Federal Intelligence Bureau XIII, Exceptional Circumstances
Relax friends, come! Shrug off those heavy coats. Out there, the world is cold and miserable with men dying in some godforsaken hedge rows and winter airs. There will likely be no holiday cheers this year, unless you went to one of those concerts. Amazing what some immigrants and blue collared men and women can do with left over industrial equipment and pot lids.
Now, you may be wondering what exactly you are doing here, considering there are only 12 Federal intelligence sections and bureaus and Bureau XIII does not exist. I can assure you, we most certainly exist. As an official organization, certainly, we are somewhat new in the Federation, but the mission objective that this bureau will henceforth handle has been handled by others in unofficial capacity since the founding of the Federation.
What is our mission objective? What is it that we do? It is quite simple, gentlemen. From now on, you will be in charge of putting a price on human life. What does that mean? Allow me to explain further. Let us start with the official title of the bureau: Bureau of Exceptional Circumstances. Out there in the world, we have a perception of reality that is, generally speaking, commonly held by our populace. These are simple expectations and opinions that, put together, forms a coherent vision of what I term, 'normalcy.' These expectations and opinions aren't some grandiose political dogmas or philosophical thought, of course. These are genuinely, but deceptively, simple hopes and opinions: that butcher shop will still be open tomorrow, laws should be obeyed whenever possible, human life is priceless, etc.
Sometimes, however, a situation arises in which 'normalcy' is shattered and circumstances change in radical manner. Analyzing such a situation is the role of Bureau XIII. As you've surely noticed during the course of our work for the Federation, our own people are capable of committing awful, terrible acts on one another. Police brutality, public violence, corruption, assassinations, and acts of war are just few on the list of examples that the Federation is capable of committing and have done so. As a member of this bureau, you will have full clearance to all of the Federation's archives, all of our documents, and all of our correspondences. You shall analyze the daily acts of horror and breach of normalcy that occurs regularly within the Federation and you shall consider whether it was acceptable.
Note the term: acceptable. Very few, if any, of the cases you shall analyze will ever be justifiable. We are not asking the question of whether or not any particular acts of brutality can ever be justified in the context of 'normalcy.' We are asking the question of whether or not these acts were 'acceptable' in the light of the 'exceptional circumstances' that the individuals involved found themselves in. You shall analyze every document, every assassinations, every sabotage, and every terrorist acts and determine whether or not they fulfilled the objective of pursuing the greater good for the federation or if they failed or were outright shameful and petty acts of evil.
Greater Good. Evil. If we acknowledge that a 'greater good' and 'evil' exists, then we must also acknowledge that there is a lesser good, and multiple distinct levels of goods that can be compared to one another. Quantifying this and balancing the moral costs of Federation's actions are your jobs from henceforth. Do you understand what this means? To quantify and balance the Federations actions, you must know the moral costs of violence against an individual or oppression against groups. To know this, we must be able to put a price on human lives.
You shall consider yourselves investigators at large, moving between assignments and various units around the Federation. You shall ask the participants and yourself in these assignments and units why certain acts are being committed. If you feel what they are doing is excessive, unnecessary, or just plainly wrong, you shall inform each other and us in the bureau. From here, we will arrange for further interviews and investigations against such persons. Then words will spread from the right place within our bureaucracy, and those deemed to have acted wrongly will receive reprimands. Or their pay will be docked. Or they will be given reassignments to a place where they will be unable to cause further damage. Or their information will be leaked to the judicial branch for them to be given trials.
Or they will be shot for their crimes.
Remember that the Federation serves the people who have put their faith in our banners. Its nature as a state protects the people living within its borders from the harshest of slavery or fiercest of invaders, but its monopoly on violence requires that it be protected from itself if necessary. We balance the evils so that in the long run, brutality and violence is minimized. No pressure.
For today, however, relax and congratulate yourselves at being among the few chosen. I believe they got a batch of good frankfurters with Bavarian beer in the banquet hall...
