French Revolution Mafia [Concluded]

[GeneralHankerchief]

1008

Dp101: 4 | seireikhaan (919), El Barto (942), Montmorency (993), Lewwyn (1006)
seireikhaan: 4 | Csargo (950), Renata (978), Winston Hughes (984), Dp101 (988)
autolycus: 3 | Choxorn (989), Al Sipsclar (992), Snerk (1007)
Csargo: 1 | Zack (861)
Lewwyn: 1 | autolycus (996)

Round ends:

[GeneralHankerchief]

"How sweet it is to see a man's head cut off!"
~ Guy de Maupassant

Day 3

After unearthing and disposing of (through various means) three Royalists in a 24-hour period, most of the members of the National Convention seemed keen to - at least for the time being - put the Royalist threat on the backburner and instead turn their efforts toward factional politics. After all, if the Royalists were truly on their way out for good, only one of the four factions could take control of the Revolution, and any complacency on their part meant that one of the other three hated groups would take advantage.

In practice, this generally meant that once a name was put forth as a possible Royalist, there always seemed to be a 3:1 split in opinion, always in favor of that person being a Royalist. This ratio held no matter who who was being accused, with a bizarre overall result of 75% of the entire Convention believing that 75% of the rest of the Convention were Royalists. Obviously, something had to give.

The two leading candidates today were seireikhaan and Dp101. Since the day's proceedings were less chaotic than the previous two, both had their chance to give arguments to their peers about why they should be spared. Most of these seemed to accomplish little, but there was still time in the end for closing statements. At least this sort of procedure was right and proper of a republic, unlike the coin-flipping fiasco from the previous day, some people noted.

khaan, going first, laconically mentioned his role in the Jabbz Incident from two days ago, openly said he had fallen asleep during much of the debate and hadn't really followed along (openly outraging some of the more vocal Convention members), and concluded by saying that statements and speeches made in the private political clubs and not the actual Convention body were, by their nature, difficult to verify and should not be treated with the same scrutiny as those statements that made up the public record.

Dp, whose face was going redder and redder throughout khaan's speech, ascended the podium to reply, but instead of making coherent points mostly just sputtered in outrage from what he had just heard and the direction that the debate was going on. "You seriously cannot be considering me to be a Royalist!" he shouted. "I am a true patriot! My factional comrades will vouch for me! I have done nothing but attempted to defend the Revolution and hunt down the Royalist traitors in our midst!"

This got little response. Growing ever more frustrated, Dp started pointing at his chief accusers. "All you who doubt me are likely traitors! You! Him! All of you! If I survive this vote, I pledge to all of you now that I will not rest until I look into their activities and bring them to justice! If I do not survive, then I highly suggest starting with these - these - these mockeries of our august institution! They lack honor! They lack virtue! They lack patriotism and proper Revolutionary spirit! They lack a good reason to be voting for me! They lack-"

"They lack the most votes," the President said, banging his gavel and bringing the day's proceedings to a conclusion. "By one vote, Dp101 has been named a Royalist and condemned to death. The sentencing will be begin immediately."

As the members of the Convention filed out towards the Place de la Revolution, Dp harangued them the entire way, talking about where they had gone wrong and there were many traitors amongst them. He spoke during the walk over. He spoke during the reading of charges. He spoke all the way up until the guillotine's blade cut through flesh, after which point he didn't have very much to say at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dp101 has been lynched! He was:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Paul Barras, a Militarist!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Not a Royalist.

Dp101: 5 | seireikhaan (919), El Barto (942), Montmorency (993), Lewwyn (1006), Snerk (1012)
seireikhaan: 4 | Csargo (950), Renata (978), Winston Hughes (984), Dp101 (988)
autolycus: 2 | Choxorn (989), Al Sipsclar (992)
Csargo: 1 | Zack (861)
Lewwyn: 1 | autolycus (996)

Not voting: Manasi, NotACop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is now Night 3! Please send in your orders.

Night 3 ends Friday, March 17 at 3:00 PM US Eastern time (GMT-4). This drift may or may not continue through Day 4 depending on my schedule.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still alive (14):
Al Sipsclar
autolycus
Choxorn
Csargo
El Barto
Lewwyn
Manasi
Montmorency
NotACop
Renata
seireikhaan
Snerk
Winston Hughes
Zack

Killed:
Fenn
Monstrdude
Logic
Kagemusha
Arakhor
BSmith
Askthepizzaguy

Guillotined:
Jabbz
atheotes
Dp101

[GeneralHankerchief]

Post 2 updated (this time with the correct date!)

[GeneralHankerchief]

Night has ended, no more orders will be accepted.

[GeneralHankerchief]

"By sealing our work with our blood, we may see at least the bright dawn of universal happiness."
~ Maximilien Robespierre

Night 3

In many ways, Paris's Temple of Reason, located on the old Île de la Cité on the Seine, symbolized the various turns the Revolution had taken since 1789. Formerly known as the Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the religious keystones in France, the old building with the famous gargoyles and rose window had taken some damage through the various riots since 1789, and then fell into general neglect and disuse since the various governments of France - including and especially the National Convention - pursued a policy of dechristianization.

The building had seen more use in recent months, ever since the Powers That Be had decided to promote a new belief: The Cult of Reason, designed to keep national unity strong and provide a more enlightened, time-appropriate replacement for Catholicism. Thus, Notre-Dame was repurposed: Out went the old name, all statues of kings (French, Biblical, or otherwise), and many old Christian relics and symbols. In came shrines to Liberty, Philosophy, and Reason; food, as parts of the old cathedral were being used as storage; costumed women, filling the old statuary role (but for Liberty, etc. as opposed to Christian symbolism) for a government that wanted less of an emphasis on statuary and idolatry.

The effect was very off-putting for Renata as she entered the Temple of Reason to calm her feelings. Not pray, you understand, as she was a good Revolutionary citizen who followed her government's directives, but to just... center herself. To reason, if you will, a solution to the mess she found herself in.

Thusfar, the Convention had been quite successful at weeding out and terminating the Royalists that had infiltrated their ranks, disposing of three within a 24-hour period, but they had gotten nothing but false positives since then and she knew that there was at least one still lurking. In addition, the factional game had started. Just as many people predicted, at least some of the factions were using the state of emergency as an excuse and advantage to advance their own particular agenda at the expense of everyone else - among other, more nefarious things.

Renata walked down one of the Temple's side aisles, giving the living statues little more than a single glance. They were weird, yes, but the actors hired to serve as representations of the essences of Liberty, Reason, et al. were good at their jobs, not betraying an inch of movement. She paused before the main altar, to that of Liberty, unsure of the procedure that was to happen next.

"So, uh, do I kneel? Do I pray? Is Liberty actually a divine figure, something that needs my worship? I'll be honest, I wasn't paying too much attention to the Festival of Reason they had here a while back. Of all the Catholic traditions you could have kept, ceremonial wine might not have been the best choice. You know what? I'm going to kneel. It's an altar, there's a statue and important-looking stuff on it. Doesn't seem right otherwise."

She knelt. Even this act seemed to calm her down a bit. "Anyway, still don't know if I'm supposed to worship you or not... you're Liberty, right? Then I could really use some help liberating my paranoia here. I'm doing the right thing, right? I'm on the right course, right? I mean, my faction's taken some hits, we all have, but I'm wondering if the people going after us are truly Royalists or simply just opportunists... maybe you could liberate my confusion on this issue while you're at it. You know, if you're divine and I am supposed to be doing this right... if you're not, then don't worry about it since you can't hear me anyway. God, this is confusing. Er, Liberty, this is confusing. Supreme Being, this is confusing? I hear that Robespierre's trying to start up an alternative, we'll see how that goes..."

As she was rambling on, one of the living statues finally moved, taking off her sandals while still remaining poised on her pedestal. The next action would require silence, and, deep in thought as Renata was, wooden soles still made a sound on a stone floor, especially in a building with excellent acoustics.

"...and that was how we lost that particular battle. Logistics matter, just ask those dead chickens! So the next campaign was later that autumn..."

The statue stepped off her podium and drew closer to Renata, who by this point was pretty deep in... thought? Prayer? She was certainly deep in trouble.

"...so then, later on that night in the Jacobin Club, Mirabeau comes up to me, and man, he is drunk as a skunk, and he starts stumbling over, almost knocks over the bust of Rousseau, and he walks right up to me and says..."

Taking off her sandals was a good choice. The statue made hardly a sound as she approached Renata for the final blow. Luckily, all of her coworkers were, as previously mentioned, very good at their jobs, not betraying an inch of movement no matter what. She walked right up behind Renata.

"I just want what's best for the country, Liberty. We've been through a lot these past years, and the people deserve to settle down. I hope one day I can lie down and rest and not have to worry about factional politics, or foreign invasion, or Royalist counterrevolution, or any of that other nonsense. Lying down peacefully just sounds so nice."

"It'll happen sooner than you think," the statue said, and silently slashed Renata's throat. Blood pooled before the Altar of Liberty in the Temple of Reason, another casualty of the Revolution.

----

The meeting of the National Convention was very fraught that day, the agenda being unusually packed. After repeatedly gavelling everybody into order, the President began to speak.

"Right, citoyens, I have a few announcements to make. First of all, independent investigation has made some progress onto the threats that lurk among us. There are as follows:"

NotACop: Girondin
seireikhaan: Montagnard
Montmorency: Montagnard

"None of these people are Royalists. This is an unchallenge-able truth." NAC, khaan, and Monty looked around, somewhat relieved for the time being.

"Now, the second order of business. In addition to your daily suspect vote, there is a piece of legislation on the agenda: The Law of 22 Prarial. This will greatly streamline the legal process and give us, the members of the Convention, even more power in dealing with enemies of the realm. This is a simple 'yes' or 'no' vote, so please give it in addition to your normal suspect vote. Any questions, ask me for clarification." Everybody nodded at this, it seemed fairly straightforward, even though the proposed law was oddly light on the specifics.

"Right then, in the name of liberty, equality, and brotherhood, let's get to it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Renata has been killed! She was:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Jeanbon Saint-André, a Militarist!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Not a Royalist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As detailed in the flavor above, you will be voting on the Law of 22 Prarial today in addition to the normal lynch vote. In-game, the Law of 22 Prarial uniformly supplies the factions with additional abilities if the vote passes. The exact nature of these abilities will remain a mystery until when and if the law passes. Voting for this is as follows:

Vote: Yes

Should you change your mind:

Unvote: Yes
Vote: No

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is now Day 4!

Voting will end Sunday, March 19, at 5:00 PM US Eastern time (GMT-4). Drift may or may not continue depending on my schedule, but we'll probably keep it at this time for a little while.



Feedback will go out shortly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still alive (13):
Al Sipsclar
autolycus
Choxorn
Csargo
El Barto
Lewwyn
Manasi
Montmorency
NotACop
seireikhaan
Snerk
Winston Hughes
Zack

Killed:
Fenn
Monstrdude
Logic
Kagemusha
Arakhor
BSmith
Askthepizzaguy
Renata

Guillotined:
Jabbz
atheotes
Dp101

[Montmorency]

Pretend this was delivered to the Convention before night results were presented.

If my quality as member of the Committee must prevent me from explaining myself with entire independence on what has happened, then I must abdicate it this instant. And after having separated myself from my colleagues, who I esteem and honor (and it’s well-known that I am not prodigal in the sentiment) I will tell my country the necessary truths. The truth is the only weapon that remains in the hands of the intrepid defenders of freedom in order to bring down the perfidious agents of aristocracy. He who seeks to debase, to divide, to paralyze the Convention is an enemy of the fatherland, whether he sits in this hall or is a foreigner. Whether he acts by stupidity or perversity he is of the party of the tyrants who make war upon us. That the tyrants who hate us, their salaried slanderers, the journalists who serve them so well spread those falsehoods to vilify us, this I can conceive. But it’s not up to us to ward off such charges and respond to them. It’s enough that I feel in my heart the strength to defend unto death the cause of the people, which is great and sublime. But this project of debasement exists in the very places where patriotism should reign, in the clubs that claim to be more than patriotic. War is made on the Convention in the persons of all the defenders of freedom. And what is most deplorable is that this cowardly system has partisans here.

For a long time the Committee has put up with a war made on it by several members who are more envious than just. While it is busy day and night with the great interests of the Fatherland, written denunciations, presented with guile, are brought here. Can it then be that the Citizens you have charged with the most difficult functions have lost the title of imperturbable defenders of freedom because they've accepted this burden? Are those who attack them more patriotic because they haven’t received this mark of confidence? Do you claim that those who defended freedom here at the risk of their lives, in the midst of daggers, should be treated like vile protectors of aristocracy? We will brave calumnies and intrigues. But the Convention is attached to the Committee; your glory is tied to the success of those who you have garbed in national confidence.

We are accused of doing nothing and telling less, but has our position been thought on? Eleven armies to direct, the weight of all of Europe to bear; everywhere there are traitors to unmask, emissaries bribed by the gold of foreign powers to foil, unfaithful administrators to watch over, to pursue; everywhere we must level the obstacles and hindrances to the execution of the wisest measures; all the tyrants to combat, all the conspirators to intimidate, those who can almost always be found in a caste once so powerful because of its riches, and even more by its intrigues, these are our functions. Do you believe that without unity in action, without secrecy in its operations, without the certainty of finding support within the Convention that the government could triumph over so many obstacles and so many enemies? No. Only the most extreme ignorance, only the most profound perversity could claim that in such circumstances those who play the cruel game of vilifying those who are at the helm of affairs, of hindering their operations, of slandering their conduct are not enemies of the fatherland. It is not with impunity that you will leave aside the necessary force of opinion. No other proof is necessary than the discussions that have just taken place.

The nobles are ceaselessly declaimed against; it is said that they must be dismissed and, by a strange coincidence, when we execute this great revolutionary measure, and we bring to it all possible consideration, we are denounced. What is then the cause for this denunciation? It’s not a question here of individuals; it’s a question of the fatherland and of principles. I declare this: in the current state of affairs, it is impossible for the Committee to save the public thing. And if I am contested on this I will remind everyone how perfidious, how widespread is the system to vilify and dissolve us; how many paid agents foreigners and internal enemies have to this effect; I will recall that the faction is not dead, that it conspires in the depths of its cells, that the serpents of the Marais have not yet all been crushed.

A member has said that everyone should be able to give his opinion on the operations carried out above the Convention; I don’t disagree. The functions of the Committee are arduous, and it is because of this that it cannot save the fatherland without the Convention. In order to save the fatherland one must have a great deal of character, great virtues. Men are needed who have the courage to propose strong measures, who even dare to attack the pride of individuals. Without a doubt everyone is free to express his opinion about the Committee. But our operation required secrecy in order to be completely successful, the safety of the fatherland demanded it. We took all the necessary measures so that secrecy should be guarded, even if it was only in relation to other armies. And now, at the moment in which we are impatient to know the result of these measures, we are denounced at the National Convention, our work is criticized without knowledge our motives, they want us to divulge the Republic’s secrets, that we give traitors the time to escape; it is hoped to strike with disfavor the new choices, doubtless in order to prevent the reestablishment of confidence.

I thus think that the fatherland is lost if the Committee doesn’t enjoy unlimited confidence, and if it isn’t composed of men who deserve it. I demand that the Committee of Public Safety be renewed. To pass to the order of the day is to open the door to all the misfortunes that I just exposed. The Convention cannot be silent on that which tends to paralyze the government. The explanations that have been given are insufficient. The only result is that the members of the Committee of Public Safety who have spoken seemed to be defending their cause, and you haven’t pronounced. It means giving the advantage to those men who slandered it, not always here, but secretly, in a way all the more perfidious for having seemed to applaud it before you when it made its reports.

The men who perpetually declaim, whether here or elsewhere, against those men who are at the head of the government have themselves given proof of lack of civisme and baseness. Why then do they want to debase us? Which of our acts have deserved this ignominy? I know that we cannot flatter ourselves that we have attained perfection. But when one must support a republic surrounded by enemies, arm reason in favor of freedom, destroy prejudices, render void individual efforts against the public interest, moral and physical forces are necessary that nature has perhaps refused both to those who denounce us and those we combat. The Committee has earned the hatred of kings and rascals; if you don’t believe in its zeal, in the services it has rendered to the public thing, smash this instrument. But before doing so, examine the circumstances in which you find yourselves. Those who denounce us have themselves been denounced to the committee. From the accusers they are today, they are going to become the accused. But who are these men who rise up against the conduct of the Committee, who in this session have worsened your reverses in order to worsen their accusations?

From all this let us deduce a great truth: the characteristic of popular government is confidence in the people and severity towards itself. Citizens, I promised you the whole truth and I'm going to tell it. This might seem harsh, but what is harsher still for a patriot is that for two years, 100,000 men have been killed by treason or weakness; it is weakness before traitors that harms us. We are tender towards the most criminal men, towards those who deliver the fatherland to the enemy’s steel, those both those who have rejected freedom as a personal calamity and those who have embraced the revolution as a career and the Republic as prey. Without a doubt, if such men manage to prove that the Committee isn’t composed of good men, then liberty is lost, for it will doubtless not be to them that enlightened opinion will give its confidence and hand over the reins of government! And don’t think that it is my intention to render imputation for imputation. Jep commits to never dividing the patriots, but I don’t include among the patriots those who only wear the mask. Today we will unmask the conduct of another traitor who has here been an artisan of discord and dissension, but before that -

I will indicate those heroic deputies whose talents and patriotism must be recognized by all now present...NotaCop, Seireikhaan, and Montmorency !!

[Montmorency]

But the Royalists have struck us a foul blow in slaying one most virtuous among us. Renata shall be avenged!

Vote: Yes

[GeneralHankerchief]

Addendum to yes/no vote rules: If you unvote without specifying what you're unvoting (the player name or the yes/no), I will automatically default to you unvoting a player. If you want to unvote your yes/no, you must specify this.