Four Future Democracies

by Eric R. Ashley(Tadeusz)





1. CLARKIAN TRUE DEMOCRACY



All adult citizens of sound mind, non-felonious history, who are certified free of messiah complexes by pschyiatric testing are entered in a nation-wide lottery. The winners are inducted as the new leaders of government. Only extreme reasons are allowed for declining this honor.



As George F. Will is supposed to have put it, –The first hundred people in the Boston phone book could do a better job governing the state than the state legislature.



Seed One:



On Lazslo Island, Geoff Parker, a down-to-earth and somewhat poor debugger of gimmicked hardware just got the nod. The first wave of crude flatterers with their blatant offers he deflected, but this second wave of rich, stylish brand-new friends of his who always tell him that he can get the check next time are turning his head. His old friends are the PC’s, and now he does not have time for them. Soon an important vote comes up on a commplicated issue, but Geoff is not going to have time to study it because he is out partying, and so he will rely on his new friends bad advice.



Seed Two:



On Lazlo Island, the East Cove has been promised a new water-based floating starport like the one the capitol Viridies has had for years. Now Viridies wants an expansion to deal with the new Mega-class transports, and they want it before the Easterners get their starport. The profits will easily pay for those other improvements, the Viridians claim. Funny enough, how over seventy-five percent of the senators in the latest lottery came from Viridies which has only twenty percent of the population. The Easterners are screaming “Netian hacker”, and rioting in the streets. Viridians are pointing out that such good luck is possible and mobilizing the military to supress “troublesome elements.” Someone needs to find out what really went on. And is the fact that Kemper Point which likes neither side is holding silent an indication of something else? Or are they just innocently enjoying the show?





2. HEINLEINIAN SACRIFICE AS MERIT ENFRANCHISEMENT



Any adult can join the military for a minimal period, risk their life to defend their society, and thus prove their love of that society, and their worth of receiving the franchise. In order to prevent a military dominated society, only retirees from the military can vote.



Seed One:



On Kilvan Island, the people gladly accepted refugees from another human planet they had rescued. The common refugees were fine, but the leaders of Drener’s World were genetically bred to rule, and they did not see why they had to submit themselves to this procedure. So they spoke most persuasively against it. So well they spoke that some military leaders became worried and formed a conspiracy to flood the streets with uncontaminated right-thinking young ex-soldiers. They would falsely downgrade the threat that had imprisoned Drener’s World, and the soldiers would be released from duty as no longer needed.

Ex-Brigadier Mortone, a private citizen and a happy gardener who once was a noted strategist can see this happening. He talks to the PC’s of keeping faith in your government and people. He shares his suspicions while he clips roses.



Seed Two:



A new figure is rising to power based on the votes of new ex-soldiers from the Kenneth Liberation. High Command is worried because the numbers warp performance curves past credibility. They seek civilian investigators who will sneak into Kenneth to find what is making voters into voting blocs.



3. MERIT IN AREA OF VOTE ENFRANCHISEMENT



Certain deeds and/or tests taken successfully result in a citizen being able to vote on a specific issue.



“All those without traffic tickets or accidents in the last five years are invited to vote on changing the speed laws.” Blared the voting machines. “All those with a bookkeeper equivalency test certificate, and a positive net worth not due to inherited money may vote on the yearly budget.” The machine continued.



Seed One:



On Hasgrove Isle, there lived a despicable man. He was lazy, greedy of the best money could offer, and willing to engage in mass murder and gross hypocrisy to get it. Hubrant Snilkie wanted to have the right to vote on all major public issues so that he could illegally sell his vote. Only Certified Extraordinary Heroes got such a wideranging enfranchisement. So he sank a ferry, and with the help of special fx made it look like he was risking his life to save as many of the doomed passengers as possible. Too bad he could not save them all, but he did save all the pretty girls. The PC’s could be hired by a suspicious relative; see him planning his assault; or simply be on the ferry.



Seed Two:



On Hasgove, Jennelaire Rocklin had plenty of time to ponder the advantages that being rich enough to have spare time to get certified to everything in sight brought her and her family. True they had to do abundant “good deeds”, but the occasional time when they could pack a vote and sling all the goodies to their end of the table made up for it. Now Jen has thought deeply and to her surprise she thinks she can pack enough votes on dull but extremely challenging to understand(therefore with high requirements to get in the door) procedures of how voting requirements are to be set up that she thinks she can give her family a permanent advantage. To her its mostly an innocent game, but she does not realize she is wrecking her democracy. She calls herself a goddess for boring details, but others will name her a devil if she is not stopped.



4. VOTING POINTS EARNED BY HELPING ON THE NET



Helping others earns voting points that may be spent in any vote. Each person receives a number of Commendation Points that they may give away, or not as they choose every month. Openly bargaining for CP’s is frowned on, and generally not a problem. A public profile is available on the Net, which is where most of the help occurs. People who are ungrateful tend to not get many offers; people who are too grateful spend their points early and have no inducement to offer. A much smaller number of Negative Points are offered. The NP’s do not disappear from their as yet-unused account after a month like the CP’s do.



Seed One:



On Netia Isle, BLalt42 is an annoying individual who has received quite a few NP’s, and rarely gets to vote to any major consequence. Now he has seen something, and a sysadmin decides to frame him. He gets mega-bashed into the thousands of negatives. No one will listen to him now. He lacks even the one point needed to bring a topic up for discussion in the net-based Vault of Voting. Problem is you think he might be right, just this one time(rather like a stopped clock).



Seed Two:



Some idiot just trashed a file of yours by giving his a falsely higher status in the processing line, and now your carefully planned conjunction of programs is fallen apart. So you gift him with a NP. It does not work, even tho’ you have a dozen you haven’t touched in a week. Curious you call Votes Central and they first tell you that you have none. Then they tell you when you get riled that you have twenty. It seems a clear case of a payoff to shut up. So you investigate, and find hackers borrowing points. They are borrowing points to build up to a vote on a law tommorrow that would severely lessen the penalties for such behaviour. Then your lights go out, and the doors lock of their own accord.



The End.