[ What's the point in lying to him? Apologies are useless and self-deprecation is as helpful as a strongly worded letter. It changes nothing. What reasons she had are equally unnecessary; they don't wash away the past, nor would she want him to have such a foothold into her psyche. Better to focus on the now - and to prepare for the inevitable work that will await her at home.
If she is even allowed to stay in Piltover when all of this is over. ]
We aren't in a position to convince the upper class or the government here of anything. Not just yet. [ If ever. ] I don't think it's worth our time for now. We have more important pieces to take care of.
[ Jobs, housing, money. And above all of those things: protection. The Augmented are unified in small pockets but not enough to present a full and cohesive front - if they ever will be - and it leaves them open to danger. Anyone with much mind could fracture them. ]
How do we keep what's happening in East Sophia from happening to us? We don't need suits or knives in the dark to do it; Patho-Gen has the means and capability of disappearing us in plain sight, or worse.
[ They have no evidence that Patho-Gen can't, or won't, let them succumb to beasthood as an excuse to be put down. They have no real allies, no real protection, no defense against the people who have brought them here. And while she doesn't want to paint Patho-Gen with the same brush as anyone else, she also doesn't know if they can be trusted. Considering all of the comments at the park about taxes, too, she can surmise Patho-Gen is getting funding from up above as well.
If they decide the Augmented are better off cut from the budget, what then? ]
We have the opportunity to help people here. [ It's not just about cleaning the slate for herself. It's about doing better. ] We can make ourselves invaluable to the community here - the lower class, the people on the outskirts, perhaps eventually into the middle class with enough effort - by showing them that we aren't the enemy. We can help each other.
[ The lower class stands at the precipice of collapse. They can't handle any further loss. Something has to be done, and quickly. ]
[ And this was why she wanted to deal with him. She knew, as well as he did, that the way to understanding the people here was to wind in with people like them. Mel would never understand them. She'd never wanted for food until now, for safety, for shelter. Silco had grown up on the streets of the undercity, he'd worked in the mines as a boy; he and Vander had worked their way up and out of them, and into the Lanes, and into revolution — and then inevitably toward betrayal, and despair.
That was not here. That was not now.
She wants to deal with them. She speaks about community. About becoming invaluable.
That is Piltover's way. To bring funding, and education and ventilation and say that it is good enough.
So he is honest. He will show her the path. Have her understand who Silco is, what his goals are at the same time. If he returns, he wants Zaun free, finally. If that means that Medarda finally understands that he is not just some ignorable industrialist under their feet, then so be it. This would serve more than one purpose. ]
You have to dissuade yourself of the idea of bringing things to them, first of all. If you want them to believe in you, then you need to help them believe in something that will motivate them beyond their day to day.
[ He tapped his cigar on the edge of an ashtray. Considered his words. ]
You bring them food, they will still need healthcare. You bring them that, there is still housing. Education. Real Jobs. Walkable streets. Then you need to find them after they have finally let the years of exhaustion had running at both ends settle them down, and then another issue will crop up. Transportation. Bad crops.
There is always something. [ Ask him how he knows. ]
People, even those with nothing, seek the status quo. They want it. It is far easier to indulge in that than it is to work after a 12-hour labor shift on something bigger than themselves. You will get some who are passionate. You need more than that.
You need to give them something to believe in first. A reason.
If we want them to work with us, they have to be intertwined with us. They have to believe in what we can do for them. Or they have to have an independent purpose fully in line with ours, and motivation to do so. Right now they are merely surviving. You need to give them something more than simply survival. You need to give them something to live for. To believe in.
I don't see it as giving. I see it as a reminder that collaboration can make this city better - unfortunately, as you well know, not everyone is willing to do so.
[ Irony of ironies, for Mel Medarda to know without a doubt that this problem is partially the responsibility of people in power who have no intention of improvement. She's been to the upper districts to walk around; they may be lacking in the ways everyone else is as well, but they are not suffering. They are uncomfortable in the way an old mattress is still serviceable but not always the best, which means they are far from wanting to change it.
The middle class is likely caught in the middle. It's easy to blame those beneath them, easy to aspire for greater heights. To rock the boat in either direction gives them no advantage, and they also are just trying to survive. Silco may not agree, but it's been her observation so far.
She leans back in her seat, more to consider than anything else. Her gaze is lost for a moment, looking through Silco, thoughts clustering. ]
...Back in Zaun, what would you have wanted first? After independence.
[ It's a genuine question. Each of these pieces are intertwined, a system that is affected by each and every cascade. But they also don't have the funds or the manpower to take on every single project immediately. ]
If anyone were to help your efforts to rebuild, Piltover or not, what would you want to see happen first? I'm aware I could ask the Karterians - and we will - but you have the better perspective. Medicine and food are necessary, but so many people are without suitable housing too. Now we have the added issues of kidnapping and disappearances, new people who are a drain on resources.
If this were Zaun, and you its arbiter, what do you do first?
[ He wanted cooperation, after all. Her intention isn't to make him work for it; but this is her chance to actually learn something, to follow the winding trail that is his thought process. ]
[ It had always been the plan, that. For him to be the arbiter. The plan. He'd had them, stashed away in books and collections, each one refined over and over again. Silco has been planning this since his twenties. He's been desperately scrambling for it for so long that it feels ludicrous to be asked this question, because Medarda should know what statecraft requires. ]
I would be remiss to allow anyone outside Zaun to help.
[ He says it bluntly, firmly. ]
Help comes with strings attached. They can say there is nothing, but we all know the truth. A new nation like Zaun would need to stand on its own. Nobody will get their hooks into it. Not while I am the arbiter.
[ It sounds like he is being obstinate, but he's not. He leaned forward. ]
What they need is stability. Structure. Opportunity. These are all easy paths inward, weaknesses that will allow foreign and domestic powers inside, to do what they did before.
[ No country is an island. No man is an island. But Silco is careful, and he understands something about this sort of pathway. ]
They need to have the path to the necessities. They need that stability. They need enforcement and structure.
These are things that would allow us to link our cause with them. What I would want for Zaun, they could have. They are rudderless, and without leadership.
These are the places where we can supplement their failings with our abilities.
[ Yes, yes, she’s aware he wouldn’t likely have asked for any kind of help. ]
And no one will let a debt go unpaid.
[ Mel leans her chin on the back of her hand, watching him, listening. The gears are already turning. Opportunity… Ace spoke of getting more jobs at the post back into the hands of individuals. But jobs won’t happen without proper funding for the service. They could work on opening a clinic, train people in the work so they can persist once the Augmented are gone. They need to feel they have a say in their city, and they are not being ignored, as the hopelessness will only mount if the wedge that is the Augmented disappears one day - or is forcibly removed.
Supplement is more in line with what feels safest, at least at first. Demonstrate that pathways can be made and grown, and turned over to the right people to steer the ship. It does, however, require that the Augmented do not have ulterior motives of their own, and that no one makes attempts to sabotage such efforts. ]
They need to have control over their own lives and outcomes.
[ Finding pathways and showing them is first. He’s right about needing to provide these people something to believe in. It simply threads the fine line of codependency that she worries about.
…That, or the potential deification of the Augmented, and the loss of them will surely spell more trouble in the long run. ]
I’ll work on getting the Augmented to be seen as reliable and trustworthy. Put them in places where they can have a pulse on the districts they frequent and build rapport with those who require it. We can then assess what they want first, and move from there. I know several Augmented are already making moves to build lasting supports here. But this is…helpful. Thank you.
[ Her gaze rests on his. ]
If there are others who may work as public ‘faces’ of what we can do, would you mention me to them? Or you can give me their information, if the thought crosses your mind.
[ Does it mean she’ll trust his recommendation? No. But someone capable of catching Silco’s attention will be someone of skill, and that’s equally as important as keeping tabs on him. He has every reason to return home, she knows, but he has every reason to rage against the cage he’s in as well. ]
[ She wants to work at making them seen, does she? It makes sense. Medarda is a politician, whip quick, and honestly it was probably due to Zaun's own reclusive nature that she had not made overtures toward them. (I try to make excuses for this eternally.) No, she was best with those who wanted a face, whereas Silco would always be more focused on the practical hands.
That's where he's best, after all. In the muck and mire, directing it where nobody can see. ]
I'll let you know whom I find. If you manage to keep the attention of the powers that be away from my focus. You want them to feel empowered? You want the people here to have ownership?
Then allow me the freedom of movement.
[ Medarda knew too much now, but more than that, there was another element that knew too much, and would get in his way if he wasn't careful. More dangerous than Mel, or Talis, or even Viktor. He could machinate around all of them and Patho-Gen, but he knew there was someone who could anticipate him if he wasn't careful. ]
Without resources, friction can only come from so many directions.
[ Come now, Silco, she's not a fool. She's not making agreements without reading the terms and details, not to mention the fine print. Mel would rather forego referrals altogether if it means he gets free rein to be as secretive as he wants. If he wants a proper partnership, then she needs to know what she's running interference for. ]
I agree that some of us should be operating in the light and others in the dark, make no mistake. We all have our strengths and advantages.
[ Silco needn't be in the grime and dust. Shadows need not come with dredge and ichor. ]
But I also will not walk into this eyes closed. You have made it known that was always part of the problem. [ She is trying to do right by him. And while he has no reason to trust her, she wants to prove it's possible. ] We can do this a better way. We are both willing to hear each other. If you do not want to, you do not need to choose the same path you have before.
[ And before he insinuates what she assumes he will: ]
I am not asking you to cede control or to allow a boot anywhere near your neck. I am asking that we find a way to reach the ground you've wanted through safer means.
[ If there are ways for her to course-correct, to do better by the people of Zaun and by him, then surely he doesn't need to resort to chembaron levels of extortion. ]
[ Now here is where it becomes dangerous. He can lie, of course, but that will be found out soon enough. It serves only to tear this alliance down before it can properly be started. It's not the way he can do this. No, he is coming from a place of little trust. She knows who she is dealing with. She knows this will not be with the easy way.
She thinks it doesn't need to have grime and dredge, but that is what Silco knows. It is how he operates, because that is what is what he has always had.
It's the way of things. It is the only way he knows. ]
There are few industries that thrive here. In these lower reaches. Most people have been replaced by robots, and those industries that are left are dwindling. The only thing that seems to thrive is the avenues of the desperate. It's something I know all too well, how quickly those spread. How they can spiral out of control, if one is not careful.
[ An inhale, and with a gesture, he says: ]
Not only that, there is a thriving underground pharmaceutical industry. It is disjointed, disorganized. Medications that are needed for most here are exploitable, and expensive.
I intend to build a better operation. To fully wrest this out from disorganized pockets and into something more stable. They smuggle it from somewhere, and my instinct is it comes from Patho-Gen, but none of them have been able to organize, which means it can be difficult to get the proper doses, regulated prices, and most of all: unstable supply.
I'm sure how you can see having control of that would make life better for the individuals here. Along with an industry that pays well and employs a good number of individuals.
[ It's what he knows. It's smuggling, but it isn't manufacturing. Then again, how can he? He was never the genius behind shimmer, just the visionary to move it. ]
[ Silco doesn't take the proverbial offered hand. It's...not unexpected, not with the history of Piltover and Zaun, not with how fragile any kind of collaboration can be here. Not when they do not know each other (and likely never will). And yet she almost finds herself disappointed in it, that Silco is instead hatching schemes that sound almost too similar to what he was doing back home, just sweetened to be palatable.
She feels it's not the truth. Not the whole truth, at any rate. But to call it out so vehemently will set fire to their alliance before it has chance to even find purchase in the ground, and she wants to at least keep to her word - to give him the chance Piltover never did, and to seek a better way. If they are even able to return home, they will need to lay the groundwork. (Although, with each passing day, she thinks even this is manipulation on a grander scale: if she returns with Silco alive just to force an alliance and then to leave for Noxus... It truly would paint her the villain of the Council all along.)
Mel opts for a secondary line of dialogue of true, earnest concern. ]
You believe the pharmaceuticals are coming from Patho-Gen...?
[ It's not said with doubt or incredulity. More that it makes terrible sense, and it's troubling to consider further. Her gaze seems faraway for a moment, assessing, before she looks back his way. ]
Do you have methods to test these medications and actually know what they do? [ It's a question driven purely by curiosity. Because: ] I would wonder if some of it is baited, to see how we react to it. Our bodies are likely already changing.
[ So she simply wonders how Silco would be sure of any of it, and who he's going to pull to make those determinations. Surely, he could survey people or watch their progression, but the Augmented may react differently to what's available, if that's even his aim. ]
It's not what they're offering to us. It's what they're offering to them.
[ He says it simply. The lower class. It's an illegal trade, pharmaceuticals. It's all too expensive, for them to obtain otherwise.
But she is right, it's a scheme. Silco doesn't know how to operate without them. He doesn't understand how. He doesn't have a method. A way. That isn't what Silco knows. That's the thing that Mel will come to understand by working with, interacting with Silco. He has spent so long in the shadows, underneath those who would look down their nose at him, that it can hardly be surprising, can it? That he would opt for what he knows.
Silco is an old man.
Who teaches an old dog new tricks? Or if they do, he'll have to be coerced, and tricked into it.
Will you, Mel? Try to learn the method to tricking Silco into doing things a different way? ]
They may start doing so now, to see how we react. But no, I don't have a way to test it. Unless you do. I'm not interested in pushing poor product onto the streets, or putting out what will make people sicker.
What I do know is that nobody has been able to consolidate this yet. I suspect that if they do, Patho-Gen will see them as a threat. It's why I don't intend to do so until I know things are in place.
[ He knows better, than to jump without looking. Silco had not gotten where he was by being sloppy. ]
[ It's telling that she immediately thinks of Jayce and Viktor. It's equally likely Silco knew she'd consider them, as she'd been the benefactor of their projects. If anyone could uncover what these drugs do and what they're made of, it's them, and the limited equipment they have from Patho-Gen. She'd just been discussing how they should find better equipment for their projects.
Patho-Gen likely has a supplier for the tools they use. It wouldn't take too much effort to find the distributor, though the cost would likely be high, and doing so would put a target on her back.
Under most other circumstances, she wouldn't want to volunteer that sort of service. But knowing what the medications are before Silco has his hands on them will at least allow her to know what he's working with, and devise strategy from there. ]
I don't, personally. But I can ask around and see what is accessible.
[ A little money can help, and she has some in reserve. She can also ask some of her acquaintances who have been in the poorer districts to see if anyone can simply tell them what medications work and how. It won't be as precise, and it won't allow them to break down the ingredients, but it's a start. And she'll consider approaching Jayce and Viktor between their other projects. ]
And what measures are you taking in terms of Patho-Gen? You said it yourself: once you do this, they will come looking for you. Someone will come looking for you. [ Maybe an outside hire. ] And considering we all have these augmenters, I don't imagine it would be difficult to look for us.
Hm. That would be useful. It would also prevent us from handing out anything that makes them worse off. They're already giving what little coin they have, after all.
[ It's true. Normally, that wouldn't be a concern for Silco, but a chembaron's reputation was built on their product. Poor product? Poor reputation, and that was a stain that would never truly wash out. He knew it as well as Mel did, that the sort of flippant actions would lead to their demise. ]
You're correct that they will. From what I've gathered, nobody has been able to link them, and that's a curious question. I'm sure people have tried. This is an avenue for greed, after all. So what would be the reason...
[ his fingers tap on the table. ]
It is not mere weakness. This is not a novel idea. It is something deeper. Such as the fact that they haven't been able to truly control the product. Either Patho-Gen pulls it, or they introduce a new one, or they take them down from the inside.
But they can't remove it entirely. If the people become too sick, they will start dying, and that will gather as much attention as anything else. If the lower-class are gone, the middle class are next.
[ All that is to say... ]
For how I will prevent it, well. I have a few areas of exploration. Safe houses, places they won't go. Places I can protect. I'm not going after the pharmaceuticals immediately, either. That would be foolish. No, I'm waiting.
I won't act until I have the right pieces in place.
[ He's careful, after all. Think about all those years of shimmer bubbling from below. How long had Silco kept it all in check.
He does not intend to let this lie, but he also won't act quickly. There's no need. ]
[ What is the purpose of distributing pharmaceuticals randomly into a population? Control, yes, but if you don't have ways to track who is receiving which drug or how they're reacting, how precisely will you be able to know what's happening? Unless they all do the same thing or have similar targeted reactions... Now she's curious, and as much as she doesn't want her hands involved in any of this, she recognizes this has a thread she wants to keep hold of.
Her mind flits again to the missing people, the suits. She'd wondered if they worked for Patho-Gen — or if they're contractors — but now she's beginning to consider if the pharmaceuticals are at play for what's been happening with the disappearances.
Too much speculation. She doesn't allow herself down the rabbit hole. She focuses on the information he gives her: he has safe houses — or will soon — and has the means to protect them. Guards, perhaps, or ways to prevent entry. Not for the first time, she wishes she'd visited the Undercity even once during her time in Piltover, so she could at least have a frame of reference for what he is capable of...and what kind of playground he's used to using and the kinds of methods he employed.
People always return to what's familiar. He's showing her that right now. For seven years, she'd heard of Shimmer. Does Silco think he has that much time? ]
I would not discount that Patho-Gen is the only player in the city. I spoke of those people in suits. I don't know that they aren't Patho-Gen, but I would be prepared for the possibility that they are working with or in parallel to them. People who can make others disappear off the streets are not to be underestimated.
[ He may not care. And she isn't going to act like this is out of recognition for his safety, per se. But his work might encounter snags if the people he's dealing with start going missing. ]
I can be in touch if I receive any other information on them if it's pertinent to your work.
[ This is where Silco is best. Strategizing. Thinking. Mel is smart, and it's better to have her focused on the future, on what they can do, rather than the high-minded principles that Piltover indulges in. They think they are the superior ones, but he knows better. He thinks Mel is starting to put that together as well.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be here. ]
If we can investigate it, and discover who they are, then that is something we can use. I doubt that Patho-Gen would be all that interested in allowing them to stay on, if given the opportunity. And they would likely jump at the chance to leave their mark on Patho-Gen.
[ Oppositional. Keep them focused on one another, all the meanwhile...
Well.
That's what Silco was best at. ]
Please do. I will, of course, continue to provide information from the whispers I hear close to the ground. You would be surprised what secrets drunkards know, councilor.
Unless they are contracted by Patho-Gen in an effort to subvert a technicality.
[ To claim these people are technically not Patho-Gen. But the fact that they have a presence that is disputed while the consequences of their actions ripple through the lower districts... They must have some kind of power, whether it's monetary or influence, or even magical in nature.
Regardless, they'll cross that bridge when more information is uncovered and better assess at that time. Mel can be the gold that catches people's attention; let Silco remain the knife in the dark for when it is necessary. (So long as it continues to be necessary, and never more than that.)
Although, something he says piques her interest enough, and she tilts her head. ]
Perhaps I need to wander into those areas more often. [ The problem, of course, being that she can't hide all of her markings. ] Do you have any recommendations on where to visit?
[ And no, she isn't fishing for his haunts. They shouldn't be seen together anyway. But if he wants her to see the truth, if he wants her to understand the extent of suffering and need, then she wants to hear it from the source as well, drunkards and otherwise. ]
You want to see them, do you? Do you think it will help you understand?
[ She'd always ignored them, before. It's implied in his tone, but not in an unhelpful way, as if he is pointing it out. They had always ignored them before. Why would it be different now? Why now, when even trying — Trying to change things — had been enough to have them beaten down and shot on the bridge.
Did she even know the history? ]
I would tart with the Crow Bar — a little place. Look for the crow on the sign.
[ A wave of his hand. ] They are disenfranchised. They're looking for a way towards working out of this.
[ A beat, and then, because he has to know: ]
What will you do, when the government and Patho-Gen choose the same path that Piltover did? Peaceful resistance is always met with violence.
What will you do when that day comes? [ A beat. ] You do not have to answer now.
Were you not the one saying we did not understand, that I could not understand and could never hope to? Are you surprised that I want to rectify this?
[ Perhaps he'd be shocked to know the remorse that is buried in her chest, festering like rot. Perhaps it wouldn't matter to him. Perhaps all he wants is for someone to place blame on, especially now that he is away from Zaun. In the end, it doesn't matter; this is a decision she is making for herself, with or without his blessing. But the recommendation is helpful, and Mel gives a tip of her head into what passes for a nod. She'll head there when she has time, once she knows how to properly disguise herself so as not to attract real attention.
Mel starts to stand. They may not have fully fleshed out their terms but, in this, they have some direction. She pauses once she uncrosses her legs, both feet on the floor, considering him. Whether the question lands poorly or not, there is no change to her expression, not even a flicker across her gaze.
It's possible she already knows her answer. It's just as likely this isn't the first time she's been asked a similar question, even if the context was ever so slightly different. What will you do when your mother refuses to back down? What will you do when she chooses the same path, again and again? ]
It's possible I won't need to tell you. You'll see it for yourself.
[ Because she has already anticipated that Patho-Gen and the government will stop taking so kindly to the Augmented. The clock is ticking on their changes, on their humanity. He'll likely see her answer before she has time to voice it. Whether she makes the right choice, however, is another story.
Mel rises at last. ] I appreciate your hospitality and your perspective, Silco. You've given me a great deal to consider.
[ And with that, she heads for the door. They'll be in touch, one way or another. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ What's the point in lying to him? Apologies are useless and self-deprecation is as helpful as a strongly worded letter. It changes nothing. What reasons she had are equally unnecessary; they don't wash away the past, nor would she want him to have such a foothold into her psyche. Better to focus on the now - and to prepare for the inevitable work that will await her at home.
If she is even allowed to stay in Piltover when all of this is over. ]
We aren't in a position to convince the upper class or the government here of anything. Not just yet. [ If ever. ] I don't think it's worth our time for now. We have more important pieces to take care of.
[ Jobs, housing, money. And above all of those things: protection. The Augmented are unified in small pockets but not enough to present a full and cohesive front - if they ever will be - and it leaves them open to danger. Anyone with much mind could fracture them. ]
How do we keep what's happening in East Sophia from happening to us? We don't need suits or knives in the dark to do it; Patho-Gen has the means and capability of disappearing us in plain sight, or worse.
[ They have no evidence that Patho-Gen can't, or won't, let them succumb to beasthood as an excuse to be put down. They have no real allies, no real protection, no defense against the people who have brought them here. And while she doesn't want to paint Patho-Gen with the same brush as anyone else, she also doesn't know if they can be trusted. Considering all of the comments at the park about taxes, too, she can surmise Patho-Gen is getting funding from up above as well.
If they decide the Augmented are better off cut from the budget, what then? ]
We have the opportunity to help people here. [ It's not just about cleaning the slate for herself. It's about doing better. ] We can make ourselves invaluable to the community here - the lower class, the people on the outskirts, perhaps eventually into the middle class with enough effort - by showing them that we aren't the enemy. We can help each other.
[ The lower class stands at the precipice of collapse. They can't handle any further loss. Something has to be done, and quickly. ]
no subject
That was not here. That was not now.
She wants to deal with them. She speaks about community. About becoming invaluable.
That is Piltover's way. To bring funding, and education and ventilation and say that it is good enough.
So he is honest. He will show her the path. Have her understand who Silco is, what his goals are at the same time. If he returns, he wants Zaun free, finally. If that means that Medarda finally understands that he is not just some ignorable industrialist under their feet, then so be it. This would serve more than one purpose. ]
You have to dissuade yourself of the idea of bringing things to them, first of all. If you want them to believe in you, then you need to help them believe in something that will motivate them beyond their day to day.
[ He tapped his cigar on the edge of an ashtray. Considered his words. ]
You bring them food, they will still need healthcare. You bring them that, there is still housing. Education. Real Jobs. Walkable streets. Then you need to find them after they have finally let the years of exhaustion had running at both ends settle them down, and then another issue will crop up. Transportation. Bad crops.
There is always something. [ Ask him how he knows. ]
People, even those with nothing, seek the status quo. They want it. It is far easier to indulge in that than it is to work after a 12-hour labor shift on something bigger than themselves. You will get some who are passionate. You need more than that.
You need to give them something to believe in first. A reason.
If we want them to work with us, they have to be intertwined with us. They have to believe in what we can do for them. Or they have to have an independent purpose fully in line with ours, and motivation to do so. Right now they are merely surviving. You need to give them something more than simply survival. You need to give them something to live for. To believe in.
no subject
[ Irony of ironies, for Mel Medarda to know without a doubt that this problem is partially the responsibility of people in power who have no intention of improvement. She's been to the upper districts to walk around; they may be lacking in the ways everyone else is as well, but they are not suffering. They are uncomfortable in the way an old mattress is still serviceable but not always the best, which means they are far from wanting to change it.
The middle class is likely caught in the middle. It's easy to blame those beneath them, easy to aspire for greater heights. To rock the boat in either direction gives them no advantage, and they also are just trying to survive. Silco may not agree, but it's been her observation so far.
She leans back in her seat, more to consider than anything else. Her gaze is lost for a moment, looking through Silco, thoughts clustering. ]
...Back in Zaun, what would you have wanted first? After independence.
[ It's a genuine question. Each of these pieces are intertwined, a system that is affected by each and every cascade. But they also don't have the funds or the manpower to take on every single project immediately. ]
If anyone were to help your efforts to rebuild, Piltover or not, what would you want to see happen first? I'm aware I could ask the Karterians - and we will - but you have the better perspective. Medicine and food are necessary, but so many people are without suitable housing too. Now we have the added issues of kidnapping and disappearances, new people who are a drain on resources.
If this were Zaun, and you its arbiter, what do you do first?
[ He wanted cooperation, after all. Her intention isn't to make him work for it; but this is her chance to actually learn something, to follow the winding trail that is his thought process. ]
no subject
I would be remiss to allow anyone outside Zaun to help.
[ He says it bluntly, firmly. ]
Help comes with strings attached. They can say there is nothing, but we all know the truth. A new nation like Zaun would need to stand on its own. Nobody will get their hooks into it. Not while I am the arbiter.
[ It sounds like he is being obstinate, but he's not. He leaned forward. ]
What they need is stability. Structure. Opportunity. These are all easy paths inward, weaknesses that will allow foreign and domestic powers inside, to do what they did before.
[ No country is an island. No man is an island. But Silco is careful, and he understands something about this sort of pathway. ]
They need to have the path to the necessities. They need that stability. They need enforcement and structure.
These are things that would allow us to link our cause with them. What I would want for Zaun, they could have. They are rudderless, and without leadership.
These are the places where we can supplement their failings with our abilities.
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And no one will let a debt go unpaid.
[ Mel leans her chin on the back of her hand, watching him, listening. The gears are already turning. Opportunity… Ace spoke of getting more jobs at the post back into the hands of individuals. But jobs won’t happen without proper funding for the service. They could work on opening a clinic, train people in the work so they can persist once the Augmented are gone. They need to feel they have a say in their city, and they are not being ignored, as the hopelessness will only mount if the wedge that is the Augmented disappears one day - or is forcibly removed.
Supplement is more in line with what feels safest, at least at first. Demonstrate that pathways can be made and grown, and turned over to the right people to steer the ship. It does, however, require that the Augmented do not have ulterior motives of their own, and that no one makes attempts to sabotage such efforts. ]
They need to have control over their own lives and outcomes.
[ Finding pathways and showing them is first. He’s right about needing to provide these people something to believe in. It simply threads the fine line of codependency that she worries about.
…That, or the potential deification of the Augmented, and the loss of them will surely spell more trouble in the long run. ]
I’ll work on getting the Augmented to be seen as reliable and trustworthy. Put them in places where they can have a pulse on the districts they frequent and build rapport with those who require it. We can then assess what they want first, and move from there. I know several Augmented are already making moves to build lasting supports here. But this is…helpful. Thank you.
[ Her gaze rests on his. ]
If there are others who may work as public ‘faces’ of what we can do, would you mention me to them? Or you can give me their information, if the thought crosses your mind.
[ Does it mean she’ll trust his recommendation? No. But someone capable of catching Silco’s attention will be someone of skill, and that’s equally as important as keeping tabs on him. He has every reason to return home, she knows, but he has every reason to rage against the cage he’s in as well. ]
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I try to make excuses for this eternally.) No, she was best with those who wanted a face, whereas Silco would always be more focused on the practical hands.That's where he's best, after all. In the muck and mire, directing it where nobody can see. ]
I'll let you know whom I find. If you manage to keep the attention of the powers that be away from my focus. You want them to feel empowered? You want the people here to have ownership?
Then allow me the freedom of movement.
[ Medarda knew too much now, but more than that, there was another element that knew too much, and would get in his way if he wasn't careful. More dangerous than Mel, or Talis, or even Viktor. He could machinate around all of them and Patho-Gen, but he knew there was someone who could anticipate him if he wasn't careful. ]
Without resources, friction can only come from so many directions.
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[ Come now, Silco, she's not a fool. She's not making agreements without reading the terms and details, not to mention the fine print. Mel would rather forego referrals altogether if it means he gets free rein to be as secretive as he wants. If he wants a proper partnership, then she needs to know what she's running interference for. ]
I agree that some of us should be operating in the light and others in the dark, make no mistake. We all have our strengths and advantages.
[ Silco needn't be in the grime and dust. Shadows need not come with dredge and ichor. ]
But I also will not walk into this eyes closed. You have made it known that was always part of the problem. [ She is trying to do right by him. And while he has no reason to trust her, she wants to prove it's possible. ] We can do this a better way. We are both willing to hear each other. If you do not want to, you do not need to choose the same path you have before.
[ And before he insinuates what she assumes he will: ]
I am not asking you to cede control or to allow a boot anywhere near your neck. I am asking that we find a way to reach the ground you've wanted through safer means.
[ If there are ways for her to course-correct, to do better by the people of Zaun and by him, then surely he doesn't need to resort to chembaron levels of extortion. ]
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She thinks it doesn't need to have grime and dredge, but that is what Silco knows. It is how he operates, because that is what is what he has always had.
It's the way of things. It is the only way he knows. ]
There are few industries that thrive here. In these lower reaches. Most people have been replaced by robots, and those industries that are left are dwindling. The only thing that seems to thrive is the avenues of the desperate. It's something I know all too well, how quickly those spread. How they can spiral out of control, if one is not careful.
[ An inhale, and with a gesture, he says: ]
Not only that, there is a thriving underground pharmaceutical industry. It is disjointed, disorganized. Medications that are needed for most here are exploitable, and expensive.
I intend to build a better operation. To fully wrest this out from disorganized pockets and into something more stable. They smuggle it from somewhere, and my instinct is it comes from Patho-Gen, but none of them have been able to organize, which means it can be difficult to get the proper doses, regulated prices, and most of all: unstable supply.
I'm sure how you can see having control of that would make life better for the individuals here. Along with an industry that pays well and employs a good number of individuals.
[ It's what he knows. It's smuggling, but it isn't manufacturing. Then again, how can he? He was never the genius behind shimmer, just the visionary to move it. ]
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She feels it's not the truth. Not the whole truth, at any rate. But to call it out so vehemently will set fire to their alliance before it has chance to even find purchase in the ground, and she wants to at least keep to her word - to give him the chance Piltover never did, and to seek a better way. If they are even able to return home, they will need to lay the groundwork. (Although, with each passing day, she thinks even this is manipulation on a grander scale: if she returns with Silco alive just to force an alliance and then to leave for Noxus... It truly would paint her the villain of the Council all along.)
Mel opts for a secondary line of dialogue of true, earnest concern. ]
You believe the pharmaceuticals are coming from Patho-Gen...?
[ It's not said with doubt or incredulity. More that it makes terrible sense, and it's troubling to consider further. Her gaze seems faraway for a moment, assessing, before she looks back his way. ]
Do you have methods to test these medications and actually know what they do? [ It's a question driven purely by curiosity. Because: ] I would wonder if some of it is baited, to see how we react to it. Our bodies are likely already changing.
[ So she simply wonders how Silco would be sure of any of it, and who he's going to pull to make those determinations. Surely, he could survey people or watch their progression, but the Augmented may react differently to what's available, if that's even his aim. ]
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[ He says it simply. The lower class. It's an illegal trade, pharmaceuticals. It's all too expensive, for them to obtain otherwise.
But she is right, it's a scheme. Silco doesn't know how to operate without them. He doesn't understand how. He doesn't have a method. A way. That isn't what Silco knows. That's the thing that Mel will come to understand by working with, interacting with Silco. He has spent so long in the shadows, underneath those who would look down their nose at him, that it can hardly be surprising, can it? That he would opt for what he knows.
Silco is an old man.
Who teaches an old dog new tricks? Or if they do, he'll have to be coerced, and tricked into it.
Will you, Mel? Try to learn the method to tricking Silco into doing things a different way? ]
They may start doing so now, to see how we react. But no, I don't have a way to test it. Unless you do. I'm not interested in pushing poor product onto the streets, or putting out what will make people sicker.
What I do know is that nobody has been able to consolidate this yet. I suspect that if they do, Patho-Gen will see them as a threat. It's why I don't intend to do so until I know things are in place.
[ He knows better, than to jump without looking. Silco had not gotten where he was by being sloppy. ]
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Patho-Gen likely has a supplier for the tools they use. It wouldn't take too much effort to find the distributor, though the cost would likely be high, and doing so would put a target on her back.
Under most other circumstances, she wouldn't want to volunteer that sort of service. But knowing what the medications are before Silco has his hands on them will at least allow her to know what he's working with, and devise strategy from there. ]
I don't, personally. But I can ask around and see what is accessible.
[ A little money can help, and she has some in reserve. She can also ask some of her acquaintances who have been in the poorer districts to see if anyone can simply tell them what medications work and how. It won't be as precise, and it won't allow them to break down the ingredients, but it's a start. And she'll consider approaching Jayce and Viktor between their other projects. ]
And what measures are you taking in terms of Patho-Gen? You said it yourself: once you do this, they will come looking for you. Someone will come looking for you. [ Maybe an outside hire. ] And considering we all have these augmenters, I don't imagine it would be difficult to look for us.
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[ It's true. Normally, that wouldn't be a concern for Silco, but a chembaron's reputation was built on their product. Poor product? Poor reputation, and that was a stain that would never truly wash out. He knew it as well as Mel did, that the sort of flippant actions would lead to their demise. ]
You're correct that they will. From what I've gathered, nobody has been able to link them, and that's a curious question. I'm sure people have tried. This is an avenue for greed, after all. So what would be the reason...
[ his fingers tap on the table. ]
It is not mere weakness. This is not a novel idea. It is something deeper. Such as the fact that they haven't been able to truly control the product. Either Patho-Gen pulls it, or they introduce a new one, or they take them down from the inside.
But they can't remove it entirely. If the people become too sick, they will start dying, and that will gather as much attention as anything else. If the lower-class are gone, the middle class are next.
[ All that is to say... ]
For how I will prevent it, well. I have a few areas of exploration. Safe houses, places they won't go. Places I can protect. I'm not going after the pharmaceuticals immediately, either. That would be foolish. No, I'm waiting.
I won't act until I have the right pieces in place.
[ He's careful, after all. Think about all those years of shimmer bubbling from below. How long had Silco kept it all in check.
He does not intend to let this lie, but he also won't act quickly. There's no need. ]
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Her mind flits again to the missing people, the suits. She'd wondered if they worked for Patho-Gen — or if they're contractors — but now she's beginning to consider if the pharmaceuticals are at play for what's been happening with the disappearances.
Too much speculation. She doesn't allow herself down the rabbit hole. She focuses on the information he gives her: he has safe houses — or will soon — and has the means to protect them. Guards, perhaps, or ways to prevent entry. Not for the first time, she wishes she'd visited the Undercity even once during her time in Piltover, so she could at least have a frame of reference for what he is capable of...and what kind of playground he's used to using and the kinds of methods he employed.
People always return to what's familiar. He's showing her that right now. For seven years, she'd heard of Shimmer. Does Silco think he has that much time? ]
I would not discount that Patho-Gen is the only player in the city. I spoke of those people in suits. I don't know that they aren't Patho-Gen, but I would be prepared for the possibility that they are working with or in parallel to them. People who can make others disappear off the streets are not to be underestimated.
[ He may not care. And she isn't going to act like this is out of recognition for his safety, per se. But his work might encounter snags if the people he's dealing with start going missing. ]
I can be in touch if I receive any other information on them if it's pertinent to your work.
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[ This is where Silco is best. Strategizing. Thinking. Mel is smart, and it's better to have her focused on the future, on what they can do, rather than the high-minded principles that Piltover indulges in. They think they are the superior ones, but he knows better. He thinks Mel is starting to put that together as well.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be here. ]
If we can investigate it, and discover who they are, then that is something we can use. I doubt that Patho-Gen would be all that interested in allowing them to stay on, if given the opportunity. And they would likely jump at the chance to leave their mark on Patho-Gen.
[ Oppositional. Keep them focused on one another, all the meanwhile...
Well.
That's what Silco was best at. ]
Please do. I will, of course, continue to provide information from the whispers I hear close to the ground. You would be surprised what secrets drunkards know, councilor.
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[ To claim these people are technically not Patho-Gen. But the fact that they have a presence that is disputed while the consequences of their actions ripple through the lower districts... They must have some kind of power, whether it's monetary or influence, or even magical in nature.
Regardless, they'll cross that bridge when more information is uncovered and better assess at that time. Mel can be the gold that catches people's attention; let Silco remain the knife in the dark for when it is necessary. (So long as it continues to be necessary, and never more than that.)
Although, something he says piques her interest enough, and she tilts her head. ]
Perhaps I need to wander into those areas more often. [ The problem, of course, being that she can't hide all of her markings. ] Do you have any recommendations on where to visit?
[ And no, she isn't fishing for his haunts. They shouldn't be seen together anyway. But if he wants her to see the truth, if he wants her to understand the extent of suffering and need, then she wants to hear it from the source as well, drunkards and otherwise. ]
hangs my damn head in shame at how long this took
[ She'd always ignored them, before. It's implied in his tone, but not in an unhelpful way, as if he is pointing it out. They had always ignored them before. Why would it be different now? Why now, when even trying — Trying to change things — had been enough to have them beaten down and shot on the bridge.
Did she even know the history? ]
I would tart with the Crow Bar — a little place. Look for the crow on the sign.
[ A wave of his hand. ] They are disenfranchised. They're looking for a way towards working out of this.
[ A beat, and then, because he has to know: ]
What will you do, when the government and Patho-Gen choose the same path that Piltover did? Peaceful resistance is always met with violence.
What will you do when that day comes? [ A beat. ] You do not have to answer now.
Just think on it.
shhh it's fine
[ Perhaps he'd be shocked to know the remorse that is buried in her chest, festering like rot. Perhaps it wouldn't matter to him. Perhaps all he wants is for someone to place blame on, especially now that he is away from Zaun. In the end, it doesn't matter; this is a decision she is making for herself, with or without his blessing. But the recommendation is helpful, and Mel gives a tip of her head into what passes for a nod. She'll head there when she has time, once she knows how to properly disguise herself so as not to attract real attention.
Mel starts to stand. They may not have fully fleshed out their terms but, in this, they have some direction. She pauses once she uncrosses her legs, both feet on the floor, considering him. Whether the question lands poorly or not, there is no change to her expression, not even a flicker across her gaze.
It's possible she already knows her answer. It's just as likely this isn't the first time she's been asked a similar question, even if the context was ever so slightly different. What will you do when your mother refuses to back down? What will you do when she chooses the same path, again and again? ]
It's possible I won't need to tell you. You'll see it for yourself.
[ Because she has already anticipated that Patho-Gen and the government will stop taking so kindly to the Augmented. The clock is ticking on their changes, on their humanity. He'll likely see her answer before she has time to voice it. Whether she makes the right choice, however, is another story.
Mel rises at last. ] I appreciate your hospitality and your perspective, Silco. You've given me a great deal to consider.
[ And with that, she heads for the door. They'll be in touch, one way or another. ]