Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Border Town

The vote here went as predicted. There weren't many people who thought it would be a good idea for us to bend knee to the UAS. As for the other communities, their votes are still ongoing. Will tells me the full results will be available tomorrow. No idea what the delay is about but considering the world we live in I'd say getting a vote at all is a minor miracle.

I've been thinking about Farlane a lot over the last day, trying to figure out why their choice to switch teams bothers me so much. Other than the obvious reasons, I mean. They had a need--sick people--and the solution to their problem was dangled right in front of them. It's very hard to blame them for the choice. In the heat of the moment people make decisions that seem like the best outcome.

Yesterday the UAS sent messages telling us that Farlane would become a border town. Maybe reading their words helped keep my mind focused on the situation. Farlane is, according to the UAS, going to be something of a free port. People from both sides can go there for trade. The UAS will enforce a weapons ban inside the town limits. They plan on setting up some kind of marketplace there.

To me this is an obvious ploy, nearly as blatant as their clinic scheme. What's the best way to tempt survivors into switching sides and joining them? A taste of the benefits, of course. In carefully controlled circumstances that make the UAS look vastly appealing. Once I realized that, it was only a short leap for me to realize why the situation has been bugging me so much.

The UAS have a different perspective on The Fall from our own. For us, The Fall meant a total collapse of society and government. We were all alone out here, no support structures. It's not that I hold that against the people in the UAS. They had the option to be safe during the madness. There's not many people among us who wouldn't have made the same decision if we'd have had the choice.

But see, there's the rub. We didn't have a choice. It's very easy for the UAS to say they did the logical thing because they certainly did, but they also don't get that they come off as arrogant assholes. Think about it for a second. From our point of view, you have these people who haven't known the hardships and dire straights the rest of us have had to fight through. No zombies, no starvation, no outbreaks, none of that. I actually envy them for that, but to finally come above ground and make demands of us? Fuck that.

One person from the UAS has commented on the blog recently, and their points were reasonably said and fairly stated. I'd love to have a face-to-face with that person if it were possible. Because while I understand his perspective--that the UAS leadership are people who were legally elected officials in the world that was and thus have authority over this country--that doesn't make his point of view at all in sync with reality.

Let's dissect the concept for a minute. You're the UAS. You're led by a bunch of congressmen, senators, civilian leaders of all types. Okay, I get that. The people of the United States voted you in and whatever disaster plan you followed left you in charge of the place.

Two problems. One: the United States no longer exist. Not as a government. The infrastructure and support the UAS claims to be offering seems like a smokescreen. Because why the fuck would they come out after all this time unless they needed something desperately? Yeah, they've got some things we could use, but instead of just trying to trade, they concoct plans to steal and kill to get what they want.

Two: even if the UAS is correct on a legal level about being in charge, the simple fact is that the voters who put them in power are now dead.

Let that sink in for a minute, UAS people. Especially the reasonable man who commented on my post the other day. Think about that hard. You want to enforce the will of the people on us, people who are long dead with no stake in the world today. People who couldn't survive the very circumstances we've managed to adapt to and even thrive in. Does that make a ton of sense to you? Is it fair for you to make a claim to power in that case? You aren't swooping in to conquer the undead and suddenly restore modern civilization to the world. Hell, if you were somehow able to make that happen even I would be thrilled to join up.

You're desperate and puffing out your chests. You're led by tiny men whose life experiences before The Fall made them believe they mattered to the world in some real way. Men whose experiences since The Fall (oh, look at me, I must be special because I got elected and that gets me a spot in the bunker!) has only served to reinforce that. So, before the final votes are in, allow me to reiterate to you one last time what reality is.

You're nothing. You wouldn't last three days out in the world. You can strut and demand all you want, but nothing short of living as we have lived will ever make you more than a joke to us. You could give up the charade that you care about anyone in the Union and declare open hostilities, wage war on us with the horded weapons we know you have.

And you'd still be a fucking joke. Even as you killed us we would laugh at you, because like all bullies you would be proving your dick was bigger than ours the only way you know how. Basically what I'm saying here is that until and unless the UAS is willing to stop all these games and act like adults, we'll treat you like the ignorant children you are.

Oh, and your border town? I doubt you'll see even one of us go there. Have fun spending resources on that.

5 comments:

  1. Josh,how much area is the UAS laying claim to?

    Your post pretty much covers how we feel.

    It's hard to imagine a weapon free area, who will provide the defense against the zombies?

    It'll be interesting to find out what they(uas) want to trade for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. They want our souls....

    Or as close to that as they can get: our minds to stop thinking so they can use us as bodies to shield themselves. Just another version of zombies....

    ReplyDelete
  3. a really interesting time for illness to hit Farlane isn't it

    ReplyDelete
  4. A "weapon-free zone" in a post-zombie apocalypse world? That's insane. I mean, a weapon-free populace is the first thing a tyrannical government wants (it happens repeatedly throughout history), but to do it with zombies about? Completely nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree..sounds like a trap....very Woodbury sounding to me.

    ReplyDelete