<p>THE WARDEN GAME
by Ed Mead</p>
(live: 1s)[[[START GAME->Welcome]]](set: $PlayerName to (prompt: "WHAT IS YOUR FIRST NAME?",""))
Welcome to the game, $PlayerName!
Do you want a situation report?
[[Yes->Situation]] / [[No->NowWeStart]]</center>HERE IS YOUR SITUATION...
(live: 1s)[You are the warden of a [maximum security institution]<p1|. There are about 1000 men confined in your prison. They seem dissatisfied with everything, but haven't as yet committed any overt acts of hostility or manifested indications of organized resistance toward your administration.]
(live: 5s)[The families of prisoners visit their loved ones on the inside often. Some of the family members are bothersome with their pleas on behalf of inmates, but nothing so intense as to create any genuine concern.]
(live: 10s)[Your guard staff is mostly made fom old-line veterans believing in the tried and proven concept of tight security, although the younger guards and many female workers have a softer attitude toward prisoners.]
(live: 15s)[Unfortunately, recent budget cuts have caused you to gradually reduce both the quantity and quality of food served to inmates, as well as to make cut-backs in other basic services, i.e., medical, educational, etc. Even so, everything has been running pretty smoothly at your prison.]
(live: 20s)[[[CONTINUE->NowWeStart]]]{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>maximum security prison</b>: "+ 'maximum security prison' of $def + "</p>")]]}(set: $s to 0)(set: $k to 0)
NOW WE START...
You're sitting in your office pondering things when the captain comes in to make his daily report: "$speech[We have been getting [kites]<p1| indicating that around 6 influential prisoners are stirring up anti-administration sentiment, and my guards report an increase in the general level of tension. What should we do?]"
(link:"YOU ORDER HIM TO:")[(display:"940")]
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>kites</b>: "+ kites of $def + "</p>")]](set: $s to it + 0)
(display:"1640")
[[CONTINUE->1060]](set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"1640")
[[CONTINUE->1060]]
Tough luck, $PlayerName, the federal judge just ordered the men you got rid of returned to their former status. It seems like you neglected to give them due process hearings or to produce any evidence of guilt on their part.
[[CONTINUE->2240]](set: $s to it + 10)
(display: "1730")
(link:"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?")[(display:"1800")](set: $s to it + 15)
The captain's offer of an extra [trailer visit]<p1| was flatly rejected by the prisoner representatives, who told him that their principles were not located between their legs.
[[CONTINUE->1720]]{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>trailer visit</b>: "+ 'trailer visit' of $def + "</p>")]]}(set: $s to it + 20)
(display:"1700")
[[CONTINUE->1100+0]](set: $s to it + 10)
(display:"1700")
[[CONTINUE->1100+0]](set: $s to it + 5)(set: $k to 0)
(display:"1870")
(link:"WHAT WILL YOU DO?")[(display:"1970")]
We had best keep an eye on things -- just in case.
[[CONTINUE->1100+0]]
YOUR SCORE IS: $s
(live:1s)[CONTINUE?
{(if: $k > 0)[[[YES->2200+0]]](else:)[[[YES->1100+0]]]} / [[NO->TheEnd]]]
<center>THAT'S ALL FOLKS</center>
<center>THE END</center>
<center>[[ABOUT->About]] :: [[NOTES->Glossary]] :: [[START OVER->Title]]</center>Uneventful weeks have passed, and you are in your office doing some work when the Captain bursts in, waving several sheets of paper in his hand. "$speech[This is a prisoner newsletter]," he says as he contemptuously tosses the sheets on your desk, "$speech[put out with typewriters and [carbon paper]<p1|. We think the six radicals are behind this slander sheet. What shall we do?]"{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>carbon paper</b>: "+ 'carbon paper' of $def + "</p>")]]}(set: $s to it + 0)(set: $k to it + 1)
(display:"1260")
[[CONTINUE->2240]](set: $s to it + 5)
(display: "1460")
(link:"HOW WILL YOU PROCEED?")[(display:"1530")](set: $s to it + 10)
(display: "1460")
(link:"HOW WILL YOU PROCEED?")[(display:"1530")](set: $s to it + 15)
(display: "1350")
(link:"YOU...")[(display:"1400")]
<center>YOU'RE FIRED!
(live: 1s)[GAME OVER.]
(live: 2s)[NO SCORE.]</center>
(live:3s)[<CENTER>WANT TO TRY AGAIN, $PlayerName?
[[YES->NowWeStart]] / [[NO->TheEnd]]</CENTER>](set: $s to it - 5)
(display:"1640")
[[CONTINUE->1060]](set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"1100")
(link:"YOU...")[(display:"1180")]
$choice[[[> TRANSFER THE NAMED 6 PRISONERS OUT OF STATE.->1640+0]] (note: [transfer out of state]<p2|)]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> LOCK THE SIX UP IN THE HOLE FOR INVESTIGATION.->1640+5]] (note: [the hole]<p3|)](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> CALL THE MOST RIGHTS CONSCIOUS OF THE SIX IN SO THE COMPLAINTS CAN BE HEARD.->1730+10]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 3s)[[[> HAVE THE CAPTAIN GIVE THE SIX SOME SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.->4610+15]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 4s)[[[> IGNORE THE REPORT AND SEE WHAT DEVELOPS.->1700+20]]](stop:)]{
(click: ?p2)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>transfer out of state</b>: "+ 'transfer out of state' of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p3)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>the hole</b>: "+ 'the hole' of $def + "</p>")]]}
$choice[[[> ORDER AN IMMEDIATE GENERAL LOCKDOWN AND INITIATE A CELL-BY-CELL SEARCH OF THE INSTITUTION.->1260+0]] (note: [lockdown]<p1|)]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> ORDER THE SIX LOCKED UP AGAIN, ONLY THIS TIME WITH A SHAM HEARING AND AN UNNAMED INFORMANT FOR EVIDENCE.->1460+5]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> INFORM THE CAPTAIN THAT YOU WILL READ THE DOCUMENT AND MAKE A DECISION ON THE QUESTION LATER.->1460+10]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 3s)[[[> INFORM THE CAPTAIN THAT IT IS OKAY FOR PRISONERS TO PUBLISH THE PAPER, BUT KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON THINGS.->1340+15]]](stop:)]
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>lockdown</b>: "+ lockdown of $def + "</p>")]]Good choice, Warden, we can't afford to be liberal during these hard times. Give them an inch today and next week they will want a whole mile. Unfortunately, your harsh measures have caused an increase in prisoner resentment which may lead to future unrest in the population.Excellent decision, $PlayerName. Having talked with representatives of the prisoners you've learned they want more of a voice in their lives. They say prisons don't serve the public interest or the needs of prisoners, and that if they are expected to exercise responsibility, they must first have some responsibility to exercise. It sounds radical; it sounds like they intend to organize themselves.
$choice[[[> TRANSFER THE RIGHTS CONSCIOUS PRISONERS.->1640+0]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> LOCK THE SIX REPRESENTATIVES UP.->1640+0]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> LET THE PRISONERS ORGANIZE, IF THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT.->1870+5]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 3s)[[[> IGNORE THE SITUATION AND SEE WHAT DEVELOPS.->1700+10]]](stop:)]The state capitol has learned of your decision to allow prisoners to organize. A telegram arrives saying: "$speech[The radical prisoners are communists! Cancel your authorization or face immediate dismissal.]" Newspaper and television editorials shout, "$speech[Warden $PlayerName is a fool!]" and demand your job.
$choice[[[> LET THEM FIRE YOU?->2040]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> ORDER THE REPRESENTATIVES LOCKED UP OR TRANSFERRED?->1640-5]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> TELL THE CAPITOL THAT NO ORGANIZATION WILL BE PERMITTED?->1100+5]]](stop:)]
Not so bad a choice, $PlayerName. Perhaps now it will all die down and everything will work out for the best. Still.
We had best keep an eye on things -- just in case.(display:"1100")
(link:"YOU...")[(display:"1180")]You've read the little newsletter and found that it does not incite violence or disruptions. It says, in essence, that the worsening condition of prisoners can be overcome only if prisoners first organize themselves. Then their loved ones on the outside, and even then it would be necessary to win the active support of other oppressed segments of capitalist society.
$choice[[[> LET THEM HAVE THEIR PAPER, BUT WATCH FOR PROBLEMS.->1340+10]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> THE DOCUMENT IS COMMUNIST INSPIRED PROPAGANDA AND MUST BE SUPPRESSED. LOCK UP THE SIX AGITATORS.->1260+5]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> LOCK DOWN THE PRISON AND CONDUCT A HARASSMENT SEARCH.->1260+0]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 3s)[[[> LET THINGS RIDE AS THEY MAY NOT TRY PUBLISHING AGAIN.->2200+10]]](stop:)](set: $s to it + 10)
(display: "1350")
(link:"YOU...")[(display:"1400")](set: $s to it + 5)(set: $k to it + 1)
(display:"1260")
[[CONTINUE->2240]](set: $s to it + 10)(display: "2280")
[[CONTINUE->2360+0]]You are a tough warden, $PlayerName, and by taking a firm stand your custody staff has increased its respect for your leadership. Of course there are those on the outside who call your actions cruel and lacking in consideration for the humanity of those held in your custody, but they are out of touch with the constraints of reality. This is, after all, [maximum security prison]<p1| -- not a summer camp.{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>maximum security prison</b>: "+ 'maximum security prison' of $def + "</p>")]]}Senior members of the guard staff have informed officials in the state capitol of your decision not to suppress the prisoner newsletter. The Chief of the Department of Corrections calls on the phone and demands that you make every effort to crush the unauthorized newsletter. What do you do?
$choice[[[> LOCK DOWN AND SEARCH THE PRISON.->1260-10]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> REFUSE TO SUPPRESS THE PAPER ON FREE SPEECH GROUNDS.->2040]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> ORDER GUARDS TO INVESTIGATE ANY FUTURE PUBLISHING TRIES.->1620+5]]](stop:)](set: $s to it - 10)(set: $k to it + 1)
(display:"1260")
[[CONTINUE->2240]](set: $s to it + 5)(display: "2280")
[[CONTINUE->2360+0]]
More weeks have passed, during which there have been a number of events requiring some sort of response from your office. First of all, there was a delegation of prisoner wives who presented you with a complaint regarding the rough treatment of their loved ones on the inside. The most disturbing aspect of this meeting was that the women presented themselves as the ['Inside-Out' group]<p1|, and threatened to take their concerns to the news media if prompt action was not taken.{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Inside-Out group</b>: "+ 'Inside-Out group' of $def + "</p>")]]}On the other hand, representatives from the guard's union are insistently demanding more of a [custodial approach to the running of the prison]<p1|, citing a marked increase in verbal abuse from prisoners, and a growing number of small fires in trash cans around the prison. They say if we don't clamp down harder things could get out of control. What will you do? {
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>custodial approach</b>: "+ "custodial approach" of $def + "</p>")]] }
$choice[[[> TELL THE LEADER OF THE GUARD'S UNION HE HAS A FREE HAND TO TAKE WHATEVER STEPS ARE NECESSARY TO CONTROL THINGS.->3150+0]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> AUTHORIZE THE CUSTODY STAFF TO FULLY ENFORCE ALL RULES, AND TO INFRACT ANY DISRESPECTFUL PRISONER WITH A SEVERE SANCTION. YOU WILL MEET ANY RESISTANCE WITH FIRMNESS.->2580+5]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> APPOINT A THREE PERSON COMMITTEE COMPOSED OF A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, CUSTODY, AND INSIDE-OUT, SAID COMMITTEE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO WARDEN.->2700+10]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 3s)[[[> INFORM THE INSIDE-OUT DELEGATION THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE INCREASED REPRESSION AND PROMISE AN END TO IT.->2830+15]]](stop:)](display: "2360")
(link: "YOU...")[(display: "2430")](set: $s to it + 0)
(display:"3160")
[[CONTINUE->3280]](set: $s to it + 5)
(display: "2580")
(link:"YOU DECIDE TO...")[(display:"2630")](set: $s to it + 10)
(display:"2700")
(link:"WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?")[(display:"2770")](set: $s to it + 15)
(display:"2830")
(link:"YOU DECIDE TO:")[(display:"2880")]Tough break, $PlayerName, word has just arrived that guards working the [segregation unit]<p1| used excessive force against prisoners during a search. The prisoners were evidently singing a [freedom song]<p2| when the [goon-squad]<p3| responded by handcuffing the men to their cell bars and beating them one by one, with lead-lined gloves and clubs. Reports of the incident were given to [Inside-Out]<p4|, who have since contacted the media. The shit has really hit the fan. Hopefully it will blow over soon.{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>segregation unit</b>: "+ 'segregation unit' of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p2)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>freedom song</b>: "+ 'freedom song' of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p3)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>goon-squad</b>: "+ 'goon squad' of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p4)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Inside-Out group</b>: "+ 'Inside-Out group' of $def + "</p>")]]}More or less quiet months have passed. Just when you thought everything had blown over, prisoners skillfully initiated a three day work stoppage. Not only was this thing organized under your very nose, it was organized statewide! [Every major prison in the state]<p2| is shut down. Not because of conditions, but in protest of the [U.S. intervention in Central America]<p3| -- a move that is winning them a considerable amount of support from the Progressive community on the outside. The state capitol says the whole scheme was organized from inside your prison, with [Inside-Out]<p1| acting as the communications link among the various institutions. Your advisors have met and submitted the following suggestions as to how you might best respond to the crisis:{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Inside-Out group</b>: "+ 'Inside-Out group' of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p2)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Every major prison in the state</b>: "+ "every major prison in the state" of $def + "</p>")]]
(click: ?p3)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>U.S. invervention in Central America</b>: "+ 'U.S. intervention in Central America' of $def + "</p>")]]}
$choice[[[> UNDERCUT THE POLITICAL IMPACT OF THE STRIKE BY PUBLICLY CALLING IT A LOCKDOWN AND CONTINUING IT BEYOND THE 3 DAYS. THEN LOCK UP ALL SUSPECTED RING-LEADERS AND ORDER A CELL BY CELL SEARCH OF THE PRISON.->3550+10]] (note: [lockdown]<p1|)]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> WITHHOLD THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY CONCRETE ACTIONS UNTIL SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO PROCEED COME DOWN FROM CORRECTIONS OFFICIALS AT THE STATE CAPITOL.->3860+10]]](stop:)]
$choice[(live: 2s)[[[> GO ALONG WITH THE SUGGESTION OF SOME OF YOUR YOUNGER ADVISORS (WHO HAVE OBVIOUSLY BEEN INFLUENCED BY RADICAL PRISONERS) TO TALK WITH PRISONER REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT A GREATER INMATE ROLE IN THE RUNNING OF THE PRISON.->3940+10]]](stop:)]
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>lockdown</b>: "+ lockdown of $def + "</p>")]](set: $s to it + 10)
(display: "3550")
(link:"YOU...")[(display: "3620")](set: $s to it + 10)
(display: "3860")
(link:"YOU CHOOSE TO:")[(display:"3900")](set: $s to it + 10)
(display:"3940")
(link:"WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?")[(display:"4060")]
<center>YOUR SCORE IS $s
[[CONTINUE->3290+0]]</center>(set: $s to it + 0)
(display: "3290")
(link: "YOU...")[(display: "3410")]That's right, $PlayerName, ignore the appeaser and fence sitter elements. We need less velvet glove and more iron fist around here. Oh, the phone. The call was about enraged prisoners in cellhouse #10 throwing human waste on the officers. It seems they are upset over the destruction of personal property, their family photographs and such, as a result of the search. What do you want to do about it?
$choice[[[> GO INSIDE AND SUPERVISE THE SEARCH SO IT DOES NOT GET ANY FURTHER OUT OF HAND.->3680-5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> LET THE EXPERIENCED CUSTODY STAFF HANDLE THE SITUATION. THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE TRAINED FOR.->3760-5]]](stop:)](set: $s to it - 5)
(display: "3690")
[[CONTINUE->3110]](set: $s to it - 5)
(display: "3760")
[[CONTINUE->3110]]Ah yes. A telegram has just arrived from the state capitol. It says: "$speech[The administrators of each facility are hereby directed to exercise their own discretion for as long as the protest remains peaceful.]" You have two options, which will you order?
$choice[[[> SELECT THE LOCKDOWN, LOCKUP, `AND SEARCH ROUTINE.->3550+5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> IMPLEMENT DISCUSSIONS WITH PRISONER LEADERS.->3940+10]]](stop:)](set: $s to it + 5)
(display: "3550")
(link:"YOU...")[(display:"3620")](set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"3940")
(link:"WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?")[(display:"4060")]Too bad for you! As you entered cellblock #10 rioting prisoners had just seized control of the unit. Several prisoners held on to you while others took great delight in calling you names.
<CENTER>GAME OVER
YOUR SCORE IS $s</CENTER>
(display:"4140")YOUR FINAL PERCENTAGE IS $s%
(if:$s is 100)[
(display:"4220")
](else-if: 80 <= $s and $s <= 99)[
(display:"4260")
](else-if: 60 <= $s and $s <= 79)[
(display:"4330")
](else-if: 40 <= $s and $s <= 59)[
(display:"4380")
](else-if: 20 <= $s and $s <= 39)[
(display:"4420")
](else-if: 0 <= $s and $s <= 19)[
(display:"4480")
]
[[CONTINUE->2130]]
<CENTER>WANT TO TRY AGAIN?
[[YES->NowWeStart]] | [[NO->TheEnd]]</CENTER>CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE ENTERED A PERFECT SCORE OF 100%. YOUR DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING AND SKILLFUL ABILITY TO BALANCE SURVIVAL NEEDS WITH HUMAN FEELING MARKS YOU AS A CANDIDATE FOR PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL STUDIES AND PRACTICE. GOOD LUCK.CONGRATULATIONS! WHILE NOT PERFECT, YOUR SCORE OF BETWEEN 80 - 100 PERCENT LEAVES YOU IN THE HIGHEST RANGE OF ACHIEVERS, AND REFLECTS GOOD INSTINCTS FOR SURVIVAL, AS WELL AS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF COMPASSION FOR THE OPPRESSED. YOU SHOULD DO MORE READING, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF CLASS ORIENTED POLITICS. PROGRESSIVE CHANGE IS A SCIENCE, JUST LIKE BIOLOGY OR ANY OTHER SCIENCE, AND MUST BE STUDIED ACCORDINGLY.YOUR SCORE OF BETWEEN 60 AND 80 PERCENT WOULD INDICATE THAT, COME THE REVOLUTION, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY ESCAPE THE NEED FOR BEING REEDUCATED. EVEN SO, YOU WOULD BE WELL ADVISED TO STUDY MORE ABOUT CORRECTIONS, PARTICULARLY THE ROLE PRISONS PLAY IN REGULATING THE CLASS STRUGGLE BETWEEN RICH AND POOR.THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE THAT, COME THE REVOLUTION, YOU WILL BE PUT ON TRIAL FOR YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE WORKING CLASS, ALTHOUGH YOUR SCORE OF BETWEEN 40 AND 60 PERCENT MARKS YOU AS A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR PROLETARIAN REEDUCATION.YOUR LOW SCORE OF BETWEEN 20 AND 40 PERCENT INDICATES THAT, COME THE REVOLUTION, YOU COULD STAND SOME CHANCE OF BEING TRIED FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST PRISONERS. SHOULD SUCH AN EVENT COME TO PASS YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT, IF CONFINED, YOU WOULD BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT, UNDER HUMANE CONDITIONS, AND FOR ONLY AS LONG AS YOUR REEDUCATION REQUIRED.YOUR SCORE TARGETS YOU AS AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. COME THE REVOLUTION, YOU STAND A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING TRIED FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST PRISONERS. SHOULD THAT DAY COME, HOWEVER, YOU WILL BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT, AND HELD UNDER HUMANE CONDITIONS FOR ONLY AS LONG AS THE PROCESS OF YOUR REEDUCATION REQUIRES.More bad news! Prisoner leaders are unable to control the angry inmates and a riot has broken out in cellblock #10, where 13 guards are being held hostage. The state capitol has relieved you of your duties, effective immediately.You have talked to prisoner representatives and learned they seek a voice in the operation of the prison. They say prisoners could not have done a worse job than you and your bosses in terms of protecting the public's interests. That if rape is to be reduced, for example, prisoners must be permitted to conduct [anti-sexist education]<p1| within the population. Only when prisoners are conscious and organized, they argue, can they have a positive impact on the future. They claim it is a crime against humanity for you to maintain adults in a state of dependence and irresponsibility, a state that will ultimately lead to conflict unless radical changes are made.{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>anti-sexist education</b>: "+ 'anti-sexist education' of $def + "</p>")]]}
$choice[[[> IT SEEMS CLEAR ENOUGH BY THIS POINT THAT IT IS TIME TO GET TOUGH WITH THESE GUYS. IMPLEMENT THE REPRESSION PLAN AGAINST THESE SUBVERSIVES.->3550+5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> WHAT THE HELL, GIVE THESE GUYS AS MUCH ROPE AS YOU REASONABLY CAN AND HOPE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT AND THAT YOU DON'T GET CANNED.->4540+10]]](stop:)](set: $s to it + 10)
(display:"4540")
[[CONTINUE->3110]]Good choice, $PlayerName, and the three years that have passed since that decision have affirmed the wisdom of your reasoning. The state's prisons are organized but calm. More importantly, the prisoners are taking positive steps to bring about constructive changes to a failing and destructive penal system. A system that uses pain and suffering as a tool to accomplish good, and instead only makes things worse for everyone involved.Your decision to be firm is not having much effect on the prisoners. The more experienced guards want authorization to take a more disciplined approach to the problem, while the younger members of your staff suggest forming the commission to study the problem in greater depth. Which course will you follow?
$choice[[[> GIVE THE SENIOR GUARDS THE AUTHORITY THEY NEED TO PUT A LID ON THE UNRULY INMATES.->3150+0]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> AUTHORIZE YOUR ASSISTANT TO FORM THE THREE PERSON COMMISSION BEING SUGGESTED.->2700-5]]](stop:)](set: $s to it - 5)
(display:"2700")
(link:"WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?")[(display:"2770")]Your decision to establish a study commission to investigate the cause of the growing conflict between prisoners and staff has run into a snag: [Inside-Out]<p1| says the commission is heavily weighted in favor of the administration and refuses to be a part of it unless they have greater representation and unless any conclusions reached are binding on the administration.{
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Inside-Out group</b>: "+ 'Inside-Out group' of $def + "</p>")]]}
$choice[[[> GIVE THE GUARDS THE AUTHORIZATION TO TAKE STEPS THEY DEEM APPROPRIATE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL.->3150-5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> TELL INSIDE-OUT REPRESENTATIVES THAT YOU WILL TAKE THE STEPS NECESSARY TO INSURE AN END TO THE HARSH TREATMENT.->2830+5]]](stop:)](set: $s to it - 5)
(display:"3160")
[[CONTINUE->3280]](set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"2830")
(link:"YOU DECIDE TO:")[(display:"2880")]The decision to clamp down on the long unrestrained guard staff is met with relief by both [Inside-Out]<p1| and prisoners, but as you try to implement the promise you run into a wall of resistance from the capitol and the guard's union. Your bosses tell you to either back up off the guards or to quit. {
(click: ?p1)[(append:?sidebar)[(print: "<p><b>Inside-Out group</b>: "+ 'Inside-Out group' of $def + "</p>")]]}
$choice[[[> CONTINUE TO RESTRAIN THE GUARDS AND HOPE FOR THE BEST.->2920+5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> LET THE GUARDS HAVE A MORE FIRM HAND IN RUNNING THINGS.->3150+0]]](stop:)](set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"2930")
(link:"WHAT DO YOU ORDER DONE?")[(display:"3030")]You'll be terminated from your position immediately unless you discontinue the fomenting of conflict with the guards. THE GAME ENDS UPON TERMINATION OF YOUR JOB AS WARDEN.
$choice[[[> LET THEM FIRE YOU.->3090+5]]]
$choice[(live: 1s)[[[> GO BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL.->3240+5]]](stop:)](set: $s to it + 5)
<CENTER>YOU'RE FIRED!</CENTER>
(display:"3110")(set: $s to it + 5)
(display:"3240")
[[CONTINUE->3290+0]]SO FAR YOU HAVE DONE WELL. NOW LET'S SEE WHERE YOU STAND.
YOUR SCORE IS $s.(set: $def to (datamap:
"kites", "written messages, sometimes passed secretly among prisoners, or from prisoners to staff (<a href='http://www.jailmedicine.com/kite-where-did-that-come-from/' target='_blank'>more info</a>)",
"transfer out of state",'Most people incarcerated in the United States are convicted and imprisoned at the individual state level. However, “inter-state compacts” allow officials to transfer prisoners from one state to another. Such compacts have been used to reduce extreme overcrowding and to punish dissidents.',
"the hole",'slang for a <a href="http://www.solitarywatch.com/" target="_blank">solitary confinement cell</a>, where people are held in near-total isolation for 22-24 hours a day',
"lockdown",'a situation where prisoners are confined in their cells indefinitely',
"Inside-Out group",'"Inside-Out" is a generic name for coalitions between incarcerated people and supporters who are not incarcerated.',
"segregation unit",'a wing or tier of the prison where people are held with limited access to communication, reading material, or programming as well as further restricted mobility. Placement there is often a punishment for violating prison rules. There are different levels of and names for segregation units.',
"anti-sexist education",'In 1977, Mead cofounded “Men Against Sexism” at Walla Walla state prison. MAS used peer education and direct confrontation in their effort to stop the rape and abuse of gay and effeminate prisoners. See Mead’s <a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/1990/aug/15/in-defense-of-the-struggle-against-sexism/" target="_blank">reflections</a> in Prison Legal News, Earful of Queer’s <a href="https://earfulofqueer.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/ed-mead-and-men-against-sexism/" target="_blank">interview</a>, and Daniel Burton-Rose’s <a href="https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/MenagainstSexism03sexy.indd_.pdf" target="_blank">essay</a> about the group. Some additional information can also be found in the book <em>Concrete Mama: Prison Profiles from Walla Walla</em>, which was published in 1981 and will be republished in 2018 by the University of Washington Press.',
"maximum security prison",'Prisons are arranged into different levels of security, the most common being minimum, medium, and maximum. People incarcerated in maximum security institutions typically have the least access to educational or other programs and the most restrictions on their physical movement or contact with the outside. People are sent to maximum security facilities based on their sentencing charge or their conduct in prison. Since Mead wrote the game, the United States has also opened several “<a href="https://newhumanist.org.uk/2479/solitary" target="_blank">supermaximum</a>” security prisons that build on the long-term isolation “<a href="https://www.afsc.org/sites/afsc.civicactions.net/files/documents/PrisonInsideThePrison.pdf" target="_blank">control units</a>” that began at several maximum security prisons in the 1970s.',
"custodial approach","a model of imprisonment that emphasizes confinement of incarcerated people over programming, education, or other forms of prisoner activity.",
"every major prison in the state",'In 1987, about when the Warden Game was designed, Washington imprisoned <a href="https://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p87.pdf" target="_blank">6,131 people</a> across eight facilities. As of September 2017, the state imprisoned <a href="http://www.doc.wa.gov/docs/publications/reports/100-QA001.pdf" target="_blank">17,307 people</a> across twelve institutions, plus more than 2,000 others confined in work release camps or other state facilities. (These numbers do not include the populations of local jails or immigrant detention centers.)',
"freedom song","Most readily associated with the Civil Rights Movement, these are songs that celebrate resistance, perseverance, and solidarity in the face of oppression. Activists often sang them while incarcerated for their protests to nurture each other’s spirits.",
"goon squad","Pejorative reference to the prison’s security unit; guards brought in to quell particular disturbances or shake down people’s cells.",
"trailer visit","A colloquial expression for a program that allows certain prisoners held at select facilities to receive an extended visit from a spouse or other immediate family. The visit, which can last up to 48 hours in Washington state, takes place in a private trailer on prison grounds.",
"carbon paper","Thin paper coated with carbon or another pigmented substance, used for making copies of written or typed documents.",
"U.S. intervention in Central America","When Mead designed this game in the late 1980s, the United States was providing financial and political support to paramilitary organizations or military dictatorships in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Such actions provoked a series of major demonstrations around the country, although there are no reports of such events happening in American prisons.",
)
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}ABOUT THE WARDEN GAME
Who has power in prison and how do they exercise it? The Warden Game provides an unexpected way of thinking about these questions. Rather than a total institution of some predictability, the prison turns out to be susceptible to different forms of activity by incarcerated people, their families and loved ones, journalists, guards, judges, state legislators, and political appointees.
The game’s format and content reflect the context of its creation. Its simple text-adventure style was the hallmark of 1980s gaming. Its mix of satire and sincerity describes the institution in ways perhaps only a long-term prisoner could. Designed during the rapid rise in incarceration rates, prison construction, and increasingly restrictive conditions, The Warden Game can help players understand the contradictions of prison life in an age of <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/national/" target="_blank">mass incarceration</a>.
Ed Mead designed the Warden Game around 1987, while he was incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory at Monroe. A founder of the <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520264298" target="_blank">anticapitalist guerrilla group</a> the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jackson_Brigade" target="_blank">George Jackson Brigade</a>, Mead had been sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences for his participation in a January 1976 bank robbery. In prison, Mead became a prodigious <a href="https://www.nlg.org/jailhouse-lawyers-handbook/" target="_blank">jailhouse lawyer</a>, <a href="https://www.leftwingbooks.net/book/content/lumpen-autobiography-ed-mead" target="_blank">dissident author</a>, and <a href="https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/MenagainstSexism03sexy.indd_.pdf" target="_blank">political organizer</a>. As a result of his organizing, Mead was transferred between prisons in several states.
By the mid-1980s, he was held at WSR when the Washington Department of Corrections introduced computers in some of their prisons. Mead taught himself about both the hardware and programming of computers. He designed the game in prison. After his release in 1993 he worked as a technical engineer for several different agencies.
In 2016, Mead donated his papers to the University of Washington Libraries to be accessed by researchers, students, activists, and others. The collection includes several prisoner-run newsletters and lawsuits that Mead participated in. It also included the programming code for the Warden Game.
The Warden Game was adapted from Ed Mead’s original programming and developed for the web in 2017 by Magdalena Donea and <a href="http://www.danberger.org/" target="_blank">Dan Berger</a>.
[[Return to the Warden Game->Title]]GLOSSARY
The following terms appear in various places throughout the Warden Game. In the game, clicking each term where it appears will bring up notes about that term in the game's sidebar. For reference, all the in-game annotations are also presented below:(live: 0.5s)[
(set: $defnames to (datanames: $def))<dl>(for: each _defname, ...$defnames)[<p><dt><b>_defname</b></dt>
<dd>(print: _defname of $def)</dd></p>]</dl>
(link-undo:"GO BACK") :: [[START OVER->Title]]]<p style="text-align: right; font-size: smaller;">[[THE WARDEN GAME->Title]] :: [[ABOUT->About]] :: [[GLOSSARY->Glossary]]</p>(display: "2280")
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