Finnick(unimportant subordinate): Rion, the people need supplies. They are desperate and terrified. My men cannot contain the escalating crime rate on the budget you’ve left us. And your secret resource war with Sentium isn’t helping matters.
The new repair-bots keep the mechs running, but we seem to go through pilots faster than point-D Vulcan ammo. Without a stream of new combat bodies, the situation is becoming dire. We’re two steps away from conceding total control of the vitrolium trade to Sentium. What are you going to do about it?
Rion Lazlo(CEO of Prosk): We have a city full of dependent employees. Potential pilots… They’ll determine who wins this war..
Finnick: A mandatory draft? I like that… Demand all eligible citizens register for compulsory service, and —
Rion Lazlo: No… Not conscription — a call for volunteers! For heroes! The people already feel trapped by the quarantine. We can’t take away what little freedom they have left! Let’s offer them the chance to fix things themselves… And Prosk in the process! If they’re desperate enough to riot, they’re motivated enough to fight. They want change. They want better lives. And they’re frustrated we aren’t delivering any of that fast enough. So let’s give them the tools to build a better life on their own…
Finnick: You want to give a riotous public access to war machines. War machines they will turn on us the minute we hand them the keys. You’re insane.
Rion Lazlo: Am I?
The people feel helpless because they think there is nothing they can do. They hide in their homes and pace the streets just waiting for the next supply drop. How many of them would stop waiting and start doing something if given the chance? A lot. Maybe all of them. So let’s put that pent-up energy to good use. Train them up, give them an Axe and send them into the field. We pay them a stipend based on performance. We get the virtolium and they keep whatever they can salvage. To them, the spoils. To us, the wealth. As long as the Giga-Structure keeps growing, there will be untapped fortunes to be made on Illal.
A fraction of which can make an ordinary citizen wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. And what is more motivating than providing for one’s family? Strengthening one’s community? Let’s foster some pride in their corporate citizenship. Treat the most successful pilots like national heroes. Driving an Axe into combat will become the most sought-after honor on this planet. It will be a role of distinction, and achieving a better position within the hierarchy of pilots will be motivation to excel. We will turn this war into an industry. Turn it into entertainment.
We’ll redirect the economy to focus on this new empowerment. Markets will realign to recapture the comforts we’ve lost… Redistributing whatever resources are left, rather than scavenging for what no longer exists. We’ll lead them to water, rather than diverting the river to their doorstep. We’ll inspire the people to take control of their own fate and the fate of their society. We shouldn’t punish those who are willing to fight for improvement. We should embrace that passion, and direct it against our enemies! The people, Finnick. The people are the key to the future. Not the machines. Not the product. The people will decide whether Illal flourishes or falls. This world may be dying… But we don’t have to die with it.
Mankind is a tenacious breed. We’ve colonized two arms of the galaxy, and we’re still going. We’re made to grow. To expand. To dominate. It is in our genetic memory, passed down through our bloodlines. We’re not designed to succumb to fate or nature. We never would have gotten this far if we were.
This is our legacy… For better or for worse. So let’s embrace it, in all of its destructive glory. Let’s answer the pleas of our people, and remind them that we, as a species, do not fail. When we are small, we dream of bigger things. When those dreams are questioned, we find bigger solutions. And when those solutions are challenged, we do what mankind does best —
We fight.
YOU ARE FREE TO FIGHT
REGISTER NOW
[playhawken]
The new repair-bots keep the mechs running, but we seem to go through pilots faster than point-D Vulcan ammo. Without a stream of new combat bodies, the situation is becoming dire. We’re two steps away from conceding total control of the vitrolium trade to Sentium. What are you going to do about it?
Rion Lazlo(CEO of Prosk): We have a city full of dependent employees. Potential pilots… They’ll determine who wins this war..
Finnick: A mandatory draft? I like that… Demand all eligible citizens register for compulsory service, and —
Rion Lazlo: No… Not conscription — a call for volunteers! For heroes! The people already feel trapped by the quarantine. We can’t take away what little freedom they have left! Let’s offer them the chance to fix things themselves… And Prosk in the process! If they’re desperate enough to riot, they’re motivated enough to fight. They want change. They want better lives. And they’re frustrated we aren’t delivering any of that fast enough. So let’s give them the tools to build a better life on their own…
Finnick: You want to give a riotous public access to war machines. War machines they will turn on us the minute we hand them the keys. You’re insane.
Rion Lazlo: Am I?
The people feel helpless because they think there is nothing they can do. They hide in their homes and pace the streets just waiting for the next supply drop. How many of them would stop waiting and start doing something if given the chance? A lot. Maybe all of them. So let’s put that pent-up energy to good use. Train them up, give them an Axe and send them into the field. We pay them a stipend based on performance. We get the virtolium and they keep whatever they can salvage. To them, the spoils. To us, the wealth. As long as the Giga-Structure keeps growing, there will be untapped fortunes to be made on Illal.
A fraction of which can make an ordinary citizen wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. And what is more motivating than providing for one’s family? Strengthening one’s community? Let’s foster some pride in their corporate citizenship. Treat the most successful pilots like national heroes. Driving an Axe into combat will become the most sought-after honor on this planet. It will be a role of distinction, and achieving a better position within the hierarchy of pilots will be motivation to excel. We will turn this war into an industry. Turn it into entertainment.
We’ll redirect the economy to focus on this new empowerment. Markets will realign to recapture the comforts we’ve lost… Redistributing whatever resources are left, rather than scavenging for what no longer exists. We’ll lead them to water, rather than diverting the river to their doorstep. We’ll inspire the people to take control of their own fate and the fate of their society. We shouldn’t punish those who are willing to fight for improvement. We should embrace that passion, and direct it against our enemies! The people, Finnick. The people are the key to the future. Not the machines. Not the product. The people will decide whether Illal flourishes or falls. This world may be dying… But we don’t have to die with it.
Mankind is a tenacious breed. We’ve colonized two arms of the galaxy, and we’re still going. We’re made to grow. To expand. To dominate. It is in our genetic memory, passed down through our bloodlines. We’re not designed to succumb to fate or nature. We never would have gotten this far if we were.
This is our legacy… For better or for worse. So let’s embrace it, in all of its destructive glory. Let’s answer the pleas of our people, and remind them that we, as a species, do not fail. When we are small, we dream of bigger things. When those dreams are questioned, we find bigger solutions. And when those solutions are challenged, we do what mankind does best —
We fight.
YOU ARE FREE TO FIGHT
REGISTER NOW
[playhawken]
—Hawken: Genesis, final pages
