text; anonymous; English

[hackingyoursensors]

When I arrived here, I assumed the barrier had been meant to keep us in and that the Emperor controlled it. By now, I think it's obvious that that's not the case. The barrier is meant to keep things out. When Tu Vishan dove underwater, the barrier stayed up and held back the jingashi. But they broke through and, judging by the kedans' reactions, that had never happened before. In fact, I asked around. It hasn't ever happened before, not until lately.

Point two: a satellite falls out of the sky, breaks through the barrier, and lands on Tu Vishan. First of all, this suggest that there is-- or was-- some kind of long-distance communication technology. It also suggests that the barrier is weakening even more. Before, it took the stress of thousands of jingashi to weaken the barrier. Now all it takes is debris. Big debris, sure, but decidedly less stress than the jingashi.

As for the Emperor, it's possible she's contributing power to maintain the barrier, but it doesn't originate from her. Tu Vishan is the one maintaining it.

I know everyone's concerned about what's coming, but we can't let that distract us completely from the big picture. My point is that we need to slow down and rethink what we think we know. Since the barrier is our first line of defense against any outside invasion, let's start there. What do we know, what do we think we know, and how can that help us?


[The text has been helpfully translated into French, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, German, and Japanese.]

Comments

[backinakidflash]

I'm outta this convo, anon.

anonymous; audio; Batcryption 100%

[hackingyoursensors]

Bart, it's me.

[Did you really expect it not to be a Bat.]

text; English

[alpha_squad_leader]

We need a way to monitor or study the barriers then. To keep an eye out for anything like that.

[video; baseline encryption unless Dick can increase it]

[backinakidflash]

Well, how am I supposed to know that?

[He suspected, but he thinks that most of the Bats here would know why it sounded familiar.]

text; English

[hackingyoursensors]

I've already spoken to someone who'd be willing to test the barrier, and I know a few other people who could.

How to differentiate the barriers will be the tricky part.

[fatedchaos]

Not that hard here, considering the lack of answers we already have at our disposal.

anonymous; audio; Batcryption 100%

[hackingyoursensors]

[He turns up the encryption on Bart's console.]

You're not. That's the point.

You're shaken up.

video; Batcryption 100%

[backinakidflash]

So the point of this is to keep us all on our toes?

[Angrily] Just because I'm not constantly flipping out about the big picture doesn't mean I'm clueless. I have more time to freak in my head. I -

[He pauses for a second and calms down.] Sorry. Kinda derailed there. It happens. That wasn't really a good time for me. Who put the satellite up there?

text; English

[alpha_squad_leader]

It seems like we'll have to wait until they get out there and do their tests to see if we can differentiate.

I'd offer to help but I don't think I can get out there to the barrier.

permaaudio

[sophos]

That was the first real sign of the barrier breaking down, too. That we're aware of. The threat could have reanimated the corpses or something.

I'm not sure anyone does.

text; anonymous; English

[sophos]

A possibility. It is only speculation at this point.

"Big guns." Think of it as something akin to Cold War arms development, because the capability was there. I don't really have specifics beyond that.

action

[una_persson]

Primary sources, in fact.

[She relaxes noticeably, reassured that this is the person she's waiting for. Even if he is a little, well, young.]

Re: text; Supercrypted; Anonymous location

[andaway]

I'll have everything ready.

text; anonymous; English

[urbanmagic]

Point, though the barrier's been weakening for a while, right? I was told it was a lot stronger before the rationing happened.

video; Batcryption 100%

[hackingyoursensors]

[He lets Bart vent, looking rather surprised.

Yikes, he didn't know he'd hit a sore spot.]

It's alright. I tend to hit sore spots a lot without knowing it.

Anyway, I'm not sure. But the tech is compatible with the tech in Keeliai, so maybe it originally came from here.

video; Batcryption 100%

[backinakidflash]

It's cool. It's not your fault. You turned left; we turned right.

And I'm. Gonna doubt that one a bit. I think Rob's paranoia is catching. It's like a social disease.

video; Batcryption 100%

[hackingyoursensors]

That's not paranoia. That's skepticism. Big difference.

The satellite might not be from Keeliai, but it's likely from this world-- the consoles are partially organic. Technology that's too foreign wouldn't take.

Re: video; Batcryption 100%

[backinakidflash]

No, it's totally paranoia or both. I'm starting to think both.

So. There's a satellite. That's part tech and part organic. And it sent down things that could possess people by touching them. I've got this right, right? You're sure you're not leaving stuff out? Has anyone asked Batman about it?

anonymous; video; Batcryption 100%

[hackingyoursensors]

You have a weird definition of paranoia, then. [Says the Bat.]

That's everything I know right now. We're still doing some preliminary research.

text; anonymous; English

[hackingyoursensors]

The attack from the jiganshi a few months ago was the first real test of the barrier's strength. When the broke through, I knew the barrier was starting to weaken.

text; Supercrypted; Anonymous location

[hackingyoursensors]

See you then.

text; anonymous; English

[hackingyoursensors]

The question remains: what were they arming themselves against? "It"? A show of power toward the people of this world?

Definitely worrying, especially since there are more.

[hackingyoursensors]

It's like every time we learn more, it just adds to the questions.

But at least everyone's thinking about it now. The barrier is our only defense from outside threats.

text; anonymous; English

[hackingyoursensors]

I'll be doing some work too-- can't talk the talk and not walk the walk.

Why not?

[Idle curiosity.]

[hackingyoursensors]

The jiangshi killed people to steal their souls or life-force or whatever. Wonder if their real target was Tu Vishan and we just happened to get their attention. It would explain why they burrowed themselves into the shell. They didn't particularly coordinated as a whole. Their desire might have been exploited by It.