Welcome to the Network! ;video

[truthchanges]

[ The camera opens onto a somewhat cluttered office. It didn't seem like it was cleaned often, if at all, with several cabinets only half closed, notices and sticky notes pinned about the wall, the window letting in the city lights from outside through shifted, broken blinds. The NSO building was a nice place, but some people had issues with tidyness. And Aya Hosada, the bespectacled woman smiling at the camera, was probably the worst case of it. Hey, she did used to be a programmer. She was used to this.

On her desk was her holokeyboard, a coffee thermos... three of them, actually, strewn papers, and several small, cute statues of anthropomorphized animals. This was basically home for her, though she supposed she could present it better. Ah well. ]

Greetings, everyone! If you're new around here, my name is Aya Hosada, Director of Personnel and Resident Liaison for the Neo Sapien Organization. And this is the Neo Sapien Network! It's a new feature we're going to be putting out from here on, programmed by yours truly~!

[ She's pretty proud of it, giving a wink at the camera before sipping her coffee. ]

Here's how it works; it's essentially a city-wide semi-private intranet. The NSO catalogs nothing, nor do we attach any software for tacking or conservation of data without user consent. It's basically the ultimate "safe" internet for people who don't particularly trust communications networks run by other companies. [ They knew the one she meant. ]

You can do test posts, voice posts, video posts, holo posts, you name it! Think of it like a social media service with, like, actual free speech. Try it out!

Let's see... [ Aya adjusts her glasses, taking another sip of her coffee and going over some other notes ]

Alright, a big special thanks to everyone who attended the fundraising gala. I know they can be a bit of a... hard pill to swallow, sometimes, but it's really important we keep up impressions! And look, Dr. Annan didn't get into a fist-fight this time with some rich heckler! Be sure to congratulate him when you see him next~! [ Aya giggled, winking again ]

Also, NSO efforts to restore power in the Parish were successful, and the shelter directors there send their regards. I won't name names, or call anyone out on a public post like this, but you know who you are when I say thank you, from the deepest place in my heart. You're the good we work for in this world, in action. Again, thank you...

... Although, I do fear I have to report that Yakashbah's stunt in Arcadia has lead to a lot of arrests and spiked security. Please be careful out there, okay?

[ Aya let out a heavy sigh, her expression drooping for a moment before picking up another sheet of pepper, pepping up once she saw what it was. ]

Oh! Also, the roommate assignments for this year are out, so be sure to check the roster postings at the nearest terminal to know who your new roomie is! The roommate program is Dr. Annan's way of helping us all socialize a little more, in an otherwise kinda hostile world, so hopefully you manage to make a new friend! Let's see, who did everyone get... [ She sips her coffee, going over the list until her eyes go wide and she spits out a bit of her drink, immediately reaching for a terminal beside her. ]

Um! Dr. Annan! This is Ms. Hosada, and I just saw the roommate roster, and I noticed my name was on it despite explicitly not volunteering [ said through her teeth ] Could you please explain?!

[ There was a long silence on the other end, leaving Aya looking progressively more nervous until Dr. Annan's familiar chuckled came through over the voice channel, before calmly saying...

"Your congratulations, Ms. Hosada, are graciously accepted. Thank you."

Aya's hand slowly drew back and she slumped in her desk some. ]

Oh boy... Welcome to the network, everyone.

[ Another dramatic sigh from Aya before she reached to shut the video off. ]

OOC: Welcome to the game! The network and log comms are now both open to be freely posted in, but feel free to use this post as a network mingle if you like! There will be a sub-header for threads specifically for Aya, if you want them, but otherwise feel free to make your own top level comments and respond to others!

Comments

[ashencoyote]

well, i trust this more than i trust anything else, so let me just leave this message for everyone to see:

for the last time, if you're trying to find out if i have something, just be direct. don't give me euphemisms or epithets, just tell me what the fuck it is. i'm the guy who digs around in other people's garbage looking for it, what do i care what you're getting? what high ground does the lord of the trash have?

none. i have none.

if you're too embarrassed by whatever it is you're looking for, find a proxy who doesn't give a shit.

[gimmecandy]

Calling yourself a lord isn't very pious, you know.

[ashencoyote]

i do a lot of other stuff that isn't exactly pious, either. i'm not a priest, i'm just a lamp lighter.

anyway, what do you know of piety?

[gimmecandy]

I've read multiple translations of the Holy Bible, out of curiosity.

my favorite is the extreme teen bible!

[ashencoyote]

...

you have a lot of free time on your hands, i forgot.

do you want a copy of that? i found one...several copies, real hard copies not digital ones. might be missing a few pages, but the meaning's the same.

[gimmecandy]

AHHHHHH I DO WANT IT I DO!

NAME UR PRICE TRASH KING! ILL GIVE U ANY CANDY.

[ashencoyote]

you can just have it.

can you have visitors or do i have to arrange for someone to get this to you???

[gimmecandy]

wellllll i have a roommate now so itd be kinda rude to just show up

I think you can have it delivered through the usual channels.

[ashencoyote]

fine, i'll make sure it gets to you.

sometimes i wonder if you're not just an ai that became sentient and you don't actually exist.

[thezekeinator]

The man who can provide what is needed has a lot of power, chum. Don't blame people for not wanting to offend their supplier!

[ashencoyote]

if someone can offend me with what they're looking for, i'll be fucking impressed. the only thing that offends me is trying to lowball me.

[thezekeinator]

They don't know that. Or what politeness you expect! Or anything except that you have power!

[ashencoyote]

the idea that i hold power is really, really weird.

anyway, if a guy hawking a bunch of weird shit he scavenges from god knows where expects politeness, then he's expecting too much.

[thezekeinator]

What, you can't imagine some guy getting hyped up on his own PR and styling himself 'the Lord of the Trash', holding court over a cadre of loyal servitors and acquistors who keep his empire of trade running?

[ashencoyote]

no, but you can, apparently. you've got an overactive imagination. what i do is way less interesting and more questionably legal than that.

[thezekeinator]

I think you're being a little naive here, friend. Power doesn't always corrupt, but it often does. People with power too often expect others to respect that power, Or Else. If that wasn't a good part of human nature, we metas would be welcomed with open arms instead of being feared for what we potentially could do.

[ashencoyote]

...

[ Looks like Zeke touched a nerve. ]

don't call me naive. you don't really know who you're talking to. do you think i would've gotten this far if i were naive? nah, i would've been shot or stabbed in some back alley in the underground by someone seeking to take my power and my enterprise from me.

besides, i was joking. not everything needs to be so fucking serious all the time.

[ayoungman]

FINALLY!
someone with some common sense!
it's so easy to just claim that you're safe but are any of us really ever?
who's to say our mighty douman zaibatsu overlords aren't just peaking in on this forum even as we speak?
i mean, i'm not even a part of nso and i'm here so what's stopping anyone else?

nothing is safe on the internet.
nothing ever.

[ashencoyote]

i don't trust a lot of tech for a lot of reasons. analog methods are safer. maybe not as secure, but i don't care. paper is easy to burn.

i'm not a part of the nso, either.

[ayoungman]

you are literally the first person on here i've spoken to who actually seems to get it.
i keep telling everyone that saying random things on the internet like 'this is a secure server' doesn't automatically make it a secure server.
and thank you for bringing up the pen and paper thing!
that's literally what i was telling ms.hosada up there!

our corporate overlords are most likely to peak in during moments where we thing we're the most safe after all!

[ashencoyote]

tech can be nice and all and it's useful, but it's not secure. i don't rely on scanners to protect my storehouse for a reason. yeah, someone can break open a lock, but it's loud. hacking a scanner is trivial and silent.

nothing's secure. don't put anything out there you don't expect to be seen. we'll just get called paranoid for being realistic.

[ayoungman]

THANK YOU!
any place where information is located and stored is an insecure source.
especially if it is run by and organized by people other than yourself.
ESPECIALLY when it's run by people you don't even really know.

just because it's not government or dz run doesn't mean that we can trust it.

a lot of people here don't really seem to get that though.

[ashencoyote]

it's complacency. that and people like to lull themselves into a false sense of security.

nice to see someone with some sense about this kind of thing, though. name's coyote.

[ayoungman]

you can call me eb for now.
at least until i'm certain this network is as secure as they say it is.
don't want to be going around adding my name to all the bs anti-government stuff i've been until i'm certain i won't get hounded down because of it.

especially so with the recent news and attacks.

[ashencoyote]

a name's a name, doesn't matter to me if it's real or not. it's just something i can call you. i understand the caution, believe me. no one in the underground goes by their real name unless they're really brave or really stupid.

it pays to be cautious.