jalapeno_dude
AKA Panda Judo Eel
This is not to be understood as an IC communication from the Citadel, which in fact will deny all knowledge of it. It is presented as a story, and might perhaps, OOC, serve to shed some light on the current situation.
Palamon's Conjecture
The following is taken from the presentation of Palamon, Head Librarian of the East, at the Conclave of 2085.
...in summary, then, an examination of the primary sources shows that war, in the Citadel, has traditionally been understood as resulting from a lack of knowledge about the world as a whole. The traditional remedy, then, is first summarized, allegedly by the Prophet himself, in the well-known verses of 2 Revelations 4:16-19.[1] In other words, the great hope of our body: if only learning and mental discipline were extended throughout the world then peace would everywhere prevail.
I propose to reexamine this argument...
...Thus the historical record, properly interpreted, leads us to the inescapable conclusion that war comes not from lack of information, but from too much information. Specifically, war is the inevitable result of the formation of groups of intelligent beings on a larger level than the village. War comes due to the relentless drive to expand, to organize, to centralize of the nation-state or empire, a drive fundamentally unnatural to the individual, who desires only freedom and peace.
It is now time to reexamine perhaps the most controversial topic of Citadel scholarship--the Eldranians themselves. Given this conclusion, is it not possible, indeed probable, that the Prophet drew the wrong conclusion from the experience of the Eldranians? The Prophet concluded that the Eldranian War and Genocide were products of the Eldranian isolation from the rest of humanity (that is, their lack of knowledge about it); but the correct conclusion is that the War and the Genocide sprang from Eldrania's proximity to the rest of the world (that is, their knowledge of it).
Though I hesitate to say it, this brings us to a conclusion whose logic we cannot doubt, even if every cell[2] in our bodies cries out against it--to bring peace to the world, all organization larger than a village, all nations and states and empires, must be destroyed and never allowed to re-form.[3]
[1] 16 Gather all the knowledge under the sun, for all under the sun is your domain, as all above it is my domain. 17 Learn all the secrets of this world. 18 Teach these secrets to all men. 19 Preserve your knowledge, so that it will never die.
For an alternate telling of this verse, see here.
[2]Yes, cell. The Citadel has developed lenses by now.
[3]The other Head Librarians promptly expelled him from the Conclave, expecting the Citadel of the East to remove Palamon and replace him with a more conservative Librarian. This is not what happened, though...
OOC: This what you meant by anti-Citadel, NK?
Palamon's Conjecture
The following is taken from the presentation of Palamon, Head Librarian of the East, at the Conclave of 2085.
...in summary, then, an examination of the primary sources shows that war, in the Citadel, has traditionally been understood as resulting from a lack of knowledge about the world as a whole. The traditional remedy, then, is first summarized, allegedly by the Prophet himself, in the well-known verses of 2 Revelations 4:16-19.[1] In other words, the great hope of our body: if only learning and mental discipline were extended throughout the world then peace would everywhere prevail.
I propose to reexamine this argument...
...Thus the historical record, properly interpreted, leads us to the inescapable conclusion that war comes not from lack of information, but from too much information. Specifically, war is the inevitable result of the formation of groups of intelligent beings on a larger level than the village. War comes due to the relentless drive to expand, to organize, to centralize of the nation-state or empire, a drive fundamentally unnatural to the individual, who desires only freedom and peace.
It is now time to reexamine perhaps the most controversial topic of Citadel scholarship--the Eldranians themselves. Given this conclusion, is it not possible, indeed probable, that the Prophet drew the wrong conclusion from the experience of the Eldranians? The Prophet concluded that the Eldranian War and Genocide were products of the Eldranian isolation from the rest of humanity (that is, their lack of knowledge about it); but the correct conclusion is that the War and the Genocide sprang from Eldrania's proximity to the rest of the world (that is, their knowledge of it).
Though I hesitate to say it, this brings us to a conclusion whose logic we cannot doubt, even if every cell[2] in our bodies cries out against it--to bring peace to the world, all organization larger than a village, all nations and states and empires, must be destroyed and never allowed to re-form.[3]
[1] 16 Gather all the knowledge under the sun, for all under the sun is your domain, as all above it is my domain. 17 Learn all the secrets of this world. 18 Teach these secrets to all men. 19 Preserve your knowledge, so that it will never die.
For an alternate telling of this verse, see here.
[2]Yes, cell. The Citadel has developed lenses by now.
[3]The other Head Librarians promptly expelled him from the Conclave, expecting the Citadel of the East to remove Palamon and replace him with a more conservative Librarian. This is not what happened, though...
OOC: This what you meant by anti-Citadel, NK?
