"What's the matter with you today? You are so silent." Bob put his beer down and looked at Weebl who stared out the window and sighed.

"You know, I've got something on my mind." Weebl responded.

"Yeah, that always sucks. I rather have a bird on my lap, then on my mind."

"No, Bob. For fucks sake, this is not about some bird." 

Weebl turned, took a sip of the beer in front of him and sighed once more.

"Is big always better, Bob?"

Bob grinned a bit and asked: "I thought this wasn't about a bird? Who has been complaining?"

"Damnit, Bob. Can you for once be serious with me here? I'm talking about big cities, gigantic corporations running monopoly on the streets."

Bob nodded and took another large gulp of beer. When he nodded for Weebl to continue he noticed that the fella's at the bar where leaning back and clearly listening in on their conversation.

"The recent wars made me think about where we are headed. A big powerhouse like Chicago crumbled in the span of week. Since dead man tell no tales, we might never know the real reasons, but most likely the house came crashing down because of internal struggles. But was their greatness part of their fall? Where they still moving as one or where there to many big shots to lead? In public everyone was loyal to each other, but how thin were some of these layers of loyalty people wrapped themselves in?"

Bob kept making circular motions with his glass as he listened to Weebl. A continuous wave of beer washed away the foam it left in it's wake.
The people on the table behind them actually turned their chairs around while listening to Weebl speak.

"Or look at New York in the 303 era. Another powerhouse that came crashing down, this one because of external powers. But it happened with reason. Apparently the attitude of those in power could no longer be tolerated by the people in the nation. Whatever the intent in any attitude back then, it surely wasn't meant to provoke people to kill them. Did their long reign create a state in which they weren't aware of others in the world anymore?"

Bob emptied his glass and asked Weebl if he wanted a refill. He got up to the bar and noticed that the place had grown silent. The bartender quickly served him two big pints and Bob sat down again. Weebl took a big gulp of beer and answered when Bob had asked why this was so important to him.

"The thing is, Bob. With the downfall of one powerhouse, another one rises.  New homes need to be found and what better place to look for that where there are a lot of jobs and security. A thriving place to be a part of. These places slowly grow in size, wealth and power. It's how things go and that's alright. But how will these new powerhouses implement the lessons taught to all of us by the downfall of their predecessors?

It's obvious this time brings us new cities that become bigger every day, but I wish the best for those cities and their citizens. But broader also, I want the best for our entire society."

Bob nodded that he understood and asked "So what do you propose?"

"Well, I'm just wondering what would prevent a gentle giant of becoming hungry and a terror for those around it? Or what would keep it sharp and awake, so it won't trip and fall down?  The goal here is important. Is the goal keeping in control or pushing society forward? What do you think would push society forward?"

"What? You ask me?" Bob replied. "I don't know man, perhaps spread businesses over the country more? Have them experience concurrency of other companies in other cities to keep them sharp. Allow small startups, instead of creating sister-companies in their own backyard. It would be fun to meet more like minded people in the casino's in Vegas for example. No one wants to place dice with me over there. Listen, I've gotta go to the loo. Maybe one of these guys listening in has something interesting to say on this while I'm gone?"

Bob stands up and sees a lot of faces staring at them. He makes way for the toilets, leaving behind Weebl and the people who were listening in.

Rory had being listening intently to Weebls’ conversation, he maybe shouldn’t have been but it was far more interesting than watching the bartender fail miserably in his attempts to charm a young broad. As Bob left to use the gents, Rory offered his view on the topic.

There’s a certain type of people who will always strive to rise to the top of our world and it’s a fact of life that somewhere down the line, they will have to use deadly force.  Some regimes are clearly more violent than others but it’s a natural extension of this thing of ours.

As for allowing the spread of business across the country, naturally it’s what we all want to see. We would all like for the cities to be populated but the real issue with that at present, is that we simply don’t have the people to lead them. I’d much rather see cities remain empty, than see them run by the clueless, mutes and people I have no clue about. Walking these streets, with the exception of a few, I have seen very little in the way of potential leaders, let alone Godfathers of entire organisations and cities.

As for the approach to becoming a ‘tyrant’ or building an empire, it’s all about personal ideology. Obviously brute force has to factor into the equation, but politics, respect and friendships are also important. These days more than ever, nobody is truly safe from a loaded gun due to the designs of the Gods. Leadership and building an empire requires a great degree of intelligence. When looking back at the greats of our world, people like Thomas Rourke, Deimne, Marietta, Luca, Deadlysin, just to name a small proportion. They were all extremely capable, mental adversary’s who used their words as much as their guns.

I don’t think you can ever stop anybody expanding their empire if they wish to do so, not unless you are capable of removing them. For some people, one territory will never be enough, they want more, more money and more influence. It’s a fact of mob life. But with increasing size, comes increasing difficulty when trying to manage all corners of the empire, things can become difficult and complicated, and that’s why leaders need to be so strong mentally and verbally, and not just with a gun. It's a tricky business.

Leaning back on his chair, Rory ordered another drink, listening for the next opinion. 

Everyone of us is hard wired to survive, by any means necessary. So with that in mind it is inevitable that to ensure we live we go where we deem it "safest." Even if that means enduring situations and people we dislike we will always have our survival as the number one priority. This is why there is always a sway of people from one powerhouse to another merely content with being on the boat and not expecting to steer it - I don't expect that to ever change. That's why so many people are quick to jump out or reluctant to jump in when war comes knocking. You can't blame them really but it's only during times of conflict that we see the true measure of the man and his loyalties and most often we are left wanting. 

I think on the surface the reason for Chicago crashing down could be put down to internal issues but it's  worth looking at the slightly longer/bigger picture. I genuinely believe the start of the end for Chicago came with the death of Godmother Whatsername. Her command of Philadelphia and her ties with New York ensured that Godfather Ajani remained alive and left as chair despite the obvious fact that he didn't really run anything more then his district. When she fell, the dominoes started to topple which resulted in the death of Ajani and here we are.

I think mentally and verbally strong goes hand in hand with the gun/city to back your words up. Even in recent days I've seen high levels of disrespect and attempted public humiliations because they are in the position to do so through the backing they receive, I suspect if the shoe was on the other foot they wouldn't dare open their mouths and if they did it'd be a mouth full of water for tea. Expansion is the beginning of the end for all ties and links and that's why most people are reluctant to move. Why "the 303" waited for a fifth district in New York, why North Side preferred The Loop/fifth district in Chicago to expanding out and why people will always be attracted to the big busy cities. Survival. 
 

Alan removes his pipe and match box from the inside of his jacket pocket and waits for more speakers. 

When Bob returned from the loo, he saw two men engaging in conversation with Weebl. It's a bad habit to be drinking alone, so he ordered four beers for this round. When he arrived back at the table, he handed out the drinks and sat down just as Weebl began to speak again.

"I intentionally only scratched the surface of the possible reasoning of Chicago's downfall. This to illustrate a difference with the downfall of New York and to use those examples to focus on the future. The past for those have been, and will be discussed in other places."

Weebl thanked Bob for the new beer and took a big gulp before replying to Rory.

“I understand your reserve on opening up other cities for, possibly, inadequate leaders. But if leaders do popup in the hometowns, does that make them adequate? Perhaps they have to stay close to the ones who auth them, so they can still be shaped more easily while they gain experience. I can understand that, but that might create an issue also.

The relations within a powerhouse are already in place. Perhaps new leaders lift along on those relationships without having to put forth a lot of efforts themselves. Parts of Detroit were removed because they did not reach out properly to the people at the top. But what social building takes place by the new auths in the homecities of the powerhouses?”

“You should know, Weebl.” Bob replied.

“I know I should, which I do to some point. It's not about me here, but about the idea. Perhaps leaders mature more quickly if they don't lean too much on that what's been build by others. If they stand by themselves, they have to invest in social skills more. Perhaps that a presence on the streets becomes more urgent for them. Perhaps a higher level of respect and working ethics will be required from members if they don't suddenly disappear in the big safe group of a city.”

Weebl looks around and sees that more and more people are listening in. He wonders what some of those would have to say on his ramblings.

“Listen, I'm not playing advocate to split up cities. It's simply an idea. I'm just exploring the possible workings of the rise of a new powerhouse here.”

Weebl I think you have brought up a topic that usually does not get touched often. Sometimes perhaps people are just worried of what they say, perhaps sometimes on issues like these the wrong words can send the wrong message. But I applaud you for coming out here and speaking of such topic. As I look through my bloodlines history books here, I find a lot of powerhouses rise and fall. A lot of them were built by ancestors of the same men and woman we work with today here in Philadelphia and New York. Some came down because their ally's fell apart, some came down because they just became old and slow...and crumbled. Others well a quote says it best "Die young and be a hero, or live long enough to become a villain". All of them have some things in common though and a major part of that is communication, loyalty and trust. 

So what can we learn from all the past history? And I say its loyalty and trust between ally's. A lot of wars in our part of the world are fought based on rumors and mis-information, powerhouses loose their arm's and sometimes even half their bodies infighting. We saw that with Chicago very recently. And all it is really is a lack of communication and trust. Its those basic things that have to be valued above all when working along side with ally's. Because infighting rarely ever leads to a winner, in the short run perhaps one side lives longer...but long term neither can survive without the other. Its a symbiotic relationship....take one, the other will fall eventually. 

Now back to the question of is Bigger actually better? Well I believe that size does matter no question about it. But size isn't always synonymous with quantity. You can certainly be big and consist mostly of quality over quantity. Look at the crews working across the country today. We just got through two wars that left almost 60% of the cities vacant and mobless. But the rehabilitation process has already been started by the Council. We have certain rules in place where neither district can have more than a certain amount of crews per district...and look what its done for us. Philadelphia once hit hard cause of the Inertia war, well is now blossoming. New York once cleared by us, now under the command of GodFather Curtis is back on its feet with some great leaders in place to lead it. Can we say that Philadelphia and New York currently makeup most of the criminal population? Yes. But thats not so much because these cities have stopped crews from setting up outside...its just a side effect of war. People gotta find work some where ya know?!?! 

But look at whats happening out West with the Gold Rush. Mob is starting to take root out there and I am sure there are other rehabilitation plans in the works. Instead of just stacking the 'powerhouse' cities...the powers up top are focusing on growing the rest of the cities. So it certainly speak volumes about how the current powers see things. Its not about quantity for our Chairmen at the moment, its about quality and expansion. 

Its been a while since we have seen criminal activity across every country in the nation...I have a feeling, were getting pretty close to it. If this doesn't show how much our GodFathers care about this thing of ours, nothing else really can. They have rules in place that force things to spread...and spread they will. The mob will flourish once again in every corner of the city. And quality will the name of the game!!! 

Brielle walks in the pub, does a quick scan of her surrounding and notices a group of people she knows all too well. In a flash she headed over to group; Weebl, Blackwod, and Rory had kind of monopolized the bar space she knew it was her way into getting a drink and fast. The closer she got she could tell there was a serious conversation going on, always being interested to hear what people have to say she walked up to the group signaled to the barkeep for her usual and jumped right into the group like she was there the entire time. 

It was an interesting topic, one that she hadn't heard many speak of before, after Blackwod finished speaking she politely said her hello's to everyone and then decided to chime in on the conversation.

I have listened to everyone speak and I'm going to say I can't disagree with any of you, in fact you all make fantastic points. One thing I will say though is that people are naturally social. It does not surprise me that cities grow exponentially, most people feel that there is safety in numbers and reading through the journals of my ancestors proves that point exactly. It is why some cities flourish while others rot into the ground. You also have to think that with more people comes more opportunities to make connections, profit from deals and in all reality feel safer as a whole. 

Also with growing cities comes everything that goes with it, you need to maintain a certain stature in the community as a whole. Finding the right mixture of dominance and understanding is an art per say. Most people have a hard time and let power get to their heads and this is when the beginning of the downfall starts. From what I have read this seems like it has been the cause of great cities and even civilizations to crumble to ground. You would think by now people would learn from past situations and I know I have said this before but to not let history repeat itself. That quote that you said Blackwod sums it all up nicely as well the more prosperous and the longer a city stands the more "enemies" are created most of which not intentionally. Only time will tell though that is for sure.

I will say though I do love the fact that council sees the benefit in having each city populated and has a plan to make this happen. Looking back in the journals again seems like it has been a while since this country as a whole has been populated. I think it is a great thing one I'm looking forward to seeing happen.

Brielle take the drink from the barkeep, and takes a sip.