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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
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imeanforever
wormcan
"Which two? How? Forward it to me immediately, if anyone got you an anonymous message it means we've got a hole to plug in our security."
wormcan
That is both good and bad. Whoever compiled it was correct about those being two of the most valuable members, if they decide to have Promise take in the ones whose names she knows. But they also have some of the more common mortal names, and now everyone named James or Max is potentially at risk.
She reads the rest of it. It claims to have been delivered by Faultline's Crew, on behalf of someone who wants the Empire gone. Faultline's mercenaries were last spotted relatively recently, but the group has probably left the city if they did somehow break into the PRT HQ.
The Director contacts Promise. "The writer is hoping you'll arrest some of their enemies' key figures. Tempting, since the reason we didn't try this earlier no longer applies to those names. But to do it now would be playing into the hands of an unknown party with unknown goals."
She reads the rest of it. It claims to have been delivered by Faultline's Crew, on behalf of someone who wants the Empire gone. Faultline's mercenaries were last spotted relatively recently, but the group has probably left the city if they did somehow break into the PRT HQ.
The Director contacts Promise. "The writer is hoping you'll arrest some of their enemies' key figures. Tempting, since the reason we didn't try this earlier no longer applies to those names. But to do it now would be playing into the hands of an unknown party with unknown goals."
imeanforever
"Yeah, I was afraid of something like this happening. I can certainly try not to entertain the hypothesis that other people I meet are named those things but it's a little hard to control, and for all I know going after them now would destabilize some structure that's preventing worse than what's listed."
wormcan
"That part I can back up. If the Empire were to fall apart, the obvious villain groups to benefit are the Undersiders and Coil's organization, and the Travelers if they plan to stay in the city long-term. Merchants as well, but they don't plot at this scale. Or any scale, really. All plausible outcomes are less bad than the Empire, with the exception of an all-out war between factions, benefiting no one.
But the removal or weakening of the Empire is very definitely a step in someone's plan, and that's enough reason to think twice."
But the removal or weakening of the Empire is very definitely a step in someone's plan, and that's enough reason to think twice."
imeanforever
"Especially since I think unless there are much paler mortals around somewhere which I haven't seen I probably don't have anything to worry about from the Empire on my own behalf in an immediate sense, so this wasn't sent to me as a gesture of goodwill. ...At the risk of belaboring the point, people I'm commanding don't need to be in jail to be safe to have around. If I read the rest of the names I could curb the Empire's activity while leaving them able to operate in a power-balancing way otherwise."
wormcan
"The reason I didn't ask you to use as many names as possible earlier does still apply to the others.
But that might be a good idea in this case. Though jail would be better, this can avoid giving the enemy of my enemy what they want. And Krieg and Kaiser are important figures in the Empire. If you order them to do everything in their power to make the Empire commit less crime while preventing others from the same, the end result might be better than simply arresting those two. Can you give such an order while making them keep it secret?"
But that might be a good idea in this case. Though jail would be better, this can avoid giving the enemy of my enemy what they want. And Krieg and Kaiser are important figures in the Empire. If you order them to do everything in their power to make the Empire commit less crime while preventing others from the same, the end result might be better than simply arresting those two. Can you give such an order while making them keep it secret?"
imeanforever
"I can tell them to be inconspicuous, but I need to know more to balance conspicuousness and efficacy, or I need to let them do it themselves, which might not yield a balance anyone but them likes. And there's a question of how I'm supposed to get to them to tell them to do anything at all if I don't have enough names to just walk safely into wherever they normally keep themselves."
wormcan
"That second one is easy enough. You couldn't walk into one of their gang's bases, but they presumably answer their phones. If it doesn't work over telephone, we could still get you in a room with their civilian identity more easily than the cape one.
For the former, secrecy would have to be absolute. Otherwise they would simply lose their status as leaders and their replacements would have no such problem."
For the former, secrecy would have to be absolute. Otherwise they would simply lose their status as leaders and their replacements would have no such problem."
imeanforever
"It should work over the phone but I haven't tested it. I confess I still don't really understand how the whole 'civilian identity' thing works, but insofar as I know what you're proposing won't I run into bystanders' names on the way?"
wormcan
"That should be avoidable, especially if the phone works. To test it, you may send me a spoken order to, say, raise my hand for three seconds. Either by computer or by borrowing a radio."
imeanforever
"The computer probably won't work. Seems too much like a written instruction. I'll try that and if that doesn't work I'll borrow a radio."
Promise records and sends a command of the specified type to the Director.
Promise records and sends a command of the specified type to the Director.
wormcan
"No luck." And now there's one more known limit on Promise. "I'll have someone lend you a radio."
Someone in a PRT uniform arrives shortly after, adjusts the setting, and gives it to Promise.
Someone in a PRT uniform arrives shortly after, adjusts the setting, and gives it to Promise.
wormcan
She gets a choice of which hand and how high, but no other choice.
"It worked. Does it matter that I know it was you speaking, or would it work remotely against someone who had never heard your voice before?"
"It worked. Does it matter that I know it was you speaking, or would it work remotely against someone who had never heard your voice before?"
imeanforever
"You didn't have to know it was me. And if you thought it was me but it wasn't, it wouldn't work, unless you were generally disposed not to test orders and just did whatever you thought I was telling you to do anyway. Do you want to switch back to email...?"
wormcan
"Please."
"So if we can get you on the phone with them, you can give orders. The first being, presumably, to stay on the line and act as they would were it an ordinary business call. If subsequent orders are to ensure that no one finds out about the orders and, within that limit, to influence their gang to break the law less to the best of their ability, is that likely to be effective?"
"So if we can get you on the phone with them, you can give orders. The first being, presumably, to stay on the line and act as they would were it an ordinary business call. If subsequent orders are to ensure that no one finds out about the orders and, within that limit, to influence their gang to break the law less to the best of their ability, is that likely to be effective?"
imeanforever
"I've looked a little into mortal law and... it's kind of a mess. If I phrased it like that... You might get results like scrupulously reported taxes and invariably obeyed traffic ordinances compensating for murders, or some kind of arrangement where people who were being sent to break laws temporarily broke rank from the gang in some formal sense, or them simply doing their utmost to gain control of someone who can make exceptions to laws or revise the laws themselves, or more creative obedience I can't come up with based on skimming a heavily redacted Wikipedia. Also, if I don't know what an ordinary business call is like for them, then it might consist of taking a lot of notes about what was discussed, having someone listen in, or hanging up if there's an emergency - like an antagonistic cape giving them orders."
wormcan
"It's not exactly a problem if they're careful with speed limits, but if the order would allow them to compensate for other crimes that would be. Minimization of harm against people and property, then? The risk of others finding out or of them hanging up should be possible to avoid by being clear that the secrecy order supersedes the one about acting natural."
imeanforever
"'People and property' still leaves the tradeoff up to them; it would take a little convoluted thinking to do it but they could still destroy a city block to spare someone a papercut or kill a person to avoid letting them scuff their shoes. And if someone starts out listening to the call by default, or collects the notes before I've completely issued the order about secrecy, then the secret will be out anyway, and then if I say that the secrecy order trumps the anti-crime order I could have them forced to kill their own secretaries. This is very complicated, Director, if they're at all smart or have taken any precautions that apply to my influence at all, and narrowing things to an audio channel makes it much worse."
wormcan
"And they do know you exist.
In that case, maybe it is better to simply arrest them. The Empire will continue functioning, but down two of its leaders, and you don't need to learn more mortal names. Unless you think there is some other way to make them make others stand down?"
In that case, maybe it is better to simply arrest them. The Empire will continue functioning, but down two of its leaders, and you don't need to learn more mortal names. Unless you think there is some other way to make them make others stand down?"
imeanforever
"Obviously you can do as you like with the list, although if you're saying the list suffices to let you go find people by those names and arrest them all just like that it will fly in the face of everything else I've seen about the mortal justice system. I'm sure I can come up with a way to leave them harmless but otherwise free, but I would need more information than I have, and possibly more names so that I could go in person and see if they were doing anything."
wormcan
"We could drop the subterfuge entirely, and have the phone call consist of an order to come in costume and turn themselves in. And a warning that if they don't come alone any allies get the same order, hopefully we wouldn't need to follow through on that."