tvk | 10: [Video]

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miles edgeworth

10: [Video]

[Edgeworth was good enough at working and thinking alone, not to mention so used to being surrounded by incompetents, that the need to collaborate to find the truth had eluded him for years. Even the realization that he needed to trust others was born from a retreat into solitude. Unfortunately, teamwork of the type he had already accepted was of the kind that required other experts and an entire system, and now Edgeworth found himself with neither at his disposal. He was a fish out of the very same water that, at the height of his arrogance, he had taken for granted -- more alone now than he had proudly considered himself to be then.

For all the suffering Edgeworth went through, never before coming to Prospero did he have a chance to realize how much opportunity had simply been handed to him -- opportunity that was at times tainted, but opportunity nonetheless. Only here did he ever find himself in the position of having to save up for purchases. Only here was the government itself on the side of the primary criminals rather than on his side. Only here were certain truths the exclusive province of a minority no matter how hard he might try, the same minority that was resistant to punishments that he had also taken for granted.

Even with all this working against him, though, to ask for help from the unwashed masses was an act that called for swallowing his pride. Fortunately, the Hierophant made it a lot easier muster the trust necessary to do so...]

Good afternoon. It was not my intention to speak publically on the matter I wish to discuss today before I had a complete plan to present, but after months I'm forced to admit that I've reached the limits of what I can conceive of alone under such stifling conditions. What allies I have here are few and their expertise lies elsewhere.

I've given preamble enough, however. I speak to you today because we're in dire need of a criminal justice system amongst ourselves and wish to invite open discussion of how best to address that need. While the obvious potential defendants are among those who've vanished, there is no guarantee that the need won't arise again; indeed, that they did vanish before it was possible for them to stand trial only serves as proof that we need to be prepared should more crimes be committed that the native justice system is incapable of handling. Given both the danger of disappearances and the hot-headed impatience of many here, the procedure needs to be swift. However, I know full well the dangers of attempting to speed justice along and the magnitude of crimes possible here, so I propose a more lenient schedule than that of my home: three days of investigation prior to beginning the trial, followed by a trial that lasts a week at most with further investigation allowed during that period.

Concerning why I insist that trials are necessary at all, there are several reasons. First, civilization requires the practice of basic civility, which can easily break down if there are no barriers to acting on one's temper. Second, such hasty behaviors can easily be ill-conceived or based on faulty assumptions, which can cause people to be punished wrongly. Third, through the debates involved, lies and mistakes are exposed for what they are and cast aside until only the truth remains -- a procedure far more difficult to enact unilaterally due to the imperfection of any one sapient being and the lack of anything to challenge such a person's assumptions and keep their biases in check.

If the phenomena centered here didn't conspire to not only remain hidden from the eyes of the natives but to rob them of any chance to realize that anything might be amiss, I would be content to use the native courts. Unfortunately, we've already seen examples of a motive that would be mere insanity from a native perspective and impossible to prove otherwise, entire crimes vanishing from their awareness, and even crimes that might not have happened at all if not for the changes in behavior that at times sweep the island. As we cannot simply allow things to run unchecked lest we find ourselves in the throes of another crime spree, we thus need to create a justice system of our own.

Unfortunately, there are two problems that I can't conceive of ways to fully overcome, as well as one that requires participation if it is to be solved at all. The first problem is the scarcity of people qualified to act as prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. To my knowledge, I'm the only prosecutor here and we have no defense attorneys or judges at all. Of the three, judges would be the easiest to simply train; the lack of defense attorneys is far more disconcerting. Given how few of us there are -- and were, even a month prior -- I don't believe we have a sufficient population to support the jury system that's customarily used in this country, so I see no reason to consider that.

The second problem is a lack of effective forms of punishment. Given that execution of a kidnappee is an entirely pointless endeavor, imprisonment is a joke for most of us, we cannot dictate the natives' treatment of others, and fining becomes a questionable practice when we lack public works of our own to fund, we're sorely lacking in remotely ethical ways to punish any but the most petty of criminals. I've only been able to think of a single alternative approach to punishing the worst among us, and that would require both significant technical expertise to implement and at least one alternative punishment suited for less severe crimes. Unfortunately, without any workable concepts for lesser punishments, we can't even be certain of the best place to draw the line.

Finally, there is the problem of consensus concerning what would constitute a reasonable justice system at all. To those of you who come from very different cultures than those of Earth's early 21st century, I've no doubt come across as presumptuous. While I have reason to believe that I am essentially right and have heard true dissent only from those who either fail to see the problem with a society that runs on personal vendettas or refuse to consider the possibility of a ruler being anything less than perfect, it is still possible that I simply haven't heard of a better system. Conversely, I would be willing to further explain the logic behind courts of law as I know them; I've devoted a great deal of thought and study to them both before and after my arrival here.

I've configured this post such that all responses to it are publically viewable.

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I think by now I understand the logic behind such a system. The idea of gathering several of us in a council of sorts was suggested to me while I was overseas--perhaps starting with that would be a wise course of action?

Agreed. The difficulty lies in determining who would be best suited for such positions, both in terms of ability to cooperate and contribute and of representation of varying viewpoints and backgrounds.

Yes, that does seem to present the largest problem. But from my own perspective, I think most in the city currently--especially those that would volunteer for such a thing--are generally trustworthy if nothing else.

'Generally' in the sense of 'likely not perfect, but worth a fair chance'. Concerning the matter of differing backgrounds and such things, I don't think the idea of morality has changed even if the methods of enforcing it have. Such a group may almost inevitably have a shaky beginning, but I think a number of levelheaded individuals can come to some kind of agreement on a given course of action.

Edited 2012-05-29 19:58 (UTC)

OBJECTION!

While certain broad strokes have remained consistent throughout history, a great deal has changed over time nonetheless! Throughout history, one can find cultures that condone slavery, regard women as the property of their fathers or husbands, consider compassion and sympathy to be unmitigated weaknesses, fail to see killing members of different tribes outside of a war context as murder, and regard people in power as above the law!

D-do you really need to shout at me?!

[Edgeworth, please.]

Fine, I was slightly inaccurate. But looking at those of us that are here, at least, I doubt we're dealing with situations as extreme as that.

[Honestly, it's a miracle you climbed this far up Edgeworth's Social Link before running into a red-text shout, Diarmuid. He's ignoring that question as always, at any rate...]

Perhaps, perhaps not. There is at least one noteworthy man here whose values I highly doubt would coincide with those of the majority, and I certainly can't speak for those who've claimed to be from alien planets.

[What the hell, Edgeworth. Modern humans sure are weird.]

At any rate, I stand by my actual point--several of us together will almost inevitably have a difficult start, but I feel the majority are well-intentioned enough for us to work out a solution.

[Nah, just modern humans from Worlds of Ham. Cultural differences indeed.]

There is a saying in this time that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I thus believe that not only should any candidates mean well, but they should also be capable of open-mindedness and self-reflection.

We've already discussed this matter briefly, but for the sakes of everyone else who might be listening in, I'll re-state my opinion.

It disgusts me that such a thing is even necessary in a place where we have far more important things to consider than whatever it is that possesses people to commit senseless acts of violence on potential allies. Speaking as someone who has to deal with the presence of an enemy from home, I should be qualified to point out that there are certain situations in which pursuing violence is a fool's act. The fact that death is seemingly no more than a warning slap should render this entire thing academic, but apparently this island attracts some of the more worthless aspects of humanity.

Our lack of ability to influence government institutions and the natives' inability to deal with anything in the realm of the superhuman are our greatest obstacles, but I doubt they're insurmountable. As for the lack of public works, I find myself needing to question your ambition. It's difficult to believe that there are truly no projects that would benefit our entire community had we proper funding. If nothing else, we're distinctly lacking in places for the wounded to seek refuge during Dark Hour, a fact that could easily be remedied if we were to gain control over more buildings within the city. Others no doubt have ideas of their own concerning projects that the majority of our forced community would find useful.

There's another that 'beggars can't be choosers'. You're right to be cautious, but I doubt we can afford to be overly selective. Even if they aren't perfect candidates I think anyone reasonable enough should at least be considered.

Truly perfect candidates for leadership cannot exist in the first place, or else there would be no need for a collaborative effort at all. However, your point stands; the pool from which we must draw is distressingly shallow.

We'll just have to work with the materials we've been given.

If we were to pursue public projects seriously, we would require more than the occasional fines to fund them -- we would need a taxation scheme as well. Attempting to impose that on some of the more spirited members of our community strikes me as an invitation of discontent at best and riots at worst.

Indeed. I hope that through this open forum, we can gain a firmer grasp of what -- or rather, who -- those so-called "materials" are.

Well, you know that you can rely on me for one. Not to mention Father might want to offer a measure of input on such things as well.

Those with steady incomes and reasonable amounts of sense ought to be willing to make use of a voluntary donation system. Additionally, it's entirely possible that some of the residents here may be willing to offer unnecessary but worthwhile services on a non or low-profit basis, opening the remainder for public benefit. Advanced combat training, beyond simply what's needed to survive against the Shadows long enough to escape or find aid, strikes me as something that would be particularly well received but not vital enough to provide for free.

I've only briefly spoken with the man, so my measure of him is limited as yet.

Were we to fund such things on the basis of voluntary donations or fundraising services, what would prevent those who provide the most funding or the most popular services from using their status to force their visions onto the community regardless of what may or may not be wise or in our best interests?

I admit he's even further out of his depth than I am here, but that's hardly indicative of his character. Father is and has always been every bit the patron god of love the legends say. He took me in and raised me in place of my father by blood, granting me Gáe Dearg as well as the sword Moralltach.

If I can at all be said to have the kindness and generosity that a knight should, it is entirely because of him.

Obviously, it would require whoever manages the projects to possess a level head and a willingness to risk delays in projects in order to prevent any single person from gaining too much influence over the direction of the funding as a whole. There's no way to be certain nobody will attempt to use their financial status as leverage, but can we say for sure that nobody of that nature would turn to bribery to control these projects anyway?

Any system is going to be flawed, there's no question of that. The real thing to consider is if there's anyone on this island that's up to the task of managing finances without bias or giving in to pressure from major sources of funding.

(A "patron god of love"? I hope that he sees no need to attempt to pull me into the fold.)

I suppose that I'll see for myself in time.

And without taking a little from the top, for that matter. The larger question, however, is this: is the need great enough to warrant the effort at all? The need to keep our criminal element in check has been thoroughly proven, but I lack the field experience necessary to judge whether we really need bases or not.

Well, you've certainly covered a lot there, Edgeworth.

Whatever we decide, we are going to have to make the system as smooth as possible so it can be passed on to whomever joins us here easily.

Edited 2012-05-29 22:17 (UTC)

Ms. Saori seemed to consider it worth dedicating a portion of her place of business to. And as a war veteran myself, I can vouch for the importance of having easy and reliable access to somewhere reasonably safe.

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