We put down a $1,000 deposit.

While some may be willing to grant that the determinative forces noted in the preceding text―hardware, operating systems, programming languages, industry watchdogs, and so on―are key to computer game development, others may argue that, despite this fact, such forces are only peripheral and mediumic, and not authorial.

The Council is an executive committee composed of representatives from the Asari Republics, the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union. Though they have no official power over the independent governments of other species, the Council's decisions carry great weight throughout the galaxy. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the other two, and all have a vested interest in compromise and cooperation.

The festival seems to be winding down now.