Patent Pending - Thera'Dor - RPLOG
Contents
Participants
Notable NPCs
Date
28/9/477
Log
The Council Chambers of the Council of Families in Hilrock is as grand as Anton had said in his tour yesterday! The high ceiling is crss-crossed with support beams, all etched with the symbols of the great houses, and the walls are draped with ornate tapestries. While the weather outside is frigid, here in the Council Hall, it is almost too warm, thanks to the mass of attendants, politicians, courtiers, hangers on and general populace in attendance. The main floor contains a single table with eight chairs, the large chair at the table's head is obviously for the king, while each of the others is marked with the symbol of a great house. Around the floor is ample room for the milling crowd in several galleries, though it seems there are no seats. The council members do not seem to have arrived just yet.
A flick of Flora's ears, and the feline looks out over the large halls, her tails swaying behind her and her eyes cast over the hallway. She is... Not quite sure on the protocol, so far... Should she wait in the center of the room? Take a seat?
Brutus pushes his way through the crowd, half-involuntarily--being a head taller and about twice as wide as the average being--and looking quite uncomfortable in the sudden sweltering heat of gathered bodies. His...insultation...had served him quite well out and about Thera'Dor, but now, he struggled to find a place of his own for a second to shrug off these robes and breathe easy. His normally-syrupy cologne grows even more cloying to mask the musk...but odds are, the hoi-polloi wouldn't have the luxury of perfume...and no chairs? By the Creators, this was going to take all his patience and refinement to endure...
Hartford seemed to notice none of these little problems, eagerly gawking at the vaulted ceilings and bustling throngs of people like a great big tourist. Of course, the failure to look where he was going led to the great Buck bumping into people left and right, with cheerful "Oops!"es and "Sorry!"s dispensed every couple of seconds. And he gets to be take part in this--this was going to be great!
Natska slips her way through the crowd, gracefully taking the openings as they appeared and pushing here and there only where needed. She has Cassidy's hand in her own, vigilantly making sure the smaller fennec doesn't get lost in the press of the crowd, then giggles as she finally reaches the front. "And here we are! Oh, I'm excited to watch this."
Cassidy wanders in with Natska, snickering softly as she gives her hand a squeeze. "Mmh. I'm not sure how exciting it'll be. I'm a stranger to Thera'dor's courts. Wish me luck, hm? Brutus usually serves as Flora's mouthpiece, so I'm sure he'll be doing most of it. I'm just here to lend the weight of my family support, really."
No one seems to be bothered by the bumping and jostling from the bigger members of the party. It seems pretty par for the course. Beings of all kinds and stations mingle freely here, and there are even beings hawking popcorn and peanuts, as if this were a lowball game! It seems like someone is even taking bets on something, though it is hard to imagine what they could be gambling about here.
After a short wait, the far doors of the hall, not the great doors that dominate the opposite wall, but a small side door opens and eight beings file in to take their seats. Two moles, a burly puma, a lanky wolf, a female reindeer, a saurian of some sort with a wide, shield-like head crest, and a scarred looking water buffalo, and an elegant white fox in military regalia.
A soft rumble, and a small smile appears on Flora's face, as she offers an elegant bow towards the beings. She may not like all this formal stuff, but she does show a certain ability to be have according to it as she waits for a formal invitation to step onto the floor proper.
Brutus glances askew towards Flora. "This...is how they govern?" He peers about warily. "Between the noise and the heat and...the hawkers? How do they get anything done?" Having thus complained...a snack does sound good right about now. He nudges Hartford, who leans over to listen, then bellows out "We'll take one of each!" After a bit of haggling, Brutus Hartford tosses a couple coins over, and the snacks make their way over--with minimal loss! The rotund skunk gives a smile and murmured thanks to Hartford and sweeps a waddling bow to the council before delicately eating a few puffs of popcorn.
Hartford starts to cracking the peanuts in his palm, scoffing the fruit and letting the shell fall...though he finds himself dumbstruck at the sight of the she-Reindeer (reindeeress? reindoe?), his hand missing his mouth as he gawks unabashedly. He had never seen a female with such a nice...rack.
Brutus spends 20 Crown to: peanuts and crackerjack
Natska is quiet for a moment as she leans against Cassidy, her arm slipping through the fennec's. "Support for what, anyway?" she asks quietly, watching as the council files in down below.
Cassidy offers a little flap of her hand, flagging down one of the 'merchants' and purchasing a bag of popcorn for herself, which she holds in a way so as to offer Natska some, as well, if she wanted. "Ahh... Flora is trying to get the rest of the cities in on her plan to have a standardized system of being able to sell ideas or somesuch." She nibbles on a few pieces as she takes in the crowd of arriving nobility.
As the Council of Houses takes their seats, there is a noticeable lack of concern from the local populace. In fact, Flora and Brutus seem to be the only ones following any sort of courtly niceties. Most are doing much what Hartford is, enjoying the spectacle! Some even seem to be cheering for their favorite council member. Shouts of "SASHA! SASHA!" and "HAMMERFIST!" are interspersed with catcalls and whistles for the female members of the council. The council does not even seem to mind! The Snowmark puma even turns to wave at some of the loudest chanters in the crowd. What kind of council was this?
As the others take their seats, the reindeer Aldermann remains standing and calls out in a clear voice. "The Council of Houses is now in session!" she declaims, her voice ringing easily through the hall, even over the rabble of the crowd, "Let those who would speak, speak now!"
Suddenly, the chanting stops and the peanut gallery goes silent, aside from the occasional crunching of popcorn or peanuts. A few beings wave their hands and call for attention. Now would seem to be the time to act!
Brutus sighs wearily. This was a farce! But...when in Thera'Dor, he supposes. He elbows the doe-eyed Buck and mutters something in his ear, and within a second, Hartford is stomping his great big hoof rhythmically and calling out "Long-Tech! Long-Tech!" with it--though it's still fairly obvious he's watching Lillia. Brutus joins in shortly, beating the foot of his pointy walking stick in time with Hartford and calling "Long-Tech! Long-Tech!"
The chant continues while Brutus swivels his head around to give an exasperated glare to Flora, Natska, and Cassidy, impatient for them to join in. If he was going to look like an absolute idiot, he'd be damned if he was doing it alone.
Flora nudges Brutus forwards, before coughing rather loudly. "Venerable councilbeings. Flora has flown here with a delegation from LongTech Industries and Sweetwater to discuss the possibility of implementing a system thought up, admittedly, by yours truly," the she-cat notes, before admitting another such cough, calling Brutus to attention. "Now then! Flora's idea is one of being able to trade ideas."
Natska laughs and claps along with the crowd, then turns and looks at Flora and Brutus expectantly. She blinks, the jaguar looking a little puzzled, but she listens quietly and attentively as she leans in against Cassidy.
Cassidy stares at Hartford and Brutus for a moment before her face falters. "I..." She bites her lip, struggling not to lose it. She leans against Natska in return and buries her face in the jaguar's side as she bursts into a fit of giggles at the chanting. How absolutely silly! She does regain her composure, though, with a mouthful of popcorn and gives a nod at Flora's words.
While not exactly in line with the other groups clambering for attention, Brutus and Hartford's combined chanting at stomping seem to get the attention of the king, a compact, heavy browed mole with glittering black eyes and a narrow, golden circlet on his head. He and his fellow Underhill both drip with fine clothes and jewelry, while most of the other council members seem to favor function over finery. The king waves a heavy hand toward the LongTech delegation. "Let us hear first from the mad foreigners, shall we?" he says in an amused tone. He takes a look around the table and gets a series of affirmative or indifferent grunts and nods from around the table before turning back to Flora and company. "The floor is yours, LongTech," he says, his accent rather different from the Snowmark or Schlaufuchs norms.
Almost instantly, the crowd returns to its low chattering, speculation on what the foreigners could want and on their success. Bets on whether Brutus or Hartford weighs more and whether or not Sasha or Ogrod could lift them over their heads.
Brutus purses his mouth in an unamused smile at being called a 'mad foreigner'--he was just following Anton's advice! "Excuse me, your highness--I misunderstood the advice of my guide." The moue soon fades from his face as he prepares to orate.
"I represent LongTech, a firm in Sweetwater under the guidance of High Lady Longtail," he begins with a wave of his pudgy arm to indicate his retinue. "And we propose a new way of handling inventions that empowers the public, rather than keeping the secrets--and the crown--in the pockets of guildsbeings!"
Hartford looks towards the sniggering Cassidy. "Huh? Did someone make a funny joke?" he asks, his tone without guile and genuinely curious...though keeps looking back to that council every so often, seeing if she's noticed him yet.
"Flora has reasoned about this, and seen some beings with the same problems Flora has theorized. The issue is this, very simply put. If a being thinks up an idea, but cannot monetize it, what are they to do? They could find someone to fund them, but what is to say that said moneyshooter will not force them to work on things they do not wish to spend time on? Or worse, steal their ideas?"
"No, we, as LongTech Industries, propose another option. The church, reaching all corners of this planet, could store and exchange the ideas from one side of the planet to the other. If a being uses it, the Church is paid, and the Church subsequently pays a stipend to the inventor."
"This, of course, requires legislation to protect the system."
Natska raises her eyebrows, then tilts her head to the side and looks over at Cassidy, her ear flicking. She starts to ask a question, then pauses and wrinkles her nose as she listens.
Cassidy remains silent for the time being, letting Brutus and Flora say their piece as she munches away on her treat. Though she does at least move to answer Hartford's question. "No. I was just watching an amusing display," is all she says as she turns a curious look to Natska.
The big Snowmark and waterbuffalo, who must be from the Conglomerate don't seem to be paying attention, the one yawning, and the other cleaning his fingernails with a small knife. The two Underhills seem interested, however, and the Aldermann reindeer has a thoughtful look on her face, while the wolf and saurian listen politely.
The audience, meanwhile seems a little restless. "Come on!" a rabbit being near Natska's elbow says, "I have seven crowns riding on five minutes!" Hard to say what that means, but much of the gallery seems to share the rabbit's sentiment, a grumble of disappointment reverberating across the crowd.
"Forgive me, Lady Longtail," comes the purring voice of the Schlaufuchs woman, her words greeted by a number of catcalls and whistles from the gallery, "But I do not understand. You would buy and sell ideas? Please explain."
Brutus feels his forehead start to tingle. He's losing them! "As it is now, if you have an idea but lack the means, then you must hope for some sort of patron to fund it, or buy it off you, else it languishes and dies. This is knowledge held hostage and forever lost!" he roars, thumping the ground emphatically with his cane. "What my lady Longtail proposes, is registering these ideas with the church, who have sworn to gather and preserve knowledge for the benefit of all beings!"
He sweeps a heavy hand over the room dramatically. "The Church will keep your idea and disseminate it to all the countries and kingdoms of Promise. Should you have materials and wish to make it into profit, simply consult the Church for inventions to manufacture, and pay a small fee to the owner for their use. And for those who invent but lack goods or money, let your ideas make you money!" Having thus finished, Brutus leans heavily on his cane. This 'standing' stuff was murder on his legs!
Flora nods and smiles lightly, her tails swaying behind her. "Flora proposes a system where one can choose the traditional fashion of keeping their trade-secrets, OR... Use the church as a mediator in finding those that can make use of an idea. Suppose, for example, that you find a new way to mine ores more efficiently, milady... You are not likely to make use of such information, Flora would take it?"
"However... Flora presumes that Lord Underhill would like such knowledge, yes? Now, if this system can gather support, you could recieve income if Lord Underhill uses your idea. Lord Underhill pays the church, and the church forwards such pay to you. It remains your idea, yes, and you can recieve income from such, but other beings can profit from it... It is more... A renting of ideas, where everyone profits. The inventors, and the ones using the ideas themselves, yes."
"And by recording each invention at the church, one can easily check if someone is trying to steal an idea from another... Say you have brought the idea to the church, and to your horror, you find another being using your method... You can then prove, via the Church, that you have thought up this idea first, and are thus, entitled to reconciliation. Does Flora make some level of sense?"
"I'd like to meet the brigand who could hold an idea hostage," Natska murmurs to Cassidy, then turns her attention back towards Flora and Brutus. Her ears twitch, and then she yawns and turns her attention towards the council, watching the puma and the others, her tail flicking.
Cassidy snorts and nods at Natska. "That's always been my problem," she says quietly. "What if two people happen to have the same or similar ideas? Then you could have someone trying to say that they have the rights to it just because they happened to file it first." She sighs gently and shrugs. "But whatever!" She lifts the popcorn bag and smiles. "Care for any?"
The king and the Aldermann woman continue to look thoughtful, but the bored looking waterbuffalo barks out a harsh laugh. "Ha! I have an idea!" he snarls, "Stupid cats should all have snowflakes stuck on them so we can tell that they are morons!" Then he turns a nasty grin on the puma opposite him. "Hey! Snowmark is using my idea!" he says, "Pay up pussycat!"
There is not even time for the insult to echo to all parts of the room before the big puma is out of his seat, on top of the table and planting a firm kick in the teeth of his fellow council member. "Four minutes and thirty seconds!" comes a shout from the audience as the whole gallery erupts in cheers. The rabbit at Natska's elbow whoops and cheers along with the rest, while the rest of the council table seems to completely ignore the fight. "What about similar ideas?" The reindeer woman asks, as though reading Cassidy's mind, "What if two separate beings stumble across the same thought or process? Should we punish the one because they came later?" She shoots an annoyed look at the brawl starting at the table.
"This, of course, is left to the interpretation of the church, and should, likely, be done in agreement with the different churches of Promise. However, Flora would suggest a grace-period wherein the idea is NOT publically viewable, and if, during say, a week's time, no other beings present the same idea, the credit goes to the being or beings that showed the idea first. If another inventor shows up with the same idea, co-creditorship were to be granted, and any income would be divided.
"Similarly, an idea would have to be gauged for worth to be included in the system. If it is something already in widespread use anywhere on promise, it should, logically be exempt from inclusion. If it is an idea so basic that it would force someone to pay another no matter what, it is, of course, exempt. This, Flora trusts, the church can handle with discretion?"
Brutus follows the cue of the more ... civilized councilbeings, paying the fight little heed besides an annoyed look and continuing his argument apace. "As the high lady says. We simply advocate this idea, that a more fair exchange of knowledge be established, and we feel and the treatment of these ideas as though they were property would be most agreeable to both those looking to profit from their ideas, and to those in need of them.
Hartford, meanwhile, is looking quite distraught. As much as he idolizes Mister Brutus, this statecraft stuff was awful dull, and the dust-up looks so fun! But that pretty councildoe didn't want any part of it. He looks to the fight...then Lillia...then the fight...then Lillia...he jiggles his leg and taps his hoof impatiently...then...
"SWEEEEEEEETWATEEEEEEEEEER!"
Bellowing a battlecry, Hartford pushes his way through a clot of people, apparently on the side of the Alexander Snowmark but grappling both of councilbeings in spite of it.
Natska leans forward and draws in a breath, cupping a hand to shout. "Kick him right in his stupid face again!" she calls out, then giggles and grins at Cassidy. "Council back home could really take some cues from Thera'Dor," she comments, accepting some of the popcorn. "I would attend more often!"
Cassidy grimaces a little as the brawl breaks out. "I... Suppose that would make them more interesting, yes. But I can't help but feel..." She frowns and shrugs. "Well. I kind of -like-our stuffy meetings back home! Gives me more time to catch a nap, you know?"
It seems that things have turned out to the satisfaction of the crowd so far as a wild swing clips the Underhill representative and he joins in the fray with a roar! "Five minutes and twenty seconds!" comes another shout from somewhere in the crowd. Another contingent has started chanting "SASHA! SASHA!" and another shout of approval goes up as Hartford flings himself onto the table.
The king looks on in amusement, the placement of his chair away from the table seeming much more than just a political statement now, as he is out of reach of the brawl. "We will consider your proposal," he says, his voice booming over the sounds of the fight. Seems like that is all the time they are going to get. At least they had listened, right? What a council!
