Look at you all, standing in the shadow of your own distrust. For years, you groused and groaned, complained about how difficult mining was, and how impossible it was to acquire the materials you needed for every project under the sun. You set up public mines in areas beyond the borders of your own cities, and nonetheless complained that they were difficult to reach. You searched in vain for minerals, and when someone found them, you found it impossible to credit them beyond sheer, dumb luck.
And then an altar was found, providing you all with a skill to make it infinitely easier on all of you. You took to the mines, both public and private, achieving yields beyond any yet imagined. You used food vastly more potent than any in our ancestors' age, and discovered that, finally, you were able to accomplish what you had dreamed of for years. Those voices of worry and fear were stilled, left in the darkness while you continued to bring forth the spoils of our earth into the harsh daylight.
And then, a backlash was discovered.
The skills given, perhaps by the gods themselves, were showed to denude the earth, render mines worthless for all who came after. No knowledge was discovered on whether the earth would recover, nor if there was any further damage. You needed no further proof. The moment the first piece of grit and sand came from a fertile mine, you let out a collective shriek, stumbling over one another to close those bastions of civilization which you had worked so hard to bring to all.
And for what? That they might yield so little as to render them hopeless, pointless? That you might assuage your own fears that the individuals blessed with this unique ability -- so few of them as to be almost impotent against the flood of progress -- would not destroy your own profit? That they would not let reason prevail, and go mad for the slightest yield?
Perhaps you had your own reasons. Perhaps they were even good, for all the knowledge you possess. But reason instilled from fear is never sound; it brings forth the destruction of society, one step at a time. Perhaps, if you find yourself yielding to this fear, afraid that your own abilities will be diminished in turn, you do not deserve to build a society. If you desire nothing more than to still progress in the face of its consequences, rather than accepting them and working with them, progress will never come to you.
While foul words indicate foul play, one must remember that the accusations of this quarrel monger are truly coming from the mouth of a hopeless man, distorted by cynicism and lonelyness. Egypt can swiftly answer them; those with this unique skill has taken upon themselves to explore their talents further, to understand the limits and consequences. It is true that some has closed their mines to the public, but many more bountiful mines remain open, and in a matter of days the private mines will become available again.
Egypt will pass this crisis... Or should I say, challenge? -- ShanVizen
Instead of moaning and groaning, why not help the others by reviewing their data? It need not be that you need the skill to look through and shift through the data. In fact, you're also contributing to Egypt's society without having to deplete resources yourself. And like ShanVizen mentioned, people are rushing to find out about this new skill and we should know more about it in the next few days. And not logging in to ID yourself to this post is a sign that you're letting the Stranger win by groaning about this rather than putting your efforts into better use. - Myr.
I have a reason to believe the one who stands behind this commentary is somehow aligned with the Stranger. It seems his lecturing, tedious style. Someone is carrying the voice of the greatest cynic in Egypt. -- ShanVizen
The ISP of the player posting is cpe-65-24-21-216.columbus.res.rr.com which doing a ReverseDNS on shows as being an IP in Columbus, Ohio namely Hilliard. The ISP itself is RoadRunner based at 13241 Woodland Park Road, Herndon, Virginia which is not too far from Pitsburg and ATITD Head Offices. So maybe this was wrote by Teppy AKA Gharib - It certainly sounds similar to previous Gharib speeches. -- Zintwana
Hmm... I agree. Getting out of character for a minute (as far as talking about ISPs can be getting out of character ;) I think it's nice to see the Stranger post on the wiki. -- ShanVizen
I rather enjoy the comments of the Stranger. While they incite fury within me, they also motivate me to show him wrong. That Egypt can and will come together to rise as one. It motivates me to keep going even though the moment may seem bleak and the goal unattainable. It helps me to rally the others to come together and work as one. So perhaps, we really are doing his actual bidding? Almost like Santa's watching over us so we better be good! ;) -- Anankha
I think the stranger is correct, powers from the gods will have a downside, but the mines do regenerate after a while. so as he says, why cant we just work with the concequences? -Zatarg
Though the mines may regenerate after a bit, there is still the issue of harming others. Mines, especially pure ones, are left public for the good of Egypt as a whole. Granted, if it's your mine, and especially if it's private, then it doesn't really harm others. But with public mines, if it's impure for a week (or however long), that's a whole week others will not be able to get usable metal from that mine. It tends to be a selfish thing for one's own gain without any consideration for others. And we'll likely see more of this in the future (such as reports of clearcutting of trees?). -- Bahaumaut
"powers from the gods will have a downside" [Zatarg] - Correlation does not indicate causation: the appearance of and remarks by the so-called stranger merely echo several of the laws of the material world (as well as other dimensions) one of which states "all that manifests has it's opposite". It does not matter whether it is the creation of Pharoah or an unimaginative interloper as much as the fact it is driven by this very primal dynamic. It's not trick OR treat but rather trick AND treat. Effects of EM, EW and EH are equally unescapable. The only remarkable aspect of it all is the fact that all reactions to enhanced activities are negative ones...not really a hallmark of random, naturally occurring phenomena. Where do I sign up for Enhanced Fishing? - Draomin