The Senior Common Room television — ordinarily silent — is now on. A red banner scrolls: BREAKING. The word seems to pulse.
Blottisham (alert, invigorated):
There we are! A genuine emergency. This is precisely when democracy proves its worth.
Elowen:
By doing what?
Blottisham:
Acting decisively.
Quillibrace (watching the screen):
Observe the word choice.
Blottisham:
Emergency?
Quillibrace:
No. Decisively.
I. The Acceleration
News Anchor (murmuring in the background):
“Unprecedented… urgent… extraordinary measures…”
Elowen:
The language has changed.
Quillibrace:
Yes. The tempo increases. The vocabulary contracts.
In ordinary time, policy is debated.
In crisis time, it is necessary.
Blottisham:
Because delay is dangerous!
Quillibrace:
And who defines delay?
(Blottisham hesitates.)
II. The Elastic Constitution
Elowen:
Isn’t emergency power built into the system?
Quillibrace:
Indeed. That is the brilliance.
The system contains within itself a mechanism for its own temporary suspension.
Blottisham:
Suspension is too strong.
Quillibrace:
Elasticity, then.
Elowen:
Principles stretch?
Quillibrace:
Under sufficient stress, yes. Rights become conditional. Procedures become streamlined. Oversight becomes retrospective.
Blottisham:
For the greater good.
Quillibrace:
For stability.
III. The Managed Fear
Elowen (quietly):
Does crisis reveal the system — or perfect it?
Quillibrace:
Both.
Crisis justifies centralisation.
Centralisation reduces unpredictability.
Reduced unpredictability restores confidence.
Blottisham:
Confidence is essential!
Quillibrace:
Precisely. Fear is destabilising unless properly channelled.
Elowen:
So fear becomes an instrument.
Quillibrace:
Not invented. Amplified. Directed. Interpreted.
Blottisham:
You make it sound as though emergencies are convenient.
Quillibrace:
Emergencies are opportunities for clarity.
(A small silence. Even Blottisham senses the ambiguity.)
IV. The Ritual of Consent
News Anchor:
“The public overwhelmingly supports temporary measures…”
Blottisham (brightening):
There! Consent again. The people agree.
Quillibrace:
Consent under duress has always been efficient.
Blottisham:
This is not duress. It is prudence.
Elowen:
If the alternative is framed as catastrophe, what does dissent look like?
(Blottisham falters.)
Quillibrace:
In crisis, dissent appears reckless.
Recklessness appears immoral.
Morality becomes alignment.
V. The Aftermath
Elowen:
Do emergency measures always retract?
Quillibrace:
Formally, often. Structurally, not entirely.
Crisis leaves residue:
expanded surveillance norms,
altered legal thresholds,
new administrative precedents.
Blottisham:
You cannot expect society to forget lessons learned.
Quillibrace:
Exactly.
(Blottisham blinks.)
VI. The Gentle Paradox
Elowen:
So democracy is strongest in crisis?
Quillibrace:
It is most unified in crisis.
Blottisham:
And unity is strength.
Quillibrace:
Unity is governability.
(The red banner continues to scroll.)
Elowen:
Is crisis the exception — or the calibration tool?
Quillibrace (after a pause):
In managed populations, crisis is both stress test and upgrade cycle.
(Blottisham stares at the screen, suddenly less invigorated.)
No comments:
Post a Comment