With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

I don't think you could just use an economist from another species,even without such a culture clash.

There are too many racial biases. The outside perspective may be useful, but too many nuances would be missed.

I mean, even on earth we need specialists for different countries and those fail regularly too.

In Havania's case especially it's an economy using slaves. That's a rather severely different economical model.

 

Inadvertent line-break?

 

Getting a first-hand experience of the punishment being doled out for minor involvement in the previous Alignment government's corruption, eh? An off-world colony in need of numbers to handle the grunt work is probably a good way to make them useful.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

I would expect any assumption of 'I'm too good to waste my time on farm work' has long since been drummed out of them. After all, 'no work, no food.' is a good motivator to change.

Let people get off scot-free? Yeah, I don't see anything changing if that happens. They'd just go 'Well, guess I need to be sneakier about gaining money and power' and cover up harder.

On the up side, at least he's around to fix things now and make an honest culture out of the Alignment.

It helps that her boyfriend - assuming Xalitan hasn't formalised things by now - is the biggest stick in the reformation's toolbox.

And in the old days, they would have been one of the most corrupt members of the government? After all, if your word carries a lot of weight in the halls of rulership, then it would take a lot of gold to swing it in a particular direction.

And they can make themselves useful actually building things and growing things. I wonder if any of them are finding a newfound comfort in the simple life?

I'm sure there were. So, to some degree, it's a reward for getting caught up in what he did.

And afterwards? What happens after you've served your time? Will you return to see your family? Or stay here, where you've invested so much effort?

At least now they're useful.

And anyone likely to be uppity about their new position would probably get bullied into playing along. Even if it's in a crab bucket scenario.

Ah, there's a good way to stay safe. The threat of being casually annihilated from afar. Kind of the epitome of 'speak softly, but carry a big stick.'

It would take a positively operatic mind to hold a grudge that long.

As if the oldest, highest placed politicians wouldn't be the dirtiest parties... I expect there's plenty of blood on their hands to be paid for.

I'm guessing Class A was where Xor was headed for. Though I doubt the classes mean anything like they used to.

Well, it's kind of fair. If you're not a danger, you get to make yourself useful to society. If you are, well... You won't be for long. The big issue was who was in charge of deciding that, though...

Big dream, kiddo. Possibly too big for a regular person.

I'm surprised they aren't methane breathers, given how many seem to breathing their own farts, with their heads so far up their asses.

Probably nothing good. I'm reminded of Asari from Mass Effect, who need trace amounts of Eezo - a dark matter-related mineral - in their diets, especially if they're pregnant, to be considered healthy (whether that's fanon or not, it makes sense...) For reference, the kind of quantities they safely consume are enough to cause cancer in other species...

Seriously, that cannot be an entirely natural biology.

And that doesn't generally lend itself to pleasant outcomes, especially if the people running them are as profit-oriented as the government employees were.

And how well they're briefed on both the quirks of Alignment economies and their racial character.

HEh, little let-down for Bleez. She's used to being known on sight, isn't she?

...Awkward.

Ah, the old paradox. You need to do this to achieve that. But to achieve that, you have to do this.

A nice look at what happened to the moderately-offensive people Xor overthrew. Those who weren't the worst or the best. At least they're getting treated fairly, instead of being tarred with the same brush as their nastier superiors. That kind of thing might lead to resentment. And hopefully Bleez is getting some good ideas about how to handle her side of things when she eventually gets a hold of the reins. Bonus, it sound like a nice, picturesque place to visit as part of OL and Jade's holiday.

 

Well it may be better in some ways compared to all the politicking and scheming back home.

They may return or they may stay if they like it here, or if they know they'll be shunned back home is my guess.

Or they may try to start farms back home.

I'm guessing it's because of the Seven Devils.

It could have been accidental or deliberate, like the Jaffa and their symbiotes.

Without their symbiotes the Jaffa would die so the Goa'uld had another way of controlling them aside from the brainwashing and propaganda.

That may be the case here with the Thanagarians and the Seven Devils.

If the Thanagarians rebelled against them then they'd lose their source of Nth Metal and thus eventually die out.

Though this does remind me of an episode from the 1995 Outer Limits.

Basically a bunch of humans get killed by the natives of a planet they settled on for stealing some precious minerals.

An offworld judge is called in to perform an unbiased trial and in the process they discover why the natives wanted the metal.

They needed it for their offspring to be born alive and healthy.

They'd place the minerals near the eggs and the radiation emitted by them would make sure the children are born whole and healthy.

 

Thank you, corrected.

No. To quote James Stephanie Sterling, it's working as intended.

 

I'm not an economist, but how different is it from a detached economical perspective? You have much lower minimum wages and aren't as worried about worker retention. But you also miss bottom tier consumers and need to buy more raw materials. Anything else?

 

As stated above, yeah, probably the work of the Seven Devils here.

In DCAU, I suspect the Cthulhu expy Icthulu had a hand in it.

In a New Earth storyline, during a Hawkman and girl adventure, it seems Thanagarian evolution was pretty much the epitome of unnatural-

Hawkworld is seemingly magical pocket universe or something where Nth metal is plentiful, and evolution is wonky in that it is where the Lionmanes, Manhawks, and Lizarkons evolved from Earth lions, hawks, and lizards.

Then one day some humans from Earth went all Captain Kirk with the Manhawks and then left Hawkworld in a portal that opened up.

So apparently Thanagarians are descendants of magically evolved Earth hawks and humans magically transported to Thanagar.

Not exactly the Occam's razor approved explanation for winged humanoid aliens.

 

I would liken this chapter to a conversation between a failed retired villain and a redemtion seeking villain. The former is pointing out all their failings and the later can’t think of an effective counterargument.

 

I'm not sure if that is quite accurate. Jaggar Ton doesn't seem to have done anything that couldn't be argued away in an American courtroom. Duress is a viable defense for Perjury.

 

The kid named Paul and the godson named Gravyn.

 

If this isn't some Thanagarian curse word then it should be 'Burn it'

'struggle'

 

bury

You are working fool!

 

Gotta love how Paragon just goes around making baseless assumptions about other races that somehow always turn out to be right.

 

He explicitly says Bleez will have to do research to check his assumptions

 

I'm pretty sure it's called "Yes, Minister". But perhaps they renamed it after Jim became the Prime Minister.

 

I've seen the show, and yeah they renamed it in later scenes. The particular scene Zoat is referring to is definitely in Yes Prime Minister.

 

Thank you, corrected.

 

Should it be "servants", plural?

 

I've seen it all too, and loved it, when it originally aired 40 years ago. I don't recall that scene precisely but the theme was a constant refrain throughout.

 

Ah, she's not happy, then. Though that's a sharp reminder about just how much stronger Thangarians are compared to humans. I assume 'bur' is a feather-related anatomical curse... After all, wouldn't getting a bur caught in your wing-feathers be a bit prickly?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

True. By the sound of it, he's only the overseer of that farming district, not the entire experiment. Like arguing national governmental practice with the front-desk receptionist of your local council office.

Heh. Literally burying the lead, eh?

Well, she knew you liked it. I'm sure she looked up a 'funniest moments' compilation on the local Youtube equivalent or something...

Oh, god. Introducing her to British Comedy... She'll either be completely bemused or laughing her tail feathers off.

Which is probably a good thing.

Hey, if someone doesn't read the briefing, that's their own fault. Or that of the assistant who they told to read it for them and summarise...

...Why am I reminded of Lord Vetinari's personal office staff, the 'Dark Clerks'? Who are said to know a dozen ways to kill someone with a quill pen... And no, stabbing is only one.

And that's fair. A pity the great game of politics is very rarely fair. And more often than not by accident.

It won't be a lie. Merely... Framing the detail in the correct light.

Well, that depends on how attached you are to your mother.

No, that would be the Colonials.

He said they got rid of it. Doesn't mean they didn't bring it back again.

No Few slaves on British soil, after all. Still, it is generally easier to formalise informal arrangements once people are so used to them it seems like 'just the way it's done.'

Careful there, OL. It almost sounds like you're proposing doing some Work.

The nature of a slave- or serf-based economy. It's far cheaper to throw warm bodies at something than use robots that need maintenance, fuels, operators...

Economy of scale, again.

And OL should know, he's run into that problem more than once in his career, especially before Enlightenment.

Well, let's not hold that against you, shall we?

Bit out of touch with the common folk, eh? And her fame makes it a bit hard to slum it...

Well, if OL were working, I'm sure he'd say 'Give it a try.'

Especially ones that deal poorly with sudden changes.

Honestly, that sounds like work... But OL is the closest thing she's got to an expert on re-aligned Alignment society...

Jade: "he-Hem!" But seriously, why not take the opportunity to make this a bit more formal a visit? Introduce yourself to the current Grand Convener and all that...

I guess Jade's got caught up in the 'Hmm, what to do, what to do...' social nature of the problem, and investing herself in Bleez's trouble. Because all this is starting to sound like Work, after all. Still, it's hard to break OL's habit of getting caught up in things without meaning to... Sometimes it's not even his fault!

 

I don't think that this is how taking a vacation from work... works.

 

It's called a busman's holiday.

 

Jade might've watched any number of American legal dramas. Some law firm has to turn over documents related to X. The firm sends over all documents with the slightest connection to X, and bury the one(s) they know the opposition needs in boxes and boxes of other documents.

This is a real legal technique.

 

I thought the Normans introduced (a form of) slavery to the English? Mind you, my knowledge of British history comes mainly from documentaries and online research, not the British education system.

Sometimes, of course, that results in the judge getting exasperated at the party doing it, and threatening to hold them in contempt if they don't behave. Blanking on any specific shows that did it, though.

 

I expect Dunbar's Number to be significantly higher in Thanagarians than Humans. Massive flocks, for one thing. Three-dimensional nesting for another. Unique sound-based identifiers. Better vision to pick out unique features.

 

I vaguely recall something like that happening on Law and Order and/or The Good Wife. Maybe Suits. But those are literally the only legal dramas I'm really familiar with, so I may be wrong.

 

Thank you, corrected.

Sadly, not correct. Though they were less likely to be used as draft animals and more like servants/status symbols.

Must Not Rule Eight.

Gosh, no. They might have introduced formal serfdom, but slavery had been there all along.

Were you aware that the Patron Saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, was an English slave who got sold over there?

 

Small unit farming is awful in terms of productivity, as Bleez notes. It's also a terribly unstable lifestyle in which there are many factors beyond the control of the individual farmer which can render them destitute after a couple of bad harvests. It sort of makes sense with what the Alignment is doing because this is specifically as criminal punishment, but I'm not sure it's a great idea to try to force it on a bunch of aliens being imported to Havana. Especially when they could presumably be doing actually economically productive things. Here is in the real world we don't use robots for farming either, at least not in the beep-boop humanoid model sense, but we do use plenty of high tech machinery that allows a very small percentage of the population to feed the rest, and I think that's a pretty good idea.

 

I was referring to the political entities they came from rather than the people they are.