Coming to America. (Shen's bl0g) Options

[emo samurai]

[ Spoiler ]

I'm not saying he shouldn't think bad thoughts, and I'm not using Mind Probe to find bad thoughts; I'm using it to find plans and earnest intent.

I didn't threaten Irreverent fool; I merely torched his car. :D

Plus, those hackers weren't friends; they were just very, very expensive datajacks for hire.

>>Shen

[Witness]

Way to go Shen. Far as I'm concerned you can kill em all and let God sort em out.
>>ChunkyMonkey

[emo samurai]

You could have pretended to investigate him off the books in order to dispel fears about him; I myself could try to find a ritual link and mind-probe the attackers from afar. I'm.... I'm horrified.... I'll see if the body needs to be moved and buried...

I won't fry you for complaining about my mission; the only person I've fried so far tried to hire shadowrunners to kill me.

>>Shen

[James McMurray]

Isn't there some sort of tie between spirit and summoner that can be followed back to the mage?

[emo samurai]

If you yourself are a mage and the mage isn't behind a force 8 ward, yes.

I have also told all my spirits currently active to nonlethally take out anyone tracking them that isn't summoned by me and to retreat to the metaplanes if anyone tries to banish them. I think you'll have a lot of trouble finding me.

>>Shen

[James McMurray]

Why would you think that? I'm pretty sure you're far from the most powerful mage out there. Whatever you can summon they can summon bigger.

OOC stuff

[ Spoiler ]

a ward won't stop them from tracking you. All it'll do is add 8 to the threshold. The higher you move up the star's list (or the more favors the gang calls in or promises) the higher the ability of the mages tracking you will be.

Also, unless you're a shut-in you aren't behind the ward all the time. They'd have to get lucky to be tracking you during that time, but it shouldn't be too hard if you're running around town talking to patients and collecting hell hounds.

Once they've found that ward they've found you and can send in the troops. Including summoning force bajillion spirits of their own. The Star should have some pretty beefy conjurers with really nice foci.

Remember, they can use the exact same tricks you used to make your foci, but they've got a lot more resources. If you made a force 4 power focus easily they should be able to make a force 8-10 one fairly easily. That plus an initiate with magic 8 and charisma 6 would have 24 dice to pass through your barrier. If he opts to spend edge he's almost assured of punching through your barrier in one attempt.

You'll be alerted and get to roll init, but his init on the astral is probably higher then yours on the physical, so he calls up his force 12 air spirit with a simple action and orders it to blast you with it's lightning bolt power. If you're surprised, which could be pretty easy to do at 4am, you won't even get to dodge. Even if you can dodge, it has 27 dice for the attack and a base damage value of 12 stun. With that sort of firepower he might even kill you on accident.

Or they can just stake the place out and hit you when you leave.

[emo samurai]

Whether or not I move out depends on how much order you intend to restore to the neighborhood. I do realize that you aren't representative of what I would deem to be evil about Lone Star; the framings, the killings, etc, and it would be hypocritical of me to complain about more or less any brutality short of random killings in the street. If you will do what I do to capture criminals and bring them to justice, then I will be more than happy to leave. If you institute another reign of terror, I will not. If you hurt people for protection money, I will not. If you make this spot another place where you capture random SINless to "solve' crimes, then I will not. If you will not allow me to do small, helpful things like pay the rent for poor SINless and force their deadbeat slumlords to do the work they charge them for, then I will not. These are my terms.

>Shen

OOC stuff

[ Spoiler ]

Is there any possibility of a truce? And why is my dude being targeted more than muggers and murderers? Is it because they can see him more easily? My dude hasn't actually killed anybody or hurt them when they didn't deserve it. Plus, I'm assuming any initiates they hire would be way too expensive, but that's just speculation. And a force 8/10 power focus? 200,000 :nuyen: for an officer? That sound like WAY too much...

[Witness]

You're overestimating my clout. I'm just a beat cop. I swim in this shit 24-7, and spend everyday wondering how it came to this. Then you come along, and now I know. People Feeling Powerless. That's how it comes to this. Doesn't matter whether those people are gangers, cops or Joe Schmo. The effect is just the same.

I should have told somebody at the Star about your blog, but I didn't. And damn, if I tell them now it's going to come back to bite me in the ass because I didn't report it right away. But if you're going to escalate this, I'll have no choice.

I don't know about magic stuff and I don't know if they can get you or not. My guess is that the magic division hasn't even picked up your file yet, but don't ask me how long that'll last. Why you, you're wondering? Why not the gangers etc? Because as you demonstrated the gangers are smallfry, but you are something else. Sure, your crimes might not be as bad as theirs, at the moment, but with power like yours the crimes could get so much worse. Power + mystique + zero respect for the law is going to get you killed, chummer.

>>Evil

P.S. The body's taken care of thanks. We might be evil but we don't leave dead bodies lying around to rot.

[James McMurray]

OOC

[ Spoiler ]

You would be targetted more because you're setting up a kingdom. You're making yourself the law. If the star lets vigilanteism run rampant it incurs on their contract as the sole law enforcement agency for that area. That and random muggers usually just take money. You use F and R rated spells to "keep the peace."

It's a heck of a lot cheaper when they make it themselves if you're using the SR3 rules. They can put 4 guys on it churning out orichalcum. 200,000:nuyen: is cheaper then a helicopter that would be used to follow people. The focus also lets them follow people and does a whole lot more. They really only need one to give to their most powerful magical detective. If he is accompanied by a few normal mages when he hunts magical threats down the odds of losing the focus are pretty slim. When 4 mages bust through your barrier and have 20 counterspelling dice you'll be in serious trouble.

You've demonstrated your power by repeatedly summoning high force spirits. You've demonstrated your willingness to use that power to rule through fear and torture. It may take a while because it's the Barrens, but eventually Lone Star, the Mob, or a more powerful rival gang will decide that they want to take your turf from you.

[emo samurai]

I am escalating nothing; if anything, I'm proposing a truce. I don't think my terms are by any means unfair. I'm guessing that the middle of the Barrens where people have guns isn't the best place to stage patsy raids, and the SINless don't pay taxes or your salary, so no need to rough them up for protection money. And I doubt you really care whether or not the landlord fixes an old lady's sink with or without a fire spirit floating right behind him. So my terms aren't that bad at all.

>>Shen

[James McMurray]

Negotiating with terrorists is never a good idea, no matter how palatable their terms may be.

[Witness]

Oh sure, your terms sound just peachy to me. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a nobody and I don't get asked to negotiate anything with anyone.
>>Evil

[emo samurai]

Then all I need is this: you tell me whether or not I'm right about what the Star would do. They don't need to avoid doing all the big bad things I'm afraid they'll do out of contractual obligation; all I need is to know whether or not they'll do those things, period.

>Shen

[OOC]The following is a PM to Evil. FanGirl, you can be privy to this, since you're probably trying to track Shen down.

If you come up positive on everything, then I will help you with your career. You call a few of your boys about a random disturbance, a gang war or something, and don't tell them it's magical so they don't bring a mage. I summon the spirits and rough them up a bit, conjure up an illusion of myself, and you shoot that illusion. The fire spirit gets ordered to pretend to go on a rampage upon becoming "free," it eats my "body" out of rage at being summoned, and you get promoted for saving the lives of your fellow officers. They don't even need evidence, since whatever body there may have been was just torched by 5 bajillion degrees of magical fire.

I think I can trust you; you seem like a nice, if self-hating, guy. And if there isn't any trust, there's always mind probe. :D

>>Shen

[Witness]

They're not fools at the Star, and definitely not in the magical division. I've heard rumors that they will leak information to a corp if they think they can persuade the corp to deal with something for them (and save themselves some grief and some money). So what you've got to ask is: what might I be worth?
>>Evil


[Response to PM]
So you want me to be a dirty cop, huh? Or you'll rape my mind.
I don't think I want to deal with you anymore, Shen.

[emo samurai]

How would they persuade a corp to deal with me? I haven't done anything to any corps besides Lone Star, and I did that only by policing an area they themselves don't police, not by attacking assets of theirs.

And I'd like a straight answer; would they or wouldn't they do the usual evil shit that they're famous in the shadows for if I were to leave?

>>Shen

[Re: Career Advancement]
The way I see it is this. I don't want to leave this neighborhood to the gang, and I don't want to leave it to Lone Star if they'll do bad shit. If I were to negotiate with them, they'd send a mage with a force 10 power focus and kill me, and then do the bad shit because they have such an especially shitty impression of this neighborhood.

As for your moral apprehension about being advanced through your career in this way: you yourself have said that Lone Star is run by "deals." There are dirty cops all over who hurt people more than they need to be hurt. And yet it is these deals and these dirty things that will get them promoted within your company.

If a promotion were to come of you doing this, you would actually deserve it MORE than 80% of the people who get them. In reality, it would be your dealing shrewdly with unknowns that got your promotion, not that shot you took. It would be your ability to not see this solely in terms of black and white, law and anarchy, but in terms of human decency that got you promoted. That fake kill would really only be outward sign of all the things that you did to deserve it that nobody at Lone Star would be smart or decent enough to appreciate. And chances are, they'd put you in charge of this precinct, leaving it in your care. Think of yourself as the Gordon to my Batman. :D

Or you can back off and say "Not my problem, I can't handle the responsibility." But I don't think you'll do that.

P.S. The mind probe thing was a joke. Or not. :D

>>Shen

[Witness]

It's just rumors that's all. Sometimes if there is a magical threat I've heard they'll let a corp deal with it, and whatever the corp catches is theirs to do what they like with. I don't know. Magical experimentation maybe? You probably think that's evil of the Star too (even if it's true). Me- I know the pressures, the targets, the budget limitations...

Yeah, you're right. I try and see beyond 'black and white'. I don't think the Star is inherently evil. I don't think all those bad things you mention are encouraged or even all that widespread. I don't think the Star will do 'evil shit' if you leave. But I don't promise they'll turn the area into a utopia either. Nor do I think every ganger is evil. Like I said above, it's all just People Feeling Powerless. I don't even think you are evil. I just think you're maybe misguided.

I seriously doubt anybody's going to buy my sudden elevation to hero after all these years. And I seriously doubt that I'm suddenly going to go shooting up the ranks fast enough for your tastes. And now I hear you've got the mob up in arms. I don't see this going a good way.

But you're right. Now I've got your ear I can't just back away either. So here's what I want to know, Shen. What's the plan? The big plan. What's your vision for this neighbourhood. And even if you transform it, how's it going to stay a better place when you've gotten bored and moved on?
>>Evil

[emo samurai]

Here's what I want for the neighborhood. This is going to look like a bill of rights.

1. People can go anywhere that's not private property, as in ANYWHERE, without being stabbed or robbed. Or shot. Or any of the other things bad people do in the Barrens.

2. Slumlords shouldn't have the right to charge rent without doing all the repairing that they're supposed to be doing; if they find themselves "incapable" of doing them, either Lone Star or Mr. Pyro should help them out. And they shouldn't evict people who just can't pay; this is the only option they have for survival, and property rights shouldn't have precedence over human ones.

3. Hopefully, if Lone Star has the authority to do it, they should have the option of getting legal SINs that are just as valid as anybody else's.

That's pretty much it. As for me getting bored and leaving, I don't think I'll ever get bored with getting a high-force spirit of Man to bodily lift and carry a recalcitrant ganger like a baby and hang him (nonlethally) on a lamppost.

Plus, I can always sustain a few health spells to make you smarter, faster, and stronger. As a gift. I'm sure THAT would boost you up the ladder, and I hope it inspires you to be more ambitious about self-improvement if not your career. I'll do it when you aren't in the HQ and you're patrolling my part of the neighborhood so that nobody assenses you and notices 2 sustained spells floating around your head.

And as an added bonus, if you manage to control the gang, you and the gang both get free puppies as symbols of your responsibilities to the neighborhood! They'll both be from the same litter. Aren't I clevre? I myself already have a dog. Lone Star doesn't have you register puppies, does it?

And don't call yourself "Evil"... it pains me to see somebody I'd trust with this neigborhood hate himself like that.

>>Shen

[Witness]

Hmm.

Just to put you straight... I don't hate myself. Not all the time. Not any more than you. Not any more than most. I've got more than two dimensions, I hope.

What you tell me sounds, well, just peachy. Puppys are cute. The world will be fabulous. Just because people buy into your vision.

But they won't. I don't. It's like a corp advert. It's shallow.

So Shen, here's what I'll do. I'll listen to your readers. I'll listen to what they think of your big plan. I'll listen to the ups and the downs and the pros and the cons. And then I'll get back to you.

>>'Evil'

[emo samurai]

Was it the puppies that clued you off? :D They were more of a joke, but I still intend to give you a puppy.

Is the real problem that Lone Star won't do such a good job maintaining order, or is it that they'll take too much control? If I left and you were basically Daniel Boone, Slum Explorer, what would Lone Star do? Would it patrol the alleyways, taking out muggers? Would it help slumlords evict old women and look the other way when they don't fix things? Would it not bother? I don't even have to do the whole "help you magically" thing, if you don't want. All I have to know is that whoever takes over, Lone Star, or even the gang, will do right. That's all I have to know.

>>Shen

[Witness]

Obviously I can't promise that. But they might not do quite as much bad as you seem to think. It all depends on how you leave this situation.
>>Evil

[emo samurai]

FanGirl, you seem to enjoy speaking for your neighborhood. How would you like Lone Star? I obviously don't like the gang.

>>Shen

[James McMurray]

Just how would Mr. Pyro "help these slummlords out?" I'm assuming more terrorizing followed by a friendly little game of torture by fire? I can't picture a creature made of flames being very effective in fixing a toilet. Perhaps if the water heater was busted.

What if the landlord truly isn't capable of effecting the repairs? What then? He's been scorched and harassed because he doesn't have money. You can't expect Lone Star to do anything about it, they're not in the slum renovation business.

Will you do something? Again, you seem to have tons of money to toss around when you decide to threaten someone who disagrees with you. Why not instead channel that money intot he community? Buy a decrepit warehouse and turn the lot into a park. Get a strong wireless receiver in the area. Fix the street lights. Hell, I've never been in the area but I can guess that it's got broken street signs, graffiti everywhere, and dark trash filled alleyways. That 30,000:nuyen: you threatened Irreverent Fool with could fix a lot of that, if not all of it.

[emo samurai]

I am overcome with guilt. :(

I'm serious. But on a less misunderstanding-prone note, who will I pay to do about 80% of the work you mention? Where will I get a bigass garbage truck and city work crew? How do I know that Lone Star won't be clued in by the spontaneously functioning utilities and the tools and supplies that materialized out of nowhere? You've already said that my enforcement alone is catching their attention; that's just a few glowy people floating around knocking out muggers.

As for using the city, I'm sure that even for one bajillion nuyen, which, by the way, I don't have, the city bureaucracy would not move for this.

Then again, I could always employ the people in the area; hire fences to move supplies like paintsprayers, repair drones, and water filters into the area, or even give people money to spend at the new mall for the SINless. Pay the people in the neighborhood to do about 90% of the work. Maybe splurge for soyvats and meat cultures so people could eat well. Pay riggers to do the technical stuff while I bind air spirits to carry people to hard-to-reach places. Hand out free certified credsticks so people can go out and buy things with the money I pay them.

This keeps sounding better and better as I go along. I've been lazing about and pontificating for WAY too long. I guess that pouring money into the place felt too much like a bureaucratic move to suit my quixotic, hands-on sense of justice, but really, this is the only way that I could see this working. I'll call a town meeting; that is, if people trust me enough. Possibly even make good with the gang by hiring them on for security; pay everybody's protection money and make it go places. If they don't work out, I could always hire another gang or even Hard Corps as permanent security; they only cost about 750 :nuyen: a week, maybe even less, since there's no need for computer security that the resident hackers wouldn't make for themselves. No wizgangs, though. They could kill me and take my money. :D

I still don't want to be hunted down and killed by a Lone Star initiate mage with a force 10 power focus. :(

>>Shen

[James McMurray]

I can gaurantee that the city would do it for a bajillion nuyen, on a serious fast track. :)

Heck, if you can cut them a wide enough profit margin they'll do it for any amount. Citizens have been donating to cities for over a century in order to get pet projects done. And that was in a less "money grubbing" world.

I was going to answer the questions in the second paragraph, but you seem to have answered them yourself. As for "clueing in Lone Star" I doubt very much they'll come looking for someone because they're picking up trash and fixing street signs. In fact, doing that coupled with removing the thought police will probably see all interest in you vanish.

The only thing I could see being problematic would be hiring external security to patrol the streets. that cuts into Lone Star business. Hiring them to protect private property wouldn't be a problem, but if they were to go full scale as a police force eyebrows might be raised. But then again, since they aren't thought police obviously summoned by a powerful magical entity which could easily be seen as a threat, even policing the streets might not be a problem.

Here's an idea: talk to Lone Star about hiring a police force. they're generally unconcerned about what happens in the Barrens anyway, and if you pay them an annual stipend they might just take the offer. It puts money in their coffers and is no longer "unsanctioned justice." If you're concerned about them knowing you, do all the talking through intermediaries.

[emo samurai]

So they do private security as well as city-wide contracts? How much would that cost? And I'm sure if I pay them the annual stipend, they'll play nice with the residents. Maybe even improve the quality of their prisons if I pay more than usual.

Maybe I should start a bidding war between the different security companies; see which one does the best work for a reasonable price. Even if Lone Star messes with the gangs, they probably won't try to stand up to Knight Errant.

As for long-term employment, would the people feel really good about having legitimate SIN's? Should I just keep giving them money? That's not too big a burden; I'll just have to work on orichalcum constantly. :grr:

And Evil, I guess I'll trust you to handle any negotiations; you're the only guy in the corp who knows about me, and I'm sure Lone Star won't be spending more than about 1% of their stipend on investigating me.

I like being nice. :D

>>Shen