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Cam is watching a new recording of Atriama, tail swishing in the gap in his couch, and doesn't stop to pause the show when he feels a summons go by.
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from_scratch
Cam sends himself an email recording this event, in case the extortionist was going to come by later and wonder where their pomegranates went. He puts a tracker on the bystander.
wormcan
The bystander is very quickly confronted by people in uniforms. If Cam's surveillance is detailed enough to pick up sound, it's something about smuggling and suspiciously out-of-season fruit. Turns out "I just found it" isn't very convincing.
from_scratch
Right, fruits have seasons. That. Is a thing. How much trouble is this bystander in...?
wormcan
More after it escalates to them accusing him of colluding with the rebels. (Rebels: apparently a thing?) He denies it, he runs, they take aim,
from_scratch
, their guns stop working and Cam steps out. "He wasn't smuggling. The pomegranates were mine."
wormcan
This completely fails to deescalate the situation.
"Rogue cape!" The guns are pointed at Cam now, though who knows if they're trying to fire or just threatening. The officers are talking into radios instead of to him. "The rebels have parahumans. Need backup now."
And after an impossibly short response time, a squad of uniformed parahumans appears and starts firing on Cam.
"Rogue cape!" The guns are pointed at Cam now, though who knows if they're trying to fire or just threatening. The officers are talking into radios instead of to him. "The rebels have parahumans. Need backup now."
And after an impossibly short response time, a squad of uniformed parahumans appears and starts firing on Cam.
from_scratch
"I don't think I fall within your jurisdiction!" objects Cam. If he doesn't want to just fly away his options are basically "get shot" or "try to dodge, fall over, and also get shot", so he just kind of sits down on the street. "As you can see I am a white person and as you could know by not living under a rock I've been working for Japan! If there is somebody I should have told before paying China a visit or something I'd be happy to keep that in mind in the future!"
wormcan
The fact that he's also been working for another country isn't better. What's almost as concerning is that when the squad approached Cam they didn't feel a reaction they were expecting. He's blocking One.
Not that they're questioning him about it. One of the figures in the flowing uniforms shouts "Thirty-first path!" and they switch from ineffective stun bolts to ineffective lasers.
Not that they're questioning him about it. One of the figures in the flowing uniforms shouts "Thirty-first path!" and they switch from ineffective stun bolts to ineffective lasers.
from_scratch
"If you want me to fall over and die I really can't help you but if you'd like to have a conversation I'm all for it!" says Cam encouragingly.
wormcan
Words can probably describe how uninterested the assailants are in talking, but don't because they're not interested in talking.
Electromagnetism, vacuum, edged forcefields. At one point even the ground flows upward around Cam's ankles and solidifies.
Electromagnetism, vacuum, edged forcefields. At one point even the ground flows upward around Cam's ankles and solidifies.
from_scratch
Well, that one's mildly inconvenient. Said ground is pushed out of the way by water. They don't wanna talk, Cam doesn't wanna knock them all out, now Cam has wings and is flying away.
wormcan
Since the distraction is just about to end, a gunshot takes the opportunity to go off. Several gunshots, close together. Three of the identically masked capes fall and two of them get back up while slowly healing.
wormcan
No.
The capes appear to be doing a good job of finding people and cutting them down without taking further losses, but there's no sign of how they're locating targets.
The capes appear to be doing a good job of finding people and cutting them down without taking further losses, but there's no sign of how they're locating targets.
from_scratch
Okay, this is frustrating but not really Cam's skillset, and while people dying in front of him is very irritating people are also dying of preventable diseases elsewhere in the world. Cam shoos back to Japan.
wormcan
And that scene gets to play out without him.
After spending a small amount of time catching up on projects on this side of the sea, Cam gets a call.
"What did you do?" the Prime Minister asks. "You might not be associated with the CUI's opposition, but they sure think you are."
After spending a small amount of time catching up on projects on this side of the sea, Cam gets a call.
"What did you do?" the Prime Minister asks. "You might not be associated with the CUI's opposition, but they sure think you are."
from_scratch
"I was there for unrelated reasons and they turned out to have strong opinions about fruit and attacked me. I didn't fight back and when they didn't seem to want to talk, I left."
wormcan
"They're framing it as the Yangban driving off a foreign parahuman allied with a rebellion. Apparently the news that the opposition has parahumans acted as a catalyst, and the CUI has seen more open fighting than they want to admit. Where did the fruit come in?"
from_scratch
"Apparently pomegranates are out of season. I'm honestly very confused by the entire sequence of events. I was only there in the first place because someone was trying to extort me for fruit and I wanted to know who it was."
wormcan
"This morning there was a credible attempt at assassinating their emperor.
You've been accounted for since shortly after Kyushu, but the CUI claims to think you, and by extension we, may have been involved. I would strongly suggest not going back there."
You've been accounted for since shortly after Kyushu, but the CUI claims to think you, and by extension we, may have been involved. I would strongly suggest not going back there."
from_scratch
"Wasn't planning on it. They found about a dozen different ways to try to kill me and none of them tickled."
wormcan
"And this might go without saying, but if you get another such demand tell us and don't do it."
wormcan
"One of the most stable world powers is trying not to go more than a decent fraction of the way toward the brink of a civil war. The next pomegranate might be aimed at us."
from_scratch
"The threat was extremely specific and crafted using such hopelessly obscure information that I think it might be really important to know who issued it, but I will consider 'not doing the thing and telling you about it' a strong default."