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!]

Comments

[grimreaping]

That's understandable, since you've had to deal with this in your world already.

[ Kid will pay for two cups of coffee and set one down for her, then his own. Both cups are placed in the exact center of the table's width, with a careful little nudge to make sure it's in place, before he sits across from her. ]

Do you think Chases spearheaded this, or someone else?

[selfequipped]

[By now, Kate has caught on to the eccentricities of Kid's balance with things, and she doesn't mind terribly. A good amount of time around him really makes that obvious to her.

She draws the coffee up to her mouth for a sip, and she makes a pleased sound. Kid did good with his choice.]

I think it's likely her who's been behind a lot of the ... questionable things that have happened to us. Last year, Captain Holiday told me that the paintball game came from his higher ups, and it'd make sense that it'd be the Secretary of Defense. [Sometimes, Kate wishes she had turned out to be an inhuman Fate.

Then they could tell everyone that.]

[grimreaping]

[ Kid, too, wishes he'd seen something other than a human soul when he'd taken a look with Soul Perception at Chase during the Swearing In ceremony. That complicates things for him, in ways Kate was possibly not aware of. ]

What I can't figure out is what she, or whomever she might represent, gets from this. The short term effects -- splintering the imPorts along various lines of allegiance, and the chaos that comes with that -- that's evident.

Regardless of how it plays out, it's only going to weaken the imPort's overall strength. Aside from a few outliers, the majority of imPorts are more or less a cohesive force at the moment. Certainly, the attacks they've mustered us to counter, and the rescues they've directed us to assist with, were largely attended by high percentages of the imPort population.

If the imPorts were more splintered, or if large groups of us had defected and were assisting enemy groups -- either private, like the Hornets, or other countries -- then I could see this being viable. Distasteful, but viable.

Right now, it seems too short-sighted.

[selfequipped]

Did you see the advertisement for the group to take on Maurtia Falls? [she asks this question in a soft voice, well aware of the fact that it was on the Mirrornet. Still, she wants to hear Kid's feelings on that matter in relation to this announcement.

Given the state of Maurtia Falls, she has to wonder why the government would try to restrict a force trying to help things there.

Then again, she might have to ask Jacob that.]

sorry, tags for away from me for a while.

[grimreaping]

I have. I don't think its aim is misplaced, but I do... worry, about the methods. I think it has a high potential to be successful in the short term, and problematic in the long.

[selfequipped]

Me too. It strikes me as a group that's never seen an organized group like this in action. It's acting almost like a paramilitary organization rather than a unit of superheroes, both in its actions and ... in Jacob's pitch. Jacob's a good man, but I'm going to have to contact him to see what he has to say. [Her statement, while lengthy, does lead to her nearly whispering to ensure that no one hears Jacob's name in the shop. There's a chance it might be heard anyway, but she wants to plant doubt.

That's just in case.]

[grimreaping]

[ In regards to Jacob, Kid doesn't have much to offer. ]

I don't know him; I can't recall us even having spoken.

[ Kid hadn't responded to the pitch Kate's referring to, although he'd of course read it. He's also good at reading between the lines. ]

Do you think it may have, at least partially, spurred the government's current treatment of non-Registered imPorts?

[selfequipped]

Do you mean the group? [Kate wants to clarify before she gives her opinion.]

[grimreaping]

Specifically any actions they may have undertaken, but yes.

[selfequipped]

No, their actions are meant to be a charged "attack" to change the conditions in Maurtia Falls, in part because of the corruption there.

[grimreaping]

[ dryly: ] Because those in government have never benefitted from crime and corruption in a private sector before.

[selfequipped]

Oh, that's occurred to me, too. But you can make a counter argument: why set up imPorts in a city, expecting them to work there? Did they think this wouldn't happen?

[grimreaping]

[ It's a logical counterpoint, and Kid nods. ]

It might be a case of believing they'll get something out of it that may not be attainable. As I said, a few early successes don't mean that there won't be more serious issues as well.

What do you think of the group's intentions?

[selfequipped]

I think they genuinely hope to help, but I wouldn't do it the way they're doing it. Again, I don't really like the semi-militaristic approach to what they're doing, but they're certainly organized. [She pauses, finishing off the rest of her espresso.]

I also don't necessarily think they know what they're messing with. That they got a plan and headed right into it right away ... Let's just say I have experience with that kind of city. I'm afraid that they aren't prepared for the blowback.

[grimreaping]

To the point where you think other people will have to intervene?

[selfequipped]

Possibly. It's possible that this government response could be that intervention, and we're just not willing to commit to that.

[grimreaping]

[ Kid finishes his coffee and offers her a wry smile. ]

But it might not be a bad idea to have a backup plan for it?

[selfequipped]

Naturally. I've been loud about the fact that something will come of it. We might need to figure out how the different security systems work in each of the cities. Ah, and find someone who can take advantage of that. Absent ... any of our techies, we're sitting ducks.