March 23 - Coverup!

[Marcus Talbain]

well, this looks like trouble, I doubt either of them is going to take this very well, the reporter especially.

[Yuoofox]

Yes.

I don't think I've said hello to you, Marcus.

Hello.

[Fusion]

I find it interesting. I do belive that he will not lie. But at the same time, if he does, word will get out of what realy happened. So ether way, everone is going to know.

[SolidusRaccoon]

If word does get out most people will dismiss it as the ranting of a a conspiracy nutcase. Gov denial can go a long way to sooth most people questions.

[BBlalock]

Weasel words Quentyn could use: "I was only down there a short time, the guard and the council have more information than I do."

It's perfectly true of course, but anyone following up on it is only gonna hear a lie. I doubt Quentyn will do that.


I'm guessing that Quentyn is gonna stick to his guns and tell the whole story, and so will the reporter.

If the coverup works Quentyn's truth telling will end up harming his reputation for a while.

[SolidusRaccoon]

Well a Questor does not quest for fame and glory, Quentyn might follow the coverup.

[Astral]

He might be reluctant to go along with it at first, but the fact is that if the counsil wanted to they could totaly discredit him through the other media, political blackmail as it were. Gods I hate cover ups.

[Squirrelly61104]

Okay.
With some fairly powerfull friends aware of, in general, what happened...
In front of a reporter who has a reputation as a fanatic about the truth...
The guardsman decides to try for a coverup...

This guy is either:
a) Really, really dumb
b) Really, really inexperienced at coverups*
c) Has a good reason up his sleeve that convince our stalwarts that a coverup is necessary.

I'm hoping for 'c', but I'm not writing off either of the other two.

*I understand 'Smoking Man' from the X-Files is available for consultation and training seminars.

[Mjolnir]

Or, he knows that neither of them will cover it up and he agrees that the public should know. He's fulfilling his duty by telling them to cover it up, but he can sleep at night because he knows that they won't.

- Mjolnir

[Tbolt]

Alas! our young hero gets introduced to the wonderful world of politics. But now this opens up a whole realm of juicy conspiracy theories!

The guard and council say that this must be kept under wraps for the safety of the public, they fear a panic.. I don't buy that at all. Rac-Conan society seems too stable for something like that to happen.

Someone has something to gain from what was found in the lab. If it is the council, perhaps they might hope to gain something from a font of forbidden knowledge that no one else has access to.

If it is not for their own benefit, the city council may want to hide this from another entity that we are not aware of. In which case their actions, although not pleasant, are relatively justified.

If the latter is the case, Quentyn should be warned. In a free society, it is difficult to keep a secret like that hidden forever. If there is a malevolent entity looking for the secrets held within the lab....

Too many if's....

I should let RH do his job. I need to change the starter on my car anyways...

[LoneWolf23k]

Well, I called it. And frankly, the guardsman makes a valid point. There would be panic if people knew the whole truth. To put it in perspective, how do you think the inhabitants of New York City would react to the news that an Al-Qaeda base was hidden in the NY Underground, where the terrorists had been working on biological weapons?

[Astral]

Actualy I would have thourght that people on the whole would be rather pleased that they found the lab before anything 'elce' broke out (not to say that it didn't *muhahahahaa!*) Sure there would be some worry about wether there were anymore labs, but isn't it better that the quester got to this one before any magure damage was done?

[SolidusRaccoon]

Indeed, most people assumed the spectre of Rosaad was long gone. But if this was made publiv imagine the fear that would grip the public that there might be more labs out there.

[Richter B.]

Tough decision here? to protect the public through misinformation,
or to let the public know and chance total panic?
hmmm I wonder how it would go with the public,
they might get a little frightend, while others will be like
"meh" and go about there daily lives...
god knows that when you chance stuff there is many outcomes open
from total anarchy to calm understanding...
Guess if they knew the outcome would depend on how the town
acts to most situations...
So they can be a town that bands together to fight the worst
orrrr... they're total chickens?

[Maxgoof]

On the side of the government and the guard, he is requesting that he downplay what he found, and he is right to do so. The important people, his parents, Master Irons, the Millfolks...they know the truth.

Sure, the bullies at home will still make fun of him, as bullies will do.

Note also that they allowed the reporter from the Fact and Opinion in. They would not do that if it was political face they were trying to save.

So, what happens if the Public finds out that they missed a lab? Public outcry...a demand that all the tunnels be searched again, etc. How many times did they search the tunnels before? I'm sure quite thoroughly, and I'm sure they searched that part he found thoroughly as well. Another search at what cost for what return? And how many rumors would start that Rosad Beither is still alive?

All they ask is that he keep the public from panicking. This is not unlike preventing rumors of the return of Voldermort. In that case, he had returned. In this case, Rosad Beither has not returned. They are in no more danger (and probably less) now than before the find.

Note that they are not saying he should deny anything about defeating the wights. Their existance is undenyable. He can probably tell everyone that he found a rat king as well. The important part they want him to deny is who made it.

All they ask is not to connect it with Rosad Beither.

Example from present day: Suppose Osama Bin Laden is dead, buried somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan. Suppose we also had conclusive proof that he was dead. Then suppose an attempt to blow up the Rose Bowl and New Year's Day is discovered and stopped. It is found that these plans were drawn up by Osama several years ago.

You can't deny that a terrorist tried to blow up the Rose Bowl, nor do they try. You put out the idea that Osama Bin Laden was connected to it, and you start every conspiratory theorist claiming that Bin Laden is alive, you enbolden terrorists worldwide, etc. etc. etc. Think that can't happen? How many people think that Elvis Presley is still alive? That Adolf Hitler has been cloned?

Yes, it is a partial coverup. A coverup for the public good.

[Aurrin]

As long as the media doesn't start doing scare tactics with what's been found, it should be fine. Never underestimate the general apathy of the people. At this stage, the lab isn't a malicious threat, because it has no guiding intelligence. Beither is long gone, so it's not comparable to finding an Al-Queda cell in New York. It would be like finding an old Nazi lab in New York. Shocking? Yes. Panicking? No. Even if it had something potentially dangerous, like lots of explosives, there wouldn't be a panic.

[Garbled]

In this case, Rosad Beither has not returned.

Well, it would more cliche then I would expect of RH, but he could have it happen, I suppose.

[StrangeWulf13]

As long as the media doesn't start doing scare tactics with what's been found, it should be fine. Never underestimate the general apathy of the people. At this stage, the lab isn't a malicious threat, because it has no guiding intelligence. Beither is long gone, so it's not comparable to finding an Al-Queda cell in New York. It would be like finding an old Nazi lab in New York. Shocking? Yes. Panicking? No. Even if it had something potentially dangerous, like lots of explosives, there wouldn't be a panic.

Well, that's the thing. If we did find some kinda Nazi lab somewhere in New York or someplace, why would the government try to cover it up? What reason would they have? There's nothing politically embarassing about it. Nazi's are long out of power, and the ones here have little influence. Be kinda like, "Woah... good thing we got those guys... no telling what they could have done..."

No real panic, just a mild disturbing feeling of how close they got, and a sigh of relief nothing came of it. Same with Rosad Beither. Guy's pushing up daisies. What threat could one of his labs be anyway?

'Course, that Nazi lab would have to be guarded close... neo-Nazis might get a bit too curious for anyone's good...

[Sharuuk]

Max Goof...

Well stated. Put in this particular context I can agree with you completely.

However, as far as "allowing" the press in there is concerned. The F&O is considered a "tea-rag"...sort of the Rac Cona equivalent of "The National Enquirer" or the "Globe" or any of the other supermaket check-out line scandal sheets.

Given the limited circulation as well as it's not having a "Fellowship of Truth" seal questionable credibility, the guardsman could be using Emmet and his paper to help discredit anyone who might tell the whole truth. The F&O doesn't represent any real "threat" like one of the major scripts could and for the most part the "enlightened intellegencia" doesn't read tea-rags....remember, only "rubes" read the F&O.

Even if Emmet did run a story linking Beither to the wights and the hidden lab....the Council and the City Guards could publish their own "rebuttal" in one of the "mainstream" scripts and no one would really question it. Any interview with Quentyn could then be hammered as "fear mongering" and "grandstanding" trying to drum up business, looking for a "rep" etc etc.

Shaaruuk

[Squirrelly61104]

I don't buy the 'public panic' arguement.
One ancient, abandoned lab causing a panic? Not likely.
Worth noting is that the Archivist guild is rumored to have started thinking it has a monopoly on the truth. "Who controls history, controls all."
As an example, there have been a number of groups, abroad and even here in America, who have tried to claim that the holocaust ever happened.
Suppose the archivists don't want to admit that a Rac Conan could go seriously bad?
Someone is always coming up with an excuse for 'revising' history.
DON'T get me started on revisionists.