Bureaucracy now! · 2:05am Mar 28th, 2017
“The cloak suits you, Gosling. It’s quite dramatic.” Turning his head, Prince Blueblood cocked one eyebrow and tilted his head as he studied Gosling. “You know, if you do not feel up for this, we can postpone this meeting until later.” Reaching out with his mind, Blueblood dimmed the lights a bit, hoping that it might help Gosling not feel so self-conscious about himself.
“Thanks, Blueblood,” Gosling replied in a huff. “And no, no postponing anything. I feel fine. Physically, I can serve as the Lord Mayor.”
“Good.” Saying the word felt hollow to Blueblood and he drew in deep breath while trying to settle his own thoughts. What to say next? What to do next? How did he make his friend feel better? With a slow turn of his head, Blueblood’s gaze followed Gosling as he crossed the room, reached a chair, and sat down.
“So, what’s this about you being my assistant?” Gosling asked.
“Oh… that.” Thankful for a distraction, something other than trying to make Gosling feel better, Blueblood lept at the chance to answer Gosling’s question. “The Ethics Committee approves of my relinquishment of power and my vacating of my various positions. Raven is going to be allowed to keep her job as Celestia’s assistant, much to the relief of everypony, and I am allowed to be your assistant, with a few caveats.”
“Such as?” Now sitting, Gosling pulled his cloak around him, and his muzzle extended out past his hood.
“As your assistant, I can give you advice, but I cannot specifically tell you what to do,” Blueblood replied.
“Why is all of this so complicated, anyhow?” Gosling asked, cutting in just as Blueblood was about to continue.
Blueblood, who had been about to say something else, reacted in a swift manner to the change of topics. “In the wake of Nightmare Moon, there was a careful pruning of the branches of power. It led to the bureaucracy that you see today. It started off as a buffer, to prevent corruption from untoward influences at the upper echelons of our government. I suppose it worked for a time, but it took on a life of its own and it is now very difficult to remove. We can’t have too much authority concentrated in one area, and we have to be careful of influence. I might say, become infested with some dreadful brain parasite, or be under changeling mind control, so me suddenly telling you what to do would be a warning sign, rather than me suggesting things for you to do.”
“That makes sense,” Gosling replied.
“As awful as it is, the bureaucracy works. During the changeling invasion of Canterlot. with so many under mind control, the upper levels of government and the lower levels of government had an effective barrier between them. It saved us, it saved our city, and it greatly slowed the takeover of the changelings. They could not penetrate so many layers of bureaucracy.”
“I see.” Gosling’s eyes narrowed. “So that’s why you couldn’t hold all those positions of yours and be in a relationship with Raven. It’s the… uh… dissemination of power to keep it from being collected all in one place, and thus, making it harder to hold sway or influence over key members of our ruling body.”
“Correct.” Quite pleased with his student, Blueblood grinned. “You’re starting to sound like a prince, Gosling.” The established, older prince looked at the younger, inexperienced one and felt a growing sense of pride. Gosling was an apt pupil who had learned much in a short time. He had taken to politics in much the same way as say, a duck took to water. Or a rubber duckie took to bathtime.
“So, you still exist as the Spymaster, at least, off of the books, but hold no other official position.” Gosling began to chew on his lower lip, he blinked once, and his head tilted down to the piles of paper strewn out over the polished granite table. “And if you ever start telling me what to do, rather than suggest to me what to do, I should be concerned about your mental integrity. I’ve also reached the unsettling conclusion that I can’t just tear apart the city’s bureaucracy, because it keeps us safe from outside influence.” From within his hood, Gosling heaved a sigh.
“It pains me to say it, but the impenetrable bureaucracy of Canterlot was our hidden ace against the changeling takeover.” Blueblood’s eyes narrowed, though he did not realise his expression had changed, and a cruel, keen smile spread over his lips. “We also have many spies now embedded within the bureaucracy, listening to gossip, looking for dissent, and many of these agents are buried. To just remove the bureaucracy would undo much of carefully constructed defenses.”
“I get it,” Gosling replied. “Say, speaking of changelings, can I get a report about our, uh, special guest that we have staying in our special guestroom?”
Blueblood’s grin became shiver inducing. “You sure can… Prince Gosling…”
A look on the other side of the curtain, and an answer to the question, "Why not just be rid of the bureaucracy?"
The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy...
-unknown
This scene just came to mind reading this. It really should've popped up when I read "A Basket, A Blanket, and a Bundle of Bills" instead. Silly brain.
B U R E A U C R A C Y
Bureaucrazy.