listen... Boxer knew Niola... he was part of the populations she was working with... his reaction to her profile is to comment that “everyone said she split after the channel opened up” which is the reaction that the profile attributes to “those who knew her" and she’s not an entertainer like Tennegan or Shasberg so that would be referring not to fans but to people she knew in a personal/professional context. so therefore.
this headcanon is extremely important to me, I don’t know why, but it is
I like Niola Chein a lot, as much as I can like anyone who’s just a posthumous profile written, in-universe, by a computer. I like her because she is empathetic and good, and because Bounce() is literally lifesaving on passive, and also because I find her profile very enlightening wrt social class in Cloudbank. …I like information, ok.
One of the wikis muses that Cloudbank doesn’t really have class stratification, and I don’t quite think that’s true. I’m not even sure it’s true that it doesn’t have money, given that the Junction Jan’s terminal refers to your flatbread as complimentary (implying the existence of non-complimentary flatbreads as well); but that’s neither here nor there because I suspect the main class stratification happens along the lines of civic engagement and representation. Everyone has a voice in Cloudbank, yes; but from Niola’s profile we know that not everyone uses that voice consistently, at least not in the way that Cloudbank means for it to be used. Everyone has a voice but there are nonvoters and there are underrepresented populations, and Niola’s passion was to work with those populations to empower them.
Goldwalk Channel was, from what we are given to know, a focus of hers–I don’t want to say “pet project” because that implies a selfishness that the profile does not ascribe to her. From her profile:
The Channel was to be a gallery space of sorts designed to showcase eclectic works from those pursuing nonstandard vocations that traditionally held little share. Instead, Ms. Chein found herself accused of stirring unrest by calling attention to meritless perspectives undeserving of notice. The group accosting her was angry for 17 different reasons in total, including how the Channel edged out a competing vote for a metro station that would have bridged the gap from Goldwalk to neighboring Highrise in one short ride.
On top of creating a space to share artwork from those whose voices weren’t often heard, I suspect Niola may have been involved in rallying nonvoters to vote in favor of this initiative. If Goldwalk is a district with a higher disadvantaged population–her profile suggests as much, if not quite states it–I would see how this would lead to less civic engagement out of a sense of futility. (That said, Goldwalk is described as a popular district somewhere; possibly Niola’s profile should instead be understood as “she focused on everyone in Goldwalk, including those segments of the population which are normally left out.” The point about disenfranchisement still stands.) By arranging for and promoting the Channel, then, Niola could meet a few goals: a) show disenfranchised citizens that their voices can be heard together, b) in the hope that they would continue a pattern of civic engagement in future votes, and c) separately but relatedly, create a community-controlled space which actually reflects their own interests as opposed to the corporate interest of Cloudbank as a whole. Like does anyone else get the sense that the Goldwalk-Highrise metro would have better benefited Highrise citizens? Just me…?
“Meritless perspectives undeserving of notice” is, by the way, a spectacularly shitty thing to say about anyone, especially rude to say to Niola who very clearly sees merit in these overlooked perspectives. I can see a certain entitled type of person professing these views, though, especially in a city that prides itself on the accessibility of the voting process. I can see (but not endorse–just to be clear, especially in the current shitshow that is the US) viewing voting rights as “use it or lose it” and eventually coming to believe that those who generally don’t seek to use their voice subsequently don’t deserve to be heard. If Niola then managed to rally Goldwalk’s nonvoting population into action on this particular topic, causing the vote to go in an unexpected direction… well, that’s what gets her accosted in public. Unfortunately.
This doesn’t really reflect well on the group that was angry with Niola at all, does it! Even less so when you think back to the Channel as it’s encountered in-game: the little pop-up information on the entrance to the Channel is “Streetcars running: 0,” and one of the tickers on an OVC broadcast (on the “Process Spreads to 66% of Cloudbank” terminal), notes that a certain Goldwalk Metro is closed due to technical difficulties. It sounds to me like Niola’s detractors got their way after her disappearance, which is… sad, to me. The voices she was trying to promote still aren’t being heard. And that, I suspect, is what’s leading to unrest.
*
I think Boxer is from Goldwalk; I have no particular evidence for this except that he’s not from Highrise. I have spent a lot of time pondering his line describing Highrise as being far from the water–as though this is a detriment so obvious that it needs no explaining–and trying to draw additional meaning out of it. I think there is no stated additional meaning to be found, and in the absence of explicit clarity, I’ve decided that it’s a class thing. That Boxer is of a lower social class is an idea I’d lean on pretty heavily, primarily because of his lack of Selections–in the recent AMA, Greg Kasavin described him as “Unselected,” capital letter and everything, and the use of the capital letter in particular makes me think that being Unselected is a… thing. A descriptor of a particular class of person. Which interacts oddly, doesn’t it, with 0% of the population having willingly chosen non-selection. The use of “willingly” is interesting…? But I’m not sure what it achieves other than implying that there are populations which are unwillingly not permitted to make Selections. Dropouts, maybe, since Selections seem to be made at the end of a college career? Or criminals? But Boxer has Reasons Cited on record, which–as far as the Transistor is concerned–means he was offered the choice to make Selections but did not do so, which according to census data 0% of people did.
And yet “Unselected” is a thing.
My point is, I’m pretty strongly thinking that Unselected people are one of the underserved populations Niola works with, a sort of invisible class that doesn’t vote, doesn’t participate in civic matters at all. Perhaps are deliberately excluded? I mean, I don’t know, I’m pretty comfortable believing that making a Selection means downloading the Entire skill set directly into one’s brain but is that a common thought? Is that an assumption people are gonna look at me funny for? Anyway, that’s my assumption, and like, I can see–again, not endorse–a belief that people who deliberately equip themselves with comparatively less information have comparatively less valuable contributions to make to society. So, you know. “Meritless perspectives undeserving of notice.”
Back to that unrest idea. Niola is accused of stirring unrest by promoting unheard voices; but it seems much more likely that the unrest is there to begin with and her advocacy is making it undeniably visible to those who would prefer not to see it. As for what exactly that unrest entails, I’m still not exactly sure, but… I feel closer to being able to start defining it, at least.
