If Playground Else Crossfire
Aparna P, reporting from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in collaboration with Photojournalist Aaditya R, programs a code autopsy of peace – where each veto statement erases playground terms until only crossfire remains in memory.
Creative Piece
UNSC

import random
def main():
# Stage 1: Initial peace terms ("playground")
peace_terms = ["children laughing", "farmers harvesting", "markets bustling", "schoolbells ringing"]
# Stage 2: Early warnings ("society's anxiety")
warning_signs = ["tense negotiations", "border conflicts", "journalists silenced",
"arms shipments arriving"]
# Stage 3: Conflict begins ("violent streets")
full_on_war = ["families separated", "hospitals burning", "mass graves dug",
"bullets whizzing through playgrounds"]
# Stage 4: Aftermath ("only refuge")
aftermath_terms = ["empty playgrounds", "broken ceasefires", "orphans weeping", "war crime trials"]
# Hope terms (can appear in later stages)
hope_terms = ["peace talks restart", "diplomats arrive", "peace commission formed"]
# Initialize poem with peace terms
poem = peace_terms.copy()
stage = 1 # Tracks progression from peace to war
vetoes = 0
print("UNSC PEACE PROCESS SIMULATOR")
print("\nEach veto removes protection. After 2 vetoes, warnings appear.")
print("After 4 vetoes, conflict erupts. After 6, we see the aftermath.")
while True:
# Occasionally show hope in later stages
if stage >= 3 and random.random() > 0.25: # 70% chance hope appears in Stages 3 & 4
hope = random.choice(hope_terms)
if hope not in poem:
poem.append(hope)
print(f"\nHOPE: '{hope}' appears")
# Get user input
user_input = input("\nPress Enter to veto (Q to quit): ").upper()
if user_input == "Q":
break
# Ensure only peace terms and hope terms are vetoed
remaining_peace = [t for t in poem if t in peace_terms or t in hope_terms]
if not remaining_peace:
print("\nNo peaceful terms left to veto.")
break
# Choose a term to remove
term_to_remove = random.choice(remaining_peace)
poem[poem.index(term_to_remove)] = "[vetoed]"
vetoes += 1
print(f"\nVETO {vetoes}: Removed '{term_to_remove}'")
# Check stage progression
if vetoes == 2 and stage == 1:
poem.extend(warning_signs[:2])
stage = 2
print("\nWARNING SIGNS APPEAR")
if vetoes == 4 and stage == 2:
poem.extend(full_on_war[:3])
stage = 3
print("\nCONFLICT BEGINS")
if vetoes == 6 and stage == 3:
poem.extend(aftermath_terms)
stage = 4
print("\nAFTERMATH PHASE")
break
# Display current situation
print("\nCurrent situation:")
print(" ".join(poem))
# Show final results
print("\nFINAL RESULT:")
if stage == 4:
print("The playground is now a battlefield.")
elif stage >= 2:
print("We traded peace for crossfire.")
else:
print("The birds still sing... for now.")
print(f"\nTotal vetoes cast: {vetoes}")
if vetoes >= 4:
print("The violent streets won.")
elif vetoes >= 2:
print("No refuge was built in time.")
else:
print("The saints kept their playground.")
main()