People keep saying this, but no one has ever explained what makes Lord Sarum less open to corruption than any other Amarr lord.
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Youâve got a bit of a loaded question there, but Iâll try to answer it in earnest.
Given the history of the Sarum Family, Lord Arrachâs accomplishments in both the Sarum and the Empire fleets, and his tireless dedication to rooting out corruption as seen by his charge with investigating the MIO after the Zashev escape, I see no more suitable entity to be given Zashev. This is especially true given the apparent source of corruption weâre facing.
The problem you seem to have is that you assume the worst of all of us, Ms. Ramijozana. You assume because there are corrupt Amarr, and I admit that there are, that we are all corrupt. You just think we donât want justice. If Iâm wrong, please do correct me.
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Itâs not that all Amarr are corrupt⌠only that those in power have a tendency to be willing to set aside principle in order to keep that power.
In all groups.
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An heiress and empress who murdered children, betrayed ShatholâSyn, and who everyone was worried was going to follow King Khanidâs example and create a Sarum Kingdom if she lost, who even after she died still has left behind a cult of fanatics worshiping herâŚ
Oh, and Merimeth was an MIO operative. MIO, the organization currently being investigated for corruption.
Truly, trustworthy and reliable history.
Of course, Lord Arrach is not originally from Jamylâs branch of the family (thank God), and his service history and reputation are very good, but that doesnât mean he is any less open to corruption than anyone else. Hell, that he was assigned to the case by Catiz is cause enough to be suspicious.
Thereâs certainly worse people Zashev could have gone to, and of the Amarrian choices he was probably the best, but donât be blinded by faith. I pray he will do what is right, but Amarr does have a history of corruption in its highest offices so we must always be vigilant, even of those who seem to be without blemish.
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I appreciate your earnest answer, and Iâm perfectly fine with accepting your rationale, though Samira does present a very strong (possibly stronger) counter-argument. What I want to point out is that the fact that thereâs not a better person for the job doesnât mean that heâs the best one, or one thatâs exempt from corrupt influences.
I can correct you with receipts showing that I currently live and work out of an office on the LUMEN station in Tanoo, in the Mandate.
There are other places I could be. I chose their Fort because I trust a significant number of their (Amarr) members, and because I consider it the location best able to support my current objective.
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. . . kinda does, actually. Sâwhat âbestâ means.
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My use of âbestâ implies qualifications, not merely superlatives.
You already know what I think about all of that and I already know you think Iâm a fanatic. So I really donât want to go over this again.
Yeah, he was, but thatâs not todayâs MIO. Because as you know, Lord Merimeth is dead, in part due to my own failure. The decline of the MIO in the last couple years canât be pinned on Merimeth from way back when he was working there.
Do you really think that any Republic agency would be capable of acting in the best interests of purging corruption in the Empire? The Republic government wants us to destroy simply ourselves whole. It means less work for them. Even on the off-chance that a Republic agency was able to expose a corrupt entity in the Empire with no ulterior motives, I donât think that has the chance of enacting any change the way it would if a powerful Amarr entity like Lord Sarum exposes the corruption.
The idea that Lord Arrach is corrupt is unthinkable. If Lord Arrach is corrupt, then the Empireâs lost all hope. I canât even imagine that scenario and what would come of it.
You knowâŚ
Iâve seen you there and know youâve flown with LUMEN on several occasions.
Iâm going to concede this point and apologize. Iâm sorry.
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I accept your apology, and appreciate that you were considerate enough to offer it.
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Thatâs why you can trust them (for the most part). Any exposure of corruption within the Empire would lead to a period of instability as efforts must be directed inwards to address it. The Republic has motive to see the Empire fighting itself. Therefore, it is much easier to put faith in them, because revealing what Zashev knows - all of what he knows - will almost certainly be within the Republicâs best interests.
Whereas, if he is in custody of Imperial offices, there are several factors making it difficult to expect a complete reveal of any damning evidence he has. Royalist and other corrupt agents (of whom have recently increased) in positions of authority such as the Theology Council, to whom any appeals would fall under. Prominent Holder families, who most assuredly would push to keep evidence of their transactions with illegal slavers like Zashev under wraps. And Catiz herself, known for her associations with the Kingdom, being the one who appointed Lord Arrach and who has ultimate authority over his investigation and what is revealed. And, as a whole, we are an Empire of masks that has always believed in carefully filtering what we present in order to avoid personal harm or appearances of disunity. Picking out the pieces that serve our cause, whatever that cause is, and leaving anything potentially damaging unsaid and forgotten. Indeed, our harshest punishment is expunging people from our records, declaring them to have never existed - and so our history is replete with heroes and prophets and champions, while our evils and villains are washed away, excepting where they might serve some lesson for future generations. For all of our childhood lessons about the Deceiver, we are a nation of deceivers.
In short, Imperial institutions, even potentially Lord Arrach, are biased against full transparency, to protect themselves. The Republic, however has motive to be transparent. This is why, in this matter, the Republic would be more trustworthy. I am not placing trust in their honor or their character. What I trust in is for them to act in their own best interests, which, if they had gotten Zashev, would have been to reveal damning evidence of corruption within Amarr.
Of course, you could say that the Republic, if it had access to him, could claim Zashev said things that he actually didnât, with intent to harm the Empire. And while true, the ultimate results of this would be to encourage deeper probes into corruption - which we basically want anyway. Any lies would be proven so (short of Imperial power politics using them to take down rivals).
Now, a neutral third party would be the most ideal. CONCORD, or SOE. But that doesnât seem to be an option.
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Can I get some of that ice cream and booze?
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Well, duh, but wouldnât âno better personâ, also mean âthis is the person with the best qualificationsâ, considering one of those qualifications would include ânot likely to be completely corruptâ?
No, it wouldnât.
Sure, why not?
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I think that would give them motive to release just what hurts the Empire and not everything that he knows. Depending on what Zashev knows, I concede that there could hypothetically be cases where that works out, but I donât think it does in all or even most cases.
There is certainly some merit to the idea that working around the corruption can be challenging, but I still think that itâs the only way one can actually adequately address the corruption. I still donât think that the Republic as an outside force can ever put any serious sort of pressure on the Empire. Even if I, for the sake of argument, assume that they do release everything Zashev knows and itâs damning for⌠certain parties within the Empire, I canât think of any situation where any of the Empireâs institutions or people will trust the Republic enough to put any stock in what it says. At the point the Republic has Zashev, thereâs no real way to prove to us that he wasnât coerced into saying something damning or that theyâre lying about what he said, as you admit is a possibility.
I still donât think that anything coming out of the Republic would be taken seriously enough by the Empire because of the expectation of it acting maliciously towards us. So I donât think those probes would be encouraged as you do.
Our Empire is not immune to falling prey to sin, this is true. But it makes sense to focus on the history that serves lessons for the future. What I will agree on is that there are many deceivers at work in the Empire now and that they need to be stopped. The Scriptures also speak of controlling the enemy of the inside and well, thereâs a lot to control now. I just think itâs us who can actually control them. Foreign powers have no chance at affecting change the Empire needs.
I do concede that a neutral third party with authority like CONCORD might have been a good option if there was one that wasnât so incompetent, but either way, itâs too late for that now.
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When what exactly are you proposing âno better personâ means?
It means âall of these options are â â â â , and there is no option that is not â â â â .â
This is a good point.
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It is, but there are also parties within the Republic that wouldnât necessarily trust what the Republic says (Hi!), so I would hope they would have presented this information in a more neutral format; perhaps a verified recording of him, or an interview conducted by an unaffiliated third party like the ones you listed above, or some other such thing.
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Even with that, the Empire might not listen. The Empire can occasionally cave to outside pressure, but it is very, very stubborn about doing so.
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