[Handwritten | Notepad]

[gobybessie]

I ran into one of our dear aliens, Badri, a while back. He was eating Happy Meal, so it seems that continues to be an odd theme. In the library, of all places. The audacity.

He told me a few interesting tidbits that I thought you might like to hear. I'll break them down.

• Turns out his friend Geoff has been subtly manipulating everyone. If anyone's ever had a passing thought that they trust him unusually easily, that's because you probably are. Badri said it's not mind control as such, but "suggestion," although I'm not entirely sure what that is. However, if we know about it we might be able to resist it, so perhaps we could come to see him in a different light. Who knows?

• Badri's power is mental too. Supposedly completely harmless, although I don't know what makes him say that. For those of you who missed that, someone on the network got to see him use it to kill a pidgeon, supposedly by accident. He said he didn't know it would be smart enough to get scared to death. I don't know about you but this doesn't sound like something "harmless" to me.

• There are more of them, but this definitely didn't come as a surprise. I already thought as much. They're called "the children," but that was all I could get from him on that point.

Comments

[Audio]

[dead_black_eyes]

First of all, thank you for sharing this information, John.

Second... it doesn't sound "harmless" to me, either. If they're trustworthy, it doesn't seem right that they'd need any kind of "suggestion" to influence us, does it?

[Audio]

[gobybessie]

I don't know. If they really have studied us for a while, they might be very well aware of the fact that humans can have quite some problems with acceptance. It could just have been for the sake ease.

But I agree. It is suspicious.

[Audio]

[dead_black_eyes]

Nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy. Manipulating trust is no way to actually get it, and it does far more damage than good.

Audio;

[knights_king]

Yeah, but what would Geoff be doing with that ability? Is he doin' stuff we can't notice?

Audio;

[gobybessie]

All I can be sure of is that he's keeping us from being suspicious of them, for whatever reason.

Audio;

[knights_king]

Maybe he's just nervous cause of the whole alien thing. People always get bugged by stuff they don't understand.

[audio]

[charcoalfeather]

Whoa... so, they're really up to no good?

[audio]

[gobybessie]

I don't know. I don't think we should make any hurried assumptions, but ... Possibly.

[audio]

[charcoalfeather]

They were already seen in that space tower with a bunch of happy meals, and they didn't want to tell us what they were doing. Maybe this is connected to that somehow.

[Text]

[prismaticdestruction]

so...they are bad but maybe not?

[Text]

[gobybessie]

So it seems.

Like all things, it seems to bring more questions together with the answers.

[Text]

[prismaticdestruction]

maybe the answers we are looking for will come up soon? it would be nice to know for sure.

Text

[icy_heavens]

I knew there had to be something up with the fact that we all trusted that guy.

And like hell any power that can kill something is harmless. What the hell kind of logic is that?

Text

[gobybessie]

Perhaps he means it in that it's not exactly offensive, and depends entirely on how the one you use it on percieves it.

text

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Okay. That's creepy. And pretty suspicious too.

You know, if they're 'the children'...who're 'the parents'?

text

[gobybessie]

God?

[ He's being partly facetious, but ... Who knows. Maybe it's to do with some sort of religion. ]

text;

[purestambition]

[Oh.

She wants to kill something, now.]

Thank you for this information.

Certainly, this explains why Benwick is always the one who speaks for them in public. The one who acts on behalf of them with the government. He's always there when necessary, isn't he?

text;

[gobybessie]

I always figured it was because he's simply the highest ranking of them here, but the reveal certainly adds something else to it. I have to wonder. What happens if he isn't there?

text - private

[feastorfamine]

I cannot begin to imagine how angry you must be right now.

text;

[alilyinthemoonslight]

[This... explains a lot. Especially up on the Orbital Elevator, when she and Winter met the two of them.]

Well.

THIS is a problem.

text;

[gobybessie]

Quite. They've been here for some time now. If they do not mean well ... Lord knows what damage they might have done so far. And what damage they could continue to do.

[audio]

[ruleorserve]

I'd be almost inclined to say suggestion simply sounds like a nicer word for it. Something designed to make it seem more harmless. Whether it's intentional or not I wouldn't be able to say, but it does raise questions, especially in light of the other supposedly-harmless mental ability displayed thus far.

[audio]

[gobybessie]

It does, doesn't it?

[ So dry. Clearly not overly impressed with that lot. ]

Text;

[evowhisperer]

-Mind control or mind 'suggestion', it's still an external influence over the mind, and I find it troubling. I wonder if there's anything in traditional human lore about so-called psychics that might be at all immune to this... Considering everything else that's no longer a myth, anything could be true.

-I agree. Death by mental distress is death all the same.

-'The Children'... That phrase has interesting connotations.

Text;

[gobybessie]

I think we'd be more likely to find that among alien, if there are none among us Numbered. It feels as though, at this point, it should be more than myth.

Doesn't it?