video;

[purestambition]

[Saretha sits, calmly, observing the camera as she has many times before.]

Network. It's been awhile.

[Saretha may have never lost her Numbers, but she's not exactly been talkative on the Network of the last many months. She's kept up with Raye and certain others, but... most of her attention has been on business matters. On reconstruction and charity and public talks. Even if you haven't met her before, at this point in time, you have likely seen Saretha Kaiser at some point.

She's made damned sure of it.]

I will cut straight to the point - last week, a select amount of Numbered were contacted by an individual claiming to be from Thunder Corporation.

[No, she. Really didn't tell anyone she was doing this, besides alluding to her intention there to Lazarus.]

This person, a scientist evidently, does not appear to be Numbered. In fact, the claim in the private message is that he had created a means of contacting the Network one-way.

Much like they were able to harness the energies of the earth for Project Jump, he further claimed that they are developing a means of tracking us. Anywhere. He indicated that he used this same method to find people to leak information to, and that Thunder Corporation's means of tracking us was about to "run out", but I don't know how reliable that is.

[She leans into the camera.] I am aware some of you have been contacted by them in the last week, as well. It is a strange coincidence, is it not? If you are new or naive enough to not know better, did you question how it was they found you?

Thunder Corporation has always been our enemy. They plagued Locke City. They helped unearth the snake that nearly destroyed that city, setting off a chain of events wherein we nearly helped seal our own fates by killing the Guardian Animals that litter this planet. They allied themselves and ushered in the off worlders who nearly slaughtered us all. The Vermini, and their larger iterations, were known to migrate around their hidden activity...

For us, as Numbered, they have never done anything but seek to undermine us, work against us. They cannot kill us in the streets, but they can do the next best thing. Their wealth, their influence, their alliances, those are what keeps them afloat.

The scientist in this message continued to warn us, saying that they are responsible for what has occurred lately - the green slime, the dinosaurs, something in New Zealand... that slime evidently is the snakes, somehow - before he was promptly taken. Seemingly murdered.

Before then, he said something else was coming. That they have... "broken" something.

Now... it is quite possible this is all a ruse. Something, combined with the approaches, to try and set us against one another. The timing is damning, but it could also all be true. To be honest, I cannot say which is which - only that I have little doubt they are up to something which cannot possibly end well for us.

We cannot attack them outright. That will only hurt us more. We must investigate, look into just what they are doing. That way we can reveal the truth, and perhaps drag them into the daylight.

As a private Network message, of course... I have no means of actually showing it to you. But there are those who can corroborate my words, should they wish to speak out, should my own words not be enough.

[She leans back, tilting her head up.]

Tread carefully. We are stepping back into very dangerous territory, all of us.

Comments

[video]

[princesscut]

[With her best shit-eating grin:]

I told you so.

[video]

[purestambition]

[...Winter?

...no. Winter doesn't very often make expressions or tones like that, in her experience. Which only leaves...]

Summer, is it?

[Fantastic. Because the doppelgangers weren't a large part of her motivation in coming out with this in the first place, or anything.]

[princesscut]

That's what I call myself. You'd know, I was talking to you when I took it.

I re-submit my original proposal to put the entire building in cryostasis.

text

[speedpariah]

[On Weller's end, the scientist is furious. Is he angry at the company he essentially allied himself to having a duplicitous nature? Or is he furious at this woman's exposure of them making him feel foolish, and seem objectively foolish?

In any case, he doesn't trust himself to be able to control his words.]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Miss Kaiser. My name is Dr. Edwin Weller, and I do appreciate the attempt to help us Numbered who have not been active gain a perspective on things.

Needless to say, I agree with how you have advised caution.

text

[purestambition]

[Hm. And here's another new face.

As such, Saretha approaches him carefully.]

Dr. Weller, it is my utmost intent to make sure that EVERYONE has the perspective necessary with these matters. After all, we are all dealing with the same threats, are we not?

text

[speedpariah]

Yes, of course. I'm glad we have people such as yourself coming forth to take leadership positions like this.

But what I'm most curious about is what someone as relatively inexperienced as myself can do to help matters. I don't have the benefit of powers, or great wealth... merely a minor bit of clout in the academic community.

[dictator_ko]

I knew it! Those guys just had to be no good! I mean, they just rubbed me the wrong way!

[Actually, Mina was told by others that Thundercorp was no good. But she found it rather too easy to believe what with being pissed off by their public statement.]

[purestambition]

[Saretha inclines her head back a bit. Another one she hasn't met.]

They always have been. Now it's just a matter of approach and figuring out... well, just what it is they are playing at, precisely.

[dictator_ko]

If I didn't have those ears and teeth, I could probably be a spy. [She kinda likes the thought. It sounds exciting. She isn't really thinking about the dangers.]

[Voice]

[oncedevil]

[Hey, Tony remembers her. Still it's been a while. And boy that sure is an info dump. He never got the leak information, only the shady guy who approached him in the street.

Still, she's right that it's weird how they found him.]

The slimes are the snakes? How does that work? And these guys, do you think they can see what we say here on the network?

[Voice]

[purestambition]

It makes some degree of sense, when you consider it. After all, that slime could morph into replications of our echoes. Of our... memories.

[She frowns.]

I do not know if they can or not. The scientist said it was one way, but that is also considering we're taking him at his word.

[Voice]

[oncedevil]

It was linked to us somehow, definitely. But I just chalked it up to more bullshit like what we dealt with a year ago.

Now we've got someone actively stirring the pot again? Shit.

[A sigh. Well, this is what he gets for saying things have been boring.]

Right, and we don't know for sure if any of that was true or not. Or just a way to keep us distracted and on edge.

[Video]

[twinkletwinklesuperstar]

Ooooooh, so that explains it.

[Skipping right past introductions. Saretha's an easily recognizable face for anybody who keeps up with current events.]

One of those guys showed up at my hotel room of all places and tried to get me to sign on with them. I tried to do some research on him but I didn't really come up with anything except for the usual boring stuff.

[She tips her head to the side, thoughtful.]

Guy really likes cats though.

[Video]

[purestambition]

[Huh. The movie star. Of course, Saretha's noticed her on here before, and knows just who she is otherwise.]

It explains why they were able to pinpoint you so precisely, does it not?

Still... [She frowns.] Much as I don't want to admit it, most of these people are probably just doing their jobs. I doubt the lower tier are even necessarily that malicious.

[Video]

[twinkletwinklesuperstar]

Hmm... yeah. There was something kinda... off about him but he still didn't give off the whole supervillain vibe, y'know? Actually, I think he was a fan.

[There's a thoughtful pause for a beat, before she adds.]

Oh, I said no in case you're wondering. Offer wasn't good enough.

Voice

[solvethepuzzle]

[It really is dangerous ground. Every single thing they do is a risk. What he's already done . . . no, allowed is a tremendous one that he isn't quite sure he should have. And he can't talk about it. He'd already decided, for now at least, not to. It's a terrifying thing for him to do.]

[And on some level, so is this.] I offer up myself as another who was contacted through this informant, and can corroborate that this communication did indeed occur and this is what we were told.

Voice

[purestambition]

[Still so many young people on this Network. Saretha wishes she could say that didn't bother her - it used to not.]

Good. That is appreciated.

It does beg question of why this informant reached out to those of us he did, but... It could have just been chance all the same, too.

[Video]

[switch_over]

Well, at least someone decided to speak up about all that. I was starting to think I'd have to do it.

[...Which she really had no intention of doing.]

[Video]

[purestambition]

[Saretha observes her carefully. This one, she doesn't really have anything on just yet.]

Hm. Well, there would be little preventing it, all the same.

Video

[mangata]

[ A method so chosen to show off the short hair and lack of eyepatch. There appears to be some kind of urban landscape around her. ]

Ah, of course. Was there anyone who really trusted them, given what they've done in the past? I suppose it is worth noting that they are still quite wholly ruthless.

Video

[purestambition]

[Saretha's expression drops, hardening slightly. Another doppelganger, and this one she's never had much direct experience with. As such, her defenses go up without a second thought.]

There are enough new people on the Network. Such alliances are possible, even if the other parties are unaware of what they're getting into.

video;

[brotimaeus]

Oh, great. Just what we all needed, right?

[He rubs his face for a moment, frowning.]

Hope no one's been stupid enough to think they can trust these bastards. They could sell us all out without even meanin' any harm.

video;

[purestambition]

That is just what I would like to prevent - a lot of their unsavory practices were knowledgeable to us but no one else. And on top of that, there are quite a few new faces on the Network these days.

[charcoalfeather]

Oh.... of course it was all a lie.

[Rakka shook her head.]

I can't believe they would ever make an attempt on us like that....

[purestambition]

I fully can believe it. There are enough new Numbered that...

Well. The opportunity is staring them right in the face.