POWER PLAYERS: The Annotated Aztlan 
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Full text of Aztlan annotations
[HECATE] Truth or not?Information is transmitted, not only in what is said but also in what is not: in the shadows of where things should be said or acknowledged as known, but are not. Is this exchange solely commentary, or a hint as to how the gaming readership should read these exchanges as well?[JUNGLE CAT] I do not know.
[WORDSMYTH] This tells me much. Cat should know and if he says he does not then my suspicions are aroused.
>JUNGLE CAT SPITS
The question is in direct reference to the cannibalistic practices suggested by this -- unedited -- segment of interview:
NF: And what about the "wall of skulls"? An Aztlaner tech unit vanished without a trace near Tulum. Later, their skulls were found -- all 24 of them, piled up neatly to form a wall. Stripped completely clean of flesh, with their ident chips stuffed in their mouths.HECATE asks for information, but Ehran seems to believe JUNGLE CAT should be able to confirm or deny whether blood magic is happening within an area within JUNGLE CAT's sphere of influence: that one way or the other, JUNGLE CAT should know. (Which, incidentally, suggests the degree of knowledge and influence Ehran has within Tir Tairngire.) Instead, JUNGLE CAT states ignorance (not a deflection of personal knowledge, as LADY OF THE COURT did in the previous annotation segment). Does Ehran take JUNGLE CAT's denial of knowledge at face value, or does he -- must he -- assume it a lie? Suspicions could be aroused in either case: if face value, something is being hidden from JUNGLE CAT that JUNGLE CAT should know; if a lie, then what does JUNGLE CAT have to hide?P: Psychological warfare. It had an effect on Aztlaner morale, didn't it?
NF: What about the rumours that the techs were actually captured alive, and were subsequently sacrificed in a religious or magical ritual? That the bodies were drained of blood and then consumed by certain of your ... troops?
P: [chuckle] You really should be careful about listening to rumors.
P: Take it as you will. Next question.
But JUNGLE CAT does not take Ehran's comment well.
Spitting from JUNGLE CAT is generally a indication of either contempt, or emphasis, or both. Although there are words that approximate the same attitude, so much of these kinds of words depends on who uses them and the way they are used; and thus there can be no adequate translation without also taking into account the context within which any given reader understands the word. Here, perhaps a vague verbal approximation might be "fuck off" in almost its most intense form, but aimed almost as much at JUNGLE CAT himself as at Ehran: self-irritation at being forced to admit a weakness. Besides touching on the Central and South American concept of macchismo (which really is the only evidence suggesting to me that JUNGLE CAT is male, so I don't count it at all adequate: there is a reason the female is so often dominant among the great cats), there is also an in-world reference: the totem of the Jaguar and the reluctance to admit inadequacy ... in anything.
Anyone out there worked with a Jag shaman? Does the phrase "jack of all trades and master of none" ring bells?...
- Wendy (17:00:31/5-12-56)I guess. This one guy I ran with, he seemed to be a fragging genius at everything -- including drek we never thought he could handle. We came to depend on that. Of course, the Mexican frag-up came when he couldn't do something we expected him to handle ... and he didn't fragging tell us he couldn't do it until it was too late. Hose city.
- Master Blaster (09:58:59/5-20-56) (pp.97-98)
JAGUARCompare this to UMSONDO's next comment:
Characteristics: Jaguar is a skilled hunter and warrior. She cares little for subtlety, preferring the most direct route to any goal. A master of many skills, Jaguar never seems at a loss, often to the surprise and dismay of her enemies. Jaguar shamans rarely specialize in a limited package of skills, preferring to acquire a certain level of competence at a wide array of talents.
Favored Environment: Jungle.
Advantages: +2 dice for conjuring jungle spirits.
Disadvantages: -1 die for health spells. Jaguar prides herself on her competence, and feels humiliated when forced to admit she is incapable of a task. (pp.174-75, emphasis mine)
[UMSONDO] Wait. This suspicion is logical. But Wordsmyth does not consider that some may be unhappy revealing that they may not know what others feel they should. Few are content to reveal uncertainty.In an information-driven age, people don't like saying that they don't know. (As many others before him, Rick Mercer built a real-world career on this.) The shadow-space where something should be is filled very differently if someone doesn't know or if someone isn't talking. Those who would seek Truth in the shadow-shapes it casts must learn to discriminate the difference.
This is the first time we see every one of Mynbruje's ideals at play in UMSONDO's comment: most especially compassion and empathy. UMSONDO sees not only JUNGLE CAT's comment in isolation, not only that it is logical that JUNGLE CAT's comment would raise suspicion, but also the personality and emotional context within which it was raised. True understanding is essential to true justice. In order to truly understand what is being communicated, it is important not only to hear the words but also to see them from the speaker's perspective ... to have empathy for the speaker, and compassion for what their speaking cost the speaker. UMSONDO accepts the analysis from Ehran and considers it, and then shows him where it falls short: in the failure to consider the person behind the fact. Isolated facts and their analysis touch on Mynbruje's province but fall far short of it: for "facts are the enemy of truth" (Man of la Mancha), and thus facts are not what concerns Dunkelzahn in bringing this group together (p.93).
[THE LAUGHING MAN] How can one be in doubt about such a matter?Harlequin exactly parallels Ehran in wondering about something that would seem to be self-evident: how on earth could JUNGLE CAT not know? It is possible that he might even have the same suspicions ... or he could just be seeking an explanation for how this could be so (doubtful, considering UMSONDO's reaction). In the Platonic-Aristotlean polemic universe from which all subsequent western thought derives (and upon which both Tirs are founded, perhaps more than they might like to think), something either is so or it is not so. Existence or lack thereof implies the potential for certain knowledge. Objective facts, and hence objective knowledge, is possible and desirable.[UMSONDO] This is foolishness. Such death crafts a mask around a scene. It is hard to discriminate the mask from the true face of desecration when there are many who have an interest in sustaining the appearance. Hecate cannot be given a true judgement here.
UMSONDO is not amused. Even if objective knowledge is possible (something not followed up in this segment, but which will be touched upon elsewhere in the annotations), common sense alone should dictate that there are dozens of ways to conceal an act, especially when those who have the capability of looking were not interested in doing so ... or might even have helped build the appearance which conceals Truth. Speculation built upon appearances only is ultimately pointless; but judgement based upon such speculation is worse.
I don't touch at all on the nature of such practices in Amazonia or whether they actually happened or not. Fact does not concern me. The text leaves it open for readers to decide as they see fit: GMs, enjoy it! The purpose here is not to decide whether something specific happened in the text itself, or whether someone in interview or essay or shadowtalk misconstrued something (after all, consider that the Eucharist could equally well be considered cannibalism from a certain point of view), or whether it was spin-city all the way. The function of this particular writing is to examine and try to identify the nature and/or the identity of the power players commenting on the Aztlan text, not to fix in stone what did and did not happen.