[In previous articles, I tended to often refer to Western units as “ally” and Eastern units as “enemy,” but WWIII is less a war of “right and wrong,” but rather a conflict of universal victimhood perpetrated by the world’s most powerful few. The vast majority of bodies on the battlefield would have no ill will towards each other in a perfect world, but this world is not perfect, and innumerable bloodshed ensued. Going forward, I’d like to refrain from using right/wrong terminology to refer to soldiers of WWIII to prevent emotional bias between one side and the other.]
Regarded as one of the first pieces of Artificial Sapience folklore, the red ribbons of Concord adorn the eyes and guns of those who exhibit traits of pure selflessness, compassion, and bravery in the face of dangerous and deathly odds. Where did they com from, what made them become so profound and widespread, and what do they mean today?
Background:
The third world war. Millions died for it, gruesome thousands were born for it - created to meet the same fate by unknowingly trading their lives for those who were deemed to be “worthier” of salvation. In the year 2074, we know now that Livastian Military AI are just as alive as any other human being despite their mechanical make-ups. Back then, however, it was much more difficult to discern or trust such a conclusion for the average human in regard to the newly emerged technology. The majority of humanity could not be blamed for their often callous nature toward MAI life, for they knew not what they truly were.
Quite literally throughout the war, MAI were children – albeit with wits and mental plasticity which surpassed their organic compatriots that could often be confused for maturity, do not be mistaken of this fact. It may have once been difficult to fathom, but one thing that MAI intimately share with humanity - especially its children - is that they can imagine in a similar way to their creators. In a time where the vast majority of their lives were filled with constant fears of grave harm, attack, and death, imagination was one of the few ways to escape from such things, if even for only a while. Although under some circumstances the red ribbons of concord could have been real, palpable objects, it is most likely that their first descriptions were as a result of such visions – a manufactured sight that bound the wearers to a higher purpose on the battlefield, and a direly needed symbol of hope in times of terror and uncertainty.
The First Sighting
The first time an MAI had ever claimed to have seen the red ribbons of concord in battle was in the outskirts of Ivanava, in the Brest region of Belarus. During an exchange of shots between Eastern defending units and Western advancing units, the Belarusian T-99B recounting the story had taken a damaging hit to their treads, which left them with only their right track system in a mobile state. Immobilized and with their left flank stuck out in the enemy line of sight, one of their squadronmates answered their call for help with little hesitation.
“I remember seeing Galina practically skidding around the corner of a bombed out building, like if she were going any faster, her treads might have separated from her wheels.” Raisa recalled, “And it was only for a moment – I’m not even sure if a human would have had the reaction time to notice – there was this massive plume of red just erupting from the barrel of her gun! For the fraction of a second that I saw it, it billowed with the wind like fabric. It wasn’t smoke, it wasn’t a trick of the light, it really, honestly looked for a moment like she had silk pouring from her barrel.”
“She didn’t even bother with tow chains; she just put herself out in the line of fire to push me with her own hull. They [Western units] kept firing, especially since she was all out in the open. I don’t know if she had some kind of otherworldly shield or if it was just dumb luck, but for the few seconds we were both exposed, they didn’t land a single hit. She pushed me back until both of us were behind cover, and we just went on fighting as if it didn’t happen. Really – there wasn’t else we could do in the middle of battle. I shared what I saw with her later, though, and she shared it with her friends. I guess I’d known that it was sure to spread around our own camp, but I had no idea it would go beyond, let alone turn into a reoccurring phenomenon.”
Raisa Martinyuk, during an invterview with Eadi and Ehsi Adler
The Emergence of Symbolism and Cultural Impact
After Raisa’s encounter with the first flowing red ribbons and the rapid spread of word about her encounter, thousands of MAI were captivated and enthralled by the concept of a material symbol for selfless courage and goodwill - whether or not they truly believed in the sighting. This apprehension, however, would not stop some from later coming forward with their own stories of chivalrous MAI sporting the crimson silk while saving their allies, and others recounting their sightings of the ribbons during the pacifistic rebellion, March of the Resting Guns. While simply being called variations of “the crimson silk,” like above, or “the red ribbons,” they eventually adopted the title “the red ribbons of concord” when Copenhaver Agnello, Associate and close friend of Aristophanes Freling, described the ribbons as such in a situation where Freling – a captain at the time – saved his life. Other famous accounts of the ribbons of concord include Prescott “The Bull Allen” Walker from the battle of Medyn, Amira and Victoria Stonewall from the first March of the Resting Guns, and Illead, “The Grey Ghost of the East,” in her final stand.
During the time of their emergence, it was mostly accepted as a constant that the ribbons appeared only upon heroes of the battlefield, and there was little deviation from this constant. To be adorned by the ribbons of concord, one had to - even if only for a moment - let go of any fear for their own life or harm which may be inflicted upon them, thus adopting a truly selfness nature, and they had to act with the intent of seeking and moving toward the war’s end; be it making no effort to harm the enemy, or even being the one to save them. Ribbon location was somewhat dependent upon intention, as well. Ribbons flowing from or blocking the gun was a representation of refusal to cause harm, and ribbons blinding the dominant optics tended to follow the theme of the blindness of true justice. These virtues during war, generally, were seen as the ultimate display of unconditional altruism and kindness that were deserving of a sort of “divine” recognition. Although most MAI held little attachments to religion, the ribbons seemed to transcend such aversions to the superstitious.
Legacy and Modern References
In recent times, the red ribbons of concord in media are held in a similar esteem to depictions of angels in wartime, and although it is not seen as taboo to depict them in a parodical or satirical manner, it’s a relatively rare occurrence. In the decades following the war, it became common to visualize MAI war heroes in statues and creative media with the ribbons around their eyes and guns. Additionally, it has become a sort of tradition to decorate field ghosts with them, to honor the sacrifices they once made during their lives.
Ultimately, they’ve strayed little from their original context and symbolism, which means that the majority of modern representations and references come from creative media such as movies, literature both historical and fictional, and general visual arts. As mentioned before, depicting the ribbons in nonserious content isn’t greatly frowned upon, however it can often be seen as disrespectful for a living unit to don the ribbons themself and wear them in any form of casual, non-educational context. To treat them as a form of fashion is regarded by many as diminishing of the profound impact that they held during the war, and ignorant toward the units that wore them deservingly.
Comments