Chain 096: Splatoon

Chain 096: Splatoon
Location: I̶n̶k̶o̶p̶o̶l̶i̶s̶ The Past
Age: 18
Identity: [-300] Human, Drop-In
Drawbacks: [+600] Splatoon -10k

[Free]      Pop Idol
[100/1300]  Freshness Sensor
[200/1300]  Stay Fresh!
[400/1300]  Swimprovisation
[600/1300]  Soundproof
[1000/1300] Ink Weaponsmith
[1300/1300] Heavenly Melody

Stop me if you've heard this one: humanity's doomed, has thrown the environment off-kilter badly, and unless something is done it's going to end everything. Except the people who are in a position to do something find they profit more, personally, if they do not.

This calls for the scientific method!

(the standard counter-Charm for corrupt politicians is, of course, fiendfyre)

Hypothesis: Taking direct control and imposing global martial law will result in being able to salvage at least a portion of humanity rather than letting it all drown.

Prediction: The decapitation of global governments will result in a perceived lack of control and widespread riots as resistance to the new regime solidifies. Sufficiently advanced technology can act to mitigate the environmental issues as they are otherwise untenable.

Experiment:

Demona, the Conspiracy, my six Aspects and myself fly through the world and subjugate governments, via bribery, coercion, threats, and outright use of force. The mundane world is not prepared for a threat of this magnitude, and twelve hours later the heads of the government are essentially toppled. I make use of the Warehouse's accelerated time field in order to have myself and my Aspects record the same speech, spoken fluently in two hundred different languages and broadcast worldwide. Broadcast on every radio channel, to every television network, to be repeated every hour on the hour for the next week.

"Attention. The world as we know it is doomed, and so measures shall be taken in order to prevent humanity's extinction. The Amazon basin is full of seawater. Half of Russia is underwater. Australia has two inland salt-water seas. Whole countries in Asia and Europe have been flooded, island nations like Cuba have been washed away by the tide and the ocean continues to rise. I am here to tell you that if action was not taken within the next ten years, there would be no more arable land left and the only things man will survive on will be boats that will eventually rust and sink. In order to stop this, I have assumed control of your government, indeed, every nation's government in the world. Wars will stop immediately - there's not enough time or resources to waste upon such, and that's why the decapitation of government had to be simultaneous and total. The greatest scientific minds of our time will be gathered in order to find ways to slow climate change and find means by which humanity can survive should the worst happen. I do not do this to satisfy any desire for power, nor for control. I do this out of the love for humanity that I hold in my heart, because it is the only way to save the world as we know it."

There was, of course, a great deal of pushback. Panic. Riots. Opportunistic warlords in some places. Outright underground resistance movements. At first, I had automatons put the riots down, before I could recruit trustworthy individuals to supplement police efforts, and begin implementing the global government. Nations remained where they were, but were suborned to a higher power. When not much ended up changing in the grand scheme of things a lot of the resistance evaporated, because of larger concerns - and then about six months in, purpose-built factories came online and began packaging relief rations from areas where there were crops to be sent to areas that did not have them. After all, a lot of land was gone already. Both coasts of the United States, for instance. The salt seas in Australia merged as work continued, and refugees began to start agitating - before the Walls started going up. The Netherlands, writ large, for how else can you delay the seas from flooding? Massive walls. Hundreds of meters high, and burrowed down to the bedrock. In some places they weren't built fast enough, but in others... it made for safe places thousands of square kilometers in size, on every continent.

Air filtration efforts were put into effect. Massive structures, compressing thousands upon thousands of tons of carbon into diamond every month. New, non-polluting alternatives were being found for transport, such as battery-powered vehicles. Ink-based technology, initially looked at as a joke, was being taken seriously. Factories were held to strict standards in terms of their output, with active monitoring. In more than a few cases, attempts to bribe or otherwise disregard these standards resulted in factories being shut down and mass arrests of the employees there - and a few times, summary executions of those responsible for trying to avoid these standards.

It was a harsh decade by necessity, but by the time I left, things were improving. Off-world colonies were being established, the oceans were lowering, the Walls had created refuge, and global attitudes about a great many things had shifted.

Conclusion: Success.