[TEXT] [LOCKED TO NEW HIRES ONLY]

[bringinghopewithme]

[After doing everything he can to verify he's locked this correctly, i.e. asking Stacia to check if he did it right, Bunny presses forth with testing Lonestar's claims.]

Well I haven't been interrogated or tortured any more than usual. Do we trust this thing or not?

[EDITED The next day comes an additional video message -]

I realized two things. Some of you rightly guessed I lied about stealing keys from Jorgmund. Some of you pointed out Jorgmund might somehow be smart enough not to take obvious bait. Well -

[He holds up one paw, and twirls a keyring around one digit.]

It's not a lie anymore.

It got me into a closet and now we have - [He re-angles the camera to show: a metal hammer, multi-bit screwdrivers with a wide range of interchangeable bits, an adjustable wrench, a tiny screwdriver set for delicate work, and a small soldering iron.]

Anyone thinks they can do something useful with any of this, come see me. I'm keeping them hidden and I'm not telling any of you where until I know for sure who talks too much and who doesn't.

Comments

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[stickypete]

[He went anon last time. This time, he takes a chance and doesn't.]

[It makes him feel naked to be doing this without the mask, even with going by "Ben."]

[The code is so advanced it was a little beyond him. He's good with computers but chemistry is definitely his specialty.]

[It reacted like it was almost alive. How curious Kermit "I made sentient AIs" the Frog hadn't weighed in. Hmm.]

I know people are worried about this code but right now it's all we've got.

If someone can come up with something more secure, great, but if not, there's a point where we're going to take on some risk and hope for the best. There's no way we're getting out of this without working together. We need to be able to talk for that.

And there are a lot of people here who want out, which means maybe we can trust that the captain of the Winnebago is one of them. And the fact they want their identity to stay secret kind of makes sense. They get caught, they maybe get tortured into explaining how they made the code, and how to undo it, we lose our new toy.

Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

Anon Text - Moose

[fromfryingpantofire]

[Sam hadn't even tried reading the code. He's no coder by any stretch of the imagination. Being able to crack into police records was a lot different than this.]

[So, he'll chance logging in since everybody else seems to be okay with it. And he catches that reference and can't help but grin.]

As long as the combination to unlock it isn't 1-2-3-4-5.

Pretty sure you're right, though. We have to trust in something at some point. This seems an okay place to start.

[stickypete]

That doesn't mean we automatically trust everyone so even if we take some risks, anon-ing up and doing things as no-contact as possible until we get a better sense of each other isn't a bad idea.

Someone mentioned dead drops in the last post. [Him.] Good way to gradually build up some trust with each other. We can also do some things off-network for communication, to keep a few things out of Lonestar's gaze if they're not one of us. If we notice they have knowledge of a few New Hire-only hijinks and coded messages, it may be another point in favor of them being what they say they are.

In the meantime, even if you're going to use this, it's not a bad idea to go anon as often as possible. Even just being seen logged in is risky, even if it might sometimes be necessary.

...says the logged-in guy. But an emotional appeal to trust each other loses a little rhetorical oomph anon, and Mama Reilly didn't raise no hypocrite.

[Said the hypocrite, hypocritically, because he's not using his real name on the rig and ha, he wasn't even raised by his mama! But that's not really about their little situation here. That's to protect MJ if an enemy from home is brought here and someday goes back.]

[What matters is in a post championing a little risk he's willing to take some on. All Jorgmund cares about is who's being naughty, regardless of what they're going by.]

[If he learned anything at all from ol' JJ (and he learned a surprising number of things) it's that there's no moral weight to an argument if you're not willing to take on the same risk you're asking of others.]

[Not only did JJ have the Bugle expose evils by the Kingpin, Norman Obsorn, organized crime, corrupt cops, evil corporations, and violent hate groups, he wrote even more blistering editorials vilifying them under his own name since some of the bile was left out of the articles to keep them unbiased and he wanted to shove said bile back into the conversation somewhere.]

[For all his railing against Peter wearing a mask was annoying, you never could say he didn't at least walk the walk. Thanks for the lesson, JJ.]

I'll go anon sometimes too, but it didn't feel right for this.

Anon Text - Moose

[fromfryingpantofire]

I'm pretty sure neither of our mothers raised a fool. But you're right. Stuff like appeals for trust come better from people who aren't logged in.

Which, you'll notice, is why I'm not saying that anybody has to trust anything. It's probably better that we don't give it our full trust. But some trust is worth it. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of us want to get out of here and want to do so without alerting the 'authorities'. Though I'm sure there are a couple who...may not mean to let things on and absolutely would.

[It's Mac. He's looking at Mac.]

Dead drops seem a good idea. We at least don't have to worry over much about the cameras. Since, from the look of things, corporate budget doesn't seem to have stretched to actually hooking them up to anything. In fairness, I'm not actually positive that they're real cameras.

anon text

[gautiheir]

not sure what you mean by this winnebago, but i think you've got the right idea.
if we aren't willing to trust each other, we're not going to get anywhere.
maybe trusting this gets us in trouble, but it still more than likely gets us further than we get by keeping to ourselves.
i do recognize the irony of me talking about trusting each other while i think i'm making this anonymous/
but i 'm still getting the hang of this1
i'll stop playing cloak and dagger when i'm sure i know the rules to play in the first place. ;0

[stickypete]

See my post above to the unfortunately named Moose.

Taking on risk the right ways at the right times is the way to go.

That doesn't mean unnecessary risk. Posting anon to this is smart and I broke my own rule because I was the one making the trust argument.

Necessary risk is the type to aim for. Gotta keep our risk types straight. As in, "Ben felt making an argument about a teensy bit of trust being essential for survival logged in was a necessary risk, so people knew the trust argument wasn't coming from some kind of Jorgmund plant." So going anon - even here in arguments in favor of trust - is good for most.

Occasionally, if doing or saying things un-anon helps accomplish something important or backs up an important point, the more risk-prone idiots like Bunny - and if I'm being honest with everyone, I also definitely fall into that category, emphasis on "idiot" - will probably fight over grenades to belly flop on. And possibly argue the finer merits of belly flopping technique. You, too, might be one of those idiots; I won't find it shocking if there are a lot of us.

[bringinghopewithme]

Call me an idiot to my face next time, see how that works out for you.

[stickypete]

Then I won't, but just so it's clear for the future, in case there's something else that might set you off: I'm not throwing hands with the Easter Bunny.

Also, I feel like your willingness to throw hands with me so easily is both unfair and uncouth considering I didn't try to throw down after you repeatedly sniffed me, over protest. On a New York subway, that'd get you a minimum of a thrown elbow. And that's Manhattan rules. Steeper penalties for an infraction that serious in the other boroughs.

[bringinghopewithme]

That's funny! You're a funny guy. It's almost like you don't know who I am.

Tell me why you smell like you do and I'll quit guessing. I have several.

[maybe Sticky Ben has good reason not to go announcing why he smells like he eats spiders like potato chips. Maybe his good reason is being a benevolent trickster along the lines of another (mostly) benevolent spider trickster Bunny knows well. But maybe his good reason is 'people won't get close enough that I can eat THEM like potato chips if they know I'm some variety of man-sized spider.']

Speaking of guessing, you remind me of another funny guy I know. A storyteller. You care to hazard a guess which one?

[stickypete]

I mean, yeah he also had a strong sense of irony, but I always found Aesop to be a little preachy.

[bringinghopewithme]

I'm in stitches.

[No he's not.]

You got any aunts? I'm guessing one named Nancy. Or is it a grandmother I'm thinking of? Not named Nancy?

[stickypete]

[He doesn't rise the talk of aunts, even though it's just a pun.]

[That's still a little fresh.]

Boy, you are both really far off the mark and really not letting this go.

How come you're managing dog-with-a-bone so well when you're a lagomorph? Not even a canine, you're not following animal stereotypes, what gives? Children's books lied to me.

[bringinghopewithme]

Didn't the children's books also tell you stereotyping is bad?

"Stereotyping is bad" is why I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself. A chance you keep throwing back in my face, but at least you know I'm not a rodent. Good onya for that one, the books taught you something!

[stickypete]

Why do I have to explain myself?

I accepted "I'm the Easter Bunny" without making you explain your entire deal.

The Easter Bunny may as well exist in another universe. My life is insane, I've accepted that.

[bringinghopewithme]

Oh wait a tic. You need the explanation?

[Huh. He just assumed a man who smells suspiciously like 20,000 spiders in a trench coat already knew all the mythic ins and outs.]

[stickypete]

Uh, yeah?

You exist?

Or I'd need you to explain it if I was nosy, but I kind of assumed it was just some weird other dimension you came from. You also mentioned Santa, so I'm guessing it's some magical, possibly claymation land of myths and whimsy.

[tarnishedavenger]

Oh, Santa's real. He sometimes asks some superhero group or other with help delivering toys for that year.

[stickypete]

Apparently, my world missed out.

I've beaten up a lot of robbers dressed like Santa though.

Like every Christmas, it's a thing for some reason. They decide robbing a bank needs to be festive.

[tarnishedavenger]

You'd think they'd at least pick up a little class about it. But no, fake beard, pillow belly, and right to the liquor store.

I guess Easter Bunny costumes are less popular due to the 'breathing in a faux-fur helmet' issue. And peripheral vision.

[partiallysquirrelblood]

He exists in mine, too. Haven't done the toy delivery thing, but a friend of mine knew him well enough to invite him to my old team's Christmas party, since they both work a lot that night for somewhat different reasons.

[credit_not_blame]

Can confirm the existence of Santa in a non-whimsy world. Also: Krampus. They're both Fae.

[bringinghopewithme]

That explains a lot. No worries mate, I'll find you.

[stickypete]

Why do I find that vaguely ominous?

[bringinghopewithme]

[Wherever Peter Sticky Ben is, unfortunately for him he has a distinct scent that's easy to follow. Maybe shower more bud.

In the shadowiest, most deserted hallway he comes to, Bunny slides out of the shadows, blocking his way.]

G'day mate.

Let's you and me have a talk.

[He anticipated vaguely ominous, he got vaguely ominous.]

anon text

[gautiheir]

i suppose that means i should come up with my own unfortunate anonymous moniker, doesn't it/
i'd like to tell you i'm not another of those idiots.
but the friend who's responsible for acting as a good two-thirds of my impulse control isn't here with me, so that certainly doesn't bode well1