Post by Korgu Chideh on May 24, 2020 8:53:50 GMT -5
One day, an entrepreneurial Survivor player, Anastasia, gets a novel idea. They PM another player, Bartholomew, with the following message:
Hello, Bartholomew. We are very good allies in this game, and I trust you a lot. I think we will never need to turn on each other. If you vote with me all the time from now on, I promise you that I will vote for you when it counts. Please let me know if this is something that you would be interested in.
Bartholomew is very excited: he has wanted to make such a deal with Anastasia for a long time. He hurriedly writes an excited PM to his other close ally, Katarina (who is also close allies with Anastasia):
Katarina, I am so excited by a message I just received from Anastasia. She has promised to vote for me at Final Tribal Council if I vote with her all the time from now on. I know you have talked a lot about wanting such a deal with Anastasia for a long time now. I will go make a deal with her on your behalf as well. Please tell me if you do not want this to happen.
Katarina is busy rehearsing in her local community theatre's production of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov; she does not see the PM, and does not respond. Because of the unique setup of the game forum, she does not have an opportunity to respond to Bartholomew's suggestion. While this is happening, Anastasia gets momentary cold feet. What if she doesn't want to be locked in? She hurriedly composes a message to Bartholomew:
Bartholomew, I am sorry. I did not want to lock you into something so strict. I will take it back for now.
Right as Anastasia clicks send, her phone buzzes: a push notification has just informed her that an unfortunately all-too-common server failure has just occurred on the game website. Anastasia is unsure whether her message survived the journey. Bartholomew then sends a message back to Anastasia:
Anastasia, what a delightful offer you have made. I will gladly accept. I also must ask about my dear friend Katarina, who you also know. We are all good colleagues and work well together. Will you extend her the same offer you have done to me? If so, she will accept.
Anastasia's mind quickly forgets about her message, and turns to Bartholomew's. She cannot believe her eyes: she has the opportunity to make a second bargain in one day! Quickly, Anastasia replies:
I would gladly extend the same offer to Katarina; her and I have been excellent colleagues during the game.
Right as Anastasia sees the 'message sent' dialogue on her screen, her phone buzzes: a second server failure push notification! Anastasia is unsure whether her message survived the journey, but she decides to assume that it did. She continues to act like that is so.
Some time later, during a reward challenge, Anastasia asks Bartholomew to vote for her to receive an advantage in the game. Bartholomew does so.
At a Tribal Council, Katarina and Anastasia have a significant disagreement about who to vote for. Anastasia eventually relents and votes for Katarina's favoured target, who was Anastasia's second choice.
At the Final 5, Anastasia, Bartholomew and Katarina are certain that they have the majority. However, Anastasia notices that Bartholomew and another person, Theodosia, are liking each other's public posts regularly. Anastasia asks Bartholomew about it, and he says:
It is true, we like each other's posts a lot. I am beginning to doubt that I can keep voting with you.
Anastasia does not panic: she has seen it all before! She responds quickly, and with five emoticons: the perfect number to entrap any man's (Survivor) heart.
Oh, I understand! 
It is always so hard when we are so few and so close. 
How about this? 
I will let you decide who we vote for from now on, if you promise that you will keep voting with me all the time. 
I hope that is of some benefit to you! 
It is always so hard when we are so few and so close. 
How about this? 
I will let you decide who we vote for from now on, if you promise that you will keep voting with me all the time. 
I hope that is of some benefit to you! 
Bartholomew readily accepts: how could he not! In response, Anastasia says:
I am so glad! I am excited to finish the game. And of course, I would never vote you out.
The unlucky fifth player, Joe, leaves shortly thereafter.
During the next Tribal Council, Katarina's play is getting very busy. She is so busy, that she cannot make it to the computer all day. The Tribal Council deadline falls during her star monologue in The Seagull, and her vote is randomised as a result of the game's rules. Bartholomew votes for Theodosia, fully entrapped by Anastasia's devilish use of emoticons. Theodosia, wary of Anastasia's strong resume, votes accordingly. And Anastasia, in a brutal twist, votes for Bartholomew! All the players (except Katarina) hurriedly refresh to see the final result: by a vote of 2-1-1, Anastasia becomes the last member of the jury!
At the Final Tribal Council, each player explains their game. Bartholomew talks about how he felt locked into a solid alliance with Anastasia. Katarina talks about how she sometimes trusted Bartholomew to do the work for her, but how she sometimes knew it would be better if she did it instead. In her jury speech, Anastasia says that she always knew she could trust Bartholomew to tell the truth about Katarina.
At the live reveal, everyone is excited to see the results. The final results roll in...and Theodosia wins, 3-2-2! After the game, the voting chart is revealed, and the biggest shock of all is revealed: Anastasia voted for Theodosia! There is shock all around. What happened to the deal?
Bartholomew immediately begins proceedings in Survivor Court against Anastasia for breach of contract. Katarina begins separate proceedings for the same. What result? Include counterarguments.
