Chapter 5: The Republic, by Plato – Part 2

Unlike the warm and comfy foyer of the New Haven’s Hunter’s Association, the inside of New Haven City Hall was oddly cold and sterile by comparison. On the outside, city hall looked like a miniature Capitol but its insides were obviously inspired by ancient Greek architecture with its stuccoed walls and its many Doric columns. The floors were made of polished marble slabs and various mosaics arranged in geometric patterns. Every step echoed throughout its many halls and chambers. Even in a virtual world, its material and architectural composition was innately understood to project authority and grandeur.

“I don’t understand why we have to do this in person,” Aaron complained as he and his friends made their way to the polling station in the main atrium. “This is such a waste of time. Why couldn’t they just make voting for the referendum take place through the menu or email-in ballots?”

“Because that’s the point – it’s designed to be a waste of time. They don’t want you to vote,” Lucius explained.

“I know being cynical is kind of your thing but there’s no way that’s true,” Aaron said dismissively.

“Oh yeah? Then why isn’t it?” Lucius remarked.

Beyond their echoing footsteps, the silence inside those halls was deafening.

“I heard its because its tradition,” Riley said at last. “Apparently, a long time ago, people used to need to verify their identity in person for security reasons so we just kept it in here even though there are no more security threats like hackers anymore.”

“That has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Doing something just because that’s the way it’s always been done is how we ended up with guarded flowers and Christianity,” said Lucius.

“Hey, watch the strays. I’m just saying what I’ve been told,” Riley expressed with a scowl.

“But this is just a referendum, right? I mean, it’s not like it’s legally binding or anything. Even if the result of the referendum shows support, it doesn’t automatically become an amendment to the patch. A current member of the Balance Council would need to introduce the amendment and then after that, it still needs to get voted on to pass before it goes to the devs. I thought we were focused on tackling inflation – are trans rights really a priority right now?” Aaron asked.

“In the grand scheme? No. Inflation is going nuts and the economy should absolutely be the focus. Trans people only make up 4% of our total population but attacking trans people draws in the single-issue voters, like the members of the Honesty Foundation so the foundation pushes the issue hoping that a councilman/woman will pick it up. Political centrism makes moderate politicians almost indistinguishable from one another, which in turn incentives political differentiation by appealing to special interest groups and single-issue voters. Politicians get paid to be politicians so they’ll say and do anything that they think will help them get re-elected,” Lucius explained.

“And the Honesty Foundation is huge,” Riley chimed in. “They’re well-funded by the ultra-rich and they make campaign donations to a lot of stooges. The fact that they could even get the Balance Council to hold a referendum shows how much clout they actually have.”

“Exactly,” Lucius said before nodding in agreement. “See, all the normal people like us want to do is focus on real issues that matter like the healer shortage or fixing the economy but then these crazies come in and start making the legislative agenda all about them. For a large number of reasons, it’s impossible to get a candidate that represents all our interests so we compromise between finding the candidate that represents our most important interests and compromise again between a candidate that can actually win against a worse candidate.”

“Mhmm, and the result is this,” Riley expressed while gesturing broadly. “The best candidates either don’t win or don’t/can’t run. I can’t remember any election where we got to vote for the best candidate instead of us choosing between the shiniest of turds,” said Riley. “The system is obviously broken but we have no choice but to vote anyway because the alternative is to not vote and if we don’t vote, the crazies win automatically with an even worse candidate. We desperately need election reform but no candidate runs with this on their platform because winning with it is not viable.”

“Well. This has been a wonderfully depressing and scathing review of our political system; is there anything else I ought to know about the failings of democracy?” Aaron asked.

“Uh, off the top of my head? Gerrymandering, an uneducated electorate, and voter apathy,” Lucius listed off.

“Cool. Thanks guys,” Aaron remarked sarcastically. Shortly after that, the group entered the main atrium and the polling stations came into view. “Oh look, it’s time to vote.”

The main atrium was a great and spacious room designed to host conferences, parties, and a wide variety of other social events. Skylight windows installed into the ceiling allowed natural light to proliferate through the room. Though it was capable of holding and seating at least 400 people, it was mostly empty now and devoid of furnishings with the exception of 10 voting kiosks, each partitioned and hidden behind privacy curtains.

“Just pick a station – they’re all empty and automated,” said Lucius.

“Shit man, you were right,” Aaron conceded with frustration. “There really is no purpose to this. They really did do this just to waste our time.”

With a wry smile, Lucius said, “Yeah. I know,” before ushering Aaron into one of the empty polling booths.

The whole voting process took about 30 seconds to a minute from start to finish but with travel, it took on average about 30 minutes out of one’s day to make the diversion to do so. Thus, even people sympathetic to the cause would sometimes abstain from voting due to the inconvenience caused, let alone for more banal reasons like forgetfulness or a lack of knowledge that a vote was being held.

When Aaron emerged, he found Lucius resting his back against a wall while scrolling through his socials from his in-game menu. Instinctively, Aaron began to walk towards him and when he got there, Riley reappeared from her booth and began walking towards her friends.

“All right, so I guess it’s back to the salt mines for us,” Riley said before heaving a sigh. “No breaks, just grinding. Let’s go.”

“I know it sucks but once I get promoted, it’s going to be so worth it,” Aaron promised. “We only need to keep this up for another 2 weeks. After that, I’ll get promoted and I’ll keep that rank forever. All we gotta do is tough it out for 2 more weeks and then I’ll get rich. Then I’ll buy a house, you guys can move in and stop paying rent, and we can all take a long vacation – on me.”

“You sure your wallet can afford it?” Lucius teased.

“Please. People will be lining up to ask me to do favors for them,” Aaron bragged. “I’ll make a killing just by using portal.”

Portalling was a skill that only A ranked players or above could learn which allowed them and their party to instantaneously travel to any city or locale previously visited. Without it, one could only travel across the virtual realm through mass transit systems such as trains, ships, and airships, or personal vehicles such as bikes, automobiles, and steeds. As a result, this hampered work, travel, and to a lesser degree, even communication and cultural exchange. It also had the side effect of developing strong transportation, logistics, and tourism industries as separate sectors of the economy. Portalling was the fastest and most secure method of travel and portal-capable players would often offer their services to other players for a price. Naturally, there were numerous applications for portalling beyond simply travel such as priority courier delivery, running freight, or emergency services.

“You’ll be able to start your own guild; maybe even start your own cult,” said Riley.

“What, like Chad?” Lucius asked in a derisive and mocking tone.

“I still don’t understand how he did it,” Riley expressed while shaking her head.

“What’s not to understand? He’s rich,” said Lucius.

“No dumbass; get promoted,” Riley said condescendingly.

“I don’t get it either but he is A-ranked,” Aaron remarked with a shrug.

“In any case, promise me that you won’t turn into an asshole like he did,” said Riley.

“He won’t,” Lucius said confidently. “Aaron’s always been a rank ahead of us but he’s never been a dick. Power doesn’t change you, it reveals who you are and Aaron’s just a good guy. We’re backing the right horse.”

“Thanks guys. It really means a lot,” Aaron expressed with affection.

“Just think! Only 2 more weeks and we’re free,” said Riley.

“Counting down the days,” said Aaron.

“All right; we’ve wasted enough time being sappy. Let’s get back out there,” Lucius said before the trio exited the atrium.