Conversation · Empathy

Good, you're up. Listen, there's something that's been bothering you for a few days now.

What is it?

It's a suspicion, or a feeling, really, that things are not quite in hand around here...

An earth-shattering deduction from your psyche. What will those guys come up with next?

Every day things seem to spin more and more wildly out of control. The centre isn't holding. And despite your efforts to moderate and contain these energies, things only seem to be getting worse.

Not my problem. [Discard thought.]

Wait, I thought things were going pretty well?

Oh, sure. You've been making progress on your case, interviewing people, solving side tasks...

But who's focusing on the big questions?

I assumed the most qualified and highly credentialed people were taking care of that stuff.

But have you ever seen them? How do you know they're even there? More importantly, how do you know they aren't waiting for your participation?

What am I supposed to do?

You've got to find out who bears la responsabilité.

What exactly is la responsabilité?

The most awesome, terrible thing...

It is human nature to crave la responsabilité and to deny it. That's why it must be distributed across many different organisations, agencies, offices, and portfolios.

In other words, it must be diffused across the entire bureaucracy, so that no one can ever truly say who is responsible for what.

I thought I was assigning responsibility, for the murder?

Harry, Harry. You're thinking about this too narrowly.

La responsabilité isn't concerned with trivial questions like who killed who. It's about the real issues: the human welfare index, the price of staple goods, the transition to real democracy...

Please, you're thinking about this too narrowly.

Alright, give it to me. I'll accept responsibility. (Proceed.)

Whoa, whoa, whoa. This isn't some kind of dictatorship. You can't simply seize la responsabilité for yourself. It must be given by a legitimate authority...

Like a committee.

You don't need no stinkin' committee. You're the Law.

Do we really have time for all this?

There is always time to follow best practices. Once someone's decided to cut corners for the sake of expediency, who knows what else they're capable of?

Swift, decisive action.

MASS EXECUTIONS.

A little self-dealing?

Fun stuff, that's what they're capable of.

And who should sit on this committee?

Only the most even-keeled minds in Martinaise.

Your half-brother, the lieutenant, is a natural place to start.

Together, you'll be able to discover who has la responsabilité in Revachol. And if necessary, you'll have the wisdom and expertise to assign it among yourselves.

And what happens once we've assigned responsibility?

Most likely your findings will be collected in a report, which will be carefully reviewed by your superiors.

Once they've reviewed it, those same superiors will produce a set of recommendations to be taken up at the next meeting of the standing committee.

Rest assured, no matter what happens it will be done through the proper channels.

I'm prepared to take on this awesome burden. [Accept task.]

Good luck. Your report is eagerly anticipated.

You know what, this sounds like a drag. [Refuse task.]

This is a grave abdication of la responsabilité. A note will be appended to your personnel file.

The one you seem so set on driving away, the lieutenant, is a natural place to start.

But I'm the Law. Can't I just do it myself?

Come on. You know in your lungs that true authority flows from institutions, not individuals. That's the single principle that separates civilisation from barbarism.

Technicalities.

If you want your work to be accepted, you'll have to go through the appropriate process.

Sounds like too much responsibility for me. I don't want it.

Don't run away from it now, Harry. You know it's the right thing to do.

No way. I've got too much on my plate as it is. [Opt out.]

(Sigh.) You're right. Who's going to sit on this committee?

This really doesn't sound like my job.

Open your eyes. Stop getting distracted by details. It's time you started focussing on what really matters.

Let's get right to it: What needs to be done?