Complicit Simplicity 14 - California's Future

The Three Privateers entered Tijuana, the capital of the Elldee corridor, as the sun was setting. While Elldee principality has fluid borders, the area west of the mountains and desert continuing down the peninsula provide a natural territorial definition. Major regional divisions are recognized as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Baja.

Prior to the collapse of nation states, Tijuana had been known as a disreputable border town with corrupt officials. Add in Tijuana's reputation as a place where anyone could get anything if they paid the price of admission -- and Tijuana is the natural location for a political capitol.

Pahl's principality fits border town culture like handcuffs fit onto a framed tourist's wrists. Handcuffs are one-size-fits-all, unless you have the price of transfer. Lesser gangs than government are no longer tolerated in Tijuana, yet flexibility in governance insures all have equal access to repression. Unless you can afford the price of personal representation.

Mose; "Home sweet home."

In the nation states low level corruption had been limited, just like competing gangs are limited in Tijuana by political force. Government corruption was once forced to the the top, where buying and selling legislators became a profitable business. Elldee Is a new and improved, condensed nation state. Elldee operates at a shifting equilibrium between two bureaucratic axioms:

You rise in a bureaucracy by not being threatening to those above you.

Power over others can corrupt absolutely; such power naturally expands beyond all presumptive controls.

"The question is therefore raised, how do you dismantle dysfunction without chaos." Jon said. "How do we keep surviving hyenas in a failing bureaucratic maze from building new citizen traps with themselves in charge? How do we get the people of Elldee to ask - 'Am I more dedicated to them than they are to me?'"

"Wow." said Gloria, "three tough questions tumbling down the rapids of a new nations future. It seems our job is to dismantle first, then apply our technological deep magic to keep a power struggle from re-establishing tyranny. The harder part will be changing a people's perception that they need a bureaucracy. They have been citizen slaves so long, freedom and personal responsibility will be frightening."

"The Federation of Liberated Cantons will help." Mose injected, "The FLC Natural Enterprise Cooperative will help by setting up temporary organizations with built in expiration dates. Their arms suppliers will sell a weapon and training to any family at cost, for a while. Heavy weapons of Pahl's army can be distributed to neighborhoods and villages, their taxes paid for those tools. An armed society is the best defense against despotism; a government afraid of its people is a government of, by, and for those people."

Gloria proposed immediate action. "While you are getting our business permits, Jon and I will be making business contacts. We should be able to plant the seeds for an Elldee Natural Enterprise Cooperative. A consortium of savvy business leaders can become a force for stability. We can introduce them to concepts from the FLC charter, concepts that protect liberty. Freedom of religion, business, education, speech, and most important: separation of the state from these legitimate processes of human rights."

"There is a thriving black market," Jon added, "I encountered them when I was here. One sure sign sign of tyranny are established black markets and smuggling operations, both are going strong. These folks will see the value of an open society first. Increasing liberty increases all free men's security, prosperity, and potential. Any gaps in supply logistics caused by a transition to a free society will be filled quickly. But there will still be that power vacuum at the top, attracting the most opportunistic bureaucratic hustlers."

'Gloria," Mose responded, "I talked with Dr. Benson, he gave me three names of resistance leaders, two of which I also know and respect. Shall we set up a meeting with these folks to talk about a transition period?"

"For now let's get settled in. Then we will meet the two you know, we can decide on the third once we get their assurances. I'm wary after Midas' warning that the resistance has been penetrated by Scar's agents. I don't want them to know our time table or direct goals, let them think we are looking at long term consequences and we are just theorists with good connections."

"I like that," Jon said. "As theory people we may even get offers from Scar to become double agents. Just entering into negotiations will increase their complacency; agent recruiting has a long term view. Then we'll make sure Pahl's reign has no long term, I hope."

Mose smiled, "We're already part way there. We will be staying in a city house of one of the two you want to meet. Gloria and I agreed to that before we left. The house has every technical tool we could want, and is a short trip from Pahl's government compounds."

Everyone smiled as Jon added "It's nice to get back to work."

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