maskormenace

[ the feed comes on to show a boy with very tall hair and a much shorter girl with scratches on her face over her eye, one looking rather cheerful and the other less so. ]

Hi hi hi everyone, I have an important question. [ he holds up a finger, tilts his head as if a thought had just occurred to him. he's so preoccupied he was going to launch himself into his spiel without even introducing himself. ] I'm being rude. I am Henry Cheng, and we were wondering —

[ the not so tall and in fact very short girl interrupts. ] We're looking for someone we know! [ she pulls a little face, looking over at Mr. Henry Cheng. ] A few people, actually. [ okay, maybe that was a little rude. she murmurs something unintelligible and takes a step back. please, proceed. ]

And that was my lovely friend Blue. [ he gestures with a flourish toward her, shoots her a wink, absolutely unbothered by the interruption or her outburst. ] As she said, we are looking for someone. Multiple someones. I'm sure this place has a list of sorts, yes? A quick way to CTRL-F a friend's name and find out their status?

[ he looks a bit more serious, then, like underneath the cheerfulness he's exhausted. his next words are very earnest. ]

We would appreciate any info. Thank you.

[ in the background, Blue begins tromping away, shedding dead leaves for some reason, and can be vaguely heard to say 'maybe we should've mentioned Gansey by name' before the video ends. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She nods once, as if to say, 'oh, okay.' And yet: ] Wait, registered with the government?

[ Someone really didn't read the literature. ]

Yes, the government asks us to register with them. In a way, it'sseen as pledging loyalty but no on is forced to do anything.

Good. [ That's a very knee-jerk reaction. ] That they don't force us, I mean.

[ She'd fight it kicking and screaming on principle. ]

[ for now ]

they wouldn't get a good reaction if they did. We do have super powers, after all.

About that. What exactly is the point of having them? [ The big question of existence: the "Why are we here?" question. ]

The Porter is the one that gives us our powers, or keeps them. So it's not something we know the answer to.

But the government hopes that we will use them to help this country, to keep it safe, and to fight their war.

So I just got forcibly drafted is basically what you're saying? [ She looks Not Impressed. ]

Not exactly. You only become registered if you want to. You only help the government if you want to. You only fight if you want to.

[ This doesn't make sense to her. ] Why were we brought here then?

Because the Porter wanted to. Aside from that, we don't know.

"Because they wanted to" is the worst reason I've ever heard for kidnapping people. [ And she's heard at least one other that was almost as bad. ]

You are under the assumption that the Porter works for the government. It doesn't.

I thought they explained all of this to new imPorts.

[ She makes a sort of 'all right, back up' gesture. ] The Porter brought us here. But some people register and work for the government. And they're not related.

No, they aren't. As I've said, the government asks us to help, but we can refuse. Even registered imPorts don't have to do everything the government asks of them.

Registering gets you benefits though. That still seems... coercive.

More like a bribe.

I'm not sure I see too much of a difference. [ She's clearly not trying to be rude. It just comes naturally. ]

Coercion implies the use of force to persuade someone to do something that they are unwilling to do.

In this case, you do not have to accept the perks the government offers you. You can easily get a job, find a place to live- you can live without depending on the government.

Sure, but they're taking advantage of the use of force that's already happened. We were brought here against our will and I bet it's easier to take them up on their offer than to try and make it in a strange place on your own, isn't it?

It is. But they also did not want to bring us here, and this was the way they found to make up for it. Tell everyone we are heroes and ask for our help.

I doubt the natives would be so kind to us if the government hadn't constantly told them we are here to help them.

[ She thinks about this for a moment. ]

I need to think about it some more. I don't think I can just sign up for something like this, especially right now, when I haven't had more time to look into it.

[ For once, she'll be prudent. ]

Of course. This is something you eventually decide on your own. You can register anything, or un-register anytime.

[ A beat. ] Thanks. It helps to know that.

It's not a problem!

Sorry, I don't think I got your name...? [ She got introduced by the kindly Mr. Cheng, so she doesn't reiterate her introduction. ]

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