Character Discussion - Tempo

Discussion regarding the Outsider webcomic, science, technology and science fiction.

Moderator: Outsider Moderators

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by entity2636 »

From what I've seen in the comic, the loroi use telepathy (sanzai) mostly for communication as an improved alternative to speaking, but speak aloud when the distances are too large, records must be kept, clear orders given, the other party is not telepathic or when sanzai as a means of communication is for whatever reason suboptimal.

They also display prominent use of gestures, mimicry, body language and all sorts of mannerisms much like we do, so I would not dismiss them having "tells".

@novius - you could be right about an implanted comm device that she activates by touching her temple and is masking the action as fixing her hair. It could even be an implanted psi amp, although I don't see anything hinting at it in her GURPS sheet. The big question then would be, who could she be reporting to. It would be very low power and highly scrambled so the signal won't stand out in the sensor logs, thus rather close range.

fredgiblet
Moderator
Posts: 983
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:02 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by fredgiblet »

It would have to be in system as there's no FTL comms. It's doubtful that she's communicating with someone IMO.

novius
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 10:33 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by novius »

@novius - you could be right about an implanted comm device that she activates by touching her temple and is masking the action as fixing her hair. It could even be an implanted psi amp, although I don't see anything hinting at it in her GURPS sheet. The big question then would be, who could she be reporting to. It would be very low power and highly scrambled so the signal won't stand out in the sensor logs, thus rather close range.
It just takes a relay beacon on the Tempest to amplify the signal and send it off elsewhere.

Even worse, one could imagine that the Mizol managed to slip in a 'backdoor' in every comm system's software, so that any Loroi ship or relay in range would propagate the signal without alerting the comm officer. How easy it is to hide away some nefarious piece of software in a complex system? No need to look further than to a Volkswagen Diesel in these days for an example. If someone is versed in programming, I'd warmly encourage to have a look at the Underhanded C Contest to have an idea how deeply one can hide a malicious function in an inconspicuous piece of code. And we're talking about today's real-life tech -- computers in sci-fi are supposed to be incredibly more complex, though even if they appear easier to use.

And about Tempo being that underhanded? Well, character sheets don't offer up much to discern a character's motivation (unless you put down their alignment), but being in the spy trade and being a diplomat does require some moral flexibility, and she's definitely not afraid of butting heads with Stillstorm - and have her relent, at least momentarily.

(Addendum)

Now, feel free to take the idea a bit further. Lets say the Mizol as a whole did manage to subvert the design of comm systems to build up their own 'shadowed' comm networks. Possibly even with messages hiding themselves in the courier ship's computers until the jump, and then to be relayed further towards their destination.

Plus, they're viewed much like the late KGB agents which were embedded in military ranks to ensure the military's adherence to 'the line'. Distrusted, reviled, but vested with enough power to bypass chain of command and countermand the CO's orders.

Now... does someone else get the idea that the Mizol caste would be in a good position to rule from behind the throne or start a successful coup if things get iffy?

Tempo seems to be self-assured enough to suggest that she has considerable backing.

folti
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 10:24 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by folti »

Werra wrote:How do you guys see Tempo ending up on the shuttle? The way I see it there are two big options.

Either Stillstorm "politely" told her designated Gestapo minder to leave her ship or Tempo told Stillstorm to be nice while her designated NKVD officer is away.
Probably a combination of being on Stillstorm shitlist, and officially got replaced, and as others mentioned, made a decision to follow with the alien on his way to Seren, so she can both keep an eye on the other Loroi(so they don't accidentally spill information), and to allow time to learn more about he alien.
novius wrote:
@novius - you could be right about an implanted comm device that she activates by touching her temple and is masking the action as fixing her hair. It could even be an implanted psi amp, although I don't see anything hinting at it in her GURPS sheet. The big question then would be, who could she be reporting to. It would be very low power and highly scrambled so the signal won't stand out in the sensor logs, thus rather close range.
It just takes a relay beacon on the Tempest to amplify the signal and send it off elsewhere.

Even worse, one could imagine that the Mizol managed to slip in a 'backdoor' in every comm system's software, so that any Loroi ship or relay in range would propagate the signal without alerting the comm officer. How easy it is to hide away some nefarious piece of software in a complex system? No need to look further than to a Volkswagen Diesel in these days for an example. If someone is versed in programming, I'd warmly encourage to have a look at the Underhanded C Contest to have an idea how deeply one can hide a malicious function in an inconspicuous piece of code. And we're talking about today's real-life tech -- computers in sci-fi are supposed to be incredibly more complex, though even if they appear easier to use.

And about Tempo being that underhanded? Well, character sheets don't offer up much to discern a character's motivation (unless you put down their alignment), but being in the spy trade and being a diplomat does require some moral flexibility, and she's definitely not afraid of butting heads with Stillstorm - and have her relent, at least momentarily.
(Addendum)

Now, feel free to take the idea a bit further. Lets say the Mizol as a whole did manage to subvert the design of comm systems to build up their own 'shadowed' comm networks. Possibly even with messages hiding themselves in the courier ship's computers until the jump, and then to be relayed further towards their destination.
Or it might be simple data recording device and/or analyzer. OR a link to an onboard one. As for backdoors? I don't think so they'll need it, when they can simply have high enough privileges to have their data classified (and encrypted) as some important piece of information, for yourMizol eyes only, prioritized to be sent back on the first available time.

Besides that, to whom does she send something at Naam? The only ones present were the Barsam courier, and Umiak. Talking to the latest is a no go, and she made clear that the Loroi trust in the Barsam have limits. Though if they can be made sure that the Barsam have no way to decrypt her messages, they might have been used as a courier back to at least Leido or other similar border system which is on the courier network. After all, before the Stray jumped on them, she had no way of knowing how long they would linger in the system, picking the wreck of the Bellarmine.
Plus, they're viewed much like the late KGB agents which were embedded in military ranks to ensure the military's adherence to 'the line'. Distrusted, reviled, but vested with enough power to bypass chain of command and countermand the CO's orders.
Actually, that never happened, for historical reasons. The commissars' power to override the military commanders' have been removed in 1942, as experience showed that amateurs overriding the professionals lead to catastrophic defeats, and their duties have been relegated to morale matters, and spying for the party from that time, until the SU's dissolution. And the KGB haven't been created until 1956 too. The then relevant organization was the NKVD.
Now... does someone else get the idea that the Mizol caste would be in a good position to rule from behind the throne or start a successful coup if things get iffy?

Tempo seems to be self-assured enough to suggest that she has considerable backing.
Per Arioch, the Empress is a Mizol, and a very powerful one to boot.

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by entity2636 »

folti wrote:Besides that, to whom does she send something at Naam? The only ones present were the Barsam courier, and Umiak. Talking to the latest is a no go, and she made clear that the Loroi trust in the Barsam have limits.
If we continue this train of thought, even if it may be BS (I feel it is, but still) - the Umiak, Klicky-27 to be specific. He was hiding in Naam and has been following the 51st all the way to Leido.

If we look back at Pages 86 and 87 and pay attention to Tempo, on Page 86, when Klicky opens the channel, she looks more than just surprised, possibly a clamped down expression of being caught red handed, slight shock as if some of her plans just backfired.

She then turns around and is about to jump up but is ordered to stand down. After the exchange with Klicky, Stillstorm glares at her with clear anger and dismisses our team.

*Now what? Are we now painting Tempo a traitor?*

[Addition]

*Our party exits the shuttle after a hard landing on the Gora Relay and is greeted, to the surprise of everyone, by the station's commander and a detachment of marines with guns at the ready.*

Commander: Parat Tempo! On Admiral Stillstorm's order I hereby officially relieve you of duty *Shoots a completely startled Tempo between the eyes* You are charged with high treason and collaboration with the enemy. The punishment for that is death.

novius
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 10:33 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by novius »

entity2636 wrote:If we look back at Pages 86 and 87 and pay attention to Tempo, on Page 86, when Klicky opens the channel, she looks more than just surprised, possibly a clamped down expression of being caught red handed, slight shock as if some of her plans just backfired.
That look did strike me as odd, too. Especially on the second panel where she casts a sideways glance behind herself. I wouldn't go as far as suspect Tempo or the Mizol to conduct underhanded deals with the Umiak, but there's definitely much more going on behind the scenes.

A likely scenario is that the Mizol already have some intel on the Umiak latest developments in farsense-stealthed troops but so far kept it under wraps... and Tempo sort of feared what actually happened just the following seconds - a boastful (as much as they could be) boasting about their latest achievements.

So I'm sure the Mizol have plans on their own. And plans within plans. And Tempo, personally might have some plans on her own, especially with Alex entering the arena.

User avatar
Werra
Posts: 840
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by Werra »

That look did strike me as odd, too. Especially on the second panel where she casts a sideways glance behind herself.
For me that looked quite normal. Very surprised but otherwise normal. The Loroi seem to look at each other when they sanzai and I suspect Tempo is no exception to that habit. If you check here, you'll see that she turned towards Stillstorm. Which makes sense if we assume that Stillstorm decided to put Kikitik on screen.

boldilocks
Posts: 669
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2017 3:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by boldilocks »

Werra wrote:
That look did strike me as odd, too. Especially on the second panel where she casts a sideways glance behind herself.
For me that looked quite normal. Very surprised but otherwise normal. The Loroi seem to look at each other when they sanzai and I suspect Tempo is no exception to that habit. If you check here, you'll see that she turned towards Stillstorm. Which makes sense if we assume that Stillstorm decided to put Kikitik on screen.
In 86 she's putting him through.
In 87 she turns as if to stand and address him, but Stillstorm stands her down in order to address him herself.

User avatar
Werra
Posts: 840
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by Werra »

Well, she is the ranking diplomat of the ship. I see nothing strange about that.

folti
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 10:24 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by folti »

entity2636 wrote:
folti wrote:Besides that, to whom does she send something at Naam? The only ones present were the Barsam courier, and Umiak. Talking to the latest is a no go, and she made clear that the Loroi trust in the Barsam have limits.
If we continue this train of thought, even if it may be BS (I feel it is, but still) - the Umiak, Klicky-27 to be specific. He was hiding in Naam and has been following the 51st all the way to Leido.

If we look back at Pages 86 and 87 and pay attention to Tempo, on Page 86, when Klicky opens the channel, she looks more than just surprised, possibly a clamped down expression of being caught red handed, slight shock as if some of her plans just backfired.

She then turns around and is about to jump up but is ordered to stand down. After the exchange with Klicky, Stillstorm glares at her with clear anger and dismisses our team.

*Now what? Are we now painting Tempo a traitor?*
Or just surprised that the enemy hailed them, instead of the usual zerg rushing, then sanzai'd Stillstorm for further instructions, who ordered her to open the channel.

Remember, the narrator is non-telepathic, thus always missing most of the chatter in the room, and can only guess some of it from the participants' body language.

Also at Leido, when she did the hair thing, there were no Umiak ships in system yet, so there was nobody to send the a message to.

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by entity2636 »

Like I said, I don't believe in this myself, wrote that as an absurd what-if :) By the way, the Barsam courier is also not present in Leido (he went straight for Azimol while we are going to Seren) so the recipient must in both cases be in system and nearby if she's not using encrypted special Mizol frequencies and the ship's comm system through a back door.

folti
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 10:24 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by folti »

entity2636 wrote:By the way, the Barsam courier is also not present in Leido (he went straight for Azimol while we are going to Seren) so the recipient must in both cases be in system and nearby if she's not using encrypted special Mizol frequencies and the ship's comm system through a back door.
Unless Tempo's message was too important to be broadcasting over the courier network, the Barsam courier would only have to reach any border system which is on the courier network to pass the message onto the couriers who can ensure it's timely delivery, much faster than actually going straight to Seren (as the couriers usually pass the messages over radio onto the next relay after jumping in).

Also, I'm not entirely sold on any possible Mizol backdoors in the communications system. Even managing to put them into the Loroi navy systems would be major effort involving making a lot of people getting on board with it, some of them very powerful, but you'd have to push the same limitations onto your allies/levies/etc too which would be an even bigger political can of worms. Otherwise the secret frequencies will be not so secret after someone with some nifty wide spectrum listening device records some.
novius wrote: Even worse, one could imagine that the Mizol managed to slip in a 'backdoor' in every comm system's software, so that any Loroi ship or relay in range would propagate the signal without alerting the comm officer. How easy it is to hide away some nefarious piece of software in a complex system? No need to look further than to a Volkswagen Diesel in these days for an example.
The VW diesel was not a backdoor, nor really that nefarious. And it remained secret that long was a combination of lack of proper testing (as no one actually bothered to go out and test the emissions in real world situations, until some academics got a grant for that in 2014, and actually did), and the lack of interest in inspecting/hacking/auditing embedded systems, like the ECUs in engines, nor had the tools and the expertise, creating a security by obscurity situation. Which situation is changing and had warning shots before, like the audit report from the Toyota's stuck gas pedal scandal, where the audit cleared Toyota of any wrongdoing, but shed light to an awful lot of dangerous and often obsolete coding practices the embedded developers were/are using.

I highly doubt, that the Loroi comms have similarly lack auditing.
If someone is versed in programming, I'd warmly encourage to have a look at the Underhanded C Contest to have an idea how deeply one can hide a malicious function in an inconspicuous piece of code. And we're talking about today's real-life tech -- computers in sci-fi are supposed to be incredibly more complex, though even if they appear easier to use.
Yes or no. The tricks you can pull off with C and similar low/mid level languages are only possible because they are such low level languages form the dawn of computing, when their developers were more concerned with making things work with the extremely limited computing resources of the era, than with safe and secure development practices.

Several generations of higher level languages have been created since then, which have been aimed to prevent these problems with more or less success, with new contestants being added to the list every few years, and even C gained protections from the most egregious cases by code analysis, compiler features, security enhanced libraries, and even some got into the latest standard of the language (C11).

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by entity2636 »

Warringrose wrote:A prediction/ theory I've been thinking about: A few pages ago the inquisitive, hyper active Beryl fell asleep in the middle of a conversation with our hero. I think that was Tempo putting her to sleep so she could mind swap with Beryl because later, we see Tempo falling into what appears to be a "kung fu meditation pose". I think this is for the purpose of getting inside Alex's head via the medium of a Beryl's friendly (and beautiful!) face.

I would like to present exhibit A, Beryl's suspicious slumber: http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider110.html

And exhibit B, Tempo's sudden concentration: http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider112.html

Now a prediction: Alex might see Tempo's psionic silhouette in his lap, where Beryl's should be. Tempo's concentration on hiding herself disrupted by the announcement of a torpedo launch. Shenanigans may well ensue!

Amazing web comic! Cannot wait for the next page!

What do you guys think? Am I just overthinking it? Or is there some serious drama going down.
Zarya wrote: The Loroi mind-hacking each other, or perhaps mind-hiking and playing the puppeteer?
Very interesting idea. I’d never have thought about that.

We haven’t seen the Loroi interact up close under great pressure yet, and Tempo has been somewhat conspicuously out of the picture for a while now. Still, I’m inclined to see Beryl ‘acting as herself’ and not as if controlled, although she can - and most likely will - sanzai any discoveries about Jardin to Tempo when asked for it.
entity2636 wrote: Personally I also believe that Tempo put Beryl to sleep but that was because a) Beryl was about to spill to Alex that Tempo's an intel officer and b) might "correct" Tempo's story about the war, it's beginnings and Loroi foreign policy; and her mischievous smirk and comment here http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider111.html could be an indication thereof. Both those are topics that Tempo would prefer to keep under her own control.

The idea that Tempo could completely take over control of Beryl's, or anyone elses, body, walk around and impersonate them does sound remotely plausible and scary, but I don't think it is the case. Beryl has been acting like her normal self the past few hours and Alex might have noticed something being off.
Warringrose wrote: OOooh, but that's what makes it so scary. While inside Beryl's mind, Tempo might have access to all of Beryl's mannerisms and affectations, and can impersonate her perfectly. Isn't that a freaky thought!? It's totally invasion of the body snatchers themed, they can mimic their prey perfectly.
Zarya wrote:Yeah, or it is a bit like a sanzai feature, where Loroi can share mental resources and send/share each other skils and knowledge as needed. For example Beryl might fly the shuttle, but would be assisted by Talon.

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by entity2636 »

@Zarya - that should be possible within the realms of sanzai and the way loroi learn at school - knowledge is telepathically transmitted/implanted into them. Talon could instruct, say, Beryl how to fly in real time.

@Warringrose - I don't see how that could work, but admittedly, that goes into the realm of the esoteric. I could see how Tempo could take over physical control of Beryl's body while Beryl's consciousness is sleeping and sort of remote control her - walk around, interact, speak in her voice, but it would still be Tempo doing it. Else it would be either a mix of Beryl's and Tempo's personalities (a different person) or Beryl with Tempo's motivations still acting on her own.... Or what?

User avatar
Werra
Posts: 840
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by Werra »

Nah, that's crazy. I think Beryl was just Beryl the last few pages. Nothing out of the ordinary and her whole behaviour fits with what is shown in the comic and what we know from her character sheet.

Also, I don't think Tempo has the ability or need to hijack Beryl to touch Alex. She could just show/feign friendly curiosity and he'd likely allow it. Especially now Alex revealed how easy humaniti males are with "handshakes". I'd like to remind everybody that Beryl is canonically the spotty nerd with poor grasp of social norms to Tempos physical perfection and impecable grasp of social poise.

Beryls suspicious slumber is well in line with her character flaw of falling asleep anywhere and the flow of conversation lends itself to that happening quite well also. Beryl was awake and participating at the beginning of Tempos exposition. That's all ancient history for Beryl. She knows every detail already with her eidetic memory. Add to that, that she just spent an hour or so milking Alex for new, exciting, alien metrics. Something she'd be far more interested (xenophilia) and therefore invested in. That takes its toll.

We likely haven't seen much of Tempo because a) she's tired as well and b) has her seatbelt on while the shuttle dodges Umiak divisions.

She may very well be able to mindcontrol others, but a fellow Loroi aware of such methods and trained in some manner of resistance, while Tempo is wearing no (visible) amplifier?

I'm honestly amazed how Tempo, the one Loroi most human is seen as this eldritch horror out of lies and deceit.

Here's my suggestion on what happened:

Alex is to be moved. Beryl and Fireblade get the order and pick up Jardin. While that happens Tempo gets told by Stillstorm to get lost too. Who knows, maybe Tempos behaviour on the bridge wasn't in fact technically not illegal. So suddenly Tempo appears on the shuttle, distressed and anxious. We know pretty well that Beryl is dumbfounded by Tempos appearance in the beginning.
Maybe the gesture from page 112 was the first moment Tempo had for herself to realise she's being sent off on a shuttle away from her actual post with some very strong words.

And just to be clear, I absolutely believe that Tempo has ulteriour motives with Alex and that she is to some extent deceitful. I just don't see her being this aggressive in her trickery (yet).

novius
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 10:33 am

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by novius »

In addition, an attempt at body-switching would definitely raise suspicion if Beryl and Alex would compare notes at a later date. Remember, Beryl has an eidetic memory and would definitely spot inconsistencies - even if Tempo would do some editing, it could never be spotless.

User avatar
Werra
Posts: 840
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by Werra »

Also, enjoy the maximum of my artistic ability.
And my poor grasp of english sentences, apparently.
Image

boldilocks
Posts: 669
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2017 3:27 pm

Re: Character Discussion - Tempo

Post by boldilocks »

Werra wrote:Also, enjoy the maximum of my artistic ability.
And my poor grasp of english sentences, apparently.
Image
The sort of frizzy pillow-hair gives her comment an extra layer of meaning. Forgiveness comes easier than permission, I suppose.

Post Reply