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To Governor Mercutio
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| Artemis_Vanden | Date: Sunday, 18 Nov 2012, 10:55 PM | Message # 1 |
 Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 302
Status: Offline
| Governor,
I admire your spirited arguments for Naboo's values, and the Force knows I agree with you. But I implore you Governor, please, be more cautious. You simply won't convince General Relius, and, doomed to exasperation as you are, it may be best to temper your words and preserve your energies. In particular, consider tempering your advocacy for the Gungan cause. The Empire does not view the Gungans as we do—as a class, they are seen as the enemy, as the Jedi were in times past. Naboo, too, was supportive of the Jedi in times past, and it paid a dear, dear price for it. We are not so far removed from those times as General Relius's niceties would suggest.
I don't advocate timidity, mind you. You know me better than that. But there's no sense pleading your case and tipping your hand to General Relius of all people. Please be more prudent, Governor. Relius may threaten your career, but the stakes are far higher than that.
Fraternally,
Artemis Vanden
Representative of the Naboo
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| Mercutio | Date: Sunday, 18 Nov 2012, 11:37 PM | Message # 2 |
 Sergeant
Group: Users
Messages: 33
Status: Offline
| Senator,
The stakes are indeed higher, Mr. Vanden. I have it reliably that Gungans are starving to death in the city of Otoh Teers as you read this. How would you have me react to this? I am Governor of Naboo, Artemis, not Governor of the Naboo. If a city on Naboo is being starved to death, should it make a difference to me if it's a Human or a Gungan city? How or why this distinction has been made throughout history, I don't know, but it's a distinction I don't hold to. I don't consider my life or even that of the Queen to be any more or less valuable than the life of a Gungan pauper. I mean no disrespect, Artemis, and your opinion is important to me, but I don't see how you can say that you "don't advocate timidity." I'm well aware of our past, but it's the future of Naboo that frightens me more if we continue on this path of collaboration.
His Excellency,
Governor Mercutio of Naboo
Head of the Royal Advisory Council, and Duke of Ferentina
Message edited by Mercutio - Sunday, 18 Nov 2012, 11:40 PM |
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| Artemis_Vanden | Date: Thursday, 22 Nov 2012, 11:27 PM | Message # 3 |
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Major general
Group: Users
Messages: 302
Status: Offline
| Governor,
I didn't advise insensitivity to the Gungans, Gus. I advised you to temper your words only, not your sentiments. I didn't help the Fallanassi escape the Empire on Carratos by announcing my intention to do so. Nor do I appreciate having Naboo's historical prejudices attributed, personally, to me. I'm older than you, Gus, and I've seen times of dramatic change on our world; there has been anti-Gungan prejudice among the Naboo, and there continues to be. I'll even admit to having been a prejudiced man in times past. But while my sensibilities have changed as, indeed, the sensibilities of the Naboo have changed, you cannot simply deny the historical prejudices that have shaped, as in mortar, the divided society we continue to live in today.
What I mean is that, while the starving to death of a Human city or Gungan city are neither more nor less deplorable than the other, there are limits to what you can do about it as Governor. Human and Gungan history are not the same, and there remains a distinction between our societies. For all intents and purposes, the Governor's power has historically ended at the swamps—the Gungans would have it no other way and still won't. What I advise of you, Gus, is prudence. Don't hand the Empire reason to demonstrate to us, as it has in the past, the limits of our authority. We can do more for the Gungans sub rosa.
Fraternally,
Artemis Vanden
Representative of the Naboo
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