🛠 001 🛠 [Encoded, Text]

[xrater]

So, we have a bit of a decision to make here. I have my preferences, of course, but they may not line up with yours and since they might mean some... dramatic life changes for us, it would be best if I asked you.

Some of you may know many of the security cameras don't work. It's a longstanding problem. Some of you may know why they don't work. (If you don't, the less you know, the better.) I can fix this issue so that the security cameras on the Rig work. All of them. Everywhere. However, with the limited functionality of the computers I'm allowed to use, I can't keep them selectively blind. They'll either work for both Jorgmand and us or not at all. In addition, once I've informed Jorgmund that the problem's been fixed, there's no plausible way for us to go back to enjoying the relative privacy we've had so far.

So, in short, we'd have eyes and could rely both on Security and ourselves to spot anything... amiss, like our attacker moving into action again. But there would be no more blind spots, we'd have to be more careful, or find a way to engineer glitches that won't raise suspicion.

That's option 1.

Option 2 is simple.

^╭Download aliaworkshop062.gif? y/n_╯

[The image is of Alia's workspace, largely spotless and polished to a near mirror-sheen. For those with lots of hope and a fertile imagination, no, this isn't her attempting the one finger selfie challenge. Repent for your sins. No, instead it's a few small robots. Some mechanical worms about four or five inches long, something that looks like segmented snake, and a metallic spider the size of a large tarantula. Only five total.]

Apologies for the low quality image. Jorgmund's communicators are rather substandard. For the past several weeks, I've been allowed a small budget to build useful machines and advance Jorgmund's scientific knowledge. As you can see in the attached image, this is what I have available so far. The other options are either too loud or too large to fit into the ducts without issue. I could build more, easily, but I've used up my allotted budget and couldn't put cameras inside of them.

We can send these on patrols, inspecting various rooms, point them at specific suspects to track, or set to watch specific areas where an attack or an escape may occur. I can explain their use to the R&D heads as field testing, if need be.

With these active, we would maintain our privacy but, as you can see, we would be limited to only five more sets of eyes in addition to our own.

Personally, Option 1 feels like the best choice, but I'm not going to take such a step without consulting the rest of you.

Comments

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[googledox]

Under no circumstances can we allow Jorgmund to have constant surveillance on us. We will never escape if they do, a dangerous proposition if their treatment of us degrades into something more violent.

Adding our own forms of patrol and surveillance seems a wiser course of action, even if they're not as extensive.

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[wheyoftheadept]

im with brainy. we're never gonna get shit done with eyes on us.

if we're that worried about safety, we consolidate. sleep in the same room, use the buddy system, no one goes anywhere unescorted.

[googledox]

I concur. We need to take whatever measures we can to monitor, track, and attack who or whatever is responsible. Such coordination may be riskier, more work intensive, and mundane, but at least we'll still have freedom from Jorgmund's surveillance.

They'll also not be aware we're intelligent enough to realize they can't get the cameras to work. More than freedom from the cameras we need them to think we're uncoordinated, complacent, obedient, and with all luck, dull.

[greyaria]

Brainy's right. They tried to keep me from treating Setsuna and Tenten until they'd run a cost-benefit analysis. Fortunately for everyone, I don't listen to idiots.

[xrater]

[Alia's hit by a sudden curiosity to know what the final decisions were. She makes a note to check on that later.]

They do tend to pop up more often whenever you're dealing with higher levels of authority...

[googledox]

That's just the start. Expecting complacency, obedience, and inaction if they so deem it.

There are worse things they can do and allowing New Hires to die from medical negligence is only a step removed from pre-meditated murder.

[bringinghopewithme]

What was their conclusion?

[well if Jorgmund considers children that expendable, he wants to know.]

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[credit_not_blame]

Thank fuck someone articulated this in a way that makes logical sense, all I had was "no no no" at increasing volume.

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[googledox]

No, there was that on my end, too, that was just what was going on in meatspace. Fortunately, I was alone.

[xrater]

That's a pretty big 'if' when weighed against saving lives, Brainiac 5.

cw: mention of child abuse

[googledox]

The only reason I didn't use the term "when" is that I hope we'll be free of this place before we face that inevitability. Our lives and autonomy mean nothing to them beyond what use they can wring out of it and even on that spectrum some of us are treated with less regard for our status as sentients than others.

[He is fortunately not as mistreated as the synthetic lifeforms have been, but he is definitely regarded as possibly a "Stuff" being. A lower life form.]

I grew up under circumstances similar to this. The depths of emotional and mental turmoil I was reduced to by my handlers damaged me for years. I was only able to articulate this as "abuse" and try to bring my abusers to justice this year. I had to accept it for my son, after they created him without my knowledge and caused him greater harm than they had ever caused me.

Even if they tell themselves they are only pressuring us into a noble cause, the longer they grow used to harming and controlling us, the greater the risk our treatment will degrade. Just as the treatment of my world's government degraded from each generation of my family to the next.

We still need the room to breathe or we may find ourselves suffocating under their mistreatment as time goes on, as those who crave the unfettered abuse of others rise into positions of power. Because that is the nature of those who rise into power over others. The muck inevitably rises to the top.

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[monkey_wrench]

i'm with brainy on this, too.

you give people like this an inch and they'll take a mile, and turning those cameras on is way more than an inch.

what ever damage this person or thing we're dealing with now can do, it's nothing compared to the long term damage the company will do if they have that much more of a grip on us.

and i got two more sets of optics to add to this project. they're not as stealthy and they don't have any real weaponry yet, because i'm "not a team player" and "haven't earned that trust and responsibility yet, son", but i've got two jackbots up and running that can record what they see and can still cause a ruckus if they see something going down.

[heterochrocatic]

why the hell would i want to let jorgmund see more of me

[xrater]

To help catch whoever, or whatever, did this to those two, of course.

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[walkingballpit]

Option 1 isn’t the best choice - option 1 shouldn’t even be a choice! We can’t rely on Security to do anything, even if they do see something happen on a video feed.

They put explosives in your neck. You think they care about one or two of us getting attacked? They’d probably just make popcorn. We aren’t real to them. You can’t gift wrap them tighter control over us, even if it would benefit us a little.

I suppose I should thank you for putting it to a vote and not bring a complete idiot.

[xrater]

Two girls nearly died. A man did die. I'd say that preventing that sort of thing from happening again is more than 'a little' beneficial.

Even if Security doesn't say anything, we can monitor. Alexa is right there and, even if she's a substandard AI, at least she can act like a watchdog.

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[scavengineer]

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with everyone else. It would make us safer in the short term, but exponentially less so in the long term.

As Brainy pointed out, they don't see many of us as being people. Speaking as a mouse, that's really not a position it's safe to be in without some way of keeping hidden. Not being able to hide leads to a drastically lowered life expectancy.

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[xrater]

[Sorry, Gadget, she doesn't consider you 'people' either. But she's at least polite about it.]

There is, of course, the possibility that catching the murderer might lead to more goodwill and freedom for us.

[valkywhee]

Why would you even THINK about turning on the cameras? I don't want a bunch of creepy psychos spying on us! What is WRONG with you?

[xrater]

Activating the cameras and tracking them ourselves is, I believe, the best option to prevent any more murders.

I seem to be in the minority on this, though.

[credit_not_blame]

Nora, chill. She's asking, not doing. Her brain probably works differently than ours; we're made out of meat and she's made out of...IDK, but probably not meat.

[gempathizing]

I'm more of an option 2 fan. Mobile cameras and a solid buddy system sound like a more flexible setup. I like something we can keep tweaking.

But I mean, I'm not exactly a security expert either. I'll do what I can wherever we land on this.

[xrater]

The problem with Option 2 is that it only gives us a few new viewpoints and one of us will have to keep track of them at all times. Likely me, since I don't know if anyone else can receive multiple wireless data feeds unaided.

In addition, we'll have trouble if they're spotted by Jorgmund.

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[garmr]

[be merciful, text-to-speech]

First choice sounds like a bad deal. Don't know too much about the machines you're talking about, but it ain't a good idea to give your enemies a bunch of eyes and ears to track you with.

We've got a good start on setting up our own protection without our bosses' help. Best thing to do is figure out the rest amongst ourselves.

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[somnioergosum]

Fuck no to option 1. I've got problems with being spied on all the time. Imagine the cameras we don't know about.