Constance, who has been writing rapidly in a tidy hand ever since sitting down, finally sets down her stylus and rises again.
"As I look and listen to you, fellow planners and dreamers, I see many common traits: conviction, passion, logic, cunning, understanding. These traits, while common to us all, are emphasized most by the plans of the Pyre, the Arboretum, and the Panarchists. Unfortunately, overtures for alliance between these factions have thus far been unsuccessful, as each side does not wish to become secondary to the other.
"But as the debate continued, I saw a possible path foward to a truly different future: a future where pointless deaths are a thing of the past, a future where debates such as this one could flourish, a future that would encourage the progress of industry and exploration.
"To reach this future, I propose the following: instead of replacing or realigning two or three planes, let us incorporate the best ideas of the various factions into a single GRAND DESIGN! Each of us would need to sacrifice elements of our desires, but the combined whole would be greater than the sum of its parts.
"
Jiese, the plane of Fire with its Cunning trait, would remain untouched. This is a sacrifice for the Pyre, but is essential to preserving and continuing the tremendous progress Lanjyr's nations have made in recent years. However, the Pyre's Expression trait can be achieved by other means. I will return to this shortly.
"
Avilona, the plane of Air with its Calm trait, would be replaced as per the Pyre's plan, with one half of a new binary plane. It would carry the Speech trait, fostering debates such as this one. This is essential to a vibrant society and complementary to the goal of progress.
"
Av, the plane of Life, would be replaced as with the Arboretum's plan. Its traits of Reflection and Dream would be replaced with Craft and Artifice. But this can be done without severing the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate! Craft and Artifice would foster progress, both of industry and of agriculture. The Arboretum's goal of plentiful harvests for all is the foundation of a vibrant society.
"
Mavisha, the plane of Water, would be replaced. This was not part of the plans of any faction, but my calculations suggest that a new plane of Water could be aligned to support the Panarchists' desired Healing trait. It would function slightly differently: it would confer lesser resistance to physical injury than the Panarchists seek, but would empower the blood of all living beings with resistance against poison and disease. Imagine the lives that would be saved! Mavisha's current Mystery trait has no beneficial properties, while the Healing trait will save countless lives. When combined with the primacy of logic and reason in the new society, it will substantially improve the lot of the individual.
"
Urim, the plane of Earth, would be replaced according to the current plans of Miller's Pyre, with a new plane carrying a Logic trait. All factions should support the goal of emphasizing logic and reason in the new world!
"
Apet, the Distant Plane, would be replaced according to the current plans of both the Panarchists and the Colossus: with a new plane carrying the trait of Empowerment. In the new alignment, this plane would remain distant and be weaker than the Colossus and Panarchists would prefer, but still far superior to what the fey are able to do in our world today -- and available to everyone. The importance of individuals and their need for governments will be greatly reduced. It is possible that some will still choose to create governing bodies, but these choices will stem from logic and reason, not from bloodlines or wealth. The Pyre must sacrifice its Empathy trait, but the primacy of reasoned discourse in this new society will still lead to a more empathetic and caring world, even without the mild empathic powers this trait would have conferred.
"Now we come to
Reida, the plane of Time. I initially balked at making changes to this plane. Tampering with it does carry some risk, which is why I cannot support the Watchmakers' radical changes. But a subtler change is possible! The new plane of Time will be a binary pair with the new plane of Air, and will carry an Expression trait. Shifting from the Pyre's plan to have Expression associated with the plane of Fire allows us to incorporate the goals of the Long Now: with Expression governed by Time, people will inherently frame their positions with heed to the future. This is only right and proper in a knowledge-driven, rational society.
"As with the Pyre's plan, this binary pairing will allow a
demiplane to be added. A small body in orbit around the Distant Plane will be given the trait of Flight. As the new Distant Plane will carry a trait of Empowerment, the Flight trait of the new plane will be strong enough to allow for the crafting of zeppelins and the exploration of worlds beyond our own.
"Last among the existing planes is
Nem, the plane of Death. This plane must be replaced if we are to explore the worlds beyond what we now know. The calculations are complex, but it is possible to realign Av into the current position of Nem! Death being a reflection of life, Av would become the plane of Death, preserving its traits of Reflection and Dream. The fey would not be cut off from the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate, which would have risked angering the Fey Titans and bringing calamitous war upon us.
"We must not forget the strong support for the Mortal Mind. While this plan does not directly eliminate the possibility of irrational superstition, it does create a society where logic and reason are the prime movers. The beliefs that flourish will be those that can be supported by persuasive logical arguments. This, I hope, will be enough to satisfy followers of that faction, some of whom are fellow scientists.
"
To summarize: This comprehensive realignment plan partially fullfils the desires of the Pyre, Arboretum, Panarchists, Sky League, Trekkers, Long Now, and Mortal Mind. The newly replaced and aligned planes will carry traits of Cunning, Speech, Craft/Artifice, Healing, Logic, Empowerment, Expression, Reflection/Dream, and Flight. I believe this compromise position is the best way for members of these factions to accomplish their goals, since this debate has made clear that no one group can proceed alone!
"Thank you, and I hope you will earnestly consider the framework I have presented."
Out of Character Summary:
I'm proposing that we replace seven of the eight current planes, by combining the proposals of the Pyre, Arboretum, and Panarchists. The planes and traits are:
Fire - Cunning (no change)
Air - Speech (Pyre)
Life - Craft, Artifice (Arboretum)
Water - Healing (Panarchists)
Earth - Logic (Pyre)
Space - Empowerment (Panarchists)
Time - Expression (Pyre)
Death - Reflection, Dream (previously Life)
New demiplane orbiting Space - Flight (Empowered)
Who gets what, and who gives up what?
Of the main factions, Miller's Pyre, Panarchists, and Arboretum all get some of what they want. Of the lesser factions, the Long Now, Trekkers, and Sky League get what they want. The Mortal Mind gets part of what they want, since logic and reason will be paramount in the new society, leaving less room for superstition and religion. In a bit more detail:
- Arboretum gets their Craft/Artifice plane, but we don't sever the Dreaming/Bleak Gate, so Macbannin won't be thrilled.
- Pyre gets 3/4 of their desired traits: Speech, Logic, Expression. They give up Empathy.
- Panarchists get 2/3 of their desired traits: Healing, Empowerment. They give up Possession. Healing goes through blood rather than straight up regeneration, so it isn't quite as powerful, but disease and poison are diminished or maybe even go away.
- Long Now gets Expression in the plane of Time, so arguments will tend toward the long view.
- Mortal Mind gets a society in which logic and reason are paramount. They give up the explicit elimination of religion, but people will inherently favour logical arguments over appeals to emotion, superstition, or faith. Religion may persist, but its importance will diminish considerably.
- Trekkers get to explore other planes. The blocks on this go away.
- Sky League gets ZEPPELINS! No way could I leave that out.
What Will Society Look Like?
Physically, people will be stronger, healthier, resistant to disease/poison, and able to teleport significant distances (but not across miles as Colossus would like). Average lifespans will be significantly longer. Individuals will be far more powerful and far less reliant on government. Any government that existed would therefore truly have to be by the consent of the governed, rather than by hereditary fiat.
Socially, people will be more logical, and will take the long view when framing their arguments. People will also be more willing to listen to the arguments of others -- speech and debate will carry more importance.
People will be far more able to engage in these sorts of intellectual and philosophical discussions because taming nature will greatly reduce the scarcity of the goods needed for people to live -- notably food. Debate will replace war, since disagreements will largely be ideological rather than territorial disputes over fertile lands, because any land that is tended will be fertile.
People will also be more mobile, and not just because they can teleport -- air travel and planar travel will be possible.
When combined, all of these effects suggest multiple vibrant societies, some governed, some ungoverned, where reasoned debate is the paramount mode of persuasion and decision-making. Coercion will be far more difficult and far less likely. People will be able to readily travel between societies, facilitating the spread of ideas.
Technological progress will continue apace, and the new, stronger, healthier workers will have a much better lot in life than they did before.
Such a robust, multicultural, technologically advanced society will be able to band together when needed -- when logic dictates -- such as in the case of an extraplanar invasion. It would also be able to develop mechanisms for controlling the stronger storms that will arise, and compensating for any changes in sea level that may occur.
What of the Obscurati?
Perhaps we will no longer be needed. But more likely, the new society will be a true meritocracy, where knowledge, reason, and skill are recognized and rewarded. This means that we in the Obscurati will naturally rise to positions of respect and influence.
Since this proposal is a mix of Miller's Pyre, Arboretum, and Panarchists, I suggest we call it the MAP for short.
