Council Receptionist

(12PM)

Council Receptionist: This is the entrance to the venue. Citizens here to observe, please enter through here.

People's Affairs Delegation and the Bangboo Affairs Delegation

(Talk to Council Receptionist, Monday 12PM)

Council Receptionist: The participants in this Council session are the People's Affairs Delegation and the Bangboo Affairs Delegation.

Council Receptionist: Would you like to enter and observe?

Yes.

(Starts dialogue, see below)

Not interested.

(Exits dialogue)

All council members are in place. Today's session officially begins.

Melisande: Good day, councilors. I'm Melisande, your Speaker for today's session.

Melisande: Today's routine council meeting will discuss topics related to the Administrative Affairs Department public services budget for the next fiscal year, so the People's Affairs Delegation and Bangboo Affairs Delegation — two civic departments — have been invited to deliberate.

Melisande: I won't go over the council rules again — Representatives Hilda and Reginald, the floor is yours.

Hilda: I'll go first. The People's Affairs Delegation thinks next year's public services budget should favor human residents.

Hilda: Humans aren't machines — we're complex beings driven by emotion, desire, and spirit. For us, just surviving isn't enough.

Hilda: Chronic budget shortfalls have kept plans for building cinemas, gyms, and other facilities stuck in limbo, making it impossible to improve the quality of life for Roscaelifer's human residents.

Hilda: If we can secure more public service funding, we and the merchant association can turn all that around!

Reginald: En-en. Ehn-en. (Young lady, don't rush it. Infrastructure development is a massive undertaking. It's not something you can just toss a year's budget at and call it done.)

Reginald: Ehn-ne-en. En-nhe. (Rather than dumping funds into a bottomless pit, we should invest in something more practical. The way we see it, keep the budget split as is — 50/50 works just fine.)

Hilda: If Roscaelifer opens up, are we still maintaining the status quo? Don't forget — your entire argument assumes "Roscaelifer stays closed."

Hilda: The decision to "open" the island is final. In our view, the city's infrastructure and public services for humans are clearly not ready to accommodate visitors from the surface.

Reginald: Ehn-ne-nhe... (Maybe there's a lot we can do without changing the budget allocation...)

Hilda: Without reallocating the budget, there's only so much we can do. We certainly won't see any meaningful improvement in quality of life for Roscaelifer's human residents.

Hilda: Or is it that you don't actually care what humans do with the budget — you just don't want your cut getting slashed?

Reginald: Ehn-neh-neh... (Now, now, young lady. Bangboo make up over 60% of the residents, so logically we should get a bigger share of the budget. Our willingness to split it 50/50 is already a compromise on our part...)

Reginald: Ehn-ne-nhe... (As the minority population here — humans — you're proposing something that risks undermining the existing harmony between people and the Bangboo...)

Hilda: Hah, don't try to pin that on me — I'm not buying it. Give me straight answers: what's your reason for turning this down, and what's your solution?!

Reginald: Ehn-nuh-nhe... (This isn't something we can decide on the spot. We should call a recess and discuss this among ourselves...)

???: Ehn-ne-nhe? Eh-ne-hah! (Reginald, you old geezer, can't answer that? Then it's my turn!)

Both reps and the crowd in the arena are clearly stunned for a second.

Reginald: Ehn-ne! Ehn-ne-neh! (Madam Speaker! Apparently an intruder has breached the assembly hall — you need to explain yourself!)

Melisande: Maybe they slipped in with your crew? The council runs on democracy and transparency. Anyone attending or working here can speak their mind freely. I've got nothing to explain.

Griff: En-nah-nah! En-nah-hah! (I, Griff, the leader of the En-Nah Gang! Representing all Bangboo to answer you!)

Reginald: Ehn-ne. (Nonsense. You only speak for yourself.)

Hilda: So what's the deal here? You've got two Bangboo reps now?

Griff: Ehn-ne! Ehn-nhe-nuh? (I heard every word! Your logic is: once the city opens, more humans from the surface may come, so naturally we should improve human living standards. Is that it?)

Hilda: That's not exactly how I'd phrase it, but yes — you could put it that way. It's a reasonable request.

Griff: Ehn-ne-nhe-hah! (Then the solution is simple — don't let people from the surface come to Roscaelifer!)

The council chamber erupts in chaos...

Griff: Ehn-ne, ehn-nhe-hah! (If life in New Eridu is so wonderful, they can stay there. Roscaelifer was meant to be Lady Sunbringer's promised utopia, an independent one!)

Reginald: Enn-ne! Ehn-nhe-ne! (Don't twist Lady Sunbringer's intentions! She always envisioned harmony between humans and the Bangboo. You're the one trampling on her ideals!)

Melisande: Ah, guess the classic playbook still workd... [sic]

Hilda: Wait, you two aren't together? I thought you came here to gang up on me.

Griff: Ehn-ne! En-nhe-ne-huh! (Who said we're with him?! The En-Nah Gang's ideals are far beyond the understanding of AAD lackeys like you!)

Reginald: Ehn-ne-nhe! Ehn-nhu! (Your ideals don't matter! Opening-up is the will of Lady Sunbringer and the AAD. As Bangboo, our duty is simple: obey without question!)

Hilda: Whoa, they're going at each other now...

Melisande: Ahem... Representatives from Bangboo, please reach a consensus ASAP.

Reginald: Ehn-ne-nhe! Enn-nuh! (Madam Speaker, due to the En-Nah Gang's illegal intrusion, the council can no longer proceed normally! I move to adjourn and reconvene at a later date!)

Hilda: I'm with you. Let's hash it out and get somewhere.

Griff: Ehn-ne! Ehn-neh-hah! (I object! I was just about to win that argument!)

Melisande: Alright then, majority rules — this council session is now adjourned! Since this issue's still up for debate, we'll pick it back up another day. Stay tuned for the official notice from the Administrative Affairs Department!

The Speaker calls the session, and all the council members who have shown up clear out.

CCD and the Energy Management Center

(Talk to Council Receptionist, Tuesday 12PM)

Council Receptionist: The participants in this council meeting are the CCD and the Energy Management Center.

Council Receptionist: Would you like to enter and observe?

Yes.

(Starts dialogue, see below)

Not interested.

(Exits dialogue)

All council members are in place. Today's session officially begins.

Melisande: Everyone here? Good day, council members. I'm Melisande, your Speaker for today's session.

Melisande: Today's council meeting has been called to discuss last month's power resource waste issue at the Airspace Control Tower. Representatives from the CCD — Cora — and the Energy Management Center — Edward — have been invited to attend...

Edward: Sorry to interrupt... but if I'm hearing you right, you're asking a division that powers the entire island... why it'd waste electricity?

Melisande: Right. Look, generating power and handling inquiries are both your jobs! Let's both be a little flexible and not make things harder on each other...

Cora: This meeting's already messing with our workflow... Let's cut to the chase — what's the issue?

Melisande: The Administrative Affairs Department's recent investigation found that the Control Tower's power consumption has nearly doubled compared to last month. Could you two representatives please give us a rundown of the situation?

Edward: Hold up, hold up. I've got two questions. First off, Madam Speaker, give us the actual numbers on how much power consumption has spiked. Don't brush us off with vague stuff like "nearly doubled."

Cora: That doesn't really matter, does it... Stop being so hung up on the numbers...

Melisande: Um, the exact increase is 53.6%...

Cora: ...You call that "nearly doubled"?

Melisande: Come on, just round it up.

Edward: See? Digging into the data from the Administrative Affairs Department actually helps with solving things!

Edward: Second question. The Administrative Affairs Department is also in the Airspace Control Tower, so couldn't you guys be causing the same power waste issue yourselves?

Cora: The Administrative Affairs Department's work requires just turning on a light at most — how much electricity could they possibly use?

Edward: Well, aren't you all high and mighty~

A stir ripples through the hall. One of the council members lets out a short laugh, then quickly stifles it.

Melisande: Ahem, please show some basic respect to the AAD...
Jokes aside, let's get down to business. Can you both explain the reasons for the power wastage?

Edward: As everyone knows, Scamall Hollow's been pretty unstable lately. Four Singularity Leakage events happened last month alone, so there's way more cleanup work to handle now. Makes sense our power consumption would spike, right?

Cora: As for the CCD, the Creator's awakening has been causing increasingly volatile shifts inside the Hollows lately, making Rosetta Data calculations way more complex — so we need to burn through more processing power, hence the spike in electricity usage.

Cora: One more reason is that the Databoo need to work overtime, so they charge up at the CCD... Don't tell me we're gonna get blamed just because we work hard?

Edward: After all, we've been busting our butts here — the Administrative Affairs Department's gotta pull their weight and show they're doing something too, right?

Another burst of short-lived laughter echoes through the venue. You hear it clearly — someone couldn't hold it in.

Melisande: Fair enough... Ahem, respect, respect... So how do you two plan on tackling this whole power resource waste issue?

Cora: The CCD has no intention of backing down. Processing the Rosetta Data is Roscaelifer's most critical function — top priority, no matter what. We won't budge on this.

Cora: Or are you saying that in the AAD's grand plan, even the CCD's work needs to be measured by profit and loss? Have you forgotten where Roscaelifer's title of "Celestial Nexus" even came from?

Melisande: Your opinion, EMC?

Edward: The Energy Management Center can handle the power waste issue, y'know. If you're so worried about us using too much electricity, just let the Bangboo take a break and have the Airspace Patrol send more humans into the Hollows instead. I'd welcome that with open arms.

Edward: And that's just the security division. On the production side, we consume energy to power the entire island. Obviously, we're not backing down on the power consumption issue either.

Cora: Just don't waste my time calling meetings for pointless topics like this again.

Edward: Hmph... on behalf of the department that keeps this entire island powered, my response to the above is: no objections.

Melisande: I understand where you both are coming from... Please don't misunderstand — the AAD isn't here to hold you accountable. This is just standard procedure for us.

Melisande: Of course, the contents of this meeting will be published, and I'm sure your firm and composed attitudes will be highly praised by the citizens.

Edward: Let me guess... The headline would be "Energy waste at Airspace Control Tower within normal fluctuations, nothing to worry about"?

Melisande: If you don't like that, we could always go with "CCD and EMC flagrantly violate energy conservation treaty" as the headline instead.

Melisande: This council meeting has wrapped up smoothly, and congrats to us all on reaching a clear conclusion. With that, we're adjourned!

The meeting ends on a high note.

Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation and Airspace Patrol

(Talk to Council Receptionist, Wednesday 12PM)

Council Receptionist: The participants in this Council session are the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation and the Airspace Patrol.

Council Receptionist: Would you like to enter and observe?

Yes.

(Starts dialogue, see below)

Not interested.

(Exits dialogue)

All council members are in place. Today's session officially begins.

Melisande: Good day, councilors. I'm Melisande, your Speaker for today's session.

Melisande: This council session is a bit unusual. It's an inquiry hearing initiated by the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation against the Airspace Patrol Department. Therefore, we'll begin with Ms. Violet, the representative from the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation.

Violet: Thanks for the intro, Madam Speaker. I'll cut to the chase...

Violet: Roscaelifer's opening is a done deal. Our secrecy and security protocols must evolve accordingly.

Violet: For ages, Roscaelifer's commercial economy has been stuck in the slow lane, thanks to secrecy policies, safety regulations, and a whole mess of transport restrictions...

Violet: The merchant association believes we're in a window of opportunity right before major changes hit. This is our shot to shake up some rules that were set in stone. We're not just hitting up the Airspace Patrol... we'll be negotiating with the AAD, ESD, and a bunch of other departments down the line.

Violet: As the Airspace Patrol representative, what's your take on this? Is the department ready for what's coming?

Melisande: Allow me to introduce... this here is the representative from the Airspace Patrol, Officer Cadyn.

Inside the venue, a bunch of council members start whispering in surprise.

Cadyn: What's the problem? Someone at my rank has every right to represent us.

Melisande: I don't think the other council members are surprised about that...

Violet: So? What's your answer?

Cadyn: That's way above my pay grade. I don't have the authority to answer that.

Violet: Fair point. If the question's too big-picture to tackle, let's zero in on the two issues the merchant association cares about most.

Violet: One, the previous security regulations banned too many goods from entering Roscaelifer, which has prevented a lot of business from happening. We're concerned: will the Airspace Patrol get with the times and lift some of these restrictions?

Cadyn: Safety regulations must be followed. They're there to protect Roscaelifer. Security comes before business.

Violet: Of course I know the Airspace Patrol puts Roscaelifer's safety first, but objectively speaking, the current regulations are way too complicated — it's unhealthy...

Violet: A balance... Right. We need to find the sweet spot between "safety" and "business."

Cadyn: So why don't you just go find that sweet spot?

Violet: ...Officer Cadyn, when I say "we," that includes the Airspace Patrol too. And right now, I'm talking to you about finding that balance.

Cadyn: Oh yeah? Well, I think safety's more important than business.

Violet: ...Fine. We'll table that issue for now. Second: the merchant association is currently paying enormous security inspection fee just to bring goods in, which is driving up the cost of doing business.

Cadyn: Rules are rules, and keeping things safe ain't free.

Violet: Of course I know security comes at a cost! But the merchant association is completely in the dark about the details of these security reviews. And we're not comfortable paying fees we know nothing about.

Violet: Can the Airspace Patrol make the security audit details public? As the organization that pays the most in security audit fees, the merchant association has a right to know this information.

Cadyn: Nah, that's classified. We can't share that.

Violet: If you can't disclose this to the merchant association, then how are we supposed to tell if the current security review fees are even legit?

Cadyn: Security screening fees are totally legit — keeping things safe ain't free, you know.

Just listening to such a conversation is exhausting...

Violet: My bad, I shouldn't have expected anything useful outta you...

Melisande: Ah, I see. So that's the best way to deal with smooth talkers... Learned something new today...

Cadyn: My apologies, Miss Violet. Both Lady Lindverne and Lady Sigrid have warned me not to say anything unnecessary.
I don't believe I said anything unnecessary just now.

Cadyn: Oh, that last bit was outta line. My bad, ladies.

Violet: Forget pointless stuff — you didn't say a single useful thing either...

Melisande: Hey, looks like neither side's too keen on keeping this convo going... So unless anyone's got objections, how about we call it a day and pick this up later?

Cadyn: I don't... The Airspace Patrol has no objections.

Violet: Ugh, let's adjourn... I motion that we table this discussion for later, but the Airspace Patrol rep cannot be this airheaded goose!

Violet: ...At least get me someone I can actually talk to.

Melisande: Your request has been accepted — now then, today's council meeting is adjourned!

Cadyn: Wait, where's the goose you just mentioned?

No one is going to answer Cadyn's question. The council members are already leaving, one by one.

Administrative Affairs Department and the External Strategy Department

(Talk to Council Receptionist, Thursday 12PM)

Council Receptionist: The attendees of this council meeting are the Administrative Affairs Department and the External Strategy Department.

Council Receptionist: Would you like to enter and observe?

Yes.

(Starts dialogue, see below)

Not interested.

(Exits dialogue)

All council members are in place. Today's session officially begins.

Melisande: How unusual... The Administrative Affairs Department rarely shows up to the council as the one being questioned...

Melisande: Alright, it's about time. Let's officially kick off today's agenda — the External Strategy Department's inquiry into the Administrative Affairs Department.

Melisande: The External Strategy Department's rep is... Miss Norma? Am I seeing this right?

Norma: That's right! It's Norma!

Melisande: Uh... well then, the AAD's representative is me, Melisande.

Norma: Wait, hold up! How's the ref jumpin' into the game? I say that ain't fair!

Melisande: Oh, come on, the Speaker of the Council has always been held by a member of the Administrative Affairs Department. So questioning the AAD? Isn't that like playing a game with the referee on your team?

Melisande: Don't sweat it, little Norma. The Speaker of the Council doesn't play favorites — you can speak up and ask whatever's on your mind.

Norma: I thought so too! To avoid consuming too much of my energy budget, I'm gonna cut straight to the chase...

Norma: There's been so much going on down the surface lately, and the External Strategy Department is understaffed. Everyone's running themselves ragged! Meanwhile, the Administrative Affairs Department is drowning in employees with barely any work to do. It's totally unreasonable!

Norma: That's why I'm hoping the AAD can spare some staff to support the ESD's work!

Melisande: So it's what Norma wants, not the External Strategy Department?

Norma: What Norma says is what the ESD says!

Melisande: Hmm... alright, we'll take little Norma's input into consideration. Any other questions?

Norma: I knew you guys would never... Wait, what? You agreed!?

Melisande: Reasonable requests? Yeah, we'll consider them... Oh wait, I mean actively consider them.

Norma: ...Something's off — I smell deception in the air!
Time to bust out the "secret weapon" Veli gave me!

With all eyes on her, Norma pulls out a sticky note packed with writing.

Norma: Ta-da! This is the "AAD Jargon Translation Guide" that Veli gave me before the meeting! Let me see...

Norma: "We'll consider it" means "we'll reject it later," and "We'll actively consider it" means "we'll seriously think about how to reject it"... I see! So you never had any intention of actually adopting the ESD's suggestions in the first place!

Melisande: Nah, I mean exactly what I said. We'll seriously consider your request.

Norma: I don't buy it! I've got a question right now: If the ESD demanded the AAD downsize their staff and transfer those people over to support us, what would you guys do?

Melisande: Oh boy, this is tricky... Little Norma, the wording you use in the council is super important. If you stick with the "support" you mentioned earlier, the Administrative Affairs Department will definitely be on board...

Melisande: But if we're talking about the whole "downsizing" and "transferring" thing you mentioned, then the AAD ain't gonna sign off on that.

Norma: I ain't one to nitpick, but I can tell you're tryna back out!

Melisande: Let me put it in terms little Norma can understand: The Administrative Affairs Department is like a precision machine. As long as it's running smoothly, there's no need to modify it. Every employee has their purpose...

Melisande: If you think that's just lip service, we can organize an internal survey — evaluate job functions, check employee preferences, and give you a concrete answer you can actually see.

Norma: "Internal survey" is "cooked results"... I don't need an internal survey. Let's just skip straight to the downsizing part!

Melisande: That's not very realistic. The Administrative Affairs Department actually considered downsizing its divisions before, but it never happened. Do you know why?

Norma: That's outside my wheelhouse...

Melisande: Since downsizing affects almost every department, we need a fully independent and impartial task force to assess each role's workload and necessity.

Norma: Sounds legit, and even scientific...

Melisande: Alright, here's the real question — what if the staff all want to keep their jobs and start covering for each other?

Melisande: What if someone on the investigation team is tight with an AAD employee? Wouldn't that throw the whole thing off balance? Anyway, there's a ton of issues here.

Melisande: And to streamline the plan, the AAD's headcount is actually expected to increase rather than decrease — the extra bodies being investigation teams operating under the AAD's umbrella. After all, they need to get paid too.

Norma: It's just complicated at first! Even I have to experiment before I could nail down the theory!

Melisande: Now throw in cover-ups and cronyism — think your investigation is gonna make any headway now?

Norma: Um...

Melisande: The answer's obvious — damn near impossible. The end result? The investigation team hits a brick wall, and the AAD ends up with 200 new permanent employees who don't do jack.

Norma: Wait, what?! 200?! That many? So where are these 200 employees now? Can we pull them into the ESD?

Melisande: That's already the bare minimum we were expecting. As for what happens next with this downsizing...

Melisande: Lord Carinus eventually scrapped the downsizing initiative, and ironically, that decision made the Administrative Affairs Department even more squeaky-clean than before — total crowd-pleaser move.

Norma: I don't get it. How does giving up lead to a positive review?

Melisande: Because we disbanded the investigation team, publicly claiming we cut a whopping 200 headcount positions! Plus, since these employees never had a contract, we even saved 200 breach-of-contract penalties.

Norma: Wait a second! This is straight-up fraud!

Melisande: Nah, this is totally legit administrative publicity.

Norma: These AAD people are so roundabout with their words... I'm never gonna attend council meetings again! This kinda stuff is better left to Veli!

Melisande: Looks like we're just about ready to wrap this up... As for the ESD's request for "support," little Norma, no need to worry — the AAD will definitely give everyone an answer they can be satisfied with.

Melisande: Alright, today's council session is officially adjourned. Everyone please exit in an orderly fashion~

The council session wraps up, and the delegates start trickling out one by one.
Just sitting in as a spectator? Not gonna lie, that was actually pretty interesting...