[Mafia] Your Final Frontier: Go 4th and perish!

[MadameButterflyKnife]

[color=cyan] "You know what would be a really good display of power? Revealing everyone's roles. All of them. Including the killers." [/glow]

[Florien]

That ssure would be a dissplay of power, yeah. Floran will reveal them all...

once one sside winss. Right now iss not a ssuper great time.

[Caret]

"You're doing good so far! I find your recommendation to start a cult helpful. Who wants to join the Cult of the Eevee?" Bow's voice sounds awfully uncertain, as if she's trying to cover up the fact that she isn't interested in politics.

[Florien]

ehssss... you're going to need actual followerss, but floran doess like your enthussiassm. Finding thosse firsst oness iss the hardesst part though. Once you've got a few, it goess much fasster. Floran would wait until you're out and then find either vulnerable people or "cult venture capitalisstss". They're the people who get in on the ground floor with you to asstroturf your movement. You will have to purge them firsst chance you get though. Better to go with vulnerable people in the long term, but assstroturfing getss you pretty far fasst. Iss cosst-benifit thing. Think about it.

Incedentally, the cult of perssonality thing doessn't need to apply to dictatorship, you could sstart a religiouss cult, or a sself-help cult, or a medical cult, or ssomething. Hell, you've heard of Ayn Rand? She sstarted a cult. Sso you get economic cultss. Obvioussly it'ss all inherently political, but not all cultss have to go directly to governing. Though in principle, mosst government figuress in any government you can name iss tainted by the legacy of a cult burned into them, even if they don't sstart a cult of their own. You look far enough back, you'll ssee that cultss are a major part of ideological development. Mosst ideologiess sstarted out cult-like. it'ss jusst that if the cult ultimately ssurvivess the early dayss, it'll become a sstable insstitution that'ss no longer conssidered a cult. In fact, you can ussually tell when ssomething'ss derived from an old cult...

In fact, the word "cult" has ssuch negative connotationss that even sharing that information on how to tell when ssomething iss derived from one would be conssidered highly controverssial, becausse it might catch up ssomeone'ss modern ideology in the crosssfire.

[PopcornPie]

"She's right, darling, you're going to need more than an ask. You need to make grand promises like, 'I can conjure spirits who will show us the way out of here' and 'I am the purest one'. Then you need to begin having rituals each night with an effigy of some sort..."

[Florien]

Well, that'ss not strictly required... Who'ss "she" in thiss context?

There'ss a ssecond point floran wantss to build off the previouss sstatement. Assk yoursself thiss quesstion. What exactly was floran talking about when floran ssaid "conssidered highly controverssial"? What exactly was floran referring to, implying?
...
The ansswer iss both nothing and anything you want it to be. If you like floran, thosse "controverssial" takess are the takess you feel perssecuted for againsst other ideologiess. If you like floran, floran jusst ssaid "floran iss on your sside and agreess with you that your enemiess are a cult". If you don't like floran, it'ss a potshot at your beliefss. Thiss iss the geniuss of keeping thingss vague. It'ss an amazing tool, becausse people project whatever they want onto the vaguenesss. If you have people who like you, like floran doess, your vaguenesss getss them firmly on your sside. They'll believe whatever you do iss ultimately leading to the goal they want, becausse they like you. Thiss iss replaceability of thought. If there iss a gap, people fill it with their own belief.

Think about quantum mechanicss. There'ss no interpretation that iss more correct than otherss. They are all effectively mathematically equivalent, none of them make truly tesstable predictionss that contradict the otherss. Now, certainly, copenhagen iss popular, but the point iss, it issn't CORRECT. Nor are any of the otherss. Yet, people ssubsscribe to different verssionss of quantum mechanicss, even though none of them are provable. They ssee the void left by the math, and project what they want to be true onto the math. People want there to be one objective determinisstic reality? They come up with pilot wave theory. They want chance to be fundamental? Copenhagen. They want ssomething elsse, there'ss an interpretation out there for them. It'ss all projecting beliefss onto a gap. Now, floran issn't ssaying that floran iss a shut-up-and-calculate one, floran likess quantum darwinissm ssome dayss. The point iss that it'ss very much a projection of what YOU think already onto vague math that doessn't tell you what thingss look like really, jusst that numberss happen and that makess reality ssomehow.

Thiss doess tie in to a future lecture, but anyhow, that'ss the ssuper beta verssion of the lecture floran guessssess.

any further quesstionss? Do keep in mind floran doess want relatively honesst ansswerss to how was it. Unlesss they're really sstupid "oh I don't care about them politicsses they are sscary and not intimately connected with every asspect of my day to day life" thingss. Don't ssay that or floran will have your fingernailss-or-equivalent ripped out with plierss.

Yeah, I have a comment! I liked the horseshoe centrism one better where you tried to convince me that the Coalition and the Alliance are actually the same! REAL enlightening, kid. Genius of the highest caliber, really. I sure was convinced by that argument that "actually freedom and not freedom are the same thing".

Shut the fuck up. You totally missssed the point of EVERYTHING floran ssaid that time. floran has to be vague all the time with normal government people, you only got to hear that particular argument becausse you're getting killed ssoon probably, and the resst of you got to hear thiss becausse you're either conssidered loyal, conssidered dead, or conssidered irrelevant.

Alright, talk over, thank you for coming to floran'ss ted talk as they ssaid in the olden dayss, you didn't have a choice, pleasse like comment and ssubsscribe, and provide feedback. Floran will take quesstionss.

[TenOfSwords13]

What did I miss… and why did all three judges vote against me?

[Florien]

There are seven of us.

But our votes all fell against you.

Either you pissed us off somehow or one of you was... "convincing" in how we should vote today.

You didn't miss much. Hallie iss dead, Callenbourne iss a has-been idiot who bet she'd live, and they bumbled around in the flour that they got everywhere. Oh and floran gave a lecture to everyone becausse you're all a captive audience and it'ss really hard to find people to workshop thesse thingss with when you're actually dictator-ing.

[Dookie]

Bart rejoins the conversation after checking the blood-dough.

“I didn't make these tracks. I didn't do anything of note this night. But….wait a second.”

> Where does the flour come from?

[PointMaid]

Bit spread it as a way to catch people who were moving around doing something unfortunate, kid.

[Kennifer]

"I suppose a performer with the right charisma could develop a cult of personality but ah, I'm not sure that is me. I do well enough on stage and as you know I like to talk but would people like me enough as a person instead of seeing me as a character I'm playing? I do like Evita though if that counts... probably does not. At any rate there is a murder to solve, perhaps more on this once that is done.

>Take a look at that dough. Was it mixed by hand or with some sort of tools/utensils?

[PointMaid]

Bit and I have been talking, in any case. We're relatively sure Inez and Lloyd are okay. ...Yeah, I know, that means I was *horribly* off my game that first day and it's a good thing you didn't follow me. [She emits a low growl]

In any case, if you weren't barefoot last night I imagine that if you take off your shoes you won't have any flour between your toes. Right?

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Been talking to Bit some too. I think she's on the level. And I think Inez should be too. I only decided to dart her just as a show in good faith because of Karma's initial assumptions just to be safe. No offense.

[Kennifer]

"If it is what it took for you to believe me, it's fine. I mean I wasn't going to leave the rec room anyway and it's probably the closest to a good night sleep I'll get in this place. And Bit, yes, I have talked to Bit too. I am hoping all of us can work as a team and find the killers."

[Caret]

"Callenbourne lost his bet on Hallie, huh? And he's pissed off at Bart, even more so than the other judges. I would be pissed off too if I lost money on a bit. Could it just be a coincidence... or did Bart really kill Hallie?"

[PopcornPie]

"I...wasn't even aware we were being betted on."

[Dookie]

Bit and I have been talking, in any case. We're relatively sure Inez and Lloyd are okay. ...Yeah, I know, that means I was *horribly* off my game that first day and it's a good thing you didn't follow me. [She emits a low growl]

In any case, if you weren't barefoot last night I imagine that if you take off your shoes you won't have any flour between your toes. Right?

“Right.”

[PointMaid]

Did you want to show us that you don't have any flour between your toes, explain what you were doing up if only to someone you can trust, or was that just a rhetorical statement?

[MadameButterflyKnife]

"There's no reason not to tell Karma, by the way. One of the few people who can't hurt you and that we know doesn't kill. Unless you're guilty of something." So tell her, at least."

[Kennifer]

"Karma and Bow are both confirmed as innocent, so they are safe to confide in if you are also innocent."

"And at least the dough looks like it was made by accident not some sadistic baker. It is more just an unfortunate place to die, with flour everywhere but perhaps it gives us a clue with some of the prints, or at least narrows things down a little further by eliminating people who couldn't have done it."

[Florien]

Ehh... let's hurry this up. I decree that... Night phase starts July 5th at 8 PM eastern.

That's the time it happens. If I hear one complaint from any of you, you'll pay dearly.

[TheOtherCG]

After sleeping in more than usual, Anastasia finally woke up and exited her box. She searched around for the others, rubbing her eyes.
"What happened?" She mumbled.

[Zanreo]

"What happened? Hallie died - specifically by being shot - and there's a bunch of dough around her for some reason."

[Florien]

I don't think there's much "some reason" about it. There's flour everywhere.

Oh, let them try, maybe they'll come up with something clever with it.

Fuck you.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

"Ana, what did you do last night, anyways? Other than sit in a box with incorrect form. You should curl yourself up. Like a ball."