meadowlark | @rey.solo

i made a mistake

-------

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

Even if I hadn't decided, the link is up there. Someone's bound to.

[ truth be told, she hadn't decided until talk on this post got underway. admittedly, she talked herself into some of it, but not entirely. ]

Yeah, and hopefully they won't feel like they have to be secretive about it due to all this opposition. If something goes wrong, it's important to know who's involved; the others talking about setting a rescue group have a good idea.

[He really does hope no one feels pressured to hide their involvement, at least not from everyone, because that's a big risk to take.]

Yeah, and Quentin's power gives us a good way to call for help even if they try to shut down the implants.

[ they're well on their way to planning the safest, least stupid way to go about this. ]

[Sometimes 'least stupid' is the best you can hope for, especially in these sorts of places.]

Great, that's one possibility of things that could go wrong that's covered. Do you know if they were planning to try to hold all the testing in a similar time frame, or would it be an 'as people volunteer' sort of thing? If everyone's together at the same time it'll be very obvious if someone doesn't come back, but if it's more individual it might be more difficult to keep track of who should be where.

It's also worth remembering that we just disappear sometimes. If the people at Riverstone know about that, that's a very easy to explain away any disappearances, so even if it's probably unlikely we should still be aware of and have some sort of contingency plan for the possibility.

I think the testing will be all at once, later this month.

And if they know about our disappearances, they haven't told me so.

Okay, that's easier to plan for, at least.

It's probably better to act on the presumption they do know these sorts of things and be ready for them, because if we're wrong then all we've done is some extra preparation we didn't need.

Do you know what these sorts of tests are going to be like? Did they explain anything to you in more detail?

No, but they said the forms will list everything out. Descriptions. So people know what they're doing.

I could try to ask for the forms in advance.

I think that's a good idea, both so that plans can be made and so that people just know what they're getting into before they're at the point of having to make a quick decision. That's even more important if the descriptions may be vague--purposefully or otherwise--or just contain terminology those participating might not be familiar with or have time to truly understand.

If they hesitate to give you this information in advance, that would also be a warning sign that there's something underhanded going on.

And what would it look like, you think, if they're really harmless?

Good question, because if they're really smart, they can make everything look good even when it isn't.

However, if they really are genuine, everything will be very transparent. They'll answer any questions you have clearly, upfront, and without being vague or evasive. They'll be understanding of suspicion and concern, and--within reason--accommodate requests made with safety in mind, such as having someone present as a witness or just simply moral support.

Again, doing all of that doesn't inherently mean they're harmless, and there's a very real risk of later danger in regard to what they might use this information for. But in the short term, those sorts of things would indicate that agreeing to and taking part in the tests would probably not be inherently dangerous in itself, in the sense that there probably wouldn't need to be a rescue mission or anything (although even if they do all this, I think having a rescue team on standby is still a good idea.)

Thanks :)

This helps. I know people don't believe me, but I was wary about this at first too. I just think that people made good points about how it might be worth it. I feel better knowing what to look for.

You're welcome, and I'm glad it helps. Hopefully this really will be worth it, especially if you can go into all of it as prepared as possible.

If there's anything else I can help with in that regard, just let me know.

@rey.solo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject