(Untitled)

[therewasaman]

Patrick opened the meeting with a warm greeting and a smile. He had notes but he didn't need them. He'd given this speech a thousand times before. He gave an overview of the natural cycle, of how the earth is a living organism and the ecosystems need to be in balance. He talked about progress and how man was the only creature that changed the

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[polly_okeefe]

I'd seen the notice on the bulletin board, and I'd connected it to the man who'd wore Jack's face. I admit, I was curious. So I came out, and sat at the back, listening.

It was a good speech. It was nothing I didn't already believe in. And the man shared Jack's charisma and passion, but there was something odd that put me off. Maybe it was just the incongruity of knowing Jack for so long and then seeing some one so like him, but slightly different. Or maybe it was just the timing. People had been on the Island for four years, dealing with these issues. Wasn't it a little presumptuous to make such a big thing about them when you've only been here a month? Actually, put it like that, this suggested a passion that had nothing to do with the situation on the Island, but everything to do with the situation back at the man's home.

At the end of the presentation, I got up, and stuck around. I listened to some of the conversations, and I moved up towards the front. I wondered if I should talk to Patrick. I wondered what I would say.

[therewasaman]

"The look on your face is...skeptical," Patrick said, smiling at her warmly. "Are you from somewhere where environmentalism isn't really a concern?"

[polly_okeefe]

I started when Patrick addressed me. "No, no," I said, quickly. "Everything you say is true. My family have had our own share of problems dealing with people who see the environment as something to use rather than something to share."

[therewasaman]

"Exactly," he said. "And when you use it, it leads to things like global climate change. Not that there's really a globe here...but you've got to wonder what's up with this rain. I understand it's never happened before."

[patriotqueen]

Guy made it a point to listen to any rant that any islander proposed to offer, for entertainment or discussion, or both.

The man was talking fervorously, which was always worth a listening, even if he did go on about it quite a bit longer than Guy would have anticipated, considering the subject at hand.

When the speech came to an end, and some applauded, Guy joined with only a few unconvinced claps. It wasn't that he thought the man a nutter, but he was unsure as to what the ultimate point was of the relate.

[therewasaman]

Patrick grabbed a cookie and talked to a few people. He tried to say hi to everyone- that was how networking worked. He finally made his way to a skeptical looking man and offered his hand.

"Hi there," he said warmly.

[patriotqueen]

The charming smile was met with an equally charming smile and the hand was shaken.

"Hullo," he said in return with a nod and got to the point. A speech was just a monologue without discussion. "What is the point you were trying to make?" he asked. "A sustainable life for us, exploration of further resources, a rite of gratitude for every banana the island produces? Pardon my forwardness, of course, but I am curious," he smiled.

[therewasaman]

"Preparation and awareness," Patrick said. "People are complacent, just as much here as anywhere. I just want people to think about what they do and what impact it has. I mean...no one can even tell me where the garbage goes except some vague reference to magic."

[drama_maureen]

Maureen went to Patrick's meeting because, okay, to be perfectly honest, she thought there was a good chance that no one would go and she figured she would at least be plus one.

She appreciated that she was passionate about this, she really did, she just seriously could not bring herself to care with anything close to resembling his level of enthusiasm. Still, she tried to pay attention and look interested, and when it was over she lingered in the back of the room, waiting for him to finish.

[therewasaman]

Patrick wore a broad grin as he joined her and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

"What did you think?" he asked. "I thought more people would brave the rain to come."

Except he really didn't. He was surprised anyone had gotten off their self-absorbed asses to come at all. It was the nature of people...ignoring what they didn't want to notice.

[drama_maureen]

Maureen smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly. "You're such a good speaker," she said truthfully. "I don't see how anyone couldn't listen to what you have to say."

[therewasaman]

"I've had a lot of practice," he replied. "Which means I'm used to people not hearing the message. It's all part of the problem, you know."

[blissimmunity]

Joshua knows first hand about living an unsustainable lifestyle. When the notice had appeared, it had peaked his interest enough to show up. After all, seemingly lost causes had been, and even now in his heart, still were a way of life for him. Even a moral conviction. So he recognizes a lot of what the speaker had to say. He even agrees with it to a point. But he can't just discount entirely the magical factor of this place. The island is very limited and not very selective with those who arrive. Could they all live out in huts and eat only from what the land provided? Yes, of course. But did it make sense to abandon all technology, what little technology they had, just to save the island? What if technology could make things better? Overall, it wasn't a terrible speech, but it didn't convince Joshua to change his ways.

Despite not being convinced, he is curious and he has plenty of time. So he hangs around to get a feel for other people's thoughts.

[therewasaman]

He'd learned over the years that more people were convinced after the fact than by listening to a boring speech. He made his way through the people and made a point of saying hello to each and every one.

"Hi there," he said, offering his hand. "Thanks for coming. And staying."

[blissimmunity]

"Hello," Joshua replies with a smile and a shake of the other man's hand. "I'm Joshua. I like to hear people out and you make very good points. I can tell it's a subject very close to your heart."

[therewasaman]

"Very close. It's been my life's work and I don't see any reason to quit just because I'm here," Patrick explained.

[dogbitesman]

No industrial revolution had taken place in Ankh-Morpork at the time William had ended up on the island, but he had a certain idea about what one would look like.

He looked around and noted a distinct lack of giant smokestacks belching coal dust into the air.

"Industrializing the land for what?" he asked, to no one in particular.

[therewasaman]

"Industry comes in many forms. It's not like we'll have a nuclear power plant, but when you move from subsistence to production...like with that forge, or the building crew that puts up huts when there are empty ones to be had, you risk disturbing the balance of a utopian, agrarian based life," Patrick said from behind him.

[dogbitesman]

Just the man William had been after. And to think, he'd been worried about having to run a front page full of nothing but stories about the rain.

"Utopian. That is an interesting choice of word, Mr... Logan, is it?" he asked. "No w, one n? William de Worde, Tabula Rasa Times. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, for the paper?"

He didn't always ask that. Usually he just let people talk, but sometimes it paid to do the formalities.

[therewasaman]

"That's how you spell it," he nodded. "I don't mind a bit. It's good to get the message out. What would you like to know?"