I am the new hegemony.

[Lezrahi]

[i]Lezrahi stood alone in the icy wasteland that lay before him, the frozen air piercing his nostrils, burning his throat, and bludgeoning his skin. With dull, indiscriminate eyes, he gazed in to the black void ahead of him, from where screamed the wind, carrying a voice as empty as the the invisible sky, and as monotonous as the flat expanse, that instilled in him both a sense of claustrophobia and agoraphobia. It was all so endless. Even the path behind him was unclear; the memories remained, but the clarity of what it all meant in the context of the present was lost to him. And in the calm of this tumult, he spoke with a strange, unmoving passion.[/i]

I do please ask that you all pardon my diction and mood: I don't intend for it to be depressive for the sake of it. I have always exhibited a penchant for speaking in a manner that, depending upon the listener, can draw a variety of conflicting responses. It is something that I used to use prolifically, in days before I lost my ideology. In the days of Vox Populi--bless its heart--I came in front of you magnificent people to offer my input during a time of struggle. Even those who were, for all intents and purposes, my enemies, gave me their ears. I remember those times. I am thankful for those times. I do not deny longing again for those times. I am thankful for the people on all sides.

I have come to offer it perhaps for the last time...or for the last in a very, very long time, at least.

[b]An ideology once lay here...[/b]

When Vox Populi formed, it was nothing to speak of: eleven old men who perceived a disease and decided to fight it and succumb to it for nothing else but to send a message. But, almost immediately, their performance attracted other performers, and then, an audience. A fire was lit--illuminated the dead and dusty corridors of this madhouse--and something grew from it that had not been seen before, and which has not been seen since.

I was among the last to join, and among the last to leave. Previously, in past lives, I had borne hatred within me for the hegemonic forces. They destroyed my first home almost as quickly as I had become a part of it. I spent the next two years watching other homes burned by torches wielded by the same hands.

But that hatred did not last forever: there came a day when my feelings on the matter became less of a motivating force to change things, and more of a philosophical view. I knew what was wrong. I didn't care anymore. It was what it was. Eventually, chaos was the only thing that drove me. I desired war. I desired to burn, and to be burned, for the hell of it.

But when I joined the resistance, something was injected back in to my heart: something that meant more. Something that I knew then and there that I could not let go of. Such is why I stayed, even when the movement faltered: when its members' eyes shifted to all the cardinal directions, all looking at a different future. I was there to see us rise, fall, and then rise again.

And we won.

The true influence of Vox Populi is still something that is under debate: some say that we were the root cause of what would eventually destroy the Pacifican sphere of influence as it was known. Others argue that it was never anything more than pretty words, and that the fall of Pax Pacifica was a clear inevitability that we had no bearing on. Nevertheless, it is clear that we left our mark on history, as well as the minds of the people from those times (and beforehand) who still stand among us today.

I had ideology then. I never stopped enjoying war--never ceased to smile at the dramatic and chaotic downturns that this world would often take. But in those days, I had something else in my heart that drove me to fight for something different. I wanted to see a new world--a freer one.

And lo, it is here, and terms and phrases from those glorious days passed are now nebulous. There are no longer such things as 'PZI,' 'EZI,' and 'Francoism.' There is no such thing as imperialism. There are no longer squabbles over senate seats.

[b]...But what have we left?[/b]

So why is it that we are somehow even more asphyxiated than we were then?

One day, in the past, I told Vox that it needed to step back and look at itself. I told my fellow revolutionaries that we had fallen in to a despotism of our own. We recovered from it, in time, before it made us in to what we were fighting against.

And now, I look at myself, and I no longer see a Voxian. I am still as proud to have been one as I ever was. But I know that this world has changed, and that I have changed with it. I am not a revolutionary anymore. I am not part of a collective of alliances and nations that could come close to being considered a force of liberty. I am a raider. A pirate. I take from the helpless few. I destroy them. I feed off of them. It is the culture that I have immersed myself in to and become a part of.

I am Unjust.

It is violent. It is soothing. It is tactless. It is considerate. It is ugly. It is beautiful. It is unadulterated. It is controlled.

It is free in its own enslaving way. And yet, not since Vox have I felt so at home. Complete.

And from that, as well as from seeing and considering the opposing view, I have come to a disturbing realisation: politically, our world is as multi-polar as we in Vox Populi intended for it to be. But, ideologically, it is more uni-polar than it ever has been. There is but one ideology that exists: a sense of freedom. Freedom is the blood that runs through the veins of every follower that stands at the bases of the mountains. Freedom is the pulse that beats in the necks of every leader standing on the peaks above them. Freedom is the fundamental mindset that sustains all of the peoples that exist here today. For us, it is the freedom to raid and destroy as we see fit. For others, it is the freedom to be free of that very practice.

Freedom, freedom, freedom. Freedom is the new totalitarian regime, the concept of which serves as the basis for how all alliances conduct themselves, internally and internationally.

It is the epidemic the sucks out the lifeblood of this world: a falsehood. A mockery of true freedom.

We have forgotten what freedom truly is. We have forgotten that freedom is only freedom when one decides to fight for it. That is the only true feeling of freedom that I ever knew.

[b]What, then, do I fight for?[/b]

Nothing. I no longer know what to fight for, nor do I know if there really is anything left that I [i]should[/i] fight for. I feel nothing toward the debate over the morality of raiding.

Thus, I have become part of a new hegemony. It is...different, in many ways, from the Pax Pacifican state of affairs of days passed. Nevertheless, it possesses an iron fist of its own, and presently, it threatens to bring itself down upon the Antarctic.

I will not attempt to deny or even cast doubt upon the true reasoning for such: it is not a far fetched idea that this campaign is entirely opportunistic. This was a situation that could easily have been resolved diplomatically. We all exhibit awareness of that.

Nevertheless, I march forward anyway because, as stated before, I no longer carry an ideology that burns in my heart. I am neutral. Ideologically speaking, I could just as easily be marching in the opposite direction.

That said, my message to my opponents is simple: you must fight me, for I must be stopped. I must be destroyed, for otherwise, I will mow down your armed forces. I will set fire to your homes and dance in the ashes. I will slaughter your polar bears wherever they are found. I will melt the polar ice caps so that your home is not really your home anymore. I will turn a deaf ear to any cries for mercy that you might or might not express, not out of spite or hatred, but simply because the conditions allow me to.

I am the modern hegemony. I represent everything that you stand against. And if you wish to survive, you will stop the advance of the machine that I am a part of. You will accept no peace, no matter how tempting it is once you are broken and feel as if you can no longer stand up. You will fight in perpetuity for your right to exist. If you do not have that mindset, then you have already lost.

I am the villain. I am the past. And I dare you to lay me to rest.

I look forward to a great battle. Do not disappoint me.

That is all.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Lezrahi

[Sephiroth]

It is true you need to be stopped or CN will continue becoming more boring for more people. Boredom will lead to the current Hegemony starting more wars to satisfy their boredom, which will all be curb stomps unless people rise up to oppose you.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Methrage

[Chief Savage Man]

Unjust Vox Crew represent.

[WorldConqueror]

I was sorely disappointed to find that this thread was lacking the subtitle: 'And you can too!'

[Charles Stuart]

So the revolution was hijacked by morons. I think we all figured that out months ago.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Charles Stuart

[Lezrahi]

[quote name='Charles Stuart' timestamp='1295438648' post='2583702']
So the revolution was hijacked by morons. I think we all figured that out months ago.
[/quote]

Every alliance does, indeed, contain its weaker links, but no, that is not what I was suggesting. There was a point in Vox's early existence, after it had reached its peak statistical potential (and after its acquisition of the Senate seats on Red and Green), but before its governing body was established, during which, the initial momentum began to fade and many revolutionaries (including some among the eleven founders) either succumbed to the forces amassed against them, or surrendered to them. Those that stayed behind all expressed differing opinions on what goals and methods to follow, and some of them become rather elitist in mindset, looking down on those who chose not to continue fighting, and going so far as to claim, arrogantly, that the motivating revolutionary fire did not exist in their hearts, and perhaps never had. Needless to say, we were not conducting ourselves as well as we should have been, and that is something all too important in a movement that persevered not on military might, but on the idea that words could influence, and even change, the political landscape. It was arguably Vox's darkest hour, and there was even talk that it was time to lay the Voxian affiliation to rest. It was widely-publicised; I am sure that, were you interested, you could easily find traces of it by looking at some old threads.

Despite that, we eventually got our !@#$ together, managed to survive, gained some crucial members (famous and obscure, old and new), and ended up establishing and running what was arguably the greatest espionage network Digiterra ever witnessed before and since (with the possible exception of FAN's, in operation around the same time). Our elected leadership varied slightly through it all, but we retained many of the same big names that were there from start to finish (Doitzel, Starfox, Schattenman, etc.), as well as some that came later (Electron Sponge). There was hardly any hijacking.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Lezrahi

[Tromp]

I always enjoy your threads/posts Lezrahi. Doesn't matter what content it has, you have a powerful pen, so to speak.

That's all.

[Alfred von Tirpitz]

[quote]You will accept no peace, no matter how tempting it is once you are broken and feel as if you can no longer stand up. You will fight in perpetuity for your right to exist. If you do not have that mindset, then you have already lost.[/quote]

The old folk always told me to not look into a mirror in darkness. Coz that is when the true you comes to the fore. Its night and you just showed me a mirror.

[Hereno]

I, for one, thought this was a good read. Thanks for writing it.

[wickedj]

Counter point, Mr Damsky forced an entire alliance to flee this planet

[Earogema]

FREEDOM IS JOINING THE NPO AND SERVING THE EMPEROR FOREVER

At any rate, I look forward to opposing this hegemony as I did the last.

[Chief Savage Man]

[quote name='Earogema' timestamp='1295474844' post='2584301']
FREEDOM IS JOINING THE NPO AND SERVING THE EMPEROR FOREVER

At any rate, I look forward to opposing this hegemony as I did the last.
[/quote]

Eh, too much work, I'd rather be part of it.

[Earogema]

[quote name='Chief Savage Man' timestamp='1295476380' post='2584347']
Eh, too much work, I'd rather be part of it.
[/quote]
And that's why I beat you in that one election Tali lover.

[Comrade Goby]

[quote name='Earogema' timestamp='1295481824' post='2584476']
And that's why I beat you in that one election Tali lover.
[/quote]

More proof about CSM's true feelings.

[Chief Savage Man]

[quote name='Earogema' timestamp='1295481824' post='2584476']
And that's why I beat you in that one election Tali lover.
[/quote]

you can thank bigwoody for that scumbag

[quote name='Comrade Goby' timestamp='1295482052' post='2584485']
More proof about CSM's true feelings.
[/quote]

go away forever

[Sarmatian Empire]

I cannot say I know the power of vox, as I didn't pay attention to it much as the time and was focused on my own affairs. I know it did shake up a few things...whether it caused NPO's downfall....it helped...anything helped though.

For years this game was simple. NPO and friends had to keep themselves on top and everyone else had to take them down. Vox was playing the same game, they just played differently.

However, what happened when NPO and friends were finally taken down? We had beat the game. We beat the game a year and a half ago...we've had one major war since and maybe this current conflict will be our second. Yet...before we beat the game...we had GWII, GWIII, and the Unjust Path in...what 7 months?

Of course most people against NPO enjoyed watching Vox, anything to help us beat the game...but now that its beaten...what do we have?

[Monster]

Don't try to stop us. We're nice.

[eyriq]

Nice read though I don't think the Unjust freedom you speak of is quite the hegemony. I do agree that it is hollow though.

[Alexander The Second]

every great regime has it's day to rue, yours will come and another groups turn to get carried away will come. My bet is the cycle repeats till the game is offline.