MOD:WCU:Monte - Revision history

chuck starchaser at 16:59, 9 January 2006

2006-01-09T16:59:08Z

chuck starchaser at 00:00, 9 January 2006

2006-01-09T00:00:24Z

chuck starchaser at 18:13, 7 January 2006

2006-01-07T18:13:12Z

chuck starchaser at 18:12, 7 January 2006

2006-01-07T18:12:40Z

chuck starchaser at 16:37, 7 January 2006

2006-01-07T16:37:48Z

chuck starchaser at 15:54, 7 January 2006

2006-01-07T15:54:31Z

New page

Monte is a pretty big mystery. Let's see if we can figure out something about him:

# He dresses well, but maintains he is a poor man, and seems honest (to me).
# He says he knows about secret organizations in Gemini, and proves it.
# He is known to Masterson.
# He gets references about Burrows from Murphy, Tayla and Goodin.
# He corresponds via ecrypted capsules with a high-ranking Retro.
# Has contacts with the pirates and can have them intercept you to deliver a message.
# His real name is not "Monte"; he says so.

His apparent command of pirates and his getting a reference on Burrows from Tayla
would seem to point in the direction of his being a pirate on some level. But he
does not know how to pilot a ship, so IF he is a pirate, he could not be a standard
career pirate.
We don't know much about Murphy. Best guess is that she works for Merchants Guild,
which might imply some association with pro-Merchants Guild mob boss Damien Lang.
But the third character Monte gets a reference on Burrows from is Sandra Goodin, a
career Confed officer.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 # He gets references about Burrows from Murphy, Tayla and Goodin.
 # He corresponds via ecrypted capsules with a high-ranking Retro.
 # His real name is not "Monte"; he says so.
-  His apparent command of pirates and his getting a reference on Burrows from Tayla
+  His getting a reference on Burrows from Tayla would seem to point in the direction
- would seem to point in the direction of his being a pirate on some level. But he
+ of his having a pirate affiliation on some level. But he does not know how to pilot
- does not know how to pilot a ship, so IF he is a pirate, he could not be a standard
+ a ship, so if he were a pirate, he could not be a standard career pirate.
   We don't know much about Murphy. Best guess is that she works for Merchants Guild,
-  which might imply some association with pro-Merchants Guild mob boss Damien Lang.
+  which might imply some association with pro-Merchants' Guild mob boss Damien Lang.
   But the third character Monte gets a reference on Burrows from is Sandra Goodin, a
   career Confed officer.
   He seems to be independent, the way he's "going into hiding in Nexus", etceteras.
@@ Line 29: / Line 32: @@
   obviously; which has gained him their trust. And to maintain that trust, he also
   must have achieved a reputation for never betraying those who confide in him, and
-  provide him with information in return for information.
+  provide him with information in return for information, right?
   But there's a problem with this model: For people to trust him, it is not enough
@@ Line 35: / Line 38: @@
   of understanding about his motivations, affiliations and future plans. Accurate
   information may be his way of introducing himself to a party; a way of saying,
-  "Here, my business is information; here's some unique info you can verify. Trust
+  "My business is information; and here's some unique info you can verify. Trust
   me." You verify the info and say to him, "Very well, I'm listening." But to make
   a long term, trusting, info-exchange relationship, you'd have to know what he's
   all about. In other words, during RF he makes first acquaintance with Burrows;
   but all the other game characters he's connected to know more about him than you
-  do as Burrows.
+  do as Burrows; --a lot more, probably.
   If they all know and feel so confident about him, it means that they all know the
@@ Line 47: / Line 50: @@
   But the interests of retros, pirates and confeds are pretty much at odds. The
-  story he sells them about himself must be something!
+  story he sells to them about himself must be something!
   One pretty recurrent pattern, in life as much as in fantasy, is when someone is
@@ Line 66: / Line 69: @@
   as well as that of Belisarius Group opponents within Confed, like Goodin; and
   Steltekers like Masterson.

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
   he may have originally orchestrated infiltrations of pirates, retros and mobs,
   using agents only known to him, like Tayla; he later "came clean" to those very
-  groups he was working against, by convincing them that they all shared a common
+  groups he was working against, by convincing them that they all share a common
-  enemy who was a threat to the human race as a whole.
+  enemy...
   Such a story or something similar could gain him the trust of former "enemies",
   as well as that of Belisarius Group opponents within Confed, like Goodin; and
   Steltekers like Masterson.

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
   But the interests of retros, pirates and confeds are pretty much at odds. The
   story he sells them about himself must be something!
-−
   One pretty recurrent pattern, in life as much as in fantasy, is when someone is
   initially aligned with a certain group and later changes position out of personal

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:12, 7 January 2006
Line 48:		Line 48:
	But the interests of retros, pirates and confeds are pretty much at odds. The		But the interests of retros, pirates and confeds are pretty much at odds. The
	story he sells them about himself must be something!		story he sells them about himself must be something!
		+
		+	One pretty recurrent pattern, in life as much as in fantasy, is when someone is
		+	initially aligned with a certain group and later changes position out of personal
		+	moral principles, becomes an opponent of it, and suffers or is in danger for
		+	having taken that position. We could guess that, for instance, Monte used to be
		+	part of Military Intelligence, which gradually was being subsumed by the Secret
		+	Operations division, which itself was being subsumed into the Belisarius Group.
		+	And we could further assume that leaving the organization was no easy matter.
		+	Two assassination attempts and a change of identity later made him "independent".
		+	But he's no amature information broker. He did not start from nothing. And while
		+	he may have originally orchestrated infiltrations of pirates, retros and mobs,
		+	using agents only known to him, like Tayla; he later "came clean" to those very
		+	groups he was working against, by convincing them that they all shared a common
		+	enemy who was a threat to the human race as a whole.
		+
		+	Such a story or something similar could gain him the trust of former "enemies",
		+	as well as that of Belisarius Group opponents within Confed, like Goodin; and
		+	Steltekers like Masterson.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:37, 7 January 2006
Line 17:		Line 17:
	But the third character Monte gets a reference on Burrows from is Sandra Goodin, a		But the third character Monte gets a reference on Burrows from is Sandra Goodin, a
	career Confed officer.		career Confed officer.
		+
		+	He seems to be independent, the way he's "going into hiding in Nexus", etceteras.
		+	Yet he seems too professional about his ways to be considered an "amateur". And
		+	this would seem to make him all the more mysterious: You'd think someone dressed
		+	in a business suit wouldn't gain such trust from pirates, unless he had money for
		+	them, which apparently he doesn't.
		+
		+	All indications are is that he's an information dealer of sorts. What he gives to
		+	pirates is what he gives to Burrows, I say, and what he gives to Masterson, Murphy,
		+	Goodin and the retro informant: Information. Valuable and accurate information,
		+	obviously; which has gained him their trust. And to maintain that trust, he also
		+	must have achieved a reputation for never betraying those who confide in him, and
		+	provide him with information in return for information.
		+
		+	But there's a problem with this model: For people to trust him, it is not enough
		+	that he have a reputation for accuracy and non-betrayal. There must be some kind
		+	of understanding about his motivations, affiliations and future plans. Accurate
		+	information may be his way of introducing himself to a party; a way of saying,
		+	"Here, my business is information; here's some unique info you can verify. Trust
		+	me." You verify the info and say to him, "Very well, I'm listening." But to make
		+	a long term, trusting, info-exchange relationship, you'd have to know what he's
		+	all about. In other words, during RF he makes first acquaintance with Burrows;
		+	but all the other game characters he's connected to know more about him than you
		+	do as Burrows.
		+
		+	If they all know and feel so confident about him, it means that they all know the
		+	nature of his goals and pursuits; and that the latter are compatible with their
		+	own goals and pursuits.
		+
		+	But the interests of retros, pirates and confeds are pretty much at odds. The
		+	story he sells them about himself must be something!