notbirdofprey
Active member
- Pronouns
- He/him
The year is 1932. For seven long years, the Great Depression has ravaged the United States of America. You have traveled the country and seen the horrific conditions, the poverty and the hunger and the despair. You have seen lines of unemployed workers that stretched for blocks, twisting like the spilled entrails of some great beast. You have seen the roaming caravans of desperate farm workers, the endless rows of empty homes with their former tenants sleeping on benches in front of them.
As an American, as a socialist, and as a simple human being, you found this unbearable three times over.
You have always been a writer and often been a politician. But never before have you been so consumed. The campaign was a battle as you raced from union meeting to rally to speech, running on as little sleep and as much coffee as you could, dealing with every obstruction the reactionaries could throw into your path. You marched with strikers, led tenant’s unions in negotiations with their landlords, prayed with those seeking succor, and did everything you could. You won battle after battle after battle.
And now you are seeing the fruits of these victories as returns pour in from all across the country. You have won Washington, Ohio, and Michigan decisively, and made enough votes to get the rest of the Steel Belt by varying margins. Farmer-Labor has won much of the Midwest, by just a few votes more than you in Iowa. But everywhere else, even in West Virginia, voter suppression and mystification have borne fruit for the reactionaries. In many states, you have won significant portions of the vote, but that avails you nothing. In some, you have lost by less than a percent of the total votes.
As the sun’s rays drift over the horizon, you raise your weary head and let out a sigh. Al around you, the headquarters are buzzing as people compare totals and discuss the election, phones ring, messengers rush in to drop off reports. Chalkboards and maps are everywhere, covered in scrawls.
A coffee cup appears at your side like magic, steam curling off the surface. You give the boy who delivered it a grateful nod and drink deep, scorching your throat. You stand up, and raise a hand for silence.
You are John Silas Reed, New York Senator for the Socialist Party and Party Chairman and Presidential candidate. You have lost this election, this battle, but the struggle will carry on until the final conflict and the final victory.
But here and now, you have lost. And it’s time to acknowledge that.
“Comrades, we did our best. We fought hard, and we have won major victories. No Socialist candidate has ever won this many states or this many states, and we have gained seats in the Senate and House as well. We might not have done as well as we hoped, but much has been achieved, thanks to the labor of each and every single one of you.”
Your voice echoes across the room as you sweep your gaze from left to right. Some cannot bear to meet your eyes, others refuse to look away. A few even keep working, treating your speech like a minor distraction.
“Don’t look at what we’ve lost, comrades. Look at how far we have gone, and how much further we can go. Capitalism is dying. This is nothing more than the last thrashings of a wounded beast, clawing at the people it has preyed upon in a desperate attempt to gain strength. And where it seeks to wound and crush the workers, we will be there, driving it back. And when its strength is exhausted, we will be there, driving a spear into its neck!”
You are tired, but you force strength and vigor into your voice. At some point, you have begun standing on the chair, fist raised triumphantly.
“Four more years, comrades! Four more years, we’ll fight this battle again! And this time, there will be no choice but victory!”
The room erupts in cheers and applause, but you raise a hand again, asking for silence. After a few minutes, you receive it.
“For now though, I have a request. Go home. Sleep, eat, we’ll have plenty of work to do in a few hours. And we’ll be doing it ourselves, we are not capitalists!”
A titter of laughter runs around the room and people begin to leave. You sit down and let out a sigh. You wish you were half as confident as you acted. Victory had seemed inevitable in Petrograd too, and now the workers suffer under Sakinov’s rule. “Socialism or barbarism,” you were once told.
And you can’t silence that voice asking what you will do if people choose barbarism, how you will keep Louise and Rose safe.
With a weary sigh, you begin sifting through the maps and voting returns that cover your desk, looking for your agenda for the day, trying to remember where you put it. Your secretary had to leave the Party to take care of his mother, and you haven’t managed to get a replacement yet.
“Aren’t you going to take your own advice, sir?” someone asks in a New York City accent.
You look up to see a young woman is standing there, looking sternly at you.
A smile stretches across your face. “I suppose I should...but only if you agree to not call me sir. We are all Comrades here, Miss...”
“Flora, Comrade. Flora Hamburger. And I will call you comrade if you do me the same courtesy...sir.”
You can’t help but laugh. “You remind me of my daughter, Comrade Flora. She’s just as quick-witted as you.”
She smiles at that, and the two of you share a few more sentences before you go your separate ways.
After six hours of sleep, some eggs and toast, and a kiss from your wife and daughter, you feel much better about your prospects, and sit down to get to work.
The Revolution will not build itself.
You have 1 Influence and 1 Authority. You are not currently taking any Focuses.
Current Mandate: None
[] Get a Secretary: Your secretary Mrs. Stevens had to leave two days ago, and attempting to manage your own schedule has proved...more complex than you expected. You will send the old one a card and then find a new one. Hopefully, whoever they are will give you more notice if they have to quit...not that you blame Mrs. Stevens for her bad luck. In any case, getting a secretary again will help reduce your workload from overwhelming to merely crushing. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Benefit: Gain access to Personal Actions.
[] The Vote in the House: With no candidate achieving a majority of the electoral college votes, or a majority of the popular vote for that matter, the election will go to the House. It is all but certain that Hoover will win, likely with a couple of sops to the Democrats. You don’t have nearly the number of votes to truly sway this...but perhaps you can add some extra legitimacy to their victory and win some political concessions or even a Cabinet position. Of course, this compromise will have to go two ways, and the price they ask from you could be ruinous. Cost: High risk of losing support for even attempting it. Time: 1 month. DC: 55. Benefit: Chance to get some concessions in exchange for throwing your votes in the House behind Hoover, will probably have to give concessions as well.
[] Set the Tone: While you could just make a brief statement acknowledging that you will not be the 32nd President, writing a longer and more emotionally involved speech could be a good use of your time.
-[] Conciliatory: You lost, you recognize this. Now you hope to work with the future president for the better of the workers of America. Fill your speech with your belief in future cooperation, don’t mention the inevitable revolution. The thought burns in your gut and will anger many to your left, but it might pull wool over the capitalist’s eyes, at least long enough for you to triumph. Cost: Will cost support from those to your left. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35. Benefit: Increased support from the right-wing, the possibility of decreased hostility from establishment
-[] Determined: You have lost, you cannot deny that. But the march of progress carries on. Do not falter, do not hesitate, do not stumble! This is but a setback, one you will recover from. You like the tone this strikes in your soul better, and it’s not a sentiment any can argue with. Cost: May attract increased attention. DC: 0/70. Benefit: General increase to support.
-[] Optimistic: This is a regrettable but setback, but the sun is still rising, and the conditions of the workers are improving. People are organizing and rallying, victories are being won. Carry on, your victory is inevitable. Although you find yourself wishing you know more about how you’ll get there...Cost: Risk of losing some support. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/50. Benefit: General increase to support.
-[] Wrathful: You have lost in a rigged election that denied the will of the American people! Voters were suppressed in West Virginia and Massachusetts and New York City, and the very nature of this bourgeoisie election denies victory to the one with the most support! And now Hoover, the man who has done nothing for the crisis, gets to keep sitting pretty in the White House and earn money stolen from the American workers! This is intolerable! Cost: Risk of losing support from the right-wing of the party, will attract increased hostility from the establishment. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/75. Benefit: Significant boost in support from the left-wing.
Free Actions
[] Choose A Focus: You currently have no focus. Select one from the Available Focuses spoiler.
As an American, as a socialist, and as a simple human being, you found this unbearable three times over.
You have always been a writer and often been a politician. But never before have you been so consumed. The campaign was a battle as you raced from union meeting to rally to speech, running on as little sleep and as much coffee as you could, dealing with every obstruction the reactionaries could throw into your path. You marched with strikers, led tenant’s unions in negotiations with their landlords, prayed with those seeking succor, and did everything you could. You won battle after battle after battle.
And now you are seeing the fruits of these victories as returns pour in from all across the country. You have won Washington, Ohio, and Michigan decisively, and made enough votes to get the rest of the Steel Belt by varying margins. Farmer-Labor has won much of the Midwest, by just a few votes more than you in Iowa. But everywhere else, even in West Virginia, voter suppression and mystification have borne fruit for the reactionaries. In many states, you have won significant portions of the vote, but that avails you nothing. In some, you have lost by less than a percent of the total votes.
As the sun’s rays drift over the horizon, you raise your weary head and let out a sigh. Al around you, the headquarters are buzzing as people compare totals and discuss the election, phones ring, messengers rush in to drop off reports. Chalkboards and maps are everywhere, covered in scrawls.
A coffee cup appears at your side like magic, steam curling off the surface. You give the boy who delivered it a grateful nod and drink deep, scorching your throat. You stand up, and raise a hand for silence.
You are John Silas Reed, New York Senator for the Socialist Party and Party Chairman and Presidential candidate. You have lost this election, this battle, but the struggle will carry on until the final conflict and the final victory.
But here and now, you have lost. And it’s time to acknowledge that.
“Comrades, we did our best. We fought hard, and we have won major victories. No Socialist candidate has ever won this many states or this many states, and we have gained seats in the Senate and House as well. We might not have done as well as we hoped, but much has been achieved, thanks to the labor of each and every single one of you.”
Your voice echoes across the room as you sweep your gaze from left to right. Some cannot bear to meet your eyes, others refuse to look away. A few even keep working, treating your speech like a minor distraction.
“Don’t look at what we’ve lost, comrades. Look at how far we have gone, and how much further we can go. Capitalism is dying. This is nothing more than the last thrashings of a wounded beast, clawing at the people it has preyed upon in a desperate attempt to gain strength. And where it seeks to wound and crush the workers, we will be there, driving it back. And when its strength is exhausted, we will be there, driving a spear into its neck!”
You are tired, but you force strength and vigor into your voice. At some point, you have begun standing on the chair, fist raised triumphantly.
“Four more years, comrades! Four more years, we’ll fight this battle again! And this time, there will be no choice but victory!”
The room erupts in cheers and applause, but you raise a hand again, asking for silence. After a few minutes, you receive it.
“For now though, I have a request. Go home. Sleep, eat, we’ll have plenty of work to do in a few hours. And we’ll be doing it ourselves, we are not capitalists!”
A titter of laughter runs around the room and people begin to leave. You sit down and let out a sigh. You wish you were half as confident as you acted. Victory had seemed inevitable in Petrograd too, and now the workers suffer under Sakinov’s rule. “Socialism or barbarism,” you were once told.
And you can’t silence that voice asking what you will do if people choose barbarism, how you will keep Louise and Rose safe.
With a weary sigh, you begin sifting through the maps and voting returns that cover your desk, looking for your agenda for the day, trying to remember where you put it. Your secretary had to leave the Party to take care of his mother, and you haven’t managed to get a replacement yet.
“Aren’t you going to take your own advice, sir?” someone asks in a New York City accent.
You look up to see a young woman is standing there, looking sternly at you.
A smile stretches across your face. “I suppose I should...but only if you agree to not call me sir. We are all Comrades here, Miss...”
“Flora, Comrade. Flora Hamburger. And I will call you comrade if you do me the same courtesy...sir.”
You can’t help but laugh. “You remind me of my daughter, Comrade Flora. She’s just as quick-witted as you.”
She smiles at that, and the two of you share a few more sentences before you go your separate ways.
After six hours of sleep, some eggs and toast, and a kiss from your wife and daughter, you feel much better about your prospects, and sit down to get to work.
The Revolution will not build itself.
You have 1 Influence and 1 Authority. You are not currently taking any Focuses.
Current Mandate: None
[] Get a Secretary: Your secretary Mrs. Stevens had to leave two days ago, and attempting to manage your own schedule has proved...more complex than you expected. You will send the old one a card and then find a new one. Hopefully, whoever they are will give you more notice if they have to quit...not that you blame Mrs. Stevens for her bad luck. In any case, getting a secretary again will help reduce your workload from overwhelming to merely crushing. Cost: None. Time: 1 month. DC: No roll. Benefit: Gain access to Personal Actions.
[] The Vote in the House: With no candidate achieving a majority of the electoral college votes, or a majority of the popular vote for that matter, the election will go to the House. It is all but certain that Hoover will win, likely with a couple of sops to the Democrats. You don’t have nearly the number of votes to truly sway this...but perhaps you can add some extra legitimacy to their victory and win some political concessions or even a Cabinet position. Of course, this compromise will have to go two ways, and the price they ask from you could be ruinous. Cost: High risk of losing support for even attempting it. Time: 1 month. DC: 55. Benefit: Chance to get some concessions in exchange for throwing your votes in the House behind Hoover, will probably have to give concessions as well.
[] Set the Tone: While you could just make a brief statement acknowledging that you will not be the 32nd President, writing a longer and more emotionally involved speech could be a good use of your time.
-[] Conciliatory: You lost, you recognize this. Now you hope to work with the future president for the better of the workers of America. Fill your speech with your belief in future cooperation, don’t mention the inevitable revolution. The thought burns in your gut and will anger many to your left, but it might pull wool over the capitalist’s eyes, at least long enough for you to triumph. Cost: Will cost support from those to your left. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/35. Benefit: Increased support from the right-wing, the possibility of decreased hostility from establishment
-[] Determined: You have lost, you cannot deny that. But the march of progress carries on. Do not falter, do not hesitate, do not stumble! This is but a setback, one you will recover from. You like the tone this strikes in your soul better, and it’s not a sentiment any can argue with. Cost: May attract increased attention. DC: 0/70. Benefit: General increase to support.
-[] Optimistic: This is a regrettable but setback, but the sun is still rising, and the conditions of the workers are improving. People are organizing and rallying, victories are being won. Carry on, your victory is inevitable. Although you find yourself wishing you know more about how you’ll get there...Cost: Risk of losing some support. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/50. Benefit: General increase to support.
-[] Wrathful: You have lost in a rigged election that denied the will of the American people! Voters were suppressed in West Virginia and Massachusetts and New York City, and the very nature of this bourgeoisie election denies victory to the one with the most support! And now Hoover, the man who has done nothing for the crisis, gets to keep sitting pretty in the White House and earn money stolen from the American workers! This is intolerable! Cost: Risk of losing support from the right-wing of the party, will attract increased hostility from the establishment. Time: 1 month. DC: 0/75. Benefit: Significant boost in support from the left-wing.
Free Actions
[] Choose A Focus: You currently have no focus. Select one from the Available Focuses spoiler.
Rally the Party - Though you have lost the election, you have made great gains. Rally around the flag and let the next step begin! Time: 1 month. Effect: Unlock Party actions, gain awareness of certain stats, +1 Authority