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[rathercommon]

[ Kitty's voice is a little strained. ]

Right, so...Hullo, Kitty here. And we've already had a bit of input on glorious-war and glorious-war-but-do-be-careful-about-it-because-the-Russians-are-a-bit-scary, and at this point everyone's probably like shut it won't you. But for anyone who's still out there and still listening, just...

This is hard for us. We've lost our friends. That's scary. But remember that no real harm has been done yet. They've been kidnapped, but no one's been killed. The situation right now is not that bad. But it has the potential to get so much worse if we let loose our anger. Remember, the weapons in the Russians' possession - and in the Americans' - can scorch the earth. Kill everyone. Everyone. It won't just be us who go if we escalate this war: it'll also be the little kids in the school down the street from you, and the girl who always remembers your order at the malt shop, and the bloody...puppies in the animal shelter.

So those of you who are thinking that it's time to go burn down Russian cities, or join up with the army as they march to destroy our enemies - close your eyes and think of the entire baskets of puppies and kittens that'll get scorched into nothing but atoms when this war gets stepped up and the bombing starts. Okay? So instead, maybe let's give thought to negotiation. Forgiveness. Stepping down the violence. Some of the kidnapped have gotten word out - I bet you anything they'll agree.

Comments

[rathercommon]

[ She gives a shrug. It's not an apology. It's not happy, but it's not an apology. ]

Of course they care about our behavior, though. They want...concessions. From the government. And the hostages guarantee our cooperation. And the government's, too, maybe.

[ A beat, and then, quietly: ]

They can't die, Mr Graham. No one's talking about this, but...They can't die. The Russians could do whatever they wanted, and then they could wait two days and then do it again. When I was held... [ But no; on second thought, she doesn't trust Will enough emotionally to discuss that with him. And she doesn't want to discuss it on an open line, either. She shakes her head. ] We need to give them a reason to not get horrid. If they're scared, they'll get horrid.

[infomodder]

What's keeping them from dying?

[He doesn't want an apology. This is something that needs to be cleared up, though. It's too easily taken as a fact when it's not. And that addition just makes the situation even worse—how can she think of this but say no real harm has been done?]

I've known people who died here and never came back. People, not a person. If you're assuming imPorts always come back for more, you need to rethink that as well. We don't. That may be why no one's talking about it.

[rathercommon]

[ A little shrug. Quietly: ]

I hope that I'm thinking about it wrong, then.

[ But she doesn't think she is. When she was held by the Hornets, she'd been consumed by the thought - dying a thousand times, dying a thousand times under their hands, and being brought back each time. Until she broke and went completely insane. Worse than death alone. She hopes they're not thinking about that. She hopes that for whatever reason, it's not possible. ]

[infomodder]

You are. There is already proof we don't always return. Don't you remember what happened to Yuri Petrov during the incident with the prison?

[Dorian told the Network about it, and Yuri hadn't returned for nearly a year. How is that questionable?]

[rathercommon]

[ Her gesture is a little impatient. ]

I know there are counterexamples. I'm not stupid. [ And she knows very well that they are very few and far between. ] Look, never mind. Forget I brought that up, won't you?

[infomodder]

[He stares, his blink slow, like he's having trouble with what he's seeing.]

Never mind you brought up the idea this no real harm will only lead to brutal torture. And to prevent that, we should just show them good behavior. As they currently have my wife, not minding that is the first sensible thing you've said.

[Forgetting isn't in the cards, though.]

[rathercommon]

[ Her gaze drops. Her voice goes a little quiet. ]

I'm sorry. It must be very hard for you. And very frightening. They've got my friends, but...That doesn't compare to your spouse, I think. Not that comparing gets anyone anywhere.

[ A moment, and then she lifts her eyes again. ]

Mr Graham, I say that we should behave well to protect them. Amongst other things. A good third of our imPorts are ready to charge off and burn Moscow to the ground. Which will lead to brutal treatment of the hostages. To say the least. Believe me, I fly off the handle all the time, I make bad choices, but if there's one thing that's clear to me right now it's that we can't afford that. And I know that sounds ugly, I know it sounds ugly to bow and scrape and submit, but what will they do to them if we don't?

[infomodder]

[His voice drops, what one would expect of a teacher trying something new to get a point across. Factual and slightly tired.]

It's not that bowing and scraping and submitting is ugly. It's that bowing and scraping and submitting is pointless. These are the actions of a group who knows what it's doing. What it's plans are.

[He pauses to let that sink in.]

Once people have made up their minds enough to enact something like this...begging, essentially what you suggest, changes nothing. They already know what they are going to do. You can accept that. Or you can live in delusion and be shocked and dismayed when they prove it. I'm in the first category as I can't afford to be in the second.

[rathercommon]

[ Her gaze sharpens, though. And something new comes into her face. It's not exactly the expression she wore her previous speech. It's a different sort of optimism. It's fierce, and it's honest. It also has the unfortunate effect of really making her look like the child she is. ]

I don't think so, though. All of them, all those people at Russian high command, are still people. There are no people who are incapable of changing their minds. Believe me, I've met some of the most stubborn, irritating - And it took determination, and relentlessness, but even they broke down. They aren't carved stones, the people who have declared war, the people who have our friends. If we find the right appeal to them, they will change their minds. They don't want to kill all of our people any more than we want to kill all of theirs - they're simply acting foolishly, out of desperation, because we're so much stronger here in America that we've pushed them to desperate measures. But if we can just convince them that we don't mean ill, that we want to live in peace, then we can do something - stop all this with no blood being shed. It can happen.

[infomodder]

[To which Will remains the same as before; perhaps it will drive his point across harder, if he makes the final stand without much additional emphasis. Whispers have far more power and influence than shouting any day.]

What you suggest, this supplication of ourselves, is not the right appeal. If there is any chance that a single mind can be changed, getting on knees—literally or metaphorically—and showing off our good behavior like we're nothing more than well-trained pets is not going to be the ticket.

[People still kick dogs, after all. Still abandon them on the side of the road. Still get rid of them when they're no longer cute and fluffy. But that's not the real point here, no. It's something much more insidious and horrifying she's just said.]

Nor is blaming us for what they've done. Their actions are their own, Kitty Jones. My wife? She's never done anything to push these desperate measures. I would imagine that's the case for many others she's currently with, sharing a bucket as a toilet. You want to blame anyone for this, you put that blame where it belongs. Otherwise, you cross a line. And once you cross that line, you can't go back.

[rathercommon]

Hold on. Is that what you think I'm saying?

[ Her righteousness is temporarily fractured by a ripple of horror. And she mutters to herself - ]

Blimey, no wonder you're so angry...

[ Then, louder, and more firmly than she's said anything so far: ]

I am not saying that any of this is remotely their fault. Or our fault. I am not blaming them, or us. The only blame belongs to those who decided that it would be remotely all right to kidnap noncombatants, civilians, people who have nothing to do with all of this horror, and treat them like objects. The blame belongs to the Russians.

That's why I've called bowing and scraping an ugly thing. Appeasement is ugly here purely because it oughtn't have to come from us. Because we'll be throwing away what we ought to have the right to do - fight for our people - simply because they hold brutal power over us. That's ugly. But it's also something I'm saying we've got to do - that we've got to do this ugly thing to see the world through this intact. We've got to do things we hate to make up for the nastiness and stupidity of all of the arseholes in the American government and in the Russian one.

Excuse my language.

[infomodder]

[He puts his hand to the bridge of his nose, loosely pinching it. He's not angry. He doesn't like being told how he feels by anyone, but this isn't the time to get pissy. It's just the time to get a migraine, apparently.]

That may be what you feel you have to do. Doesn't mean everyone else has to follow suit. If you're so certain of this, won't matter if anyone else joins you. [His hand drops, head shaking. Minor obscene language is easily excused. Everything else, not so much.] We're done here.

[And, abruptly, he turns off the feed. He's got nightmare birds to look after.]