video;

[quantifies]

Hello, Earth humans and imPorts from other planets. I would like to appeal to your collective knowledge. During the epidemic of the illness designated 'Flare' last month, it became clear to me that I am not adequately armed, and the technology of this era is far below what I'm used to.

[This is not meant to be an insult to natives of this era, of course. It is not their fault they live in an inferior time.]

However, many of you have extrachronal knowledge. Are any of you capable of constructing a quantum bow and techno arrows? I would be happy to describe their functions in detail if that is helpful. I would repay any assistance through onus or currency.

[His alien face appears eager, cooperative. Doesn't this blue guy look like someone you'd want to help out?]

I would also like to know whether any of you have experienced such epidemics in your world. In the universe from which The Red Plains Rider and I originate, a similar infection transforms beings into MurderMen. The Flare resembled a primitive strain of the MurderMan virus. I am curious to know whether it is common to multiple worlds.

video.

[selfequipped]

[Kate actually knows she shouldn't do this. She knows she shouldn't, but she goes ahead and does it anyway.]

A year ago, I made a post on here. I talked about a different world, and I talked about a different registration act. In my world, good people who refused to register were assaulted, brought down, and meant to be delivered to a dangerous and terrible prison until they submitted. My friends and I were among the first to refuse to register, and we were lucky enough to be rescued. I never registered, and it turned out that everything associated with the act was ... bad.

For that reason, among others, I've refused to register here. We don't belong in this world, and our hands are being forced on the matter. The government has used us without divulging information openly, and they've even put us into psychological games. Just last April, everyone was asked to play a game. Did you feel like a rat in a cage? And last June, people were asked to play a war game without being told of the very real consequences: that with every shot, we'd feel what it was like to have a real bullet tearing into us. And at the end of the game, you either won or you experienced true death before you woke up.

[Her voice here intensifies in its anger.]

And now ... now, a year later, we're in another game. We're in the reality of that paintball game. See, it was imPort versus imPort, and here we are again. We're having our hands forced because even if we've been helping one another, and helping the citizens of the world, we should be brought in. None of the vigilantes I know kill. We all help, doing what we can, and it's the government who defines our behavior, and who decides that we should adhere to their laws. And why? Is there any reason that we should? We didn't consent to these tattoos. We've been going along with what they've wanted for ages.

So, this is what I'm asking the government to do. You have the list of vigilantes. Why don't you bring us in yourself? Why use other imPorts? You can capture us, right?

Because honestly, that's what I'd like to know. Obviously, you want something for this, so everyone, let's guess! Because it looks like they want a Civil War among us. I guess they really didn't think it through, even with cautionary tales already ready in their midst.

[When she cuts the feed, it switches to text, providing a link to her previous words on the matter. Cautionary tales are even sourced!]

URGENT BULLETIN. BACKDATED TO 5/25.

[mmnpcs]

[ At precisely 8 PM the following post appears on the network. It is encrypted directly to the community and an ID that has not made an appearance in a while can be found at the bottom corner of the communicator.

This post will not be responded to. ImPorts are free to discuss among themselves. ]

ATTENTION IMPORTS!

After recent events, effective in June we are implementing the following new security measures:

As of June 1st 2015, all imPorts, Registered, Unsettled or otherwise, will not require prior permission from the United States government to travel abroad and instead will be able to utilize their tattoos as passports. When imPorts are to check in at the airport, they will be required to do so under a special censor designated for them and cooperate with airport security. Unregistered imPorts will not be considered an American citizen if they are to travel out of the country, and as such are strongly advised to behave themselves while in another country's jurisdiction if at their own risk they are leaving American soil and protection. Should any imPort who is not Registered find themselves in legal trouble outside American borders, they will be subjected to the extent of the law as the foreign country sees fit. Any imPort who is out of the US for two weeks or more, however, will have their statuses altered and considered AWOL.

In order to encourage and foster better communications between law enforcement and imPorts, effective immediately the Federal Government is granting official charge of handling Unsettled vigilantism to Registered imPorts in the hopes of curbing this behavior for the time being. Local authorities will also continue to make steps to allow for accessible employment and opportunities to advance for imPorts working within law enforcement or similar occupations, including allowing those imPorts to form their own committees.

As many imPorts are aware, your local imPort Ambassadors have received funding for imPort-specific training facilities in their respective cities. We encourage imPorts to take full advantage of these facilities in order to help them understand their brand new powers and practice combative and defensive techniques. We would like to encourage those with military backgrounds to assist in this venture, as well as having them cover information on duck and cover methods and fallout shelters.

As of Wednesday evening, former imPort Affairs Liaison Captain Parc Holiday will be released from psychiatric care and returning to his home. He will not be returning to his post in Cape Canaveral. Due to his fragile condition, he will also not be accepting visitors. Should anyone wish to get in contact with him they are requested to wait an appropriate period of time to allow him to settle back into his home.

- L. Chases
Secretary of Defense

ALIGN 04 ☰ TEXT; BACKDATED

[grimreaping]

((OOC: Dated prior to this announcement on May 25th.))

I'm curious about the Porter's ability to bestow powers on people, and I've been attempting to do some research on it. This is an informal questionnaire, so please do not feel obligated to answer any or all of these. Anonymous participation is also fine, if you prefer.

---

1. Do you possess any abilities beyond those of typical humans, in your world? If so, are these types of abilities a) widespread b) fairly common, or c) rare or unheard of?

2. If you answered yes to Question #1, are the powers you possess here, in this world, the same as the ones you normally have? Are any changed, missing, or augmented?

3. If you answered no to Question #1, do the abilities that you have now also exist in your world, to the best of your knowledge?

4. Have you gained/lost/changed abilities while being an imPort? For example, one day you could see through walls, and the next you couldn't, but you could suddenly fly? If yes, was there anything notable (to the best of your knowledge) that preceded this change, either on a widespread scale or a personal one?

Note: You do not need to share what, either here or in your own worlds, your abilities are. The focus of my inquiry is more on the trends of acquiring them, not the individual details.

---

Thank you for your time.

002 - Voice

[makethman]

[Harry has been mulling over the government announcement since yesterday, and becomes more and more certain things never actually do settle down around here. He's glad he had the foresight to register, though beyond the mark on his wrist, it means nothing to him.

What's more important is casting out feelers on the Network on another rare occasion, to gauge reactions, and who to keep his eye on.]

I've found that some things manage to stay consistent between at least my own world and this one. The sky is blue, water is wet, and America spins morally divisive federal action in the most saccharine way possible.

[A small testy sigh, that doesn't betray the heavier one he breathed out after reading the announcement.]

But perhaps political discussion is a bit gauche when I mean to talk business. Lillian, Miss Sabriel, your suits are ready to be picked up or delivered at your earliest convenience.

[And the end of the post is its disguise; finished examples of his tailoring work.]

( Sabriel )

( Lil )

voice;

[notdaredevil]

I've been an attorney for fifteen years. And I'll admit there were times when I thought about running for DA, or for mayor, but I've never really been a policy-maker. Maybe it's because so many policy-makers seem to make decisions with their heads firmly entrenched somewhere— you can fill in where on your own— because sadly, it seems like nobody has bothered to learn anything from history. Not their own, and not ours. Which, when you've had the catastrophic champion of a previous registration attempt hanging around drooling to toss in his two cents, the opportunity is quite clearly there. I'm sure he'll have something to say any minute.

[ Matt hopes he does. Matt sure as hell has a lot to say to him, right now. But he carries on in the calm, courtroom voice in the meantime. ]

So let's talk about all the things they didn't mention in that press release, because I for one would like to know:

- How are they going to enforce this effectively without tracking everyone's status extensively?
- How extensively have they been tracking this in the first place?
- How is a registered imPort going to know that the possible costumed Import is or isn't a vigilante? "Let's you and him fight"? I can see the lawsuits piling up already.
- How will they know who to target?
- Where is the oversight for this program? Who is giving the orders and passing out the information? How do we know that they're getting it right and not just adding names on a list?
- Alternatively, haven't they just handed registered imPorts license to go after who they want?
- What reasonable basis is there to consider that "registration" is an effective criteria for trusting that an individual has the training or effective judgment necessary to be trusted with what is essentially a law enforcement task? Is that really a trustworthy reason to believe someone can carry out their job?

And, most importantly:


- When mistakes are made, who the hell's going to be held accountable?

You see, I was there when the Superhuman Registration Act passed in my universe, and I was there when they tried to pass registration acts for mutants again and again before that. And when the costumed community turned on itself, it wasn't always heroes bringing in their former friends. They allowed criminals to become part of the program to hunt down the noncompliant based on a flimsy pretext— people who had spent lengthy periods in jail, mass murderers and a cannibal alien and a mad man who put on a goblin costume and went on to blow up Asgard. So you'll forgive me if I don't look at this and think it's an effective solution to the problem. Because I want to know the details. I want to know that this isn't going to become the same unconstitutional, poorly-organized clusterfuck I've already witnessed once.