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xp_logs2006-10-05 06:10 pm
x-cable.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2006-10-05 06:10 pm
Nathan and Logan, Thursday afternoon
On his way to office hours, Nathan happens to catch Logan watching CNN, and the situation in Prague is the topic of the hour. Nathan gets a chance to muse aloud about the complexities of the situation.
Nathan was on his way from Russian class back to his office for office hours when he passed by one of the first-floor TV lounges and paused, his attention snared by what was on the screen. It was one of CNN's commentary programs, and the men and women around the table were arguing quite heatedly - about the situation in Prague.
"I was wondering when this would start," he said to the only occupant of the lounge as he walked in, sitting down in one of the many empty chairs. "Quicker than I expected. It's only been a couple of days."
"Balloon's going to go up quick." said Logan, cigar clenched in his teeth, feet kicked up. "When it does go, I mean." he added. "Seen something like this before." he admitted.
"Oh? Where?"
"I got no idea." he said with a shrug. "But I remember ... something." The memory was extremely fragmentary and vague, mostly an impression of gunsmoke, death, unwashed bodies, human waste, rats, and a gun. "Desperate men in desperate situations are unpredictable." he added unnecessarily.
"Well, no shit." There was no edge to the comment, however. "I've been following this situation since it started," Nathan went on. "It's all about San Diego. Or reactions to San Diego, rather. The damned thing is, I think the Czech government honestly believes this is the best course of action."
Logan nodded. "Something stinks about it, though." he said. "You get anything out of your people?" he asked. "Or you fixin' to jump in yourself with both boots?"
"Hardly. Any kind of direct intervention from outside is only going to make the situation worse. How do you think the Czechs would react to that? The whole idea of sealing off Smichov, from what I've been able to tell, is to quarantine the problem and keep the people inside safe from the part of the problem that's coming from outside." Nathan snorted. "Most of the people in that neighborhood aren't mutants, you know. A lot of those who are, are children - families moved into the area with their mutant children because they figured it was a good environment. Of course," he went on, "a lot of those who are aren't Czech, too. They've had mutants from all parts of Europe move in over the last few years. Some of the Czech media's claiming that's the problem."
"That stinks even worse." he said. "You buying the party line on this one?" he asked with a dismissive shrug. "And interventions can be done in things other than black leather or diplomatic passports." he pointed out. "You got any assets on the ground in that part of the world?"
"If I was buying the party line, would I have been following this for all these weeks? And no - the Czech republic's one of the beacons of stability in that part of the world. Or was. Not a country that really needed anything from Elpis." Nathan stared at the screen, part of him listening and cataloguing everything that the commentators were saying. "No... we need a different approach here."
"Fine." he said with amusement. "Grab your gear, we can be in the air in, what, a few hours? Go check it out firsthand, go in covert with no support, make the determination, get back out. Get the real story, not the propaganda and the lies. For all we know, this whole thing's a sham."
"Must be nice to be able to see things in such simple terms," Nathan said. Did the man ever think before he opened his mouth? "I'm not going to bother pointing out all the reasons that won't work."
Logan tensed, then relaxed his body. "Just an idea." he said with a shrug. "You have a cunning plan, I take it?" he said with just a hint of a grin.
"I have a cunning holding pattern, for now. But we're already in contact with some of the other NGOs that care one way or the other what happens to a bunch of mutants or 'mutant sympathizers'. It's just not time to jump one way or the other just yet," Nathan said, and astoundingly, there wasn't a trace of impatience in his voice. Some lessons came harder than others, but that didn't mean you didn't learn them.
"You're the NGO man." he said, acknowledging Nate's superior knowledge and role in the whole affair. "It's gonna get ugly, no matter how it shakes out. Bad scene, getting worse."
"I don't think there's much doubt about that." Maybe the Czechs would handle this 'quarantine' more effectively than he thought they would. Maybe something would happen to break the stalemate between the militant groups - one side or the other laying down their arms, seeing a better way out of this. Something.
Or maybe the whole situation would just keep sliding downhill. Nathan shook his head, glancing at his watch as he rose. "I've got office hours," he said.
"Have fun." he said with a cheery little wave, then returned his attention to the CNN coverage. He still entertained a note about paying the Czechs a visit, but realistically he knew it wouldn't happen.
Nathan was on his way from Russian class back to his office for office hours when he passed by one of the first-floor TV lounges and paused, his attention snared by what was on the screen. It was one of CNN's commentary programs, and the men and women around the table were arguing quite heatedly - about the situation in Prague.
"I was wondering when this would start," he said to the only occupant of the lounge as he walked in, sitting down in one of the many empty chairs. "Quicker than I expected. It's only been a couple of days."
"Balloon's going to go up quick." said Logan, cigar clenched in his teeth, feet kicked up. "When it does go, I mean." he added. "Seen something like this before." he admitted.
"Oh? Where?"
"I got no idea." he said with a shrug. "But I remember ... something." The memory was extremely fragmentary and vague, mostly an impression of gunsmoke, death, unwashed bodies, human waste, rats, and a gun. "Desperate men in desperate situations are unpredictable." he added unnecessarily.
"Well, no shit." There was no edge to the comment, however. "I've been following this situation since it started," Nathan went on. "It's all about San Diego. Or reactions to San Diego, rather. The damned thing is, I think the Czech government honestly believes this is the best course of action."
Logan nodded. "Something stinks about it, though." he said. "You get anything out of your people?" he asked. "Or you fixin' to jump in yourself with both boots?"
"Hardly. Any kind of direct intervention from outside is only going to make the situation worse. How do you think the Czechs would react to that? The whole idea of sealing off Smichov, from what I've been able to tell, is to quarantine the problem and keep the people inside safe from the part of the problem that's coming from outside." Nathan snorted. "Most of the people in that neighborhood aren't mutants, you know. A lot of those who are, are children - families moved into the area with their mutant children because they figured it was a good environment. Of course," he went on, "a lot of those who are aren't Czech, too. They've had mutants from all parts of Europe move in over the last few years. Some of the Czech media's claiming that's the problem."
"That stinks even worse." he said. "You buying the party line on this one?" he asked with a dismissive shrug. "And interventions can be done in things other than black leather or diplomatic passports." he pointed out. "You got any assets on the ground in that part of the world?"
"If I was buying the party line, would I have been following this for all these weeks? And no - the Czech republic's one of the beacons of stability in that part of the world. Or was. Not a country that really needed anything from Elpis." Nathan stared at the screen, part of him listening and cataloguing everything that the commentators were saying. "No... we need a different approach here."
"Fine." he said with amusement. "Grab your gear, we can be in the air in, what, a few hours? Go check it out firsthand, go in covert with no support, make the determination, get back out. Get the real story, not the propaganda and the lies. For all we know, this whole thing's a sham."
"Must be nice to be able to see things in such simple terms," Nathan said. Did the man ever think before he opened his mouth? "I'm not going to bother pointing out all the reasons that won't work."
Logan tensed, then relaxed his body. "Just an idea." he said with a shrug. "You have a cunning plan, I take it?" he said with just a hint of a grin.
"I have a cunning holding pattern, for now. But we're already in contact with some of the other NGOs that care one way or the other what happens to a bunch of mutants or 'mutant sympathizers'. It's just not time to jump one way or the other just yet," Nathan said, and astoundingly, there wasn't a trace of impatience in his voice. Some lessons came harder than others, but that didn't mean you didn't learn them.
"You're the NGO man." he said, acknowledging Nate's superior knowledge and role in the whole affair. "It's gonna get ugly, no matter how it shakes out. Bad scene, getting worse."
"I don't think there's much doubt about that." Maybe the Czechs would handle this 'quarantine' more effectively than he thought they would. Maybe something would happen to break the stalemate between the militant groups - one side or the other laying down their arms, seeing a better way out of this. Something.
Or maybe the whole situation would just keep sliding downhill. Nathan shook his head, glancing at his watch as he rose. "I've got office hours," he said.
"Have fun." he said with a cheery little wave, then returned his attention to the CNN coverage. He still entertained a note about paying the Czechs a visit, but realistically he knew it wouldn't happen.