@tony.stark & @rey.solo

[voicelog]

@tony.stark
hey, tony here.

rey and i just left the meeting with riverstone. long story short: they want test subjects if we want answers to who they suspect is bringing all of us here. they aren't willing to budge on this. what a shocker.

why are they so interested in us? apparently, they want to know how we were able to disrupt the simulation back in may. given judas is still a credible threat, they're claiming to utilize what information they gain from the tests to potentially create a preventative measure against similar attacks in the future as well as help us learn more about our biology.

@rey.solo
they also have their own reasons to be interested in the people who brought us here. riverstone suspects that the people who have been dropping us off and the person who prevented my arrested when i changed my name are one in the same.

according to them, this person — not a group, a person — may have been involved in the marianas trench incident that riverstone believes we’re also connected to. apparently, good riverstone scientists were killed during that experiment. I know some of the displaced have already speculated that the marianas trench may be connected to us. riverstone agrees.

this person was never punished for their role in the experiment, and they’ve been operating extrajudicially. they seem to want to punish this person for the people they got killed. in other words, i think they’re on our side. really.

@tony.stark
if you think that sounds too good to be true, there's more.

they've agreed to a NDA which will be included in the consent forms for volunteers. i've looked it over. it's airtight, but i just want to take a moment to point out that this is one of the largest corporate entities in this world. they have both the power and the means to do whatever the fuck they want with the data they collect without us ever knowing. so with that said, they're going to be conducting interviews to see what kind of tests we feel are appropriate. i strongly advise against any that will require a sample of our DNA or any that will be performed under general anesthesia.

full access to the data gathered will be given to the participants and relevant riverstone personnel. they've also agreed to let us have representatives present for the procedures.

@rey.solo
and they’ve shown no interest in sharing the data they gather with other parties. it seems to me like they’ve got their own fathier in this race.

we should think about what these tests might turn up about some of our collective powers. i know a number of us have been trying and failing to learn more about our dreams, about the empathy bond, and about the objects in our chests. it might be tempting to use the resources that riverstone is offering to get some of the answers we’ve been looking for.

if anyone is considering consenting to tests about these, i do think we should talk about it because these are powers that all of us share.

@tony.stark

i don’t trust them and i won’t be participating in any of the tests, but i realize that there are differing opinions among us. for whatever it’s worth, i’m going to stay here to make sure that they won’t try and pull anything funny during the procedures.

for the ones who are interested in volunteering and want extra legal security, i hear @ian.fowler is cooking something up.

Comments

@thor.odinson

[ofmyth]

for some, the promise of answers will outweigh the risks. we should not demean those among us who decide to take up this offer

[jettisons]

They have a right to make their own choices, but not when it endangers the rest of us.

[ofmyth]

sooner or later the corporations and people in this world are going to take more of an interest in us than they have before, and there is no guarantee that they will do so as courteously as riverstone have

riverstone might have taken any one of us captive and forced these tests without our consent

[jettisons]

You see courteous, I see trap.

[ofmyth]

a clumsy trap, when we now collectively know of where they are and what they intend

[jettisons]

Listen. We've laid this out a million ways in the last post. I've dealt with crap like this before. What I care about is keeping us safe.

[ofmyth]

so we will imprison those among us who intend to accept riverstone's offer?

[jettisons]

That's not what I'm saying.

[ofmyth]

is it not?

how else will you keep them from making decisions that endanger the rest of us?

[jettisons]

I was hoping 'talk it through' would work. Apparently not.

[ofmyth]

'talk it through' rarely works with humans, in my experience

but that does not answer what you will now do to keep us safe

[jettisons]

I'm still working on that part.

[ofmyth]

then i wish you well in finding a course of action you can live with

[jettisons]

That's always the challenge.

[ofmyth]

you have already ruled out imprisoning all who disagree with you, that's a good start

[jettisons]

That's a low bar to clear.

[He's frustrated! This sucks!]

[ofmyth]

not in my experience


[ admittedly, his experience is fighting alien bad guys but ]

[jettisons]

So what do you think I should do?

[ofmyth]

[ gods, it'd be easy to share his thoughts on the matter, he has so many-- but he doesn't know Bellamy well yet. he doesn't know if he'll unduly influence the young man. the young have to make their own mistakes, after all ]

let me ask rather
what do you think you should do?

[jettisons]

Is this a test?

[ofmyth]

nay, i'm not that type of god
i'm simply curious

[jettisons]

Right now, I think I should prepare for the worst.

[forcevisions]

Thank you.
I mean it.

[ofmyth]

i know what it is to be desperate to find answers no matter the risk

i will not be the one to say that those who seek answers should not have some chance of finding them

[forcevisions]

I've missed having you around.