Pieces Part Twenty-Seven
Aug. 5th, 2007 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
measured_wordsOther Pieces
Victor has been by once more in the last week. Alita also stopped by to invite me to attend one of her tai chi classes. I don’t find the same tranquility in the movements, however, and I declined. Mostly, I’ve been left to pull myself together alone. I‘ve started running again, in that time of transition from late night to early morning, when no one else in the suburb is awake. Or hardly anyone. I’ve been eating better, though that was no challenge. Anna has not called – it is on me to seek her out again.
I’m not sure I am up to that yet. I don’t trust myself. I am not so unbalanced now as when I asked about Tanaka, but I don’t know how to explain my actions either. There is already too much distance between us – all I’ve done so far is widen a gap I can’t figure out how to bridge.
I am also unsure whether it would be safe to contact her. When Victor returned, he brought a message from Michael Xi requesting a meeting. I didn’t have a reply then, but I have since come to accept that dealing with Xi is inevitable. But is this a good time? He’s promised more privacy and less confrontation than at out last encounter, but I can’t bring myself to trust his good faith. His aim remains the same.
I need to send him some reply regardless. If I ignore him, he’ll feel the need to force the issue, and I know I am not properly equipped to handle that. I type an address Victor provided me. I need to be sure that Xi can’t trace his way back to this computer and upload any data monitoring programs. My information about what the Order is capable of is years out of date. I am still somewhat uneasy relying on Brown so heavily. I am convinced he means well, but my faith in him is unproven. This page, he told me, provides an interface which masks my location and the identity of the machine I am using. He also reinforced my firewall, and provided some software upgrades. I am sure Xi will sense his hand in this – he is stretching himself too far on my behalf. He remains confident, however, and was quick to point out that he provided most of the sensitive information Xi might retrieve from probing my computer.
The page loads, and I input all the necessary passphrases. I see a brief twirling icon of Iteration X’s logo, and the window minimizes to the background. Victor also assures me that his current employers will take little notice of my use of their interface as long as I don’t interfere with their data. I can’t help but feel wary of the arrangement, but I don’t have any better options. With these dubious protocols in place, I compose my message to Xi.
To: xim@mail.xxxx.nwo
Subject: Proposed Meeting
Xi,
Brown relayed your message. My initial response to your offer stands. Productive discussion of the situation seems unlikely. Why do you want this meeting?
-D. Graves
There. Simple and straightforward. It won’t send him away, but by keeping communication lines open I can string him along for a while and hopefully keep him from any extreme action.
With that taken care of for now, I can return my attention to other matters. I load the rentals page of the classified section of the local paper. There is nothing that catches my eye, and I continue on, examining the real estate as well as several other online housing pages. My location has been compromised. Even if Victor wouldn’t relay the information, Xi could have tracked me just as easily on his own. However, I am not reconciled to the idea of leaving, and I can’t be sure if this is anything more than complacency on my part. I am certainly accustomed to my accommodations here, but to move effectively, I would have to cut all contact with the people here who have integrated themselves into my environment, like Alita.
It is difficult for me both to approach others, and to become approachable. Though I am certainly not close with anyone, I am at least on friendly terms with some people. It seems counterintuitive to my goals to abandon those connections at this point. That they are not likely to be deeply affected by my departure is beside the point. Mostly. Nevertheless, if I am forced to keep moving, I will never form any lasting relationships, and have no contacts outside of people like Victor and Xi. It is a discouraging situation.
If I do decide to move on, it would be best to find another unofficial arrangement such as the one I have with Alita. Otherwise tracking me will be too easy. I am considering this question when my computer flashes to signal incoming mail.
The response from Xi came much more quickly than I’d anticipated. I wasn’t expecting him to be so prompt. It blinks back at me from the screen for a moment before I double check that the page I loaded from Victor is still running, and then I open the message.
To: GRAX7Y9@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Proposed Meeting
Graves,
I expected this would be your attitude. I have attached some files I hope my influence you to be more cooperative. I trust Brown can provide you the means to break the encryption if he hasn’t already. Please reply at your leisure.
Regards,
M. Xi.
Three encrypted attachments. He’s given me no hint of their contents. They could be a threat or some kind of trap. I can’t leave them unopened. If he is threatening myself or my family, I need to know. Xi wouldn’t have sent such a confident reply if he wasn’t convinced the files would give him some kind of leverage.
I do still have the encryption programs that Victor provided when he gave me the files on Anna, as well as some other programs he installed more recently. I start to load them. I am falling into this just the way he wants. The only way I’ll be able to salvage the situation is if he doesn’t know me as well as he believes – if whatever information these files contain don’t cause me to react the way he expects. So, how well could he know me now? He is certainly taking advantage of timing. I am still relying on inertia to carry myself forward most days. If I start this now, where will it lead? I need to consider my options.
If they do contain a threat to my family, I’m not the only one who can respond. I could pass the information along to Anna’s people. They are capable of protecting her and Danny. They’ve been doing it for years. Choosing this route would force Xi to mark me more strongly as a collaborator, and he would need to take stronger measures against me. I would have to break all my ties to Anna permanently. This is a false choice. I don’t know that I could choose myself over her. Fortunately, because she is so well protected, it is less likely that Xi could come up with any effective leverage. Perhaps this is just some kind of test.
The encryption program is complete. I know I must have better options, but the files fall open on the screen, and I read – inertia again. Thinking about Anna brings back a cloudy helplessness, dangerous and consuming.
The files are official reports, or at least pieces of them. It is clear Xi has not sent me everything. The threat they detail is not personal at all, at least not in the initial consideration. The first is an old report on a Japanese cult known for its terrorist tactics – Aum Shinrikyo. The group was responsible for serin gas attacks in Matsumoto and Tokyo in 1994 and 1995, as well as other smaller incidents and threats. Now renamed Aleph, the cult is still in operation, with a growing international presence. No recent attacks have been linked to the group, and their leader remains imprisoned. The second file is a database of individuals associated with the sect.
The third file is a more detailed report on one of these terrorists, Takehita Uroushike. He is a prominent Aleph member, and has been spotted traveling along the western US seaboard. First observed six months ago in San Francisco, then six weeks ago in Seattle, and days later in LA, each time in the company of ex-KGB arms dealer Petra Mihovich. What is more interesting, and the connection that Xi is trying to highlight, is that Uroushike is a known Reality Deviant, as are a number of the apparently more innocuous personages he has contacted. These include a number of west coast religious and spiritual organizations, from Christian churches, meditative monasteries, and even a local Portland shrine. Appended to the bottom of this file is a list of known and suspected reality Deviants at each of these locations. The names Ikkei Oyama, Alan Tanaka, and Koga Oyama appear on this list.
I close the files. They are not what I was expecting, nor is it clear to me exactly what Xi expects. Does he know about Tanaka as well? And my brief encounters with Oyama? Beyond this possible name dropping, what is he trying to insinuate is happening?
The sense of urgency I felt upon receiving his message has passed. I’m not going to delve into this immediately. I have other matters that require my energy, and I need to consider this more carefully.
Victor has been by once more in the last week. Alita also stopped by to invite me to attend one of her tai chi classes. I don’t find the same tranquility in the movements, however, and I declined. Mostly, I’ve been left to pull myself together alone. I‘ve started running again, in that time of transition from late night to early morning, when no one else in the suburb is awake. Or hardly anyone. I’ve been eating better, though that was no challenge. Anna has not called – it is on me to seek her out again.
I’m not sure I am up to that yet. I don’t trust myself. I am not so unbalanced now as when I asked about Tanaka, but I don’t know how to explain my actions either. There is already too much distance between us – all I’ve done so far is widen a gap I can’t figure out how to bridge.
I am also unsure whether it would be safe to contact her. When Victor returned, he brought a message from Michael Xi requesting a meeting. I didn’t have a reply then, but I have since come to accept that dealing with Xi is inevitable. But is this a good time? He’s promised more privacy and less confrontation than at out last encounter, but I can’t bring myself to trust his good faith. His aim remains the same.
I need to send him some reply regardless. If I ignore him, he’ll feel the need to force the issue, and I know I am not properly equipped to handle that. I type an address Victor provided me. I need to be sure that Xi can’t trace his way back to this computer and upload any data monitoring programs. My information about what the Order is capable of is years out of date. I am still somewhat uneasy relying on Brown so heavily. I am convinced he means well, but my faith in him is unproven. This page, he told me, provides an interface which masks my location and the identity of the machine I am using. He also reinforced my firewall, and provided some software upgrades. I am sure Xi will sense his hand in this – he is stretching himself too far on my behalf. He remains confident, however, and was quick to point out that he provided most of the sensitive information Xi might retrieve from probing my computer.
The page loads, and I input all the necessary passphrases. I see a brief twirling icon of Iteration X’s logo, and the window minimizes to the background. Victor also assures me that his current employers will take little notice of my use of their interface as long as I don’t interfere with their data. I can’t help but feel wary of the arrangement, but I don’t have any better options. With these dubious protocols in place, I compose my message to Xi.
To: xim@mail.xxxx.nwo
Subject: Proposed Meeting
Xi,
Brown relayed your message. My initial response to your offer stands. Productive discussion of the situation seems unlikely. Why do you want this meeting?
-D. Graves
There. Simple and straightforward. It won’t send him away, but by keeping communication lines open I can string him along for a while and hopefully keep him from any extreme action.
With that taken care of for now, I can return my attention to other matters. I load the rentals page of the classified section of the local paper. There is nothing that catches my eye, and I continue on, examining the real estate as well as several other online housing pages. My location has been compromised. Even if Victor wouldn’t relay the information, Xi could have tracked me just as easily on his own. However, I am not reconciled to the idea of leaving, and I can’t be sure if this is anything more than complacency on my part. I am certainly accustomed to my accommodations here, but to move effectively, I would have to cut all contact with the people here who have integrated themselves into my environment, like Alita.
It is difficult for me both to approach others, and to become approachable. Though I am certainly not close with anyone, I am at least on friendly terms with some people. It seems counterintuitive to my goals to abandon those connections at this point. That they are not likely to be deeply affected by my departure is beside the point. Mostly. Nevertheless, if I am forced to keep moving, I will never form any lasting relationships, and have no contacts outside of people like Victor and Xi. It is a discouraging situation.
If I do decide to move on, it would be best to find another unofficial arrangement such as the one I have with Alita. Otherwise tracking me will be too easy. I am considering this question when my computer flashes to signal incoming mail.
The response from Xi came much more quickly than I’d anticipated. I wasn’t expecting him to be so prompt. It blinks back at me from the screen for a moment before I double check that the page I loaded from Victor is still running, and then I open the message.
To: GRAX7Y9@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Proposed Meeting
Graves,
I expected this would be your attitude. I have attached some files I hope my influence you to be more cooperative. I trust Brown can provide you the means to break the encryption if he hasn’t already. Please reply at your leisure.
Regards,
M. Xi.
Three encrypted attachments. He’s given me no hint of their contents. They could be a threat or some kind of trap. I can’t leave them unopened. If he is threatening myself or my family, I need to know. Xi wouldn’t have sent such a confident reply if he wasn’t convinced the files would give him some kind of leverage.
I do still have the encryption programs that Victor provided when he gave me the files on Anna, as well as some other programs he installed more recently. I start to load them. I am falling into this just the way he wants. The only way I’ll be able to salvage the situation is if he doesn’t know me as well as he believes – if whatever information these files contain don’t cause me to react the way he expects. So, how well could he know me now? He is certainly taking advantage of timing. I am still relying on inertia to carry myself forward most days. If I start this now, where will it lead? I need to consider my options.
If they do contain a threat to my family, I’m not the only one who can respond. I could pass the information along to Anna’s people. They are capable of protecting her and Danny. They’ve been doing it for years. Choosing this route would force Xi to mark me more strongly as a collaborator, and he would need to take stronger measures against me. I would have to break all my ties to Anna permanently. This is a false choice. I don’t know that I could choose myself over her. Fortunately, because she is so well protected, it is less likely that Xi could come up with any effective leverage. Perhaps this is just some kind of test.
The encryption program is complete. I know I must have better options, but the files fall open on the screen, and I read – inertia again. Thinking about Anna brings back a cloudy helplessness, dangerous and consuming.
The files are official reports, or at least pieces of them. It is clear Xi has not sent me everything. The threat they detail is not personal at all, at least not in the initial consideration. The first is an old report on a Japanese cult known for its terrorist tactics – Aum Shinrikyo. The group was responsible for serin gas attacks in Matsumoto and Tokyo in 1994 and 1995, as well as other smaller incidents and threats. Now renamed Aleph, the cult is still in operation, with a growing international presence. No recent attacks have been linked to the group, and their leader remains imprisoned. The second file is a database of individuals associated with the sect.
The third file is a more detailed report on one of these terrorists, Takehita Uroushike. He is a prominent Aleph member, and has been spotted traveling along the western US seaboard. First observed six months ago in San Francisco, then six weeks ago in Seattle, and days later in LA, each time in the company of ex-KGB arms dealer Petra Mihovich. What is more interesting, and the connection that Xi is trying to highlight, is that Uroushike is a known Reality Deviant, as are a number of the apparently more innocuous personages he has contacted. These include a number of west coast religious and spiritual organizations, from Christian churches, meditative monasteries, and even a local Portland shrine. Appended to the bottom of this file is a list of known and suspected reality Deviants at each of these locations. The names Ikkei Oyama, Alan Tanaka, and Koga Oyama appear on this list.
I close the files. They are not what I was expecting, nor is it clear to me exactly what Xi expects. Does he know about Tanaka as well? And my brief encounters with Oyama? Beyond this possible name dropping, what is he trying to insinuate is happening?
The sense of urgency I felt upon receiving his message has passed. I’m not going to delve into this immediately. I have other matters that require my energy, and I need to consider this more carefully.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-05 04:07 pm (UTC)(ps - isn't it 'sarin' gas, not 'serin'?)
Serin, sarin...
Date: 2007-08-05 04:15 pm (UTC)Xi is a sneaky one alright... I like him, bit not as much as Victor!
I actually have quite a long Victor one off story written that I'd like to get typed up at some point... Need more time!
Re: Serin, sarin...
Date: 2007-08-05 05:04 pm (UTC)I realized that my comment didn't sound as positive as it should have. I liked this chapter, really :) I just think it's funny that they are like "there are these Reality Deviants going around to various places, contacting other Reality Deviants and doing weird Deviant stuff - clearly they are terrorists!" Or, you know, PCs in someone else's game ;)
Re: Serin, sarin...
Date: 2007-08-05 05:36 pm (UTC)However I admit that Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph is actually a real cult and they reallly were responsible for the sArin gas attacks in Tokyo and Matsumoto....
But they work *so well* for what I needed!
Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 04:56 pm (UTC)So I felt the need for some pimpage. Got lots of Mage icons (http://ianw.wolf-spoor.org/avatars.php?icontype=OWOD%2520-%2520Mage&iconsize=100) (link goes to LJ-sized versions), as well as icons for just about anything else WW has ever done, including Dark Ages: Mage and Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade.
Y'know, if you're interested in that sort of thing. (:
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 05:51 pm (UTC)Unless of course you might do requests - my technocracy icon isn't quite what I was hoping for (I'm no artist, in any graphic media)... It's alright mind, but what I was hoping for was more of a shattered/fragmented look, rather than just the icon overlaid on an image of broken glass ;)
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 05:58 pm (UTC)I do when I'm in the mood to. (:
Sure. Want just a flat black, or a more textured one like the others I created?
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 06:01 pm (UTC)Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 06:13 pm (UTC)Working on your Tech icon now.
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 06:17 pm (UTC)(and pirates...)
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 06:44 pm (UTC)This is a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I thought there'd be a nice easy Photoshop filter that would let me shatter something, but it doesn't look like that's the case. I'll probably have to do this manually.
So, won't be anytime in the next couple of days, but I'll get it done. (:
Re: Relevant to nothing...
Date: 2007-08-05 09:42 pm (UTC)