Okay, I think this is a test in another way. The VEs may well want to see if Jamelia and co can keep a secret too, because this is ultra-high-classified and they don't want anyone in on it who might blab. So coming clean straight off, especially in front of non-Technocrats, indicates you may well be a security risk. And anyway, for Jamelia Belltower - paranoid NWO murderer - to come clean, it probably indicates it's too good to be true and therefore she may be compromised. It's out of character for her.
Plus, we can't waive the danger that this VE thing may be an Agency false flag. Fucking Agency.
So? What to do. I think it's a good idea to make sure they think they know more than we know, and make sure we know that they think we know less than we know. And of course, the less we have to lie directly, the better.
Hmm.
Well, first things first, there's no way we're talking about this in front of a Shadow Minister. They're the enemy, and we can't forget that. So this only gets mentioned in private.
Hmm. Then? Is it time to break out the Next Step Cover story? Namely, the "Why didn't you tell us the Computer went rogue and compromised Control codes?" one. The same story which Jamelia initially did think, too. And her actions all make sense if you think she thinks that the Computer is rogue and is abusing Control codes. It also means that Jamelia - as a paranoid old Grey Woman - is exactly the sort who's willing to 'technically go rogue'... especially when she has a hyperpsych expert (Serafina) on team. And Sera's a hyperpysch expert who the Void Engineers know (thanks to her breakdown in front of Elsa) has been acting erratically post Moscow and hasn't been able to rationalise things as doing it for Greater Good - the kind of behaviour someone might be showing if she Deprogrammed herself post-Moscow on her boss's orders. And Sera is also a genius who can help Jamelia put the evidence together.
It works well with what people know about Jamelia's personality, too. "Low tech", prefers simple solutions, if you read between the lines she - like a lot of NWO sorts - never trusted the Computer so suspecting that it might have gone rogue comes naturally to these kinds of people.
So. The MUSCOVITEs are the forces of the Rogue Computer. It uses high end Iteration X hardware. Jamelia knows that this... this thing out there is some ultrahigh-end Iteration X machine and that means it's a master of the Digital Web.
The question is how the Engineers will act if they see someone has got "most of the way there" to working things out - and even if she's apparently doing the right things to avoid being affected by the Computer (which also protects you against the rest of Threat Null), what they will do?
...
Anyway
The other vote:
[ ] Gung-ho.
They're going to be rash and underestimating the trouble. We're likely going to get plenty of help from that quarter, but discipline will be a problem and losses will result - especially when the plan involves falling back at a critical moment.
[ ] Cautious.
This worries me. It seems too much like the obvious party-helping thing, and that means it's probably a trap, because I can't see the obvious challenge here. They're being too helpful by being sensibly cautious-yet-willing-to-join, so, like, there's probably some brain-hacked Anathema slave in their ranks or something.
[ ] Skeptical.
I suspect this means Jamelia's rep is working against her because of the whole untrustworthy NWOery. The main work here will be getting the Virtual Adepts on board and selling them on the plan while avoiding info-leakage. On the other hand, the people you get in will probably be solidly onboard, because they've been sold on the idea and they're therefore now somewhat committed to it. I'm leaning towards this one, because we can see where the challenge is. On the other hand, having to sell them on it risks information leakage, and that's bad when you consider what our actual plan is.
[ ] No Fucking Way!
They're outright against joining. Probably no help from that quarter. Might also be a source of info on the Anathema from them, as they explain exactly why the fuck they're not joining and why it's stupid and you're all suicidal and you might be 'Crats, but you're all going to die. Also somewhat inclined towards this one, because we do have quite a bit of manpower onboard, but information on the actual capabilities of the Anathema is something we're really lacking on. Just a warning about its Marauder field would be worth its weight in gold.
Hmm.
Based on that, I'm going to provisionally vote for:
[X] No Fucking Way!
They're likely to explain to Elsa, as an ex-VA, why she's utterly nuts to be doing that, and with the plan we're using I think information on its capabilities and the killing field it's using is probably the most critical thing. In the Digital Web, "Knowledge is power" isn't just a metaphor, and going in blind against this monster is the best way for it to snarl up our plan. We want to stick to the plan, and that means being very precise with what we do and avoiding going in blind.
Plus, when people do get rescued, Elsa can be very understanding and not at all rub people's faces in the humble pie.
EDIT: Basically, I think that as you go down the list, they know more and more about what the Anathema is, and thus are more and more scared shitless by it. Like any sensible human would be. Because holy shit that motherfucker is terrifying and if you're gung-ho about it, that means you must have almost no useful information at all.
