Chapter One - The Library Dictator [Video]

[knowitowl]

[Now that things seem to have gone back to relative normalcy here in the land of Luceti, Wan Shi Tong decides that it is time to introduce himself to the community. Thus there will be a video feed of a very tall owl as he stands over his journal.]

Greetings citizens of Luceti, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things.

Due to my abduction from my own world and library, I have commandeered the one within this village. I will be the sole authority of the collection from this point on, and as such, there are a few new rules.

First of all, anyone who wishes to use the library must first offer new knowledge to add to the collection.

Secondly, none of the material within can be used for malicious intent. There is no exception to this. I do not care how noble your cause may be, whether it is against each other or our captors here.

Finally, I will no longer allow any materials to be removed from the building.

If these rules are not followed, there will be consequences.

Also, in regards to the last rule, all outstanding books and media must be returned for inventory. If you do not comply, I will send my assistants to retrieve them.

That is all.

[And with that the feed will end.]

Comments

[halfnhalf]

Yeah, but not immediately. It's weird. Everything here's weird. [Teddy's learned to get used to it, a little. But he still has enough sense to know just how nonsensical it all is.]

But if you want to prevent people from abusing that knowledge, then stopping everyone from taking books and reading on their own time isn't the way to do it. All you're going to do is make people mad and want to break the rules. Maybe you can just keep track of who took what?

[knowitowl]

Records can be kept well enough, but that is unlikely to assure the abuse of knowledge to my satisfaction.

[After all, that's what they were doing before. He wasn't satisfied with that method as books were still not being returned from the less honest individuals.]

[halfnhalf]

Abuse of knowledge... like using that knowledge for hurting people?

[It's what he can gather from everyone else he's talked to, anyway.]

[knowitowl]

Exactly.

[halfnhalf]

You probably read the guide already, so I've got a situation for you. Not hypothetical, since it happened a lot here.

Someone who doesn't know a thing about fighting gets drafted into a war. They're forced to go, and they can't just find places to hide. They're pushed out to fight, even if they don't even know how to throw a punch.

The library's a crowded place, so they can't just look at one of the self-defense books and practice there. They'd have to go to some place like the barracks. Would that person not be able to take that book there?

[knowitowl]

...

I understand your point.

[But he is conflicted.]

This may take further consideration.

[At least he's willing to think about it.]

[halfnhalf]

Thank you for that.

[...]

I can't promise there isn't going to be any retaliation or anything. The library is free knowledge for a lot of people, and to have it restricted is going to make them mad. You understand that, right?

[He says it calmly; he's not here to start a fight or cause a fuss. He just knows that there are definitely some people he sees on here who will rise up against this, one way or another.]

[knowitowl]

I am prepared for retaliation. I don't expect the people here to be any different from those in my world.