meadowlark | @rey.solo

i made a mistake

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ETA
Riverstone is interested in cooperating with the Displaced to learn more about the people who brought us here. They figured out who I was when I put in the paperwork to change my name back. Apparently, I'm still on the UN's most wanted list, but someone prevented the UN from acting to bring me into custody.

I don't know who, and neither does Riverstone — in fact, they asked me about it.

But they know that I'm one of the Displaced, which actually explains a few things. I've been working for Riverstone for months. After I went to Everest, I was gone a bit longer than the rest of us, well beyond El's coverage. They gave me back my job anyway. I don't think this was news to them. If you ask me, that's a sign they're not out to get us, but I realize not everyone will agree there.

Now they want to talk to all of us, or as many of us as are interested. Riverstone is offering to pay travel expenses in New Beijing for one week for anyone who wants to undergo observation and testing of their power, and who's willing to answer some questions. I know that sounds scary. I know scary. The UNA had me in custody for some time, running "tests." But Riverstone claims that what they're offering is different, that we'll preview everything first.

Before you decide, I should mention ... they think they might know something about who's been dropping us off. In return for our cooperation, they're willing to exchange that information.

I'm not telling anyone what to do, and no one else should try to do that either. But if follow (this) link, you can register your information with the Riverstone employees in charge of this, and they'll reach out to you to arrange the trip.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They don't want just one subject. They never do.

They didn't set a number as a requirement, as far as I can tell, which is on them. If they said we need five of you or else, not so much, but if all they get is one, that's a low risk percentage.

Do we really want to see what happens when they get desperate?

Being nefarious isn't worth it when you're facing a group of mages ready to kick in your door.

But if we do this we need to do something else first. We need to extract all the information and connection I have to the Displaced guides. If it has to disconnect me entirely from our secret network during this that's fine, we can ask El.

Hawke, now that the offer's on the table, it isn't only going to be you.

So you're saying it's going to happen either way now. So we might as well prepare. Disconnect the volunteers from the ... thing that El made. I don't know the technology. Remove our connection to it so they can't get at the information. I suppose a rescue team available if need be.

Remove their only secure connection to get help? Which may be their only means to ask for help?

If El can remove access to the guides itself, that'll be enough. Just in case that's a possibility for this group to poke at our brains too. Rey says they have no reason to press on our neural implant but we won't know for certain. Something to keep that information private would be worth preparing for. If El can keep the connection otherwise but pull that access, should be better.

I don't think that's how it works, and I don't think that's a good idea.

I wouldn't know how to make any of it work, but we could ask all the same.

It's a bad idea.

It sounds like negotiations may be in the works first, and then side plans on top of that. The idea can become better.

We have nothing to negotiate with.

Of course we do. We have us. If they won't negotiate and bring something back to the table, we're all off of it. They'll get nothing. I'm from a port city, trading and business are what we do.

Trust me when I say that negotiating yourself is not a true negotiation. I've done it before. I've seen what comes of it countless times.

Is this pinging the experience from your dream that I saw?

One of them. It doesn't help that Rey thinks they have a right to use us this way.

Oh they certainly do not, no one has the right to our bodies. That's why I'm volunteering it up. There seem to be ideas in process like negotiations and rescue missions and such, I trust people to come up with the safest approach to it. I usually just run in and hope for the best, so this is a bit novel in comparison.