chikaidestroyer | ∞ 94: The basics [written/action]

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∞ 94: The basics [written/action]

[written]

Welcome to all the New Feathers of this cycle. I am sure that residents, especially the volunteers working in the Welcome Center, have been helpful as you adjust to your surroundings.

Some may have noticed that there are stations some distance away from the village -- watch stations where New Feathers may find clothing or shelter. Residents may also use them as stopping points as they explore the surrounding forests and plains. They are maintained by a group of volunteers, which has been without a head organizer for a few months now. If anyone is interested in taking on this responsibility, please speak with me, Albert Silverberg.

Recent additions to the enclosure are the expansive farmlands to the northeast of the village. There are numbers of farm animals and growing crops up there that are in need of caretaking. While the village has the grocery store for easy access to food, I am sure some would relish opportunity to work with crops and animals.

If there are any questions about these subjects, they may be asked here. Thank you.

[action]

[Around noon, Albert may be found in the clothing store, looking for clothing for warmer weather. Maybe he'll attempt to tan this year. It's been awhile.

Later in the day, he will be in the stables tending to his horse. He will be out there for several hours before retiring for the evening to the house, reading a "Computers for Seniors for Dummies" book. Very funny, Bil.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

With the advancements they've been making, and the sheer risk the CEO took, it tells me that while they're not quite there yet, they will be. They're close.

Catherine isn't a fool, despite appearances. If he didn't know that accelerating research would yield results, he wouldn't have left his position, even if it meant turning the lot of us into tin soldiers. He's a shrewd, manipulative man. [His eyes narrow slightly.] Of course, their definition of "close" might mean decades to us. After being alive for so long, the years become more insignificant.

...But do you know our significance in the whole affair?

Our "significance" is measured in how well they can shield us from particular information. It has been mentioned by a few sources. We are dangerous with the knowledge they keep from us, and easily led without it. That is why asking questions and hoarding information when the opportunity arises is very important. Observations during drafts, odd comments that may be made. They are all worth analyzing.

Other rare opportunities, such as the infiltration of the rogue facility, are also treasure troves of information.

Of course.

But I meant in the big picture. The whole game the Malnosso play. Why it has to be us.

[He raises a brow at the emphasis.] Are you referring to the fact that most here leave and then return?

Yes. But returning isn't the issue.

It's the fact that we can leave at all. That's what makes us unique. From the sound of it, no one outside the barrier... outside of the Luceti Project, is capable of this.

And I've come to question why. And I have a theory.

A theory? [He goes quiet, waiting for the other man to divulge.]

Consider the people that are here. There's such a high concentration of individuals with high levels of magic, physical strength, raw martial prowess, intelligence, charisma, and any combination in between.

These are people that change things. Most, if not all, of the individuals here have likely made some sort of significant impact, or at least participated in an important event, in their own worlds.

My guess would be that these individuals that have had an undeniable impact on their world are more directly tied to it. Meaning that the removal of an important individual from a universe causes it to pull like a rubber band, and when tension is strong enough, it snaps back into place, Shifting the person back to their own universe.

Quite a theory. [Albert nods thoughtfully as he considers Batman's words, glancing back at his horse as she nudges for his attention.] It's true that those are observable traits among a high percentage of those here. Many of whom I have spoken with have conducted world-changing actions in the recent past or are on their way to such a path.

Without knowing the backgrounds of those who have been trapped here and their own "insignificant" roles, it cannot be confirmed. But the restrictions of summoned monsters in this world would lend some credence to your idea.

Also consider that the Malnosso have to call us out as their secret weapon to win key battles. And that they wanted to turn us forcibly into allied warriors. Don't you find this strange, given the access to technology that they have?

It tells me without their Shifting technology that most of the individuals outside the barrier are unremarkable. Perhaps no better than a bystander by comparison to the people within the Luceti Project.

...There's less than four hundred of us here. There's likely millions of people outside the barrier. Yet a force of 30 individuals is more than a match for even the Third Party's elite, even when most of us use comparatively outdated equipment to what the Malnosso use.

...Even if there was only a million people outside of the barrier, we'd make up less than four ten-thousandths of the population. Yet we're more effective in combat than presumably entire army groups that the Malnosso field.

That's why the Malnosso security forces see us as a blunt object to swing at the Third Party. Because we're brutally effective at destroying them. Far more than they are or their technology is.

That's part of what made me devise that theory. If people with the level of power that we have existed outside the barrier, we would likely not be needed at all.

If people with the level of power we have existed outside of the barrier, they would have been exposed to more battles and war than we are, increasing the likelihood that they die and lose such powers when they are revived.

Your theory is a good one. But I presume that you are not here simply to tell me of your theory. [Not unless there was something he intended him to do with it.]

I had considered attrition when I thought about the theory. Unfortunately, there's no way to measure that accurately without more information.

Our use as soldiers is why I'm here. Catherine let Haruhi know something. Something very important. Third Party members revive the same way we do. The Malnosso, in order to keep them out of action, capture them after they are reborn and detain them in prison facilities.

I'm sure you were already aware of the rebirth factor of the Third Party.

But what this means is both the Malnosso... and especially us, have been fighting these battles all wrong.

[Once again, he nods. He's aware of everything that has been discussed already.] Wrong, you say?

While it is true that we've won every battle we've fought... knowing what we know now means we have to shift our strategy.

By killing the Third Party soldiers, there are chances for them to get away once they reincarnate. And there's only been a single successful breakout in the Malnosso's recorded history.

What we need to do is fight an utterly non-lethal war. Subduing the enemy and handing them all over to the Malnosso ensures a higher rate of elimination of the Third Party's forces.

The ones who are telling us to kill the Third Party soldiers are the Organization, who in turn take the soldiers who are slain in battle and hold them once they are revived. If they considered it more efficient for us to capture the Third Party, do you not think they would have told us to do so? We have no means to subdue the enemy and contain them for the entirety of a campaign; the Organization does not give us facilities on the battlefield, instead leaving us to set up our own. Dividing our forces to guard prisoners also reduces our efficiency to protect our own noncombatants and continue fighting.

I should also note that, while our primary objective is to kill the Third Party before us, we have also been subjected to secondary objectives such as saving survivors and keeping technology out of the the Third Party's hands. Tasking our forces with subduing and ensuring imprisonment of the enemy is difficult enough -- how much more when they are also tasked with the protection of others?

[His eyes narrow a bit at this.]

And what of the bodies the Third Party manages to recover and remove from battle?

[There are bound to be a great deal, considering many times reinforcements for the Third Party arrive.]

As a strategist, you of all people should know how to deal with tough situations. It's war. It's not easy. And sometimes the orders handed down from the top aren't efficient, let alone correct.

Moreover, I'm curious if anyone has even asked for support in this sort of endeavor. The Security Forces see the whole of us as a blunt object. They equip us with what we desire and turn us loose like wild dogs. It's why they do not offer shelter to those of us who are not combatants. They see us all as the same.

But individuality is not directly related to the mission objectives. But capturing the members of the Third Party is.

[And his tone grows darker, but not threatening.]

What I want to know is why no one has ever questioned this before now.

[Despite the darker tone, Albert does not stop in his tending to his horse. His own tone does not change.] If we had the luxury of sitting down and asking for all of the information you now have to deduce your theory, I can guarantee that we would have had this conversation at least a year ago. But we don't. The only reason that information has become known to us is because someone asked the right question and someone decided to answer it.

Moreover, we are only seen as effective because we have followed orders thus far. We have participated in four drafts -- barely enough to safely conclude that we can in fact produce the results they wish. I only received the amount of trust necessary to change our drop points during the last draft. I am sure you know that one needs a certain level of power, beyond logic, to argue for a change from orders "handed down from the top."

Fighting non-lethally doesn't mean you can't accomplish the objectives they set us out to complete.

All it takes is planning. And if the Malnosso equip us with whatever we ask. With the people we have and proper coordination our objectives can be accomplished just as well and do our jobs much more effectively at that.

That's what needed to be questioned. We didn't need to wait for results to ask that question to begin with.

If we are given whatever we ask without the previous CEO in control, your idea can be explored. [If.] Perhaps in the future you should share your opinion and concerns with the general public. Especially if it concerns the draft.

[Because as it is, you are asking him to implement your plans.]

[Because as it is, Albert is the only one the village sees with enough authority to make it so.

As Albert begins speaking, Batman turns around and begins walking away. He pauses when the second sentence begins, and he looks over his shoulder for a brief moment.]

...I get the message.

[He had figured this is how it would play out. Part of him had hoped Albert would agree directly, but most of him knew better.]

[And with that there's a click as Batman draws his grapple gun, and the telltale pop of the line launcher sounds throughout the area. The hook makes contact with something nearby, and with that, he takes to the air, and takes his leave.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

∞ 94: The basics [written/action]

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