Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badlydisarmed) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
etraya2025-03-07 09:16 pm
badlydisarmed) wrote in etraya2025-03-07 09:16 pm
text; un: romano
Hello Etraya, a few of the newest arrivals are originally from wherever we told you we're from, but before coming here we were in Etraya's sister city, Solmara. Solmara has overthrown their AI and is ruled by a woman named Alrys. She sent us here on a recon mission to steal supplies, and while some of us were considering it, upon arrival we decided not to.
I can't speak for the others, but I know for a fact if Alrys got wind of what this place is like, she'd start a war. I'm not interested, not because I'm kind and noble (I'm not) but because making two whole cities miserable would be stupid.
Aurora has been informed of everything, but in the interest of transparency I'm letting the rest of you know too.
We will be answering questions but only if they're not stupid and you're super nice about it. Keep in mind we're probably gonna get tortured then killed then tortured again for snitching. 😃❤️🥳👍🚀🦈
PS: Any magical healers out there?
(The PS is not included on the things we will be answering questions about)
probably casual unsafe medication and suicide cws all the way down 😔
[And the painkillers are the only thing keeping him conversational at the moment. He's not about to jeopardize that.]
I'm all for cutting metaphorical heads off, but I don't get what you want from me, I'm both unimportant and powerless.
[But he's interested. Taking down Alrys wouldn't fix everything, maybe it wouldn't fix anything at all, but he doesn't think it could make things worse.]
no subject
[He shrugs.]
That's exactly what makes you perfect, though. You'd be underestimated.
[If Romano's not going to drink, though, he'll take a sip from the bottle himself, before he settles himself down on the edge of the bed. He's putting his leggies up, not sorry.]
She's expecting you and your fellows back in a couple months, with a hard drive, correct? But Solmara still operates like Etraya otherwise, with individuals coming and going. Consider if you were to bring her a fake, loaded up with misinformation and spyware, claim your compatriots died in completing their mission, and then ... simply disappear? She would no longer have reason to hold a grudge, nor any reason to think you've returned here.
[He pauses for effect for a moment, to study Romano's expression for any initial reaction, before continuing:]
Your slate is cleaned, and we gain valuable information about her operations. It's certainly more efficient than any kind of blind assault the self-righteous have already begun proposing.
no subject
Connor would never fucking go for it, for once, because Connor loves doing whatever Robert tells him not to. The others might, depending. The weird elf guy seems too committed to his own murder plot to agree to anything but that.
But that's too much information to give to a guy whose aim seems to have been to get him drunk and talking. ]
It's a suicide mission.
[ Though that's not even his main objection. ]
The people under Alrys are like the people here; they got super-powered people. I don't know who can do what, but one human lie detector and I'm fucked. And one off-network computer with an antivirus and we're all fucked. And how are their self-righteous gonna feel when they learn their kamikaze got blown up immediately?
[ Is that offensive? That's probably offensive. He's unfortunately like this. ]
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That doesn't mean he hasn't accounted for the points Romano brings up, though. He counts down on his fingers, starting with one.]
Aurora has access to information on every person living in Etraya. It's not outside the realm of possibility that she could fetch the records from other city bubbles and determine if that's something you need worry about.
[Two fingers, now.]
Assuming that it is, there's different tiers of concern, here. If someone is capable of full telepathy, that's a different situation than a simple lie detector. It's quite easy to be deceptive without ever speaking a single lie, after all.
[A third.]
If you're truly so unfortunate as all that, there's still options. Counterclaims of betrayal, for one. Who can detect the lie detector's lies? Someone like Alrys is bound to have a few paranoid delusions kicking around. An explosive with a dead man's switch makes for excellent insurance, as well.
[His tone hasn't changed one bit, that same lilting softness and calm. There's now four fingers raised.]
As for antivirus...if it were truly so simple to defend against malicious software, hackers would be an obsolete concept. A sophisticated enough virus will cover your tracks until you've long since disappeared, leaving plausible deniability that it was Aurora's own countermeasure for potential thieves.
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What if Alrys is the mind reader? Can't defend against that. And the more I think about it, the more I suspect she's got something.
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[He doesn't even hesitate, as though he anticipated the question already.]
See, when you take over a group of people by force, there's two options for how to establish yourself. You can either attempt to establish your legitimacy in doing so, or you can rule by fear. Alrys is a fool who's chosen the latter, which means she's well aware that her days are numbered. Fear alone can earn compliance, but it doesn't earn loyalty.
[So how does this make Romano's situation easier? He's coming to that in a moment.]
Think about how quickly your allegiance turned the moment the fear of reprisal went from an immediate to a potential future consequence. Now turn that reasoning on its head. If the people of Solmara remain in line out of fear...then what happens when there is no longer a line? If they believe they can be harmed at any time, for any reason?
[Dazai's expression is suddenly sharp, that of a predator that's cornered its prey.]
If the only evidence Alrys has of your treachery is within your own mind, and she is the only person able to verify that information, she won't be able to make an example of you in public, because all you'd need to do is loudly, desperately proclaim your innocence to set off a mass panic. She'll want to dispose of you quietly, privately, and then the advantage is wholly yours. Wave the dead man's switch in her face, and you own her.
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[ Robert hadn't been particularly afraid of her when he agreed to come. He'd liked the woman. He's not sure he believed her, but he'd wanted to please her.
Thinking back on it, it doesn't make sense. He knows he'd arrived to Etraya meaning to fulfill the mission, just as brainwashed as Connor was. ]
She mindfucked me in some way. Not sure how.
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So in other words, you and your fellows weren't actually aware of your discontent until you'd left her sphere of influence. The residents of Solmara believe they are satisfied with their circumstances.
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[ It's very obvious Robert's sharing all the pieces he has. Keeping things close to his vest wouldn't help him with this. ]
One of us was coerced into coming, the quiet angry one on the post. Connor was reprogrammed, I have no idea how Team Kill Alrys was signed up, he doesn't like me at all. But I have to assume she could do whatever she did again to get me back in line, and I don't know if I'd even realize it's happening.
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He's not from Solmara, though. The odds of selling any story to explain his presence depends on her level of paranoia. It's not a good strategy.]
There is one last-resort measure I can think of, but it's a card I'd rather not play just yet. If this is the state of affairs, then, it's smarter to strike during a mission when she won't be present. Were they on a predictable schedule like ours?
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Yeah, more or less. I think it's too early to worry about it. I'm sure that'll... develop in some terrible way just not yet.