Submitted to the Rubi-Ka Times and the usual community gridsites today. Comments encouraged.
ABSENT FAMILIES
Rubi-Ka has now spent two full weeks under the light of the new year, and although the deafening sounds of civil war echo throughout the planet, what pervades society as the most prevalent phenomenon is an all-encompassing silence.
The July 29, 29476 issue of TAG was appropriately titled "Absent Fathers", due to the extended "disappearance" of both Council of Truth chair Henry Radiman and Omni-Tek Corporation of Rubi-Ka (OTRK) CEO Philip Ross. Yet, even though neither had spoken or emerged to lead their respective factions, other officials, such as OTRK media liaison Burton Shogren, continued to make themselves available for comment. Indeed, in the fathers’ failing, the families themselves rose as support for a confused and often-times lost population, albeit during a time of relative stability on Rubi-Ka.
However, in recent months (yes, months) there has been an eerie silence from officials on all sides of the political spectrum. Granted, the Council of Truth has neither been heard from nor seen since the day of their abandonment of Tir, but what of the others?
The Interstellar Confederation of Corporations (ICC)
The ICC, although not historically vocal, fully deregulated the market for the mining of notum on Rubi-Ka, sparking what is quickly accelerating into full-scale civil war. ICC chair Isidra Derousse announced the ICC’s decision on November 28, 29476, and, despite the fact that this incompetent lack of foresight has proved directly contrary to the ICC’s stated purpose of peace and stability, Ms. Derousse has hidden herself away in her office and has apparently neglected to take her comm with her.
Ms. Derousse is obviously a very busy woman, and more so now than before. However, is the ICC press-relations staff as willfully callous to its duties as its leaders? Certainly the organization charged with overseeing thousands of planets – of which Rubi-Ka has proved one of the most important in terms of the galactic economy – would have realized that, if nothing else, perhaps the economic markets throughout the galaxy require some form of reassurance during this crisis? Notum wars aside, even when the militant Sentinels clan seized control of Tir and thereby humiliated the ICC peacekeeping contingent in the eyes of those throughout the galaxy, we heard nothing. No condemnation of this destabilizing action; not even so much as a grunt from ICC head office. It is now quickly approaching the two-month mark since the last ICC “grunt”.
The Council of Truth and the Sentinels Clan
I am quite certain we all remember the day that the Council of Truth became “incommunicado”; it was a day that concurrently marked the arrival of ICC peacekeepers. Yet, in the ensuing two-plus months, we not only have received no word from anyone associated therewith, but haven’t even heard from any members of Omni-Pol or OTRK regarding the investigation into this disappearance. Is there an investigation underway? If so, by whom and in what manner is it being conducted?
The Council of Truth inevitably fled for due reason; they did not suddenly decide to all go on simultaneous vacation. If they are in hiding, it is unlikely that they would make public appearances, or even risk making public statements. Yet the “whispers” often endemic of such mysteries – those involving rumour and speculation intermingled with veins of truth – are non-existent. Quite simply, someone on Rubi-Ka must know something, even if it remains a mere secretive rumour, and as the old saying poignantly states: “if more than one person knows, it’s no longer a secret”.
It also seems as if the militant Simon Silverstone has been as taken aback by this silence as the rest of the population, as he has yet to speak and decry the “vicious corporate machine” (sarcasm noted) in light of his triumphant victory over the ICC. Nor has he arisen to urge his followers to war – to claim all available mining properties and thereby vanquish the evil Omni-Tek entity.
Omni-Tek Corporation
What is perhaps most disturbing, however, is the frank neglect shown by Omni-Tek Corporation and its OTRK subsidiary towards its employees. CEO Philip Ross last spoke on October 15, 29476. Yes, you read that correctly: the most powerful man on the planet, to whom countless numbers look for guidance and leadership, has not uttered a word for three months. Neither has Sergeyevich, nor any other high-level director of any OTRK departments.
This is in light of the fact that Omni-Tek has been stripped of its most prized possession, albeit only at the mining level, and its employees are now fighting a war for which they had little need. Now, OTRK’s employees can no longer travel to Tir, and are violently assaulted if so doing. Now, clan militants are pressing ever south, into Clon****, Galway County (virtually at the gates of Rome) and even into Omni-Forest. Rather than rallying its employees to the defense of corporate assets, we have silence, and a terrifying prevailing opinion that the administration of OTRK and Omni-Tek no longer care for its employees.
The Result
This lack of guidance is far more than troubling. In recent weeks, employees (both neutral and active), as well as members of the clans, have boarded shuttles bound for other, more stable worlds, while others have resorted to wandering aimlessly about in search of answers that many believe do not exist. Similarly, citizen grid communications media – such as the grid forums – are rife with discord and chaos. The population – rather, the children of these neglectful families – lack direction and guidance, and above all else have no one to whom to turn in these troubled times.
