In the beginning, there were four groups. Group A, B, C and D. They were all a part of Nation X, and had different roles in their society. 

Group A was at the bottom of the society, as they got $1 per day, had to write 100 words about their daily life, and sharpened all the pencils. They couldn’t interact with groups C or D without being spoken to first, could only stay in their territory and the shop (the prices were too expensive for them anyway). Life for group A was the worst. 

Group B was a bit better, as they received $2 a day, had to write 50 words about their life, and they ran the shop. The shop would make them around $100 a day just from selling the items in the shop. They still couldn’t talk to groups C or D though.

Group C was even better than group B. They were given $5 a day, could actually talk to group D, and they could vote in elections. Group C was the law, and they controlled the jail, and could arrest anyone from group A or B for anything (or nothing…).

Group D was the best place to be. You were paid $10 a day, you could do practically anything, and your job was to basically remain in power. One person from group D was the king who was paid $20 a day, and could veto any law.

I was in group A, and my life was very tough. Nobody from group A could buy anything from the store, as everything was way too expensive. After the first day, we all said that we weren’t going to do our tasks, and nothing really happened, so I guess I got lucky. 

 

As group B started getting richer but slowly lost control of their shop, group C getting less respect for dealing with the law that you could escape from easily, and both group’s desire for both power and money became very visible, as the days went on, so did the tensions. On the 4th day, all the nobles in group D got weapons. There was nothing left in the shops, and group D, with their desire for safety, decided to not sell their weapons and keep them for themselves., even though group B offered an exorbitant amount of money for one. Then disease spread among most members of group A except for a few including me. The group D members decided to cure everyone, and I managed to steal a cure for myself, as it would come in handy later.

A bit later, Charlie R (group D member) killed two group A members, and tried to poison me for trying to kidnap him, but I managed to use my cure to save myself. I realized that group C, as they were the law, they could stage a military coup at any point, because in reality, group D had no real power other than their weapons. Charlie R and I realized this, and we quickly had all the other groups sign an abdication for the king (Charlie M), and forced Charlie M to sign it himself, before Charlie M fled to the East, forming Nation Y with himself, the one other group D member, and a few of his close allies, Christian and Logan. 

As Charlie R had the only weapon, he took emergency powers, and tried to hold democratic elections to make sure this simulation ended smoothly and that this society would end well. When his weapon left his hand for the briefest of moments though, Cameron B took it out of his hands and killed him, hitting him in the jugular three times. At that moment, Charlie M and his associates took all of the weapons, and went on a killing spree killing almost everyone except for around 5 including me, because I fled to the only safe place I knew, the hallway. At that moment, the Universe called an end to the simulation, and I found myself alive, but dejected from the fact that I was cut out of the coup that I was partnered with Charlie R (and that I didn’t get any lemonade or candy from the shop). I was happy that I made it out alive, but I kept thinking about what I could have done. 

In the beginning days of the simulation, if I asked Charlie M to give me a promotion to group C as he did to Tom, I could have staged a military coup because I was a part of the law. I also could have partnered with Charlie M instead and killed Charlie R, ending things in the state they were already in, but in a higher position, and with less bloodshed.

This is very similar to a lot of other revolutions, including the French Revolution. As you can see from the photo below, group C could support its own weight from the law, but they definitely benefited from groups A and B. Group D on the other hand, were fully supported from groups A and B, and without them, had nothing. The only thing group D had was influence (and weapons near the end).

This all happened in a regular high school classroom, and I thought that it was very fun, and I wish that it lasted longer, because I found this sort of simulation very interesting, exciting, engaging, and fun. I can’t wait for the rest of the project about revolutions called Storm the Barricades, and I am surprised that this is only the launch event!

Thank you for reading my latest blog post, and I will see you in the next one! This has been my favourite launch event yet, and I am super excited to see what will be next!