One Gamemaker in the Crowd
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Hunger Games.
It would be unseemly to walk down there and wipe that self-satisfied smirk off of her face with a backhanded slap across her features. Gamemakers do not have personal interactions with tributes. It simply is not the done thing - no matter what the provocation. We are above such things - even if the fact of the matter is that no one would ever know the difference. Besides, I do not think there are any stairs directly connecting our different levels. I would have to jump down, and that is not something I would ever do whether I am being provoked or not.
The frightened expressions of my colleagues far outnumber the considering looks that surround me, and I allow a small moment to indulge in a sigh at the incompetence of the majority of those who have reached this pinnacle of employment in our field. You can divide us into two groups based on our reactions to the arrow that came sailing in amongst us and speared its target on our banquet table.
There are Gamemakers who are here because they make good entertainment for the masses in the Capitol to cheer and get teary and riled over as if it were one of the inane novels that are forever being pushed in the shops as a fantastic escape from the every day mundane. They serve their purpose, and most of them serve it well. That does not make their shallow understanding of the broader implications of what they are doing any less of a chore for those of us around them to deal with day in and day out. They are the ones who squealed as if they were fattened pigs themselves. They jumped and mumbled and rushed out of the way even when it was clear that there were no more arrows coming.
That, in and of itself, was an interesting development. In the course of seventy four years, it has never occurred to anyone that there was any sort of a need for a barrier of some type to be placed between the Gamemakers sitting on high and the tributes with a variety of weapons at their disposal down below. I do some mental calculations and decide that if she had truly wanted to inflict harm, then (between her obvious skill that could not possibly have been obtained in the mere hours of training available to her since her arrival and the equally obvious state of panic that her actions would have created in her targets) she could quite easily have eliminated an entire third of the Gamemakers before anyone would have managed to take an effective counter action. Depending on circumstances (and whether she had any proficiency at all with any of the other weapons at her disposal), she might have dispensed with a solid half of them. It would have been a bloodbath, and it had never occurred to any of us (myself included) to think that it was a possibility.
I could tell you exactly which persons in the room understood what it was that the Games truly were by the contemplative expressions that took over their features in the aftermath of District Twelve's unprecedented display. They were the people in the room who understood exactly what type of power we wield in Panem. They understood that they could turn the tides of elections, create and squash civil unrest, and change the course of the country with exact manipulations of the emotions and perceptions of their largely captive (and otherwise addicted) audience. They were the ones who understand exactly why Snow always chooses one of the others to be promoted when it is time for a new Head Gamemaker to be appointed. The president of Panem wants our talents at his disposal, but he trusts no one with any sort of power that he does not believe he can carefully control.
In many ways, Snow is a fool. In many ways, he demonstrates a cold brilliance in the face of challenge. It is always interesting to speculate as to when the former will catch up with him and overcome the latter. This Games this year might push that time a little closer to the present. That is the problem with Snow's need to micromanage. Crane will not see the girl with her arrows as anything other than a very good show for the somewhat jaded palates of his viewers. He will not see what else she is capable of being.
The man is, after all, standing in a corner currently salivating over what kind of money he can make with a few carefully placed words to some toy manufacturers about what the "in" Hunger Games' item of choice will be this year. It never appears to occur to him why the girl had fired off that arrow. It will not cross his mind that there is anything deeper to think about. He will not be considering how that righteously angry look of defiance across her features will play out if and when it is broadcast to every downtrodden soul in all of the Districts of Panem.
If she is allowed to make the wrong sort of displays once she is in the arena, President Snow is going to be less than pleased. Crane will never see the end of his days as Head Gamemaker coming until it is far, far too late for him to correct his course (if that man is even capable of viewing the big picture well enough to even attempt a course correction - something of which I have serious doubt).
The other Gamemakers use their controls to manipulate the arena. I (and a select few) use the arena and its inhabitants to manipulate the land. They will only see ratings and public responses and the immediate outcomes of it all. I play a far larger Game - one that takes months and years for the results of each individual move to be seen in full. It requires patience and strategy and the recognition that every little thing matters because every little thing has the potential to be the thing that tips everything in one direction or another. There are times when Snow fails to comprehend all of those nuances. I doubt someone like Crane even realizes that they exist.
It all makes for a rather interesting combination. I have been doing this for a very long time, and I will admit that I am as hungry for my own personal amusements as any other resident of this place. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very interesting year (in more ways than any of the people standing around this room - myself included - know). I always trust my feelings on matters such as these because I never let myself feel anything I have not weighed out logically before.
I notice a momentary contemplative expression on a face that I did not expect to see displaying such a thing - the man actually fell over when the arrow flew after all. It is gone quickly enough to give rise to doubt that it was ever there in the first place, but I know what it was I saw. That is interesting. That is very interesting indeed. We have Games within the Games all residing within the biggest Game of all - I might actually find myself startled at some point before this is all said and done. I can hardly wait - it has been twenty four years since that has last happened. I would say that I am due, wouldn't you?