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001 ✦ Video
[ It had taken Ender a few days before he even checked the network, and a few more days before he decided to place himself upon it. When the video starts, it's the face of just another child -- but one that's exhausted. From his serious demeanor and lack of a smile, he seems much older than he is in all actuality. ]
Earth -- I'm not talking about the sector -- does the name hold any significance to you? I've been wondering how many people here come from a place called Earth and just how many Earths haven't had to face the Bugger Wars. From what I've seen of the guests, many appear human overall and some even with the same technological advancements and understanding that are prominent in my world. If we're trapped in this place between life, dreaming and death, then I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to dream of the existence of alternate Earths.
[ Ender forces a smile, but that's just what it is. Forced. He's really in no mood to showcase good cheer. ]
If it isn't asking too much, even if you don't come from some variation of Earth, I'd like to know about your world. Subsequently, I can tell you anything you wish to know about mine. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed that we're being kept in the dark by the natives here. What they know and what they're planning doesn't concern me as much as our lack of understanding about the universes that surround us. I feel the better we understand one another, the more trust we can put in each other and the better equipped we become as a whole to any crisis that may arise. Sometimes, in a war, the most crippling blow can be dealt not by the enemy but by lies and mistrust.
That's all. Thank you for your time.
Earth -- I'm not talking about the sector -- does the name hold any significance to you? I've been wondering how many people here come from a place called Earth and just how many Earths haven't had to face the Bugger Wars. From what I've seen of the guests, many appear human overall and some even with the same technological advancements and understanding that are prominent in my world. If we're trapped in this place between life, dreaming and death, then I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to dream of the existence of alternate Earths.
[ Ender forces a smile, but that's just what it is. Forced. He's really in no mood to showcase good cheer. ]
If it isn't asking too much, even if you don't come from some variation of Earth, I'd like to know about your world. Subsequently, I can tell you anything you wish to know about mine. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed that we're being kept in the dark by the natives here. What they know and what they're planning doesn't concern me as much as our lack of understanding about the universes that surround us. I feel the better we understand one another, the more trust we can put in each other and the better equipped we become as a whole to any crisis that may arise. Sometimes, in a war, the most crippling blow can be dealt not by the enemy but by lies and mistrust.
That's all. Thank you for your time.
video; 95% batcrypted
We did not go into too much detail about his past. I did not see it welcome to press, and it seemed like bringing him up to speed about the situation here, or as much of it as is known, might be more prudent.
Damian Wayne.
[That, and, encryption or not, in-person might be better.]
video; 95% batcrypted
It's good to meet you, Damian. Have there been any new developments since you've last spoken to Bean?
[ No doubt, Bean had already told Ender the information he received from Damian. ]
video; 95% batcrypted
[Sorry, Ender. Damian knows how important names can be, and he's not going to push a seven-year-old anywhere near them... unless he has to. He can see there is something about that, anyway, but he doesn't have enough information to figure out what.]
Were you here during the landfall? Other than what information can be inferred from that, not much new.
video; 95% batcrypted
video; 95% batcrypted
[Damian pauses for a moment, to organize the information in his mind, then.]
The first time we made landfall, it was against an acrid desert with no living human population. There were ruins of cities, and a mausoleum with a mass of bodies with no apparent cause of death - human bodies, not kedan - at very varying state of decomposition. There were also monsters that roamed, predators, hunting in pairs and sometimes using a third creature as trap. I can link you to the information file that was given about that before this landfall.
This time, however, we made landfall against a city, or - a military outpost. There were people there, not kedan, who were definitely under strict and specific discipline. There were no children. The language that the books available there was English.
And there was a wall around the settlement that had a charge that would kill anything and anyone touching it.
There were no answers as to what it was an outpost for, or where those people's home was. There were no answers on whether the wall was to keep whatever was on the other side out, or if it was to make sure if the outpost was overrun, whatever ran them over didn't get further inland.
Every thing that we find, here, leads to more questions. And nobody is at all willing to answer them. This part of the situation hasn't changed at all.
video; 95% batcrypted
No, of course not. When one is bent on keeping a secret, they'll keep their lips sealed no matter what the cost. I'd love to see the file you mentioned about the first landfall.
Soeaking of the first landfall....is that around the time Tu Vishan began falling ill? Could it have possibly been exposure to whatever was present in that place?
And it's interesting. I believed this world consisted of Kedan predominantly. To know that humans live on bodies of land outside the turtle... [ He trails off in thought. It raises many more questions than he's prepared to ask at the moment. ]
video; 95% batcrypted
[While doing that, Damian considers the question.]
I would generally say 'no.' However, the rate at which time is relevant to Tu Vishan seems to be far slower than it is for us. The signs of the decay did not start becoming obvious until months after the previous landfall. Tu Vishan went under to feed, since then - which was when we had trouble with the jiangshi that resulted in some damaged to the shell. The actual problems did not start until after that, but...
Time has a different meaning, for a creature if this scale.
Before Atam, well, before we started approaching Atam and were handed out personal identification papers, we did not necessarily know that there were humans living outside of him. And now we do.
Re: video; 95% batcrypted
Interesting. Thank you for sharing this with me. There seems to be so much beyond our level of understanding. I don't suppose you've developed some way to speak with Tu Vishan itself?
[ His question is wry, knowing it's unlikely anyone except the kedan can communicate with the creature. In a way, it reminds him of the Buggers. Who knew what went on in their minds. ]
video; 95% batcrypted
[And another link, this time to a network post.]
It is uncertain if the Emperor can, but, even if so... she is not exactly trustworthy.
video; 95% batcrypted
[ Ender browses the network post, intending to study it in full detail later. ]
Speaking of trust, how much do you trust our connection and this network? Do you think it could be an elaborate means for the kedan to monitor our conversations?
[ He says it flat out. Ender's paranoid, but he's also through with the games. He's not going to hide his suspicions just because they may possibly offend. ]
video; 95% batcrypted
[For a brief moment. Then he focuses on the question at hand.]
Both the Emperor and the Commander of her forces have appeared on the network, while ordinary kedan do not seem to have access to it. Or, rather, they may have access - since the cafes are accessible to all - but do not use it.
In any case, anything said over the network should be considered compromised. We can - and do - write our on encryptions, depending on the sensitivity of the subjects involved, but we have no data about the Emperor's skills that way, the backdoors in these systems, or how much her - magic, is the expedient word - affects what is transmitted. Because if she can translate spoken speech directly in our minds, there are no guarantees about anything else that we speak.
[Or think.]
video; 95% batcrypted
I didn't realize she was capable of such power. But then I suppose it makes sense. Not everyone here can speak Common. That's....troubling.
[ He shakes his head. ]
Perhaps we should meet in person.
video; 95% batcrypted
[He nods, slightly.]
It became rather obvious that something was happening when we could always understand each other when we spoke, but writing and typing were a different matter.
[Pause.]
These days, the playgrounds tend to be rather deserted, they can be a reasonable - and inconspicuous - meeting place. [Hiding in the open.] And less likely than suites to have observation or other monitoring devices.
[Not that Damian won't report to his Father... but Bruce Wayne is far from the only person who might be employing bugs.]
video; 95% batcrypted
[ No one would find it strange for two kids to be at a playground, after all. ]
I assume all the districts have their own version of a playground? Which sector would you say is the least hostile at the moment?
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Earth and Wood are, on the whole, the most peaceful. People there are slower to get riled up, if harder to get the better of, if they do.
video; 95% batcrypted
[ A pause. ]
After I eat. It smells like Bean's making lunch.
video; 95% batcrypted
[Finish cooking, eat, make his way there from the sector their residence is in. Not rush.]
[... and Damian would have to discuss the cooking thing with Bean. Maybe help out, possibly.]
video --> action?
Two hours. Wood.
[ And after the confirmation, he cuts the feed and waits for food. After he's finished eating and conversing, he heads out and on his way to the Wood Sector. After speaking with Damian, he doesn't necessarily expect to be attacked, but it's always best to be on his guard.
He heads over to one of the barren swings, sinking onto it and giving a little kick to start it going. Best to maintain the illusion of being a kid. ]
action!
[Damian isn't bothering to pretend that much, not while walking down the street. He comes into the playground as though it's a. not nearly-empty, and, b. his property.]
[But his expression eases a bit when he spots Ender.]
No bad accidents on the way here?
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None. But I know how to avoid trouble if it can be helped.
[ He drags his feet along the ground to stop himself from swinging. ]
You're taller than I expected. I guess it's hard to accurately judge on a screen.
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Good. This place will probably hone that skill.
[Shrug, though he is thoughtful.]
I did not expect to be here so long. Maybe I should make adjustments for the growth in how I carry myself...
... or not. Being underestimated is an advantage.
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It's about one of the greatest advantages you can have -- being underestimated, that is.
[ He waits until Damian's settled in the swing next to him before he idly rocks forward -- just swinging a tiny bit. ]
How long have you been here?
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[It's so, so strange, to talk with other children who are as - good at what he's been trained, or at least some of it, as he is. Colin is a friend, back home, but he is still lacking in education. (They're working on that. Were.) Not the case with Ender and Bean.]
Since August. Longer than I though I would be.
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[ a brief pause. ]
Has anyone actually left in some way?
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[And then. Damian lays out the facts, deliberately not making the connection that would answer the question definitively.]
There are numerous people who have disappeared. Some of them are from earlier times than other people here. The people from later times do not recall the others to have gone missing.
[So, leaving - going home - seems like a plausible explanation of the facts. Right?]
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