Camp John...
"for such a large factory complex, I expected, Oh...I don't know, more." George Hasek commented.
"It's not just a factory, Lord Hasek. This is also our...'home town' now." his guide was designated 'Michael Myers', a Centurion. "We have chassis production, server nodes, but we also have accomodation for biologicals, and you people take up a lot of non-industrial space-having green spaces and comfortable recreational areas, markets, and public squares cuts somewhat into the cubic meters available for mass production."
"Does that 'biologicals' include non-Biocylons?" Luis McEvedy, the New Circe officer assigned to this part of the review, asked.
"Yes." Michael said with a firm nod. "Camp John includes a rather sizeable population of humans, both employees of Cy-Lon industries, and local support businesses not directly funded or affiliated with the parent company. We're really rather proud of how well our human citizens are integrating into our city's civic life. I dare to claim we have the best primary through secondary school education on the continent, the local rugby team came in with regional championships two years in a row, and they're going to beat the Hue fighting falcons this year for top spot."
"What about crime statistics?" Sienna Leary, the SLDF rep from the Free Worlds League, asked.
"We have very little to even discuss, unless you're talking about infodata slicing and electronic market manipulations." Michael admitted, "Our violent crime statistics are the lowest world-wide, and most of my officers have extensive training dealing with domestic disputes between human citizens, welfare issues, and vagrancy."
"Vagrancy?"
"a sad testament to the state of society, people who can't find a place to fit in. we do what we can to correct that, through the corporations and companies, also through our education system, but yes, we do have all the normal problems any society must address."
"How are you addressing them?"
Michael stopped, and pointed, "Over there, is a facility for addiction treatment, we're still...working...on finding effective strategies for those who need the help,but refuse to accept it. for certain personal crimes, we have the same sort of jails anyone else has. Young offenders are usually referred to the Giap School system if they have the right kind of potentials, the rest?" it shrugged, a very human gesture, "we do the best we can to keep them from harming others while remaining within the common legal codes of the Kowloon Constitution and the Lyran legal system." he straightened proudly again, "As I stated, we have relatively little in the way of serious crimes to cope with, not so many as most communities our size, even."
"And militarily?" George asked.
"Most of the Camp John Reserve Militia are Centurions, but we do have several human and mixed units available." Michael stated, "It could be all Centurions but that tends to be a mistake-racial segregation, even when it is based on capability, tends to breed resentment and disorder, and human troops tend to be more imaginative in the field, more resourceful fighters and strategists, and smarter about when and how to retreat or counterattack. I honestly prefer human strategists on my staff, they've won me three mayoral elections thus far."
it was so banal. George observed silently. The Centurion mayor of Camp John could have been any alderman on New Syrtis, aside from the chromed armor plating and synthesized voice module. "What about religious issues?" he asked, hoping to throw the machine off.
"Which ones?" Michael counter-asked, "We have a number of human faiths, along with the Church of the One, and a Unitarian fellowship, three Synagogues, even a Mosque, which is something of a rarity on Kowloon, the religious leaders are well aware that any overt moves to impose their dogma on the secular population will be met by force if necessary, or more often, ridicule from within their own congregations. we observe freedom of faith here, as is defined under the planetary constitution and the Laws of the Commonwealth."
"And discrimination?"
"It is between individuals in the private sector. as a government, it is not lawful for my administration to discriminate based on faith, race, or other arbitrary measures." Michael stated, "if Religious motivations are involved in a crime, then those motivations are counted toward evidence of guilt in the court. one can not ban thoughts, one can only punish bad actions."
George smiled, "That's a very enlightened view, mayor."
"It is...I hate to say 'logical', it makes me sound like a machine." the machine made a very human gesture to that, his body language as expressive in its own way as a human face would be. "I will simply state it is reasonable. a person's thoughts are private, only to be shared by their will, so punishing for motives makes little sense when the harm is done by the actions, rather than the ideas."
"That's almost word-for-word from one of your Duchess Elizabeth's speeches." George noted.
"She's wise." the machine told him, "She grasps the long term in ways most human leaders don't seem to, and most of our kind have repeatedly failed to-the series 1s in particular."
"Series One?"
"The Cylons that attacked New Circe." Michael clarified. "That series was the 'leadership' that led to our attack on the Colonies of Kobol, a strategic blunder born of short term tactical thinking, and one of the prime reasons my brothers and sisters chose to separate from them."
