Can You See Me Now?

[cachedout]

Who: Cayde-6 and, quite possibly, you
What: Scouting the rig's security systems
Where: Anywhere your heart feels
When: The pre-mission days after the first sheetcake party
Warnings/Notes: If you do brackets with me that is 100% fine I'll come do brackets too

One of the local robot people is out and about. Cayde is pushing boundaries, which is to say that Cayde is having a pretty typical day since he found himself in Jorgmund's loving corporate chokehold. If he has to be stuck in a frosty tincan with a bunch of strangers, he's going to make the best of it and figure out what that "best" just might look like. A key part of that is getting a grip on where he can and can't go, and how much security is going to limit his movements and activities.

Right now, he's playing with security cameras.

"Alexa," Cayde asks the ceiling, pleasant and casual, orange throat lamp lighting up as he speaks, "Can you see me on the cameras right now?" He's making eye contact (well, glowing blue optic contact) with a shiny black security camera lens as he says it. He gives it a little wave.

She processes for several silent seconds, then a sweet and chirpy reply rings out:

"No, Cayde-6, you are currently outside of visual monitoring!"

"You'd recognize me if you could?"

"Yes!"

"Is there anybody under...." he takes a few steps closer to the camera and squints up at it to check it for identifying marks, then gives her the camera number.

"Not currently!" Alexa reports brightly.

"That's very interesting. Thank you, Alexa."

"You are welcome, Cayde-6!"

He repeats this test throughout the rig. While he's careful to avoid actual world-resident Jorgmund staffers, he's less careful about other new hires. Each time, he feels like his heart (or whatever Clovis Bray gave him instead of one) grows another size. It's hard for a robot with no lips to grin from ear to ear, but the subtle shift in the plates around his eyes conveys some of the expression as Cayde figures out just how many great and nasty ideas he is probably going to be able to get away with here. The company can't visually track him. That doesn't mean they haven't planted a tracker of some kind on him, he'll have to find a way to test that later, but as long as he's within acceptable crew areas? This is an absolute game changer.

PROMPT A:

Cayde finishes another round of camera checking, asking Alexa if she can see him, and confirming that she can't. Someone else nearby might have some opinions on seeing this situation develop, no?

PROMPT B:

Cayde notices another new hire is conveniently nearby the latest camera. Wherever they are on the rig, someone finds a robot man asking them: "Hey, wanna help with an experiment I'm doing?"

Comments

Prompt A

[fromfryingpantofire]

Okay. He hasn't met the guy before, but he definitely catches Sam's eye as he's walking the rig. So Sam settles back and listens, watching, and looking up at the cameras on the ceiling.

Eventually, though, he straightens and reaches up to tap one of the cameras. "Seriously. I figured the budget for this place was pretty shit. I didn't think it would be THAT shit."

[cachedout]

"I'm starting to believe in miracles," Cayde replies, disposition totally sunny. "Well. Maybe. I just hope this one lasts, we can use this."

Talking openly like that is a risk, but Cayde's nothing if he's not a risktaker.

A

[partiallysquirrelblood]

Doreen's walking down the hall when she hears Cayde. It's enough to make her pause mid-step and double back towards him.

"Hi, couldn't help but overhear," she whispers. "How many cameras are up just for the psychological effect so far?"

[wheyoftheadept]

Saturday's mouth is hanging open in shock.

" - it's got to be fucking bait," she says. "No fucking way."

But god, please be true, please be true. She's torn between hope and absolute, bitter, experienced cynicism. It's plain on her face.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I wouldn't count chickens and all, but it seems like a good bit of information."

He hums softly, walking around the camera he's looking at. "If it's entirely true, at least. I mean, some of these have to be real cameras, right?" If there are any, finding them would be the trick.

b

[takenalive]

Alloran's been standing around spaced-out, which is looking like it's pretty common with him. He tries to notice when he does it and find something to do, but it's something he has to overcome. It's annoying to be addressed and realize he was waiting in the passive no-space of an old host, again.

He flicks the end of his tail, past the blade, with that irritation. It is at least becoming easier to move when he's not half in a stupor.

<What sort of experiment?> Thought-speech is perceptible to robots and advanced computers where he's from, but he is from a reality where it's a fairly common way to communicate.

B

[becauseimacoward]

"It depends on what you have in mind"

Dojima indeed had been examining the camera. He knew enough about security cameras to try to deduce a thing or two, but he hasn't started messing up with them. He's doing things veeeeery carefully while in the rig. He doesn't want to get in trouble or earn a shock.

He had intended to just examine several cameras without touching them, but then Cayde approached with an experiment. That could be...interesting.

"What do you have in mind?"

B

[gautiheir]

"How much trouble will it get us in? That won't necessarily stop me from saying yes, I should note, but it's always nice to know these things upfront."

Sylvain's used to landing in some kind of trouble, honestly. It's mostly just his own inability to give a one-word answer without running off at the mouth instead.

[cachedout]

Cayde grins. "Well, one would think, but so far I'm running a full count on blind eyes on two decks. Or at least, the parts of decks I checked that weren't behind scary-looking doors. I'm pacing myself."

[cachedout]

Cayde looks over at Doreen, temporarily sidetracked from his camera ritual. He considers: Is this information he's going to share right now, in person, with his face attached?

What the hell, Cayde decides.

"Well so far I'm looking at..." He makes a show of counting on his fingers. "Twenty cameras out of twenty checked."

[cachedout]

"Could be, could be," says Cayde, nodding. He gazes up at the camera, fingers to chin thoughtfully.

"But if it is, I plan on taking it and the hook too."

[cachedout]

Cayde is without organic components, but there's still a mind in there ticking away on an artificial neural structure. If the thought-speech can reach alien species, there's no reason to suppose this is a bridge too far. Cayde pauses for a moment at the unfamiliar sensation, notes the stranger's lack of mouth, and recovers.

"I'm doing a little... surveillance of the security system around here," he says. "Mind stepping over here a second where it should be able to see you?" He nods toward the little black camera up in a corner overhead.

[wheyoftheadept]

"So they can haul you up and gut you?" Saturday isn't quite standing under the camera, yet, but she is moving closer. "How - how can they have fucking nanotaser implants but no working cameras? What the fuck?"

If this is legitimately amateur hour, and she's been worried about a bunch of fucking incompetents this whole time, well. She's gonna be pissed.

[cachedout]

"It's not hard, or even risky. Just if you'd stand over there, say, where the camera's supposed to be able to see. I need to test something," Cayde says.

"I can find somebody else if you don't wanna. Probably."

He seems pretty relaxed about this, considering he's toeing the line into potentially dangerous territory with the company.

[cachedout]

"Well, Sylvain, if I'm right? None at all," Cayde says. He looks up at a security camera nearby, hands on hips.

"Care to take a gamble with me? I'm figuring out how well these things can see us, and I got some extra questions on top of that such as: Is it just me they can't see, or what?"

[cachedout]

"To see how much line they got," he offers, a gentle correction. " ...Or however this metaphor goes with figuring out our safe operating limits, I can't say I'm much of a fisherman."

He shakes his head a little, letting go of trying to figure out how to lay down this thought in fish analogies. A good joke's in there, maybe, but he's busy.

"A gift horse this big is probably a trap. If it is, I get to learn some rules to the game. If it isn't, though..." Cayde's grin returns, little plates shifting under his eyes like cheeks pulling up, browplate lowering to make the expression just a little dangerous. "We have found ourselves one hell of a nice piece of wiggleroom to play in."

[wheyoftheadept]

"Yeah - I found a couple blind spots, some bolt holes, but they don't fit more than maybe three, five if we don't mind getting friendly." She's still staring at the cameras, hands on hips. "God fucking damn me, I wish I was any good with tech. Coulda worked it out sooner."

She looks at him slantwise. "You sure you can cut the line in time? Might be good to have backup, if you don't already."

[cachedout]

Cayde snorts.

"They're not gonna kill me. They want me here. My status as "valued asset to the company" may be a bunch of crap —" he makes sure to fingerquote 'valued asset' as is only proper "— but I'm much more useful alive than dead. Here's what happens: They catch me doing something they don't want us to do, they rough me up and make an example out of me and undo what I've done. But if I've not done much yet, I haven't lost any effort, we know more, and let's be honest here: I came off the reality bus in worse shape than anything they're gonna do if they want me in fighting shape."

He's putting chips down on this. He'll say it in front of the supposedly dead camera. If Alexa's lying to him, he's going to find out about it.

[wheyoftheadept]

Saturday nods. It's not a bad plan, as plans goes.

"But you still need a plan B," she points out. "Just in case. Best laid plans, mice and men, factor in sheer fucking randomness and I'm still seeing one guy sticking his neck out alone. Unless someone went and started the conspiracy without me, which would be super rude."

[partiallysquirrelblood]

"Dang, that's a lot. And you're checking them all individually, right? There might be a more efficient way of handling it though, if Alexa's actually being cooperative."

If Alexa wasn't truly being cooperative, and was just lying? The ensuing punishment would suck, but it would at least let them know what kind of leeway they actually had.

"Alexa, what isn't currently outside of visual monitoring?"

[cachedout]

Cayde doesn't seem bothered. It's the kind of work he's used to, the kind of work he misses. He feels useful when he's ahead of the pack to find out what's ahead.

But, well. The last time he was without backup, things didn't end so well. Kid might have a point.

"You got a suggestion?" he asks. There's no accusation or wounded pride in it, just an arched metal brow and curiosity.

[cachedout]

"Figure just running one by one is a way to be sure. And if the company's paying attention, they'll notice," he says.

Being noticed (if it's possible) is part of the goal here, it seems.

"Visual monitoring is currently fully operational," Alexa chirps, helpfully unhelpful. Cayde's response is to laugh.

[wheyoftheadept]

"Start a conspiracy." She grins at him. "Runnin's easier with a crew. You gotta stick your neck out, fine - but bring some people. Figure out what's the best target, how you're gonna run at it. Figure out what could go wrong, and how to cope with it. Have an extraction for when it all goes fucking sideways."

She crosses her arms, not challenging, but sliding too easily into the roll of facilitator. "Do you have an idea how you want to play it? That'd be the place to start. What are you going after, and how are you gonna do it? And if you don't get caught, how do we up the ante until you do?"

[cachedout]

"You're further along than I am," Cayde says, mirroring her posture. "This is the part where I don't pull other people in with me yet because I have to figure out what I'm asking 'em."

It's due diligence, good faith, proper rigor, something like that.

"Besides. I haven't exactly decided who I'm asking."

Is that an RSVP? Maybe.

[wheyoftheadept]

"Well, I've been making a shortlist." Dear god, she's missed talking to real operators. Saturday tilts her head, with just a bit of a challenging smile playing around the corners of her mouth. "We could compare notes. And if we need a first target," she adds, "well, dunno about you, but I'm running low on smokes and I could really use a drink."