Arms Free Society Rises Again on Procyon 07/07/3133
INN - Interstellar News Network
GUILDED HALLS, PROCYON (PREFECTURE X)—Most people believe that Arms
Free, the peace group that rose amid the turmoil of the late 3080s, is only a footnote
in the history books, but to the people of Procyon, history has once more come to
life. Announcing the rebirth of Arms Free with a demonstration march in the capital
city of Guilded Halls, the Reverend Antoine Bellarius, grandson of original Arms Free
founder, Kenneth Ballarius, reactivated the organization to speak out against what he
calls “the death of paradise.”
“Dark times are once more upon us, and our leaders have given in to fear,” Ballarius
told his followers from the steps of Procyon's Parliament. “From that same fear,
they've promised--they've warned--that they will do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure
peace in our time! But when we look around, all we see is war! All we see is death! Is
this the Republic our founders wanted? Is this the ‘peace in our time’ we have been
promised?”
The original Arms Free disbanded after the end of the infamous Relocation Riots,
which broke out on several worlds in reaction to military enforcement of Stone's
cultural-mixing policies in the newly forming Republic of the Sphere. The group's call
to end the use of military force against the people in order to assert governmental
authority is partially credited with Devlin Stone's decision to declare a moratorium on
the use of such force in the mid 3090s. In the interim, Arms Free was perhaps the
most outspoken proponent of the first Exarch, but also his most ardent detractor.
“Devlin Stone himself knew that using an army to enforce the government's will on its
own people is an ultimately self-defeating effort,” said D r. Gershwin Vassilay, a 31st-
century history professor at the University of Procyon - Guilded Halls. “And yet he
was forced to rely on that very technique to accomplish his radical changes in
society. The original peace groups, such as Arms Free, didn't know what to make of
that apparent duplicity, alternately lauding and decrying his efforts.”
The demonstrations on Procyon, which is not actually gripped with any political or
military upheaval at this time, has drawn a storm of criticism from Procyon
government officials, who believe the reborn Arms Free is attempting to create a
crisis where none exists. Ballarius, however, has offered his own explanation for why
he and his followers chose to deliver their message to Procyon first, citing the brief
reign of terror by Alisendar Gyn, who massacred many of the world's intellectuals
and political leaders after FedCom dissolved in 3057.
“Millions died on this world before the last age of war at the hands of a madman bent
on using arms to impose his will on the people,” Ballarius declared. “Let our word
therefore rise up from here, until the sacrifice of innocents for the sake of tyranny
never again is made!”
INN - Interstellar News Network
GUILDED HALLS, PROCYON (PREFECTURE X)—Most people believe that Arms
Free, the peace group that rose amid the turmoil of the late 3080s, is only a footnote
in the history books, but to the people of Procyon, history has once more come to
life. Announcing the rebirth of Arms Free with a demonstration march in the capital
city of Guilded Halls, the Reverend Antoine Bellarius, grandson of original Arms Free
founder, Kenneth Ballarius, reactivated the organization to speak out against what he
calls “the death of paradise.”
“Dark times are once more upon us, and our leaders have given in to fear,” Ballarius
told his followers from the steps of Procyon's Parliament. “From that same fear,
they've promised--they've warned--that they will do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure
peace in our time! But when we look around, all we see is war! All we see is death! Is
this the Republic our founders wanted? Is this the ‘peace in our time’ we have been
promised?”
The original Arms Free disbanded after the end of the infamous Relocation Riots,
which broke out on several worlds in reaction to military enforcement of Stone's
cultural-mixing policies in the newly forming Republic of the Sphere. The group's call
to end the use of military force against the people in order to assert governmental
authority is partially credited with Devlin Stone's decision to declare a moratorium on
the use of such force in the mid 3090s. In the interim, Arms Free was perhaps the
most outspoken proponent of the first Exarch, but also his most ardent detractor.
“Devlin Stone himself knew that using an army to enforce the government's will on its
own people is an ultimately self-defeating effort,” said D r. Gershwin Vassilay, a 31st-
century history professor at the University of Procyon - Guilded Halls. “And yet he
was forced to rely on that very technique to accomplish his radical changes in
society. The original peace groups, such as Arms Free, didn't know what to make of
that apparent duplicity, alternately lauding and decrying his efforts.”
The demonstrations on Procyon, which is not actually gripped with any political or
military upheaval at this time, has drawn a storm of criticism from Procyon
government officials, who believe the reborn Arms Free is attempting to create a
crisis where none exists. Ballarius, however, has offered his own explanation for why
he and his followers chose to deliver their message to Procyon first, citing the brief
reign of terror by Alisendar Gyn, who massacred many of the world's intellectuals
and political leaders after FedCom dissolved in 3057.
“Millions died on this world before the last age of war at the hands of a madman bent
on using arms to impose his will on the people,” Ballarius declared. “Let our word
therefore rise up from here, until the sacrifice of innocents for the sake of tyranny
never again is made!”
| July 7, 3133 |