Where in the World is (was) Henry Radiman?

[Cosmik]

Where in the World is (was) Henry Radiman?


By Christian E. Fuquay
16:00 July 30, 29476 RST

Take one Council of Truth leader (missing), one desperate attempt at peace (failed), a game of chess between two heads of state (stalled), and a vociferous bunch of clanners (irate). What do you get? The latest crisis to befall an already beleaguered Council and yet another reason for Omni-Tek employees to wonder just what the hell is going on across the border. Christian E. Fuquay investigates.



On Friday July 26, Henry Radiman - the besieged and absent leader, spokesperson, and elder statesman of the Council of Truth - released a written statement to UniClanCast after months of total silence. Quoting an obscure author from pre-winter Earth, he made light of the rumours of his parting with the Council, and cited a private "pilgrimage" as the major reason for his silence. Fellow clan-members were not impressed:

"To me it makes no difference if Radiman is back," says Redruum, President of Clan Anarchist Syndicate. "(We) will carry on our plans for things in the future that are already set in stone. I also feel that Radiman will not be able to rally the clans as he thinks he can."

For others, it's hard to reconcile what they see as an apologetic, weakened Radiman with the strong and opinionated leader who instigated a ground-breaking dialogue - and tense chess game - with Philip Ross last year. They see this as another sure sign that Radiman's long leadership of the Council may be coming to an end.

President Barchus of the West Athen Militia: "A leader needs to be seen and heard by those (who) are being led. Mr. Radiman (as well as) the rest of the Council are neither (seen nor heard). They are hopelessly out of touch with the needs of the clan community."

And then there are those who see Radiman's silence as indicative of the overall political situation on Rubi-Ka, rather than as a measure of one man's ability to lead a disunited people. Omni-Tek's CEO Philip Ross has also been unusually quiet these past few months, since the clashes in Sabulum and the Dust Brigade's departure from the headlines.

It may appear, as some have suggested, that both leaders have pulled back to lick their wounds after several highly publicised, and embarrassing, political and military fiascos in the wake of the complete collapse of the peace negotiations.

But while Philip Ross is no stranger to silence, it's much more unusual to hear Radiman confess that he's been "weary and disheartened", and that he needed "time away from the world." Even die-hard Council of Truth supporters may find it hard to swallow that the man they've grown to respect - perhaps even love - shows himself to be so vulnerable.

But even this may have been a forgivable offence. After all, in politics, human weaknesses aren't always a measure of political strength and resilience, and often the former weakness can help support the latter strength - after all, more politicians ought to show signs of humanity at some point in their careers. Some clan-members, however, have questioned Radiman's timing (Rederon, President of Knights of Sacrifice, replies that he is glad Radiman has returned "but the circumstances, I am not happy about... It had to come to the eve of a coup for him to say anything."), and others ask where their leader has been for all this time.

They had assumed that the Council was still in operation, silently, behind closed doors. It appears that they were wrong. It may even look as though the Council of Truth-affiliated clans have been leaderless for some time now, contrary - or so they claim - to their knowledge.

As for the Council, it appears more concerned with looking ahead than accounting for Radiman's absence and whereabouts, which - if su****ions voiced by both clan-members and Omni-Tek employees are correct - is a good way to avoid embarrassing revelations.

But there are rumours. There are always rumours.

A source - who wishes to remain anonymous - claims that Radiman's departure is a symptom of a growing power-struggle within the Council itself, instigated by both the collapse of the peace negotiations, and the Dust Brigade's actions against civilians, fuelled by Simon Silverstone's - the leader of the extremist clan Sentinels, and not a member of the Council - pressure for a reformed, and militarily strengthened, Council, under a new leadership (presumably Silverstone's). The same source quotes existing members of the Council as being disillusioned with Radiman's direction, and his relentless insistence on cooperation and diplomacy.

There are certainly clear signs of the more moderate clans' rapid move towards increased confrontation and violence as a substitute for political negotiation. The hard-liners are fast gaining the upper hand, and this is a trend that appears certain to continue, despite Radiman's return:

"If he decides to lead us to victory we will support him," says Rorie - President of Opposing Force, and a vocal clan-member - "(but) if he chooses to be silent and do nothing, we will replace him."

[Cosmik]

Henry Radiman has always been one to favour a peaceful solution to the conflict, and he has stated time and again that he believes war is a futile course of action for the clans. "Call for war, and war will heed your call," is a phrase he's used time and again, and there are certainly calls for war that may not go unheeded for much longer. But then again, there are still those who take a softer line and urge Radiman to pick up the slack in leadership - to return to his role as father to a divided family - and stay the course:

"It is time for him to unite the clans under the banner of peace once and for all," says Szentasha, leader of the clan Unity of the Rose. "He can't do this from inside a cave, or behind a desk. He has to be among the people."

Radiman's last public statement prior to Friday's letter was on April the 18th of this year, when the Council announced that there would be no traditional march through Tir this year - celebrating the establishment of the Manual Labourers' Guild - mainly due to security concerns. Since then, and until last week, there was nothing.

Speculations were rife, with rumours going around that Radiman was dead, that he'd resigned or been fired from the Council, that he'd left the planet - it was even said that Radiman had been captured by the Corporation and held in Omni-1 for questioning.

Requests for comments - both on and off the record - from the Council were repeatedly ignored, with even high-ranking clan officials and the Voice of Freedom apparently left out in the cold. If this was a conscious policy by the Council, it wasn't a very well thought-out one. Soon - culminating with a public demonstration last week - clan-members who'd previously supported Radiman were in an uproar, crying out for blood, and for a change in leadership.

The fact that it had to come down to public protests and a virtual lynch mob before Henry Radiman decided to make an "appearance" - he has yet to show himself in public - is indicative of either a leader grown more remote, or of an actual physical absence from the Council and from Tir for some amount of time, as indicated in Radiman's statement.

If the latter, where on Rubi-Ka has he been?

While disguises - both real and illusory - are easy to come by, it's hard to imagine Radiman skulking around in the alleys of Omni-1. It's even harder to believe that such a celebrity could travel undetected, and unprotected, for several months.

One clue may lie in Radiman's use of the word "pilgrimage". It's an eccentric turn of phrase, and it immediately brings up associations with a Council of Truth-affiliated clan that has remained an enigma to everyone on the outside: The Pilgrims.

Actual details are hard to come by, as the Pilgrims are few in numbers, and prefer to remain secluded. It's often been rumoured that Henry Radiman was himself a member of the Pilgrims, and that he represented the clan on the Council of Truth before stepping up as leader and spokesperson of the Council itself in January of '467. But again, there are few hard facts and much speculation. The Council has been ferociously protective of Radiman's privacy - to the point where many have suspected a "conspiracy of silence".

If Radiman did visit - or rejoin - the Pilgrims during his absence - his "pilgrimage" - this also corresponds well with his stated purpose to "rediscover" himself and his cause. But it also brings up a new, and perhaps more worrying, issue: Is it right, or indeed ethical, for the leader of a group representing several clans to ally himself so closely with one clan - a clan that probably represents a miniscule fraction of the clan population? Can Radiman remain the impartial representative of diverse opinions if he himself is the adherent of one opinion?

Regardless of his whereabouts during these past three months, it's still worrying to many clan-members that the Council - active or not - has remained leaderless for this amount of time. The presumption is that a temporary, or indeed permanent, replacement would have been instated, but that appears not to have been the case.

In fact, it may appear that the Council has not convened, nor been active, since before April of this year. If this is true, is the Council still a political force to be reckoned with, or is it just, as some have suggested, a ham-fisted bureaucracy that stands in the way of the clans' political evolution? If the Council still holds some power, how long will that last in view of recent weeks' criticisms?

According to Radiman's statement, the Council of Truth intends to reconvene shortly, and one presumes that they will address these concerns, or face the wrath of their most vocal critics. If Radiman's return from his pilgrimage - supposedly reinvigorated and refreshed - is to carry any sort of significance for the countless thousands of clan-members out there, they say, there needs to be action. If not, some clan-members, and clans, may elect to form a new power structure unfettered by the past and by traditions - and without Henry Radiman.

While no principals have stepped forward to comment on the record, our anonymous source is adamant that there's more to this story than what meets the eye, and that the crisis within the Council is indicative of a much larger crisis, one that may end up affecting the lives of everyone on Rubi-Ka - a crisis that involves not just Henry Radiman, and not just the Council, but the Omni-Tek Corporation, the ICC, and even rival hyper-corporations like the Sol Banking Corporation.

Without hard facts to back up the usual gossip, however, it's hard to treat this story - and the story remains that of Henry Radiman and his disappearance and reappearance, and the reasons given thereof - as something symptomatic rather than the isolated story of one politician who has provided a very human reason for his absence: A tired, heartbroken man in search of answers - answers that he may have found, wherever his pilgrimage may have taken him.

It might very well be that this is all there is to it, and that all we're doing is creating a storm in a teacup - making a big deal out of a very small story.

After all, even fathers grow tired and need a vacation once in a while.

(TAG contacted the Council of Truth requesting a response to the above article from either Henry Radiman or Council spokespeople. Our requests went unanswered. If the Council still wishes to make a statement or partake in an interview, we will publish their reply.)

Our theme ‘Absent Fathers’ continues next week in a second article by Christian E. Fuquay, where he investigates Philip Ross's continued silence, which - probably coincidentally - has mirrored Radiman's.