaper to Unite Galt:
All without exception now talk of the importance of unity, of the necessity for “gathering and organising”; but in the majority of cases what is lacking is a definite idea of where to begin and how to bring about this unity. Probably all will agree that if we “unite”, say, the district circles in Le Carrousel, it will be necessary to have for this purpose common institutions, i.e., not merely a common title, but genuinely common work, exchange of material, experience, and forces, distribution of functions, not only by districts, but through specialisation on a town-wide scale. All will agree that a big secret apparatus cannot pay its way with the resources (in both money and manpower, of course) of a single district, and that this narrow field will not provide sufficient scope for a specialist to develop his talents.
The same thing applies to the coordination of activities of a number of towns, since even a specific locality will be and, in the history of our Revolutionary movement, has proved to be, far too narrow a field; we have demonstrated this above in detail with regard to political agitation and organisational work. What we require foremost and imperatively is to broaden the field, establish real contacts between the towns on the basis of regular, common work; for fragmentation weighs down on the people and they are “stuck in a hole”, not knowing what is happening in the world, from whom to learn, or how to acquire experience and satisfy their desire to engage in broad activities. I continue to insist that we can start establishing real contacts only with the aid of a common newspaper, as the only regular, all-Galt enterprise, one which will summarise the results of the most diverse forms of activity and thereby stimulate people to march forward untiringly along all the innumerable paths leading to revolution, in the same way as all trade routes lead to Absalom. If we do not want unity in name only, we must arrange for all local study circles immediately to assign some of their forces to active work for the common cause, and the newspaper will immediately convey to them the general design, scope, and character of the cause; it will give them a precise indication of the most keenly felt shortcomings in Galtan activity, where agitation is lacking and contacts are weak, and it will point out which little wheels in the vast general mechanism a given study circle might repair or replace with better ones. A study circle that has not yet begun to work, but which is only just seeking activity, could then start, not like a craftsman in an isolated little workshop unaware of the development in industry, but as a participant in an extensive enterprise that reflects the whole general revolutionary attack on the degeneration. The more perfect the finish of each little wheel and the larger the number of detail workers engaged in the common cause, the closer will our network become and the less will be the disorder in the ranks consequent on inevitable raids by City Guards or Grey Gardeners. The mere function of distributing a newspaper would help to establish actual contacts (if it is a newspaper worthy of the name). At the present time, communication between towns on revolutionary business is an extreme rarity, and, at all events, is the exception rather than the rule. If we had a newspaper, however, such communication would become the rule and would secure, not only the distribution of the newspaper, of course, but (what is more important) an exchange of experience, of material, of forces, and of resources. Organisational work would immediately acquire much greater scope, and the success of one locality would serve as a standing encouragement to further perfection; it would arouse the desire to utilise the experience gained by revolutionaries working in other parts of the country. Political and economic exposures gathered from all over Galt would provide mental food for citizens of all trades and all stages of development; they would provide material and occasion for talks and readings on the most diverse subjects. Every outbreak, every demonstration, would be weighed and discussed in its every aspect in all parts of Galt and would thus stimulate a desire to keep up with, and even surpass, the others. This newspaper would become part of an enormous pair of smith’s bellows that would fan every spark of the revolutionary struggle and of popular indignation into a general conflagration. Around what is in itself still a very innocuous and very small, but regular and common, effort, in the full sense of the word, a regular army of tried fighters would systematically gather and receive their training. On the ladders and scaffolding of this general organizational structure there would soon develop and come to the fore revolutionaries who will take their place at the head of the mobilised army and rouse the whole people to settle accounts with the shame and the curse of Cheliax. That is what we should dream of! Satire: A Fable About Milanites:
A cattle dealer once drove some bulls to the slaughterhouse. And the butcher came at night with his sharp knife.
"Let us close ranks and jack up this executioner on our horns," suggested one of the bulls. "If you please, in what way is the butcher any worse than the dealer who drove us hither with his cudgel?" replied the bulls, who had received their political education from the Sisters of the Everbloom. "But we shall be able to attend to the dealer as well afterwards!" "Nothing doing," replied the bulls firm in their principles, to the counselor. "You are trying commit an act of violence -- you are a butcher yourself." And they refused to close ranks. |
