002.

[sangsues]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Etienne Guerinet Beaumanoir
RECIPIENT: everyone (sorry)
WHAT: whats all this
WHEN: post-proposal etc
WHERE: the walliest kirk
NOTES: Orlesians

( A quiet clearing of the throat; one can naturally assume it is a very beautiful clearing of the throat, done by a very beautiful man. )

This matter of the phylacteries for rifters… it seems sensible. If they are such a valuable resource to the Inquisition, the closing of rifts, and so on, being able to find said resource if a rival power were to try and overpower them and abscond with them makes sense, I think. For their own safety, for our own safety. If Corypheus and his forces were, for example, to make an attack on a party closing a rift and kidnap those rifters for nefarious purposes, it would be better for all if we were able to find them as quickly as possible. The phylacteries are an established way of doing just this, no?

By all means, if you wish to see the world end, protest. Even if this is not your world, though, I think we can all agree that you are currently in it. It’s fate is not entirely irrelevant to you.

Comments

[koteletten]

I can only hazard a guess, not having been privy to their decision myself, but I would wager it was first because mages are natives of this world well-known to the Inquisition. They have a long history here, and know that they will have to live with the consequences of their actions, and that those mages that come after them will suffer for their choices as well. Whereas rifters come and go at random, and may hope they will soon escape their fate. Second, because when the issue arose, mages quite incredibly followed orders to deliver the phylacteries back to the Inquisition despite their misgivings, then calmly organized and pursued the matter through official channels and peaceful action, without--to my astonishment, I will freely admit--a single threat of violence.

Whereas your fellow Rifters, whose histories, motives and capabilities are largely unknown to us, have immediately responded with public temper tantrums, property damage, threats of violence, and calls to abandon the Inquisition altogether and hare off across Thedas. It does not precisely inspire the same confidence.

[zombra]

Mm, and mages going on strike wasn't considered a temper tantrum? I'll bet they threatened to quit the Inquisition too if they didn't get what they wanted out of the deal. Sorry, some mages probably did. You know, like some Rifters are more vocal than others.

So when it comes down to it, the Inquisition can look at us and say, "Okay, you're all reacting with different levels of anger, so we're gonna treat you all the same," or "Okay, let's talk this out the same as we did with the mages even though a bunch of them went on strike." They can't move the goalposts back now. Shit, you guys don't have football, do you? Okay, rewording this, umm, they can't change how they deal with protesters now that they've set a precedent, or they're hypocrites and that's bad for PR -- Public Relations.