A group of adults, ranging from fresh out of college to deep middle age are huddled in a small, worn out room. Chairs are arranged in a semblance of tidiness around a cracked wooden table, and haphazardly as they are, a sense of order can be gleaned from the arrangement. All in attendance— one to two dozen in all— are staring down at their phones, scattered papers strewn about. All are murmuring about the same topic: Amajikari Park has suffered an attack by a roaming gang. Among the group sits Katsumi Sasaki, dressed in a pristine three-piece suit, and she is the first to put down her phone, addressing the others in the Citizen’s Council.

Katsumi: …I see. It was only a matter of time before the violence spread this far. It seems the ‘remnants’ have successfully repelled the would-be thieves, if the report is to be believed.

Councilman: It’s only a matter of time before they step up their attacks. The JSDF soldiers that stayed within the city don’t exactly have supplies of anything other than food coming in. Same as the rest of us.

Katsumi: Have a little faith. According to the reports, a few warning shots were fired, but it seems like no one was harmed. …Not seriously, anyway. Well, not any on our side.

Councilman: How long is it gonna be before those guys run out of ‘warning shots’? Face it, counselor, we’re on borrowed time, and our only line of defense is on borrowed ammunition.

Katsumi: They won’t need much. If they run out, they are still expertly trained combatants, ready for situations like this. Not everything is as Hollywood portrays. Besides, there is no evidence that this isn’t anything more than an isolated incident. I am not suggesting we rest on our laurels, but we needn’t panic, either. Let us discuss this calmly, rationally and above all, logically. …The floor is open.

Hikari: Relying on violence to enforce law and order when we have no democratic legitimacy to do so? Isn’t that exactly what got us into this situation to begin with?

Katsumi: I won’t deny that our old life was far from perfect. Corruption at the highest levels of government made our predicament possible. But right now, our focus is on survival, is it not?

Hikari: I’m not going to apologize for wanting this thing we’re building here to turn out better than what we had.

Marian: (she loops round the table, handing Katsumi a cup of tea) This isn’t forever. We just have to make it until things go back to normal.

Hikari: (she shakes her head dismissively, looking off into the distance)

Katsumi: It’s a valid point— thank you, by the way— that what comes from the ashes should be better, for a myriad of reasons. The first of which, at least to me, is to prevent this from happening again. On top of what should be many other obvious reasons. But that is then, and this is now. …But, looking towards a bright future gives us all hope. Thank you, Hikari.

(Some ho-humming reverberates through the room as Katsumi addresses Hikari by her first name, until a man in his late fifties, with combed back, graying hair and a slight five-o’-clock shadow raises his hand)

Suzuki: Mrs Sasaki, if I may. (the man stands up and nods his head at the other council members) My name is Suzuki. I am a chemistry teacher at Mitakihara High, and I am here on behalf of the entire faculty. Unfortunately, our headmaster is currently unaccounted for, we’re afraid he may be one of the people currently being kept hostage—

Marian: (she shakes her head in worry and disgust, muttering in her native tongue) <Bloody hell…>

Suzuki: — If it is true that students of our school were being threatened by these hooligans, I believe a major priority for the Council should be to make sure our children are safe. We see this as part of  our duty as educators, so we are suggesting offering a program of distance learning for our students.

Katsumi: I would agree. Not everyone is as fortuitous as I was. My Hanako is studying abroad, and I keep in contact. …If we could somehow establish a safe route out of town, we could send our children abroad to study. It could double as a way of getting word of our situation out more discreetly. Any thoughts? (Katsumi casts her gaze around the room, landing on her former colleague-slash-rival Rikuto Tokai)

Suzuki: I-If I may interject, Mrs. Sasaki. I meant something more akin to online classes. I don’t think it would be wise to smuggle our sons and daughters out of the city—

Hikari: Hold up, your daughter is out of town? You’re saying you let her leave as if the entire city hasn’t been cut off from the rest of the country? Are you insane?!

Katsumi: She left before the now-infamous video got out. Right before the madness started.

Hikari: And you call that “studying abroad”— Wait, did you know this was going to happen? And you had the gall to call me a terrible mother—

Marian: Maybe we should focus on discussing how we can keep our community intact. Personal vendettas should be dealt with in private. (she clears her throat) Ah, ehm. A-Apologies. My name is Marian Rinju. (she hastily bows her head) I am prosecutor Tokai’s wife. Some of my colleagues and I have been taking care of communications with the outside world. But anyways, I-I believe my husband wanted to say something before Mrs. Shirahara — was it? — interrupted.

Rikuto: Yes, well… we should think about establishing contact with law enforcement outside, no matter what these terrorists say. Most demands to not bring in law enforcement are because they know they can’t deal with it. Still, we should think about what they’re capable of so the hostages don’t come to harm. We haven’t had any reports of any of the terrorists out and about…

Matsuri: If you’ll allow me. (Rikuto flinches, but stays quiet) These hoodlums that have been prowling around… it’s not normal for people to act like that.

Rikuto: Is it? Every time there’s a natural disaster or anything on the news, you see reports of looting.

Matsuri: Looting, maybe. Looters don’t usually form up into huge bands and attack people even when they think they have guns. For these hoodlums to be this violent… it makes me think they’re in league with these people, or they’re being encouraged to act this way.

Katsumi: (Katsumi looks a little awkwardly between the two, but clears her throat) It’s safer to assume the worst outcome, that the common thugs wandering our streets are in league with these terrorists. Perhaps taking orders, perhaps simply causing chaos to keep us pinned down. But I agree, ultimately, that the outside world needs to know what is really going on here.

Hikari: Why would they be taking orders when their entire shtick seems to be that no one can tell them what to do?

Katsumi: In all my years in the court of law, I’ve learned there is no such thing as pure chaos. Even anarchists seeking to upset the established order had their own semblance of structure and order. I surmise these terrorists are no different.

Hikari: (she scoffs) Maybe if you assume these people have some kind of grand design for what society ought to look like. How delightfully middle class. But seriously, these aren’t supervillains. They’re not visionaries. They’ve never been able to afford an ideology. They’re just taking what they want, as we all do. The difference is that now, they’ve got the opportunity they’ve never had before.

Katsumi: On one point, I must disagree. One does not need to afford an ideology. On the contrary. A strong enough belief could even foster within the most dire of life’s circumstances. It is how we survive times like these, is it not?

Hikari: Then what, pray tell, is this council’s ideology?

Katsumi: The council’s ideology is not for you or me to decide individually, Hikari. (Katsumi looks around the room) The floor is open.

Hikari: (she mumbles) As if you didn’t just decide the council’s ideology for it…

Suzuki: Err, if I may, may I assume my colleagues and I are welcome to provide online classes for our students? I don’t think we’ll exactly be able to make attendance mandatory, but we believe it is essential not to deny this town’s youth the education they are entitled to.

Marian: Students would need a pretty good Internet connection for that, though. Not to mention the software you’d need… Wait! Mrs Sasaki, isn’t your husband a software engineer?

Katsumi: Yes. He’s working remotely at the moment, but he has contact with a local team here. 

Marian: Kazoo has a video conferencing feature, as far as I know. Maybe Mr. Sasaki would be willing to help Mr. Suzuki and his colleagues out, if he can find the time?

Katsumi: Indeed! I can give you his contact information and let him know the plan.

Suzuki: That would be lovely. (he turns to Marian) Correct me if I’m wrong, ma’am, but are you the mother of Esther and Alice Rinju?

Marian: Ah, eh. Yes. I am. Sorry.

Suzuki: No need to apologize. Your… younger daughter may have been a bit of a tough nut to crack, but I remember the elder being an exceptional student. I — If I may — never really understood when she never finished her education.

Marian: (she coughs) We… We were going through a bit of a tough spot back then… Esther decided to drop out and start working to support the family. B-But she turned out just fine… She’s… the manager of the store she started working at now. So, eh… S-Sorry, we should not get distracted.

Suzuki: No, no. I apologize for being so inquisitive. Your daughters left an impression, that is all.

Rikuto: (he clears his throat) Let’s not venture too far into each other’s personal lives in front of this council, eh? We should focus on doing what we can for each other and our children until our JSDF soldiers can free the hostages.