Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Wars, foretold and otherwise

[Originally posted at Slacktivist (page 2) also mentioned at The Slacktiverse.]

Not exactly original, or anything, but my first thought when I realized we were getting to World War III was something like this:

[For context, Fitzhugh is warning Buck that the revolution this way comes.]

"It means soon," Fitzhugh said.

"If you want to have any hope of succeeding you should make it less soon."

"Why?" the President asked.

"They only reason for you to tell me this is because I have inside information. I do have, some but not from Nicolae. All of this was foretold. The disappearances, the one world government, the EBOWF," when he said it, the one world religion's acronym vaguely resembled an unpleasant bodily function, but Cameron really didn't have a choice, he could never speak the full name with a straight face, "and the coming war. If you give me a chance I can show you that all of this was accurately predicted decades ago."

"And this matters why?"

"Because Nicolae wins the coming war. If you fight, you lose. It's been foretold, it's going to happen. It will be short, it will be brutal, and it will end in abject failure. If you fight this war you will play right into Nicolae's hands and you will lose. So it was written, so it shall be.

"But there haven't been any prophecies about the war, say, two months after the first one ends. There's nothing written saying you have to lose that one. That war is unforetold territory. That one is a place where you actually have a chance and free will might play a role. Let someone else take this turn, wait until it's over and then, when Nicolae thinks everything is over, by all means nuke new Babylon right off the map. Also, you should probably stockpile food because there's a famine coming."

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At which point Fitz is probably going to throw Cameron out on the assumption he's delusional, but at least it's something.

A different strategy would be to, as soon as they're out of earshot of the guards, just say:

"You're planning on going to war with Global Community."

"How do you know that?"

"Everybody knows. They're ready for it."

And then use that as a lead in to the suggestion of, small resistance now, let Nicolae think he's won, and then when everything has cooled down either A) go to war then and there, or B) start to organize a global resistance with the resources currently intended for the war so that when the time comes, much later, it will be the people vs the oppressors instead of three former heads of former states against the world.

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The problem with all of this is that if the prophecy really can't be averted then someone has to fight the war, someone has to suffer crushing defeat. Someone has to take the turn. There's really not a good solution to that. You might be able to get volunteers for, "We need someone go off and die in battle so that Nicolae thinks he's won," but even if you could get them, would you really want to send them.

And if they're not volunteers, if it's just, "Sorry Egypt, we have to ... um ... wash our hair and we can't make it, but I'm sure you'll do fine," than that's even worse. You're sending people off knowing that they have no chance without telling them first.

I suppose if the war were fought entirely with drones and you faked the deaths of the people behind those remotely operated vehicles that might work:

"Oh no, Nicolae! Not Mount Weather. Please, anything but Mount Weather. Don't you want to attack NORAD instead?"

Nicolae orders a nuclear strike on Mount Weather, cut to Mount Weather interior which has long since been evacuated and is instead serving as a relay station through which the drones orders are routed.

Exterior shot of nuclear missile coming into and detonating at Mount Weather.

Interior shot of far away undisclosed location. All contact with the drones was lost with the destruction of Mount Weather. The drone operators shut down their stations and everyone is given new assignments in preparation for the next war, which Nicolae will not see coming.

Cut to Nicolae gloating about how he has succeeded in his final victory and he now rules the world.

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