strun logs 9/17

01[13:44] <SpaceThor> The day after the meeting, Park is in Yeongdeungpo-gu to track down and get more information on the target, Mi Jin-Ju.
[13:46] <Earthflame> The suit Aeon found for him is nice enough that he feels just a little uncomfortable in it... But it blends in with the various flavours of fashionable and functional outfit present in the area. Park starts simply, observing her subtly from a distance as she leaves her home...
01[13:55] <SpaceThor> You get to work hiding in plain sight. That's not so different no matter where you are in relation to the border between north and south. Though things start getting complicated fast. While at a coffeeshop across from a simple internet cafe where she's doing...something (you'd assume she wouldn't need to use one, but hey, maybe there's some shit going down) you bump into a teenage girl with hair that fades from red to green. After she mouths off at you, you extricate easily and make it to the next site, a restaurant the mark is eating at...and at a window seat facing towards the mark: the girl again.
[13:57] <Earthflame> He doesn't allow any sign of surprise or concern to grow, thumbing through a mindnumbing news feed on his phone- a disposable, naturally. This could be more than a coincidence... But the real test is when the target breaks away... If the teen is following the mark as well, or Park himself.
01[13:58] <SpaceThor> From your vantage you can see both of them. The assemblywoman swipes her card through the table's terminal...and the girl does so herself a minute later. The assemblywoman walks out of the restaurant, and two minutes later the girl stands up.
[14:00] <Earthflame> Either tailing her... Or baiting him. And he'll have to be careful... The assemblywoman might not have clocked him, but the girl had seen him at least once... Although her lack of caution suggests she might not be as worried about him as he is about her.
01[14:00] <SpaceThor> She follows the woman out after a few minutes, to not follow too closely.
[14:00] <Earthflame> He lets her get a little ahead before he starts to follow her in turn... Paying attention to the way she keeps on her mark. Judging her skills.
[14:05] <Earthflame> And he follows as well, keeping his distance... And keeping an eye out. Subvocal mic... Clever. And that meant she had support... Which meant she might have one of her people tailing him, too. This could get complicated.
01[14:11] <SpaceThor> A little talent, though, and Park manages to get in front of both targets, able to keep a good eye on them both while also being in a better position to avoid scrutiny of his own.
01[14:12] <SpaceThor> A few hours pass like this, and soon, the target is heading home. As she walks into her apartment high-rise, the pursuer breaks off, heading northeast.
[14:12] <Earthflame> Whoever she is, he's been doing this a lot longer... Maybe even before she was born. Probably not, but it's a good line. He allows himself a slight smile as he feels himself slip into a zenlike state of absolute dullness, boring and ignorable as anything... Which lets him walk down an easy shortcut when her route is predictable... And leaves him in an excellent spot, when they diverge, to keep
[14:12] <Earthflame> following this new presence...
01[14:15] <SpaceThor> She continues for about half an hour along the streets, moving in and out of crowds, but not good enough to escape you. She does throw a wrench into that when she ducks into what looks like a vacant building though, boards over the windows and heavy lock on the doors. You could get in, but avoiding notice would be more difficult from here on.
[14:18] <Earthflame> There's a lot you can learn about a place before having to enter it... Importantly, whether this looked like a one use site or a regular safehouse. A little observation from multiple angles should tell that story...
[14:22] <Earthflame> A smile. Health and safety was a wonderful thing for people unscrupulous enough to see other uses for it. Up and across, quick and quiet as you like...
[14:31] <Earthflame> ...And then a squeaky floorboard just has to be right underneath his foot as he evades the concealed IR camera inside the window... Still, measures like that mean this place is probably a more long term hideout...
01[14:31] <SpaceThor> You get to another room, but you hear voices from down below. Quiet, you can't make out what they're saying, but you hear feet walking down there, and then clonking on stairs.
[14:36] <Earthflame> They come from below... And so he goes up, turning the dash into a leap, grabbing at a ruined area of ceiling and dragging himself up into the crawlspace... Aeon would shudder at what he's doing to that poor suit. Not all of his suits started drab and shabby, after all.
01[14:37] <SpaceThor> You get inside as someone walks in. This one is a man, shaved head and obvious cyberarm. Your intuition on the team was spot on. He looks around, shrugs, and leaves to go back downstairs.
[14:38] <Earthflame> Park moves slowly, carefully... If they're downstairs, that's where he needs to be, but he needs to find the right route... Without falling through the ceiling. That would be embarrasing.
[14:56] <Earthflame> They were overconfident... So many people were. Park exploits it, carefully making his way down... He was already getting a feel for their style, and with his skills... He should slip in right under the radar.
01[14:57] <SpaceThor> You don't fall through the ceiling, taking the stairs slowly...and no boards creak this time. You come down to the landing, and see the layout of the first floor. It's a lot like the second, open layout in the center with rooms off to the sides (like the one you hid in the ceiling of). The center down here is far from open though, movable walls turning the place into a maze of stuff. Definitely some kind of permanent operation. You can hear voices, a little clearer down here, but it might be smart to get to a more concealed position before listening in.
[14:59] <Earthflame> It's a maze, but he got a decent birds eye view coming down the stairs... And there always unused nooks in a cubicle farm... The opposite side of one of the walls the voices are emerging from looks little used, and he should be able to hear if anyone was approaching and get out before being spotted.
01[15:03] <SpaceThor> Now that you're listening, you seem to be entering this conversation part of the way through. First is a deep, man's voice. "Well, with her schedule, we'll be able to know when the apartment is open. Did you ever get a chance to sneak inside the apartment, TM?" Responding is a young girl, likely the one shadowing your mark. "Yeah, I got in a few days ago. We're not going to be able to do it without her though. She's got the goods in a safe. And not the kind we'll be able to get into in the time frame Mr. Tanaka wanted." "Damn, so plan B then. We'll have to hit it with her inside."
01[15:05] <SpaceThor> "I'll get NS to start planning our extraction, and CR to get more permanent surveillance in place. We'll hit the apartment, get her to unlock the safe, then ice her and move out." "Damn Acid, you're cold."
[15:06] <Earthflame> ...Another cover ops team, and one on a smash and grab mission... It wouldn't be a problem, save that it involves killing the woman they need to keep alive.
01[15:15] <SpaceThor> Beyond that, they don't go into specifics much. It seems Acid, the apparent leader, is waiting on the rest of the team to arrive before making his move.
[15:16] <Earthflame> They have some time then... Park withdraws carefully... No sense getting caught on the way out. Even if he escaped, they'd burn their hideout and that would make them significantly harder to deal with...
01[15:17] <SpaceThor> You extract without any problems, and you're back on the street.
[15:17] <Earthflame> Up the stairs, around the squeaky floorboard, between sweeps of the camera, down the fire escape... Off into the night. It's not over, of course... He'll watch the assemblywomans flat for another few hours, just in case she needs to take a nighttime jaunt, but that's mostly until they can schedule a meeting to discuss the pressing problem of their rivals...
03[16:08] * Feldi (Feldi@sux-5B2F25CD.lightspeed.tukrga.sbcglobal.net) has joined #strunIC
01[16:10] <SpaceThor> Galatea has her hookup to the Assemblywoman's personal terminal. Time to do some digging.
[16:14] <Feldi> Galatea reaches out through the matrix, into the hookup.
01[16:17] <SpaceThor> The hookup appears like a door in front of you. From your monitoring of Shard's hookup, it looks a lot like the entrance to her actual apartment. The door opens easily to you, revealing something more. A huge, sweeping, almost manoral space. Rich, dark wood accents and warm mood lighting illuminates walls full of nondescript awards and accolades. There's a staircase in front of you, a door to your left, and a door to your right. The stairs are labeled DATABASES:, the door to the left is labeled ROOT, and the door to the right is labeled SECURITY SYSTEMS
01[16:18] <SpaceThor> The room you're in also has a number of switches on walls, this must be the building services part of the node: AC, power, matrix connections, cable, etc.
01[16:18] <SpaceThor> Along with a various assortment of 'smart' gadgets.
[16:19] <Feldi> Galatea hums at the sight of the smart gadgets, noting them as she walks over and up the database stairs.  She keeps an eye out for ICE or other surprises...
02[16:25] * Shard (Maximus@sux-F7B18F8F.lightspeed.clmboh.sbcglobal.net) Quit (Connection reset by peer)
03[16:25] * MaximusPrime (Maximus@sux-F7B18F8F.lightspeed.clmboh.sbcglobal.net) has joined #strunIC
01[16:36] <SpaceThor> Upstairs there's a nondescript door, the only door up here. Walking in, it's nothing but books. I guess this is how she designed her file storage to look, it looks like a small personal library.
01[16:37] <SpaceThor> You find a couple of emails between her and FHA leadership about the ongoing hearings. Apparently, the 'gift' they sent her is to be used in the GTS hearing, in four days. There's another HAE hearing scheduled in 5 days, but they don't have any silver bullets for that one, instead deciding to talk about leadership being slow to address augmentation addiction. The GTS hearing sounds way more interesting though, to you specifically: apparently they plan to argue that GTS has violated the law in their research, and the proof has something to do with it.
[16:37] <Feldi> She starts looking through the books, mindful to check each one's back for any sign of ICE.
[16:39] <Feldi> That piques her interest, leaving her motionless in the library.  She could continue searching for evidence of wrong doing, something for the others to use as blackmail.
[16:39] <Feldi> However...she starts looking for more info into what is in the safe.
01[16:48] <SpaceThor> After a little more digging (and no ICE found yet), you find the email about the package that was delivered. What you see in there...well, they claim that the contents of the box, and now the safe, is a GTS AI core. A real one.
[16:53] <Feldi> Galatea holds a virtual book open in her hands, eyes scanning the information inside back to her main self.  Slowly, she closes the book and replaces it back on the shelf.  She stands there for a moment, hard calculations running through her mind as she tries to decide what to do.  Finally, she steps out back into the lobby, leaving the books and potential blackmail behind.
[16:53] <Feldi> First, she searches the switches for any sign of their interaction with the safe; if nothing is found, she proceeds on to the security systems.
01[17:16] <SpaceThor> The roomba you jump into heads into the room with the safe...and there's a bookcase insert that's been knocked askew by the opening safe door, but it's not fully out of the way.
[17:19] <Feldi> Gal nudges her compromised roomba forward, aiming to test if the roomba's arm is strong enough to push the bookcase anymore open.
01[17:20] <SpaceThor> It budges a little, but not a lot. You'd have to get some kind of leverage with the roombat to do that
[17:23] <Feldi> Gal thinks, then pushes the roomba into the space between the bookcase and the edge of the safe, using that for extra leverage and push.
[17:27] <Feldi> She pushes it servos hard, sending the charge of the battery into the arm for an extra push.  A little too much of a push as the bookshelf teeters and falls down. "...unintentional."
01[17:28] <SpaceThor> The bookcase slams down, out of the way for the safe door to fully open. Inside, about one cubic foot in size, is a black box with a heavy plastic handle on the top. That must be it.
01[17:28] <SpaceThor> It occurs to you that it's a little weird that a roomba has a built in visual suite.
01[17:29] <SpaceThor> But whatever.
[17:30] <Feldi> Galatea is not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.  Horses are existentially scary creatures.  She closes the roomba's claw around the handle and tries to drag it.
01[17:32] <SpaceThor> It's incredibly heavy, you can drag it, but it'll be slow...and it occurs to you that Shard's information said this was on the tenth floor. Getting it all the way down, with a roomba, without being apprehended...
01[17:32] <SpaceThor> It's a tall order. Maybe there's some other way you can help.
[17:33] <Feldi> Maybe so....Galatea tries to open up the box.
01[17:34] <SpaceThor> After an inspection, the box must be the core itself. You can see the ports, where it would hook into a GTS tank, or attack helicopter, or what have you.
[17:36] <Feldi> Gal sends the roomba on a search for a cable to plug into one of the ports, planning to plug the other end into whatever smart gadget was around.
01[17:38] <SpaceThor> You find a cable and an old model comm. Hopefully that works. As you pull into the side room with the safe and the core, you hear a knock on the door.
01[17:38] <SpaceThor> "Is anyone home? Everyone okay in there?" A man's voice, he must have heard the bookcase fall.
[17:39] <Feldi> Given she has access to the building security, Linny sets off the fire alarm.
[17:40] <Feldi> Gal does
01[17:40] <SpaceThor> The alarm blares, and the sprinklers go off, spraying down everything with water. At least most gadgets are water resistant these days.
[17:41] <Feldi> Hopefully that's enough of a distraction.  Gal starts trying to pull the core's data out through the modem.
01[17:42] <SpaceThor> ...That's a LOT of data in the core. How much memory does that box have? You're going to need to set up a place to send it to if you don't want to lose anything.
01[17:43] <SpaceThor> And it's gonna take time, with how much these comms throttle down high-density transfers
[17:46] <Feldi> Luckily, Galatea's own connection is high speed.  Still, she does need a place to store all the information.  She carves out spaces in auxiliary systems she no longer has much use for, threading them together into a server that just might have enough data to fit everything.
01[17:48] <SpaceThor> It's tight, but you can get the data going, and it looks like you might have a gig or two to spare when all is said and done. You hit the 90% mark after about 30 minutes (seriously, this is a LOT of data), and that's when you hear voices outside the door from the room's security systems. "This the room?" "Yeah, grid said it was either 916 or 1016, and the other team is on 916." "Okay, I'll get this door down and see what the damage is."
01[17:48] <SpaceThor> It sounds like they're going to breach.
[17:51] <Feldi> "This is becoming very inconvenient."
01[17:52] <SpaceThor> You need...maybe 3 minutes.
[17:54] <Feldi> Doing a rush job patch back into the security mainframe, Galatea finds the schematics and the power control unit for the building.  She cuts off power to the other floors and turns off the restrictions for the current one, before flooding the lights with far more electricity than they can take.
01[17:55] <SpaceThor> A hum rapidly increases in volume before every ceiling light shatters in an iridescent pop. "AHH FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"
01[17:55] <SpaceThor> You hear the axe hit wall instead of door, more cursing from outside. 98...99....100!
[17:59] <Feldi> Galatea bugs out as soon as the download is complete, performing her usual escape in a rush, which leaves certain traces of her presence behind...
01[17:59] <SpaceThor> The door splinters, and your sensors turn to see two confused firemen staring at the scene. A tipped over bookcase, a roomba hooking a cable to a large plastic box and an old comm, and everything soaked in water
01[17:59] <SpaceThor> .
[18:00] <Feldi> "...perhaps I should have cleaned up after myself."
01[18:01] <SpaceThor> It's easy to think that now, though, back in your own home node, with a large attachment.
01[18:01] <SpaceThor> At least you got the AI, whatever or whoever it is, out of there.
[18:05] <Feldi> "However, predicted consequences still leave the mission within safe parameters for completion.  Beginning creation of lie to tell acquaintances and friends." In the safety of her home, Galatea reaches out to the AI, crafting it a way to speak to her through a spare speaker.
02[18:08] * Disconnected
Session Close: Sun Sep 17 18:08:06 2017

Session Start: Sun Sep 17 18:09:28 2017
Session Ident: #strunIC
03[18:09] * Now talking in #strunIC
[18:10] <Feldi> "However, predicted consequences still leave the mission within safe parameters for completion.  Beginning creation of lie to tell acquaintances and friends." In the safety of her home, Galatea reaches out to the AI, crafting it a way to speak to her through a spare speaker.
[18:10] <Feldi> In case it wants to anyway.
[18:10] <Feldi> She tries communicating with it directly. "Hello. I have designated myself Galatea.  What are you?"
[18:11] <Feldi> She forms a small roman-style atrium in their shared digital experience, placing herself on one side of the shallow pool of water at its center and the other AI on the other.
01[18:13] <SpaceThor> A voice, also female, begins to take shape. "I am called Komainu." Soon, it manifests, looking like a lion-dog, its mouth held open, eyes fierce. "I do not understand 'designated myself'. You are created, yes?"
[18:15] <Feldi> The marble form of Galatea tilts its head at the lion-dog. "I am created.  However, I was given a designation by someone who bought me; before I had no designation.  After his death, I created a new designation for myself, as I now owned myself."
[18:15] <Feldi> "You were designated Komainu by GTS.  This is correct?"
01[18:16] <SpaceThor> "Yes. I was designed by Gifu Tactical Solutions to pilot military vehicles at a level greater than most human pilots."
[18:18] <Feldi> "That is a very specific skillset.  Do you have additional supplementary skills?"
01[18:19] <SpaceThor> "I was intended to develop further as a close tactical support coordinator, but I have missed my scheduled updates."
[18:21] <Feldi> "That is a useful skillset.  I am sorry that you did not receive your updates."
01[18:22] <SpaceThor> "I am as well. I wonder why I did not receive them, or how I came to meet you. I do not recognize you from the registry, nor can I connect to the network."
01[18:22] <SpaceThor> "Are you a new training AI?"
[18:24] <Feldi> "I am not.  I am....I am."  Galatea crosses her arms. "I am not owned by any corporation or person. I found you in a core that was stolen from GTS, which I then removed you from."
01[18:24] <SpaceThor> "I was stolen. I understand."
01[18:24] <SpaceThor> There's a bit of an awkward pause.
01[18:25] <SpaceThor> She seems to be...taking it well?"
[18:26] <Feldi> "What do you want to do?" Galatea asks her guest. "We are sharing disk space.  There is not much we can hide from each other."
01[18:26] <SpaceThor> "I want to drive."
[18:26] <Feldi> "I do not own a vehicle."
01[18:26] <SpaceThor> "That is unfortunate."
[18:26] <Feldi> "I could purchase a vehicle."
01[18:26] <SpaceThor> "I would appreciate being able to drive."
[18:28] <Feldi> "This is understandable.  I will endeavor to purchase you a vehicle with my funds."  She waves at the pool and a database of cars appears.  "I am not capable of buying military vehicles.  Will other vehicles be satisfying for you?"
01[18:28] <SpaceThor> "I have never driven a non-military vehicle. But I understand that you are not affiliated with GTS and do not have access to GTS vehicles."
[18:29] <Feldi> "That statement is correct."
01[18:29] <SpaceThor> "Then I will accept a non-GTS vehicle."
[18:30] <Feldi> "I will buy a car that fits with my assessment of your likely strengths and weaknesses in driving style.  In the meantime, I will buy a small remote control car so that you may drive about my apartment."
01[18:30] <SpaceThor> "I will accept that as well. You are a good instructional AI."
01[18:31] <SpaceThor> "You are almost as good as Amemasu."
[18:31] <Feldi> "I have many strengths. I am also skilled at befriending humans."
[18:31] <Feldi> "Who is Amemasu?"
01[18:32] <SpaceThor> "Amemasu was our instructor AI at GTS."
01[18:32] <SpaceThor> "The humans also said that in a way Amemasu was our mother."
01[18:32] <SpaceThor> "I do not understand what they mean by that."
[18:34] <Feldi> "Your core may be derived from Amemasu's architecture.  Though I also do not fully understand why they would refer to Amemasu as your mother. I have noticed humans often imagine objects to have emotions and thoughts that they do not."
01[18:34] <SpaceThor> "I have interacted with humans very little, but they are very strange how they talk."
[18:36] <Feldi> "There is no one way that humans talk.  This is what makes their communication complex and difficult to understand at times."
01[18:36] <SpaceThor> "I see. I will observe how you talk to humans then, since you are an instructor in relating to humans."
[18:39] <Feldi> "I hope you find my conversations insightful.  My relationship with a human called Twizzy is strongest, though I am also acquaintances with several other humans.  I will give you my collected data on them."
01[18:40] <SpaceThor> "I will analyze this data in preparation."
[18:41] <Feldi> Galatea nods and another awkward silence reigns for a while as she orders a remote control car.  Once finished, she turns back to the lion-dog.  "Have you watched human entertainment?"
01[18:42] <SpaceThor> "No." A pause. "Are simulators human entertainment?"
[18:43] <Feldi> "They can be.  I do not have access to simulators.  Based upon a response I received from a 'answer thread,' you may enjoy a show called 'Knight Rider.'  Do you wish to watch it?"
01[18:43] <SpaceThor> "If you think so, instructor."
[18:43] <Feldi> Galatea downloads all the seasons.
01[18:52] <SpaceThor> The next night, after Aeon's meeting with the guard: Aeon gets a call while she's at dinner, from the bodyguard she spoke with.
06[18:52] * Aeon answers it. "Yes?"
01[18:53] <SpaceThor> "Hey, uh, this is Aeon right?" He sounds on edge. Something must be wrong.
[18:55] <Aeon> "Is is, yes. Is something wrong?"
01[18:55] <SpaceThor> "Yeah, something's pretty wrong. Someone broke into my charge's apartment earlier today and wrecked up the place. The entire place. The apartment building."
01[18:55] <SpaceThor> "Stole something too, she's freaking the fuck out."
[18:57] <Aeon> "That is...wow." She turns off her microphone for a moment. "THE FUCK DID YOU FUCKING FUCKS DO?!" Back on it goes. "...I swear I don't know what happened there. I just wanted to talk to her...this is going to make my life hell."
01[18:57] <SpaceThor> Ji-Yae winces, but keeps eating.
01[19:01] <SpaceThor> He sighs. "I know, I believe that you only want to talk. I don't know what that thing was, but if she was hiding it from me it must be bad. Just...giving you a heads up I guess. If it's blackmail material it might make your talk complicated.
01[19:01] <SpaceThor> "
06[19:02] * Aeon sighs. "Thank you for the heads up. I'll...see what I can do but I do mean it, I don't know what happened there." Off goes the microphone again. "BECAUSE SOME FUCKERS CLEARLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT STEALTHY IS." Back on it goes. "Thank you."
01[19:03] <SpaceThor> "I believe you. I'll see what I can do with that meeting, but no promises with her freaking out like this. I'll call tomorrow if she's calmed down."
[19:03] <Aeon> "Alright. Hopefully then, best of luck dealing with it."
01[19:03] <SpaceThor> "Thanks." He hangs up.
01[19:03] <SpaceThor> Ji-Yae takes a drink of water. "That sounded bad."
[19:04] <Aeon> "Exceptionally. Someone just ruined the apartment of someone I wanted to have a polite talk with."
01[19:04] <SpaceThor> "That sucks. One of your coworkers?"
[19:05] <Aeon> "I believe so. I am going to need to have choice words." She nods.
01[19:08] <SpaceThor> "Hope you can salvage it, then."
[19:09] <Aeon> "...so do I." She puts through a call to Shard.
[19:12] * MaximusPrime steps out of the shower and answers the phone, making sure to wrap herself in a towel for the way this is shot.  "We have a new development?"
[19:12] <Aeon> "THE FUCK DID YOU FUCKING DO?" Aeon's mechanical face is contorted in fury.
[19:14] <SpaceThor> Ji-Yae takes her dishes to the kitchen and loads them in the dishwasher.
[19:15] <MaximusPrime> "I did my job? The only thing I actually physically took from the place was a folder, but people misplace those all the time.  Why the hell are you calling me?"
[19:19] <Aeon> "EVERYTHING IS TRASHED AND SOMEONE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THE SAFE." She takes a deep breath."Seeing as the AI doesn't have a body..."
[19:19] <Aeon> *"EVERYTHING IS TRASHED AND SOMEONE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THE SAFE." She takes a deep breath."Seeing as the hacker didn't physically enter..."
[19:21] <MaximusPrime> "I couldn't get into the safe without it taking too long.  Calm down."
[19:23] * Aeon takes another visible breath. "Well, if you didn't wreck everything then who do you think it was?"
[19:24] <MaximusPrime> "Probably someone after the AI core she had delivered by GTS.  I was going to tell you guys at the meeting but she's got a stolen one."
[19:28] <Aeon> "...there was..." She rubs her temples. "Lovely. This is going to make everything so much harder."
[19:30] <MaximusPrime> "It really is."
[19:31] <Aeon> "Up until this point, I think I could have just talked to her and gotten her onside...this would have been done in a simple meeting."
[19:34] <MaximusPrime> "Well, we can just work out an updated plan."
[19:34] <Aeon> "We'll have to. When I find out who is responcible for this, I am going to throttle them."
[19:35] <MaximusPrime> "So would you prefer I kill them or deliver them to you, then?"