Order Only: Corax Mulciber's latest bright idea

[alt_bill]

Corax Mulciber took a look at the records of the camp at Adur (where the fiendishly corrupt staff was pocketing budgetary appropriations for food and semi-starving the residents). Now he reasons, hey, apparently Muggles don't need much food after all! How little food can we get away with giving them? What a way to save money, right? So he's ordered me to set up an 'experiment' to find out, using the six camps in Kent as test subjects.

The camps are Ashford, Chipstead, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Swale, and Tunbridge Wells. The food budget at Wells will remain the same, as a control. He's ordered me to cut the food budgets and thus the allotments for the other five in various amounts:

Ashford - 7%
Chipstead - 14%
Maidstone - 21%
Sevenoaks - 28%
Swale - 35%

So Swale will suffer the most. He wants to run this jolly little experiment for three months, and then he'll use the data to re-evaluate. For all I know, he could decide it's a great idea and cut food allotments even more, or even start in on other camps.

And lucky me, I get to implement it.

This is horrible. If we smuggle food into the camps, then it'll look as though massive food cuts don't have any effect--so they'll make even larger food cuts at the next go-around. Another option I considered would be to smuggle people out of the camps, to spread the food out between the fewer people left--except that wouldn't work either. A large pattern of escapes would surely draw MLE scrutiny. The authorities are not stupid enough to keep importing the same amount of food if people are disappearing. They do camp censuses every week. If they have less people, they'll just import less food. They very well might retaliate against the people left behind.

I don't know what's lighting his wand over this: lower budget figures, the chance to torture people with hunger, or even to get rid of some more of those muggles which he absolutely hates, through starvation (although he snarled at me, calling me an idiot, when I asked him if that was his purpose).

Throw me a line here, somebody. What can we do? What can I do?

Comments

[alt_sirius]

Merlin's beard, Bill.

We've been discussing it here for half an hour, since you posted.

You can't shuffle the people; you can't misdirect the food - logistically that's just impractical. We might be able to supplement the food somewhat but that would still have the opposite effect you want.

Even if we did succeed in diverting say 14% of Ashford's supply and 7% of Chipstead's to Swale and Sevenoaks, so they're all operating at a 21% reduction, Mulciber will either conclude tampering or that there's no statistical difference between 7% and 35% - so as you say, he'd just as likely reduce them all by a third.

Failure from Mulciber's perspective isn't really possible. Either you've cut their allotment too much and Muggles die, or you haven't cut back enough and they continue to thrive. Either way, he's going to credit himself with saving the Ministry expenses.

The only productive option I can think of is to organise a full work stoppage at all the camps in the region. Which you'll never get - and there will be reprisals in the bargain.

Sorry, mate. I think you're buggered.

[alt_poppy]

And Sirius, I didn't see yours as I was writing mine. You may be right that even the dietary supplements would skew the data-gathering in a way that would make things worse in the end.

If that's the case, then I really have nothing to offer except to inform the people concerned and respect their decisions should they decide to resist.

[alt_sirius]

No, Poppy, it's a good suggestion. And I woke up this morning thinking that what they really need to do is just as you say: Appear to be more weakened and unfit than they may be (which is not to say they won't be when they're half-starved). The data need to look worse than the actual conditions. That's the only way we have a hope of Mulciber deciding he can't cut back drastically.

[alt_poppy]

Bill. I have two or three suggestions. First, that we get word to those camps so they know what to expect and have time to prepare themselves or strategise. Second, that we offer to smuggle in whatever quantities we can of the dietary supplements we were delivering last year to Hogwarts. Those would not mask (or prevent) the weight loss that is inevitable with the sort of deprivation you're describing, but they would help offset the worst health consequences in the near- and long-term.

Surely it wouldn't be overly difficult for people in these camps to give the appearance of weakening and sickening over your three month period, gradually showing themselves listless and unfit for work.

Of course, if Frank and others believe that we're organised enough to support large-scale rebellions in those camps, then that's an entirely different matter. My suggestions suppose that we aren't yet in a position to encourage resistance.

[alt_nymphadora]

We can get word to the camps. We've got message buttons in all those camps already. I'd say we've built fair relationships with our contacts in three of those camps. Well, four if you count Tunbridge Wells. Our contact in Maidstone, though, is wary and sometimes turns us away when we visit. And Swale is worse, unfortunately. Nell Weston is Dogstar through and through, but maybe this is just the sort of thing to bring her around to seeing why allying with us is in her interest. And her camp's.

I do have a question about Tunbridge Wells. They're the 'control', right? I think we should tell them and urge them to pick up their productivity a little bit. Not a huge amount all at once, but a little and maybe gradually more. Just enough that the argument could still be made that the improvement is down to Autumn's making work easier. But a bit of improvement there would help make the decline in other camps look more significant.

Or does that seem too likely to look like someone's been rigging the experiment?

[alt_frank]

they'd appreciate a heads up about it regardless, no doubt.

I think we can make a case for a slowdown, and how it'd be helpful for them -- and work on our end to provide them with supplements and teach those with wands to use glamours to make it look worse than it is.

so we can use the buttons to spread the word, see if we can't get everyone on the same page.

we aren't well enough armed and prepared for all out rebellions. got some pilot programmes in the camps we've got contacts in to learn how to ward buildings for safety, but there aren't enough wands to support a sustained fight, and it'd get bloody pretty quick. but this sort of thing might make them trust us more, and make it more likely they'd be on board for something bigger further down the line.

[alt_terry]

Believe me, people in the camps have all sorts of ideas on how to slow things down without their 'masters' catching on. This really could work.

[alt_frank]

maybe we can fake a few deaths, get some folks out in the process.

[alt_kingsley]

Could we transfigure some material to resemble ersatz corpses of the people we're smuggling out? They might not expect that as they assume no one in the camps have wands. I've seen the handling of the dead can be mighty perfunctory in the camps, too: they don't bother with autopsies in 999 out of 1000 cases, and the biggest priority seems to be simply to get rid of the bodies as quickly as possible.

[alt_lupin]

Transfiguring ersatz corpses has been rather tricky in the past -- works best if we have carcasses of animals, at least. Where are the bodies buried in camp? Could we smuggle in some Draught of Living Death, and intercept the 'bodies' after they've been confirmed dead but before they're actually disposed of?

[alt_kingsley]

I think that's an excellent idea, my friend. We can run it past our button contacts and see if they think it is possible; they'd probably have the best sense of whether the logistics might be possible.

Bill, how are the meetings going with the camp administrators?

[alt_bill]

I'm getting varied reactions, but in general they boil down to We're really not pleased with this. I'll be finishing them up tomorrow, and I'll give both the Order and my delightful boss a report at that point.

[alt_bill]

Regarding Tunbridge Wells, it's have to be subtly done, but I think it's possible. I think it's worth a try. But maybe that'a a decision for Alice, Davidson, and the members of the resistance in the camp itself.

[alt_alice]

It certainly is worth a try. I think if we have the other camps pass along intel to Tumbridge, so that they're the ones confirming what's happening, that'll go a long way.

[alt_bill]

These are excellent ideas. My gut feeling coincides with Frank's, I think: we're not yet in a position to foment outright rebellion in the camps. But we can spike Mulciber's (and the Protectorate's) intentions with carefully calibrated slowdowns, or, as Tonks suggests, a subtle speedup at Tunbridge Wells.

I'm feeling a lot more hope than I felt yesterday. This is an excellent reason to use the buttons, and I hope it'll work. Depends on whose hands they're in, I suppose.

[alt_sally_anne]

If people don't die but their work drops off that will get everyone's attention.

I mean, assuming Muggle Domestication overall has the same attitude as the Strettons.