(UA) This Is The City (take 2)

[Kevin Mowery]

----------
> From: Markleford Friedman <heap104 at deathtech.com>
> To: UA at purpletape.cs.uchicago.edu
> Subject: (UA) This Is The City (take 2)
> Date: Thursday, February 11, 1999 2:28 PM
> 
> The example of "The Claws of the Tiger" (p 111) has it right in theory,
but
> the practice of the rest of the book does not bear it out.  The metaphor
> starts out:
> 
> "Imagine you and three of your worst enemies are in a room together, and
> your enemies all hate each other, too.  Pretty scary and chaotic, huh? 
Now
> imagine that there's a sleeping tiger on the floor between the four of
you,
> and you can't leave the room."
> 
> It's a good set-up.  But the important part is forgotten: YOU ARE IN A
ROOM
> AND CANNOT LEAVE.  Let's look at the two halves of this...
> 
> YOU ARE IN A ROOM.  The room represents a limited geographic area.  It
puts
> you in the path of your enemies.  This metaphor doesn't work if it reads,
> "You're in a hotel room, your enemies are in others, and there's a tiger
> stalking the halls."  You *need* to be in contact with your enemies for
> conflict to arise with them!  It doesn't work if they give you a phone
call
> and taunt you from another room.
> 
> And sure, they can leave their room, stealth the tiger, and knock on your
> door to kick your ass, but do they have a reason to?
> 
> YOU CANNOT LEAVE.  This imperitive indicates that there is a *reason* for
> where you are, or reason why you're not elsehere.  Why are you in Room
326
> and not 327?  Why doesn't it make sense to step across the hall to the
other
> room?  Good answers: because there's something here I want, because
there's
> something here that I can't get elsewhere.
> 
> As it stands, with cults across America (Atlas: do I get credit for the
> subtle plug? ;), everyone has their own "hotel room", and they have
little
> reason to leave it.  They have sufficient resources in their own city to
do
> their job, and there isn't any local opposition to put in their way.
[There can be only one (city) snipped]

	The "Claws of the Tiger" metaphor is only a metaphor.  The room is meant
to represent the world, not a specifically-defined geographical area (well,
beyond the inescapable boundaries of "the world").  Each group doesn't hole
up in one city and hope like hell that no-one else comes near.  The occult
underground is not isolationist.  The New Inquisition has the resources, if
not the manpower, to operate anywhere.  The Sleepers *have* to operate
everywhere or they'll lose their battle.  Etc, etc.

	If you leave the hotel room, you can get away, but why should things be
any better anywhere else?  And if you ticked off the people who were in the
room with you, they might follow you to the new room.  Each room has its
own tiger, and once you wake one up, all the rest will wake up, too.

Kevin "Professor Bobo" Mowery _____________________ profbobo at io.com
"The entire dismemberment of Vash Gar reveals an ignorance of anatomy so 
deep that I begin to question whether the author does, indeed, have a
body."
                       --ratmm's Norb on the "Seven Stars MSTing"
     **See the "Seven Stars MSTing" at http://www.io.com/~profbobo **