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Cam is watching a new recording of Atriama, tail swishing in the gap in his couch, and doesn't stop to pause the show when he feels a summons go by.
wormcan
Many people can.
She eventually reports that Cam has been acting pretty much as he appears to be. A disappointingly complete lack of secret plots. She and whoever she's reporting to don't happen to mention their names, the first time at least, but they do talk about someone called Regis Rex as their mutual boss.
She eventually reports that Cam has been acting pretty much as he appears to be. A disappointingly complete lack of secret plots. She and whoever she's reporting to don't happen to mention their names, the first time at least, but they do talk about someone called Regis Rex as their mutual boss.
wormcan
Brutalizing Latin is an ancient and respectable pastime of people who want impressive-sounding phrases!
This particular culprit is a cape, and notable enough to show up on Google. At least, he's assumed to be a cape. Google doesn't say what his power is. But he heads a cell of the Elite, which means it's a safe assumption. The Elite is a large collection of allied cells, ranging from neutral to sadistic and everywhere in between. They're an American group; no information is forthcoming on what one of them might be doing out here.
This particular culprit is a cape, and notable enough to show up on Google. At least, he's assumed to be a cape. Google doesn't say what his power is. But he heads a cell of the Elite, which means it's a safe assumption. The Elite is a large collection of allied cells, ranging from neutral to sadistic and everywhere in between. They're an American group; no information is forthcoming on what one of them might be doing out here.
from_scratch
It's time to play Information Will Be Forthcoming When Cam Damn Well Wants It To Be. Let's read Regis Rex's email!
wormcan
So apparently the Elite take it very seriously when they say they try to have a finger in every pie that gets sent across the Pacific. Or, in this case, conjured. Posing as a business is a strategy that has worked before, and it has been getting Cam to send them a lot of valuable goods over the last few weeks. Regis Rex, presumably also known as Gabriel Vega, has more or less declared victory. His superiors back on the U.S. west coast have been pretty happy about it.
The spy herself is a native cape with a convenient power. It's probably why she was able to report back after having only glanced at Cam. The Elite always try to get control of the local cape groups one way or another when they move into a city, so the emailers consider it unremarkable that an unaffiliated cape is already answering to them.
They're also trying to take over local crime, naturally. Regis Rex has (or believes he has) enough of the government in his pocket, and when the Elite try to take over a city at every level they can be very comprehensive about every level. They're already getting a share of the profits from the relative few who contravene Japan's strict drug laws, and are working on expanding their control.
The spy herself is a native cape with a convenient power. It's probably why she was able to report back after having only glanced at Cam. The Elite always try to get control of the local cape groups one way or another when they move into a city, so the emailers consider it unremarkable that an unaffiliated cape is already answering to them.
They're also trying to take over local crime, naturally. Regis Rex has (or believes he has) enough of the government in his pocket, and when the Elite try to take over a city at every level they can be very comprehensive about every level. They're already getting a share of the profits from the relative few who contravene Japan's strict drug laws, and are working on expanding their control.
from_scratch
All right, that's really irritating.
Cam announces that he is going to eradicate malaria in a process that may take a few months to complete itself. He overflies Africa.
He keeps going.
Regis Rex's emails included reversible directions to some locations.
wormcan
Cam knows extremely precisely where to find some sites under the control of the Elite, because he was making things appear there. If they happened to say where those are in relation to more important locations, good for them.
Conveniently, one of those is the one at the top of the pyramid. San Francisco is exactly the other way from here, but Cam can circumnavigate the globe fast enough that it hardly matters. And this way he has an alibi.
Conveniently, one of those is the one at the top of the pyramid. San Francisco is exactly the other way from here, but Cam can circumnavigate the globe fast enough that it hardly matters. And this way he has an alibi.
from_scratch
Yep.
When he's almost there he chucks his spaceship into orbit and flies down on his own. He got some more reading-up done while he was flooding Africa with sterile male mosquitoes.
When he's almost there he chucks his spaceship into orbit and flies down on his own. He got some more reading-up done while he was flooding Africa with sterile male mosquitoes.
wormcan
He'll be spotted on his way down, but they don't send up a force field and evacuate or anything so drastic. Instead, they just open the door and a cape comes out. "You must be Cam. I assume you're here to talk to Uppercrust?"
wormcan
"He's in here. If you'll come with me?"
Uppercrust is, as Cam knew to expect, a well-dressed man, old for a cape but not for a human, and in charge of the leadership of the Elite. He's also the tinker behind the large-scale force fields, but that's not the relevant capacity. What Cam didn't know to expect is his condition. He's sitting down, almost sagging into his chair, and moves only feebly. But his mind and speech are unaffected.
"Welcome to my city. What brings you here?"
Uppercrust is, as Cam knew to expect, a well-dressed man, old for a cape but not for a human, and in charge of the leadership of the Elite. He's also the tinker behind the large-scale force fields, but that's not the relevant capacity. What Cam didn't know to expect is his condition. He's sitting down, almost sagging into his chair, and moves only feebly. But his mind and speech are unaffected.
"Welcome to my city. What brings you here?"
from_scratch
"It has come to my attention that in addition to providing me a useful service you are providing many people unuseful antiservices and I intend that you," he gestures vaguely, "stop."
wormcan
"That being the general you, I assume? The group I control directly is strictly business. In any case, what did you have in mind and what are you offering? It's possible you might be able to convince me."
from_scratch
"The general you, yes, Elite in general. The service you have been providing has been useful and I don't have a replacement lined up and skimming off the top of that alone would make any reasonable people quite a comfortable income, to say nothing of your other aboveboard behavior. I invite you to continue that, but only that."
wormcan
"A good deal for my group, and for Regis Rex and many of the others. Less so for Bastard Son. The Elite gets a lot from having a broad tent. If you're powerful and capable, you can succeed. Requiring that operations be entirely aboveboard would drive off quite a few, and what they'd be doing instead is hardly likely to be better."
wormcan
"Any such solution would involve future people who would otherwise be villains deciding not to join. As it is, we have some degree of control over those people. Keeping our illicit activity down is in the Elite's interest, eliminating it entirely is not.
If you'd merely like us to exercise more control, I'm well aware that you can offer enough to make it worth it. If it's as absolute as you're saying, you can expect an influx of villains. With less restraint."
If you'd merely like us to exercise more control, I'm well aware that you can offer enough to make it worth it. If it's as absolute as you're saying, you can expect an influx of villains. With less restraint."
from_scratch
"I confess I don't quite understand the mentality of people who wake up one day and decide to be supervillains. It seems like the sort of thing one might fall into - in which case it will behoove you to be very unslippery - or the kind of thing that might happen incidentally as a consequence of wanting some thing technically orthogonal to villainy per se, like money or attention, in which case it would behoove you to find ways to make them part of a non-villainous employee benefit package. Do you deal with a substantial number of people who just want to be supervillains, full stop, yet have interests small-time enough that you can meaningfully control them - that is, they aren't just really enthusiastic about anarchy in general or something?"
wormcan
"More than you might think. Those are not the sort who would otherwise be mass murderers, they tend to see being a cape as a high-stakes game. For them, we provide a framework and a win condition.
Most of the people where harm reduction applies are after the money and notoriety, but would rather pursue it on their own than be bribed into inactivity or accept what they see as unnecessary restrictions. And then of course there are the ones with pet issues."
Most of the people where harm reduction applies are after the money and notoriety, but would rather pursue it on their own than be bribed into inactivity or accept what they see as unnecessary restrictions. And then of course there are the ones with pet issues."
from_scratch
"How much of this problem can we solve by finding areas of illegality I can live with? Run a thriving ring of well-treated volunteer sex workers. Sell marijuana to informed adults. Smuggle hardworking Mexican immigrants over the border."
wormcan
"Oh, it's a question of your morality? I thought you were insisting on following the law. This makes it easier, but you'll understand if I don't answer the question. Anything else you'd like to whitelist?"
from_scratch
"The law is a convenient shorthand but if it becomes inconvenient one can dispense with shorthand. Why exactly will I understand if you don't answer the question, pray tell? If the problem cannot be solved with a whitelist, then you see, I will have to think of something else."
wormcan
"I'm afraid I'm not about to say what percent of the Elite's operations fall into or can be easily moved into those categories. But we offer a lot of discretion to our affiliated groups.
Would it solve the problem if we simply made it known that you refused to do deal with groups that fail to meet your standards? Not everyone under our umbrella would accept, but those that didn't would see themselves falling behind their analogues. Just as much incentive without driving anyone away from the Elite."
Would it solve the problem if we simply made it known that you refused to do deal with groups that fail to meet your standards? Not everyone under our umbrella would accept, but those that didn't would see themselves falling behind their analogues. Just as much incentive without driving anyone away from the Elite."
from_scratch
"If I want to find out, I will, and if you won't tell me, it makes me think I want to find out."
wormcan
"You could find out how much of what things we currently do. Probably not how much it can be moved, not without a lot of time and effort.
More importantly, is that a no?"
More importantly, is that a no?"