squid830: I also tried that, but after I had given Corman Dex (or whatever his name his) the paper which triggers their involvement - so I gave him one of the coded papers in other words. It's harsh but may not necessarily be unrealistic, depending on how repressive the regime is. So in other words, I half-expected to be arrested given the way he was talking. In some ways he's one of those stereotypes of Communist (or at least totalitarian) regimes you speak of. I was half expecting him to say "If you are honest, you have nothing to fear" - and he said something close enough anyway.
...
BTW I never actually tried to give the very first slip of paper to the inspector (before handing it to Corman) - did anyone try that? If not then maybe it'll work. At the very least there'll probably be a response specific to it - I found a couple of tiny things in this game like that (like the pedo guy).
Murfallo: I believe, that there is no way to get rid of the hooded man and/or Corman apart from handling the papers as they request, since you are unable to follow your gut instinct telling you to detain them immediately and they won't go away by themselves. It is the same a couple of times further into the story, when you follow the requests of EZIC because you are left with no other choice. So you are invariably associating with them when the intelligence officer first speaks to you and you are forced to keep the contacts secret to avoid imprisonment. It is sad and counterintuitive, like having to accept Jorji's passport and get a citation despite zero intentions to flee the country.
Taking into account the 20th ending, the officer is simply strict and thorough as one would expect of an intelligence officer, but not cruel.
I also consider that it would have been very interesting if after learning about your, pseudo-voluntary as it is, involvement with the EZIC the intelligence would have made you a double agent. But, I guess, the author just didn't have the budget for such plot twists.
Double-agent - yes! I was hoping that after the expected tough "grilling" from the inspector, he'd at least realise you were "helping" them because: a) they had nothing wrong with their papers, so you weren't helping them really, just doing your job, and b) you wanted to help out your country's glorious security services, and were just waiting for an opportunity to dob them in (which you can't do until the inspector arrives, since the game gives no other options).
Murfallo: It would be a poor propaganda if it were all lies, unless we are speaking Goebbels levels of "creativity".
Or the Iraqi Information Minister during the last Gulf War!
Murfallo: And you seem to share the common misconception that Stalin's regime was unattractive, while along with the well-known and often exaggerated cons it had its weighty pros as well. But I think this kind of dispute is inappropriate in a GOG forum, so I'll leave it at that.
Well having always lived in western countries, having never visited Russia, I only have documentaries and other documents/reports/papers to go on.
I also won't dwell on this, except to say two things:
1) Stalin's regime did bring about significant changes to the economy, which one could argue contributed greatly to Russia's ability to rapidly expand its armed forces and successfully repel the German invasion. The ruthlessness was an asset in this regard, of that there is little doubt. The fact that all other allied countries assumed Russia would collapse quickly (and were surprised when it didn't) backs this up.
2) This ruthlessness had lots of negative consequences from what I know - at least for most ordinary people. Having most of their food sold to foreign countries so the country could arm itself left many people to starve to death, not the mention the fact that more people were purged by Stalin during the war years than were casualties of the war directly. Although I agree we shouldn't discuss this too much here, if this fact as I know it is wrong, I'd be interested in references pointing out the contrary.
Murfallo: Whereas Arstotzka is concerned, it is painted in broad strokes, leaving room for interpretation.
Take as an example the beginning of the game, where you win a job in a lottery. I am under an impression that most of the players view it as a symptom of a severe unemployment problem. I, on the other hand, think that, based on the fact that the Ministry of Labour gives out work permits for immigrant workers without solid contracts, high or even noticeable unemployment rate is unlikely. This makes the lottery the Arstotzkan attempt at introducing a social lift for citizens of the rural areas. They also provide free accommodation to the new employees. Isn't it a good thing?
They have also just won a war, which makes them one of the stronger countries in the region, probably having a powerful momentum built up from the war effort and contributions flowing.
I didn't assume it was an unemployment problem, I actually just assumed it was one of those regimes where the unskilled don't apply for jobs, they're appointed by the state - in this case via lottery. Wouldn't surprise me if University graduates in the country are also "appointed" to a job based on what the State requires, as opposed to applying for them. I'm not sure how common that was in real life, but it happens fairly often in dystopian societies in fiction anyway. There's also that guy that wants you to "red stamp" him so he can quit his job in Arstotzka (although why he doesn't just call them to quit is a mystery - what are they going to do, hunt him down? I think he wasn't an Arstotzkan native - if he was then that would make more sense, and would fit in with this logic I reckon).
The foreigners coming in would suggest at the least that there are skill shortages in key specialist areas. Although there are unskilled laborers coming in too, which either means they have shortages in general (as you say), or they're coming in for another purpose (like those hookers at the start). I imagine that after a war they would have had some casualties, not to mention damage to their infrastructure, so they need to rebuild their this and their economy in general, so it makes sense to want to bring in foreigners to supplement the locals. Also they only recently "acquired" this half of the city (which was the main thing the war was over from what I gather), so they'd want to not just repair it but also remodel things in it (possibly).
They provide free accommodation? Don't we have to pay rent every day? I know that if you run out of money you go to a work camp "until your debts are repaid" (first game where I tried to go too fast and had lots of citations while never skimping on food or heat, this happened to me). They do "assign" you a flat (as part of your job), but you can upgrade - although you're limited (workers only go up to level 5 apparently - I assume "officials" or something may get more priveleges, like the fancy car your boss has).
I don't believe Arstotzka is communist, although the slogans and images conjure up a "Soviet-style" image - if it were, then accommodation would surely be free (possibly heating as well), and you surely wouldn't get paid per person processed (although I guess they could have quotas and punishment for not meeting them, which could potentially equate to the same thing). I guess they could in theory lean towards communism but not necessarily adopt all elements strictly - there were many flavours of it around.
The city you're in and the checkpoint is possibly based on Berlin during that period, but there are significant differences (notably, both sides of the border seem to have oppressive regimes).
The only thing I think is definitely clear is that it's an authoritarian regime - that's clear from the way the inspector talks to you (and how easily you can be arrested), plus the fact they take the passports from all people from a certain region (and later the whole country) based on suspicion (so pretty heavy-handed security). I still reckon that they do this mainly to stop them from leaving the country, although in that case they should mandate that any Arstotkan who is denied entry is arrested instead (since how else can they be investigated?).
Murfallo: I can't and don't say that the decision of the author is unbelievable - I also consider that irrespective of the regime many a man in a position of power could behave exactly like that and come out clean, it is just sad and unpleasant. Mainly because we don't have any context and have no way to influence the outcome. Now if the boss blackmailed us for our misdeeds, if any, to force another in his favour, or if we had an option to report him and live on, it would feel a lot better.
I was actually hoping he would waive that "fine" he gave me for having crap on the walls (in future playthroughs I just removed them before he turned up), or provide me with bonus or some other privilege. I suspected he'd be pissed off if I didn't help him, but figured that should just result in an intense audit - which would be one of those where even if you're squeaky clean, he finds something anyway, and then you're simply fired, at which point you and your family have no money and are forced into a work camp. He kind of does blackmail you - well sure it's a fabricated misdeed, but the threat is implied.
