DEPT. OF INTERIOR

TO

DIRECTOR, INTELLIGENCE [redacted]

J-62

THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION

TO

INTERNAL SECURITY

In the study of social energy systems, there will always be three core concepts. These concepts are potential energy, kinetic energy, and energy dissipation. Corresponding to these three concepts are three physical counterparts, these are called passive components.

[1] The phenomenon of potential energy is associated with the physical property of elasticity.

To understand elasticity, think of a spring stretched out and released.

In electronic science, potential energy is stored in a capacitor, the spring represents the capacitor in the example. This property can be called capacitance in place of elasticity.

[2] The phenomenon of kinetic energy is associated with the physical property of inertia.

To understand inertia, imagine a flywheel in motion.

In electronic science, kinetic energy is stored in an inductor and not a mass. This property is called inductance instead of inertia.

[3] The phenomenon of energy dissipation is associated with the physical property of resistance.

To understand resistance, observe an auto heater that converts system energy into heat.

In electronic science, dissipation of energy is performed by an element called a resistor, rather than friction.

In economics these three concepts are associated with:

[1] ECONOMIC CAPACITANCE — Capital; in form of money, stock, and inventory, investments in property and durables, etc.

[2] ECONOMIC CONDUCTANCE — Goods; as in production flow coefficients.

[3] ECONOMIC INDUCTANCE — Services; as in the influence of the population of industry on output.

All of the theories developed in the study of one energy system, as in mechanics or electronics, can be applied in the study of any other energy system, as in economics.

[concluded]

I wouldn’t call what I’m writing about today a Directory secret so much as something they intentionally do not advertise. The reason for this is that it typically ends up horribly. Here it is, the Directory used to allow the Old Families to adopt and were putting together a program to streamline children in need to non-producing marriage contracts. Back then the Directory didn’t bother to distinguish between whether they couldn’t or wouldn’t do something. This would also be the place to say, for those unsure or who don’t realize, the Directory knows that all of them, or almost all of them, have affairs. That’s why they control the certification of birth and it would be the last power they would consider relinquishing if they were to weaken.

This came to me from the Crisis Chief in the Highlands. He, understandably, didn’t want to go near the case without at least one higher up to say they knew about it. So I sit down with him and his case file, which is to say, Thesia Cymbeline and Cornell Silva, which is Rodrig’s lazy brother that no one’s ever heard of because he’s never done anything interesting. They’ve come to my colleague because they wanted to help a disadvantaged child, which means they wanted some attention, really. They actually didn’t want to adopt a child, they couldn’t have one anyway since they weren’t married. They had a brighter idea than that. Cassia Cymbeline, Thesia’s sister-in-law, was incarcerated and would likely be so for a long time. She was pregnant at the time of the arrest and would not disclose who the father was. The baby had just been born and was in some sort of custodial limbo. Thesia and Cornell thought they could become guardians of the child and help Cassia at the same time. I would really like to believe their initial intentions were good, though misguided because they had somehow forgotten what a small child does to someone’s life even with several nannies on the payroll.

The baby had maybe a day more before it would be turned over to the Directory to be placed into whichever orphanage was the least full. That would be the end of this family knowing this baby, so my colleague and I granted them temporary guardianship. My colleague would send an investigator to report the living environment and condition of the home. I would be left to suffer the Directory table for counsel. The whole thing was made more complicated by there being no existing protocol that allowed me to say “no”. Thesia had been a widow for about two years. Cornell had been contracted when he was younger, but the marriage was never finalized because the poor girl had been institutionalized at Mercy’s Mental Refuge. The contract held till its expiration, fifteen years, and Cornell's betrothed had never recovered. The relationship between him and Thesia would still be classed as an affair by the Directory, but not one they would flag. The problem was that by granting a permanent guardianship to Thesia and Cornelo they would be as good as legitimizing the off-record relationship and possibly illuminate a loophole among the unhappily married.

The problems started before I’d even been to my appointment with the Common Council. As I said, this whole situation was over-stressing the Highland Crisis Chief. He’d sent an investigator within hours of the conclusion of our meeting. Thesia and Cornell had moved quickly as well and already had the child in their possession. The prison only needed to note the guardianship papers. The investigator had called to schedule the inspection. She wanted to meet Cornell and Thesia at the Estate together and just observe how they interacted with the child, but short of that she would be willing to interview Thesia and Cornell separately if need be.

The following collection of quotes was said to me over the next few months by Thesia or Cornell while appointments were being scheduled and canceled. You can guess which one said what if you’d like, but it may as well not matter which, both left the sourest taste on me.

“But we’re Named, there must be an exception for us.”

“We have to let her in our home?”

“Why do we have to be here?”

“Do we tip her?”

“I’m having a little procedure that week, so I can’t”

“Fashion week comes first.”

“Maybe we should just try to get her out of jail.”

“Do we have to change diapers or is there going to be a test?”

Finally, after four months of scheduling and rescheduling, they meet with the Investigator. To their credit, everything goes fine. I’d discussed things with the Directory by then and they saw as I did that there was no protocol for rejecting the guardianship outright. When the meeting was getting postponed they assumed that the temporary guardianship would expire and they would collect the child and ship it off to the orphanage as previously planned. That’s another reason for the Directory not allowing Old Families to negotiate things like this. They’ve lost too much face with their empathy, they think. With the immaculate report from the Investigator, the Directory now had even less right to reject. There was nothing that “we” could do with the case before the annual review came up.

Now I’ll explain something that citizens don’t understand about the Directory honeycomb. The Ruling Faceless are no great communicators, designers, or innovators. Mine and other enforcement branches do all the legwork and muscling, while the Table files and decides and whatever else those sinister bores do to justify themselves. The only reason we’re able to know as much as we do, track and predict it all, is because of the Directory’s Mass Catalogue System. I’ll leave the civics lesson there for now and add that I’m required to put my unique Overseers’ stamp on every case I lay eyes on, no matter if protocol warranted my presence or not. So before all other Inspectors and Crisis Chiefs, regardless of rank, I’m informed of any update to a case that has my stamp on it.

About six months after the permanent guardianship was finalized I was brought a packet from a court processor in Roark. The parcel is full of paperwork done by four different families who all want to be guardians of the child Thesia and Cornell are attending. What the fuck. So I call up Thesia and Cornell to ask what was going on.

“Well, you know, at every party or something like that we would end up talking about the baby and everyone was so envious and wished they’d had the opportunity themselves…And after another few months, the baby was causing a lot of headaches in our schedules so when someone asked about the baby we would mention all of that…”

I can’t stand the Highland Old Families because most of them speak in this aloof way, never concerned or anxious or guilty. It turns out that when these conversations of Thesia’s occurred, and if the couple that they were speaking with showed interest in the baby, they would pawn the child off to said couple for a few days with a complimentary nanny so they could decide if they wanted to keep the baby. They were so successful at this scheme of pawning off the kid and promising all these couples that they could be guardians that one couple went and got an advocate to write up all the papers and become temporary guardians of the baby. When the other couples found out they went ballistic and filled all their papers through their own advocates saying that they were promised the baby and wanted the baby to themselves.

Thesia and Cornell loved the drama and since the other couples wanted them on their side for any testimony they were being wined, dined, and showered in gifts every day. They were loving it, seriously, for them, this was much better than actually having to take care of the baby. On the phone call, Thesia had said that after the baby’s case was done they were “seriously considering helping another child.”

Another consequence of this flood of paperwork is that Cassia got copies of all the documents automatically as I did. When she saw what was going on she got her own advocate who offered to look into appealing her case as well. This was the point at which I called my second Table on the case. The Directory members were freaking the fuck out about this and if I didn’t take the reigns I’d risk becoming the fall guy no matter how efficient or well-liked I was. This threat was one of the great negatives of my position. I recommended house arrest, in a house away from Thesia, for Cassia and a weekend stay at one of at calmer Refuge Houses for the child.

Meanwhile, the other couples had turned on Thesia and Cornell and it’s become obvious that Thesia’s membership in Highland society has been unofficially revoked. Come the Yearlies she will likely bring her whole House down for Reassessment. They may survive it, but you can be sure that she won’t.