[open to all] Trump speculation + calling

[howexciting]

... Perdonatemi, I have an announcement.

I am not sure anyone else is aware of this, but the payphone by the door can connect to the Trumps. Or at least, when I attempted to call a Trump, it went through. I am not sure if all the Trumps are available for a call or not. I have heard some of them are dead, so they are likely not, at least. In truth, I am not really sure why they are allowing us to speak to them, now. We should all proceed with caution.

Further... if anyone has information on any of the Trumps that appeared this past Jaunt - The Magician, going by ROSE; The Hermit, going by SAGE; and The Devil - please, share it. I am not well versed in the mystical meanings behind the Tarot, only the cards and their numbers. The Magician is one, The Hermit nine, and the Devil fifteen. While I cannot say I know much about The Hermit, I am aware of many aspects of SAGE, as I was a Crypto this past Jaunt. I... I can tell you what little I know about him, if it would help.

... lastly, if anyone was Marked and feels comfortable coming forward with that information, I would be much obliged to hear it. Private or public, it does not concern me; I shall not come forward with that information unless you are comfortable providing it publicly. With so many Trumps amongst us, I cannot believe any of them would leave empty-handed, as it were.

Comments

[professorwolf]

Oh, so that's what that phone is for? I tried calling home, and got an out of service notice.

I wonder if it will let me try again, now that I know.

[howexciting]

No, wait--!

[Leonardo sounds highly panicked, all of a sudden.]

If you are not marked, don't use the phone. They might be able to mark you remotely.

[professorwolf]

[There's a surprised pause, then Lyall asks,]

Is that a terrible thing?

[howexciting]

... we don't know. But as it appears the Trumps are at war with each other, given that the Devil clearly intended on keeping the Hermit on the Grid, and the Magician clearly intended on getting the Hermit off the Grid, and the two started a large battle over it...

... the Trumps could very well be marking us to add to the size of their armies. It is not something I wish to facilitate.

[professorwolf]

Oh. ... I suppose I'd best not, then. I'm not really army material.

[Disappointing. He's been terribly curious about these Tarot-card people.]

[howexciting]

And neither am I. I am a pacifist. And yet...

[Don't worry, he's with you there, Randolph. As much as he finds them fascinating...]

But it should be noted that infiltrators seem to be up for claiming, even if their personality is not best represented. I know several people have infiltrated and come back with a mark.

[professorwolf]

[Great, so one can be marked and not even realize they met a Trump. Fun times.]

And I'm a science teacher. I know how you feel. Are perhaps some of these cards... non-violent in nature?

[howexciting]

That, I am unclear upon. Kanji had mentioned having information regarding the cards' meanings. I only know them as playing cards.

[professorwolf]

There's going to be some sort of presentation or class, once they get things organized, or so I've been told. I know I'm going to it. I need more information.

[howexciting]

As do I. As do we all, I'm sure.

[prolificarse]

Of course, if that is what they're doing, the question we might want to ask is: what becomes of those of us who don't suit any of their needs?

[howexciting]

The Tarot is diverse enough that it may not be possible. Every card has their opposite represented, do they not?

[prolificarse]

And their criteria may not necessarily be the obvious, based on the symbolism of their titles. Still - it bears considering. Particularly if whatever rules govern them also restrict how many of us any individual one of them can claim.

[howexciting]

None of them to my knowledge has claimed more than four. Perhaps they may only select that many at a time?

[prolificarse]

That sounds entirely possible. I'd give a great deal to know what restrictions they follow...

[howexciting]

The Magician mentioned some, it seems, to Yua - that she can only claim five per round. I assume this means the other Trumps must do the same.

[prolificarse]

Is the number the same for each, I wonder, or does it depend on status? If the limits do apply across the board, we might have a guess at the likely upper limit of our own population.

[howexciting]

Let's see... twenty-two, minus the four dead Trumps, eighteen, five of those... that would be ninety overall. We are at about seventy, I think... though we may be gaining more new Travelers soon.

[prolificarse]

Assuming, of course, they don't build in a pool for those dead Trumps, in the event that they're replaced - do we know yet whether their assigned cards are titles or names? So if we assume they can all claim the same number of adherents, we should anticipate the population levelling out at between ninety and one hundred and ten, in the end...

Is there a pattern to when new abductees are added to our ranks, then? Or can it be expected any time it's been a while since the last group of arrivals?

[howexciting]

They seem to be titles, as many of them have given us different names for purposes of the Jaunts they appeared in. ROSE was the Magician, SAGE was the Hermit, PSYCHENet was the Lovers... The Fool only took the name Don Orlea when I gave him mine on accident.

It seems to happen once every few months. Sometimes it is sooner than that, but it has never been shorter than four weeks in between arrivals... at least, if my calculations are correct.