@keith.kogane

[secondnature]

So. Some of you know this already, but Ciri's gone. She hadn't come home for a while. She was there with us when we first got into that accident a couple months ago. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I hope she comes back to us.

Until then, Ciri was interested in making sure we were all on the same page. Whether we like it or not, we're a team. We have a lot of the same goals. Some people want to help this world and others want to get home, but I think we all know the answers surrounding us can be found in the same place.

The idea was that we would meet once a month to touch base. And maybe get to know one another better. We'd do it outside of the safehouse so that it'd be our own thing. I think we decided on a buffet. But I'm not sure. Somewhere more private might be better. We could always start somewhere with food and find somewhere else to touch base.

If anyone has some ideas, let me know. I think these meetings can be important. If nothing else, we'll always know that we're not alone.

[And somewhere in there, Keith managed not to write "I don't know how to gather people for a party or make reservations or any of that because I'm bad at it." It was a true effort on his part.]

Comments

@giovanni.rammsteiner

[ofobedience]

[Whilst he's interested in the information sharing, this one thing is really bothering him and he needs to ask...]

Do people often return once they've disappeared? Or is it not more likely our captors have simply reclaimed them? That, or they're dead.

@jughead.jones

[drivein]

Damnit.
That really ties things up. We'll just have to pick up where she left off.

Sorry, man. I knew she was a friend of yours.

[secondnature]

We don't know where they go, but they do return.

Either way, she's not dead.

[secondnature]

The first friend I made here.

She didn't like this world much. Having to sit still and do nothing before we could act was hard on her.

If she's somewhere else, hopefully it's a place she can fight.

[ofobedience]

You seem very certain.

@ojiro.juniper

[deicider]

I'm sorry to hear about Ciri. Keeping this up is a good idea.
A private home would really be the best place to get into details but given the cost and size of real estate in this place, I really doubt anyone has a big enough place.

@ignis.scientia

[cheffeur]

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. But may I ask what you mean when you say you hope her to 'come back to us'?

As for coordinating the entire collective of displaced individuals here into a space, I would agree with your suggestion of something more private and low-key. While a group assembling is a rather benign occurrence, the fact of the matter is that it immediately draws a connection to all of us. And should that connection be found to be false identities forged by a rebellious faction, it would likely spell disaster.

Do we have any accurate estimations of how many of us are here?

[secondnature]

They wouldn't come back if they were dead. People have come back.

[secondnature]

We don't know where someone goes when they leave. But what we do know is that they can come back. I'd rather know where my friend is than not.

I don't know how many there are. @gaby would know. Not everyone showed up at our first meeting.

Maybe we can ask Morningstar if they know a place that they haven't made their own yet. They could give us this.

[cheffeur]

I still don't understand what you mean by 'when they leave'. If she hasn't come home in several days, have you contacted any authorities or local A&E's?

[sorry keith he's still thinking way too logically for this]

Unfortunate. I'll try and tally them myself, then, based on activity on the network. But it's entirely possible that there are those who have arrived and not been collected by Morningstar, or had simply broken all contact with the network here.

There's nothing to be lost by asking, especially if it would only be a space used occasionally. What would you wish to accomplish with physical meetings, though? Knowing that would help narrow down the sort of venue needed.

[secondnature]

What about places in the city like the grocery store above?

[secondnature]

I can't. None of us can. We're not from this world. Last I checked, around thirty people have left. Disappeared. We don't know where they go. They just vanish. There's no trace. We can go somewhere at any time.

Anyway.

Physical meetings for me would be able to provide a sense of camaraderie. They'd let us talk about stuff where Morningstar can't see it, and where no one else can, too. We can be monitored in both places. I trust Morningstar, but that's not something that everyone does. Even asking about a place like that could be risky with that, but we can run checks ourselves.

@gaby

[vns]

42.

[cheffeur]

No, but we've received identification from Morningstar, illegitimate though it is. I'd assume there to be records of us in some manner. By what you're saying, it sounds as though our appearance here is only temporary? Are these disappearances to be expected?

Valiant, but how would you communicate meetings without the possibility of interference? As you said, both network options are monitored.

I'm not against the idea itself, but is seems very idealistic and poorly thought out.

[cheffeur]

Thank you for that.

May I ask how you came about it? Keith has reported almost that number disappearing, so I'm curious if '42' is a total number, or just those of us present now.

[vns]

Present now.

I'm your handler. I keep track.

We know when someone hasn't accessed the Morningstar network in a while. Obviously, it's easier for us when someone's not able to get a place of their own and is still living in the safehouse. But the network is a sure tell, one way or another.

[cheffeur]

So our network usage and logins are tracked.

But surely it would be possible for someone to forego it completely, especially if they were afraid of being affiliated with Morningstar. What makes you so sure of your numbers?

[basically he's suspicious they aren't being tracked or monitored in additional ways.]

[vns]

We're not the bad guys, but this is a network we set up. It's not like it's hard to track network usage or logins. That's child's play for our technicians.

So. Trust that I'm sure. Someone has to be. It's my job to be.

[ no one truly goes off the radar in a world like this one. ]

[secondnature]

We can't go to the cops because then we'd be bringing attention to ourselves. Don't you want to go home?

I don't care if Morningstar knows we're meeting. The important part is that we do meet.

It was thought out fine when Ciri was running things. I don't have a lot of experience with organizing more than five or six people at a time.

[cheffeur]

Of course. It's a reasonable expectation for any system administer to be aware of the finer details behind a network's usage. What concerns me is the implication that contact with said network is unavoidable, or that it is encompassing enough that none can elude your notice.

Morningstar has provided nothing but aid, of which I am appreciative. But I'm sure the wariness of not fully understanding the situation we're in is equally understandable.

[vns]

Feel free to avoid it all you want. But when you don't know what information people have found or don't know what anyone else is doing, that's on you. It's convenient and secure.

I'm not here to win you over. I'm here to help you. Be wary all you want. I don't give a damn.

My stance remains the same.

@daisy.johnson

[evite]

she'd be really happy you're doing this when she can't
we could also go the route of throwing fake birthday parties
renting out places for parties is pretty normal back home, i can't see why anyone would think that's weird here

@eugenides.attolis

[kleptocratic]

Whenever I needed to go somewhere I wouldn't be recognized, I went to a wineshop.

Of course, whenever I needed to go somewhere I would be recognized, I also went to a wineshop.

@scott.summers

[evenslimmer]

I'm sorry about Ciri. She was a good teammate. HOpefully wherever she is, she's okay.

We need to maximize our interactions with each other while minimizing our exposure, and so I'm wondering about the feasibility of getting all of us together in the same place without tipping someone off. But if we split into groups, we're not really a cohesive unit, unless we switch out who hangs out with whom every month.

We could find some kind of cover for all of us to get together as a social club. Fake a shared hobby or interest that most people would not find very interesting. The dystopian equivalent of birdwatching.

[ofobedience]

All of them?