@ren.amamiya

[variate]

[ there’s a lot to think about it, between people who took Cassius' deal and those who didn't. for him, the issues are separate: there's Cassius, and there's the UNA. there are too many things that remain hidden for his comfort, even less so when the Displaced are fighting each other. ]

Alright--there’s a lot going on and a lot to say. I want to keep it brief, but I have an idea. We all got the message from Cassius.

1. Cassius offering a deal to find Judas.
2. Judas is at the UNA base in New Beijing.

There isn't a lot for us to go on, but I want to take this back from Cassius and the UNA. We know that Cassius said "free him," but it was vague. We could find Judas and capture him on our own terms. We'll know more when we're able to talk to him.

Forget about the favor. It feels like Cassius is trying to turn us against each other. I know everyone has their own reason for doing what they’re doing, and I'm not here to argue over what we should've done. The UNA already knows that we're coming. That means we're all in danger. I'm interested in what can be done now.

No one has to go. If you took the deal or not, if you're going or not, if you can help us find a way of capturing Judas--let's talk about what we can do.

Comments

[forcevisions]

Of course not. But I don't think he's doing hundreds of thousands of lives worth of planet-destroying harm in there either.
Getting Judas away from the UNA is a separate goal. Keeping Cassius from having him is the larger, more immediate one.

[variate]

[ Akechi was right. he hates it when that happens. ]

Yeah, but it's not a matter of "don't go or go" now. Cassius might retaliate if we don't play the board right. He might hurt us, involved or not. Now the UNA has been alerted. Morningstar is possibly in danger. People are going to go, and the alternative is fighting against each other.
I want to act, not react.

[forcevisions]

Unity and avoiding infighting isn't a more worthy goal than keeping Judas well out of Cassius' reach.

[variate]

You know that isn't the only thing at stake here, but it's where we're putting our energy.
Even if one person makes it through and we don't have an alternative plan, Judas gets out.
I don't want that.

[forcevisions]

Neither do I.

[ but she still doesn't know if she can accept putting judas somewhere easier for cassius to get to him as an option yet. for once, the impregnability of the una is on their side. only because 'their side' is currently humanity's side. ]

[variate]

I'd rather El get to see Judas again, first. And we need to talk with him. He's the one that's been locked away, and no one knows what he wants, good or bad.
Then we can decide.
Humans and AI have hurt each other a lot, but we might be able to help them.

[forcevisions]

[ oh no he found the way to win rey over and it's

the power of unchecked idealism. ]

I hear you.

[ she's still on the fence, but ren has clearly Gotten To Her. ]

[variate]

Thanks.
If we have a chance to stop the suffering, I'm going to take it.

@riku.masterson

[inherited]

If this is what El wants, maybe we should listen.

[forcevisions]

El doesn't necessarily know what's best.

[inherited]

Rey, I trust El on this.

[forcevisions]

Don't tell me what to do.

[ oh no ]

[inherited]

Wait. Hold on. I'm not.

I just ... I've spoken to El about this before any of this went down. El's made and learned from mistakes. Remember how we talked about that before?

[forcevisions]

Yeah.

[ squint. ]

I remember.

[inherited]

I understand if you've made up your mind. I'm not gonna stop you.

But if El wants Judas out, I'm going with El's plan.

I trust that El's learned from zeir mistakes.

@goro.akechi

[impede]

Curious. Why can't they be the same goal? I thought you said that the UNA was the sign of fear for everyone in this world. In fact, when I steered you away from that, you shut me down.

[forcevisions]

Because there are people who would take him from us and give him to Cassius the minute we were out of the UNA base.
I'm surprised you're not one of them, honestly.

[impede]

If Judas is interested in killing humans, I'd prefer not to be included among that number. Especially if I'm a selfish, self-serving human. It's common sense.

But that's a personal reason.

From a logistical standpoint, what do you think a powerful AI like Judas would do for the UNA? Think of what El does for us, and what Cassius did in a short period of time.

Why do you think the UNA is strong? What if this is the Achilles' heel that you're looking for?

[forcevisions]

[ she thinks of ben's theory -- about judas and ALIGN. it's a tempting theory. tidy. but ... ]

If we bank on this, and it goes wrong, we risk millions of lives to Cassius and Judas.
While Judas is locked inside of the UNA, we deal with the same threat we've been dealing with.

[ is that fear talking? is she the one being a coward for not being willing to risk big to win big? maybe she's gun-shy, after the soldiernapping and her own capture. she's starting to second-guess herself. it certainly isn't because akechi is twisting her own position and confusing her stance. not at all. ]

[impede]

Are you dealing with it, though? Everyone I've spoken to about the UNA sees them as a faceless monster and has no real plan to stop them.

You have a chance to turn the tide of things here. Would you rather be caught not trying?

[forcevisions]

And since when do you care about disarming the UNA?

[impede]

I don't. Not in truth.

I think everyone's eyes are on the wrong problem, but I think that if the UNA is disarmed here and the world remains as it will, I may be proven right. Is that what you want to hear?

But Ren's reasons are not my own. He believes the world has bits of goodness in it all over despite the ugliness of it all. Just like you. But his plan here is a compelling one and a logical one. So, I intend to go along with it.