TITLE:
Heads of State
VALIDITY:
very high corruption, very low political freedoms, uses secret police, no elections, ADULT
DESCRIPTION:
@@CAPITAL@@ has been shaken and terrified by the exploits of the so-called Executioner, a serial killer targeting and decapitating young women who has so far claimed more than three dozen victims. A low-ranking inner city detective has been working @@HIS(1)@@ own investigation, and made a shocking discovery: the Executioner is none other than Padraig Boatman, your Chief of Secret Police, who is a man of considerable influence and connections and a long time staunch supporter of your regime.
OPTION 1
"I thought it best to go to the very top with this information," whispers @@randomname@@, the detective who made the discovery. "While I understand our nation's need to have morally flexible covert law enforcement, I suspected that these were extrajudicial and unapproved executions, and perhaps that you might want to address Boatman's little excesses. Maybe, if I could make a bold suggestion, you might want to quietly remove Boatman from his position, and install someone else. Perhaps, say, a devoted police officer who has shown that @@HE@@ will always come to you first with any sensitive matters?"
OUTCOME:
bureaucratic cuts are made in the dead of night
OPTION 2
"My sister was one of the victims," quietly interjects your normally taciturn typist, speaking out loud for the first time since you hired her. "@@LEADER@@, I have done my job with tact and discretion for years, but I feel I must now speak out. Everybody, even secret policemen, must be accountable to some degree. Don't let a man like Padraig Boatman define the tenor of your rule. I beg you, expose him and convict him publicly, and show that no man is above the rule of law."
OUTCOME:
the corrupt tyrant in charge of the country claims to be on an anti-corruption crusade
OPTION 3
"Any government, even an unelected one, continues to exist with the consent of its people," says your Chief of Secret Police, speaking softly as he enters your office from a side door, accompanied by masked officers who seize the previous two speakers. He pops a CD of Phil Collins' No Jacket Required on, and turns up the volume to drown out their shouts for help, and then leads you into the corridor to continue the conversation. "The blood is not on my hands, nor indeed on yours. Rather, it was my officers who carried out these executions, with careful selection of those with possible dissident tendencies. The net result? The people of @@CAPITAL@@ cry out for more protection, and more police spending. The consent of the people to be policed increases, and your control increases. So you see, this is how we maintain your power. Of course, we must show results, as well. All evidence seems to suggest that the Executioner has just been caught, a mild-mannered typist harbouring anti-government sentiments. You're welcome."
OUTCOME:
the rule of law is considered to be a core @@DEMONYM@@ value
