(Untitled)

[cat_food_killer]

Nathan had stood in front of the nomination sheets for a very long time, and on more than one occasion, but ultimately he'd decided that this time if no one else put his name up on it he wasn't going to either. Sure, he was exactly what the Council needed, and if he was on the Council then things would be getting done a hell of a lot more quickly,

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[make_creation]

Mark had been walking around the compound filming people and paused when he came up on a guy he'd never met taping a sign to the rec room door. "The Committee to Get Things Done," he read out loud, zooming in on the flier. "What kind of things?" he asked the guy with what he hoped came across as just a friendly smile, no trace of the bemusement he felt on reading the sign. The things people came up with when they were bored....

[cat_food_killer]

"The things that need doing," said Nathan promptly, ensuring his sign was straight. "Haven't you ever wandered around the Compound and thought something needed doing that wasn't getting done?"

[make_creation]

"Uh.... maybe, yeah," Mark said, simply because he couldn't think of a time he'd walked through the Compound and thought 'Excellent, people are taking care of every possible thing that could need getting done.' But hey, just because he hadn't didn't mean it wasn't true. "I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but if you want something done or changed, can't you bring it to the Council? Like... isn't that what they're for?"

[cat_food_killer]

"If the Council was already getting everything done that needed to be done, then there would be no need for the Committee to Get Things Done," said Nathan reasonably. "And I hardly think we need to have the Council address the fact that there's a burnt out lightbulb in the basement rec room. We just need people to Get Things Done."

[make_creation]

Mark, who lived in the basement, had indeed noticed the burnt-out light bulb. He was just too short to change it without balancing on a chair, which he didn't really want to do, knowing his penchant for accidents. But this guy was a good four inches taller than him, which begged the question... "Why do you need a Committee to change the light bulb? Why don't you just... do it yourself? I'm not trying to be a jerk," he added hurriedly, "just trying to understand where you're coming from."

[cat_food_killer]

"The committee isn't to change the bulb," said Nathan, reining in his exasperation. "The committee is to realise that these things need doing and get them done. I've been shouldering enough of it myself already. It's about time there was a team to get things like that done instead of walking around with the belief that it's always someone else's job to do things around here."

[make_creation]

Mark was kind of taken aback by the guy's attitude, but he supposed he was entitled to it. Putting his metaphorical journalist hat back on, he trained the camera on the guy's face and said, "So, what you're saying is, you want a committee to handle the smaller day-to-day stuff, the maintenance of daily life. Would this just be limited to the Compound, or would it extend to the entire island? And can I get your name, too?" So I know who to come to next time there's a light bulb out in my room, he thought with an inward smile.

[cat_food_killer]

"Nathan Evans," he announced with a certain amount of pride. "And building maintenance should definitely be on the Council's radar. I think it's taken for granted that things will get done, and as we can see from the light bulb incident--" Nevermind that it hadn't been burnt out for long. "--that's not always the case. What if the woman who does most of the clinic and washroom laundry gets sick and we run out of towels? Chaos."

[make_creation]

Well shows what I know, thought Mark, who hadn't known there was only one person who did the clinic laundry. "Well I think everyone would agree maintenance is important. Do you think you'll staff your Committee entirely with volunteers, or will participation be a requirement of living in the Compound?" Like anyone would really let that rule go into effect, but still, it bore asking.

[cat_food_killer]

Much as Nathan would like to force people to pick up after themselves, he'd had enough of that sort of thing in prison. "I don't think there's anything on the island that isn't voluntary," he said diplomatically, "but I'd like to think people take pride on their home. That isn't just limited to the compound, of course, but it's a place to start."

[make_creation]

Mark nodded, already thinking he should go find de Worde and set him on this guy; the Times editor was far better at thinking up provocative and slightly snide questions on the fly than Mark was. "Makes sense. You know," he said as if he'd just thought of it, "this would be a really good thing to advertise in the Times. I work for them, so I can put in a word with the editor if you'd like-- he can probably send a reporter over to get your full statement in a day or two."