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Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 1:27 am
by orion1836

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 1:53 am
by Onaiom
What do you have there, Alex ?
Imagine that Beryl is using the same tone as your mother does when she catchs you doing something you shoudn't be doing.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 2:44 am
by man_of_foul_tofu
Great body language and expressive pose there, Alex looks anything but completely calm and relaxed.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 2:46 am
by icekatze
hi hi

Welp, that's about as bad as it could have gone. Although, depending on what Alex says next, it could certainly get worse for him.

I'm not sure if I'd trust the historian, but I'm pretty sure that if he lies to Beryl, she's never going to forget it. (I mean, beyond the fact that she has perfect recall memory.) Alex may be in grave danger, but giving Beryl reason to regret giving him leeway the first possible chance he got... probably not a good move either.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 3:39 am
by orion1836
No way it would happen, but the best possible outcome would be for him to spin around the tablet, showing the Historian construct, and simply ask, "Beryl, what the f--- is this and what is it doing on one of our data pads? These are your allies, right?"

Complete disclosure and denial of any subversive activity in one fell swoop.

Of course, if the Loroi really are out to get him...

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:12 am
by CrimsonFALKE
He could say space grumpy cat died

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:47 am
by Arent
Haha, the classical trust no one :geek: the question is - should he rather trust the historians?

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:50 am
by sunphoenix
Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with orion on this. In my life.. even among my enemies...'Truth has Always been my shield'. Lies are ignoble and pander to the worse in mankind. Sometimes.. you got to take that leap of faith and follow your gut instincts... clearly Beryl has tried to protect Alex, and been as truthful in all things that she can... I'm sure hse has never lied to Alex.. he should trust her!

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:58 am
by icekatze
hi hi
orion1836 wrote:... These are your allies, right?"
Even if Alex doesn't explicitly state that the Historian is on his PAD up front, asking some loaded questions might not be such a bad idea either. Enough to let Beryl know that something happened, while still playing dumb about the specifics.

If I was there, I might go with something like, "This is my PAD. Also, is it normal for this canister to make weird noises?" And try to get more information out of the situation that way. (Although, I would be a terrible choice for such a mission, so there's that.)

From our perspective as an audience, with insider knowledge about the Loroi, their history and all of that, the Historian construct's warning message is a little bit concerning, but not in the way it intended. While it isn't a smoking gun, it does slightly raise the plausibility of some "the Historians are behind it all," theories. I'm not quite sure why the construct is trying to drive a wedge between Alex and the Loroi, but I'll be really surprised if Beryl and Talon turn out to be villains. (From a narrative point of view.)

From Alex's point of view, the warning has got to be disconcerting for a variety of other reasons. Not least of which being that his daring choice of picking the Loroi based on how they treat their allies is starting to look more suspect. If even the Loroi's own allies are working at odds with them, it doesn't bode well for anything.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 5:13 am
by boldilocks
Possibly a way to cover is to go with the content on the datapad hitting him harder than he thought it would, and allude to having possibly read old entries from his crewmates. Not outright lying, in fact being technically truthful but making sure not to spill the beans about the construct.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 5:15 am
by Zorg56
He can just say that he was looking for information about attack on bellarmine.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:05 am
by novius
"Everyone is lying for his own benefit. Including you."

Words to live by. And a good measure whether Alex should trust the construct's words and motivations as well. Or rather not.

Alex is already aware that Tempo seems to withhold information from him, and that there's definitely more to the whole situation than what it appears to be at the first glance.

Though, closely reading the construct's words I notice that it said "The Loroi are NOT your friends." rather than "These Loroi are NOT your friends."

There's a difference in semantics. This way of wording speaks of the Loroi as a whole, the other one (with 'these') would have spoken of the individual Loroi on the shuttle. So it's much like "pick your friends carefully, but do not trust anyone adhering to the 'official' line of thinking".

I think that Alex might show the working pad to Beryl as soon as the construct hid its presence in its systems (I'm sure it will remove itself from the display one tenth of second second after it picked up Beryl's voice over the microphone) and continue trying to build a rapport with her and maybe Talon... and stay rather cautious around Tempo and far away from Fireblade.

Given the name of the comic, I further think that it doesn't refer to Alex alone, but that something is to happen that sets everyone on the shuttle apart from their respective societies.For example, Tempo getting a healthy dose of realism which may actually have her rethink the Loroi Union politics.

The interactions between Tempo and Stillstorm and the events on the bridge, especially their hasty egress, tell us (and Alex) that there seem to be some power plays running along. Maybe Tempo's interfrence spared Alex from a much grimmer fate than being put back in the brig, but that doesn't mean that she had a much kinder one in stock for him.

So that construct's message is only yet another indication that there are quite deep fractures within the Union, and within the Loroi as a species and political entity.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:24 am
by entity2636
Interesting turn of events, that's for sure. And, honestly, an angry Beryl kind of scares me more than an angry Fireblade, Tempo or any other soldier or officer. Dunno why...

I'm with Boldi and Zorg regarding how to act in this situation. Saying that it's his pad would not work since Beryl can read English and Alex's name almost certainly isn't shown on the screen (aside from the email addressed to him by the VI).

@Novius - good point. So far we have seen at least 3 of the 5 officers present to protect Alex and make it so the rest of the Loroi can't directly harm or dispose of him.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:39 am
by novius
The mail wasn't even addressed to Alex by name, but by the given moniker. Though I'm pretty sure that both Tempo and Beryl would piece it together, since he explained the meaning of his name on Tempest's bridge. In retrospect, if Beryl sees a message addressed "To Alex" or "To Ensign Jardin", she might not think twice about it, especially since they wouldn't know that this message has been sent after the destruction of the Bellarmine, but this way of addressing him only made sense after they got to know about his name on the Tempest. And, it would be a very short list of people (in the widest sense of meaning) who would address him like that.

Maybe it was a fluke on the construct's part to put it in these words that made the message header even more suspicious. Or it thought that the benefits (more likely to garner Alex's attention) outweigh the drawbacks (suspicious if it falls into the hands of a Loroi who can read English).

Though, as said, I'm pretty sure the construct could do a very good impression of "nothing to see here, move along", especially to people unfamiliar with these specific devices.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:53 am
by Krulle
boldilocks wrote:Possibly a way to cover is to go with the content on the datapad hitting him harder than he thought it would, and allude to having possibly read old entries from his crewmates. Not outright lying, in fact being technically truthful but making sure not to spill the beans about the construct.
With the pants halfway down, just be quick in opening the p*** folder, any image, and pretend she caught you red-handed.

Then she'll just assume Humaniti's males are closer to Loroi male than originally pretended....
And she'll be happy, that arrangements are sufficient if a secluded room and this pad are provided.
Bonus point for Alex and Pocket Historian: more time for themselves.

Pretty sure, once the Construct gets the idea, it can hide itself behind a p-image whenever it has the feeling of them being watched.


also, it seems this Historian is doing its best to get Alex into the hands of the Barsam.
And the Barsam are (religious) pacifists.
Best choice for Humaniti, weren't it that the Barsam are closely tied with the Loroi, and the Barsam are dependent on the military protection the Loroi provide.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:57 am
by Siber
Given the broader history we know of out-of-comic, and the difference between the way the historian treats Alex here and how it treated the Loroi on the bridge, this strikes me as much more likely an attempt to sabotage relations between humanity and the Loroi than any earnest attempt to protect Alex.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:05 am
by novius
Tempo did tell Alex that every [member species] of the Union would rather use him and the political implications of his presence for their own benefit. The Historians were always been rather reluctant allies to the Union, ever since the Umiak started to encroach into Historian space, and they still hold some secrets from the rest of the Union at a whole.

So yes, the construct may intend to play Alex into Barsam hands, for their discontent (as shown by Ambassador Mozin on the Tempest) would very well play into destabilizing the Union and loosening the hold the Loroi have over it.

Given that the Prophet's Reason followed SG51 all the way from Naam to Leido Crossroads, it really looks much like a manhunt with Alex being the target.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:09 am
by Arioch
Beryl can't read English, exactly -- at least not yet. She knows those letters that Alex wrote down the Trade equivalents for, and she's clever enough to recognize some words she's heard aloud (such as "Bellarmine" and "Jardin") and to sound out words for which she knows the letters, but she has no way yet of knowing what they mean. But it's true that she can remember what she sees, and may be able to put things together later.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:28 am
by novius
And, it's noteworthy that the construct instructed Alex to not to ask any questions not pertaining to his immediate survival.

So the game of withholding information is not just played by Tempo alone. Seems that about everyone fears someone else telling Alex what he should not hear. For example, Beryl might be quick to tell him that the Historians are more like reluctant allies within the Union, as soon as Alex poses a rather noncommital question about the Union's species. Tempo on the other hand might be a bit more reluctant to offer any piece of information that paints the Union in a less than positive light.

Re: Page 156: Dun... dun... DUUUUUUN

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:39 am
by novius
If Alex is keeping a tally, he would see that more and more reasons stack up against the Loroi. Starting out with the major assault underway, and the internal strife the Union seems to display.

Once he comes to the decision that the Loroi Union might NOT be the best bet for humanity at a whole, the logical choice would be to break radio silence.

Even if the nearest Umiak vessel would blow the shuttle right out of space, he could bank on the possibility that another scout ship would bring back an Umiak envoy rather than a Loroi one.

He definitely needs a good reason to continue holding the flag for the Loroi.