dualisnet | TEXT: Day after the Festivities

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TEXT: Day after the Festivities

Username: dpdhank@dualislink

My name is Hank Anderson, I'm a patrol officer with Dualis's police. I think I met a few people at the Dualis Days festival, many of them during the unfortunate opening ceremonies.

The police are conducting an official investigation but I want to conduct my own independent investigation. In my experience that usually solves cases a little more quickly. [That's how he and Connor made it as far as they did, superseding what was technically required of them. The end result was also the better result for the world, not the preferred result for the powers that be, too.]

I know some of you were close to the bombing. If you're interested and able to give me some information I'll be in the kitchen on floor six for the rest of the evening.

[Anyone that comes to find him will be lucky. For the moment he'll be listening to some jazz he loaded onto a music player and speaker he found in a thrift shop rather than metal. But you better believe when it's necessary he'll switch to metal if he has to. In the meantime he's also reading an actual paper book, a softcover novel that he was lucky enough to find.]

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What if "these assholes" are right?

[Mira sets her mostly-empty fruit cup on the table, fork resting on the lip.]

We've no reason to trust the powers that brought us here against our will.

I've been considering that, too. That's part of why I wanna find 'em first. I want to hear what they have to say. I mean, I wouldn't excuse them for blowing up a fuckin' stage in front of families. But there's something we need to know, and we might not find out if the iterations get to them first.

[He shoves the book aside, finally, and gets up to get a soda out of the fridge. He really, really wishes he had some whiskey. That'll be his next purchase, a good bottle that he can make stretch.]

Before I came here, I was on a case, finding androids that had developed a 'malfunction'. It was emotions, sentience. My partner was an android made specifically to hunt them down, but I saw him showing more and more empathy. And eventually we came up against this one guy. Everyone was calling him a terrorist but he didn't kill anyone, or injure them. His people didn't either. He was an activist, not a terrorist.

[He settles back down again, close to the speakers and nearer to her.]

My partner eventually turned, got that same glitch. I was with him when he passed it on, grabbing the first guy's arm. He told them to 'Wake Up'. Then they all touched each other, and said 'Wake Up'. Even their leader, he had the same call to arms. You know how he talked to the public? Took over a fucking TV station. Seems pretty familiar.

There's definitely something we need to know. I worry we won't find out if we let them handle it all or if we don't work together a little.

[Mira grows more and more unsettled as Hank tells the story, wide-eyed and leaning back in her chair. He predates the revolt of the Men of Iron and the Emperor's decree about AI, so none of it makes him a heretic, she's pretty sure, but she can't hide how uncomfortable she is.

But she's trying to follow his point, she really is. She's a Guard officer. She can't afford to be squeamish.]

Are you certain the parallels aren't coincidental? "Wake up" isn't an unusual thing to say if you think someone is being obtuse, and a broadcast is by far the simplest way to contact an entire city.

[He sees the unsettled look. He would agree, honestly, just a few weeks ago. He literally begged Fowler not to put him on the case, shocked because of his horrible history with androids. He still blamed them for his son's death then.]

[He can't argue with it, so he won't. Connor was an exemplary case. He saw a lot of abused androids manhandled by trash examples of humanity. Sometimes you have to be a part of something to be affected by it. Or, you know, get caught at a point in your life when you desperately need someone and some skinny plastic fuck promises to be that someone.]

They're probably coincidental, but it's similar enough that still makes me think there's something we don't know. There's no real political comedians on the air, ever notice that? No conspiracy sites. Not even the ones that are really obviously nutjobs.

It also makes me think that they probably had one guy at the site of the explosion, no more than two, and they probably had to have some sort of team to get to that server and take over a broadcast and cut the cameras. Maybe even several people to collect explosive components.

Shit, I'd be shocked if it was only three or so people.

Edited 2019-06-23 05:28 (UTC)

Political comedians? Public conspiracies? Why would there be?

[Those are oxymorons as far as she's concerned. Mira thinks "free speech" is a lecture you don't have to pay to attend.]

Well there's always somebody that likes to hear their head rattle within the limits of censorship, whether it's making fun of someone important or whether it's just rambling about their hairbrained theories. Depends on the limits of censorship.

Could just be someone bitching about their freedom of speech in the fucking stupidest way possible.

[He drags his book over and makes another note to himself. 'Look for underground live comedians or musicians. May have possible subjects in their regular audience.']

Freedom of speech? [She's not familiar with the term, but it seems bad.] That sounds like the sort of thing the planetary government would want to clamp down on.

Trust me, some of the best music and novels happen when you have freedom of speech.

[Sounds like this Imperium sounds exactly like you would expect something with the name Imperium would sound like.]

Ever want to stay awake at work on a long day? Fuckin' listen to metal. And this? [He points to the speakers, which are playing Jazz. But it's just your average song about being ridiculously lonely.] Jazz. For when you're wanting to wind down. [Or cover up some of your conversation, but that goes for either type of music.]

Like if it was up to me, I'd find some Billie Holiday, but I haven't been able to find anything like her here. I've always been shit about standing up for causes. Too jaded. But a good musician not only makes you interested in it, they put you in an emotion you didn't even know you could feel. That's the good in freedom of speech. The unrest isn't, but the creativity is.

[The Imperium is a glorious testament to the greatness of mankind and certainly not a totalitarian hellhole that's spent ten thousand years doing everything in its power to turn the galaxy into a fascist nightmare of a skull-bedecked boot stomping on a human face forever.

Hank might as well be speaking a language the translation can't handle for all he seems to be getting through to Mira, who listens with an expression of well-mannered skepticism.]

It hardly seems worth the risk of disorder, or heresy.

Normally it is. But, like I mentioned, they went about this in absolutely the stupidest way possible. Neither absolute freedom or absolute safety should happen. It's gotta be a balance. People shouldn't get away with everything like fuckin' hurting other people. But they should be able to speak up if they have some administration actively fuckin' destroying whole populations or the environment or just holding back every new idea for some sorta idea of 'peace' that really isn't.

Best place is a middle ground. Don't care what sorta government finds it. But progress has to exist so it's not boring and stagnant, and people being held accountable for their self-absorbed shit has to exist. Or else it's not a place worth defending. Say you got a bad leader trying to convince people that there's not a food shortage and hiding any mention of that. In the process fuckin' silencing up any random civilians that might be coming up with great solutions to that shortage.

Hoping that maybe... in the middle of this, I can see if there are people out there that believe in a middle ground. The guys that did this bombing? Not exactly the type I want throwing their weight around.

[Maybe some people need outspoken violence. But there were people out there that wanted nothing more than an easy day out, kids that didn't even understand, getting scared and hurt. And that, unfortunately, fucks over any good points he wants to make.]

[Mira is...well, not thinking it over, because as far as she's concerned it's arrant nonsense, but considering how not to burn bridges. Hank has some ridiculous ideas, but she can't expect him to recognize the truth of the Imperial Creed if he's from a time before humanity had even finished colonizing the Sol system. He has no frame of reference for it, no idea of the threats waiting among the stars. There's a reason the Emperor didn't reveal Himself until the Age of Strife, after all.

So, she ignores the philosophy of government parts, which is really about the best Hank can hope for on that front.]

No middle ground is possible in war. The closest you'll get is detente in the face of a greater threat to both sides.

What's your war over?

[Now there's always a possibility that she's going to give him some sort of brainwashed propoganda. Or she'll give him something genuine. Honestly? He knows he's not going to know the truth from a hole in the ground.]

[He wonders if she's jaded by the whole thing.]

I wasn't talking about the Imperium's wars. [That would be a long and (for Hank) disheartening conversation.] I meant here. Regardless of how well or poorly the government might have been relating to the populace in the past, this ceased to be a purely civic matter when the bomb went off. It's now an insurgency.

[Mira's not upset about it. In fact, she hardly seems to give a damn. One small explosion in one small city is regrettable, certainly, but to get worked up over that it would be like panicking over a kitchen grease flareup when her job is to parachute into out-of-control wildfires. It's not jadedness--she cares passionately about protecting the human race. It's merely the soul-searing enormity of the Imperium's endless, total war making this look unremarkable by comparison.]

Pretty strange that they didn't really talk about it after it happened other than let us know that the mayor was alright. If someone was looking for a war, the authorities aren't really wanting to rally civilians to their side.

Back home the government woulda eaten this up as an opportunity for some politician to show off. Maybe play victim and wring a few extra dollars out of people.

[He remembers Connor being concerned about a nation about to break into civil war. That never really happened. The appeal had been successful. Though these people are being more idiotic about it.]

[Mira shakes her head. What do they teach Arbiters where he's from?]

At this stage, the government must not appear to be out of control. Publicity strengthens the insurgents, and even if they're defeated quickly, plants the seeds for future rebellion.

[The Head or whoever's calling the shots is using tactics right out of the Imperium's playbook--if you want a good read on what a totalitarian government will do in any given situation, ask Mira.]

Hmm. Sounds reasonable. I'm used to the government thriving off occasional bursts of nationalism against a common enemy. A lot of 'support our troops' shit when they don't do fuck for any public service workers when it comes to retirement.

[Which will make it harder to find out the truth. While they're shitting on info that common people could keep an eye out for. Of course, this means a few less Beckys and Sandras out there to put out bullshit calls about suspicions kids, but it's not worth it when they cost some valuable clues.]

If they got to the point of bombing there must have already been violence. Had to hit somewhere public for attention. They covered up this quick.

[That sounds like a personal problem to her, Hank. (Imperial Guardsmen rarely live long enough to retire, though the odds are slightly better for officers.)]

The Head cannot call on a sense of patriotism or duty because it inspires neither. [Mira doesn't actually have a problem with bursts of nationalism.]

The trappings of society notwithstanding, the creature is the warden of a well-appointed prison. It knows this, even if the majority of its captives have chosen to forget. [Judging by Mira's tone, that's not intended as a swipe at Hank.] The question is what this particular group of prisoners find distasteful enough that they will challenge their jailors over it. Either the risk of inaction is greater than the threat of reprisal, or they perceive it so.

I swear to fucking god if this turns out to be some 'Matrix' bullshit I'm going to fuckin' beat someone until my fists hurt. [That's muttered to himself, with that same sense of previous exhaustion. Because the convenient ability to forget makes him wonder. And he hates that he's wondering.]

Maybe the Head isn't the only AI at work here. [He comes around to thought. But fuckin' shit, there's no way for his ass to follow that fuckin' shit up. God he needs Connor.] Maybe to them it's worth dislodging one for the other.

Far-fetched, but I'm gonna put that one on the back-burner for later.

[Mira snorts.]

No need to requisition what the enemy has already supplied.

[Judging by her expression and tone, that probably means something like "don't borrow trouble."]

Edited 2019-06-24 23:24 (UTC)

They've probably supplied more than they intended. Maybe more than we can handle.

[The trouble is already here. He's just gotta dig his way through it. It's what he has a habit of doing.]

Pretty selfish of 'em, I think.

[Mira shrugs.]

Crisis creates opportunity. [That sounds like another aphorism, but she doesn't leave it at platitudes.] To do what, I don't know. I have no mission here beyond survival, but you should make certain you know what yours is, and be ready to take advantage of that opportunity.

[Free life advice from the twenty-something.]

[His hasn't been about survival for a long time. But he doesn't say that, because who the hell wants to be protected by a cop with that kind of problem. It's something that Connor dragged out of him and he only told him about it because at the time talking to Connor was like talking to a fucking toaster. It didn't matter.]

My mission's always been to make people stop ruining each other's lives. And sometimes I'm actually pretty good at it.

[He's got a good record. Not here. But in the past? A good record. It's not exactly 'bringing in the bad guy', it's just making lives less painful by snagging the actual douchebags in the scenario. That's enough for him.]

Jesus fuckin' Christ I'm sounding like my partner. [With this 'complete the mission' shit. He should be fucking ashamed. Though Connor might actually be proud. Stop fucking thinking about him you dickbag. He's not here, and with any luck he'll never be.]

[It's fine! Mira doesn't trust any Dualis police to protect her, irrespective of their will to live. She also doesn't want to talk about Hank's partner the blasphemous abomination, because she's currently trying to avoid starting any unnecessary fights.]

You know, I've just realized we haven't been introduced. [Extremely smooth subject change, Mira, well done.] Second Lieutenant Miranda Nero, 203rd Cadian regiment.

Edited 2019-06-25 21:17 (UTC)

[He'll have you know his blasphemous abomination is also an asshole and should be known as that first and foremost, thank you.]

Lt. Hank Anderson, Homicide Detective with the Detroit Police Department. Nice to meet you. And talk uninvited philosophy while you were trying to enjoy your fruit cup.

[He'll claim it for now. He's not technically lost his badge yet. He was ready to. Maybe Connor might have said something later that could let him keep his job.]

[Mira looks down at her snack, where a few fruit bits are still floating in the syrup. Oh, right. She picks it and the fork back up to finish it, and chuckles at Hank.]

How d'you do. [It's a quick, rote phrase acknowledging the introduction, not really a question.] It's fine. You're not shooting at me or threatening to report me to the Commissar for being out of uniform.

[Nice high standards, there, Mira.]

TEXT: Day after the Festivities

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