Spanner Interlude 4: The Rules of Tournament

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Chaos Angel Spanner
Interlude 4: The Rules of Tournament

Next to the United Corporations and the Church of America, the most important institution in the American Empire is Tournament. Here are its basic rules:

1. A man must earn the name of Man by fighting in Tournament. Any man who does not dedicate himself to Tournament is declared unworthy of manhood and called a Girl.
2. Superiority means superior fighting, in business or in combat. Those who do not fight, and those who lose, are considered Girls and not Men.
3. A Man possesses the sovereign right to commit any crime against any person deemed female by Tournament.
4. The famous Gang Rules:
   
   1. A gangster is forbidden to turn down a Challenge. Any gangster who does is proclaimed a Girl and loses face.
   2. A gangster must throw a Challenge to anyone he encounters in order to earn the title of Bad. To not Challenge all comers is to lose the title of Bad and lose face.
   3. A gangster must fight to the bitter end, to the death if necessary, for to surrender is to lose face.
5. A Champion can turn down any Challenge from fighters beneath him. He fights at his own sovereign will and pleasure.
6. All is tournament. There is no escape.

25 august 2014...
Tournament was established at the same time as the Church of America by the leaders of the Conservative Revolution. It is intended to embody the Social Darwinist principles the United Corporations was established upon, by choosing through martial arts excellence the strongest boys to lead their schools. All schools in the Empire are required by law to hold a Tournament. The winner is declared Head Boy; his word is law. The Cartel does not like to permit pockets of freedom that potentially threaten its control.

It was soon discovered that the Tournament provided an ideal means of gang control. So special rules were established and forced upon all the criminal and terrorist syndicates within the territory under the Empire’s dominion. Above all, no gangster or terrorist is permitted to turn down a Challenge. Join a gang, and you are automatically entered into the Tournament.

At Bremerton High, this is the final ranking established in the Tournament:

0. Barton Green
1. R. Becket Skeever
2. Vincent Corson
3. Lance Walker
4. John Paine
5. Scotty Waters

By the rules of Tournament, they become one Team with a hierarchical order based on their ranking in the fights. They constitute the second level of command in the school after the administration.

1 september 2014...
Tournament Champion Barton Green is crowned Head Boy for Bremerton High School in a formal ceremony. Everybody calls this ceremony a “coronation” because its purpose is to invest the new leader with what amounts to the power of an absolute monarch. Several students who do not attend the ceremony are already plotting his overthrow.

But Shira Thomas is there, and she immediately spreads the rumor that the Head Boy’s sovereign freedom allows him to rape anyone under his jurisdiction, even boys, “like a Catholic priest.” She doesn’t mention Barton Green by name, only his rank: Champion. This accusation will hover over Barton Green’s head like a black cloud for as long as he remains Head Boy. Bart does not realize it yet, but Shira will prove to be an enemy more dangerous than any foe he shall ever fight in Tournament...

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Copyright © 2011 Dennis Jernberg. Some rights reserved.