A tale of Two Cities or how to embrace the Mongols at the gate

 With apologies to M. Dickens this will not be a tale of the best of times or the worst of times, because sometimes the line between the two is so blurry as to be all but invisible.

We are also not setting our stage in fair Verona, these two cities, which we will call by the overly imaginative names of city A and city B don't really exist. Well outside of the realm of the possible they don't exist, they aren't real places on a map brought to you by the Rand Mcnally company, they could be anywhere, any place at any time. 

However, for the sake of the story, let's place these cities on some map either real or fantasy just to make it easier to understand their respective dilemmas. They aren't close neighbors, they don't border each other, they aren't physically connected in any way. However, they do share a common problem, both are about to be destroyed, they are also both blissfully unaware of the destruction that is bearing down on them. Or at least they were until it was too late to do anything about it. The manner of the destruction, the force doing the destruction isn't really important. It could be a hurricane, a cyclone, an earthquake, the plague, or a Mongol horde that has had enough of their shit. Though the Mongols pretty much stopped destroying cities in the latter 13th century, they could still serve our purpose in this story. 

Both cities, as cities have done throughout the ages, have had their share of disasters. The crime rate is too high, the weather is shit, the taxes are wasted on vanity projects for the upper crust, while the proles starve to death. As long as they do it quietly, and out of the way, everything is fine in the city. Neither city is remarkable, there aren't sites you have to see before you die in either city. They haven't conquered large swaths of their respective areas, and if they have sports teams, they are a little shit. Neither city has produced any great work of science or art, nor any artists or men of science that are famous. All roads lead to other places not to these cities. In short, they are bland, boring, and not particularly worth visiting. Of course people do visit, but that is to be expected. People come and go in these cities, some never quite stay, some never quite leave, and some haven't a choice in the manner. It is where they are from, and these cities will eventually swallow them without too much fuss. 

What distinguishes these two fair cities isn't the manner of their destruction pick one and multiple it by two, if you require TWO Mongol hordes to eliminate these cites, well then here they are, parked outside of each city, refusing to accept surrender terms, and only here to destroy. Maybe it didn't start out that way, but here we are regardless. Neither city stands a chance, whatever chosen force of destruction that is coming their way, is merciless, there is no escape, no negotiations, no tribute that will stop these cities from being flattened. The good news, if there is any good news, is that while they will be flattened, they will not be like Carthage, they will not be wiped from the map and have salt strewn over their remains to make sure they never can be rebuilt. 

Let's celebrate that bit of good news shall we? Let us realize, even if the denizens of the cities do not, that eventually they will rebuild. They might come back bigger and stronger, but then again they might not. They might rebuild as a shell of their former selves, or they might be better for the destruction. Maybe the destruction will clean out the slums a bit, wipe out the uglier side of town that was already gone to seed and needed more repair than a paint job and some green space. However, the rebuild isn't really something that overly concerns us yet. Because be the rebuild comes the destruction, and the destruction is going to happen regardless of either city's plans for a fancier zoo.

That destruction, that force that is bearing down on our fair cities is the unstoppable force, and our cities are very much movable objects. They have no real chance to avoid destruction, all they can do it hope for the best. Which is where our cities paths diverge a bit. City A's destruction, and their knowledge of it is slightly different that City B. City A isn't the brightest star in the sky, and has little to no understanding or actual knowledge of their impeding doom. City A should know, they are not a city of retards that haven't read their history. In fact, they don't even have to go back very far in their own history to see that Mongols (or their equivalent) are a real danger. A danger they have faced before and didn't exactly cover themselves in glory with their response. However, City A is a "happy" city, a city that thinks (they are wrong, but they don't know it yet) that everything is coming up in their favor. The odds are with them, the cards love them, and the ponies run swiftly solely to suit their pleasures. City A is a bit like your annoying friend who always looks on the bright side of life. Sure Pollyanna sing your songs of joy, and ignore the dragon in the doorway if you must, but realize the dragon isn't here to listen to you vocalize how happy you are. 

City B is slightly different, certainly they are no better than City A, let's not give them credit where credit is not due. They aren't the shining city on a hill that we all aspire to move to, and create a happily ever after. City B is just as vulnerable as City A to destruction, and will suffer the same or very similar fate (no two destructions are exactly the same). The major difference is their indifference to it. The hand wringing, the wailing and gnashing of teeth that will follow City A's destruction will no happen in City B, or if it does, it will be so muted as to be barely noticeable to outsiders. City B isn't some bloodless, emotionless husk of a city, they just understand historical forces better than City A. It doesn't make them any smarter, better looking, or taller than City A it just makes them different. Maybe they are better, maybe they are worse, I suppose it depends on one's point of view. The major thing City B has 'going for it' is they understand the destruction is coming, they have heard the thundering of hooves on the plains that tell us the Mongols are at the gates, they have seen the dark clouds of doom forming on the horizon and are now heading their way. They understand it is going to happen, for City A destruction is a question of "if", for city B it is a matter of "when." 

That difference, more subtle than you might think, is the crux of the issue. City A isn't wrong for their way of thinking, no more than City B is right for theirs. That is the problem with destruction it is going to happen whether you think it will or not. One might think that expecting it would lead to preparing for it, and in some ways mitigating it. Sadly, that isn't how destruction works, the Mongols, the hurricane, the plague or whatever destructive force that swans into your city, and wipes it out does not give a fuck about your readiness to face it. It just destroys, that what it is here to do. It is not here to teach you any deep, long lasting, historical lesson, it is not here to make you 'better for the experience" it is here to (and will) destroy your city period. 

Maybe you will give the Mongols are harder time of it, if you are expecting them, but they don't care. You can't stop them, you can only hope they leave enough behind for the rebuild to be easier. And you will have to rebuild, you've no choice this is your city. Whether it be A or B it is still yours, and it is incumbent upon you to rebuild. No other city is going to save you, after all they have the Mongols to look out for too, and their own set of problems to sort. It will be hard, but it must needs doing, after all you can't live in a burned out husk for the rest of your life. The wailing of City A or the quite resignation of City B are just two examples of dealing with destruction. Maybe there is a City C out there somewhere that has figured out a better way to deal with destruction. Maybe they have rebuilt, better, stronger, and faster. But that isn't your concern, you don't live there, and they don't like immigrants. 

City A rebuilds in the hopes that destruction is finished with it, that it won't come again, and that they have been taught their lesson, learned it, and things are going to be better going forward. Here's to that, a hope for a brighter, better future is not something that should be dismissed out of hand. It might be the hope of the foolish, but it is still hope. It is not our job to ruin it for them. Let the hope drive the rebuild, the hope that better days are to come, and that the dragon in the doorway won't return. That perhaps the lesson to be learned has been learned, and that the future is bound to improve. We aren't them, maybe we don't want to be them, but let them dream, and hope. Who knows maybe they are right.

City B rebuilds with the expectation that the dragon, the Mongols will probably be back, and that this all might just happen again. Like a fifth season it is something that just happens, and must be endured in order to be survived. Survival is important, if you quit rebuilding, then the Mongols win. There is a certain sense of calm foreboding with City B, a sense that this rebuild is temporary and that you can make it as pretty as you want, but it will all come down just the same. Maybe is resignation, maybe it is accepting the facts for what they are, but City B rebuilds, and waits. The question of when is certainly important, but it is the time between that makes all the difference for City B. Enjoy the "time in the sun" make it count, make it serve as the reason for the rebuild. After all, you are going to rebuild, no matter what grumblings you hear from City B about "why bother, they will just be back to wipe us out again." They will rebuild, they understand the ephemeral nature of rebuilds, but they also know that it has to be done. Maybe the future is just more of the same. Rebuild only to be destroyed. Plant the fields to watch them burn. Maybe, or maybe not, they can't know until they try, and who knows maybe they are right.