I forgot to publish this last week!

This has been a fascinating week for me, so my “unpacking” post is a day late. If you’ve not yet read “Announcements” you’ll want to do so before you continue.

---

The last gasp of The Realm’s only hope is about to be taken. Things look bleak, let’s unpack.

Secession

Faced with the near collapse of the civilian government, and a false assumption of security, Great Roll has declared it’s independence from The Realm.

This turn of events no doubt springs from my concerns about the state of things in my home country. We have such a collapse of trust and integrity that numerous demagogues are having great success in stoking up the fires of anger and fear in the general populace. We’ve given up overcoming, and settled for winning — which is really an abandonment of hope. The Mayor of Great Roll has similarly abandoned hope, but has also abandoned the possibility of winning.

I wish I could say the impulse to secede from The Realm was triggered by agents from the Horde, but it isn’t true. The war has transformed the stand-offish nature of the gnomes into a fierce sectarianism. All non-gnomish elements have been removed from the Fifty Peaks Mountains, including any residents of No Entry, and there is a sizable mob of angry refugees currently on the plain outside the gates. General Isme has no one he can spare to deal with the situation, and it’s about to explode.

Inside Gnomish territory IBI members are being arrested, and required to take an oath of loyalty to the Gnomish Governance before being released, and protests against secession are being met with brutal force. The lawyers are delighted.

No gnome serving in The Realm’s government or armed forces is going to respond to the call to return to the Mountains.

Nobody’s Business

Nobody began working on his failsafe because he was shocked by the intention of the Board of Ordinance’s intent on using the Penny Ore detonator without authorization. He wanted, however, to make the failsafe less drastic — which is what led him to create the ANAE. While the detonator may be triggered by an act of will, the Autonomous Narrative Awareness Engine will process The Realm’s current prospects in the event of a host’s demise. If it finds The Realm’s narrative has run it’s course, then the Penny Ore will be detonated. If not, it will progress through the names on Nobody’s list. If the ANAE reaches the end of the list it will detontate without delay.

The current list is:

• Professor Cooly Nobody
• Captain Bug Moume
• General Isme
• Chancellor Milan Shéz
• Foregnome Sindy Moume

When the ANAE jumps hosts it will announce its presence, and download relevant information about itself into the new host’s memory.

Glad He Stayed

The fate of The Realm will fall wherever Will happens to be. Had he gone home, The Realm would have ended. Don’t worry, though, the Narrator would have never let him get that far.