"The structure of this place is meant to mimic the Heirarchy. So how hard you work and how smart you are is ... not irrelevant, obviously. But they're only factors in a much larger equation. You keep thinking of it as a fair system. Be good enough, and you'll be justly rewarded. The best rise to the top. All that rotting nonsense. Do you think it's any different, out there? Do you think that every single Septimus stuck in their position is less talented than every single Sextus? Or even less talented than the Sextus they’re ceding to? A fair system only works if there's an unbiased means of assessing merit. When there is no pride or selfishness involved. Which means that fair systems cannot exist where people are involved.”
- The Will of the Many, by James Islington
https://blossom.primal.net/28e2a652f955cb6335dd8cd7184fe4909dfb3db24822a7e385e289252e8362fa.mov