The Horror of Elitist Capsuleers and What They've Stolen from the People

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
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Once, I believed in fair trade, fair deals, and fair wages.

Once, I believed that the system would help those that needed it.

Once, I believed in the promise of the capsuleers, the most advanced and wealthy caste the New Eden cluster has ever produced, would do the things necessary to change our galaxy for the better.

I was wrong. In every imaginable way.

When @Angus_Thermopollye pulled me up from the slums of Gallente Prime and funded my education to achieve my capsuleer status, I thought this must be how all capsuleers are, benign demigods that wished to help those on the planets achieve greatness never before imagined.

My mentor laughed at me and nodded. “You’ll see,” he said.

And I did.

I was educated in psychiatry, primarily. I learned the ins and outs of the human mind. I graduated with top honors and I immediately sought to figure out a plan to help as many people as I could achieve what I had achieved. I wanted to be the helping hand that reached down from the heavens to lift those in most need up to the promised land.

I tried to help develop an organization that would benefit all that joined. NEMA would be my crowning achievement and I would be able to tell my mentor, finally, he was wrong. NEMA would return the resources to those in most need, non-capsuleers that suffered daily on the planets beneath them.

That day never came.

No matter the policy, no matter the call to work for the common good of the whole, the participating capsuleers and their corporations made it quite clear that they only sought profit and cared very little for the struggles of those that had not achieved pseudo-immortality.

And it fell apart. Infighting, agitators, and morally bankrupt capsuleers sought to seed the path to the ultimate end. Vying for power, hungry for control… I found myself disgusted.

Then, my mentor came to me and said, “There is another way.”

He sent a communique to my NeoCom from one @Aiko_Danuja. It was the piece I requested concerning the nature of CODE. and how it was good for business. Too many times I had seen Ms. Danuja attacked on these very forums for fighting the greed of capsuleers. By the time I was done reading the piece, I saw, indeed, there was another way.

The next cycle, I booted all members of the failed alliance, tired of their constant bickering and thirst for power and control. I sold all of our structures. I made a decision.

You see, everyone looks at CODE. as a bad thing. What that amounts to is they don’t like the message CODE. sends or the acts they carry out. However, they are doing everything in their power to fight the corruption of the elitist capsuleers and true believers can see that.

I formed a new alliance, Zer0 Enterprises. Our rules are simple: the ore does not belong to the elitist capsuleers, but to the people. We will not pay taxes. We will not ask permission. If it is not given, it will be taken.

Since we have begun this campaign, I’m happy to say that we’ve returned over 15 billion ISK to the people of the New Eden cluster. We built schools, hospitals, orphanages. We’re working with local political systems to remove corruption and give power back to its rightful owners. We’ve poured even more into fundamental research into curing diseases and mental health conditions.

So, now, we roam the 0.5 systems. We find the moons that are pulling ore, we catalog them, and then we take back what belongs to the people.

In short, capsuleers, we will come and take back what you’re stealing. There will be no more negotiation, no more diplomacy, and no more goodwill. You’ve all shown that you care little for anyone other than yourself.

The ore belongs to the people. We will see you in the fields.

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So basically, those of us who viewed NEMA as a vehicle for CODE propaganda were entirely correct.

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Sounds like noble work, Mister Destro.

I wish you good fortune in your endeavours.

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In fairness he’s been a little more interesting than they usually are. It seems like he’s maybe kind of missed what we are and what we’re for, though.

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Maverick,

I’m so glad you allowed me to be a part of this from the start. We have helped the people again, things that they lack. Let’s keep up this hard work and not allow those to stand in our way.

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Not at all. Most of the riff raff were kicked from NEMA. Expunged if you will. We were never anti-CODE. personally. We have a realistic view of the reality of our cluster.

And you’ve not begun to see propaganda. The boy has his eye on the future.

While we thank you for the kind words, nobility has little to do with it. There have been resource shortages for all but the elite on the planet surfaces for a long time. We’ve just been too high on our own agendas to pay attention.

We owe them. Plain and simple.

Who? Another capsuleer corporation that uses the citizens of the cluster as little more than tools and cattle in order to turn a profit? And that’s not just the Matari. It’s any citizen, no matter what Empire, if they don’t have a certain standing or class. They are trampled underneath, left to die in squalor or worked to death. That literally being the case of those in the hands of the capsuleers.

Trillions of them. Just waiting for an opportunity to rise, and rise they must. What do you think they will do when they meet their former masters? I imagine the meeting will be most unpleasant.

Dear friend, neither Maverick or I allowed you to be a part of anything. The will of the people did. They want what has been kept from them. Their destiny.

And we shall give it to them, by hook or by crook, because the Taxman is coming.

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I can’t really respond better than that.

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Haha … ah. You seem to think I don’t know I’m an aristocrat, Mr. Thermopollye, even if I’m a servant-- and in more ways than one.

Aristocracies tend to get built in the first place out of need, then linger for generations after, making trouble. But we’ve only just appeared-- why are we needed? What are we going to claim as justification for our high state, three hundred years from now?

It’s not a rhetorical question. Aristocracies usually start out as warriors, even protectors. Our place in history hasn’t even been earned yet.

Can we maybe put off the revolution until after we’ve at least done what we were made to do?

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One thing is certain, though. That alliance is super competent.

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They’re not. I’ve dealt with James315 in the past. I know a number of the people who helped him get started. I know even more who’ve worked with them at the highest level of their joint operations with the Ministry of Love, over the years.

CODE. are in it for the lulz.

They talk a good game about the inequity of capsuleers, and they love pontificating about their own righteousness, but really… audit their books. See if they’ll let you.

CODE., like MiniLuv, are entirely self-funding. They make a pretty tidy profit. Ask yourself how much that costs. Ask yourself how much it costs them to replace their ships, to buy tags to get security status back up so they can keep flying in highsec.

Ask why they never decried Burn events when MiniLuv ran them. Surely there’s no greater sign of the excess and greed of capsuleers than destroying dozens of freighters full of goods every day, and pocketing the loot?

And let’s face it: if they were really ‘doing everything in their power to fight the elitist capsuleers’ and ‘take the ore back’… they’d be in Delve. They’d be in Outer Passage, Oasa, and Malpais. Elitist capsuleers? CODE. picks on scrubs in second-rate hulls that nibble on scraps. And they do it for fun.

CODE. is in it for the lulz, and the lucre. And no matter how many suckers they get to believe the hype, no matter how many useful idiots like you they can produce to sing their praises, that will never change.

If you really want to ‘take back the ore’… come out here. Come where the ore is really getting hoovered down. Grow a pair, pull on the big-boy pants, and show us what you’ve got. Heck, we do locustfleets every two weeks. Nut up and do something about it. I won’t hold my breath.

But if what you really want is to do good, if you want to help people, there are much better ways than theft and murder. You should consider looking into them. If you really want to do good, and help people. If you’re just in it to be another bunch of CODE. edgelords, spouting the company line while the people who are really in charge pocket all the cash, hey… you do you, kids. But until you nut up and do something impressive? Pipe down and git gud, scrublord.

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*BURSTS OUT IN LAUGHTER*

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In words of one syllable, no.

Yes, that is very competent for a mining organization. Thank you for the observation. We’re not gankers nor are we trying to blow up ships. We don’t have to do that. You need what we provide to make said ships, and then we take the ISK to make lives better.

It’s a simple formula. I’m sure you’re smart enough to grok it.

We don’t steal. We reclaim what has been kept from the people. Nothing more, nothing less. We also don’t murder anyone. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.

And your insipid and juvenile taunts of “come play with the big boys?” The big boys aren’t the problem. The majority of New Eden’s citizens live in high security space. Why would we go to a place where we can’t help the people that need it? That’s reflective of poor planning and lack of business acumen to get the desired results.

In other words, no. That is a fool’s plan obviously proposed by a fool. I don’t think we will do that, but thanks for the suggestion.

Everything else you wrote has been summarily dismissed because it comes from the mouth of a capsuleer who is a perfect representative of the problem in the first place. Of course you think you’re doing what’s right and good. Most villains do.

Laugh all you want. Billions of ISK made in the past week alone. I’d say it’s working just fine.

Additionally, I’m not sure if it’s defective implants that are clouding your intelligence or most are genuinely lacking in that department, but we are not aligned with CODE. We are permitted by CODE.

We are our own and wholly independent organization. They don’t give us any marching orders. They don’t tell us what to do. We entered into a business arrangement with them because better the devil you know than all the backstabbing elitists out there.

Our journeys as far as an organizational entity can be looked at as different sides to a similar coin. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Uh, okay.

…

So, maybe I’ve caught what Arrendis has, but I can’t help noticing: “syllable” contains three syllables, and “no” is just one word. So either way I read your response, it doesn’t … quite work?

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Sorry, I can’t help you rectify your issues with understanding grammar and colloquialisms in the common language. I hear they have upgrades, though, if you’re having an issue. You should check that out.

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Mining ships and haulers have crews, baseliners who aren’t the ones making the decisions, and aren’t, for example, privy to issues like 'did the captain pay off CODE.‘s extortion nonsense to be left alone?’ So, yeah, you murder. And unless you never scoop modules from the ships you kill… yep, you steal.

And guess what! CODE. does both of those.

As for ‘helping the people that need it’, that’s cute, but you’re obviously delusional. Yes, the majority of New Eden’s citizens live in High Security space. But that’s not what your lot’s screaming about. You’re screaming about the ore being ‘stolen’. But you’re deliberately keeping the blinders on to let yourselves play your little game without having to actually do anything hard.

Who determines what is and isn’t High Security space? The same agency that doles out claims and license to Nullsec—including places like Providence, no matter what the Amarr Empire says: CONCORD. The entire New Eden cluster is under CONCORD’s supervision. All of it. And CONCORD is a collective of all four empires and the Jove/SoCT.

That makes CONCORD an extension of the aggregate interest of the people of New Eden. So if ore is being ‘stolen from the people’… well, you need to get the ore, not go hunting underequpped children nibbling at the edges of New Eden’s buffet.

If you want to ‘help the people who need it’, you don’t need to operate where the people are, you need to get the money where the people are. Which means you need to get the money. Well… the money is in the ore. So once again, you need to get the ore.

And I’ll tell you right now: most of the ore never leaves the regions where it’s being mined. Neither does the money. Limiting yourselves to operating where the people are, even if it means you miss the vast majority of the ore, the ‘theft’, and the money? Well, that’s just ‘poor planning and lack of business acumen’.

But no. You’re not really interested in doing any of that. You just want to posture, to beat your chests, to cast yourself as oh-so-daring champions of the downtrodden, fighting against oppression… But really, you’re just a bunch of brigands, parasites. You’re ticks on the capsuleer economy’s rear end.

See? All about the lucre. Billions of ISK made, not billions of ISK delivered to “the people that need it”. Laughter’s almost the right response. You’re a joke… but you’re a lame, artless, toothless joke.

Hardly surprising. You don’t really seem smart enough to help anyone with anything. Though I suppose you could be a decent target drone.

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Okay, maybe you just can’t read, being Matari and all.

WE DON’T WORK WITH OR FOR CODE. WE SIMPLY HAVE AN ALLIANCE-WIDE MINING PERMIT. WE DON’T GANK SHIPS. WE’RE A SEPARATE ENTITY.

Billions and billions have already been contributed. But, sure, you can make all the dumb decisions you want.

From what I can see, the only one with a big mouth and nothing to back it up is you. You’ve been on the IGS for years beating your chest and declaring your importance. Yet your people are still in chains. Good job.

When you start being successful at what you do, MAYBE I’ll consider your advice. So far, you’re quite unimpressive other than being able to word vomit and twist what others say.

Again, reading is fundamental. Look at the OP.

Again, a loud bark but zero bite. You’ll have to do better if you really want to get under my skin. Because you’ve been a failure at your cause is no reason to attack others.

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Keep telling yourself that. You might even buy it, eventually. I doubt anyone else will.

Yep. Nothing at all to back it up. You’re so stupid, it’s almost adorable.

Frankly, as far as my actual job goes? I’m the most successful person in New Eden.

I have. More than once. And yet despite the claims made in the carefully worded OP where you had plenty of time to think about exactly what message you want to send and how you wanted to present yourself… I’m more inclined to believe the words you chose when replying… in the moment. The words that weren’t filtered and screened, but just happened.

They tend to be the honest ones. And they were about money made. Profits in your pockets. Not moneys distributed.

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So you have people that actually have daytime jobs and can plex - that’s what you are saying, right?

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Think what you will. You are literally nothing to us. Not an obstacle, not a threat. You’re a talking head with absolutely no say in our business. I don’t care what you believe.

Show me, then. Because all I see, again, is a loud mouth with lots of bark and no bite.

What is your job? OH RIGHT! No one cares.

Again, another twist of the words to fit your narrative.

You know, I knew a low-level Gallente politician on a backwater planet. He was constantly twisting the truth to fit his narrative. He gathered a cult-like following until they all realized he was full of it. He was really a sight to behold. His skin was almost orange from spending too much time in UV booth and he had a terrible haircut.

Anyway, you sound a lot like he did. Just saying things to hear themselves speak. You and he have a lot in common, I think.

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What exactly do you mean by a daytime job and “can plex?” I’m not exactly sure what reality you’re in, but our “day job” (we’re in space, there is no day, but whatever) is mining. I have seen something called Plex on the market, but I always assumed it had something to do with the stock market, which is a fool’s bet, and I ignored it.