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[SirNiko]

I'm feeling more than a little suspicious of Nix. He's accused Peanutbuttershoes of murdering innocents, but has given no support for his accusations.

This talk of rising against Peanutbuttershoes is madness! You would have us all try to defeat the one person chosen by God to slay the demons? Better to entrust him with what information we can give him, and see how he chooses to use it. If God's Champion is flawed, certainly we will know by his actions. To assume he is our enemy is to doom us to death without the ability to fend off the demons ourselves.

[Garthy]

Do not misunderstand my intent.

Do not let my words be twisted into meanings that are conveniently struck down.

I do not speak of making the Hand of God our enemy, I speak of holding him accountable to us all, and having him step back into the path of light. If he does not, we walk our own path.

My words do not speak as to whether there were good reasons that Fission Mailed should have died, they speak of how we were given none.

And would we truly be driven into madness so easily as with a misguided inquisition? There are those that tell us to submit to the demands made of us, or we must be with the forces of evil. Were I to proclaim that those who did not offer me ten pieces of silver were devils- what of those that refused, are they devils? What of those who offered me silver, are they innocents?

Has the thought also not occurred that the forces of darkness would happily oblige with this inquisition, and simply lie as to what they know?

I would say that the evil in this down can benefit quite handsomely through this inquisition, and we must not allow this evil to prosper.

Do not let fear drive us into a madness that benefits only the evils in this town.

Yet still, if we were to all look at this situation, and we decided, together that it was a risk we were willing to take, and we should tell all we know to one person, such as the Hand of God, for their judgment, then it is something that we should all do, together.

But it should not be because we fear being labelled as a demon for daring to question or refusing to partake.

And it should not be at the threat of a death if we do not comply.

It should be because we, as a town, decided that that is the path we wanted to follow.

This is what I stand for.

I do not personally feel that telling all to peanutbuttershoes is worth the risk. However! If the town spoke, and together we decided that we should do precisely as has been demanded of us, despite my personal objections, I would do exactly as the town asked. I would support those who chose to partake. I would also support those who chose not to partake, and remind them that if they spoke not a word in their defence, their guilt may be assumed. But I will not submit to the will of a man who threatens us with wholesale slaughter if we do not comply, nor to those amongst us who would label us devils for not bending to their will.

I will stand alone on this if I must. It is not right.

[Dacke]

The traditions you speak of has served humanity well in the past. Voting together has been humanity's only defence against evil. But Humanity had a great shortcoming in the heathen times; people were afraid to share their knowledge and powers, in fear of attacks from wild beasts.

But now God has given us a unique opportunity to share everything through peanutbuttershoes. It might be an advantage so big that it will shake the earth and make the foundation of the World itself unbalanced.

I agree that there is a risk of Evil trying to deceive our protector. But you forget that peanutbuttershoes will have access to the sum of all true knowledge as well. I am convinced that He will be able to root out Evil by cross-referencing information gained from different sources. But this will only work if everyone submits everything they know in the census.

[Nix]

Then why do we not speak here, now, for all to hear? Why must our confessions be shrouded in secrecy? Surely the eyes of God penetrate our hearts and our souls. I, too, refuse to submit to this treachery. Here I speak to all my bretheren in this village, many of whom I have known since we were but children:

I am innocent of these deaths, and I will stand by this truth to my own demise
God is the one true will, and His will is my guiding light
If God strikes me down, then he shall do so in the light of day and welcome me to his home in the Heavens
For I have done naught but given him my life and my every devotion

We stand together  for truth. Shadows and secrets are the devil's work...

[Tanner]

I am but a simple man, and maybe that's why I don't see the logic in a census. Lest we all forget, the Devil is the King of Lies, and I reckon his followers ain't too shabby at spinnin' yarns either. I'll count myself among others because I got nothin' to hide. Hopefully Dacke is right about that cross-referrin' business.

[Glyph]

Brother Garthy, you oppose this census but you do not give a solid reason one way or another. It is obvious that the forces of evil will lie, but the more a person talks, the more possible it is that they will make a mistake somewhere which might prove their guilt. Furthermore, there is absolutely no harm in a census. If the demons want to lie, they can lie. Peanutbuttershoes knows better than to trust anyone completely. Thusly, no demons can benefit from the census, and it is not useless. It may not have much of a tangible purpose, but if a demon slips up, there will be no naysayers of the census then. I doubt anything like that will happen, but certain trends might occur in the fabrication of stories by the guilty alongside the actual stories of the innocent. This census gives us something, where we had nothing. Inaction is death.

Though Fission Mailed was killed, it was not some random murder. We know not his innocence, but we do know this: It is to our advantage to have Peanutbuttershoes kill one person a night. We may not be able to determine if they are demons or not, but it is necessary to do something. If we do not, we cannot drive the demons out of here. They get to know the innocent from the guilty, so our numbers will surely dwindle unless we take stabs in the dark. While this may seem like a lottery, there are ways to make it more logical. Namely, a sharing of information. It is completely necessary to take part in this census, by very nature of the dire straits we find ourselves in.

Admittedly, this census is not going to reveal much. The liars shall lie and the truthsayers shall say the truth. But it will also result in a culmination of information. We should leave it up to Peanutbuttershoes whether or not to trust this information once he receives it all. Besides, how can you know the will of God? Perhaps lies will be woven, but the truth may still shine through. Submit to the census. I speak not in the voice of the so-called tyrant who is here to save us, but as a townsperson who you have known for years. Peanutbuttershoes is only mortal, my people, but the voice of God whispers through him like the ripple of a tide. Let this voice be heard and do His will. I know you have preached that we shall decide together, so I shall do so:
I have submitted to the census. I believe it is clear that I support it and I know you understand why I do. Join me brothers, and together we shall drive out evil.

[Nix]

Do not beg for acceptance of your innocence behind closed doors! Share freely now in front of the eyes of all who gather here. By entering into this shadowy pact of truth or lie you are denying God's all-knowing divinity. I know not the agenda of Peanutbuttershoes, nor of the demons who plague our village, but I shall say this:

A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a Devil.

[Glyph]

It is not the way of humble God-fearing men to preach aloud their innocence for all to hear. We are not to yell our prayers on the street corner and seek others to confirm our piety. We should confide in the one true Lord and know in our hearts that what we do is right. Brother Nix, I agree that a spreading of information aloud is generally beneficial, but for now it may be best to share it only with Peanutbuttershoes.
It may be perfectly fine for those of us uninformed to share what we know aloud, but forget not that there may be some who have special knowledge. Would we really want that to be out in the open, where it could fall into the hands of those who would seek to destroy us? I, personally, know nothing but that I am innocent. But in the meantime, those of us with divine knowledge should confide in the one who we all know to be truthful, Peanutbuttershoes. It is dangerous to share all we know aloud, as the devils who seek the destruction of mankind would certainly benefit from that knowledge more than a commoner would, as they are capable of knowing the innocent from the guilty and executing us as they see fit. So, for now at least, I recommend trusting only Peanutbuttershoes. Trust not even my words, if they do not agree with you, for though I seek not to misguide, some may.

[Inanimate]

(remember to send me any PMs you guys make!)

[Garthy]

Glyph, you twist my words. I have spoken at great length on why this particular census is abhorrent, and not only that, but I have explained how the situation could be changed such that it became right. My words are in the public record.

Do not confuse the matter of this particular census and the matters surrounding it, and the general idea of sharing information through a trusted party. They are two completely different matters. Again, my words are in the public record, and I have made my stance on the issue very clear.

Glyph, you do, however, also speak a direct truth. You say: "It is to our advantage to have Peanutbuttershoes kill one person a night". I agree. His power is great, true, and we may be forced to rely upon it. But I would have such a person act in a manner befitting the title of Hand of God, openly and honestly, and working with us, rather than on his own, acting on his own will, striking down those he sees fit, with no accountability beyond claiming God's will.

If this man were not as he appears, he could be held accountable, and would be forced to act in our interests lest the ruse be revealed too soon. I have faith that if he is not as he appears, the Lord above would grant at least one of our number the ability to do something to about it. In this case I hope you realise exactly what sharing everything we know with him would do to us. I fear that some amongst us not only know that, but are actively counting on it.

And if he is indeed on our side, an invincible, completely trustworthy savior and ally who will allow us to ensure complete and immediate victory over the demons by sharing all we know with him- in a scenario that as Dacke states, would unbalance the world completely- and the threats of wholesale slaughter were just a misunderstanding of some kind that we have yet to comprehend (God's will again, perhaps?), then perhaps he would he would welcome the opportunity to step back on to God's path and work with us all to root out the demons who hide amongst us.

[SirNiko]

It would certainly be unbalanced... in a world where all men are true and honest and would not lie to even those who would save them. However, in a world where men have hearts filled with darkness even the promise of eternal salvation for a trifling payment of unconditional trust is not a certain thing.

Furthermore, finding the demons even when he is filled with knowledge will prove a difficult task. We will still have to support He Whom Calls Jelly Friend with our full hearts and bodies while he ferrets out the evil among us.

I believe the only way to ensure victory is to trust in our Savior, and that every moment we spend waffling and fearing him is another moment the demons have to slay more of our own. If our Savior is not who he claims to be, we are likely doomed anyways.

[PaleFox]

If you are innocent you have nothing to fear from God. Except the plague.

[Glyph]

I believe God himself has more or less told us that Peanutbuttershoes is clean of sin. If I am wrong, so be it, but I will continue trusting him until I have reason not to. And yes, I want him to work with us, but you must realize that some of the people who constitute "us" are devils, and cannot be trusted. When there is only one guaranteed voice of good, and we hope to see justice prevail, it is probably for the best that good acts alone. He can still heed our advice and we can still suggest things, but he should make all of his final decisions on his own, so that devils cannot sway our opinions one way or the other.

And if it turns out that even this child of God is corrupt, then I shall eat these words I speak now. Until then, I stand by what I say.

[eyeliner]

If God has trusted peanutbuttershoes with this task, I also trust. I fear no punishment to the fair and just.

[Randomasta]

I also believe in peanutbuttershoes. He is the Hand of God after all, the one that is able to speak with the angels themselves.