Prisons of Ice and Fire

History

After I returned to my quarters, I did have time for some food and rest before we set sail again.

As I lay in my bunk I could not get the Eye from my mind.

As a result I mentally sifted and re-ordered my memories of what I had heard about the Cult in order to relieve the boredom of my restless brain.

To start with I reconciled my knowledge of history with what I knew of the Cult.

When mankind left the shores of the desertified land and moved to the Stilt Cities, those that survived to reach them lived where they could.

Of course, those that knew of the situation and had planned and built the towers came in less problematic circumstances.

Everyone has opinions on how it came to this, but my I call my view the Fracture and the Schism, the Change and the Illness.

What did for society? Hubris.

Society had ideas, thoughts, targets: things that 'worked', things that were 'right'.

Society had no values worth a damn, no understanding of plain truths, but most of all, no ability to cope with the lacks it had. When does a beast so arrogant pull itself apart?

It doesn't happen overnight, not even one turn of the rack at a time.

It starts with a Fracture, a tiny thing, something most people dismiss as irrelevant and many others as a temporary thing: something that will, well, just heal itself.

As it grows, no-one can agree on when it becomes a Schism, but at some point it does; at some point it became relevant, not something that would heal without attention.

Even now, nobody I know can agree on that point, but it must have happened.

Of course, they will argue, that is how it was missed; because it can't be pinned down to a single event, a point in time.

But the consequences everyone can agree on: the lack of planning, the lack of research, the lack of development.

So, how did such a competitive ideal come to such a waste... two seagulls fight over a piece of bread.

There is plenty of bread, but they fight over this one piece. Why?

It’s about the right to future potential bread: once I've beaten you once, I have the right to first refusal, unless you want to fight again and again.

So, why not just give it up? Leave it? Go for another piece of bread?

Because, in the event of bread being scarce, I have no right (because I lost?) or confidence (because I lost!) to take any of it.

In games, if you lose enough times, you get 'demoted': you lose the right to play for the big prizes.

That was how it became in life... some people chose when the competition was, the rules, and decided who had the right to compete from then on.

But, as for the seagull, life is not sport, life is life: win or lose, live or die.

What started as the Fracture (call it 'winners' bemoaning 'losers', the 'old' bemoaning the 'young', the 'rich' bemoaning the 'poor'... whatever) gradually became the Schism: you were going to be on one side, or the other: no game to play.

There was enough food, water and land for all: enough for a population on the cusp of levelling out; enough for all to have a small, almost infinitesimal increase in their standard of living over time, but a rise nonetheless.

But the bread, the bread could not be spread.

Then came the Change, and the Illness.

Those who really don't get it still debate which was the most crucial, which happened first, or, who was to 'blame'.

Those who just feel lucky to have survived know who to blame.

They don't blame the poor, who struggled to contain the Illness.

They don't blame the rich, who continued to burn and burn and burn.

They don't blame the idiots who argued about what to do based not on the truths, but on what result would best suit them.

No, they don't blame anyone: they know that, if we are to survive, we must just do things differently this time: we must find new Gods, new Hope, but above all, we must 'make' the right people out of our children.

The Change came quickly: rains failed, winds changed, seas rose; land that was bountiful turned to dust along with the people who lived there.

The Illness sped up the process: the weak and old could not cope after the young became ill and died.

Unfortunately for mankind, much was lost that was important, but that which was not came across the Water to the Stilt Cities: the same ideas, the same values, the same way of live.

The Stilt Cities.

They collect methane bubbling up from the depths of the ocean using the Hats: collectors that sit just below the surface and help to stabilize them.

The first thing you see of a tower is the stack coolers, being the tallest part.

There is not much to see per se (no gigantic flame or suite of lights)  as nothing is wasted, but, on the right day, they will attract a kind of haze which helps.

In fact there is very little in the way of electic lights visible either, no energy is wasted, unless a crew are having to work on the exterior of the complex at night in an emergency.

The Cult of Rafii have only one City.

They are generally speaking 'allowed' to, but in reality, not much can be done: The Kelf Incident was over in a day; no prolonged conflict, siege or war.

It did, of course, teach the Ruling Heptet a thing or to which they never forgot, but nothing was to be done.

Under the Heptet, there is no freedom of speech, only law and order although some Cults exist that espouse what those in charge think is dangerous; the ones that survive have just enough control to carry on.

Information is freely available, as is everything you need to live: the population is actually in decline, so things are being do to increase it.

Where women don’t want children, their eggs are 'harvested' if they are deemed worthy: the same with men who have 'diseases' that only prevent them having progeny.

However, the death rate seems to increase.

 Many people are disappearing: thought to have committed suicide by throwing themselves from the walls into the sea but no-one actually sees it.

Now for some reason my thoughts drift to The Bulwark.