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Region: The Alliance of Dictators

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Sadripoor 1 year 354 days ago Spiritual Republic of Caryton wrote:Headquarters for the Election Committee of Caryton 1:15 PM "...on top of that, he claims to be both the Buddha and Jesus Christ." A troubled aged voice addressed the secret committee, an unprecedented meeting of the remnants of the First United Holy Party, the surging Hannis-lead Liberal Conservatives, and the puritan Relief Party. In the grey-carpeted room and before a long mahogany table sat ten-some representatives. Nine of them seemed to be over the age of 50, and stiffly dressed. Above them would be an off-white projector, which hummed idly as an image would be cast onto the whiteboard in front of them. A campaigning poster from the Happiness Party would leave the fundamentalists with their mouths agape, as it depicted a robed Ariano hanging on a cross. A sorrowful-looking blue font read the following: "Father, hast thou forsaken me? : How much longer must we endure before change comes?" "This is absurd!" A shrill voice from a seventy-some year old woman of the Relief Party said what everyone in the room had been thinking. "This is- this is blasphemy- and they're growing in the polls!?" "The Church has mobilized at least 4% of its total membership in Caryton and has marched on Georgine nonstop for the past several weeks. They have not once disbanded." A spokesperson for the Liberal Conservatives addressed the crowd, which was slowly becoming agitated. "The campaigning members march and sing even in the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning to pull in the late-night stragglers, and have been observed to sleep in 5 hour shifts." The image cast turns into a video shot by a concerned citizen of thirteen people in yellow robes- six of them adolescents- pasting campaign posters and pro-church propaganda in a continuous row in a side-street of Georgine to the voice of the guru's singing from a boombox, at four in the morning. The committee looked on with stern expressions. "They've come across a massive sum of money. The group has not only sustained their march on Georgine, but bought several radio stations, made new dojos, and is in the works for a local television station." Concerning words. "This is the work of extortion. There is no other explanation for Ariano's wealth. The church must be harboring and draining the assets of some high-profile people." "So how will we counter them in the polls? They've already jumped a percentage point of support, and conversions to the church, particularly among the young, are skyrocketing." A Shirleytonite woman, the youngest of the group, speaks up. The Liberal Conservatives spokesperson chuckled. "Some good old fashioned muckraking. We can't raid their compounds, but we can defame them. Get in contact with the NIS in Sadripoor, send them the relevant evidence of deprivation and newfound wealth, and inquire about extortion and mistreatment in the Suraiya branches. They'll send us something good, promise." The group nodded in agreement, the image of an exhausted and starved but still charismatic young woman marching to the 'teacher march' in front of captivated voters illuming the faces of the newfound coalition in light. A Suraiyan official with the Interior Intelligence Agency, Kuvatri Mahasathep Sundrataporn of the Religious Extremism and Cult Investigations Section shared a brief phone conversation with Carytonic officials. She informed them that a Suraiyan investigation into the Church of Positivity had been opened roughly two months prior, and been ongoing since. “When you’re tracking as many different saviors as we do every day you learn to spot the real trouble makers,” she’d remarked dryly. While she seemed committed to the due process of the law and driven to see the investigation through to the end, she clearly lacked the same urgency as the Carytonics. After all, the Church was not a force in Suraiyan politics, and there were no elections approaching in her own country for them to influence anyway. “We always get them in the end,” she’d declared, her tone carrying a sort of practiced boredom that indicated a life of doing exactly the same thing as was being done now. While the Suraiyans seemed willing to share evidence with Georgine, the lack of regular relations between the two states and the cold hostility of the pious Carytonics—which was so puzzling to the Suraiyans themselves—complicated any such efforts. “Take it up with the State Affairs Ministry,” Kuvatri said after an hour of discussions. Then she excused herself, and the line dropped to the pleasant voice of the IIA’s automated dialogue, which wished them a pleasant day in approximately six languages excluding English.

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Headquarters for the Election Committee of Caryton
1:15 PM

"...on top of that, he claims to be both the Buddha and Jesus Christ."

A troubled aged voice addressed the secret committee, an unprecedented meeting of the remnants of the First United Holy Party, the surging Hannis-lead Liberal Conservatives, and the puritan Relief Party. In the grey-carpeted room and before a long mahogany table sat ten-some representatives. Nine of them seemed to be over the age of 50, and stiffly dressed. Above them would be an off-white projector, which hummed idly as an image would be cast onto the whiteboard in front of them.

A campaigning poster from the Happiness Party would leave the fundamentalists with their mouths agape, as it depicted a robed Ariano hanging on a cross. A sorrowful-looking blue font read the following: "Father, hast thou forsaken me? : How much longer must we endure before change comes?"

"This is absurd!" A shrill voice from a seventy-some year old woman of the Relief Party said what everyone in the room had been thinking. "This is- this is blasphemy- and they're growing in the polls!?"

"The Church has mobilized at least 4% of its total membership in Caryton and has marched on Georgine nonstop for the past several weeks. They have not once disbanded." A spokesperson for the Liberal Conservatives addressed the crowd, which was slowly becoming agitated. "The campaigning members march and sing even in the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning to pull in the late-night stragglers, and have been observed to sleep in 5 hour shifts."

The image cast turns into a video shot by a concerned citizen of thirteen people in yellow robes- six of them adolescents- pasting campaign posters and pro-church propaganda in a continuous row in a side-street of Georgine to the voice of the guru's singing from a boombox, at four in the morning. The committee looked on with stern expressions.

"They've come across a massive sum of money. The group has not only sustained their march on Georgine, but bought several radio stations, made new dojos, and is in the works for a local television station." Concerning words. "This is the work of extortion. There is no other explanation for Ariano's wealth. The church must be harboring and draining the assets of some high-profile people."

"So how will we counter them in the polls? They've already jumped a percentage point of support, and conversions to the church, particularly among the young, are skyrocketing." A Shirleytonite woman, the youngest of the group, speaks up.

The Liberal Conservatives spokesperson chuckled. "Some good old fashioned muckraking. We can't raid their compounds, but we can defame them. Get in contact with the NIS in Sadripoor, send them the relevant evidence of deprivation and newfound wealth, and inquire about extortion and mistreatment in the Suraiya branches. They'll send us something good, promise."

The group nodded in agreement, the image of an exhausted and starved but still charismatic young woman marching to the 'teacher march' in front of captivated voters illuming the faces of the newfound coalition in light.

A Suraiyan official with the Interior Intelligence Agency, Kuvatri Mahasathep Sundrataporn of the Religious Extremism and Cult Investigations Section shared a brief phone conversation with Carytonic officials. She informed them that a Suraiyan investigation into the Church of Positivity had been opened roughly two months prior, and been ongoing since. “When you’re tracking as many different saviors as we do every day you learn to spot the real trouble makers,” she’d remarked dryly.

While she seemed committed to the due process of the law and driven to see the investigation through to the end, she clearly lacked the same urgency as the Carytonics. After all, the Church was not a force in Suraiyan politics, and there were no elections approaching in her own country for them to influence anyway. “We always get them in the end,” she’d declared, her tone carrying a sort of practiced boredom that indicated a life of doing exactly the same thing as was being done now.

While the Suraiyans seemed willing to share evidence with Georgine, the lack of regular relations between the two states and the cold hostility of the pious Carytonics—which was so puzzling to the Suraiyans themselves—complicated any such efforts.

“Take it up with the State Affairs Ministry,” Kuvatri said after an hour of discussions. Then she excused herself, and the line dropped to the pleasant voice of the IIA’s automated dialogue, which wished them a pleasant day in approximately six languages excluding English.

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