IC contact for glencolareef

[cactusy]

CALLSIGN TO994M

[For private network chats, or in-person threads if she ends up traveling with anyone.]

Comments

[2199]

Oh, it's... it's an exercise in Skepticism.

Chuang Tzu was a philosopher. One night he had a vivid dream that he was a butterfly. It felt so real to fly on the wind, with no worries beyond the little things butterflies worry about. When he woke, he realized it had been a dream, and he felt the same relief, except now he was glad he was a person. It felt so real to breathe with human lungs and stand with human legs. He had to ask himself, "am I Chuang Tzu who dreamt I was a butterfly, or am I a butterfly who dreams I am Chuang Tzu?"

[cactusy]

You like that stuff? Philosophy?

[2199]

It's not an enduring interest. But I had to take a course on it for [training?] my major. [That's not even technically a lie.] It encourages abstract thought, which can be helpful in surreal situations.

[cactusy]

You're not regular military, huh. Spec ops?

[2199]

I'm not military.

[cactusy]

[Maybe it's a lie and maybe it's not, but either way, Shaw notices the lack of elaboration: and realizes, for the first time, how strange it must have sounded for her to casually admit to her own past government work.]

The way I see it, simulation or not, we're not in Kansas anymore. Either what's going on here is so divorced from anything going on at home that most of our secrets are totally irrelevant, or they're a little too relevant, and anybody monitoring this feed already knows everything anyway.

But there's still stuff I'm keeping to myself regardless, so if your job is one of those things for you, I get it. No more home questions?

[2199]

[She can see how this woman, Tango-Oscar-Zero, is tying to reach out. There is sometimes a feeling between departments, disparate units, that because they're all on the same team, there's a deep understanding. But time is cruel; Deep Time doubly so.]

[Still, it's a nice gesture.]

Knowing about your home, about everyone's homes here, may help us escape whatever trap this is, simulated or otherwise. I can't put that barrier around myself while asking others. But if you say you can't answer a question, I'll respect that. [And expect the same.]

I investigate crimes relating to the Navy. NCIS is a civilian organization, but it requires me to be familiar with military protocol.

[And giving away that much, for the first time, is in itself a test. She needs to break the seal, to see how far this woman's clearance goes, and to see if this breach means she's going to immediately be hunted down by whoever or whatever is listening. A private channel with another person who has signed her life over to governmental whims... it feels like the scenario with the least risk.]

[cactusy]

Yeah, I know NCIS. I was USMC, then ISA.

[US Marine Corps. Intelligence Support Activity.]

[2199]

Does the naval organization 'NSC' sound familiar?

[cactusy]

Naval Space Command? It doesn't exist anymore, but yeah.

[2199]

[What a quick way to check someone's clearance. She'll have to remember this trick if she meets anyone else in government.]

It's still operational as of 1997. I work in junction with NSC on occasion.

[cactusy]

Oh, uh-- right. The time thing. It's gonna be absorbed into other agencies in a few years - 2002 or 2003, I think. Sorry for the spoilers.

[2199]

...Spoilers? Oh, you mean- [A soft sound, a muted laugh. NETWARCOM, how unprecedented.] Thanks for the head's up, I guess.

Did your ISA work involve any survival training?

[cactusy]

No. The Marines did, some, but not anything that presumed we'd be stranded without supplies or time to prepare. You?

[2199]

Yes. Mostly in Arizona and Colorado-- hot and cold. My knowledge of the tropics is theoretical.

...Less theoretical in the last few days.

[cactusy]

Yeah. At least we have the training to keep our wits about us, huh.

[2199]

Hopefully, yes.

Could I ask you to describe your surroundings?

[cactusy]

... Why? No offense, but I don't want any of you guys trying to find me right now.