Maria had spent quite a chunk of the morning reading. She'd started out with her family journals, then moved on to records of speeches and obituaries from City Hall, slowly piecing together parts of the history of the world she lived in. It took quite some time, but it felt worth it, as she sought to answer her own question.

It had been playing on her mind for a couple of weeks, as a matter of fact, since the death of handlebarz, a former crew leader in Las Vegas. The questioning had intensified with the death of Hova and finally come to a head with the mysterious death of Mute just the day before. It didn't much matter what had killed them, in particular. It was the familiarity of it that struck Maria. She'd always enjoyed studying the histories of the world, and she felt as though a pattern was bound to repeat itself. 

Finally, sick of the site of the books and newspapers, she stood up, picked up her purse and left the room she'd been sat in. Stepping out into the light, she decided to stop in a small cafe close to City Hall, owned by one of her right hand man VladimirLenin's cousins. She ordered a coffee, and took a seat on the patio around the back, bathed in sunlight. She saw a few familiar faces close by, and decided to vocalize her thoughts. 

"So, when I woke up yesterday, it was to a telegram telling me that Don Mute and his family had sadly met their maker. I suppose the argument could be made that the 'Freedom in Las Vegas' event really ended a couple of weeks ago, when PeterPerttits and Hova died, but nevertheless, this was undoubtedly a stopping point to that competition, experiment, whatever you'd like to call it."

Maria takes a sip from her coffee, and fishes a packet of cigarettes from her pocket. She removes one and lights it, inhaling deeply and enjoying the hit of nicotine into her bloodstream, before exhaling and continuing. 

"Our world probably see's a couple of competition districts or cities a year, on average. Every few months, the group at the top, the group in power, will decide that one of the cities that they cannot fill organically should go to some sort of contest. Stipulations will be added, excitement will build and people will throw their names into the hat. And they'll maybe go and make it work for a month or two; the last incarnation of Las Vegas did a pretty decent job of that, I guess. And then usually, they'll get mopped up as an afterthought soon after restrictions and protections drop."

Maria takes another long, lazy pull from her cigarette, flicking a little ash into the glass ashtray on the table. 

"So here is my question; here is what I wonder. What does it actually take to be successful in a contest like this? I think that, hand on heart, the only contest city that I have been unable to unearth that has had any longstanding success or longstanding influence over the shape of affairs in our world was Las Vegas under The Las Vegas Project. I am sure that if I am wrong in saying this, his descendants will be able to correct me, but I believe that Godfather DeadlySin of Philadelphia rose up under the Las Vegas Project, going on to run our world for a fair old chunk of time. But in the time since then, my bloodline has seen contests in Detroit, in Las Vegas, in Los Angeles, and sometimes multiple times. But through my research, I can't seem to find any examples of that kind of success, or even any particular longevity."

Maria sips from her coffee and takes another smoke. The sun was really quite bright out, for a spring day, and she was wishing she'd brought some sunglasses out with her. She raises a hand to shield her eyes some from the brightness. 

"So, this is what I wonder. What does it take to succeed in those circumstances? Is it a matter of who you are, or is it a matter of how you conduct yourself? As sad as the demise of Don Mute was, I cannot say it altogether surprised me. Las Vegas had been turned loose in the same circumstances as other cities, but I never saw or heard much of anything from him. I suppose what I'd like to ask, is, are these experiments ultimately doomed to fail from the start, as I personally have often believed, or do you feel as though it's in the hands of the individuals who participate to make a success of the opportunity that they are afforded by contest cities?"

Maria sits back in her chair, drinking a little more from her coffee and enjoying the sun, waiting for people to chime in with their thoughts.

Maria, I  think currently this is a very prominent debatable subject, one id like to share my thoughts and ethos on, if I may? I don't think there is a recipe for success or a blueprint on how one should behave or act when taking part in a completion of this nature. In fact, I don't think there is a precise path to follow to be successful when choosing any path within this thing of ours.

However I do think there are things that can help you, certain tasks or way of conducting yourself that naturally, will always help you along the way. Most of all I think these people who decide to take that leap and try their hand need copious amounts of luck, amongst many other things but luck is a very defining factor with these things. I think a real commitment from the current leadership to actually let it playout is also needed. Understanding how this life works is key and having a network of people around you that can and will help along the way, going into these things blind is a recipe for mass disaster- which leads me onto the next part.

That's beauty of said competitions though, they are, for the lack of a better word, "car crash viewing" for most parts anyway. We know, as community what, or what is likely to happen with them, its good watching, we know that 9 times out of 10 there will be bloodshed and we applaud them for it, we laugh and we mock. Is this a bad thing, id be inclined to say no, no its not and for me, its a practice that I've become accustomed too and one I quite frankly enjoy. I love watching it unfold, no matter if its "successful" or not. It makes things less mundane. All this is ok for me to say though, id like to think im of a prominent position within my own organisation. That may not be the same for the people of this world who don't have that- which leads me nicely to my next view point.

These competitions also offer those lines who've never had the chance for a "legit" auth to have a go, lets say those who are less versed in this world to try to cut their teeth, the format might not be the norm, but its a chance for them to experience that life. Granted it may not last long, but again, that's the beauty of these things. I would be incredibly disappointed to see them disappear out of our history. I think they serve a purpose for all those involved and for all those who are not involved.

Generally as a rule, those lines who've been around for a good amount of time will shy away from them, like you have said, they have a negative stigma before they even hit the ground because as a rule, they never, ever end well for the participants.  I think they are set up to fail, but that's the romance about them, people who take part think they can be apart of the very small elite to actually make it work, when in actual fact they will meet the same ending that most others do, but again, its all part of the appeal.

I think who you're does have a varying effect on these, for eg... if you set up and you have connections that sit on the highest pedestal in this world, the chances are, if you're clever enough, you'll live as long as those said people do. These competitions have an extremely fine line between success and investable failure.  

But, all-in-all, I enjoy a good city or district competition, I think this world needs them. Most of us enjoy looking at those taking parts with our proverbial magnifying glasses.  

What an interesting subject. I can't resist the urge to state my opinion here... Maybe some people would be interested in it, I'm pretty sure there are those who aren't interested at all. So I'll start by apologizing to those who aren't interested, cause from their point of view I'm probably just another man giving his boring speech and I bet it's nothing new for them.

CookieZombie took a glance at a notebook, then he diverted his eyes away from it and phased out for a moment, staring at some irrelevant building in the background. He seemed nervous. Suddenly he closed the notebook and continued speaking.

You see, I am nothing more than a gangster. I arrived at these shores fully aware of my father's fate and found a promising crew to work for. All this time I kept saying to myself "CookieZombie, you have to stay out of trouble. No matter what might be said about your father or his city, you don't have to get involved. You don't wanna be that associate that jeopardizes his family's safety just cause he wanders in the streets with his big mouth". And I settled with it, there wasn't any point in discussing reasons behind a takedown. Yet you brought up this very interesting topic and I hope I'll be able to express my opinion without causing any trouble. After all, I've spent a great deal of time researching about my father and Las Vegas.

That's right, most youngsters arrive at these shores only to find that their dying relatives left them some money. Or put a good word for them and helped them find a promising family. Perhaps some unfinished business with a corrupt officer that will settle to work with them in their father's place. You know what my father left me with?? Notes. Journals. Memoirs. All sorts of handwriting, that man would probably spend most of his day in his office creating that stuff. I mean, I know most youngsters end up with their ancestor's journals in their possession, but what I had to face upon my arrival was insane. Even though it makes perfect sense for a man with my father's "inability", the quantity of notes I had to go through to fulfill my curiosity was humongous and most of the stuff I came across weren't anywhere near interesting, even for me.

Technically, you could call the competition in Las Vegas successful. Apart from Calamity, all the other leaders died after the competition was over and "Las Vegas was free to run their city as they saw fit".

Then handlebarz was removed. It was a takedown that happened in an exact same way as it would have happened to a leader who got in charge of a crew by conventional or traditional means. It had absolutely nothing to do with the competition. 

The deaths of Hova and Peterperttits were next. I've grouped those two together, because the documents I discovered regarding their deaths were chaotic. It seems that my father could not accept that their deaths were irrelevant. After lots and lots of scenarios that aren't really worth mentioning here, he decided that he simply could not reach a final verdict about either of them. So he closed the case the conclusion was:

I will have to settle for the "most likely" scenario that Peterperttits was manipulated into his suicidal behavior. I wish I had a "most likely" scenario for Hova, but I guess his death will forever remain a mystery

So here comes the question. Did the fact that those leaders came from a competition city decide their fate? It's a very tricky question. Is a leader from a competition more likely to mysteriously die? Yes, but not much more likely. Is a leader from a competition more likely to succumb to this suicidal behavior and sign his own death warrant? Of course, but again it's not much more likely. I cannot deny that it's something that could have happened to any leader, whether he set up during a competition or not.

Finally there was the death of Mute, my father. Once again, a takedown, probably had nothing to do with the competition.

The point I'm trying to make here is that those deaths were irrelevant with the fact that a competition had been going on in Las Vegas. I'm certain that those leaders would have died if they set up regardless of their home city and regardless of the way the obtained their HQ. Which means it's not a matter of what it takes to be successful in a contest like this, but what it takes to be a successful crew leader. I'm afraid I'm not suitable to answer that question.

Can a competition be successful at all? Probably not. You let several people share the same city and you can't even find two of them sharing a relationship the way leaders in other cities do. It took me quite a while to realize this, but my father didn't really like the other leaders. He didn't dislike them either. Yet from all of them, Mute himself would only auth Hova in Las Vegas, if it was up to him, or so he claimed in his journals. Does that mean he was willing to remove the rest? Of course not, but his relationship with them was doomed to fail and they would never reach the desired levels of trust, communication and cooperation cause he simply would have chosen other people if it was up to him. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure the other leaders must have felt the same way and there is  no way the "team" of leaders of LV was the dream team they imagined, if it was up to them, the team would have been different.

This particular competition was different. Godfather Spikes wanted to avoid the usual bloodshed that comes naturally with a competition, so he tried to make it clear when he stated the rules of the competition. Unfortunately, this plan might have backfired. Even though the participants avoided any unnecessary violence, perhaps they felt a sense of safety because of the extraordinarily peaceful nature of the competition. Mute thought this badly influenced the leaders, his words were exactly "This is a competition, yet not every leader is actually competing". Now I don't know for certain that any of the leaders felt this sense of safety, since this is only my father's opinion, but if it's true, it is hilariously ironic.

My conclusion is that after all a competition can't work as long as the people who participate are stuck with each other, it hinders their productivity. So could it be that the optimal competition is the one that declares one victor and he builds his city as he sees fit? If that's the case, I'd rather not have any competitions at all.

Hopefully there will soon be a competition that will prove me wrong.

They are always rigged and they are always target practice if the outcome isn't as desired.

They are essentially a waste of time for 99% of the population.

I don't think who you know or what you know matters much. In my opinion the only way for a leader to overcome the odds against setting up in a competition city would be pure luck.  The crew leaders in Las Vegas who recently fell were skilled, reasonably well connected, and motivated - it didn't matter.

Anyone who sets up shop in a competition city is immediately at a disadvantage and is therefore likely to be taken advantage of. The more established cities will always have better organization, information, firepower, and resources. In this world you use such advantages when you have them and prevent others from catching up. That's all there is to it. 

I do applaud all of those who tried to make it in LV though. They were willing to take risks in the name of making something of their own.

Rathbone listens quietly and ponders on the thoughts of those speaking around him. Finally, he turns to the crowd and speaks...

Success is such a subjective word. What one man or woman considers success, might be a failure to another. 

For as far back as I can recall these "contests" taking place, I have never found one that was ever meant to "succeed"...not in terms of permanently lasting, anyway. Then again, it is counter-intutitive, in my opinion, for many leaders to want this kind of success for others families at all. If they did, it would mean these families could pose a threat to their own businesses.

My personal belief is that the "success" in these contests is found in the opportunity itself; not the end result. For the families that take part in this contest, it is a chance to prove their mettle and show their leadership capabilities. For the families that authorize these contests, it is a chance to, shall we say, make things more interesting on our streets without creating a major threat to themselves or their allies. 

It is my opinion that, from this perspective, these contests are a success. People get the opportunities they want and though the end results might leave them disappointed in the end, they at least get said opportunity. The truth is that most of us will end up disappointed by the end results of our lives...such is the nature of our business. This is why it is important to always make the most of the opportunites we get in it.

Rathbone smiles, then takes a step back into the crowd to listen to the others.

Cin had been sitting around listening to everyone as she tried to go through her ancestors journals mentally. Since she couldn't just rush home she wanted to remember what it was her line had seen of these competitions. Clearing her throat as she remembered the contest she thought was the real success.

"The contest of sorts that I would see as a success was the one set out by Godfather Stamina in regards to the city of Detroit. Each city sent one auth that had to play by the rules like any other city. I know it wasn't set out as a contest like we see but when you are placing so many auths in one city from all the surrounding cities it does have a competitive state to it. If I remember correctly Technical rose up and managed to stay alive in that city to run it.

There was a hard effort on the leaders parts to remain out. There were no favorites moved to another city to head it up, no way out for anyone who went there to set up besides death and a really big effort during a few of the Detroit wars to keep outside cities outside of the conflict. I am not entirely sure how long Technical last but to me this would make for a successful contest.

We have all seen how these more recent contests have been. People are told that there would be no outside influence only to see it happen time and time again. I hate to disagree with you Maria but if someone is moved out of a contest city I cannot see that as a success on their part, but an interference by the outside group that stated they would stay out of it. "

Cin brushes her hair back and takes a sip of water that she had been carrying around with her.

Honestly though I wouldn't waste my breath on a contest city. I am set in the ways where I think auths should be earned. I recognize this is harder in a community where some people are silver plattered their auths while the hard workers are skipped over. But I would like to see a reign that skips the contest city stuff and moves people that have earned the chance into cities that are lying empty for so long.

Before people start throwing around that there are only so many people that know how to run a crew or city properly I got something to say about that. If you never give people the chance, they will never learn. Am I saying throw them out there with nothing? Oh hell no, they should have a good support. People they can openly speak to and get advice from.

By no means should you ever put someone in bold and expect them to know it all. However, you can't expect them to ever learn if you never put them in the position to learn it.

Cin, I'm not sure that Detroit from then is the best example of any kind of competition city really. Technical took leadership of detroit on Feb 16th - at which point it was only him and one other person left there anyway after them being set up for around a week at that point, and was dead by April 1st at the latest.

I don't mean to tote my own lineage's horn, but I've never seen an experiment city go on to do as much as my ancestor did by the same name as myself. Let's not forget that PoisonousJelly also emerged out of that competition and took Godfather himself - had the war between them gone the other way it could well have been him that went on to do the things that DeadlySin did.

Anyway - to answer your question Maria. Success in situations like that is dependent on a lot of things. A good plan, the right people around you, political savvy, strength, and some luck. I know that's not a lengthy answer, but I'm not sure how much I can expand on it other than saying that when I say 'strength' I encompass quite a few things such as street presence, ability to lead, ability to train a gun, and knowing how and when to use your gun.

Although I have to say, the same thing is required even when not in experiment cities if you want to be the best you can be and to succeed. Experiment cities are just... our world, condensed and sped up. That's probably why people find them entertaining at times.