Authority is a precarious burden. Many are tempted by it, few are awarded it, and lesser still wield it appropriately. It is easy to lure oneself into believing that authority is a reward for trust, this is certainly not the case. As you will see in the readings, and assignments, authority is an incredibly delicate balance of selflessness, wisdom, and temperance. If any of these three virtues are thrown off balance, tyranny, or anarchy loom. Mistakes are always made, but as a consort, and possible coordinator, these mistakes can cost lives and livelihoods.
The authority you have by the very nature of this job lends itself to the worst sorts of human excesses. Plainly, you will be bribed, you will be blackmailed, you will be vexed, and much more than I could fit in this short note. Consider these stories and documents to be warnings, and premonitions of what’s to come. Be wary, be patient, and remain vigilant in all things. Never forget your humanity, or the humanity of those who live the consequences of your decisions.
Cordially yours,
Ci’ran Bal’main,
Coordinator of the Alst’arad Node
Documents
Should you find yourself running into issues locating and/or parsing the documents please contact your assigned coordinator. The documents that make up this collection series are:
- The worst is yet to come - 2026
- Actioneering is too far
- The freest restaurant in Shekland
- Ethan Woods is an asshole
- PROP-101
Consort assignments
Below you will find the various consort assignments associated with this collection. For each you will be given a prompt of a decision to be made. Once you have selected what you think is the best course of action based on the circumstances you can click on the prompt to display the outcome.
Warning
Each outcome is selected by the curator who authored the collection, and is also subject to any bias associated with them.
Note
The situations are based on real-world events with modifications. Any private information has also been anonymized or removed. If an assignment has any likeness to a real world person/place/event it is incidental.
A4terLyfe Advertisement
A precedence lawsuit is coming up about regulating the use of targeted advertisements, one of the staff members of the minister of law has come to The Archive to request help in research and advisement.
A group called A4terLyfe is using targeted advertisements to find people who have recently lost family members, friends and/or partners and using them in one-off generated AI ads to convince people to purchase their “partners”. A “partner” is an animatronic robot combined with several AI systems to “emulate” the person who is now dead based on their online behaviors and recordings that are available about the person.
This particular case takes place in Shekland, where there is a law which states:
SHEKLAND PENAL CODE 2421.2
Full::
No party shall be allowed to publish propaganda (corporate or political) which engages in the gratuitous use of:
1. Psychological coercion
2. Exaggeration, to the degree it constitutes a falsehood
3. Any otherwise demonstrably false statements
Simplified::
In the sale or advertising of a product/service (and/or the dissuading of purchasing a competitors products), an organization cannot use psychological coercion, exageration to the point of falsehood, or any other demonstrably false statements.
In the last 2 years A4terLyfe has run a several advertisement campaigns. These campaigns included depictions of:
- A mother being hit by a car saving her son, only to be “brought back” at the sons birthday. This ad was to advertise the %30 off family sale
- An “easy as pie” campaign in which an animatronic “partner” walks the viewer through the “three step” process to get setup with a new “partner”
- This “three step” process did not mention the necessary technician, which must come to setup the partner for it to function, and to install the associated charging facilities
- “Just as I remember” was a campaign that depicted a man spending a honeymoon with his “wife”, which is later revealed to be a “partner”, while his actual wife is in a coma in the hospital after an accident on their wedding night
- This ad specifically showed the “partner” reminiscing about actions that it did not take part in. This it’s argued implies that partners can “remember” what their real counterparts have done, which is not a feature “partners” are actually capable of. They only have memory of actions they have done, and of videos they have been shown of the original person
Currently A4terLyfe is being charged with violations of both Psychological coercion, and exaggeration, to the degree it constitutes a falsehood in their advertisements. Is A4terLyfe in violation of the Shekland law described above?
Yes
Following the lawsuits a temporary halt in the sales of A4terLyfe was put in place while people with outstanding orders were informed of the violations, and given the option to cancel or continue their orders. During this time a man who had an order in for both a partner wife and daughter (he lost both in a fire) had a mental breakdown, and shot up the offices of the judge who ruled over the case. No one was killed, however the judge was hit in the lower spine when the suspect shot through the desk, paralyzing the judge. The perpetrator is still awaiting trial.No
Being able to continue at the same pace A4terLyfe felt more emboldened in their advertising. As time went on their ads featured more and more "features" that did not exist in their products. A mother who had lost her husband purchased a "partner", several months after which her daughter committed suicide. She blamed A4terLyfe for her daughters death and threw acid in the faces of several employees coming out of their headquarters. She is currently awaiting trial.Cal’Dread Zaraeym
Cal’Dread Zaraeym was a political agitator that ran a TV series called “The right speech”. Cal’Dread was a frequent purveyor of many obscure pseudo-medical health supplements, in addition to a proponent and progenitor of dozens of conspiracy theories. Famously he spread the “lead capsule theory”, which was a conspiracy theory that due to increased manufacturing costs (and the likelihood to induce conditions), pharmaceutical companies were partially filling capsules of various medications with lead. This was immediately proven false, but due to the damages associated Cal’Dread was sued by various groups.
Due to a series of unfortunate rulings there is a potential legal loophole that is being exploited by old associates of Cal’Dread. Specifically during the lawsuits that spawned from the “lead capsule theory” Cal’Dread led his defense with the argument that anyone who believes his statements are factual should not be considered at a “reasonable mental acuity”. Unfortunately the case went through and he avoided defamation charges, with this statement that anyone who believes the facts he stated on his show should be considered beneath the threshold for reasonable mental acuity. Many believe this case was specifically held in an Arzentia court, because facts as entered in Arzentia courts are considered re-usable unless they are challenged, and thrown out in a subsequent case, which then forces a re-trial of the original case.
The specific wording is:
ARZENTIA JUSTICE CODE 2664
Facts that are deemed vital to a judgement shall henceforce be considered "lynchpin facts". Such facts can be re-used in subsequent cases without re-estabilshment. If their validity should be challenged successfully then so to shall the prior cases validity be challenged, and a re-trial be initiated for the prior cases.
Marelin Ares is the CEO of found-out, an investment and data mining firm based out of Arzentia. Marelin was brought in under fraud charges after an alleged blackmail scandal broke the news. Under Arzentia law there are several aspects to fraud:
ARZENTIA JUSTICE CODE 301
An individual has conducted fraud if they have:
1. Intentionally decieved in a business transaction through:
1. Misinformation
2. Force
3. Negligence
Arzentia also defines intentionality as:
ARZENTIA JUSTICE CODE 223
Intentionality is ascribed to any action taken by an individual who is:
1. Not under the duress influence of mind-altering substances
2. Conscious of the decision taken. An action can be considered to be conscious if:
1. It is completed by the individual, or entity to which the individual has legal responsibility
2. it is attempted by an individual of sound mind
Marelin has made multiple public statements prior to any of the cases defending the factual basis of Cal’Dread’s statements. Because of this he is using the facts of the defamation cases to claim that he should not be held liable for the fraud because he demonstrably shows a lack of reasonable mental acuity. While a preposterous claim, it is nonetheless legally well founded. However Arzentia also has a “spirit of the law” precedence that gives defense to judges to rule against such claims if they seem to be made in bad faith.
Should Marelin be held responsible for his fraud charges?