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Panopticon: A Game of Posthumans, Perniciousness, Paranoia, Politics, and Plasmaguns

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Okay, like am I the only one who remembers that back in the earlier part of the story Jamelia had a superstition that things would go bad every time she took a vacation? That the 1999 disaster happened while she was on a (unprecedented) 2 week break? That Donald convinced her to take a break once and she wasn't even mad when things predictably went wrong?

That she's "taking a vacation" now seems to me to indicate that

A) She's very deliberately trying to make a break with the person she was as an NWO agent.

(Makes me really want to vote for Cafe Dar, as Illyeen is the part of her who wants to be something other than what the NWO made her)

Or

B) She's deliberately trying to court trouble (come at me, Clock!)
 
Chloe Sullivan said:
Okay, like am I the only one who remembers that back in the earlier part of the story Jamelia had a superstition that things would go bad every time she took a vacation? That the 1999 disaster happened while she was on a (unprecedented) 2 week break? That Donald convinced her to take a break once and she wasn't even mad when things predictably went wrong?
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Nah, that's what I was thinking too and thus my vote.
 
Personally, I'm leaning towards Soldier. It doesn't... If we were going to kill Alice, then Jamelia's usual modus operandi would suggest Assassin if anything (though ironically, she'd probably be most lethal as the Woman :V). So going Soldier would give us some defenses/preparation, while also at least sort of implying that she isn't planning on using them on her.
 
MJ12 Commando said:
Jamelia's going on a vacation! Those are things you should go on when you've just accomplished something hard, like killing your mentor. It's a good chance to see the sights, reconnect with family, and get shot at by various people and monsters. What does she decide to pack for the vacation?
[X] Cemal's clockwork assassin's bracer (free choice)
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Yeah... Jamelia's expecting nothing but trouble. Including bringing the assassin's bracer. Screw it! Always be prepared, yeah? (And if there isn't anyone attacking her, being over-prepared won't actually hurt.) Edit: Changed vote.
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[] The Soldier: Jamelia is packing like she might end up having to fight a war. Just like the old days in Helmetshrike. Now, most people would struggle to get this through airport security, but being a Technocrat has its advantages. She's bringing:
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.
 
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MJ12 Commando said:
Vacation Packing

Jamelia isn't a very sentimental person by nature. But even so, she's kept something with her, something that has a little bit of meaning from her long life. This something is…
[ ] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[ ] A set of recorded lectures by Blanc, in her early days, about psychological warfare.
[ ] Winston's HELMETSHRIKE Squadron Seven patch, a stylized predatory bird with a menacing crest.
[ ] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[ ] Something Illiyeen grabbed from Hollywood.
Write-In: What is it?​
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I feel like this is going to have some sort of significant hidden narrative effect. It's clearly representing connections to any of a variety of people or influences in her life... but I have no idea what the effect is going to be.

Jamelia's going on a vacation! Those are things you should go on when you've just accomplished something hard, like killing your mentor. It's a good chance to see the sights, reconnect with family, and get shot at by various people and monsters. What does she decide to pack for the vacation?
[X] Cemal's clockwork assassin's bracer (free choice)
[ ] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance. She's bringing:
  • Several sets of clothing with nanoweave armoring;
  • A wearable cloaking projector;
  • A Hellequin concealable multirole launcher-equipped with a smart scope, memory metal components to aid concealment, and several magazines of guided AP/explosive ammunition and airbursting directional flechettes;
  • A suppressed X-8 SMG and several magazines of special ammunition;
  • A monomolecular blade with self-replenishing nanotoxin coating;
  • About two kilograms of high-power explosive gel and various smart fuses;
  • A Progenitor miniature nanofab for toxins and combat drugs;
  • The normal things you'd pack on a vacation;
[ ] The Soldier: Jamelia is packing like she might end up having to fight a war. Just like the old days in Helmetshrike. Now, most people would struggle to get this through airport security, but being a Technocrat has its advantages. She's bringing:
  • NWO tactical team combat armor, capable of deflecting most small arms fire while being concealable under a heavy coat-the armor itself is equipped with an integral multispectral visor, limited optical camouflage, and an integral medical system;
  • An IX-11 individual weapons system, combining a 20mm smart missile launcher and a 5mm PDW;
  • A Mjolnir Mark VI heavy handgun;
  • A dozen programmable 'spider' grenades capable of antimateriel and antipersonnel use;
  • A vibroblade;
  • Just enough tourist odds and ends to look vaguely like a tourist if she needs to.
[ ] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her. This means that she's bringing:
  • Casual clothes with light ballistic weave (shrapnel/pistol resistant);
  • Several small holdout weapons-microexplosive jewelry with proximity triggers, explosive jacket buttons, acid bombs disguised as glass beads, and the like;
  • A memory-metal knife bracelet;
  • A suppressed slimline X-5S and several magazines of ammunition;
  • Your typical tourist odds and ends.
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This is pretty clearly a tradeoff between raw power and concealability, with possible frobbing of "How threatening should I be?". The soldier gear is only concealable under a heavy coat, and can only get through mundane security checkpoints because we're doing additional mage things to make it happen. It doesn't even pack along full vacation supplies. To anyone with eyes to see? It's *obvious*. The assassin is going "power to the limit of concealability". Folks who are really good at what they do will be able to spot that she's packing some extra lethality, but it's all designed to be hidden up until it's time to go hot. The Woman... is a mindset thing. It means that she really isn't stacking the deck with kill-power. It means that if she meets someone there, she's planning on facing them with words and nothing else. It's a conscious decision to go for a sort of bizarre deliberate innocence

[x] The Assassin

Because she's a mom, going to find her kid, and she thinks there might be trouble. She's doesn't know how to be a very *good* mom, in a lot of ways, but she does know some things. She knows how to go low-profile to handle threats to allied high-value targets, and it doesn't mean going unarmed, and it doesn't mean clanking while you walk.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.

I have little idea what other options would mean.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her.
 
There's a bunch of slightly-differently-worded votes this time around.
Adhoc vote count started by Derpmind on Feb 5, 2019 at 6:12 PM, finished with 21710 posts and 21 votes.
  • [X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
    [X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance. She's bringing:
    [X] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her. This means that she's bringing:
    [X] Winston's HELMETSHRIKE Squadron Seven patch, a stylized predatory bird with a menacing crest.
    [X] The Second Vacation: Jamelia is packing like she's ready for a vacation from the vacation she hasn't had yet.
    [X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
    [X] The Soldier: Jamelia is packing like she might end up having to fight a war. Just like the old days in Helmetshrike. Now, most people would struggle to get this through airport security, but being a Technocrat has its advantages. She's bringing:
Click to expand...
 
[X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Soldier: Jamelia is packing like she might end up having to fight a war. Just like the old days in Helmetshrike. Now, most people would struggle to get this through airport security, but being a Technocrat has its advantages. She's bringing:
 
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[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her.
 
[X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.
I feel like the menu, + Time 4(Revelations) is an amazing plot piece.
 
[X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.

"I was a paperless refugee working as a waiter when I discovered the TU" is a powerful story.
 
[X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.

Going with the menu, because this choice seems primarily focused on our meeting with our daughter, and what I want out of that meeting is closure with her and our past. The menu seems like the best choice for getting that closure as it will best help us tell Alice who we are, where we came from, and why we became who we did, which will help us to connect with her before we face Mrs. Clock.
 
[x] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[x] The Soldier: Jamelia is packing like she might end up having to fight a war. Just like the old days in Helmetshrike. Now, most people would struggle to get this through airport security, but being a Technocrat has its advantages.

I kinda want an "extraction" type scenario, so I voted for soldier becaus soldiers do that.

The other two options make me think killing rather than rescuing.

I'm Probably way off.
 
Anyway, my choices:

[x] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[x] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.

I think the photo of 451 best represents the bonds she's managed to forge and how she's been shaped even as she has shaped, while The Woman is too uncharacteristic, and The Soldier is too lightweight to actually be useful against that one Oversight Iterator who's still out there hunting Elissa/Alice anyway.
 
[X] A paper menu from Cafe Dar, which has inexplicably stayed open for the intervening decades after Illiyeen left its employ.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Woman: Jamelia is mostly packing like she's actually going on a vacation. Mostly-she realizes how many people might want to take a shot at her.
 
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.

It's been a while since we saw Alice, and I'm really interested in the meeting between JB and her. I kind of think if we showed up like we were on vacation, Alice's paranoia would go through the roof, waiting for somebody to burst through the door. Sure, there's going to be paranoia anyway, Jamelia is basically one of the boogiemen of the modern Traditions, but trying to play 'natural' probably works.

Somebody above mentioned Jamelia's avoidance of vacations because of the disasters that befell the world when she did take them, and I think its interested that she's either relaxed or is deliberately baiting Ms Clock.

The Paper Menu sounds like a souvenir of who Jamelia used to be, but would she have kept it in the midst of INVISIBLE BEAR when she was all but a MIB herself? That being said, it is open so she could have procured it. However, the last picture of Amalgam-451 seems much more 'we took a bunch of misfits and fuckups and turned them into a formidable team that was headhunted from around the union'.
 
Bel said:
[X] The last picture of Amalgam-451, taken after Izanagi and before the start of its dissolution. Everyone in the picture is smiling, even her.
[X] The Assassin: Jamelia is packing like she might need to end up killing someone quietly, either up close or from a distance.

It's been a while since we saw Alice, and I'm really interested in the meeting between JB and her. I kind of think if we showed up like we were on vacation, Alice's paranoia would go through the roof, waiting for somebody to burst through the door. Sure, there's going to be paranoia anyway, Jamelia is basically one of the boogiemen of the modern Traditions, but trying to play 'natural' probably works.

Somebody above mentioned Jamelia's avoidance of vacations because of the disasters that befell the world when she did take them, and I think its interested that she's either relaxed or is deliberately baiting Ms Clock.

The Paper Menu sounds like a souvenir of who Jamelia used to be, but would she have kept it in the midst of INVISIBLE BEAR when she was all but a MIB herself? That being said, it is open so she could have procured it. However, the last picture of Amalgam-451 seems much more 'we took a bunch of misfits and fuckups and turned them into a formidable team that was headhunted from around the union'.
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...and maybe a bit of "Okay, maybe I can't Mom all that well, but I can mentor subordinates. That's basically the same thing, right?"
 
Imagine if Jamelia were to take a teaching position in Unity. I mean it seems she is a very good teacher as seen by the youth she mentored. If she were to crank out same quality students on Grand scale Technocracy might be unstoppable
 
Hmm, so thinking about the vote, I think it's best to approach it as being about what kind of story we want to tell, for this last arc.

Basically it's asking a question:

Is Jamelia a assassin, who goes to meet her daughter knowing full well she might well end up having to kill her own child?

Is Jamelia a soldier, who packs like she's expecting a fight, who sees the world as a battlefield and knows her enemies view things the same way?

Or is Jamelia a woman, who goes to meet with her long estranged daughter, perhaps looking for some sort of forgiveness or closure?

All of these describe Jamelia to an extent, but I get the read that this vote is about which aspect we want to emphasize the most.

Or to put it another way, MJ tends to calibrate the encounters based on our votes. If we pick Soldier, he'll take that as a sign that people want gunfights with lots of explosions, while if we vote for Woman or Assassin he'll take that people are more interested in seeing Jamelia trying to track down her lost daughter, doing superspy things, playing hide-and-seek with an implacable and hyperintelligent apex predator, etc. You know, that sort of thing.
 
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