Part 17: XVII - The Anarchs

The day when new free sweet moralities shall arise, and in the healing touch of brotherhood, the machines—into which, O my masters, you have knotted and kneaded our lives—shall be, not flesh of our body, but docile nerves and sinews of our will!
— Randolph Bourne, Sabotage





Now we'll head into The Last Round. Both Nines and Jack wanted us to meet them here. LaCroix and Strauss wanted us to come here for their own reasons. And then there's the fact that we need as many allies as we can get in a time like this. But we still have to be careful about who place our trust in...





There's Jack, in the corner.



Let's talk to him first.



It was okay.

Yeah, I'm sure it was a stroll on the beach. So, d'ya score a lotta skeeball tickets down on the pier there?

Yes, no prize though; I didn't save up enough tickets.

Hehe. I can't imagine you did. Probably too busy gettin' pushed around by every vampire with a week of seniority over you, am I right?

You could say that, yes.



Oh Jack.

Politics?



Like I said, schmooze.

You don't follow his rules?

Hahaha! Ah kid, I never answered to no man in life, now I sure as shit ain't takin' orders from a vampire with a suit and a funny name. And when I die again the devil's gonna hafta cut me a deal if he wants my ass! Besides... I never trust anybody with an X in their name.

Why did the prince send me to Santa Monica?

Cuz he never thought you'd make it back! If Nines didn't stand up for you in the courtroom, you woulda been toast right there, man; everybody knows that.

I don't get it. Why did he want to kill me?



So how come I'm still standng here?

Public relations, man, "calculated risk". Ventrue are born in a boardroom. When Nines called him out, LaCroix realized it was time to show a carefully measured dose of Camarilla compassion.

You're not into "public relations", Jack?



The writers insist that you act dumb, even if you know better.

LaCroix is the boss of the Camarilla in LA... that's it. Hmph. LaCroix as the boss. That's rich.

Yeah. I think he's got that Napolean thing going on.

The facts are like this: the Camarilla need us to buy into their bullshit for any of their "laws" to mean dick.

"No one rules if no one obeys."

Now, tellin' free-livin' vampires they need to be ruled is a hard sell, so the Camarilla baked up a play-nicey plan - show everyone how great they are so we'll all just jump on board!

Who is "everyone"?

The free-livin' dead, kiddo. A lotta people like to use the label "anarchs", whatever the hell that means... anarchs. Does got a nice kick to it, though, huh? Hah hah yeah.

Tell me about the anarchs.

That's "us", so I'm told. What'd you wanna know?

How long has the Anarch Movement existed?



That sure sounds like Jack.

It's good to know your history.

I'm no scholar, kid, but I been around. Seen more and done more than most vampires ever will. I don't know that our situation's ever gonna be easy, but some things you gotta decide are worth fightin' for.

Suffice to say, the history of the anarch movement is a history of class-struggle.

How can you win though?



Jack is no warrior-scholar. This line... well it's sure Jack, but it's a little stupid.

Does Nines share your vision?

You bet, kid.

Is he in charge here?

As much as anyone is. Nines is a stand-up guy. Takes the politics a little too seriously, though. Came up during the Great Depression, so his brain's wired to that shit.

You seem to know a lot about the politics yourself, Jack.

Me? Pfft. I never had much patience for "negotiations". Everyone can live or burn, it's up to them.

What about the rest of Nines' crew?

Yeah, I'm not sure the story on most of 'em, Nines' crew.

Jack is pretty much a lone-wolf. He might agree with the anarchs, but he's not expressing any intersting in organizing some sort of real social movement.

What clan are you?

Brujah. Most everyone here has Brujah blood.

Brujah certainly have the desire to rebel stronger than any other clan. Let's ask some more questions.

Tell me more about the Camarilla.

My favorite topic.

What do you think of Camarilla ideals?



That certainly is how Strauss framed it.

It wouldn't surprise me if they were.



Who runs the whole thing?

Doddering old dustfarts. They might be powerful as all hell but who knows? They're too afraid to stick their heads outta their hidey holes, and why should they? This whole huge system is built so they don't have to.

Is LaCroix one of the Inner Circle?



We've had plenty of chances to piss off the anarchs already, and here's another chance to take sides. Even if we hated the anarchs, a stereotypical Ventrue does what a stereotypical Ventrue does.

Yeah, he definately wants the corner office.

Ah, to hell with LaCroix. I've blasted better vampires' brains all over the wall. He's not the prince, he's A prince.

You've dealt with princes like him in the past?

Ah, he's a typical Ventrue asshole: predictable, safe, no imagination.... Aw man, the guy's a pussy. He just got lucky, showed up in LA at the right time.

Jack seems exasperated that he even has to explain it to us.

He's just stupid and lucky?

I'm not sayin' he's stupid, he's just an asshole who needs his teeth kicked in, that's all.

While we're on the subject of LaCroix...

What do you know about the sheriff?

Oh, the sheriff, yeah. I love how everyone's talkin' about that big mystery. It's like someone Embraced a doped-up gorilla.

Well, that didn't lead anywhere, though it was pretty funny.

Do you have a problem with the whole Camarilla or just the leadership?

I'm not sayin' let's go torch the Malkavian living under the abandoned hotel because she happens to be a Camarilla; I'm sayin' let's change that shit from the top down.

Jack's line here must be referring to an earlier plan which got scrapped. There is no Malkavian living under an abandoned hotel. Though there might be one living somewhere else....

Jack's line about changing the Camarilla "from the top down" is a little bit of a misnomer. The anarchs aren't trying to gain power within the Camarilla and change things from the inside. Or at least if they were worthy of the name, they wouldn't.


What the line probably means is that Jack wants total structural change of the Camarilla.

How do you know who's the bad guy then?

Camarilla membership is 95 percent victims, 5 percent evil bastards. But make sure and understand - any of those victims points a gun at me, they get drained and slaughtered like sheep.

Which is probably how Jack views us.

What about me? Am I part of the problem or what?

Hey man, you do what you gotta do to survive when you're young, but there comes a time when that excuse don't fly no more - when you should know better and want to do somethin' about it.

I just wish the facts were easier to come by.



How long can we keep this up, acting nice to all sides?

I have another question. Tell me about the Sabbat.

The Sabbat are worthless, man. Fake tits on a zombie worthless. Fun to watch though. Like the Three Stooges with chainsaws.

They're anti-Camarilla.

Yeah, the oppose the Camarila, but they suck when it comes to execution.

What's wrong with them?

The Sabbat are in the same business as the Camarilla; Sabbat have a little longer chain but they're slaves all the same.

I have another question.

What's on your mind?

Humans.

What about 'em?

What do you think of them?

What do I think of humans? I don't, really. When you were alive, did you think about cows? Heh... ya know, if one got killed, I bet you didn't cry, but, ya know, you're not out there slaughterin' them for sport, either.

But they get caught in the crossfire sometimes.

Ah, man we got our own problems. Let the kine sink or swim.

Maybe.

Now, onto more pressing matters.

So I heard you and Nines had a run-in with the Sabbat, huh? And you let them go? Tsk tsk tsk. Nines must be gettin' soft. How can you pass up that kind of fun?

How do you think the Sabbat found me?



You really think that's possible?

Hey, it's just a theory, man. But who else is gonna be watchin' you so closely, knowin' where you're goin' and all that?

Why would LaCroix help the Sabbat?

I'm not sayin' he's workin' with the Sabbat - I know he ain't - but he sure as hell coulda put the word out there on the street where the Sabbat would pick up on it. Eh, just chew on that.

I could see that.



This should be good.

Have you ever heard of the Elizabeth Dane?

Why, plannin' on visiting?

Yes, actually. The prince is sending me there.

We had the option to lie, but it's a good idea to get as much information as we can.

Oh really?!?

Yeah. Why, what's up, Jack?



No. But I don't really trust him to tell me the truth, anyway.

Yeah, well, maybe I should fill you in on the details. That sarcophagus is bad news. Kindred around the globe have been goin' batshit since it was discovered.

Why?



Ancients don't just nap. They sleep whole ages away. And when they wake up, they're hungry.

So he'll wake up and go hunting?

It's more than that, kiddo. Most Kindred think it's one of the signs of the end - the apocalypse. Every religion has their own version of it...



That must be why LaCroix told us not to open it. But is it really true?

Is this for real?

No one knows for sure, really. That's just the word that's been handed down through the ages. The Camarilla denies these ancients exist.

Well, it could all be hearsay.



No promises. See ya.

That's all we can get from Jack for now. He does seem to be a reliable source of information, so maybe we can check back with him later.



Turning to our left, we find this guy blocking the entrance to behind the counter. He was at the courtroom, with Nines. When we approach him...



We're going to have to play this right. Working for the LaCroix has made us some enemies.

Funny. Is Nines Rodriguez around here?

Nines is expecting you. Have some manners and don't wear out your welcome. I'm Skelter. Act up again and I'll be the one showing your ashes to the door.

Yeah, alright. You got a few minutes to talk?

What's up?

None of the vampire shit makes any sense to me.

You've got to understand, Kindred, you're carrying a six-thousand year curse in your blood. No matter how powerful it makes you feel...

Curse?

... that blood is a tangle of chains that's gonna leave you bound in servitude the rest of your existence.

Vampirism does present a host of new challenges for an anarchist.

Why do you say that?



How can you break free?



Again, the writers force the player to act ignorant.

Caine, man. Father of all vampires. Killed his brother Abel and was cursed by God to walk eternity feeding on the blood of his children. Some heavy shit, sister....

You mean Caine from the Bible? Really? Is that true?

Keep your voice down! Is Caine real? I don't know. Not sure I want to know.

I hear you. But where are you going with this?



That's not much of an answer.

But you agree with the masquerade?

I don't need to bare my fangs to feel good about myself. The Masquerade is a fruity Camarilla label; other than that I got no problem with it. Live and let live - we got enough to worry about.

Amen.



Everybody wants something.

Tell me about it.

There's this girl's been makin' a lot of noise lately. She's a real pain in the ass. She's a ghoul of this one Toreador creep who disappeared.

As useful as ghouls can be, they can also be a liability. What does this mean for us? Well, there's that girl we ghouled back in the Santa Monica clinic, to save her life. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us.

What's her name?

Her name is Patty. She hangs out in the clubs downtown.



Why don't you just tell her that he doesn't want to see her anymore?

Man she's been told he was dead! She don't listen, just asks again louder. Damn junkie. She's goin' make a scene and get us all some real heat.

What kind of heat are you talking about?

Vampire hunters, man. You start doin' stupid shit and breakin' the Masquerade, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Trust me, hunters are the kind of trouble you don't want.

See Appendix B of Part 12 for information on the hunters, courtesy of MJ12.

Alright. So, about your little problem with Patty...

She's crossed the line. Only time that mouth ain't blabbin' is when it's suckin' vampire blood. She's gotta disappear. Do this and we'll keep it our little secret, ya hear?

Anything for my anarch brethren.

This might not have to involve violence. We'll have to find out for ourselves.

Alright. Have fun. I'd love to do this one myself but I know her sire. Just let me know when it's done.

Alright. But I've got a few more questions before I go.... What's your problem with the Camarilla?

The Camarilla just ain't necessary. Their rules is just common sense shit. The Masquerade and all that. Sure it makes sense, like the 10 commandments. You know the 10 commandments, don't you?

Sure.

Yeah, "thou shalt not steal", "thou shalt not kill". Sounds good, but you and me both know that shit don't always fly. What if some "society" like the Camarilla comes along and just up and kills you if you break one damn commandment?

I see your point.



So the anarchs are the way, huh?

The anarchs? We're the only ticket to free livin' in the afterlife, my friend.

We're forced into this next line:

What about Nines? Isn't he just like the prince of the anarchs?



We're forced to end the converstion. I'm going to pretend like we didn't have to and stitch the next conversation into this one.

Easy, big guy. I wanted to ask you about someone.

Yeah? Who do you want to know about?

What about Jack? What's his deal?



Thanks.

And that's all we can get out of Skelter for now. He said Nines was waiting for us, so let's check upstairs.



That's him, alright. Who else could look like that?



Nines is a busy man. This is probably one of the few chances he'll be willing to talk to us. Better listen up.

Go on.

You got a right to know the score. The Camarilla - this is the short of it. They operate a lot like a pyramid scheme. There's a bunch of these old timers at the top, with God only knows what plots in mind. They lose their power, they die.



Again, we're forced to play dumb.

Aren't you part of the Camarilla?



So what are you all about?

I learned the way of this world during the depression. Bunch of old, rich bastards screwed the country, but did they suffer? No - the little people suffered. You can't trust the people at the top. The world'd be a better place without 'em. All you can do is get a group of people together who aren't assholes, find a place to put your feet up, and make some examples of the quote-unquote elite to keep the rest the hell out. Everyone's an equal here, the same thing this country used to be about. That's what LA has been, an Anarch Free State.

Anarch Free State?

The Camarilla was kicked out on their ass a long time ago. We, the anarchs, didn't want to play their politics anymore. Now LaCroix and crew pop in like they never left - uh-uh, no goddamn way! Their laws don't apply to us.

Not a fan of the prince, huh?

LaCroix represents everything I hate - the Camarilla, stuck-up aristocrats, rich businessmen, crooked politicians.... The only place LaCroix belongs is in an urn.

Have you tried meeting with the Camarilla?



In the dialogue file, it says "[Cocks his gun]" after that line. That translates to a hell of a scowl, in-game.

Sounds like you're the prince of the anarchs.

No such thing. And again, newbie, don't throw those kind o' words around lightly - you're riskin' a beat down. I've fought to keep LA free since I was Embraced. Long time later, I'm one of the only ones left that hasn't bit it or switched sides - the most veteran soldier on the battlefield.

I should stress that, according to this, not all anarch groups are the same. In Santa Monica, as we have seen, it was pretty much just the Camarilla running the town, going by a different name. Here, the anarchs are actually (or atleast appear to be) non-hierarchical. Nines might be considered the leader, in the sense that he's a very respected guy that's into the anarch politics, but he's not making decisions for and above everyone else. While we don't know if the group runs on principles of direct-democracy, it's implied that something along those lines is the case.

Anyone who tells you that anarchists reject leadership is kidding you.

One more question. Any advice you can give me?

Here's what I tell all the new blood: One, you get careless, that blood'll make you into a monster - but you rampage 'round here you get put down. Two, don't kill when you feed - no reason to. In this city, there's lots of ways to slake the Beast without leaving a trail of dead. Three, the Camarilla's full o' shit. Four, watch your back, always. And lastly, learn how to fight, cuz a speech ain't gonna save your ass when you're starin' down the barrel of a shotgun.

Nines has been around the way. As such, he might have some tips for us.

Can you teach me how to fight?



This gives us a dot in Brawl, increasing the damage of our unarmed attacks. Something I will never use.

Thanks for all your help, Nines.





The last person to talk to in the bar is this woman. She certainly won't be a stereotype. Her shirt says "Armee Troika".



What are you talking about?

[Listen] Heard Nines saved your ass again. You think LaCroix would've stopped counting his money long enough to get your back, jack?

Her voice is pretty annoying.

I could have handled that myself.

Ha. What were you going to break out, huh? Some Tae-bo? This ain't paintball with your jerkoff friends on the weekend, Cammy, it's the mean streets. Show some goddamn gratitude.

What's with the attitude?



It might be hard to get on her good side.

Cape?

Cape, Cammy. Camarilla elders? The ones that've been around so long they think candlelight's a keen invention? You're doing their dirty work and you don't even know it.

What alternative do I have?

You want an alternative? Being here, that's a step in the right direction.



I'm not buying the 'den mother' part.

I don't know about LaCroix. I'm cool with Nines though.

Hey, Cammy. I don't apologize often, but... it's just with all the shit's been going down lately - and on top of it this plaguebearer getting the CDC's attention - maybe I misjudged you's all I'm saying.

So we've gotten on her good side, and we've also found the person to talk to about the epidemic.

Understandable. Please tell me what a plaguebearer is.

A plaguebearer's a fool that doesn't care who they feed from. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, we can't get sick - but the kine can, and Kindred that feed on them start spreading disease. Enough get sick, it's an epidemic, CDC's in town as we speak.

Strauss thought the anarchs were causing the epidemic. Shows how much he knows.

So how do you get rid of one?

Seen "Old Yeller"? May sound cruel, but it's necessary. If someone puts together two and two as to the real cause of an outbreak of bloodborne diseases, guess what happens? So the plaguebearer's gotta be found and put down. If the Camarilla really gives a damn, they'll help us out.

The Camarilla are relying on us, in that regard, but I'm not sure that counts.

The anarchs helped me out before. Where do I start?

One of our boys' ghouls, name's Paul, lives nearby in the Skyeline apartments. Been a stranger lately. Looked like death last time he was here. Said he didn't get bit but... maybe you can get more info out of him.

Paul Anderson. We read about him on the computer in the Skyline basement.

Ghouls. Why is it always ghouls? Fine, I'll check it out when I can.

Wait. If Paul's not talking, you might want to start questioning the homeless pop. So many have been dying lately that it takes the city a few days to pick up the bodies.

Another quest on our to-do list.

Before I go, I have a question. Tell me about Nines.



Those comparisons really don't fit.

I owe him my life. Seems like one of the only decent people I've met yet.

No one like him in the Camarilla or otherwise. Anything else?

Your thoughts on LaCroix?

As if we needed to ask.

Who the hell does he think he is coming into town claiming Camarilla authority over the city? We kicked them out sixty years ago! It's like England coming back and telling the U.S. how they should do things. Fuck LaCroix!

I had no idea the anarchs had been in control that long. I had another question. Tell me about Smiling Jack.

Jack? Jack's Jack. Kind of a legend amongst anarchs. There's not an anarch in the world that wouldn't stand in rockstar awe of Jack. Even the Camarilla doesn't mess with him.

Really? I had no idea. Jack's one of the cooler people I've met.

He's been around a long time. He used to be a pirate, so the rumor goes. Talk to Jack, he's never short on chat.

That's sure true.

I had another question. Tell me about the anarchs.

We're about passion, Cammy, and freedom... things most Camarilla types just can't understand. I could go on and on... but Skelter says it takes too long to get me off my soapbox. Ask him, or even Jack.

No, go on. Tell me what you think.



This is another bad comparison. Communism is a stateless, classless society where goods and services are distributed according to need. Yes, it presupposes that power is in the hands of all equally, hence it is classless. The problem is that so do other types of classless socialism, which have different modes of economy. The second problem is saying that communism has failed with humans. We should first distinguish between the primitive communism practiced by hunter-gatherer societies, which can not be called a failure with any honesty, and communism as it could exist today in our modern world. The latter is today associated with the USSR and Maoist China, and I would argue inappropriately. The two were disgusting hierarchical societies where the individual served as means to an end - not as an end in itself. They both had state-control of the economy, and while this is today associate with communism and socialism because of their rhetoric, you don't learn about how a system of power works by listen to its rhetoric. While even Stalin may have had an end-goal of a stateless, classless society with full communism, such a goal was spit-on because of his tactics. The anarchist response to "State Socialism" is well documented, and was the reason for the split in the first international. I'll just end the tangent there, suffice to say that there are other types of communism that are worth looking into.

Okay. I did have a question about something else though. Your thoughts on the Camarilla?

It's a sham - a pyramid scheme! Nothing but musty, withdrawn elders waging power struggles for no other reason than to keep their own ass alive for one more century. You think you have any real power in the Cam? You're kidding yourself.

I really don't understand it myself. I'm kind of new to this.

You'd be better off without them... you'll see.

Maybe you're right. See you later.







Well, we've got three new quests to do, and I'm going to ask the thread about which we should do first.

Do we try to stop plague? Our first stop will be back to the skyline apartments, but then there's always the homeless people we can ask.

Do we silence Patty the ghoul? She's a masquerade violation waiting to happen. Fat Larry did say he'd give a good word to one of the owners of a club, here in downtown LA. If Patty is in that club, we might find another job to do in the same place.

Do we look into the Ankaran Sarcophagus on the Elizabeth Dane? This is part of the main quest, and we'd have to leave downtown to attempt it.