Sixth | Audio

[strategic_guile]

[His voice is calm as he poses this question. It's a voice that wants to encourage discussion but not necessarily a heated debate.]

What is it that the United Earth wants from the Initiative that keeps us alive? That last curbstomping we received doesn't leave much room for debate about our chances.

Is it the tech? Are we a propaganda tool? An experiment?

Throw some ideas out there.

[And then the feed ends.]


[[OOC: Threadjumping and jacking are encouraged in this post! Blaine wants allllll the ideas.]]

Comments

Audio

[misplacedxsheath]

That's something I've wondered, as well. Propaganda is a possibility, as is the idea that they might be convinced that they're the ones in the right and believe that showing us mercy proves it. They may also simply be arrogant enough to believe they don't need to destroy us completely or wish to break us rather than eliminate us.

permaaudio;

[strategic_guile]

Propaganda might work even better since their population is so drugged up all the time. They're run by an AI though, so I doubt it thinks of things as 'right' or 'wrong' in the moral sense anyway.

permaaudio;

[misplacedxsheath]

That depends on the level of the AI. I've known multiple artificial humans who had a fully developed sense of morality. Of course, even in cases such as those, their moral compass still depends heavily on that of their programmer.

[gordonowesmeabeer]

Maybe just so they know where all the malcontents are and can keep an eye on them? We're like a lightning rod for trouble makers.

[strategic_guile]

[snorts a bit] Well, that's an idea. Give all the naysayers a place to run to and keep them all in one place. Throw a few bombs here and there to get them riled up. Not a bad idea, really.

[gordonowesmeabeer]

Of course, it doesn't work so good if your lightning rod builds a time machine and starts shooting lightning all over your past.

But hey, no plan is perfect.

[Audio, sort of.]

[trustycrowbar]

[More like calling from the next room.]

It took you THAT long to realize this?

[strategic_guile]

[Shouting right back.]

No! It took me that long to bother making a post!

[trustycrowbar]

[Okay now he rounds the corner and leans on his doorway, 'cuz this is actually a serious topic.]

I wondered that after the first round of bombings... You remember those?

[charming_jerk]

[No need to call back when you're living in the same apartment. But he'll actually come to Blaine's door to talk instead of shouting back and forth. :V]

Been wonderin' the same thing for weeks now. I don't get it at all. My closest guess is that they're usinn us for something, spyin' on us for ideas.

[strategic_guile]

As good of an idea as anything else. [He tilts his head at Johnny]

When we lost that guys world, do we know for certain it was destroyed?

[charming_jerk]

[He shrugs lightly, leaning against the door frame. The look on his face is distant.] If they managed to do what they did to New York to other major cities - and from what I've heard, they did - there's not much left there, if anything. The UE really fucked that place hard. The fact that they can do that to a whole planet, but haven't bothered to wipe us out yet, is pretty weird. So they probably need us for somethin'.

permavoice

[needsteaplz]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a combination of those three.

[She lets out a sigh.]

Personally, I'm leaning towards the propaganda angle. What better way to crush any hope of the UE getting destroyed by anyone by setting us up as the example? Even with our powers and abilities in tact, we couldn't even save a world from destruction and defend ourselves from this recent bombing. And I heard this wasn't the first time they had done this.

[strategic_guile]

They've destroyed other worlds before this? Well... [He pauses a second.] Supposedly they were mining other worlds, our worlds, for resources before this. Unless you mean the bombs, in which case I can definitely say they have before.

[needsteaplz]

I haven't been here for very long, but so far I think the destruction of Elmer's world is a first for us to witness. Who knows if they've done it before the Initiative started pulling people here. I heard about the previous bombings and let's just say I'm not happy with the fact that nothing has been done about that. Running into the catacombs is a risky move as it is.

Resources is still a very broad term. Maybe it's more than just fuel sources. I wonder if they find our worlds and siphon specific resources. Not all worlds have the same resources after all.

[video]

[legal_eagle]

We're too easy on the eyes.

[Audio]

[strategic_guile]

Well, you certainly are, but I can't say the same for everyone here. We'd have some interesting pin-ups.

audio;

[sweetling]

If the Initiative is busy being the enemy, then the UE can't be seen as one. Hivemind's much easier to direct when it's got a scapegoat to focus on.

permaaudio;

[strategic_guile]

A little bit of 'psychology' huh? I wouldn't put it past the UE to try it. If we explode from the inside it's less resources they have to use.

audio;

[taijiya]

[Well, that puts a frown on her face, though it's not camera visible.]

...I guess that's a good question, isn't it? You can't really know unless you ask the United Earth. Or possibly the Initiative itself.

There are people here working closely with them, aren't there? Maybe they could shed some light. So that, whatever we're doing, we can... keep doing it.

permaaudio;

[strategic_guile]

I know we have a liaison of some kind. Maybe more than the one I've heard of, but I don't know them. I haven't had problems asking the Initiative questions myself, but I'd like to get other ideas, too, before I go pepper them with questions.

voice;

[ladyspitfire]

All of the above, most like.

[Someone sounds bitter.]

permaaudio;

[strategic_guile]

Possibly. I definitely can't say it's just one thing they're after. Nothing about this situation is so simple, unfortunately.

[He pauses a moment before asking.]

Hanging in there, Jefe?

audio;

[peeta_bread]

Those are good guesses. I'd lean toward 'a propaganda tool', after my experiences with my own government.

[strategic_guile]

Oh? Is your government similar to the UE? My condolences on that.