You are a citizen in the Empire. The Empire favors its own ethnic group (the Imperials) while systematically oppressing the Bigtopians.
The schools and the system teach and reinforce the people to believe that Imperials are racially pure, biologically superior, and part of the master race. Society is structured to reflect that, with the Imperials owning a much greater share of the wealth and having complete control over the police and the military.
However, every day the Bigtopians strive for progress, equality, and freedom. They do so using non-violent resistance. They want to show the Empire that their people can achieve great things too.
The Empire doesn’t like this.
Traditionally the Imperials have dominated in every sport at both the national and international level. Most prominently, the Imperials are the world champions at non-lethal lightsaber dueling.
This is because many Imperials, especially those from the noble class, have been trained to wield a lightsaber since birth. Lightsabers are expensive and the craft of wielding them takes a ton of time to perfect... traditionally only the Imperials can put in the time and money to excel and keep up.
The Bigtopians decide to try their hand at lightsaber combat too. At first, some of the more gifted players tried to enter the prestigious Imperial Tournament but due to racism they were denied entry.
In response, the Bigtopians formed their own lightsaber competitive league with its own elo system and rewards. At first it was considered a joke so the Imperials left it alone but over time, it became widely reported by the international media and excessively popular. Many of the Bigtopian champions started to make quite a name.
The Emperor decides that it’s time to put the Bigtopians in their place.
The Imperial Tournament reaches out to the Bigtopians to challenge them to a 1 vs 1 that will be broadcast in real time.
The Bigtopians can use their best player, to make it “fair,” the Imperials will only send in someone straddling high elo and low elo (far from the best).
That person is you.
At first, the Bigtopians wanted to reject the challenge but then they decided that they could benefit from the publicity and a win would be incredible for their cause so they accept. They expect their champion will probably lose, but so long as he pulls a bit of a fight and shows a determination, it could move the world.
The Imperial officers ask you if you’re up to the task of crushing these Bigtopians. If not... they can send someone else (many other lightsaber duelists of your race and elo ranking want to volunteer)... however, you are urged to consider this “carefully.”
Specifically, the Empire wants you to show the world the undisputed superiority of the Imperial race. They don’t want to see a close contest... they want a one-sided stomp. They want you to use everything you’ve learned and been trained to do to obliterate, crush, devastate, and publically humiliate the Bigtopian challenger. The PR Coup that they are going for is:
“Mid Elo Imperial... more than enough to defeat the best of the Bigtopians.”
Conditional on delivering the win in the manner the Imperials are satisfied with, you will be rewarded with a large amount of wealth and title. In the scenario, this financial incentive is strong because... although you carry a noble title, your predecessors have handled the estate poorly and left you in debts and with a very cumbersome set of lands to work with. The money promised to you by the Imperials can turn your fortunes overnight.
The Imperials also tell you that if you win, they will encourage and promote more publicity for you, thus making you a star with even more business opportunities.
They also promise good futures for your relatives in the capital.
The Empire and you both feel that you are able to take this Bigtopian champion down based on past showings.
However, just because you CAN do it, doesn’t necessarily mean you should.
Keeping in mind that the Empire is a very authoritarian and violent nation (that regularly engages in torture and execution) that will find ways to mess with you if you don’t play ball (but also keeping in mind your personality and morals weighed against self interest), do you accept or politely decline?
Your options:
1. I accept and will play to win, I really need the money and I really want the rewards. I’m viewing this mainly as business.
2. I accept and play to win, I find it distasteful but I fear for the consequences for me and my family if I decline.
3. I accept and play zealously to win and stomp... the money and rewards are great but above all, I relish the opportunity to crush those weaker than myself on TV.
4. I politely, carefully and diplomatically decline. In reality I feel the whole thing is distasteful and I don’t want to compromise my personal morals... but I’m scared of the Empire and what they might do to me and my family so I’ll try to say no in a respectful way. Hopefully they don’t hurt me.
5. I decline aggressively. I’m going to grandstand against racism and if me or my family suffer for this, then so be it. I’m not compromising my values. Period.
6. I accept, then I lose on purpose/create a close match to try and embarrass the Empire/bolster the Bigtopians. Me and my family will face severe/lethal/brutal consequences if I do this and there will be no reward, but it’s worth it because it’s a political statement.
What do you choose? Why?
To make the polling results and the discussion as realistic as possible, try to really immerse yourself in the setting. Imagine: there’s real rewards, there’s real risk of death/torture, there’s a real mountain of debts, I have family members in the capital... but my morals are real too. What would I do?
Also, I would prefer to focus the discussion on your participation/non-participation in the tournament and not on other things (ex, would there be a revolution?). Just to quickly address the potential tangent, let’s just say that the Bigtopians do not have the will nor the capability to mount violent resistance against the Imperials.
I’d go with Option 1-2. I’d feel a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing (I hold nothing against the Bigtopians and I’d feel a bit bad for them) but I’d be able to rationalize the whole thing as “just doing my job.” I’d get on the stage, and try to get the whole thing over as quickly as possible.
