c.chun ➤ 001 ➤ text

[arkproject]

Hi, everyone. I'm Catherine!

I've been talking to a few people about our mission, and I've been thinking... Do we have any ideas for how to restructure the government that don't require full-scale fighting? Like, if we could gather evidence of the corruption and expose it to the public, through, say... cyber espionage? It would at least give us more information, even if we don't go that route.

Reconnaissance is a good first step!

I'm not an expert in this, but I figure one of you is. So I want your thoughts! Or if you have experience hacking and want to teach me. It sounds like it would be easier to sneak in and put a physical receiver into one of their central systems, but in the spirit of keeping our options open, I might as well learn.

Even if doing it the manual way is going to be very slow.

Comments

[refashioned]

You recognize that they are essentially our employers?

[arkproject]

Sorry, I don't assist in killing people because my employer tells me to.

[refashioned]

They're also from this world. They already have assassination targets. It's their government.

[arkproject]

Okay... I got that. I'm talking about our involvement, and more specifically, mine. I'll do what I can to fulfill what we're hired for, but I still have to live with myself later.

I know what violent revolution is like. I'll pass.

[refashioned]

Then do what I'm doing: look into who you can help instead of who you can hurt.

[arkproject]

I'm listening.

[refashioned]

Rost can do a lot, but what they can't do is risk themselves. It sounds like you'd like to fill their shoes, but think about what you can do that will matter. The people need a voice. They need to believe. The only way we're going to prevent casualties is if enough people are able to stand up.

I intend to follow a path of propaganda. It feels like the safest bet for me.

But what you've outlined here can be a resource in a different way.

[arkproject]

Yeah... propaganda... is not my strong suit. I was thinking about what I can do.

2B brought up that we could look for the location of any missing people who were detained rather than executed. That's the kind of thing I'm good at, and that we could find in their systems.

[refashioned]

What if someone else covers the propaganda and you cover making sure that people see it?

Not that the jailed people are out of the question. That's outside of my wheelhouse currently.

[arkproject]

Mostly I was hoping to do the uncovering the data part. There's definitely people better than me at deciding what, how and to whom it gets released.

Maybe this post didn't make it transparently obvious, but I'm not very good with people.

[refashioned]

I'm friends with Simon. He's been a rock for me while I've been a part of Ophelia.

So—consider me the "good at people" type. Believe it or not, that means not hurting people, but we have to keep in mind that the Rost are people, too. They aren't inclined toward violence without provocation.

[arkproject]

[ Oh... Simon has friends... Okay. That's cool. She's glad for him-- he seems like he needs it, and he's a good person. Still, she's not really clear why she's being told this. Catherine's not friends with him. Catherine doesn't have friends. It's just the way it is. ]

Great, then you can do that part. I don't have anything against the Rost-- I don't want them to get hurt, either. I don't blame anyone for whatever choices they make. It's just what I said: I have to do what I can live with after, and everyone else should do the same.

[ After a moment, she hesitantly adds: ] I'm glad Simon made friends here. I was wondering how he'd do outside of PATHOS-II. I didn't think we'd ever leave.

[refashioned]

It's not that I don't understand your perspective. But being here means that we have to adjust. Find a common ground without going around the only force here that can offer us privacy as we cook up schemes. Our magitek is extremely helpful, but in the field, it has limitations.

[That's the first half of her response. It's not that Veronica is trying to be condescending. It's just that she's come across this before with the team. She's someone who likes to play mediator (or "manage people," if it's put less kindly) so that people don't get ahead of themselves.]

It's a good thing he's here. It's a good thing you're here, too. That place sounded like a nightmare. No matter how bad missions get, at least it's not that.

[arkproject]

No, I don't think you understand my perspective at all. I don't have any problem working with the Rost. They did hire us. Since you're a friend of Simon's, I'll tell you the truth: I grew up in Taipei. I played in the 228 Peace Memorial Park, a place that commemorates an uprising against a corrupt government that turned into a mass slaughter and fifty years of martial law in my country. It wasn't allowed to be mentioned in public conversation for decades. When they renamed the park, it meant something.

I'm not trying to introduce transparency because I'm naive, and I'm not trying to go around Rost. I want them to succeed. But I bet they aren't the first ones to try this, and we should find out what happened to the people that did before, that no one knows to speak of.

As for PATHOS-II, it was my home for a long time. It wasn't always that bad. I'm glad I left, but I'm still going to miss it. Simon only knew it as a nightmare, so I get it, but that's not how I remember it.

[refashioned]

Your worries aren't unfounded, but it sounded like you hoped to work against the Rost, not with them. You need to make this clear to them. Not us. They know where we're from, and I have a feeling they are willing to hear what you have to say.

What happened to the others is probably simpler than you think: it's in the dossier. They got put down. They might even be dead.

[Veronica chooses not to touch the subject of PATHOS-II. It's not her place to remark upon it. It might be a noticeable lapse, but she knows where her commentary is suddenly unwelcome or unwarranted. The mission is one thing. Their lives prior to this is another.]

[arkproject]

[ Meanwhile, Catherine takes this as evidence that, as usual, she's not someone other people care about or form attachments to. She's predisposed to interpret things that way no matter how wrong-headed that is, and it accordingly makes her clam up regarding any personal asides she might be adding. Catherine would rather be misinterpreted than overly forthcoming, and however much she expects other people to find her strange, off-putting, and not worth it...

It still bothers her. So she resorts to being professional. ]

Sorry, I probably wasn't clear. Like I said, if you want to handle dealing with the dissemination of any information I find, that's fine with me. I'm not at all qualified to handle that. Tell Rost whatever you think is wise.

Failed attempts are still useful information. [ That's the whole basis of science, after all. ] It'll help us know what not to try, at the bare minimum. I want to see what I can find.

[refashioned]

I haven't made myself clear, either.

We have a resource. No matter how much you're bad at people, you need to communicate with them. The Rost have more together than we could ever have, and they know whether your plan is useful.

I'm not concerned with information dissemination. I'm concerned with making sure people aren't afraid so that they can improve their circumstances.

[arkproject]

Okay, well, go for it. Like I told the other guy, I'm not stopping you. And I'm not in charge of you.

For the record, I'm already planning on working with the Rost. I just don't want to hand over assassination targets. I already said that. I don't know how to say it any clearer.

[refashioned]

We're on a team. It doesn't make sense to have one set of people looking to release information while another set of people try to find the means to release propaganda to empower people.

We require the same tools.

[arkproject]

So what are you proposing?

[refashioned]

Do you have takers on the hacking?

[arkproject]

Not yet, unfortunately.

[refashioned]

That's ... actually surprising.

I'll ask around and see what I can dig up on that front.

[arkproject]

I was surprised, too. I'd appreciate it.

My backup plan is to put together a small team to sneak in and install a wireless receiver so I don't need to hack into anything. But that's obviously more risky.

[refashioned]

More risky, but it might work in a pinch.

Especially if you can make sure it looks like it belongs.