[SUBMITTED] A Permanent Stain

[Jutsa]

So this is my redo of this draft from over a year ago,
and it's basically a redo of going after MK-Ultra, full government disclosure, and a new trigger for McCarthyism, all at the same time.

Also, according to wikipedia, information is still being released in December 2018, and my word is it truly heartbreakin.

Draft 1.01

Title: A Permanent Stain
The Issue: Full disclosure of present and past government actions has revealed shockingly controversial documents from several decades ago, detailing @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra, a massive organization that experimented with mind control through drugs, practiced physical and mental abuse, and carried out horrific—and in some cases, illegal—misuse of tapioca on kidnapped @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@.
Validity: Full government disclosure

Option 1: "I for one am stunned!" cries your most loyal adviser, nervously looking around for any site of visible reporters. "I cannot even begin to fathom that our great nation had once permitted this horrific practice. We need to bulldoze all memorials and statues of those involved in executing and approving these experiments, and proceed to commend these heroes who have come out of the closet, for now the truth is out there. We could even make a national holiday out of it to kindle some national pride!"
[effect] everything the government says is a lie to most citizens

Validity: Capitalist
Option 2a: "Pride! What pride? Our citizens have lost faith in their government, our rivals have more ammo and our allies are putting us down!" sputters General @@RANDOMNAME@@, having frowned the entire live broadcast of the disclosure of @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra. "The truth hurts, and that's why we don't tell it! We might still be able to spin this around, however. Persecute everyone 'disclosing' this information, and publicly broadcast that they were all part of a mission from that communist East Lebatuck to ruin our reputation."
[effect] the brink of war has been decades in the making without anyone realizing it
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure, Installs McCarthyism

Validity: Communist
Option 2b: "Pride! What pride? Our citizens have lost faith in our party, our rivals have more ammo and our allies are beginning to distrust socialism!" sputters General @@RANDOMNAME@@, having frowned the entire live broadcast of the disclosure of @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra. "The truth hurts, and that's why we don't tell it! We might still be able to spin this around, however. Persecute everyone 'disclosing' this information, and publicly broadcast that they were all part of a mission from that capitalist United Federation to ruin our reputation."
[effect] the brink of war has been decades in the making without anyone realizing it
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure, Installs McCarthyism

Option 3: "This @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra program doesn't look all too bad, actually," suggests Dr. Harris Jolyon Gottlie, dangling a chained watch in front of your adviser. "We have gained far more knowledge from those, ehem, 'volunteers', than what we've learned since we started enforcing 'humane' and 'safety' regulations. In the name of progress, and the greater good, it would be a good idea to restart this program in secret, and use this disclosure scandal as a cover. Who would think twice about it if we already said we used to do it?"
[effect] the Y-Files have shown video footage of eyed triangles kidnapping robotic cows with flying saucers
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure

Title: A Permanent Stain
The Issue: Full disclosure of present and past government actions has revealed shockingly controversial documents from several decades ago, detailing @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra, a large-scale experiment testing mind control, physical and mental abuse, and horrific misuse of tapioca on kidnapped @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@.
Validity: Full government disclosure

Option 1: "I for one am stunned!" cries your most loyal adviser, nervously looking around for any site of visible reporters. "I cannot even begin to fathom that our great nation had once permitted this horrific practice. We need to bulldoze all memorials and statues of those involved in executing and approving these experiments, and proceed to commend these heroes who have come out of the closet, for now the truth is out there. We could even make a national holiday out of it to kindle some national pride!"
[effect] everything the government says is a lie to most citizens

Validity: Capitalist
Option 2a: "Pride! What pride? Our citizens have lost faith in their government, our rivals have more ammo and our allies are putting us down!" sputters General @@RANDOMNAME@@, having frowned the entire live broadcast of the disclosure of @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra. "The truth hurts, and that's why we don't tell it! We might still be able to spin this around, however. Persecute everyone 'disclosing' this information, and publicly broadcast that they were all part of a mission from that communist East Lebatuck to ruin our reputation."
[effect] the brink of war has been decades in the making without anyone realizing it
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure, Installs McCarthyism

Validity: Communist
Option 2b: "Pride! What pride? Our citizens have lost faith in our party, our rivals have more ammo and our allies are beginning to distrust socialism!" sputters General @@RANDOMNAME@@, having frowned the entire live broadcast of the disclosure of @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra. "The truth hurts, and that's why we don't tell it! We might still be able to spin this around, however. Persecute everyone 'disclosing' this information, and publicly broadcast that they were all part of a mission from that capitalist United Federation to ruin our reputation."
[effect] the brink of war has been decades in the making without anyone realizing it
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure, Installs McCarthyism

Option 3: "This @@DEMONYMADJECTIVEINITIALS@@-Ultra program doesn't look all too bad, actually," suggests Dr. Harris Jolyon Gottlie, dangling a chained watch in front of your adviser. "We have gained far more knowledge from those, ehem, 'volunteers', than what we've learned since we started enforcing 'humane' and 'safety' regulations. In the name of progress, and the greater good, it would be a good idea to restart this program in secret, and use this disclosure scandal as a cover. Who would think twice about it if we already said we used to do it?"
[effect] the Y-Files have shown video footage of eyed triangles kidnapping robotic cows with flying saucers
[Flag Change] Cancels Full Disclosure

[Australian rePublic]

Why is @@NAME@@ conducting these experiments?

[Jutsa]

Option three kinda hints at why this might be a thing,
but I mean, you could ask the same thing about irl and you'd still be confused

[Jutsa]

Bump again I guess.

[Socio Polor]

Very glad someone has made an issue inspired on the whole CIA MK-Ultra Project.
Don't really have much feedback to give other than to ask about who's memorial and statues are getting bulldozed. Is it the people who performed the experiments or those who were victims of it, it isn't very clear

[Jutsa]

It was kinda implied... aaaand frankly could've possibly made for some funny effect lines.

But no, I changed it. Thanks for the spot.

This MK-Ultra thing wasn't actually my idea, a year ago. I just wanted a negative consequence to full government transparency!
CWA gave me the MK-Ultra idea, and I'm glad he did, cause it works!

Course, I wasn't as good at writing back then, and looking back I really am not content with how the original one was set up,
so I'm hoping this one's better — and maybe, just maybe, we can actually have a new McCarthyism trigger out of this.

edit: and maybe increase the odds of my draft about the Communist Manifesto being banned having a bit of a fighting chance.

[Socio Polor]

It was kinda implied... aaaand frankly could've possibly made for some funny effect lines.

But no, I changed it. Thanks for the spot.

This MK-Ultra thing wasn't actually my idea, a year ago. I just wanted a negative consequence to full government transparency!
CWA gave me the MK-Ultra idea, and I'm glad he did, cause it works!

Course, I wasn't as good at writing back then, and looking back I really am not content with how the original one was set up,
so I'm hoping this one's better — and maybe, just maybe, we can actually have a new McCarthyism trigger out of this.

edit: and maybe increase the odds of my draft about the Communist Manifesto being banned having a bit of a fighting chance.

Interesting, well hope it goes well

[Candlewhisper Archive]

The recently added #1173 may have rendered this draft harder to use, as the premise of that issue makes certain assumptions that would clash with the assumptions of this one.

Not a dealbreaker, but worth working your writing around that potential narrative clash.

[Jutsa]

Eh, I don't really see any problem. Maxtopia's is about the military experimenting with warfare using the power of the mind,
while this 'un's about your nation unethically executing mind control experimentation.

Some similarity? Eh, maybe: "Mind", "Experiment", and "Government" are all involved. But that's really about where the similarities end, imo.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Well, that's my advice, and also the main grounds that might prevent this draft being accepted. I'll leave it to you.

[Jutsa]

Eh, I'll consider it. I personally don't see it, but I'm sure I could just discard the part about "mind control" and come up with something just as horrifying.
ed: and maybe stress a bit more how unethical and illegal this was.

(Unless it needs more than that)

[Trotterdam]

I figured "mind control" here involved drugs, not psychic powers.

[Jutsa]

Bump~

Honestly I didn't want to change the options, let alone put more length to them,
though I did lengthen the description slightly.

"large-scale experiment" became "massive organization", and added verbs before each thing.

Also, made it blatantly obvious that this was illegal. That damn tapioca. How dare they?

[Jutsa]

Putting this one up for last call.

[Jutsa]

Whoops! Meant to submit this one yesterday.

Submitted. Thanks, everyone.

[Bears Armed]

Good luck!

[Jutsa]

Many thanks.