Rally Interpretation - 2. Apollopa

You chatter excitedly with the group you are with. You are all heading for the destination that was described in the letter you all received. You are relieved that you are finally with like-minded people. People that understand your concerns. People that have the same beliefs as you. You come up to the landmark.

The letter said to come to Mano de los Sol, a geological formation east of Phonac Town. Mano de los Sol is a set of jagged rocks jutting upwards and vaguely resembles a human hand. Surrounding the landmark is miles of dry earth, no vegetation in sight. You passed by a very sandy route on the way here. Hiking closer to the landmark, you see people already there. They are all wearing red. They all seemed to be wearing sweatshirt hoodies and red legwarmers, though the men wore black slacks whereas the women wore short shorts. On their sweatshirts was a stylized "A," presumably their logo. There was one man who was dressed differently. You assume that he is Horace, the man who sent you the invitation letter. He wore a long, stylized shirt, red and black, with the same logo on it that the others were wearing. A banner with the logo on it was stationed upon the rock formation. Once you and the group make it to the formation, he greets you.

"Greetings, my friends!" he says, arms outstretched. "I'm so glad that you all could make it today. My name is Horace, and I have invited you all here today to give you a special opportunity."

He sweeps one arm over the horizon, gesturing to the landscape around you.

"Look at this majesty. Mile upon mile of perfectly useable ground. Just think of how many families we can house just here alone, within the confines of what you can see now. How many women and children can we save from a life of homelessness by placing them here, on ground that isn't even being used to its full extent? Hundreds, if not thousands! And just think of how many more lives we can save if there was more land..."

You chatter amongst yourselves. Yes, no one is using this land. There are no Native American settlements here. Beyond this rock formation, there is no national park protection clause prohibiting land development from happening. Who is stopping you from building homes and relocating the homeless here?

'But,' you think, 'there are so many people in need of homes, and though this desert is expansive, there's still only so much of it. How can I help everyone?'

"Apollopa," Horace speaks again, "is devoted to increasing the nation's landmass. That is our noble goal. By increasing the amount of land we can live on, we can provide much more land for people to live on. As you know, the world's population is increasing at an alarming rate. As of right now, there are seven billion people on this planet, and at our current state, we simply don't have enough room for everyone to live in. We can fix this! We have the capability! We have the tools! We have the power!"

"But how will we do it?" you ask.

Horace looks at you. You see a bemused look in his eyes. He looked as if he had expected you to say that.

"It's simple, friend. We'll decrease the water mass of this planet. In other words, we'll shrink the size of the oceans and seas."

One of you speaks up, asking about the potential problems with having less water. Maybe it was you.

"I understand your concerns," Horace replies. "Think of it like this: water never goes anywhere. When it is evaporated, it merely goes into the clouds, waiting to fall down upon the earth again. It is never truly destroyed. If we increase the landmass by shrinking the water mass, we are merely pushing the water out of the way and having it concentrate elsewhere, not getting rid of it entirely. Now think about Mano de los Sol. If we were to blow it up with dynamite, would it rise to the clouds and fall back down in a few days, retaining its shape and structure? No, I'd wager that it wouldn't. Once a landmass is gone, it's gone forever. It doesn't have the immortality that the oceans and seas have. That is why we must protect it! That is why we must increase the land for all of us, and why taking away the water mass will NOT mean our destruction!"

"Think of the sea life," he continues. "Do you really think the fish and the sharks and whales would mind, or even notice, if we were to shrink the size of their home? What about humans? Do you think they would mind if we do nothing and not find ways to make everyone comfortable? I think you'll find that the answer to those two questions is decidedly different."

The crowd and you talk amongst yourselves more excitedly now. The sea life is dumb. They won't know if a few thousand square miles of water were to be replaced with landmass. They don't live everywhere in the water mass. And besides, at the bottom of every ocean and sea, what is there? Land. Your homes are already there. You just need to go and retrieve them.

"Join with me, my friends!" Horace says, enthusiastically. "Join with Apollopa and together, we can build a better tomorrow, for all of mankind! Together, WE can make a difference!"

"FOR APOLLOPA!" someone from the crowd shouts.

It was most definitely you.

"FOR APOLLOPA!" shouts everyone else.