Whistle Blower

In a shocking interview on the popular Hieronymus Herodotus talk show last night, a recently retired SE pilot came forward to discuss what had been going on behind closed doors at Starship Enterprises Corp these last few months.

The pilot, whos identity has been kept hidden for their own protection, described how it all began with SE Corps failed attempt at expansion , a couple of months back. Rumor in the ranks of SE told of secretive agents working out of Gell-Mann ring to subvert and undermine the company. The pilot tells of how the SE workforce was split on their decision of the rumors validity. But one thing was for sure, the powers at the top of the SE pyramid believed it. Or at least gave the rumor enough validity to act upon it.

"It was Dr. Chapman" says the pilot, "I've met him a few times, he is a great man, a real personality, but when he gets his eyes locked on a goal, he becomes like an unstoppable force, like a hunter after his prey, it can be unnerving to witness."

the pilot goes on to tell of a secret plan, devised by Lewis Chapman himself. In classic Chapman style, the plan was not to root out and neutralize the threat in Gell-Mann Ring, but to take the ENTIRE station and put it under SE control. A plan that many of the already dubious SE workers thought was a little over the top, and slightly suspicious (adds the pilot). Gell-Mann Ring is after all, the systems most visited station and SE would benefit massively if it acquired the stations economy.

the real kicker was HOW exactly SE planned to take Gell-Mann Ring. To acquire the station directly from Blue Creative, SE Corp would have to win local elections, and polls and statistics showed that popularity in Gell-Mann was still tipped heavily towards Blue Creative.

There was just no chance we could win through elections, states the pilot, it was all there on the analysts computers. But the surveys and statistics had turned up another interesting fact about Gell-Mann's population; the resident community was split on the subject of black market trading, and the use of Master Chefs, a popular but now mostly illegal type of indentured home helper. The IVP faction in 339 have always supported the use of black markets and master chefs, while blue creative had always stood against it.

SE planned to use this to stir up trouble in Gell-Mann Ring, and pilots were told to visit the station regularly, take only IVP contracts, mess with the Blue Creative markets by trading unwanted commodities, and most importantly of all, get drunk in the stations bars, talk about bringing back the black markets, and generally stir up trouble.

The plan was to cause enough trouble that the station would eventually demand to be put under IVP rule. Then SE would change tactics, going the other way and flooding the IVP black markets with stolen goods, thus crippling the IVP economy. This would eventually spark a second revolution within Gell-Mann Ring, whereupon SE would swoop in to the rescue, putting the station under their control and shutting down the black markets once again.

It was a genius plan, says the pilot, SE gets what it wants and comes out looking like the heroes in all this, but behind the scenes they orchestrated EVERYTHING. And the ethical implications of starting not one, but TWO civil wars, just to get the most visited station in the system, is a step too far as far as I am concerned. (the pilot crosses his arms as if to emphasize this point).

For all of his talk of the shadowy Federation government, Dr. Chapman is behaving a lot like president Hudson at the moment. I thought after we broke our contracts with the Feds all this cloak and dagger stuff would be over. I do not believe Dr. Chapman is a bad man so to speak, he tries to do good, but sometimes he goes about it in the wrong way.

Anyway, THIS is the real reason why SE have been visiting Gell-Mann Ring so much over these last two months, and THIS is the reason why so many SE pilots have left our ranks, like me, not because of the official line... restructuring, but on ethical grounds, in protest to this plan. And of course, THIS is the real reason why there has been a civil war raging around our system this past week. Mark my words, it is not finished yet, expect another civil war later down the line.

This interview shocked many inhabitants of LP 339-7 last night with its startling revelations. SE Corp officially deny all the accusations, stating that it is nothing more than the rantings of a conspiracy theorist, but interestingly have not pressed any charges against the man. The interviews validity is subject to the viewer, but it has certainly turned up some very interesting issues regarding corporate operations. Public opinion of Dr. Chapman, who is not only CEO of the SE corporation but is also Governor of the system, surprisingly, continues to stay strong. Some people seeing his actions as wrong, but many seeing them as a necessity to securing the systems future.

What do YOU think of Dr. Lewis Chapman and his gung ho attitude to problems? Is he genius visionary, or capitalist tyrant?