//------------------------------// // Rapture Pt. I // Story: Earning Freedom // by Daxisle //------------------------------// Rapture Pt. I Bracing himself for the slow, yet somehow violent docking of the sub-sphere. Sin took a few calming breaths while Krystal and Scootaloo eyed the door. Value gave them all a smile and watched as the door opened, flooding the enclosed space with the golden light of the dome it was docked to. "Good evening, and welcome to... Mr. Cyan!" Cried a unicorn mare in surprise. "Umm, good evening sir!" "Good evening, Miss. Twolip." Mr. Cyan said, strutting passed her like he owned the place. Which, apparently, he did. "We have new arrivals. It is my pleasure to introduce: Sinbad Islander, Krystal Melody, and Scootaloo." He gestured to the three. "Please, have passes written up for them immediately." The mare bowed her head repeatedly and scuttled off down the main hall of the terminal in acquiescence. 'Passes? Sounds kinda like work visas to me.' Anarchy is without rulers, Critic, not without rules. It was in the contract we signed that I'd need a pass to show my presence acceptable, otherwise it'd be trespassing. Which was true. Anarchy had a negative connotation with being associated with chaos and lack of order, when the fact was that, theoretically, any society that survived without a state needed to be orderly in order to exist. Of course, this lead into a debate of what constituted a government. If this was Cyan's city, which in and of itself was disputable since most of the domes were private property of others with he holding a ownership of the walkways and 'public' domes, did that make him a monarch? He made the rules on his own property, so the case could be made that he was the ultimate authority and, therefore, the government. Which was why Syndicalists declared Capitalism to be intrinsically incompatible with Anarchy. Though, Sin could never understand how they didn't view democracy and the montra of "From each according to his ability to each according to his need" without the exact same argument being made. Instead of one ruler of his own property, it was many over all. Which, if taken to this extreme, did question the valid existence of anarchy as an over all concept. Neither the Libertarian Left nor the Libertarian Right ever wanted to talk about this, though. Kinda hard to run a Liberty Syndicate when everyone was too busy fighting over which economic ideology was even legitimate. Even Sin himself didn't like to dwell on it too much, mainly because Critic would always point out how something was a "government" in the softest sense of the word. The three of them walked out of the sphere and took in the walkway with a gasp. It shouldn't have been surprising, it really shouldn't have been with what they'd seen already, but it still was. All of the walls were made of clean, unobstructed glass, giving all of them a view of the ocean outside. Fish, fish of every kind and like were swimming outside. From the small schools of thousands of tuna, to the monolithic mass of sperm and baluga whales that challenged even the largest dome in size. Scootaloo began trembling as a large, terrifying, megalodon shark approached the bridge of the docking station on which they stood. Sin felt Krystal push up against his side for comfort as the thing approached, and he himself found his breath caught in his throat. It was getting close, the razor sharp teeth of it's slightly stretched maw glistening in the warm glow of the dock, a mouth big enough to eat any one of them whole in a single bite. Black beady eyes as dead as the depths from which it came, promising a merciless and unyielding ravishing upon it's arrival. Sin braced his muscles, ready to bolt forward the second it came into contact with the glass... But it didn't. At just the last second, the aquatic leviathan veered right, trailing along the entirety of the walk way and disappeared into the murky void of the ocean once it broke away from the city's view. All three of them let out a collective sigh of relief, much to the amusement of their guide. "No need to worry." Value declared righteously motioning them along. "That particular megaladon's been scaring arrivals for years, all the glass is infused with an arch-tech lightning spell that only activates on biological intrusions. Heh, he learned real quick not to touch it." "Good to know." Sin breathed, leading the charge forward only to be stopped by Cyan as soon as they'd hit the main walkway. "Oh, before I forget. If any of you have any anti-magical property items of enchantments on your persons, I'll need to know now." He turned to them. "As well as any arch-disruptions, spirit seals, electric enchantments... basically, anything to do with magic that cannot be disarmed." Sin frowned and looked down at the dragon scale that hung around his neck. "Why?" Value saw his eyes trail and smirked. "Because, they are not permitted in certain areas of the city, and if you're going to keep it, you'll need a special marker to show that you're holding such an item." Krystal and Scootaloo looked back at him curiously. He had never told either of them about the significance of the grey scale necklace, whenever they'd ask, he just said that he liked it as a purely cosmetic trinket. He told Cyan what it was and declared to keep it, what did it matter? They weren't staying long anyways, not like he was going to miss out on too much because of it. Value shrugged and they turned the corner down the main path, went down a flight of steps to approach the main part of the city. Sin couldn't help but take in the sight once again. It didn't matter how many times he looked at it, it was absolutely astounding to him to see. Domes of light littered all over the sea bed, following the roving ways of the terrain, lifting some domes up higher up and some lower to the earth, all of varying sizes and continents, but all supported by thick glass and strong steel support arches and linked together by numerous bridging walkways. There was dozens of them, and even more fought to light up beyond the murk and fog of the sea beyond. "Where is everypony?" Scootaloo asked, looking around. Sin had been so caught up in the sights outside, that he hadn't even noticed that there was nobody else within the area. Cyan answered that this was the docking and inspection area of Bliss, that since there were so few arrivals from the outside world, nobody had any reason to wonder within this area, save Ol' min Bovo, who'd designed the sub-sphere transport system when he felt nostalgic about his work and a few others waiting for family to return. As they traversed the corridors and pathways to the main reception area, they passed numerous light posts holding elongated light bulbs held in protection cages that gave of a more orange-ish glow than the conventional bulbs on the surface. This lead Sin to question what powered the city below water. "Geothermic energy." Cyan answered. When pushed for elaboration, the unicorn explained that the city's location wasn't an accident, as power was one of the primary factors in it's placement. Under ground was a dormant volcano filled with magma below the sea bed. While that was concerning, Cyan was confident that there was nothing to worry about, some how or another, he had some scientists come out to examine the area and they concluded that the volcano's dormancy made the area safe, but they did caution the amount of pipe and heat taken from it, lest a rupture reaction develop. They turned a corner and the glass translucent archways gave to industrialized, grey metal plate walls with numbers and arrows, they followed on that said "Main Terminal" and soon found the unicorn mare from before, three booklets in her magic. Cyan informed her to grab a restriction badge, and told Sin, Krystal and Scootaloo to write down their information into the booklet. It wasn't a long pass, and it was actually a little considerate to have. It asked to list name, date of birth, race/tribe, handicaps, allergies, mental stability -Which Sin, shamefully, was very dishonest in filling out- and other important information. Miss. Twolip returned a moment later with a red card badge in her aura, the word "Anti-Magic" labeled accross the front. He handed the card to Islander and asked him to place it upon his cloak, which the Federalist complied with. With that done, and a few more forms filled out, each Sin reading and advising the others on himself, of course, Cyan took them down yet another hall way to the largest dome of them all. "Welcome to my city." Cyan said proudly as the doors opened. Sin's eyes nearly popped out of his head as a sick sense of deja vu side swiped him. The first thing he noticed was the presence of every single race he'd ever seen in the place. Diamond Dogs, Ponies, Zebra, Minotaur, Donkeys, Buffalo, all of them. Hell, there was even a few deer around. The architecture inside was also familiar, while not exactly like the Federation, it was clear that a lot of inspiration was taken, especially from Unitas. A mix of light and dark oak wood was the primary choice of display, with wood planks and deep brown rugs serving as the main ground, lined about with velvet red carpet walkways, gold trim and bronze complimentary art littered around in a tasteful and elegant display, contrasting heavily against the black void of the ocean outside. Value lead the way inside, approaching one of the bi-level market structures with the travelers in tow. Anyone and everyone who's view settled on Cyan offered the stallion a greeting of some kind, always respectful, but never overly eager or zealous. This Sin found a mix between strange yet sensible. Looking between the beings present, they all lacked the slightly blank and unpresent stare that most ponies had. They had a slight sense of warryness and amused interest about them, as if they were just waiting for something odd or off to happen. 'Wow, I think we've finally found you're birth city.' Another unique aspect to Bliss was the fashion sense. It was like some kind of mix between formal wear and... to best describe it, industrialized clothing for the sake of impractical yet strangely appealing aesthetics. Everybody was wearing something down here, elaborate and sophisticated bow tie neckwear, odd and frilly corset style gowns, stylish yet taste-neutral gold/brass rimmed goggles, unconventional top hats of all shades of color, wing covers, belts, watches, straps, and there was odd obsession with gears... Seriously, what was up with all the gears? 'You know what it is.' Nooo... 'Say it.' No. 'SAY IT!' NO! It's corny! "So pretty." Krystal whispered to herself. "I've never seen anything like it." Sin pushed past his reservation to offer a reassuring smirk. "The product of free trade, Krystal. Capitalism at it's finest." And it was, maybe he was just the higher end of the city though, but if this was how the normal and average everyday Blissian lived and appeared, he couldn't imagine the slums were all that bad. "Good evening Value. I suspected that would be you on the sub-sphere." Said one blue suited stallion whom strutted forward, adjusting the green tinted monical on his eye. He was a sophisticated, maroon unicorn with an air of business and competence that demanded respect and attention, his authority emphasized by lack of mane upon his head, shaven almost to baldness. "Mr. Fountain. It's good to see you again. How's the business?" Cyan greeted, returning the greeting by straightening his tie with a hoof. "Oh you know, the future is ever approaching, yet never here." Fountain said as an inside joke. "Also, you and Doctor Weigh-In were correct about the Plasmid Project. Third party testing and observational companies documented the trials and found that the required molecular components lead to startling bouts of undesirable genetic mutations and negative behavioral alterations. Needless to say, word of the results spread through Bliss like wildfire, and nopony in their right mind would touch the stuff even if it went to market. Not even for it's medical and restoration properties. If you'd like to see the data, I'd like to get the big 'I told you so' out of the way." Cyan shook his head. "Of course, though it'll need to wait, I'm a little busy at the moment playing tour guide." He turned his attention back to the outsiders. "Fountain, may I introduce you to a few friends of mine. Sin, Krystal and their associate Scootaloo, Sin, Krystal and Scootaloo, this is Mr. Fountain, head of Fountain Fisheries and Fountain Futuristics." Fountain offered a small bow, which Sin recognized and returned in depth, but not an inch more. "It's always nice to see worthy new faces in Bliss." The maroon unicorn noted. Cyan and he did some catching up, making plans for later on to speak on the genetic mutations in depth before Fountain departed. Sin was a little off put by the prospect of altering pony tissue on such a level, he'd read a little bit about genetics and how they were, on a microscopic level, the building blocks of what made up a biological organism. Tampering with that didn't sit well with him, but it sounded as if they were taking the necessary precautions to ensure nothing too bad resulted from it. Though, he wasn't here to explore things of that nature, he was here to observe the free market in action, and he liked what he was seeing so far... Krystal's eyes trailed about, taking in the strange surroundings before her. It was like something out of a dream. An underwater paradise that she couldn't concoct in her wildest imagination. The contrast between this and everywhere else she'd been recently was overwhelming, nopony took stock of her struggling to comprehend it all, but it was easy enough to keep in, mainly on account of her nervousness and reservation. All around her, beings she'd never seen before. Dogs she'd seen once or twice passing through Twin Springs, but every thing else was absolutely alien. Some things didn't scare her as much as the others, like the stripped ponies, donkeys and bison. The former being equine enough not to cause alarm, and she'd seen buffalo before, but those large creatures walking on two legs with the horns? They were more than a little unsettling. And what were those things with the bird heads and back paws? Were those griffons? She'd heard about them from Papa, he said they were a bad tempered lot if pushed. Though, everypony else was just going about acting like everything was fine, so she told herself that she didn't have anything to worry about. The curious looks that some of them gave her didn't help that statement seem any more truthful though. The same could be said for the fact that she was a long way under water and realized a sudden fear of drowning. But that was okay, she wasn't alone, and in not being alone, she could turn her attention away from that which frightened her and take some reprieve in knowing she had friends. Even if she didn't know what they were talking about. "Sin, what's Genetic Modification?" Asked Krystal, genuinely confused about what she was hearing. As he always did, Sin used larger words and ideas that the mare had never heard before to elaborate on her inquary. Though, he was never mean or angry about education, and patiently explained it to her as best he could. Apparently, genetic modification was tampering with something that made a pony a pony. She knew about cells and genetics, but she didn't know that such things could be altetred, nor did she care to think about it. Ponies were the way they were supposed to be, they didn't need to be made different. Gadgets and gizmos were one thing, they were inventions and outside contraptions that could be removed, but to change fundimental components of the equine form? No, that just didn't sit right with her. "That's disturbing." The amber eyed mare said with a grimace. "And the government just lets them do that?" Sin quirked a brow. "Krystal, there is no government here." Krystal's eyes widened. "What do you mean there's no government? Isn't Mr. Cyan the mayor?" The Federalist opened his mouth, but then stopped for some reason. "Umm." Krystal watched perplexed as his face controted into a thoughtful grimace as they walked. "Well, from my understanding, this is his city. By that, I mean he'd paid for it's construction and owns all the glass and walkways, making them a kind of public property, but it's still his private property. He doesn't have a government title per say, but he still calls the shots on the private-public property and is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep." That was a difficult concept for her to swallow. Krystal may have been sheltered, but she wasn't uneducated. Mama Gem and Papa had taught her alot about law and governence. That Public property was owned by the community, paid for by taxes for maintenance and upkeep in the interest of serving the public good. If that's what Mr. Cyan was doing, how was it that he wasn't the government? She voiced her concern on the matter, and Scootaloo was quick to agree, much to Islander's chagrin. "Because, he doesn't take his money through state enforced violence." He answered with a smirk. "How do you know that?" Scootaloo asked. "And how does he pay for it if not in taxes?" Again, Sin opened his mouth to speak, but fell short on an answer, giving a half explanation on how Bliss was full of individualists who'd not put up with violence and probably had some kind of sponsorship program, but failing to give any concrete facts. Krystal suspected he might be making a few assumptions without getting the facts straight, which was odd for him. Besides, even if there weren't taxes involved, that wasn't all government did. The crown also kept the peace and punished criminals, if Mr. Cyan didn't do that, who did? When Krystal asked, she was shocked to hear the answer. Slavery? imposed by the victim with no judge or jury? It sounded dangerously like mob justice to her, and if Papa's stories about the old world mintaur were true, than mob justice was the worst form of justice there was. Scootaloo shared in her reservation. "I don't know how I feel about that... It doesn't sound like a good idea." "You'd be surprised." Cyan said knowingly from ahead of them, hearing every word. "Our judicial system doesn't need to be as hard or bureaucratic as that of the world above. We're a much more honest and forthcoming lot down here, the freedoms we enjoy are as such because we're responsible enough to have them. The domes and glass is maintained through multiple service companies, one of whom constructed them, and are funded by most corporate entities down here." "Corporations pay for it?" Krystal asked. Cyan nodded sagely as they ascended the steps to the second level of the shopping center. "Indeed, as most all companies offer things like medical insurance and dental insurance, they also offer, what I like to call, preservation insurance. Though, instead of getting medical care, the money is used to upkeep the domes and walkways." "And, what happens if a company opts out of this?" Sin asked. "Then the domes they own don't get maintained." Cyan replied with a smirk, turning around. "They can pay out of pocket for the maintenance, sure, but It's cheaper for them to pay into the insurance. Companies get an idea of income security, and the dome owners get security of mind in knowing that if there's a crack or leak, they'll have the issue fixed in an expedient manner." "But what if the company raises it's prices?" Scootaloo asked. "Greedy ponies could do this and charge a bunch of money." Krystal nodded in agreement, she didn't know much about economics, but she did know what essential services were, and government needed to make sure that those services were provided for due to the price gouging. Cyan and Sin shared a knowing look. "Because of competition, the cornerstone of capitalism, my dear." Sin nodded. "If one company raises it's prices needlessly, they will lose customers and the other business whom provide the same business will be used as a cheaper alternative." Krystal frowned, yea, she knew about that. "But what if they all get together and raise their prices at once? Agreeing to keep prices high on everypony?" Sin's face dropped a little, giving her a guilty pleasure in knowing that she'd finally stumped him in something. "Oh, they've tried that already." Cyan chuckled. "The other corporations saw it happen and sent out news letters to all of their employees about it. A new option was given for insurance provision and they all subsidized a new start up maintenance company between them and dropped all the unionized entities. Damn near put Ol' min Bovo out of business two weeks in, and made an example of two others by not hiring them again. They learned quickly that pulling that kind of stunt wouldn't work out too well. The story serves as a reminder to the air and ventilation providers, they aren't dealing with idiots down here." Sin quirked a brow. "A different breed of honest individuals whom utilizes shameful tactics to gain a union monopoly?" The small jab didn't escape the businesspony's notice and he gave the stallion a smirk. "A different breed that knows how to successfully fight a union monopoly. Utopia is not for this world, Sin. Even moral individuals will commit immoral acts if the adequate incentive is present. What's important is to have only those smart, responsible, and willing enough to combat it when reality rears its lovely little head." Krystal tilted her head but before she could ask any more questions, Cyan excused himself for a moment to speak to the shop keeper of the store they stood in front of for a moment, requesting they stay outside for a moment. It was odd, companies voluntarily paid money to have all of the domes and walkways maintained? Well, it made sense since they had a vested interest in keeping their income base, you know, alive, but then again it kinda didn't. What about the ponies and what not who didn't want to pay? Weren't they free loading? Well, there were a bunch of free loaders back on the surface, so she supposed that might be unavoidable. "What the?" Scootaloo asked, approaching a window display. Her attention so concentrated on the matter of governance, Krystal had only now taken account of her surroundings. She gasped at what was in the display case. A beautiful light saphire, black black trimmed gown was adorned upon a blank pony mannequin. Unlike most of the female outfit's she'd seen about, this one was much less elaborate and constraining, the neck opening up a little with a small black bow choke collar and a tiara upon it's head. Krystal never much considered herself one for frivolous aesthetically appeals, finding her simple white and teal bandannas much more to her liking, but the dress was placed just so that the glass caught her reflection, and made it appear as if on her own form. She gave herself a smile and turned about a little, her head about a little, imagining how it would look on her. A sudden crash of breaking glass interjected itself into her dream before it became to deep, startling her with a slight squeak. "CITATION NEEDED!" Cried a gnarled, slightly high pitched male voice that came from a teal figure that charged out of the broken window to her left. "GET THE BUCK OUT OF MY WAY THERE'S SOMEONE WHO'S WRONG ON COLLEGE HOLIDAY AND THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE HOW WRONG THEY ARE, THEY'RE JUST SPOUTING A BUNCH OF OPINIONS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION TO BACK UP ANYTHING THEY SAY! THEY JUST GO ON AND ON AND ON, DEPOSITING THEIR OWN SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS AS IF THEy're objective fact, and extrapolating their own unique experiences apps to the general public as if that's in any way valid. And then ignoring objectively true statistical generalizations..." Watching as the teal quadruped rushed through the market plaza in a rapid succession of clopping hooves and beings of every type watching with interest, Krystal stood awestruck. Not over what it was saying, but over the loud and manner manner in which it had entered, er, exited, the establishment. "What in Equestria was that?" She heard Scootaloo ask, who was now pushed up against her leg. "That, young filly, would be an old associate of mine." Declared Cyan as he walked out the door, his face alight with the most amused grin Krystal had ever seen. "He loves debating, and putting his wits against others, he considers it a love to destroy the illogical and unreasonable with facts and statistics, and it just so happened that next week was college spring break. All of the pseudo-intellectual brats will be in Neightona for the week trying to impress mares and stallions, he likes to go there and ruin their good time." "That's fine and all." Scolded a voice from within the shop, a bi-color red and tan deer poking her head out of the broken translucent barrier. "But must you rile him up so much when you come to deliver the news, Mr. Cyan? You know how abrasive and worked up he gets." Value chuckled a deep, mirthful laugh and promised to pay for both the new window and clean up, apologizing to the shop keeper for his transgression against her. Even promising a few bits for her trouble. After that, he asked all of them to resume their trek once again through the city. Krystal spared another glance at the dress, her eyes lingering a little longer than she intended. She and Scootaloo began walking but she noticed Islander hadn't. When she turned to ask him what was wrong, she noticed what had caught his eye. There, sitting on another mannequin, was a Blissian male outfit, but that's not what he was looking at, Sin was looking intently at the goggles upon the thing's headpiece. They weren't as complex as the other pieces of eye ware she'd seen around, but she thought that's what attracted him to them. They were just a pair of oval, black rimmed goggles with a slight dark gold pattern on the band. The only thing of real note was that the lenses were a fine, sapphire blue, many shades darker than his eyes. "Islander?" She said cautiously. "Hmm? Oh, sorry." He cleared his throat, trying to play off his enchantment. "Just lost in thought for a second." She giggled and beckoned him forward, taking note of his last glance back at the eye ware. What was suspected to be a small tour, turned out to be an escort to a small inn establishment a little ways into the city. Scootaloo wasn't sad about that, as exciting as the entire advent was and as intriguing as the stuff down her was, she was tired. All she wanted to do was eat something NOT amaranth and asparagus based, curl up, and pass out. Krystal felt much the same, doing an hours worth of paper work and considering the time, it wasn't surprising. Passing through another walkway, their guide introduced them to a cozy and much more down played area. A few inn themed signs stood about this dome, each promising a good night's sleep, a few luxury comforts and a complimentary breakfast with each stay. Cyan lead them to one in particular, a building made of dark oak that stretched up to the top of the shared dome. They were greeted by a smiling diamond dog, who, like everypony... thing, else here, had an attitude of superiority and knowing not unlike Islander. The uniform behavior was off putting to the filly, they didn't seem mean or under-hoofed or anything, it was just... made her feel really naive and foalish. Like they had everything figured out and knew she didn't. Their eyes were so calculating and analytical, it felt like they could read her entire life just by looking at her. Again, she didn't suspect malevolence, just... she didn't know how to explain it. Cyan spoke briefly to the owner of the establishment and then called Islander over to speak in private for a moment. Once their conversation was done, Value placed a few bits onto the counter and informed them that he would be speaking with the oaken pony alone for a while and the other two were welcomed to stay in the room he'd gotten for them. "You're leaving us alone?" Krystal asked alarmed. Sin gave her a smile. "I've been asleep for a while, not really tired and I'd like to discuss a few things with Value about Bliss. He said you guys will be safe on your own here, so long as you behave yourselves." Krystal didn't like that at all. Ever since she'd left her family's farm, she'd always stuck by Islander's side, or at least had him somewhere close by. She knew she didn't have much of a chance if anything happened to her or Scootaloo, but he was convinced that nothing wood, giving her that warm smile of encouragement that helped set her mind at ease; the same smile he'd used to calm her down when they were surrounded by buffalo back in Appleloosa. She wished he smiled like that more often... "Right this way, please." Said the owner as she lead the two to a door down the hall. Krystal spared a last look to find Cyan and Sin speaking before they disappeared around the curve of the hallway. The diamond dog guide opened the door to the room, revealing their compliment. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple room with a pair of beds, a few lamps, and a desk and dresser. "Thank you." Krystal said, taking the key. Once the door closed, Angel Bunny poked his head out of the saddle bag on Krystal's side and looked around in irritation, though once his eyes landed upon the window outside he slipped right back into the bag and refused to come out. "Aww, don't be scared, Angel." Krystal cooed, reaching into the bag with her hooves and pulling the terrified vermin from the confines. He tried to get back in, but found his only recourse was to cling tightly to Krystal's neck once he could get a hold and bury his face there in a futile attempt to escape the school of dastardly tuna who'd passed by the window. She smiled at his contact, feeling a little better for it. After a few minutes of admiring the inky depths of the ocean outside, Scootaloo broke the silence. "Hey Krystal?" "Yes, what is it, Scootaloo?" The filly lifted her head from her place on the bed, her eyes showing signs of fighting sleep. "What is it you wanna do with your life?" That was an odd question to ask, but one thing Sin had pointed out was that Scootaloo had a tendency to ask alot of questions when she was afraid or nervous. Coping Mechanism, he said it was. She tilted her head in inquisition. "What do you mean?" "Well, like I wanna be a Wonderbolt when I grow up, but you've never said what it is you want to do with the rest of your life." Scootaloo replied. Odd question indeed, no reason to ask it, but no reason not to ask it either. "Umm, I don't know." The amber eyed pegasus replied thoughtfully. "I guess I'd never thought about it before." "Never?" Scootaloo asked. Krystal shook her head and voiced that she'd never thought she'd leave the rock farm. Honestly speaking, she figured she'd meet a stallion in Twin Springs, and take over the farm with her brothers when the time came. To be out and about in the world like this? It showed her a whole host of oppertunities for her life, though, none that she was particularly interested in. "I think you should be a singer." "A singer?" The off white mare asked with a slight curve of her brow. Scootaloo nodded and complimented her humming voice, it was a beautiful and relaxing tune, one that kind of reminded her a little of Annabelle's but even more smooth and a little higher pitch. She'd need to work on not putting ponies to sleep with it, but she saw some serious potential in her talent. Thanking her with her usual humility, Krystal turned away from Scootaloo and back to the ocean. Though, her mind was anywhere but looking at the well sized sharks swimming menacingly outside. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes stared guiltily down at the black abyss outside. Singing... Singing used to bring her such joy when she was younger, to see the different tones and tunes her voice could create, all the different compilations and continuations she'd come up with. Songs of joy, of life, of kindness and... selfish desire and escape. Escape away from the rock farm, venturing off into the wild wilderness of the country free from the work and turmoil she didn't care for but only did because she wanted her family to be happy. It was during one of these songs she sang when she thought she was alone out in the ravine, unbeknownst to her until later, Papa had over heard her. He'd witnessed her harsh words of the farm, of her resentment towards the place, of the feeling of being trapped by her family and wanting more. Guilt beyond guilt consumed the filly when she found out that she was discovered, seeing the stallion she called Papa looking as if he'd failed in giving her a good upbringing. She could barely hold back the tears when he'd told her of what he'd sacrificed to give her a stable home, even if it was out in the middle of no where. It was one of the few apologies he'd ever given her, but he was sorry that she wasn't happy, and it broke Krystal's heart to know that she had broken his. The earth pony's look of disappointment was etched into her memory stronger than any flank wooping ever could be. It was only made worse when she'd come to another revolation, that it wasn't only her words that had cut him, but her entire song. Krystal's voice wasn't just meant to sooth and calm, it could also influence and garner other emotions depending on how she hummed or sang. Soft and soothing songs brought soft and soothing feelings. Discouraging and wounded songs brought... After that day she swore that she'd never sing or be ungrateful again, that no matter what happened, she'd always listen to the stallion and mares in her life who gave up everything so that she could have a home. Krystal let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Even that promise she couldn't keep. Mama Gem and Mama Sandy were alright with her leaving, and even though Papa said he was too, she knew he didn't want her to go... but she did want to and she did go. She left the farm because she was selfish, and despite Mama Gem telling her it was okay to be selfish at times, Krystal couldn't help the crushing guilt within her chest, knowing that Papa was sad because she left. Both Krystal and Scootaloo decided to retire for the evening, discovering the odd sensation of a water bed. The novelty didn't last long before both were snuggled together with a wary yet content rabbit seeking shelter between them. Back in, what he assumed, was one of the market districts, Sin sat outside of the shop next to some broken glass, his eyes continually shifting to the goggles on display. Though, his mind only gave them a spare millisecond of thought, too busy considering one of the things he'd done his best to never consider. Was the concept of an anarchic society redundant? Once the two were finally alone, Sin began to ask the hard questions, the questions he'd had for any capitalist society that didn't have a state. The "muh roads" argument was easy enough to dismiss, there were more walkways down here, not roads. Tolls were a rare thing to come across, since the property owner was held to account and others would refuse trade with them until they'd lifted their tolls. Walkways were a necessity down here, and as such, understandings were reached quickly and issued dismissed with expedience. Another issue was law enforcement, or order enforcement. The very crux of the entire anarchist debate. Their method of handling issues of crime was about what he'd expected them to be, private protection and insurance agencies. There was a lot of insurance down here, mainly filling the role of taxation and understanding the free market solution to public problems. Oddly enough, the protection firms were made up more of investigation teams more so than order enforces. The companies were small, small in that they were hardly utilized at all, but Sin was certain that as time went on, and younglings were birthed whom differentiated from their parents convictions, usage of those protection firms would grow with time. "Nobody, not pony or immortal, can predict the future." Cyan told him. Which was true... the free market itself couldn't predict the future only act and react in accordance to public demand. Yet still, was that lack of certainty good enough? Well, that was another issue all it's own, collectivists hated uncertainty and gave a false sense of it by thinking the government would fix any issue it said it would, which it usually did at first, but the bigger it grew, the more problems it caused. But this all lead to the issue of enforcement: Was there a government in Bliss? Sin wanted to say no, he wanted to believe that his dream of a truly free market society was realized, but how intellectually honest would this be without taking the time to consider it in all aspects and not hold it to scrutiny? What was a "government"? Since there was no centralized chain of obedience, nor tax collecting via force of violence, he could argue that there wasn't any present, that the order enforces were, infact, not law enforces but enforces of non-aggression. But wasn't that a type of governance in and of itself? Anarcho-communists and other syndicalists believed so, but then again, they too had their own mode of enforcing moral behaviors. If enforcement of any code of conduct was considered "government" than that lead to the conclusion that Anarchy was redundant. Was the owner of his own private property the monarch of that property? Did that constitute a "government"? Some argued that governments were only publicly recognized entities or elected representatives, but Sin didn't believe this, seeing warlords and drug lords whom use force of violence against those within their "territory" as a dictatorial or feudalistic government all their own. During the alcohol prohibition, the bootleg mafias implored all kinds of "government" ideals. Protection money (taxation) violence against those whom didn't pay or adhere to their demands, (Law enforcement) and would clash with competing gangs to maintain dominance and control territory. (War) Even minarchy governments, the smallest government type there was where only the judicial system existed in the sole effort to protect the rights of the individual, were still governments. Yet, they took their money via taxation, money taken at threat of being put in a cage. Bliss, to Sin's knowledge, didn't have that kind of stipulation. The contracts read that only those with a subscription to protections services would receive advanced protections and that all others would be on their own. So, Bliss didn't have a tax system, it didn't have a central chain of publicly funded governance, it didn't have politicians who'd vote to change laws or a feudal lords who'd impose his whims via the violence. But it did have Value Cyan, a pony who, on his word, could easily change the rules of engagement on his property if he pleased. He'd chosen not to do so now, but he easily could if he wanted to... Did that make him not a government now but a potential government later? Or did that just make him a passive governor? He was rich, he had to be to have this built, but was it honest to say that his power constituted government power just because it could be perceived as such? Sin wished he could answer these questions, he really did, but from an honest standpoint, he could not. The words of the Anarcho-Syndicalists still resonated within his mind that enforcement of property rights was antithetical to the concept of anarchy, despite the fact those very words destroyed their own anarchic legitimacy. If not by property rights, than the rights of democracy and tyranny of the majority. The door to the shop opened and Value wished the shop keep a thank you and good night, a neat, red ribbon constrained package in his magical aura. "Sorry about that, had to pick something up." Cyan explained, looking at the package. Sin wasn't sure what it was, but he'd be lying if he said he cared either. "Yea, it's fine." Sin said absently. The two began making way down the stairs to the ground level and Value lead them on a different path of walkways. "Still a little skeptical of my society, Sin?" The unicorn asked with a quirked brow. Sin nodded reluctantly. "I'm trying to figure out if you guys really are without a government." Cyan stopped and gave him an odd look. "Without a- well of course we have a government." he said with slight shock. Sin's mouth gaped. "B-but you said-" "We have a government, but we don't have a state government." Value interjected, emphasizing the difference. "The governing principal is individualism and autonomy, Sin. These are our laws and rules down here, we're all our own governors, governing each other at times when need be, but only when need be. That is an unavoidable truth of the world, ponies and others will always require some form of behavioral curvature when placed among others. It is the effects of social interactions that require governance, consequences against individuals and their rights that must be examined and determined for their benefits and detriments. Without these sources of order and control... well, we'd just have unbridled anarchy." "I mean, consider for a moment that we didn't hold reason and longer term thinking for a moment." Cyan stopped in a walkway and pointed to a glowing dome outside. "That's Fountain Futuristics. They've been working on a secret project involving a sea slug with properties that can rewrite genes in order to grant special abilities. Fire and electric casting without magic for example." Sin's eyes widened, how in the Tapio fucking hell did they manage to do that?! "It's true, they were working on experiments on mice for quite some time, and sadly, a few more sentient volunteers. As I'd expected, the modification did have unintended consequences: genetic instability, substance addiction and abuse, enhancing aggressive and risky behaviors, and all manner of other issues. If we didn't have the minds for longer term thinking and behavioral controls against introducing such a substance into the public realm, well, who knows what would happen? Fountain could introduce that substance into Bliss and the public could easily become addicted to it, there by creating a distopian, underwater tomb full of aggressive assault junkies with flame and electric powers going about and killing each other to get more of his plasmids, feeding into a cycle of drug addiction and killing to maintain that drug addiction." Sin stood wide eyed at the prospect, that's what that was? Why would anybody make something like that? Okay, granted, having power over fire and lightening did sound pretty advantageous, but at the cost of unstable genetics and addiction? Who in their right mind would do that? 'The mouth breathers back in the Federation would.' Sin asked for the purpose of the plasmids and was relieved to learn that they were actually a off shot of a medical experiment dedicated to pioneering into technologies of nervous cell restoration to heal crippling ailments like paraplegia. The plasmid project was just an inadvertent failure of that, but the scientists saw serious marketing potential, putting non-magic users on equal offensive footing with magic users. "Back to the point, though." Cyan declared, dropping his jovial tone for a far more serious one. "As preposterous and rediculous as it may sound, down here, that is a very real threat. A very real threat that is only staved off by the moral compass and rationality of the individuals hoof picked to be responsible and intelligent enough to come down here. We love money, and addictions are money drains. This is known, and is why I have no problem with Fountain developing his substances, because I know that the residents of Bliss would not indulge things of that like." Sin nodded his head, this made a lot of sense, but there was one serious issue with Cyan's logic. "And what if Mr. Fountain had never had third party observations and took the product directly to market?" Cyan smirked and said simply. "If you were sold an untested vial of stuff that claimed it could give you power over fire, would you take it?" "And if he paid off the third party companies to say they tested it, but didn't?" Sin countered. "Pandora's Box has already opened, then." The business pony stated, turning his attention back outside to the lab dome. "Morality and self interest are the only things that could prevent the things we've discuss. Be it the morality of the testers, the morality of Frank Fountain himself, and the morality of Fountain's scientists. Government is much more susceptible to corruption than third party testers are, especial since government does its best business with those whom don't care for respecting the rights and integrity of others. There is no perfect solution to prevent the negative sides and aspects of progress, there are no great and grand solutions to this that government can magically conjure up and hold itself to. Between government regulations and the regulations of the free market, I'll take the free market any day of the week and twice on Sundays in terms of efficiency." "Utopia is not for this world, and allowing the never attainable idea of "perfect" to be the enemy of chasing "superior" is the ultimate infraction against, not only technology, but the concept of progress as a whole." Sin stood speechless, he'd never considered the aspects of superior vs inferior before. Whenever libertarianism was discussed, it was always in terms of absolution, as if government necessity was a game of perfection when pitted against the free market. He hated that, ponies knew that the government was inefficient at it's job, but would rather take the knowledge of that inefficiency to heart, rather take the uncertainty of freedom. He'd been pitted in the absolution discussion so much, that even arguing in terms of simple superiority of the market services over government had been expelled from his mind. "Well, that's enough of that." Cyan declared beginning his walk once again. "Come, there are some things I'd like to show you."