2024-06-01: The Cold Out There

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<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


Eight's office at the Magallanica Defense Force HQ is very nice. There's actual wood in the desk! There are a few mementos and photos here and there, as well. A hockey stick; a small model of a Clop-class ship, the original Ra Mari; photographs of her children. She is currently at the desk, with a tablet in her hand describing the report of the recent leaks in the Battle Operation forums... and their implications for wider intelligence organizations.

Her twins are in the other room, with her assistant; in this room is a small terminal meant to be a place for Al to use, and one Enba Rezza, Captain of the Uzume and one of Eight's top intelligence advisors.

"Are you with us, Al?" Eight asks, confirming before they continue. Once confirmed--

"This is Enba Rezza, a ship Captain with the MDF and my former XO. I trust them implicitly--especially with sensitive matters like this."

"A pleasure," Enba says for formalities. And it may be true! 

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

There's something pointed about how Al has quietly but insistently shied away from presenting himself with a humanoid form. Even in this age of automated avatars that can operate entirely by voice and some rigging inputs, Al has consistently attended calls without presenting even a Brave-inspired simulacrum of a face.

That's not to say he's not without personality. Today, for instance, his camera feed has a conspicuously poorly-cropped JPG of a toaster placed into the stock Whoosh background frame of a VF cockpit. "Good afternoon, Admiral. Good afternoon, Captain. Good to meet you."

"I have reviewed the Battle Operation leak. The implications are concerning and of strategic and tactical import. Not least..."

A moment's hesitation. "I do not know who could have released this. Strange as the technology may sound, I can confirm that it is real."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


It doesn't bother Eight if Al doesn't want to pretend; she's used to AIs that look like people, but why not otherwise? ...It does mean she can't read his body language, since he doesn't have a body, or expression, because toasters don't have an expression...

But the toaster is pretty funny.

"Good afternoon," they both rely. Then, there is the matter of the leak. Enba glances at Eight and then back to Al's terminal.

Eight nods. "I agree," she says of concern. "...What gets to me most isn't the Lambda Driver," she admits. "It's these... 'Whispered'. And the danger that every one of them might be in now."

"We have no reason to doubt you," Enba says. "...We know one of these 'Whispered', after all, though not by that name."

Eight sighs. "Do you have any thoughts on these implications?" Eight asks Al.

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

Al has occasionally provided - or been made to provide - helpful imagery of his internal thought processes whirling, word-associations spinning at millions of connections like the spreading of neuroelectrical light. For now, he chooses to keep that portion of himself private.

"Yes. The Lambda Driver is remarkable, but I do not anticipate significant problems in the near term from democratizing the technology. For one, due to the requirement of the crystalline lattice skeleton, any mobile weapon equipped with one requires a bespoke frame. Retrofit is materially impossible."

And yet. Mithril had dedicated itself so thoroughly to hiding those secrets. Who could have done this? Even presupposing Sagara and Miss Chidori were alive, it wasn't the kind of action they would undertake. The Colonel? But. For what purpose...

He doesn't voice that. He just sits quietly for some seconds. "I see. My former organization had undertaken significant trial to protect a mere handful of them. One had to be rescued from an REA facility under cover of night, and was never able to return to her original home. Relatedly, you know two. That young lady is among the staff Mr. Hunter brought."

"I confess I am better at tactical than strategic-scale analysis." He's a fire-control program, somewhere down at the core. Strategy is someone else's problem. "However, I can advise that the most remarkable Black Technology innovations are small practicalities, rather than spectacular leaps in firepower. The lambda driver has its similarities to psycommu technology, but is able to achieve advanced feats without the same challenges. The palladium cold fusion reactor can match Minovsky output without the creation of communication-baffling particles or risk of detonation. ...or, as a more stark example, my own core contains both my artificial brain and a full lambda driver core, despite already being small for either device, let alone both together."

"But, I believe you should be well aware how far an advantage in small efficiencies can get you."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


That's fascinating stuff. Enba would benefit from seeing it. Eight does not require it.

"Agreed," Eight says. "It's all quite remarkable." But only one of them immediately threatens people. And Al has good reasons that the Lambda driver isn't an immediate issue. Neither Enba nor Eight reveals who the young Whispered is for now, but with the records available to him, Al might be able to figure it out.

"I see..." REA. "Well then. All the more to keep safe."

"...Yes," Eight says after a moment. "Those advantages are significant nough even without the spectacular leaks."

"So your former organization knew about such things," Enba reflects. "...And if I may, Admiral, I believe that that means we know three. The young woman who took sanctary here and celebrated a birthday with the other."

"Right..." Eight nods. "It's all very concerning."

Enba continues, "Fascinating," to Al. "Any one of these advancements would be a large leap. But to put more than one in the hands of single organizations..."

Eight grimaces. "I'm not going to start asking advancement of them. I've let her work independently before, and I think that's for the best."

"Agreed," Enba says. "But we have at least two of these individuals in our employ; for better or worse, whether we exploit that fact or not we hold a great responsibility."

Eight sighs. "And people who will want to get them. ...Well, I suppose we've inherited your former organization's charge to some degree, Al. I cannot allow this technology to pool in the hands of those who would use it to oppress others... or harm these Whispered themselves."

"Indeed." 

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

"Indeed. It was not the only purpose, but keeping them out of circulation seems to have been a significant enough priority to bend large parts of their strategic force to the task," Al says.

Al was a piloting AI; he doesn't know how things were done or used, of course. But what he can provide is: "Certainly, the prevention of harm is a priority. But I do wonder how necessary it now is. With what we now know, a significant portion of the paradox of Whispered was the simple fact that they were inherently children or young adults. Now, they are all legal adults. Might an interested organization not simply make offers of employment?"

...he might be underestimating how inhuman some forces in play can be.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


Eight considers Al's words. Significant, but not the only purpose. "Yes," she says. "Aparently so..."

Hm. Eight listens. How necessary it tis. "...True," Eight admits. "That's not a bad idea, either. However..."

Enba says, "The sort of people we're worried about won't be asking." They pause. "That complicates matters a little more. It means that we can't keep them safe by force, either; if they don't want our help..."

"...Then forcing it on them isn't necessarily better than what we'd expect someone else to do." Eight shakes her head.

"...Is there anything else with this technology that comes to mind?" she wonders. "Now that we're contemplating the ethics of job offers." 

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

"I see. Yes. It is possible for talents to be acquired 'under duress'." Al says it like he's defining the concept for himself, shaping his own thoughts. Perhaps he is. "Thus, such an individual would be under need of 'rescue.'"

"And yet, not to such a degree that 'rescuing without permission' would be permissible. I see. It is a delicate balance. I believe I understand."

"I was never privy to the specifics of Black Technology. But, my experience is it largely stems from existing technological spaces rather than venturing into new arenas. Improvements that other minds would find impossible. I believe palladium was originally dismissed as a cold fusion power source centuries ago, for instance. But it appears these Whispered have the ability to bridge such gaps."

"That being the case, 'expect the unexpected' seems like the best advice."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


Al may not be used to these kinds of thoughts. But Eight is. Eight is intimiately familiar with talent under duress.

"Exactly," Eight answers. "That's right. We have to move carefully... moreso if we want to actually safeguard their agency."

Ennba listens to the next part. "I see... So, expect the unexpected, but not necessarily the out of context." They do, after a moment. "Well, Admiral. It seems that that's what we can expect."

Eight nods. "Thank you, Al. Your expertise has been helpful. ...Is there anything you need to raise with me? Are matters continuing as you'd hoped?" 

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

"Yes. I believe they would want that," Al says, somewhat contextlessly referring to people he's lost. The Colonel...could it be someone else from Mithril? Colonel Testarossa was not the only person who knew these things. But 'to protect their agency' feels right. A little ticker, somewhere, records a definition drawn.

"You are welcome, Captain, Admiral," Al says to the conclusion. "Given my personal connection to these matters, it felt best to communicate directly. And..."

"...I am puzzling over who could have released that data. Only a few within Mithril would have had it. But, I do not know enough details to guess. I doubt our adversaries would have wanted this out there." ... "And Arm Slaves are a fairly minor part of Battle Operation, so it seems unlikely to be an actual leak."

That might've been a joke.

Are matters continuing... "I was successful in operating a motor vehicle via digital telepresence, but operation during Minovsky-GN combat interference will likely require proximity for the foreseeable future. Or a Black Technology modem, on that subject. As for my 'pet project', I believe Miss Kudan and I are closing in on a final design. She is Mr. Hunter's allied Whispered, and has been invaluable in some of the more advanced design aspects."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


"They?" Enba prompts, because they always love information. But Al says the both of them are welcome, annd Eight nods. "I agree. It's best to be open about thesse things where possible."

Then... Hm. "...True. Giving us this information puts us in a position to thwart a lot of people who, without oversight, could go a long way like this."

"...Heh," she says of what is probably a joke.

But whille Enba Thinks, Eight listens. "Well, on the matter of offering jobs, we might be able to try to arrange that." A Black Technology modem. "But good. I'm glad to hear it about your project."

Miss Kudan... Yes.

"Good. ...We'll have to work harder to make sure she stays safe, too." 

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

"The Sergeant who is no longer here. The young Whispered he was protecting," Al says, answering Enba. There's almost a kind of melancholy distance to his voice, though he's as matter-of-fact as ever. It's hard to pick out digital grief. "The Colonel they served, and their comrades. They worked tirelessly. I wonder if any of them are somehow behind this." ... "But, there is too much entropy in the data to draw any conclusion."

As for Mira: "Yes. She has seen enough already."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


The Sergeant, the young Whispered... Enba gets the information they asked for, and has the grace to nod solemnly. If anyone can pick up a machine's grief, it's someone with their powers of observatioon. "I see. Thank you, and my sympathies."

"To release the information intentionally?" Eight wonders. "...Well, you're right. It's not a move we'd expect of an enemy."

"...But as you say. We can't know for sure."

Enba nods. "Right. ...Well, thank you then. I think I--"

"Waah!"

From the other room, Eight hears it, at the same time as she 'feels' the distress. "...Shall I leave you two with it, or are we done here?" Eight asks. She can leave it to her assistant, but... She won't.

<Pose Tracker> Al has posed.

"Yes," Al affirms Eight's musing. "What I do know of Mithril's enemies spoke of people who thrived on secrecy. This does not benefit any such party. So...perhaps."

A moment passes, and then a child's call.

Al's toaster switches so the toast has now popped. There wasn't any in it before.

"I believe I'm done," he says. 

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


So maybe... There's someone 'on their side' still out there. Or maybe their enemies are subtler than they think. It could be either.

But the child calls, and Eight smiles as she notices the toaster pop. Enba actually laughs politely. One imgines they're very good at laughing politely, such that even normal laughs sound that way.

"Very well," Eight says. "Then dismissed. Thank you."

Eight rises from her desk, and starts to cross the room.

"I hope we can talk again sometime," Enba says to Al. "I find your perspective very interesting." They nod, as if in farewell, and stand to follow Eight.

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