Making plans and taking names.

[vorenado]

This is Gale of the Embryon Tribe. I would like to pose a proposition to the people of Liminal Space.

If one does not already exist, I suggest we should keep a log of the places we go and the people we have been, as well as any interactions we have with others while infiltrating and investigating.

It does not have to be highly detailed, but enough to keep from getting in each other's way in subsequent jaunts. A situation had arisen where I had been unable to extrapolate a proper plan of action due to this lack of knowledge, and the result caused undue distress to an infiltrator.

I wish to prevent this problem from happening in the future.

Comments

[brokers]

I believe there are several of us already keeping records of our own experiences. A single persistent record would pose more difficulty, given the nature of Infiltration and how it affects tethered objects and Liminal structures.

What did you do to upset the Infiltrator?

[vorenado]

Difficulty should not be cause to ignore vital information. A single record made available to everyone could only be an asset. Our missions come with no direction or intel, it would at least be something.

During the jaunt I had been attempting to keep track of my tribe, as well as members of the wolves tribe who had been infiltrated. Coming in contact with one, he had grown suspicious as to why I was watching him. I stated that he reminded me of someone, and gave his true name, not knowing he'd spoken to someone else who had also recognized him. I do not know the details, but unfortunately they had believed him to be dead and told him as much.

It caused a lot of understandable confusion and paranoia, he believed I was using the name of a dead man as an excuse to follow him.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh god, you were one of the stalkers?

Yeah. That had been... Charoite and she'd done it years back, actually. Because he really did resemble her old friend Raidou who was dead at that point.

[vorenado]

We were not stalking him, though it is understandable that he would think so. Our subsequent meeting had been unplanned. It had never been my intention to cause him such distress. We had only sought to keep him safe.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah, I know, but he thought you were stalkers. And he told Charoite all about your stalkery ways.

[vorenado]

I feel... bad. -=the way he says it is almost childlike in how he seems unsure the words are enough=- I have been informed more than once by my comrades that I do not handle people well.

[brokers]

I did not say it is not a worthwhile pursuit, I merely pointed out that it is far from a simple task.

...And it would not compensate for poor judgment anyway. Being followed by a complete stranger is disconcerting and upsetting regardless of the situation, particularly when one is on or escaping from a prison world.

[vorenado]

I must admit that my tactical abilities lie in formulating precise battle plans, and do not extend to social interactions. I had allowed him to see me in the event that he may have recognized who I am.

[brokers]

It is...unlikely that an Infiltrator will recognize you, and if they do, their memories will not line up with your own. If you're uncertain what role they're playing, attempting to hail them on a psychic channel may clarify matters - an Infiltrator will not hear, but most Investigators will respond.

[vorenado]

I don't often feel comfortable using this network. This is the first time I have made the attempt myself. The thought of others in my mind is... disconcerting, but I could think of no other way to contact everyone at once.

[leftbehindagain]

I've been working on information pooling, with help from some of the others. As often lately as where we've been has turned out to be where at least some of us are going, it's getting necessary, but it's a work in progress. [Very slow progress, when half the group thinks they're someone else at any given moment.]

Trying to keep track of everyone's overlays and who said what to whom... is a much taller order. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but you'd really have your work cut out for you.

[vorenado]

It does not have to be so detailed as to keep a record of everyone's conversations. I was thinking more along the lines of who you were, and who you had interacted with as best memory allows, and any pertinent information one may deem necessary to share. Such as why one overlay would believe another to have been dead for years.

The more information we can gather, the more smoothly these Jaunts will become, especially if we are sent back to an already visited location.

[leftbehindagain]

Oh, that. To be fair, I don't think anyone would have had a way of guessing that place was connected to Questing Country, or how long it'd been, without getting into a conversation about it, and you're not going to know what one overlay says to another from the Traveler behind it until either the jaunt's over or they get killed and revived.

Questing Country was a dream space. Humans, Gorgons and Hecatites all have access to it, and the latter two species can live for two or three centuries on average, where humans are lucky to get one. I'm pretty sure Elphaba-san had the same overlay she did then, and she was a lot older this time around, so probably any humans anyone would remember from Questing Country are long dead. An overlay of the same person would still have an uncanny resemblance to the first, I'd think.

[vorenado]

If the same species exists in both locations it should have, at least, given some pause. I agree that time passing would be difficult, if not impossible to judge. This had been my second jaunt, yet knew nothing about these species despite there being those here who'd met them before. This is where a reference would be of use, especially for newer investigators. I would have thought to tread with more caution than I had.

[leftbehindagain]

I only just got the info-pooling thing going before the last jaunt. There hasn't been time to gather much, and if I'd been investigating I would've been happy to mention the chance. [Basically, there wouldn't have been much available either way.]

I also don't know how often people revisit the same overlay. There's clearly enough of a chance that your idea has merit, but it's still going to be a tall order.

[littleladyluck]

Whatever knowledge I have, I'm more than willing to contribute. I've been here for a year or so, so I'm still a bit clueless about what came before, but I can tell you what came after the Valentine's catastrophe...?

[vorenado]

There was a catastrophe?

[littleladyluck]

In the eyes of emotional teenagers losing their confession letters, it was. Emotions and tensions were high, the student body in a panic, and we had to sort it all out! At least, ehm, those of us who didn't... hide like cowards after some of the events. Let it be known that Lovers knows exactly where to jab.

[vorenado]

Letters?

-=he... thinks he comprehends what those are. messages or some sort?=-

Were they confessions of wrongdoing?

-=please excuse him, he knows nothing about what 'Valentine's' means, and is trying to figure out how confessions can lead to a 'catastrophe'=-

[littleladyluck]

No, no, no need to worry about that sort of confession. More of them were of love than of hate, I'm sure. A celebration of adoration, no matter how fleeting or temporary.

[neverfeltthatway]

I've been keeping a journal of our Travels for a little over two years now, and I'm happy to continue to make copies of it for anyone who wants.

But though a number of infiltrator personas are mentioned, I've been focused more on places and events than people.

[vorenado]

Places and events are just as important, likely an easier concept to keep track of than the changing personas of the Travelers. Our lack of direction on jaunts is.... frustrating. I am hoping with the more information we can gather, no matter how small, we may be able to piece together what the Trumps are attempting to accomplish.

[neverfeltthatway]

That was my thought as well. [Even if, at this point, he would no longer call it a hope. He's been collecting information for over two years, and they still don't have much in the way of solid evidence or theories.] I assume you'd like a copy, then?

[vorenado]

I would appreciate it, yes. -=perhaps a fresh set of eyes will prove helpful=-

[neverfeltthatway]

All right. I'll have it by tomorrow. [One can only hope.]