thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who| Joan and Dan
What| Joan told Dan to come find her so they could talk. Hence.
Where| District 11 suite
When| After the Capitol tells the Tributes what's actually going on.
Warnings/Notes| Talk about alien-thingies, possibly about violence/injury/death as well?

Joan usually doesn't watch the screens, considering their penchant for programming chock full of violence and death. Since returning to the District 11 suites after checking out the barriers, though, she's been sitting in the common room and watching the coverage of the "crisis." When the messages come to the Tributes, letting them in on what was actually going on, Joan rolls her eyes, shakes her head. Of course. The Capitol officials are liars. Who lie.

In addition to the frustration, however, there's also worry. Dan is out there, on the "wrong" side of the barriers, barriers that are pretty much meaningless, since the evacuation area is expanding. And he's a Peacekeeper, so it's his job to fight these things and possibly die in the process.

Aside from the necessary lack of trust, she doesn't want to see him hurt. She had wanted him to come see her so she could get him to tell her what the Capitol was actually up to, of course. But she was also telling the truth when she said she wanted to know he was okay.

So she waits. And watches. And worries.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"They have weapons that they used to quell a rebellion."

"Are we talking nuclear bombs? Or some sort of biological weapon?"

"Nuclear."

She considers this, staring at the wall.

"What did they do? Was it a punishment or a warning?"

"It was punishment for starting to rebel, yes," Dan said. "That's what started these Games too. It was a punishment."

"Total annihilation is a little extreme. But very like the Capitol. Ultimately that will be what brings them down."

Dan shook his head. "That's a little too rebellious," he pointed out. A part of him really hoped she wouldn't say anything like that around him again. "And inaccurate."

"Not at all," she counters. "I'm pointing out that the Capitol is endangering itself. That implies a desire for its continued existence."

Of course, she would rather see the Capitol destroyed. Let them chew on the implication, though.

"You realize that when you people talk about 'the Capitol' you're talking about so many innocent people, don't you? The world has been completely destroyed. Panem is all that's left and this city is the highest concentration of human beings left to us," Daniel said suddenly, watching her carefully. There was a certainty and a passion in his voice that he rarely showed for his work. No matter how uncomfortable the Games might have made him, in the end he was loyal to his government for this reason. "This is it for us. If the Capitol goes down, it's the end of the human race."

She nods slowly. She hadn't thought of it that way. She can understand why the powers that be would be ruthless in suppressing rebellion, even if she has to condemn their methods.

"All the more reason to make sure the government is sustainable," she answers. "They're giving people reasons to hate them, and putting them in situations where they have nothing left to lose. Tell me why that's a good idea for their long term survival."

"Nothing left to lose? There's plenty to lose. There's always a way to lose," he pointed out. "Saying anything else completely devalues the lives of our citizens, even those in the Districts."

"You talked about the innocent people in the Capitol. What about the innocent people in District 13? You can't tell me every man, woman and child in the District was guilty of rebellion. I doubt even the majority of them were in active rebellion. They did nothing, and they paid the ultimate price anyway. That's nothing left to lose."

She wishes they weren't having this conversation, but won't back down from it just because she would rather be Dan's friend than his enemy.

"That was to stop the entire country from falling to damn pieces," he retorted. "You don't know what it was like when we had civil war." To ne honest, neither did it. It was from before he was born, but he knew enough of the history to understand. "Drastic steps had to be taken to stop it. We'd already seen war destroy the world, Joan. We couldn't let it destroy us too."

"That's the problem. Continuing these drastic measures isn't avoiding war, it's ensuring it." She softens her voice slightly. "I understand the fear that drove the initial actions. Valuing collective survival over individual rights. But that's a short-term stopgap, not a long-term plan. This isn't an opinion, this is what history...my history, at least...has shown, again and again. The more Draconian the measures, the harder the society falls."

"Maybe you're history shows that, but this isn't your world. And even if it once had been, everything has changed. I don't think that you new Tributes fully understand the challenges we've faced as a society. It's one of the reasons I allow you so much leeway, even when I know I shouldn't." he added the last part with a bit of exhaustion in his voice, but he managed to still put the warning in there for her.

She wants to tell him it's human nature. But she holds her tongue and sighs. After a pause she looks up again.

"I'd like you to teach me. About what you all have gone through."

Dan takes a deep breath and steadies himself. "Tell you what, we both survive this fight we have coming up, and I will."

"Now you definitely have to survive."

She pauses, then again softens her voice.

"I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. I hope your know that."

"I do," he said. "If you were from this world, I'd probably have already taken you in. Other Peacekeepers would. You're lucky my teammate Blake was reassigned."

"I know I'm lucky met you. And not just because you're less likely to turn me in."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"You're also willing to engage with me. I doubt I would have ha this conversation with any other Peacekeeper, even if they decided not to turn me in. You're also willing to take a personal interest in what happens to me. To Tributes in general."

"Keeping you alive outside of the Arena is my job," he pointed out. There was another aspect of course, of keeping them from causing trouble for the government, but he didn't mention that.

"A job that doesn't necessitate conversations like this. Nor inviting people to your estate, nor calling me 'Joan.'"

"A lot of people call Tributes by their first names," Dan pointed out. All of the broadcasts would call her Joan, after all.