APT STUDENT COMMUNIST - 361
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_cancelled"]
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Echo Maker: "It is, it's holding!"
1128
Visual Calculus: It's definitely not holding. Those matchboxes are stacked so haphazardly it's like they *want* them to collapse.
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Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
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MAIN HUB
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Steban, the Student Communist: "'Confiscated'? Next he's probably going to say it was civil asset forfeiture..."
1698
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["jam.siileng_rhetoric_civil_forfeiture"]
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Steban, the Student Communist: "It's really nothing like that." The young man scoffs. "A book club is a place for talking about the plot points of bourgeois social novels and sipping effervescent cocktails."
353
Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
5->353
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Steban, the Student Communist: "One of capitalism's more banal pathologies. But let's move on."
635
book club hub
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abc
454
You: Force yourself to keep listening.
7->454
1450
You: Let your mind wander.
7->1450
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Steban, the Student Communist: "The original Fizdale translation, not that watered-down revisionist garbage."
1240
Drama: These two deserve the Order of Honour for Bullshitting. There's no way they've actually *read* all this stuff.
8->1240
9
Encyclopedia: Today, Nilsen's reputation has waned in most parts of the developed world, with the exception of the People's Republic of Samara (SRV), where he is recognized as a founding father. His political philosophy is a variant of Mazovianism called Nilsenist-Mazovianism.
106
You: "Comrade Nilsen, father of the SRV." (Raise your fist.)
9->106
1046
You: "Isn't he the guy who had all those prisoners impaled on spruce trees?"
9->1046
1448
You: "Ignus Nilsen? He's not so popular these days, is he?"
9->1448
10
Echo Maker: "Only because certain moralists and their ideological lap dogs pretend to object to his more *maximalist* tactics... as though they've never committed any so-called 'war crimes'."
1624
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man grimaces. It seems he's less than 100% comfortable with war crimes.
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Echo Maker: His companion can barely suppress a yawn.
1453
Jump to: [crime hub]
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Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
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You: "And what about the liberals? Are they liberals, too?"
1714
Steban, the Student Communist: "Of course not. The only people who actually call themselves liberals are mouth-foaming reactionaries."
13->1714
14
Conceptualization: Imagine, the audacity of wanting to read a novel in a reading group!
92
You: "I like a good novel every now and then."
14->92
1427
You: "Maybe you just haven't found the right group yet?"
14->1427
1781
You: "Novels, unbelievable." (Shake your head.)
14->1781
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Rhetoric: You could learn a thing or two from them, if you can convince them you're one of them.
1636
Jump to: [readinghub]
15->1636
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Simply that *under suitably revolutionary conditions* crop yields naturally increase relative to non-revolutionary crops. Which Maurice somehow has the gall to deny."
1719
Echo Maker: "Zuzanna said that he has been hanging out with some non-communists lately."
16->1719
17
Steban, the Student Communist: "In any case, I'm glad our piece found its audience. That's always the hope with these things, you know."
1350
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
17->1350
18
Empathy: Well, there you did it. You stung them, and to what end?
1462
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
18->1462
19
Half Light: Something about this one makes you want to avoid dark alleys at night...
19->17
20
Encyclopedia: You've spent a not inconsiderable amount of time arranging the works in your mental library by theme and period. All the ideas and references you'll need are ready-at-hand.
477
Composure: Now, chin up. You've got this.
20->477
21
You: "I'm more into practical books. Books that help me understand the real world."
1474
Steban, the Student Communist: "Aha, a real old-school pedestrian materialist. Alright, we'll play along..."
21->1474
22
You: "For me, games are mostly about spending time with a partner."
480
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
22->480
23
You: "But by allowing players to *recreate* historical events, like the introduction of cocaine to Safre, doesn't it force them to question what 'subjectivity' means in a ludo-thematic context?"
614
Steban, the Student Communist: "Interesting. So you're saying that in a certain sense the *game plays the players* as much as they play the game?"
23->614
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Anyway, we also enjoy a good board game every once in a while. The other week Ulixes and I tried this new one where everyone is competing to manage their own Zone of Ecological Catastrophe. You should see the components."
1611
Echo Maker: "The irradiated waste tokens have this great metallic ochre sheen."
24->1611
25
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ha! Of course you do. I just hope when you're reading it you've got a sturdy pair of gloves on..."
1644
Echo Maker: "Can't let any of the dreck rub off on you."
25->1644
26
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's no wonder you couldn't finish it. Sounds like turgid bourgeois social realism." He nods approvingly.
27
Steban, the Student Communist: "And Graadian realism is the worst realism. It's nearly as bad as Gottwaldian critical theory."
26->27
1270
Echo Maker: "Makes you want to gouge your eyes out. Or better, gouge the author's eyes out."
27->1270
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You: "... but then the whole book fell apart before I could solve the mystery..."
848
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's an unfortunate quality of pulp fiction. Much of it is written to be disposable both on an intellectual *and* a material level."
28->848
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
30
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
29->30
31
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2)
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1063
Steban, the Student Communist: "In any case, I think we've heard enough. We could use someone with your perspective in the group. With just a bit more theoretical foundation, I think you'll be making real contributions."
30->1063
296
Composure: These kids are eating out of your hand, practically. Another quarter of an hour disappears. The questions come rapid-fire, but you have an answer for every one.
31->296
32
You: "But *humans* have all the most reactionary skill specialities."
1817
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's a fair point. Personally, I've never understood the point of picking a human in the Wirrâl setting, but to each their own."
32->1817
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You: "I just don't understand why welkin get all the coolest sub-races."
1273
Steban, the Student Communist: "I do hope they revise it in the next edition. But for now, I'm quite proud of the high welkin I built for our most recent campaign."
33->1273
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Echo Maker: "Completely counter to the spirit of 'Wirrâl'. What's even the point?"
34->29
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.primer_concept_international_language"]
36
Variable["inventory.primer_concept_international_language"]
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!(Variable["inventory.primer_concept_international_language"])
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1369
You: "That's in contrast with the International Language, which connects each letter to an abstraction."
36->1369
956
Steban, the Student Communist: "Good god, have we really been talking about the alphabet for a quarter hour?" He looks down at his watch.
37->956
38
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. This is a subject where *you* hold all the advantages...
300
You: "... and that's how I discovered my heraldic bird."
"... and that's how I discovered that at heart I'm really just a regular Bang-Bang kind of guy."
"... and that's how I discovered that, deep down, I'm really a fuckupatoo."
"... and that was the first time I saw the darkness of my own soul reflected back to me in cockatoo form."
"... but really when I saw the Major Majestic in all its glory, I *knew* that was the cockatoo for me."
38->300
39
You: "You ever heard of a thing called 'sudden onset acute amnesia'?"
"I'll tell you about the time I woke up and completely forgot what money is..."
766
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, we're getting into the psychiatric pathologies of life under capital. Let's see where this goes..."
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Kim Kitsuragi: "A great question."
492
Untitled hub (14)
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Echo Maker: "Strange. I thought that women were attracted to a certain amount of revolutionary musk..."
1378
Steban, the Student Communist: "Maybe it's a question of degree."
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42
You: "Listen, I wouldn't believe it either, but I swear it's the truth."
1655
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
42->1655
43
Steban, the Student Communist: "Besides, it's inconceivable that we'd turn down a fellow Wirrâl enthusiast..."
1380
Steban, the Student Communist: "And with that, welcome to the most ideologically advanced materialist reading group in Martinaise!"
"Okay, gendarme." The young man rubs his cheek gingerly. "You've earned your place. Welcome to the most ideologically advanced materialist reading group in Martinaise!"
"Alright, you maniac." The young man takes a moment to massage his bruised jaw. "Let's see if you can use your brain as well as you use your fists."
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Rhetoric: What is it? Are you scared because you can't remember a single book you've read?
684
You: Shake your head no.
44->684
979
You: Nod again.
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Is everything alright? Is there something you're trying to say?"
"Is everything alright?" The young man turns to the lieutenant. "Is he trying to say something?"
1744
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
45->1744
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Kim Kitsuragi: "These things happen with him sometimes. I recommend a change of subject."
858
You: Nod your head.
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Rhetoric: You've been quite studious these past few days. You should be able to handle whatever they want to throw your way.
1569
Composure: The hardest part will just be working up the nerve to ask without soiling yourself.
47->1569
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You: Wait, you're saying I could try to really lay this kid out, knowing I'll probably screw it up?
221
Logic: Precisely! It's brilliant.
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You: Hit him, but not too hard.
50
You: Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"]
49->50
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Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"]
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!(Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"])
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"]
51->223
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.kim"] >1
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Variable["reputation.kim"] >1
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!(Variable["reputation.kim"] >1)
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Kim Kitsuragi: "Speaking as an officer of the RCM, it is an *extremely* bad idea to strike a civilian without cause..."
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1667
Kim Kitsuragi: "Speaking frankly, it's a terrible idea. The RCM already has issues with *wanton brutality* and this is unlikely to ameliorate those concerns..."
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Jump to: [punchhub]
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punchhub
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Inland Empire: Oh, no. Tell us you didn't *really* kill him.
593
Echo Maker: "Steban, can you hear me?"
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You: "That *capital* produces its *own* form of plasm!"
1675
Echo Maker: "In 'Innocence of Capital', Puncher and Wattmann argue that communists must possess as little capital as possible, in order to keep their thinking *undiluted* by its influence..."
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You: "That *light itself* is a bourgeois illusion!"
780
Steban, the Student Communist: "*Or* it suggests that capital, in sufficient quantities, must exhibit its own plasm-like qualities..."
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Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
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IsKimHere()
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!(IsKimHere())
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514
Kim Kitsuragi: "Again, he was just a regular high-net-worth individual. There was nothing *extra-physical* about him..."
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1023
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_shivers_breeze"]
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Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
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IsKimHere()
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!(IsKimHere())
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1760
Kim Kitsuragi: "..."
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871
Echo Maker: "..."
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Undoubtedly."
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You: "If communism is all based on *theories* that are impossible to prove..."
"If the whole theory we're meant to believe is completely unfalsifiable..."
1496
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man waits patiently for you to finish.
67->1496
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You: "If communism keeps failing every time we try it..."
"If we can't escape the doom that's coming..."
68->1496
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You: "... and the rest of the world keeps killing us for our beliefs..."
"... and the rest of world conspires to invade and massacre us when we dare to stand up for our beliefs..."
234
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes?"
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Visual Calculus: They rise like electric obelisks in the night.
146
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""The theorists Puncher and Wattmann..."]
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You: "You're thinking about someone, aren't you?"
417
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, in fact... my mums." The young man smiles sheepishly. "She works in La Delta... in one of those skyscrapers, but it's not like you think... she's a cleaning lady."
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Steban, the Student Communist: "The so-called 'Revolutionary Lovers'. They were the Dual Commissars of Revolution in Insulinde."
329
Steban, the Student Communist: "Julia Dobreva came from Graad. Jean Abadanaiz was born in Revachol. She was brilliant, charismatic, a revolutionary comet. He was her partner and stabiliser, the planet who kept her in orbit."
72->329
73
Steban, the Student Communist: "Not just lovers, they were the Dual Commissars of Revolution in Insulinde."
73->329
74
Kim Kitsuragi: ... even the lieutenant seems engrossed, despite your revealing details of an RCM investigation...
1652
Steban, the Student Communist: "... I'm just trying to imagine what it would have been like had he died in the summer..."
"... Okay, but when you say he *spoke* to you, you mean metaphorically, right?"
74->1652
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You: "Even when they ignore us?"
801
Steban, the Student Communist: "Even then."
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["coast.exec_viscal_succeeded"]
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Variable["coast.exec_viscal_succeeded"]
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!(Variable["coast.exec_viscal_succeeded"])
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802
Half Light: Why do you see the two of them with their backs against a bullet-pocked wall, all of a sudden?
77->802
1852
Inland Empire: Their faces, blurred yet frozen as though in ambrotype. You were never *that young*, were you?
78->1852
79
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant says nothing, but a bemused grin crosses his face.
1499
Echo Maker: "It's my fault, Steban. My hands were shaking... Nerves got the better of me."
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Come on, gendarme. Real progress requires great risks."
525
Jump to: [lilboxhub]
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Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
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IsKimHere()
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!(IsKimHere())
81->83
1517
Kim Kitsuragi: "..."
82->1517
1409
Echo Maker: "..."
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Steban, the Student Communist: "Yeah, I'm sure you did. That's real Saramirizian twill. Only old Saramirizian communists and drug smugglers wear those anymore..."
260
Savoir Faire: He is neither of those, of course. He is simply a poor student, putting on airs. Also, he doesn't have the shoulders to fill out such a jacket.
84->260
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Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.basic_guide_interfacing_matchboxes"]
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Variable["inventory.basic_guide_interfacing_matchboxes"]
85->86
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!(Variable["inventory.basic_guide_interfacing_matchboxes"])
85->87
1779
Interfacing: Of course, the matchboxes! You'd very nearly forgotten to ask about them. Now may be your last chance...
86->1779
879
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
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Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
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IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
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!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
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807
Conceptualization: This is your chance to show off your own critical faculties. Show them what an *introspective* cop looks like!
89->807
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lilmullhub
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Echo Maker: "... something of an ideological auxiliary, perhaps."
804
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, that's exactly how I would put it. And naturally we support her radical counter-liberal aesthetics."
91->804
1231
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, sure. But you can always join a *book club* if that's what you're into."
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Steban, the Student Communist: "I want you... to hit me."
505
You: "*Hit* you?"
93->505
690
You: "Why would I do that?"
93->690
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Steban, the Student Communist: The young man sighs. His companion looks about furtively.
455
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
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Half Light: It's like you sucker-punched him *with your words*.
440
Steban, the Student Communist: "Come on. It's not that I don't *have* anything to say about Cindy's art. It's more that I'm... still working out the details. It's a complex question, you've got to take your time with it..."
95->440
96
Steban, the Student Communist: "'The deal'? At a fundamental level I guess you could call it the shattered bones of a dream crushed by capital."
339
Logic: A feeble and hopelessly mixed metaphor.
96->339
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Kim Kitsuragi: "No doubt."
812
Steban, the Student Communist: "Good point, Uli."
97->812
98
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
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Steban, the Student Communist: "You're right. It's *better*!"
1787
Steban, the Student Communist: He turns to his companion. "Can you imagine the look on Maurice's face when he finds out the RCM has been kicking my door down?"
99->1787
100
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, gendarme, because this is perfect..."
100->1787
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You: (Whisper.) "Kim, did *you* do the reading?"
451
Kim Kitsuragi: "No, detective. The only reading I've been doing is right here..." The lieutenant holds up his little blue notebook.
101->451
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Steban, the Student Communist: "You have? Excellent. Let's hear your critique then."
740
You: "There were... too many words."
102->740
1132
You: "I liked... the characters and the plot."
102->1132
1621
You: "I thought the themes were... *interesting*."
102->1621
103
Empathy: There's profound consternation in his voice. You suspect it's about something bigger than your not having done the reading.
540
Echo Maker: "Maybe he can explain himself."
"Maybe they can explain themselves."
103->540
104
You: "What *exactly* are you two doing here?"
542
Steban, the Student Communist: "In the most general sense, I would say we're cultivating revolutionary consciousness."
104->542
105
Volition: This is fine. You can handle a list. In fact, you find the tedium strangely soothing.
1535
Steban, the Student Communist: "We've also read Wertmüller's 'The Mega-Structure of History,' and before that, 'Reál and Reality'..."
105->1535
1791
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man raises his fist in reply and gives you a curt nod.
106->1791
107
You: A wild beast tangled in a sheet...
1792
Conceptualization: Yes, an image to get the blood pumping. An unpredictable power, fighting to free itself...
107->1792
108
Empathy: It's always that way. Beneath the crust of irony there's a molten sincerity that threatens to erupt forth... You may witness it yet.
1795
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false
108->1795
109
You: "Well, that's too bad."
272
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's a world-historical nightmare," the young man says gravely. "One from which we've yet to awaken."
109->272
110
readinghub
110->13
368
You: "I've heard enough. Let's talk about something else."
110->368
466
You: "Who are the Econoclards?"
"Okay, but what about the Econoclards?"
110->466
750
You: "What's so bad about the Gottwaldians?"
"And the Gottwaldians, what's so bad about them?"
110->750
803
You: "What about Cindy, is she part of the group?"
110->803
1635
You: "Did you say something about *turnips*?"
"It sounds like Maurice objected to some aspects of infra-materialism?"
110->1635
1801
You: "Okay, but what happened to them?"
110->1801
111
You: "What's so depressing about their theories?"
646
Steban, the Student Communist: "The Gottwald School believe that intellectuals as a class are incapable of sparking revolutionary change, so all they can do is *critique* capitalism from inside itself."
111->646
112
You: "But isn't it good to know how many beans there are?"
1639
Steban, the Student Communist: "See? You're already falling for that scarcity logic. You start off *assuming* there aren't enough beans to go around, so naturally you want to cut the bean rations in half..."
112->1639
113
You: "I don't understand at all."
841
Steban, the Student Communist: "Exactly. What educated person could believe that turnips grow at the same rate under capitalism *and* communism?"
113->841
114
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, of course that's just an *initial foray* into the subject. We're hoping to return to it for a more substantial treatment next term..."
114->17
115
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
115->541
116
You: "Look guys, I've gotta be honest. I may not have 'read' many 'books', but that doesn't mean I don't have *stories*."
1731
Steban, the Student Communist: "Okay, we'll bite." The young man and his companion look at one another, then turn back to you. "What sort of stories are we talking about?"
116->1731
117
Steban, the Student Communist: "Listen, this is a forward-thinking group. It's entirely your business, of course."
117->24
118
Steban, the Student Communist: "In any case, I think we've heard enough. We could use someone with your perspective in the group. With just a bit more theoretical foundation, I think you'll be making real contributions."
1468
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""Yes, I would say he's got serious..."]
118->1468
119
You: "I tried reading this extremely depressing Graadian novel."
1060
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, right. 'Sixteen Days of Coldest... Whatever'. What was your take on it?"
119->1060
120
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. Soon you're all animatedly debating the political subtext of character creation...
955
Conceptualization: Come on, let's *really* impress them. Overturn the *race-class paradigm*. The more esoteric, the better.
120->955
121
Steban, the Student Communist: "... I'm just saying it's *heavily implied* that welkin are the bourgeoisie of the Wirrâl setting..."
1816
wirralhub
121->1816
122
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, right. You were playing the long game."
395
Composure: Another quarter of an hour disappears. The conversation bounces back and forth. Whatever their pretensions, it's clear these two have been craving something *real*.
122->395
123
You: "I'll add it to my very extensive reading list."
398
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're going to fit right in, I think. Come back when you're done. We'll be here pretty much every night after 22.00."
123->398
124
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_wc_rejection"]
125
Variable["apt.student_wc_rejection"]
124->125
126
!(Variable["apt.student_wc_rejection"])
124->126
970
Composure: Nope, still no words. Your confidence account is overdrawn. What are you even doing here?
125->970
975
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_composure_wc_failed_once"]
126->975
127
Rhetoric: Have you considered reading a *book*? Those tend to have *lots* of words in them...
974
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
127->974
128
Logic: Momentary aphasia, it seems. Just one more neurological episode for the station lazareth to look into during your next check-up.
129
Echo Maker: "He looks like he's about to puke."
128->129
1385
Endurance: There might be a little bile gathering at the back of your throat, but it's just a taste. The source of this issue is higher up the wire...
129->1385
130
You: I'm not nervous, I'm a superstar.
1665
Composure: Oh, totally. A superstar breaking out in a cold sweat.
130->1665
131
Composure: You did. You must be extremely nervous for some reason.
806
Jump to: [sweatfailhub]
131->806
132
Rhetoric: Of course, it wouldn't kill you to crack open a book every once in a while.
132->1569
133
Steban, the Student Communist: "I suppose we are all here to advance our studies in some form or another..."
1827
Steban, the Student Communist: "But to be perfectly frank, I just don't see it happening."
133->1827
134
Steban, the Student Communist: "I do have to admire a certain tenacity, even when it seems to make no sense."
"'Honour' is an outmoded concept, a relic of feudal ideology. All the same, I have to admire your commitment..."
134->1827
135
Echo Maker: "It doesn't have to be a *hard* hit." He indicates his cheek. "Just enough to leave a mark."
1666
Echo Maker: "The idea," his companion jumps in, "is to show Maurice and those other traitors that we're the only reading group *hard core* enough to tangle with the RCM..."
135->1666
136
Authority: You've earned his respect. See how you've *marked* him?
700
Physical Instrument: A little ice on it will keep the swelling down. He'll be fine in a day or two.
136->700
137
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_garden")
138
CheckEquipped("gloves_garden")
137->138
139
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_garden"))
137->139
315
Interfacing: Even through the yellow latex shell containing your hand you can feel the force of the impact against the young man's cheekbone.
138->315
1580
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
139->1580
140
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good god, detective! What's wrong with you?"
1834
Steban, the Student Communist: "Errrrck." The young man cradles his jaw and looks up, his expression blank.
140->1834
141
Esprit de Corps: It certainly won't improve your precinct's image within the community.
255
Echo Maker: "It seems the face of violent reaction has revealed itself..."
141->255
142
You: "Hang on, is that *it*?"
413
Steban, the Student Communist: "What do you mean, 'is that it'? You've done the reading, we talked about it, what more do you expect from a reading group?"
142->413
143
Jump to: [Ask hub]
1296
Ask hub
143->1296
144
You: "If no one can agree what real communism even *means*..."
"If we can't even agree whether communism is about plasm or psychology or beans..."
144->1496
145
You: What's there?
787
Visual Calculus: Many tall buildings, belonging to a district whose name escapes you.
145->787
1840
Steban, the Student Communist: "The theorists Puncher and Wattmann -- not infra-materialists, but theorists nonetheless -- say that communism is a secular version of Perikarnassian theology, that it replaces faith in the divine with faith in humanity's future..."
146->1840
147
Echo Maker: "Damn it to hell!"
1027
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
147->1027
148
You: Say nothing.
1767
Steban, the Student Communist: "Is it... it's holding... it's holding!"
148->1767
149
Steban, the Student Communist: "Shhh. This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen..."
320
Steban, the Student Communist: "..."
149->320
150
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're right... We should clean this up and get going." He gestures to the matchboxes.
150->85
151
Echo Maker: "He wants to know if women are bourgeois, Steban..."
1770
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, I heard him. Give me a moment." He takes a deep breath, then turns to you...
151->1770
152
You: "Is that true, Kim, about the décomptage?"
1210
Kim Kitsuragi: "I had no idea its origins went all the way back to the Revolution itself. But it makes sense, in a way..."
152->1210
153
Steban, the Student Communist: He sighs. "There's more to it than that. People still make their own choices. It's a matter of being aware what's influencing them."
1595
Jump to: [FINAL RC FAIL HUB]
153->1595
154
Steban, the Student Communist: "We wanted to get your opinion on something: a few little changes we we've been thinking about."
1019
You: "What kind of changes?"
154->1019
155
Steban, the Student Communist: "Nothing *too major*, I think. We were talking, potentially, about relaxing some parts of our admissions process..."
798
You: "Maybe you should ditch the passphrases and meet in a coffeehouse."
155->798
886
You: "Hmm. It probably *would* help if you didn't make people go through a whole interview just to join."
155->886
887
You: "Have you considered changing up the reading list?"
155->887
1106
You: "No, you should keep it the way things are."
155->1106
156
Steban, the Student Communist: "So, good luck with that, I guess."
1597
Jump to: [You: "[Leave.]"]
156->1597
157
Echo Maker: "Mazov tells us to laugh at the monster that hides behind false hopes and pieties."
1314
Volition: So young. So *unbearably* young...
157->1314
158
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""And with that, welcome to the most..."]
158->1380
159
You: "Wait, you're saying communism is some kind of religion?"
250
Steban, the Student Communist: "Only in this very specific sense. Communism doesn't dangle any promises of eternal bliss or reward. The only promise it offers is that the future can be better than the past, if we're willing to work and fight and die for it."
159->250
160
Steban, the Student Communist: "Nobody said fulfilling the proletariat's historic role would be easy." A tight smile. "It demands great faith with no promise of tangible reward. But that doesn't mean we can simply give up."
160->75
246
You: "Even when they laugh at us?"
160->246
428
You: "Even when they shoot at us?"
160->428
161
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes. Whereas we understand that we'll almost certainly fail, which is what allows us the chance to succeed..."
162
Steban, the Student Communist: "For a second there I thought we had it. Just goes to show how constrained we are under the limits of the prevailing regime."
1315
Echo Maker: "Undoubtedly."
162->1315
163
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's a fascinating trajectory, for sure. It's good to hear that you can still grow ideologically even at an... um... advanced age."
1230
Empathy: They really have no idea how old you are, much less what it means to age.
163->1230
164
Pain Threshold: You're holding it together, *somehow*, despite everything...
1428
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_pain_holding_together"]
164->1428
165
Electrochemistry: Give 'em sex and drugs! They're clearly not getting any on their own.
257
Untitled hub
165->257
166
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm not sure it would do very much good. She's sort of... impervious to authority."
724
Authority: That's only because you haven't *really* laid down the law with her yet.
166->724
167
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_authority_law"]
168
Variable["apt.student_authority_law"]
167->168
169
!(Variable["apt.student_authority_law"])
167->169
1693
Composure: Seems unlikely you'll be able to 'lay down the law' with a child who made you oink like a pig...
168->1693
529
Authority: It's true. And let's not bring up that shameful oinking episode.
169->529
170
Echo Maker: His companion's eyes widen with interest. He has a cold smile.
1858
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"]
170->1858
171
Empathy: You've flustered the poor boy. Now he's *got* to say something.
619
Steban, the Student Communist: "Hmmm, I guess you could call her latest stuff a sort of *counter-bourgeois calligraphy*. She's got a real taste for radical slogans."
171->619
172
Jump to: [IsKimHere()]
1036
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
172->1036
173
Steban, the Student Communist: "Damn. Hardly any difference..." The young man shakes his head, and then looks up at you with barely concealed irritation...
"Damn. Hardly any difference..." The young man shakes his head, and then looks up at you and the lieutenant with barely concealed irritation...
1617
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're late."
"You two. You're late."
173->1617
174
Steban, the Student Communist: "And now they've sent one of their agents to *infiltrate* our meeting." He rubs his hands together excitedly.
261
You: "Hold on, I'm not here to *infiltrate* your meeting. I want to *join* your meeting!"
"Hold on, we're not here to *break up* your meeting. We want to *join* your meeting!"
174->261
175
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
176
IsKimHere()
175->176
177
!(IsKimHere())
175->177
818
Kim Kitsuragi: "My partner, of course, is acting in a strictly *personal capacity*, not as an official representative of the RCM."
176->818
631
Steban, the Student Communist: "Interesting. Does that mean you've done the reading?"
177->631
178
Authority: One leader and one follower, the most ancient power dynamic.
819
Composure: There's a great deal of tension in this young man's shoulders, more than someone his age should bear...
178->819
179
You: "Sounds just like a regular book club."
179->5
180
Steban, the Student Communist: "And before that we spent six weeks on 'State and Plasm'..."
1333
Reaction Speed: For some reason the word *plasm* catches in your ear like a piece of old wax.
180->1333
181
Conceptualization: That must be it. You imagine yourself in a small dinghy buoyed along gentle swells...
722
Savoir Faire: In another life, you might've made a fine seafaring man. Who knows, you may become one yet.
181->722
182
Steban, the Student Communist: "Lynching? No. We're not an *operational* cell."
1228
Echo Maker: "We think of ourselves as more of an intellectual vanguard."
182->1228
183
Kim Kitsuragi: "To be clear: Communism is not an official suspect in this investigation. Because it's not a *person*, you see."
269
Echo Maker: "Seems unlikely, from a strictly infra-materialist perspective..."
183->269
184
Savoir Faire: Are they being sarcastic? You feel like you're caught in some elaborate joke labyrinth, but it's impossible to see your way through.
184->108
185
Steban, the Student Communist: "Of course. What would I even do with it?" He gives you a half-smile.
643
Empathy: He doesn't mean to show it, but the disappointment is plainly written across his face.
185->643
186
Steban, the Student Communist: "We've tried recruiting new members, but unfortunately the *current intellectual climate* is pretty hostile to infra-materialist thought. These days, if you're on the left, the ascendent schools are the Gottwaldians and the Econoclards."
273
Echo Maker: "Don't forget about Maurice and the turnips."
186->273
187
Steban, the Student Communist: "I can tell you're a man who has his urges, but I can also tell you're no Gottwaldian." He smirks.
274
Steban, the Student Communist: "You see, the Gottwald School *look* like communists, they *talk* like communists, but scratch the patina and you'll see beneath that they're just depressed liberals who've read too many books."
187->274
188
Jump to: [readinghub]
188->110
189
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
190
IsKimHere()
189->190
191
!(IsKimHere())
189->191
1640
Kim Kitsuragi: "Wow, a *real* intellectual, it sounds like." The lieutenant arches his eyebrows.
190->1640
1052
Steban, the Student Communist: “Right, so a few weeks ago we were discussing the extra-physical capabilities of the revolutionary state, and Maurice said... what were his exact words, Ulixes?"
191->1052
192
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, don't keep us on tenterhooks! What did you think of the essay?"
1807
Empathy: The delicate egos on these boys! Even though you're just some cop they're desperate for your approval.
192->1807
193
Steban, the Student Communist: "Sure, right. I got the main idea anyway."
1256
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
193->1256
194
You: (Show them 'La Fumée'.) "Wait, *you* guys wrote for *this*?"
656
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""*You've* read our article?" For th..."]
194->656
195
You: "Is the reading group accepting new members?"
1355
Steban, the Student Communist: "We typically only accept new members once per semester. There's this whole *process*, with essays and presentations on assigned topics..." The young man turns to his companion.
195->1355
196
Composure: Take a deep breath. You've done some reading these past few days. But you also know there's more to life than what you find in books...
1265
Endurance: You've survived things these kids can't even imagine. They've got nothing on you.
196->1265
197
Composure: You've caught him off-balance. The momentum is already in your favour.
1465
Steban, the Student Communist: "Go ahead and take a seat. Since we haven't had time to prepare an exhaustive questionnaire, I think we can keep this interview more freeform."
197->1465
198
You: "Lopez de Fuego seemed to think she was pretty great regardless."
1155
Steban, the Student Communist: "Total nonsense. The greatest thing Dolores Dei ever did was get blasted by her own therrier."
198->1155
199
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, and it only took about four hours of our lives that we'll never get back."
199->117
200
Steban, the Student Communist: "Of course. The one thing capitalism does better than every other ideology is novel and clever distractions. It's all one never-ending dopamine dripper."
1359
Electrochemistry: Capitalism *rules*, is what he seems to be saying.
200->1359
201
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""... but to Comrade Ulixes' point,..."]
1168
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but to Comrade Ulixes' point, isn't there value in reading really difficult books, just for the sheer challenge of it?"
201->1168
202
Conceptualization: Even better, you're able to connect those themes to your critique of the novel's formal qualities, such as they are.
203
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["XP.did_not_subject_yourself_to_graad_realism"]
202->203
204
Variable["XP.did_not_subject_yourself_to_graad_realism"]
203->204
205
!(Variable["XP.did_not_subject_yourself_to_graad_realism"])
203->205
847
You: "... so anyway I had to give up. There was no point in subjecting myself to needless suffering."
204->847
1061
You: "... but eventually I finished it, however much physical pain it caused me."
205->1061
206->28
1726
You: "... but really I just like him because I'm a cop too, you know?"
206->1726
1814
You: "... but in the end Mullen is a reflection of a politico-legal institution that's irreconcilably divided between protecting 'the people' and defending the material interests of capital."
206->1814
207
Steban, the Student Communist: "But at least crime literature *as a genre* is able to engage with the systemic failures of capitalism."
207->29
208
Echo Maker: The young man's companion says nothing, but the expression on his face reveals a begrudging respect for your experimental approach to character creation.
295
Steban, the Student Communist: "But seriously, the next campaign, you've got to be there. I need to see this hybrid in action."
208->295
209
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""Yes, I would say he's got serious..."]
497
Echo Maker: "Yes, I would say he's got serious potential at least."
209->497
210
Steban, the Student Communist: "Come back when you're done." He gives you a brief nod as he hands you the slim guide. "We'll be here pretty much every night after 22.00."
1381
Steban, the Student Communist: "Do be sure to take your time with the reading. We'll be eager to hear your thoughts."
210->1381
211
You: "Uhhm..."
399
Composure: What are those sounds? They're like the last mumblings of a mortally wounded badger.
211->399
212
Composure: Let's be frank, they're probably way smarter than you. You bet they've read more books than you can even name...
586
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 2
212->586
213
You: "Listen, there's got to be some other way I could prove myself to the group."
1283
Steban, the Student Communist: "'Some other way'?" He squints at you. "If you're not much of a reader, why are you so dead-set on joining this reading group?"
213->1283
214
You: "Like Ignus Nilsen himself, I've come to foretell a Great Reckoning."
403
Steban, the Student Communist: "Hmmm. I thought I perceived some *eschatological* air about you..."
214->403
215
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["yard.cuno_punched_cuno"]
216
Variable["yard.cuno_punched_cuno"]
215->216
217
!(Variable["yard.cuno_punched_cuno"])
215->217
1829
Half Light: He won't be the first unweaned punk you've shut down. You'll make mincemeat of this fool's jaw.
216->1829
982
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["gates.mhead_fight_success"]
217->982
218
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
219
IsKimHere()
218->219
220
!(IsKimHere())
218->220
1832
Kim Kitsuragi: "This has certainly turned out to be a punchier case than I had anticipated."
219->1832
986
Volition: Of course, this isn't some punch-out competition. You just want to leave a harmless bruise.
220->986
310
Logic: Assuming you don't accidentally succeed...
221->310
222
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant looks at you, then at the young man. He seems to be giving your question serious consideration.
222->53
224
Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"]
223->224
225
!(Variable["apt.student_rc_not_too_hard"])
223->225
1084
Physical Instrument: As with all applications of violence, the key is the appropriate amount of force exercised with absolute control on the part of the wielder.
224->1084
227
Physical Instrument: TOO STRONG, KILLER.
225->227
226
You: "Who's the baddest communist now?"
1292
Steban, the Student Communist: "That... was *amazing*. Uli, perhaps we should tangle with the gendarmerie more often." The young man rubs his cheek.
226->1292
1670
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_faln")
227->1670
228
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
229
IsKimHere()
228->229
230
!(IsKimHere())
228->230
229->140
230->1834
231
Steban, the Student Communist: "What lesson is that, huh? That the RCM are assholes? That they'll take your fucking jaw off?"
231->141
232
You: "It's the theoretical parts I'm interested in. The third-level stuff."
1755
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, yes. Or the *fun parts*, as we like to call them."
232->1755
233
Steban, the Student Communist: "..."
233->63
1001
Volition: Say it.
234->1001
235
Steban, the Student Communist: "So you really *did* read all the way to the end." A sheepish grin. "Yeah, Uli and I were trying to see whether there was enough plasm between the two of us to hold up a few matchboxes..."
516
Empathy: Saying it out loud makes him realise how foolish it sounds.
235->516
236
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.communist"] > 10
237
Variable["reputation.communist"] > 10
236->237
238
!(Variable["reputation.communist"] > 10)
236->238
1498
Echo Maker: "It's holding, it's holding..."
237->1498
238->147
239
Echo Maker: "Alright. You go next, Steban."
1593
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man pushes back his shirt sleeves, revealing the pale flesh of his forearms.
239->1593
240
You: Oh god, that's bad. Surely I can think of something better.
1418
Rhetoric: Maybe in another life, but not this one. Face it, this is *the* question that's been simmering inside you all along.
240->1418
241
You: "Because they can't handle *me*."
"Because they can't handle me, I'm a goddamn superstar."
1771
Steban, the Student Communist: "Maybe your problem is that you think it's their job to *handle* you..."
241->1771
242
Composure: He's wrestling with some question of his own.
243
Empathy: He's lost in his own thoughts. You wonder what silt you've stirred in the bottom of his soul.
242->243
1104
Jump to: [inventory.basic_guide_interfacing_ma ...]
243->1104
244
Steban, the Student Communist: "There was another thing: We were also debating putting up some posters around town."
327
Echo Maker: "Though *some of us* maintain that advertising is an unacceptably bourgeois tactic."
244->327
245
Composure: ... and just like that, their ironic defences are back up.
608
Steban, the Student Communist: "In any case, we've kept you long enough. Goodnight to you."
"In any case, we've kept you long enough. Goodnight to you both."
245->608
1598
Steban, the Student Communist: "Even then."
246->1598
247
You: "I don't know. More... something?"
1849
Steban, the Student Communist: "It seems like there's something on your mind. Maybe a question you mean to ask?" The young man turns to his companion, then back to you.
247->1849
248
Conceptualization: No, wait! Can this really be the end? You feel like you've just gotten to the real stuff.
598
Echo Maker: "Yes. One of our better discussions lately, on the whole."
248->598
249
Kim Kitsuragi: ... even the lieutenant seems engrossed, despite your revealing details of an RCM investigation...
490
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but I still don't see what the lady driver had to do with the strike stand-off..."
249->490
1113
You: "But what if humanity keeps letting us down?"
250->1113
1689
You: "But what if you don't believe there *is* a future?"
250->1689
251
Steban, the Student Communist: "I guess you could say we believe it *because it's impossible*." He looks at the scattered matchboxes on the ground. "It's our way of saying we refuse to accept that the world has to remain... like this..."
1298
FINALRCHUB
251->1298
252
You: "This is tall enough, better not to risk it."
1225
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
252->1225
253
Echo Maker: "Yes. This is the closest we've ever gotten."
1436
Rhetoric: It's almost exactly as Nilsen's sketch imagined, a physical manifestation of the dialectical spiral of history.
253->1436
254
You: "... but I've done some reflecting and these days I consider myself a feminist."
254->163
255->158
256
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Go ahead." The young man gives you..."]
1620
Steban, the Student Communist: "Go ahead." The young man gives you a half-smile. His companion sniffs.
256->1620
257->39
765
You: "Let's just say the human body starts to do some weird things when it's been in a tree for seven days..."
257->765
1732
You: "I'll tell you how I infiltrated the Wild Pines for my investigation..."
257->1732
1820
You: "Let me tell you about a little *incident* I had with this woman at my hostel..."
257->1820
258
You: "Wait, I thought 'interesting' was what people said when they don't have anything real to add?"
258->170
259
Echo Maker: His companion nods, but offers no further solace.
732
Jump to: [FINAL RC FAIL HUB]
259->732
739
Steban, the Student Communist: "See, Uli? It's just like Mazov wrote. How does it go again?"
260->739
535
Steban, the Student Communist: "The RCM wants to join us?" A quizzical expression...
261->535
262
Steban, the Student Communist: "Too many... *words*?"
1788
You: "Yes, but if the writer just cut a few I'm sure it would be fine."
262->1788
263
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's our whole *thing*. The world is so shallow, all noise and repetition. We're interested in genuinely radical critique."
545
Echo Maker: "Precisely. We're not interested in senseless parroting. We like to read *critically*."
263->545
264
You: “Kim, can we arrest these kids for truancy?”
1536
Kim Kitsuragi: "They’re not primary school delinquents, they’re university students. Attendance isn't compulsory. Besides, we’re not the skip squad."
264->1536
265
Reaction Speed: Those words again! You've got to find out what this infra-materialist stuff is all about.
637
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false
265->637
266
You: Listen for night sounds.
835
Volition: Out beyond the dull chatter, you catch the sound of a distant seabird, and of course the sound of the large stretches of canvas that cover the missing sections of wall...
266->835
267
You: Look around the room.
836
Volition: Your eye drifts over the detritus and mismatched furniture. It naturally gravitates toward the pieces of canvas that cover a missing stretch of wall...
267->836
268
You: A patch of ocean turned on its side...
268->181
1419
Steban, the Student Communist: "Comrade Ulixes is right. The amount of plasm required to strike down an ideological enemy outright is enormous. We're talking second-level effects, at a minimum."
269->1419
270
Steban, the Student Communist: "No, we're an independent organisation," he says proudly. "We acknowledge and respect the Union's efforts, but our interests are more theoretical than Mr. Claire's."
641
Drama: He speaks the truth.
270->641
271
Jump to: [crime hub]
1626
crime hub
271->1626
464
Inland Empire: When will *you* wake up? And what will you see when you do?
272->464
1342
Steban, the Student Communist: He sighs. "Right, then there was the whole 'turnip' debacle."
273->1342
468
Jump to: [readinghub]
274->468
275
You: "Right, and this Nilsen is...?"
1803
Steban, the Student Communist: "Nilsen. Ignus Nilsen."
275->1803
276
Echo Maker: "He just quit coming. We haven't seen him around for weeks."
1053
Jump to: [readinghub]
276->1053
277
Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
278
IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
277->278
279
!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
277->279
1254
Conceptualization: Time to meet these two on the intellectual battlefield. Why don't you show off those highly developed critical faculties of yours?
278->1254
280
article hub
279->280
376
You: (Show them your edits.) "I actually had a few pieces of constructive criticism..."
280->376
1054
You: "To be honest, it doesn't sound like you know anything about motor racing."
280->1054
1255
You: "It sounded like a recycled university essay, frankly."
280->1255
1461
You: "It was a good article. You should keep developing your ideas."
280->1461
1721
You: "I liked the parts about death and dismemberment. That's what racing's all about."
280->1721
281
Steban, the Student Communist: "Thanks, I appreciate it."
754
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
281->754
282
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"]
283
Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"]
282->283
284
!(Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"])
282->284
1262
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 3
283->1262
284->124
285
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
286
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
285->286
287
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
285->287
661
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. You quickly gloss Lopez de Fuego's essential argument, peppering it with your own commentary and asides...
286->661
1267
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. You quickly gloss Lopez de Fuego's essential argument, peppering it with your own commentary and asides...
287->1267
288
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.suzerainty_trade_war_counter"] > 2
289
Variable["inventory.suzerainty_trade_war_counter"] > 2
288->289
290
!(Variable["inventory.suzerainty_trade_war_counter"] > 2)
288->290
760
Kim Kitsuragi: "Hmm. What is it they say about ties? That they're like kissing your sister... or in this case, I suppose, your partner."
289->760
1159
Kim Kitsuragi: "He's only saying that because he *likes* getting thrashed like a schoolboy."
290->1159
291
You: "Oh, certainement. I'm more interested in them as cultural artifacts."
1559
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, well there's certainly value in that kind of reading. Comrade Mazov says something on that note in his collected speeches..."
291->1559
292
Composure: These kids are eating out of your hand, practically. Another quarter of an hour disappears. The questions come rapid-fire, but you have an answer for every one.
1363
Composure: Now, you can sense things starting to slow down. The interview must be reaching an inflection point...
292->1363
293
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm sure as a gendarme you have a *very* interesting take on the Mullen character."
384
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
293->384
294
Steban, the Student Communist: "Makes sense. It's natural to seek out reflections of your own experience in literature when the politico-economic system doesn't permit genuine self-realization."
294->207
295->29
1169
Composure: Now, you can sense things starting to slow down. The interview must be reaching an inflection point...
296->1169
297
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's true. I recall from one of psycholinguistics lectures that the letter 'A' is derived from the proto-Perikarnassian glyph meant to represent a reed hut."
297->35
298
Echo Maker: "It appears so."
1170
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
298->1170
299
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. This is a subject where *you* hold all the advantages...
299->300
1173
Steban, the Student Communist: "I have to say, I never realised humans and cockatoos had so much in common."
"I have to say, I never realised humans and cockatoos had so much in common."
"I have to say, I never realised cockatoos could be such needy emotional disasters, just like people."
"I have to say, I never realised cockatoos could be so apocalyptic. I've only ever seen the grey ones."
"I have to say, I underestimated the opulence of cockatoos. I've only ever seen the grey ones."
300->1173
301
Composure: Now, you can sense things starting to slow down. The interview must be reaching an inflection point...
958
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Absolutely. It's the only proper f..."]
301->958
302
Steban, the Student Communist: "A story with an erotico-political angle. Let's see where this goes..."
487
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
302->487
303
You: "... so anyway, I think there's still a shot. But in the meantime I'm just focussing on my casework."
304
Steban, the Student Communist: "Makes sense. Based on my experience, you've got to let her see that you've grown, ideologically speaking..."
303->304
1379
Savoir Faire: His "experience" with these matters is painfully limited, not that he realises it.
304->1379
305
Composure: Okay, you got this. You *got* this. Just... open your mouth, and say the words...
305->211
769
You: "Ehhk..."
305->769
1180
You: "Hrrrgh..."
305->1180
306
You: Shake your head no.
1075
Kim Kitsuragi: "As in, 'No, everything is *not* in order'? Can you give me a negative, detective?"
306->1075
307
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
308
IsKimHere()
307->308
309
!(IsKimHere())
307->309
1833
Kim Kitsuragi: "Ah, so we're beating *another* youth only tangentially connected to the case. Spectacular."
308->1833
309->986
310->589
311
Kim Kitsuragi: "I can't recall the exact explanation, but it has something to do with the kinetic energy stored in the elbow. Basically, you're less able to control a *backhanded* slap, and therefore more likely to cause serious injury."
694
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
311->694
312
Interfacing: Ensconced in your ceramic armour, you barely notice the moment of contact. Striking the young man's face is almost indistinguishable from swatting away a fly.
865
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man staggers back into the couch, eyes agog and momentarily dazed, but not seriously hurt.
312->865
313
Interfacing: At the moment of contact you feel the pads of your bare fingers brush the wiry hairs of the young man's beard, as though caressing a wad of kitchen wool.
313->865
314
Pain Threshold: It doesn't hurt, yet. The rush of endorphins will keep the pain at bay for a while yet.
409
Perception (Sight): In the meantime, a small indigo flower begins to bloom just below his cheekbone.
314->409
315->593
316
Interfacing: En route to its target your FALN glove traces a strangely pleasing black-and-white blur through the air, like some kind of ultra-sonic weasel.
1190
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_interfacing_faln"]
316->1190
317
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, if you're not going to play along, I don't think we have anything further to discuss. Good evening to you, gendarme."
318
Empathy: He's not accustomed to exposing his doubt like this.
319
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's... it's..."
708
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.communist"] > 30
319->708
791
Shivers: A low pressure system is gathering itself over the bay. It's begun to tug violently at the tarpaulins...
320->791
321
Steban, the Student Communist: "We all have to make sacrifices for the future. Maybe that's what I was trying to get at earlier..."
793
Empathy: You made him self-conscious now. He's practically paralysed.
321->793
322
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquippedGroup("jacket")
323
CheckEquippedGroup("jacket")
322->323
324
!(CheckEquippedGroup("jacket"))
322->324
325
You: Pull your jacket tighter.
323->325
712
You: Rub your arms with your hands.
324->712
418
Echo Maker: "Steban, it's getting pretty late."
325->418
326
Inland Empire: No-no-no! This was supposed to take your mind *off* the other thing!
423
You: Hang on, I thought I was really getting into the theory back there!
326->423
880
You: (Whisper.) "Are women bourgeois?"
326->880
1211
You: Maybe I should keep this one to myself.
326->1211
1216
Rhetoric: That's what makes it so beautiful. The irony is unbeatable.
327->1216
328
Shivers: Has it gotten cold in here? Your arms seem to be covered in gooseflesh.
873
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, on that note, I think we can call it an evening."
328->873
882
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["gates.manana_communist_revolutionary_lovers"]
329->882
330
lilboxhub
330->252
707
You: Take a deep breath. (Proceed.)
330->707
1842
You: "Ghost of Mazov, give me strength..." (Proceed.)
330->1842
331
You: "I'm sorry."
1301
Steban, the Student Communist: "Don't apologise. As I was saying, if it were *easy*, it wouldn't require so much plasm to work."
331->1301
332
Half Light: The beast is *you*, a mass of teeth and claws and violent urges.
1793
Conceptualization: You let the invigorating sensation course through you, then turn your attention to the two young men, who appear just about finished.
332->1793
333
Echo Maker: "She said if she's going to make truly radical art, she needs a suitably radical workspace."
1033
Steban, the Student Communist: "And I don't think she could afford rent at an actual studio."
333->1033
334
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_interesting_means"]
335
Variable["apt.student_interesting_means"]
334->335
336
!(Variable["apt.student_interesting_means"])
334->336
1127
Untitled hub (02)
335->1127
336->619
337
Steban, the Student Communist: A moment of silence. They're waiting for you to speak.
1147
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
337->1147
338
Conceptualization: Yes, now keep developing the idea.
726
You: "Actually, I think that's a mixed metaphor."
338->726
1123
You: "If this place is the shattered bones, that must make us the bone weevils."
338->1123
1124
You: "Okay, but what *is* this place?"
338->1124
1521
You: "I heard these used to be luxury apartments. Million reál views, that sort of thing."
338->1521
909
Echo Maker: "That's really good, Steban. You should save that for an essay."
339->909
340
Steban, the Student Communist: "That could be." He nods. "It would explain some of the more ornate detailing. But we're speaking in world-historical terms here. What this place *represents*, not what it merely *was*."
530
Echo Maker: His friend yawns, evidently bored by literal reality.
340->530
341
You: "What does this question say about me?"
1040
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, that's the question you should be asking yourself."
341->1040
342
Echo Maker: "Hey, Steban. Isn't that *your* jacket?"
1525
Drama: What a coincidence! You two have the *same* jacket. What are the odds?
342->1525
343
Steban, the Student Communist: "It certainly *looks* like my jacket, Ulixes. Where did you get that, gendarme?"
447
You: [Leave.]
343->447
738
You: "Must be a coincidence. I see these jackets all the time."
343->738
1618
You: "I just found it... in a room."
343->1618
1697
You: "This jacket is RCM property. It's been confiscated as part of an ongoing investigation."
343->1697
344
Steban, the Student Communist: "I assumed it was Maurice who broke into my room, to play a trick on me. I didn't think I'd *actually* been raided by the RCM!"
1327
Empathy: There is surprise in his voice, naturally, but is that a note of *excitement* you also detect?
344->1327
345
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"]
346
Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"]
345->346
347
!(Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"])
345->347
1786
Logic: Probably because they're the real names of 'Nasteb' and 'Exilus', the authors of that so-called essay about TipTop Tournée you read...
346->1786
347->344
348
You: "Listen, comrade, it's not what it looks like..."
348->99
349
Drama: Don't let them see you *flustered*, ssssire. Play along...
1530
Untitled hub
349->1530
350
You: "Before we move on, do you recognise this jacket?" (Show him the Saramirizian jacket.)
633
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""Hey, Steban. Isn't that *your* jac..."]
350->633
351
Steban, the Student Communist: "There are RCM spies, for one. Just recently, someone even broke into my apartment, if you can believe it..."
1130
Steban, the Student Communist: "To say nothing of Gottwaldians and Econoclards."
351->1130
352
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Well, this is getting awkward. I'm..."]
1044
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, this is getting awkward. I'm not sure what you were expecting to find here then..."
352->1044
354
IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
353->354
355
!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
353->355
1623
Conceptualization: Extremely different from discussing the aesthetic merits of avant-garde literature while quaffing a fine Mirovan red, eh, Art Cop?
354->1623
1136
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
355->1136
356
Steban, the Student Communist: "Within the contours of Mazovian historical materialism, of course."
356->635
357
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_concept_zone_out"]
358
Variable["apt.student_concept_zone_out"]
357->358
359
!(Variable["apt.student_concept_zone_out"])
357->359
358->7
359->105
360
Echo Maker: "Abelard's 'Un Pays Infernal'..."
360->8
361
Rhetoric: You could learn a thing or two from them, if you can convince them you're *one* of them.
361->94
362
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're saying you think the mercenary was killed *by* communism itself?"
362->269
363
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's a symptom, in other words. Not a cause." He waves his hand as though this is all there is to say on the subject of crime.
363->11
364
You: "This little guy is still going." (Show him the figurine.)
458
Steban, the Student Communist: "Not exactly the second incarnation of Kras Mazov, is he?" The young man considers the figurine with a slight grimace.
364->458
365
Steban, the Student Communist: "What's it for?"
1146
You: "It kills fascists."
365->1146
1341
You: "What do you mean? It's just a nice figurine."
365->1341
1456
You: "I'm holding onto it for someone."
365->1456
366
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, I see. That's certainly kind of you." He gives you a curious half-smile.
1458
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
366->1458
367
Steban, the Student Communist: "What do you mean? This *is* the reading group..."
749
You: "So there's just two of you?"
367->749
1049
You: "Shouldn't a group have, like, more people in it?"
367->1049
1634
You: "Two's all you need. Me and Kim are the same way." (Turn to Kim.)
367->1634
1459
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Go ahead." The young man gives you..."]
368->1459
369
Steban, the Student Communist: "They're the most depressing school of communism. They love writing long books with a patina of Mazovian theory to cover up their cheap psychologising."
524
Echo Maker: "A gang of cheap psychologists and intellectual midgets." His companion sneers. "Typical Gottwalders, in other words."
369->524
370
You: "I totally understand."
1252
Steban, the Student Communist: "Of course you do. It's pretty basic stuff!"
370->1252
371
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
371->541
372
Echo Maker: "That I did not expect." His companion is blushing now, a sheepish grin on his face.
651
Savoir Faire: The energy in the room has shifted ever so slightly in your favour. They're afraid they've somehow *embarrassed* themselves in front of you.
372->651
373
Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
374
IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
373->374
375
!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
373->375
1550
Conceptualization: Hey! You're not just 'some cop', you've got highly developed critical faculties! Now's your chance to show them off.
374->1550
375->280
1055
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man takes the folded up magazine with some hesitation. As he reads over your annotations and emendations a look of deep concentration comes over his face...
376->1055
377
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, I hope you'll let us know when *your* monograph is coming out..."
1808
Echo Maker: "I bet he's never written a substantial essay himself. He's really got no right to critique. None at all."
377->1808
378
Composure: What's there to be scared of? You've really been cracking the books these last few days. You can go toe-to-intellectual-toe with any reading group in Martinaise...
378->20
379
You: "Listen, books are fine and all, but to be straight with you, they're no substitute for a real story."
1167
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Okay, we'll bite." The young man a..."]
379->1167
380
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.suzerainty_column_counter"] > 2
381
Variable["inventory.suzerainty_column_counter"] > 2
380->381
382
!(Variable["inventory.suzerainty_column_counter"] > 2)
380->382
845
Kim Kitsuragi: "He's only saying that because he got the better of me, somehow..."
381->845
382->288
383
Conceptualization: Let them know your interest in muscleman literature is much more high-minded than they're giving you credit for.
383->291
1166
You: "No way, I live for that kind of stuff."
383->1166
1558
You: "Nah, it's just good escapist fun."
383->1558
385
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
384->385
386
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
384->386
1645
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. This is your area of expertise, after all...
385->1645
483
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. This is your area of expertise, after all...
386->483
387
Empathy: And just like that, all trace of irony drains from his voice.
1471
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
387->1471
388
Steban, the Student Communist: "There's no doubt about it." He nods. "I just wish they had more flexibility with their sub-races."
762
Echo Maker: "I still like the hill dweorgr for their Master Ironworking feat."
388->762
389
Steban, the Student Communist: "A Gottwaldian would tell you that it's an inescapable fact of modernity that we can only repackage our collective history in increasingly ludicrous forms..." He nods.
1651
Echo Maker: "Thank god we're no Gottwaldians."
389->1651
390
Composure: These kids are eating out of your hand, practically. Another quarter of an hour disappears. The questions come rapid-fire, but you have an answer for every one.
390->301
391
Steban, the Student Communist: "You've got our attention. Let's see where this goes..."
391->487
392
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"]
393
Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"]
392->393
394
!(Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"])
392->394
1110
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
393->1110
572
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"]
394->572
396
Composure: Now, you can sense things starting to slow down. Time to wrap this tale up...
395->396
494
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"]
396->494
397
You: "You know, in a weird way, I think she was into it."
1654
Steban, the Student Communist: "So you're saying it didn't suck to interrogate her later? I find that unlikely..."
397->1654
398->1381
582
Volition: There's nothing you can do. It's like your lips have been glued together.
399->582
400
Rhetoric: What is it? Are you scared because you can't remember a single book you've read?
499
You: Shake your head no.
400->499
500
You: Nod again.
400->500
401
Steban, the Student Communist: "Would it help if we changed the subject?"
401->858
402
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
402->541
403->1827
404
You: "What's that?"
1284
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man gives his companion an uncertain glance. The companion nods his head vigorously.
404->1284
405
Half Light: This is what you've been waiting for! Time to lay his little punk-ass out.
1078
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
405->1078
406
Kim Kitsuragi: "Easy, detective. No need to treat this kid like he's some Son of Measurehead."
406->986
407
Logic: Just theorising here, but if you don't have as much control over your muscle groups as you'd like, perhaps you could try something you *know* is bound to fail...
1388
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_logic_spitballing_fail"]
407->1388
863
Kim Kitsuragi: "However, if one were to strike a civilian, which again I would never recommend, one should at least follow the RCM manual's guidance on non-lethal strikes."
408->863
1319
Echo Maker: "Yes, this worked out quite nicely." He seems immensely pleased with himself.
409->1319
410
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man can hardly conceal his disappointment. He was apparently looking forward to being punched by you.
For his part, the young man looks rather put off. It's clear he was *also* looking forward to you punching him.
410->317
411
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but my question is where does the RCM *recruit* all these hyper-revolutionaries to join this 'Remote Viewers Division'?"
781
You: "And my *point* is that maybe these *hyper-revolutionary* individuals are more common than infra-materialism generally assumes..."
411->781
1397
You: "It's less that you're 'recruited' into the RVD and more like you're *called*."
411->1397
412
You: "... but I'm still trying to figure out how the *pale* fits into all this..."
782
Steban, the Student Communist: "The two phenomena are actually deeply intertwined." He nods. "Many infra-materialists believe that pale is actually a manifestation of nostalgia and historical inertia..."
412->782
1097
You: "What if I have more questions, you know, about communism?"
413->1097
1848
You: "Nothing, I just thought there would be more..."
413->1848
414
Visual Calculus: Track his gaze. He's looking out past the broken wall, toward the opposite side of the Bay...
1678
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_viscal_gaze"]
414->1678
415
You: "Broken."
1007
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, that's a good way to think of it, broken, but not irreparable."
415->1007
416
Rhetoric: There, in the middle of the floor, the winding spire quivers with an improbable energy...
900
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
416->900
1504
Steban, the Student Communist: "But how did you... oh, never mind. I guess I'm easier to read than I thought..."
417->1504
418->150
419
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man gives you a slightly confused look, as though he's sure you asked something else and he simply misheard.
1010
Volition: No, he heard you crystal clear.
419->1010
420
You: "Because they won't let me forget the life we used to have together."
421
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, gendarme. Your problem isn't ideological, it's personal..."
420->421
1014
Steban, the Student Communist: "You asked that question because you're still under the influence of ideology. That's natural. You're like a fish that's only now discovering that her whole life has been dictated by the movements of sea currents."
421->1014
422
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's from them we get the notion of dual-leadership, the *décomptage*, Revachol's truly great contribution to revolutionary thought. I believe it even persists in some form in the RCM, even to this day."
1017
FINAL RC FAIL HUB
422->1017
796
Rhetoric: Sure, you spent some time getting lost in your theoretical labyrinths, but *this* has been the beast at the centre this whole time...
423->796
424
Echo Maker: "Sleep well, gendarme."
425
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh! And, gendarme. One last thing..."
1776
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
425->1776
426
Steban, the Student Communist: "'In dark times, should the stars also go out?'"
720
Steban, the Student Communist: "Anyway, goodnight to you."
426->720
427
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're not familiar with them? It's... pretty advanced stuff. You may not be ready for it yet, gendarme." The two young men exchange skeptical side-glances.
1311
You: "Okay, but then who's this 'Ignus Nilsen' guy?"
427->1311
1424
Steban, the Student Communist: "Especially then."
428->1424
429
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
430
IsKimHere()
429->430
431
!(IsKimHere())
429->431
1116
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant says nothing, but his expression suggests otherwise.
430->1116
895
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""It's fine, Uli. That's enough parl..."]
431->895
432
Kim Kitsuragi: Even the lieutenant is watching intently now.
432->330
433
Echo Maker: "Harder to believe, but still possible..."
1853
Steban, the Student Communist: "Either way, that's enough parlour games for one night. Thanks for humouring us."
433->1853
434
Kim Kitsuragi: "This is impossible, right? There's no way it's really staying up like that..."
1405
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_logic_no_way"] or IsKimHere()
434->1405
435
You: "That was miraculous."
1117
Steban, the Student Communist: "No." He looks up. "It was exactly what's *supposed* to happen. We should treat it that way."
435->1117
436
You: "Malevolent deities."
436->24
437
Empathy: A note of real uncertainty in his voice.
1828
Steban, the Student Communist: "Alright, gendarme." He turns back to you. "Comrade Ulixes and I have conferred about it, and we've come up with an alternative way for you to convince us of your commitment to the group."
437->1828
438
Echo Maker: "Hmmm, I guess no one could accuse Cindy of having a *bourgeois aesthetic*."
1596
Steban, the Student Communist: "Plus, I've got the *perfect* place in mind..."
438->1596
439
Authority: Let's never bring up that shameful episode again.
1857
Echo Maker: "Besides, it would look pretty bad if people thought we were collaborating with the gendarmerie."
439->1857
440->171
441
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white") and Variable["apt.student_jacket_discussed"] == false
442
CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white") and Variable["apt.student_jacket_discussed"] == false
441->442
443
!(CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white") and Variable["apt.student_jacket_discussed"] == false)
441->443
444
Steban, the Student Communist: "You know," the young man looks up at you as you enter, "if you wanted to borrow my jacket, you could've just *asked*..."
442->444
532
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckItem("book_nilsenism_introduction") and Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_done"] == false
443->532
1695
Savoir Faire: It looks better on you, anyway. He never had the shoulders for it.
444->1695
445
Steban, the Student Communist: "But no matter. What's on your mind?"
445->98
446
Steban, the Student Communist: The two young men are either oblivious to or ignoring your entrance. Their attentions are fixed on whatever it is they're stacking in the middle of the floor...
1854
Perception (Sight): Matchboxes, it appears.
446->1854
448
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"]
449
Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"]
448->449
450
!(Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"])
448->450
1785
Conceptualization: Just a minute. Steban... Ulixes... *why* do those names ring the faintest of bells?
449->1785
450->344
824
Esprit de Corps: He seems to be wagging the notebook at you, as though he suspects you may have forgotten why you're here.
451->824
452
Kim Kitsuragi: "I have not had time to seek out pretentious communist book clubs, nor have I done their 'reading'."
1331
Echo Maker: "It doesn't sound like he's done the reading, Steban."
"It doesn't sound like they've done the reading, Steban."
452->1331
453
Steban, the Student Communist: "We study all the foundational texts of Mazovian theory, of course. Just last week we finished the second volume of Puncher and Wattmann's 'Innocence of Capital'..."
1705
Echo Maker: "Truly extraordinary."
453->1705
454->1535
455->541
456
Echo Maker: "We're post-attendance, basically."
1143
Steban, the Student Communist: "Exactly. The only worthwhile part of the so-called École normale de Revachol is the library. That's where we've made our greatest critical strides."
456->1143
457
Jump to: [book club hub]
457->635
458->365
459
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_shivers_rifle"]
460
Variable["apt.student_shivers_rifle"]
459->460
461
!(Variable["apt.student_shivers_rifle"])
459->461
747
Steban, the Student Communist: When he's finished, he returns the rifle to you with a nod of appreciation.
460->747
644
Steban, the Student Communist: ... though what, exactly, you can't say. He turns the rifle over again, admiring the glint of light off the oily barrel.
461->644
462
Steban, the Student Communist: "Right, of course it is." He gives you a sad half-smile.
462->1458
463
Echo Maker: His friend, though, seems oddly unmoved.
551
Half Light: On the contrary, he appears to be *savouring* the thought of so many people shot in the head, regardless of their beliefs.
463->551
464->337
465
Steban, the Student Communist: "We're in something of a rebuilding phase."
552
Echo Maker: "Some of our former comrades didn't have the *ideological fortitude* our work demands."
465->552
1149
Steban, the Student Communist: "For starters, they love talking about *beans*."
466->1149
467
You: "What's so bad about psychologising?"
1802
Steban, the Student Communist: "Do you think all the problems in the world can be reduced to repressed sexual urges?"
467->1802
468->110
469
Conceptualization: You should get to the bottom of this, when you have the chance.
1346
Steban, the Student Communist: "Basically, he was rejecting the whole foundation of infra-materialist theory."
469->1346
470
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"]
471
Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"]
470->471
472
!(Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"])
470->472
1150
cde
471->1150
1251
Logic: What is this *infra-materialist* business they keep blathering about? You've never heard of anything like it.
472->1251
473
Echo Maker: "It's a sad reflection on our educational institutions."
1152
You: "So you expelled Maurice from the reading group over an argument about turnips?"
473->1152
474
Echo Maker: "What does it say, Steban? I can't see."
1153
Steban, the Student Communist: "They're... good notes. A little brutal on questions of style, but he's not *wrong* about any of it..."
474->1153
475
You: "Sure, you hang onto it."
475->281
476
You: "No, that's my only copy."
476->193
478
You: "This is just the group I've been looking for. When do we start?"
477->478
660
You: (Crack your knuckles.) "Alright, let's do this interview."
477->660
1266
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, you want to start *now*?" He looks to his companion, then back at you. "Sure, we can manage that..."
478->1266
479
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but then, any *critical* account of Dolores Dei's reign has to seriously reckon with her atrocities in Magritania and La Vuelta during the Mesque secession, don't you think?"
479->198
663
You: "Honestly, I did get the impression there was something inhuman about her."
479->663
758
You: "Exactly. Lopez de Fuego totally glosses over all her mass murder."
479->758
1552
You: "I'm a little rusty on my innocentic history, so it was helpful for me."
479->1552
481
IsKimHere()
480->481
482
!(IsKimHere())
480->482
1156
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.kim"] > 1
481->1156
1160
Echo Maker: "With his 'partner', he says."
482->1160
561
Esprit de Corps: That's right. These two young men naturally defer to your aura of authority, which you nevertheless wear as lightly as your halogen watermarks.
483->561
484
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""So what sort of practical works ar..."]
1649
Steban, the Student Communist: "So what sort of practical works are we talking about?"
"... but now I'm curious... Do you think there's value in reading so-called 'practical non-fiction'?"
484->1649
485
Savoir Faire: Probably not, is the answer. Which isn't to say it isn't *sometimes* still useful.
568
You: "... but in the end I did learn how to make a poultice..."
"... but in the end, I did learn how to make some restorative tea..."
"... but in the end I did learn how to make a poultice..."
"... but in the end I think it was mostly an excuse to pretend whiskey is good for my health..."
485->568
957
You: "... anyway it mostly seems like a way to bilk desperate people for money when they don't have access to real healthcare..."
485->957
1562
You: "... but then I still don't really get what this whole 'pale' thing is about, so..."
485->1562
486
Steban, the Student Communist: "In any case, I think we've heard enough. We could use someone with your perspective in the group. With just a bit more theoretical foundation, I think you'll be making real contributions."
486->209
488
IsKimHere()
487->488
489
!(IsKimHere())
487->489
1733
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, I'm rather curious myself."
488->1733
571
Composure: You've got them. They're starting to loosen up. You're relaxed and in control. You deftly weave every piece of the story together...
Now you're getting somewhere. These boys aren't even bothering to contain their interest. They want to see how you weave the threads of this story together...
489->571
1375
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
490->1375
491
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, so there *is* a supra-natural angle to this case..."
491->395
492->397
1022
You: "It's embarrassing, but at that point my political consciousness was still pretty rudimentary."
492->1022
1653
You: "No, my brain came up with that all by itself."
492->1653
1734
You: "Honestly, I think the main problem was my shirt. If it had been just a *little* cleaner, I probably could've pulled it off."
492->1734
493
Steban, the Student Communist: "No, it's just like Mazov wrote: 'The freeman of the future will be he who awakens in perfect ignorance of Capital'."
1736
Echo Maker: "Wait, Steban, are you saying the gendarme is some kind of *future communist*?"
493->1736
495
Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"]
494->495
496
!(Variable["apt.student_story_hanged_man"])
494->496
1737
Steban, the Student Communist: "... and we still don't know what happened to the rest of his armour..."
"... but how could communism and love *both* have killed him?"
"... but I'm still not sure how *communism* could have killed him..."
"... but I'm still not sure how *love* did him in..."
495->1737
1658
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"]
496->1658
1739
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_wc_mentioned_wirral"]
497->1739
498
You: (Say nothing, just take the book.)
498->210
499->45
500->45
501
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] > 4
502
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] > 4
501->502
503
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] > 4)
501->503
502->47
1826
Rhetoric: Of course, if you're nervous it wouldn't hurt to read another book or two.
503->1826
504
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
504->541
505->135
506
Kim Kitsuragi: "Or even death, if, say, you happen to be wearing a set of armoured ceramic gauntlets."
988
Kim Kitsuragi: "At the same time, this is emphatically *your thing*, so do as you will."
506->988
507
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_bum")
508
CheckEquipped("gloves_bum")
507->508
509
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_bum"))
507->509
1493
Interfacing: At the moment of contact you're reminded of a fight you once witnessed between two homeless men in an alleyway. Could it be that you've set out to recreate that moment now, right down to the smelly fingerless gloves?
508->1493
509->137
510
You: "Oh, god. I'm sorry about that."
1293
Steban, the Student Communist: "*Sorry*? You nearly took my fucking jaw off!"
510->1293
511
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["tc.rvd"]
512
Variable["tc.rvd"]
511->512
513
!(Variable["tc.rvd"])
511->513
512->411
728
Untitled hub
513->728
514->1023
515
You: "... so wait, you're saying that President Knezhinisky has *never opened a book*?"
596
Steban, the Student Communist: "No-no-no. We're saying he doesn't *need* to open them, because he absorbs all the relevant content just by staring intently at the cover. It's a widely understood second-level effect..."
515->596
1299
Echo Maker: "It was just a little *informal* experiment. No reason to take it too seriously."
516->1299
517
Steban, the Student Communist: "What could it hurt? Alright, let's give it another go..."
1602
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
517->1602
518
Echo Maker: "..."
518->331
526
You: Say nothing.
518->526
1030
You: "Shit."
518->1030
1516
You: "Fuck."
518->1516
519
Steban, the Student Communist: "My mums." The young man looks surprised. "She works in one of those skyscrapers, but it's not like you think... she's a cleaning lady..."
519->1504
520
You: "She's given up a lot for you."
520->321
521
Steban, the Student Communist: He sighs. "You're right. It probably wouldn't *kill* us to read more conventional historical materialism."
1509
Echo Maker: "As long as we maintain the appropriate critical distance."
521->1509
522
Conceptualization: Ahem. As a noted art cop you definitely have an opinion on this.
1510
Untitled hub (07)
522->1510
523
Steban, the Student Communist: "I've been thinking about what you asked before, about women, you know..."
800
Steban, the Student Communist: "Not that it's any of my business, but it sounds like this question is *really* tearing you up inside."
523->800
645
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's okay for Uli to say that because his dad is from Gottwald."
524->645
525->330
1316
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, it may be that we've found the outermost limit of our capabilities under the prevailing regime."
526->1316
527
Echo Maker: "But she refuses to submit an essay, so we can't call her a member of the group *per se*."
1608
Steban, the Student Communist: "That doesn't stop her from using the room for studio space, of course."
527->1608
528
Steban, the Student Communist: "It was written by a young communard who was killed on the barricades during the Coalition landings. The story goes that he wrote it on the last night of his life, keeping watch from the barricades in the middle of the night. I don't have the whole thing committed to memory, but there's a line in it I think about sometimes."
1518
You: "What's the line?"
528->1518
529->1857
1035
Jump to: [spacehub]
530->1035
531
Logic: For the moment.
1126
Rhetoric: The higher the tower goes, the quieter the room seems to become. Aside from the occasional comment, the three of you are completely absorbed by the task.
531->1126
533
CheckItem("book_nilsenism_introduction") and Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_done"] == false
532->533
534
!(CheckItem("book_nilsenism_introduction") and Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_done"] == false)
532->534
1440
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're back." The young man turns to you.
533->1440
1129
Steban, the Student Communist: "The gendarme returns." The young man turns to you. "What do you need?"
534->1129
535->175
536
You: "What am I late *for* exactly?"
1444
Steban, the Student Communist: "Are you saying you *haven't* done the reading for tonight?" The two young men look at one another.
536->1444
537
You: [Leave.]
538
Physical Instrument: He's taking your measure. Like an ideological boxer stepping into the ring.
821
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_phys_int_boxer"]
538->821
539
You: "What is this *reading*? I thought this was a revolutionary group!"
925
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, a revolutionary *reading* group. The most ideologically advanced materialist reading group in Martinaise. But it sounds like that's news to you..."
539->925
540->541
541->104
541->195
541->213
603
You: [Leave.]
541->603
640
You: "Did this reading group have anything to do with the lynching?"
541->640
748
You: "Where is the rest of the reading group?"
541->748
875
You: "The matchboxes... you were trying to make the tower from Nilsen's journals."
541->875
945
You: "What were you doing with those matchboxes just now?"
541->945
1018
You: "That's enough for tonight. Will you still be here if I have more questions?" [Leave.]
541->1018
1212
You: "Well, I guess I'm off." [Leave.]
"Well, I guess we're off." [Leave.]
541->1212
1253
You: "Do I *know* you two from somewhere?"
"You two wrote that article in La Fumée, didn't you?"
541->1253
1258
You: Convince them you belong in the reading group.
541->1258
1520
You: (Point to the art supplies.) "What's with the paint stuff?"
(Point to the art supplies.) "I'm guessing all this art stuff belongs to Cindy?"
(Point to the art supplies.) "I'm guessing these pots of gouache belong to Cindy?"
(Point to the art supplies.) "Gouache, huh? Is that the medium of the proletariat?"
541->1520
1836
You: "I'm ready... let's talk about infra-materialism."
541->1836
1425
Echo Maker: "Yes, that's probably the best way to describe it."
542->1425
543
You: "Sounds like a place for intense intellectual engagement. Exactly my kind of jam."
543->263
544
Kim Kitsuragi: "Repressed sexualities are something of an *idée fixe* of his."
544->6
545->356
546
Encyclopedia: Oh, right. During the disastrous retreat from Graad to Samara, Nilsen personally ordered up to 12,000 prisoners of war impaled on sharpened spruce trees in the Samaran backcountry. Thereafter his opponents began referring to him as the 'Apocalyptic Shrike'.
546->9
547
You: A woman's skirt swelling in the breeze...
1625
Conceptualization: The thought is almost too much to bear. What you wouldn't give to glimpse the bare legs behind it...
547->1625
548
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_sarcasm_sincerity"]
549
Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_sarcasm_sincerity"]
548->549
550
!(Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_sarcasm_sincerity"])
548->550
549->108
550->184
1710
Empathy: Mark it, there's something sinister in that one.
551->1710
552->110
553
You: "That sounds miserable."
839
Steban, the Student Communist: "It *is* miserable. That's probably why they're always committing suicide."
553->839
554
Echo Maker: “He’s studying macro- *and* micro-economics.”
554->189
555
Empathy: Another thing, these young men have the most exquisitely tuned insecurity receptors you've ever witnessed.
555->477
556
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'll say that beginnings are very delicate things. That makes it all the more important that you start with *the right books*."
1357
Echo Maker: "If he wants a real critical history, he's got to read 'On the Material Conditions of the Mirovan Boilermakers'."
556->1357
557
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
558
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
557->558
559
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2)
557->559
558->118
559->292
560
You: "I'm more into works of pure imagination, like 'Wirrâl'."
1470
Steban, the Student Communist: "Wait, you play 'Wirrâl'?"
560->1470
561->88
562
You: "Just consider the cockatoo for instance. How much do you really know about what they're like?"
569
Steban, the Student Communist: "Cockatoos? Fascinating. So tell us what you gathered from your ornithological researches."
562->569
563
Steban, the Student Communist: "Hmm, so you're saying you've got to have a certain practical foundation before you move onto more abstract topics. Okay, I'm following..."
1066
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
563->1066
564
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
565
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
564->565
566
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
564->566
1476
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. Soon you're debating whether a de-commodified spirituality is even possible under capitalism...
565->1476
567
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. Soon you're debating whether a de-commodified spirituality is even possible under capitalism...
566->567
567->485
1370
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_birch"]
568->1370
669
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
569->669
570
Steban, the Student Communist: "Sounds like old-fashioned revolutionary espionage. Let's see where this goes..."
570->487
571->392
573
Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"]
572->573
574
!(Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"])
572->574
1420
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
573->1420
959
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"]
574->959
575
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
576
IsKimHere()
575->576
577
!(IsKimHere())
575->577
672
Kim Kitsuragi: "The work he did on the autopsy was quite good, I can confirm."
576->672
1277
Steban, the Student Communist: "So have you figured out his real identity?"
577->1277
578
Kim Kitsuragi: "In all fairness, the whole situation is rather complicated."
1566
Untitled hub (13)
578->1566
579
You: "I'm not even sure there *is* a connection, but I needed to get the Pines' cooperation *somehow*."
579->122
580
Kim Kitsuragi: "Either that, or an *extremely* convincing act..."
580->493
581
Echo Maker: "It will turn up, I'm sure. In a way, it wants to be found..."
"I think he's saying it was communism that *actually* committed the murder, but it was love that brought him to that point..."
"There has to be some other element to it. We don't have the full story yet..."
"There has to be some other element to it. We don't have the full story yet..."
1567
You: "Perhaps. But that thread of the story is still unresolved..."
"Right, that's basically it. But like I said, it's only a working theory..."
581->1567
1479
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
582->1479
583
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true
584
Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true
583->584
585
!(Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true)
583->585
1825
Logic: It wouldn't be the first neurological episode you've experienced on this case.
584->1825
772
Kim Kitsuragi: "In any case, a change of subject might help."
585->772
587
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 2
586->587
588
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 2)
586->588
587->132
588->501
589->49
775
You: "This is absurd. I don't want to hit you." (Cancel task.)
589->775
987
You: "Hey, Kim. what if *you* hit him?"
589->987
1217
You: Hit him as hard as you can.
589->1217
1571
You: "Kim, how bad an idea is this?"
589->1571
590
Kim Kitsuragi: "You see, that attitude is precisely why the field manual's guidance is so valuable..."
776
Kim Kitsuragi: "It advises officers in physical altercations to rely on the open-palm strike, as opposed to the backhand, in non-lethal situations."
590->776
591
Kim Kitsuragi: "There's no *what if*, because I won't. This is your thing, remember?"
989
Jump to: [punchhub]
591->989
592
Interfacing: At the moment of contact the high-performance gripping that covers the palm of your glove causes your hand to *stick* for an instant against the young man's cheek. As your hand pulls away, his pale skin appears momentarily to follow with it.
592->865
593->228
594
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant nods.
1090
Esprit de Corps: And yet you can't help but sense a slight disappointment on his part. It seems a part of him hoped you would hit the pretentious young communist...
594->1090
595
Echo Maker: His companion leans forward, ready to jump in...
729
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.basic_guide_stage_three_reached"]
595->729
597
Echo Maker: "We've tried it ourselves, but thus far we haven't been able to absorb more than the preface and table of contents."
596->597
597->1023
598->142
599
Steban, the Student Communist: "Come on. We have things to do in the morning."
1202
Jump to: [Ask hub]
599->1202
600
Steban, the Student Communist: "It seems you're right, Uli. I should've listened to you." He sighs, then turns to you.
1399
Steban, the Student Communist: "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some *group business* to attend to."
600->1399
601
Steban, the Student Communist: "Aaagh! Shit!"
1207
Echo Maker: "It's alright, Steban. That was still *very* close. One of our best performances yet."
601->1207
602
Steban, the Student Communist: "Maybe your problem is that you think they're *yours* to handle..."
602->1014
604
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm not saying we abandon our beliefs. I just think it would be better if our group had more than *two* regular attendees."
1214
You: "Good point. Two's not really a 'group,' is it?"
604->1214
1307
You: "Nah, two's the best number. Three's when they start cramping your style."
604->1307
605
Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
606
IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
605->606
607
!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
605->607
606->522
607->1510
608->1597
609
Steban, the Student Communist: "More what?"
609->247
610
You: "Wait, who are these *infra-materialists*?"
610->427
611
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
611->541
612
Echo Maker: "That was remarkable."
612->1117
613
Logic: No, of course not. That's reductive in the extreme.
903
Electrochemistry: One-thousand percent, yes.
613->903
1318
Echo Maker: "Hmm. Then what does that make the *game designers*?"
614->1318
615
You: "Superstars."
615->24
616
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["TASK.probe_drivers_about_drugs_done"] == true and Variable["pier.joyce_lynching_hub_reached"] == true
617
Variable["TASK.probe_drivers_about_drugs_done"] == true and Variable["pier.joyce_lynching_hub_reached"] == true
616->617
618
!(Variable["TASK.probe_drivers_about_drugs_done"] == true and Variable["pier.joyce_lynching_hub_reached"] == true)
616->618
1612
Drama: How about a tale of adventure, intrigue, and derring-do?
617->1612
808
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["TASK.what_happened_between_klaasje_and_hanged_done"] and Variable["whirling.klaasje_i_wanna_have_fuck_with_you"]
618->808
908
Echo Maker: "It's too bad she hasn't developed the theoretical foundation to do truly radical work."
619->908
620
Jump to: [spacehub]
1032
spacehub
620->1032
621
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
622
IsKimHere()
621->622
623
!(IsKimHere())
621->623
622->97
623->812
624
Echo Maker: "Not as good as Steban's original idea, though."
624->1035
625
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_main_hub_reached"]
626
Variable["apt.student_main_hub_reached"]
625->626
627
!(Variable["apt.student_main_hub_reached"])
625->627
626->441
1234
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_left_pre_main_hub"]
627->1234
628
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
629
IsKimHere()
628->629
630
!(IsKimHere())
628->630
1328
Steban, the Student Communist: "And now they've shown up *in force* to break up our meeting!" He rubs his hands together excitedly.
629->1328
630->174
632
Jump to: [Drama: "Uh oh. No one said anything about *..."]
631->632
1702
Drama: Uh oh. No one said anything about *reading*. You'll just have to wing this one.
632->1702
633->342
634
Steban, the Student Communist: "They always say that when they haven't done the reading."
634->352
635->264
1238
You: "I didn't realise they taught radical Mazovian theory in the universities."
635->1238
1239
You: "Okay, so what does your reading group actually *read*?"
635->1239
1534
You: "I think I get the idea. Let me ask about something else."
635->1534
636
Kim Kitsuragi: "That doesn't sound so bad," the lieutenant says. "In any case, it's healthier than certain *other* after-hours pursuits I've seen officers engage in." He gives you a pointed look.
636->635
638
Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false
637->638
639
!(Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false)
637->639
834
Rhetoric: Whatever it is, one thing's perfectly clear: These young students have a much deeper understanding of communism than you do...
638->834
639->94
640->182
641->271
642
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, like that one. I wonder how many of these are still lying around in cellars or sealed up behind the masonry." He knits his brows together, and then looks up.
746
Steban, the Student Communist: "Can I hold it?"
642->746
1800
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
643->1800
644->747
645->111
645->467
1609
Logic: In other words, they have lost faith in their own relevance.
646->1609
647
Steban, the Student Communist: "You see, Econoclards claim to be communists, but in reality they're just liberals with hard-ons for spreadsheets."
647->188
648
Logic: Probably because they're the real names of 'Nasteb' and 'Exilus', the authors of that so-called essay about TipTop Tournée you read in *La Fumée*.
648->469
649
You: "To be fair, the theory *is* pretty out there."
944
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'll grant you it can be overwhelming at first, but once you understand the basics, it's all quite intuitive..."
649->944
650
You: Just go along with it.
650->1719
651->192
652
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_empathy_delicate_egos"]
653
Variable["apt.student_empathy_delicate_egos"]
652->653
654
!(Variable["apt.student_empathy_delicate_egos"])
652->654
653->373
654->277
655
Steban, the Student Communist: "Would it be alright if I kept this for a while? I'd just like some time to think about your comments." He turns to you.
655->475
655->476
1806
Steban, the Student Communist: "*You've* read our article?" For the first time since you've met the young man, words seem to desert him...
656->1806
657
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 5
658
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 5
657->658
659
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 5)
657->659
658->378
659->196
660->1266
662
Empathy: Like a river emptying into the sea, the discussion winds its way toward the character of the innocence herself.
661->662
662->479
759
Steban, the Student Communist: "The whole innocentic system practically requires that. Without true gods we're made to set them up for ourselves." He nods vigorously.
663->759
664
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
665
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
664->665
666
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
664->666
1358
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. Soon you're engaged in a thoughtful back-and-forth about the relationship between theme and mechanics...
665->1358
1058
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. Soon you're engaged in a thoughtful back-and-forth about the relationship between theme and mechanics...
666->1058
667
Steban, the Student Communist: "Interesting. Say more about that..."
1555
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
667->1555
668
You: "Listen, books are fine and all, but to be straight with you, they're no substitute for a real story."
1368
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Okay, we'll bite." The young man a..."]
668->1368
670
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
669->670
671
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
669->671
670->299
671->38
672->1277
673
Steban, the Student Communist: "Clearly there's a lot of ins-and-outs. It almost reminds me of a Dick Mullen novel."
673->395
674
You: "But isn't the point that money is itself just a collective fantasy?"
675
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
674->675
676
IsKimHere()
675->676
677
!(IsKimHere())
675->677
1735
Kim Kitsuragi: "Perhaps, but it's a fantasy that *pays* for things, like your hostel bill..."
676->1735
677->493
678
You: "... so anyway, my current theory is that she's somewhere along the coast."
1178
Steban, the Student Communist: "Makes sense. It doesn't seem like there's anywhere else she could have gone."
678->1178
679
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
680
IsKimHere()
679->680
681
!(IsKimHere())
679->681
682
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good god, have we really been talking about 'unpeeling time' for a quarter hour?"
680->682
1179
Steban, the Student Communist: "I suppose we'll have to leave it there. But listen, gendarme: We could use someone with your *breadth of expertise*. With just a little more theoretical background, I think you'll be able to make some real contributions."
681->1179
682->1179
683
Rhetoric: Now you're just psyching yourself out. You've read plenty of books. Maybe try again once you've got your wits about you?
683->974
684->45
685
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1
686
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1
685->686
687
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1)
685->687
1382
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4
686->1382
687->400
688
You: Why is this happening? I thought I had my shit together!
688->131
689
You: "I've come so far, please don't turn me back now."
"I'm sorry to beg, but I've come all this way, please, don't turn me back now."
1184
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man sighs. "God, it's so pitiful watching a grown man beg. I can hardly stand it."
689->1184
690->1666
691
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
692
IsKimHere()
691->692
693
!(IsKimHere())
691->693
692->406
693->986
695
CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
694->695
696
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_t500"))
694->696
695->506
696->988
697
Kim Kitsuragi: "Not the best look for the RCM, but I suppose it could've gone worse."
1085
Echo Maker: "Steban? Are you alright?"
697->1085
698
You: "You need this?" (Offer him Kim's handkerchief.)
1392
Steban, the Student Communist: "No, keep it. I feel... *great*, actually..." He turns to his companion. "Perhaps we should tangle with the gendarmerie more often."
698->1392
699
You: Say nothing.
1751
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm fine. Better than fine, actually." The young man rubs his cheek. "Perhaps we should tangle with the gendarmerie more often."
699->1751
700->1319
701
Echo Maker: His companion nods his head with expectation.
702
Rhetoric: These two are full of interesting stories and rumours about Nilsen, Mazov, and their revolutionary exploits. Half an hour passes and the conversation gradually wends its way to some unexpected places...
1091
Shivers: A cool breeze coming off the bay wraps itself around the Capeside Apartments. In a nearly forgotten part of that glorified construction site, surrounded by rusted pieces of scaffolding and walls of faded tarpaulin, a detective of the RCM debates the intricacies of an abstruse theory with a pair of university students...
702->1091
703
Savoir Faire: Watch out. You call yourself a communist and yet you've been accumulating a *suspiciously* large share of capital in just the last few days. It's almost certainly distorting your thinking.
703->60
704
Rhetoric: In other words, you'll forfeit their respect if you back out now.
1839
Jump to: [Ask hub]
704->1839
705
You: Let the thought go.
705->1840
706
You: "Who's in those skyscrapers over there?"
"Who's in La Delta?"
706->519
707->319
709
Variable["reputation.communist"] > 30
708->709
710
!(Variable["reputation.communist"] > 30)
708->710
1300
Steban, the Student Communist: "My god, is it really holding?"
709->1300
1501
Steban, the Student Communist: "..."
710->1501
711
You: "It's a nice thought."
1008
Steban, the Student Communist: "A thought can be a very powerful thing. That's the whole idea of infra-materialism..."
711->1008
712->418
713
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's because your brain is floating in ideology, gendarme. It's practically drowning in it..."
1505
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.habit_alcohol"]
713->1505
714
You: "So... you're saying women are only bourgeois because of ideology?"
714->153
715
You: "I need to take some time to think about all this..." (Conclude.)
1417
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man nods but says nothing. He appears to be distracted by something...
715->1417
716
Rhetoric: It's too late. You've already opened your mouth to speak...
716->880
717
Steban, the Student Communist: "Sure, we're here most every night." He shrugs. "Maybe we'll catch you again."
717->424
718
You: "As something of an art critic myself, I support this poster plan."
1775
Steban, the Student Communist: "Glad to hear it. I was thinking we might be able to get Cindy to design the posters..."
718->1775
719
Steban, the Student Communist: "About that question you asked earlier. It reminded me of a certain poem that you might appreciate..."
1309
Conceptualization: Ah, so he *has* read something besides his books of abstruse theory!
719->1309
720->1597
721
Steban, the Student Communist: "Perhaps some vestigial sexual objectification from your pre-revolutionary consciousness." He nods.
892
Echo Maker: "It happens to the best of us."
721->892
927
Conceptualization: Gradually, the pleasant sensation recedes. You turn your attention to the two young men, who appear just about finished.
722->927
723
Logic: Effects like... having more people in their reading group?
723->245
724->167
725
Steban, the Student Communist: "Thanks, Uli. When the idea is sound the words just sort of flow."
725->338
1435
Echo Maker: "Hmph. Leave it to the gendarme to enforce bourgeois stylistic values."
726->1435
727
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's an old construction site." He looks around. "They've been trying to restore these apartments for years, but as you can see they haven't made much progress."
727->530
728->412
728->515
1096
You: "... all I'm saying is if you want to get *really extra-physical*, pyrholidon is the way to go..."
728->1096
730
Variable["inventory.basic_guide_stage_three_reached"]
729->730
731
!(Variable["inventory.basic_guide_stage_three_reached"])
729->731
994
Rhetoric: They're impressed that you dove right in to the most advanced parts of the theory. Half an hour evaporates and the conversation is still wending its way toward new and unexpected places...
730->994
731->702
732->1017
733
Echo Maker: "That means go home, gendarme."
734
Echo Maker: "He should know the meeting starts at 22.00 *sharp*." His companion looks up at you and squints.
"They should know the meeting starts at 22.00 *sharp*..." His companion looks up at you and squints.
1437
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white")
734->1437
735
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_drama_coincidence"]
736
Variable["apt.student_drama_coincidence"]
735->736
737
!(Variable["apt.student_drama_coincidence"])
735->737
1696
Logic: Based on the prevalence of white Saramirizian suits in Martinaise? Extremely low.
736->1696
737->343
1526
Steban, the Student Communist: "Unlikely. That's real Saramirizian twill. Only old Saramirizian communists and drug smugglers wear those anymore..."
738->1526
1041
Echo Maker: "'Those committed to the rights of property are those most apt to violate them'." His companion nods emphatically.
739->1041
740->262
741
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Go ahead." The young man gives you..."]
741->1620
742
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_halflight_true_name"]
743
Variable["apt.student_halflight_true_name"]
742->743
744
!(Variable["apt.student_halflight_true_name"])
742->744
743->546
744->9
745
Steban, the Student Communist: "Our stance? What, does he want to know if the SRV has established a party line on lynchings in Martinaise?" The two young men look at one another.
"In any case, it's not like the SRV has established a party line on the subject of lynchings in Martinaise..." The two young men look at one another.
1628
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["tc.srv"]
745->1628
932
You: "I'd prefer you didn't." (Put it away.)
746->932
1708
You: "Here." (Give him the rifle.)
746->1708
747->12
748->367
749->465
750->369
751
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, there you have it. You're not a Gottwaldian, then."
751->274
752
Empathy: Ah yes, the much maligned bean counters, ensconced in their think-tanks and highrises, believing they can save the world through a series of incremental, assiduously technocratic reforms...
752->112
937
You: "I don't get it. Are the beans a *metaphor*?"
752->937
1051
You: "What's wrong with making progress through moderate economic reforms?"
752->1051
753
Jump to: [Encyclopedia: "One of Kras Mazov's closest associa..."]
1447
Encyclopedia: One of Kras Mazov's closest associates, Ignus Nilsen was a leading political and military figure in the Antecentennial Revolution.
753->1447
754->541
755
Empathy: That's sarcasm. He does not expect you to subscribe to radical communist periodicals.
1352
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_term_paper"]
755->1352
756
You: "Aha, you two wrote the piece about motor carriage racing."
1257
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""*You've* read our article?" For th..."]
756->1257
757
You: "There might be something to that. I recently finished 'The Greatest Innocence'."
1810
Steban, the Student Communist: "Hmm, don't think I'm familiar with it. Give us a quick summary, if you don't mind."
757->1810
1553
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ha! It's good you were able to see through even that gauzy nostalgic pulp."
758->1553
759->1357
760->117
761
You: "To be honest, these days I prefer escapist stuff, like classic Dick Mullen."
761->293
762->29
763
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""Yes, I would say he's got serious..."]
763->497
764
Steban, the Student Communist: "Grain spirits are dangerous. That's why Comrade Mazov himself preferred chamomile tea, as I'm sure you're aware."
764->1170
765->391
766->487
767
You: "That's just it, though. She was just one more pawn, just like how the Wild Pines rep tried to play me."
767->673
768
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's sweet how excited you are. Come back when you're done. We'll be here pretty much every night after 22.00."
768->1381
769->399
770
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man gives you a concerned look.
771
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Is everything alright? Is there so..."]
770->771
771->45
772->858
773
Steban, the Student Communist: "Everything alright, gendarme? You look a little green about the gills..."
773->504
774
You: "It's important that I further my critical studies."
774->133
991
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
775->991
776->311
777
Authority: That's right. You don't *owe* him any explanation.
777->255
778
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, let's get right to it."
778->595
779
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, yes. That's certainly one of the *least* developed parts of the theory, but also one of the most intriguing."
780->1675
1095
Steban, the Student Communist: "Fascinating..."
781->1095
1587
Steban, the Student Communist: "Those same theorists have hypothesised that revolution may in fact create a *counter-force* that prevents the pale from expanding."
782->1587
783
You: "Kim, what should I ask?"
1098
Kim Kitsuragi: "Detective, how should *I* know what questions *you* have about communism?"
783->1098
784
You: "I need a minute to think about it."
784->599
785
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man considers your words for a minute.
786
Composure: You're witnessing his ironic armour melt before you. This is his *true self* you're seeing now.
785->786
1766
Empathy: He's thinking about someone...
786->1766
787->146
788
You: "Unfinished."
1769
Steban, the Student Communist: "Yes, that's a good way to think of it... a work-in-progress."
788->1769
789
Rhetoric: Before long, a modest tower begins to rise from the pile of matchboxes...
1203
Hand/Eye Coordination: You place every box with the utmost delicacy and precision.
789->1203
790
Echo Maker: "..."
1502
Steban, the Student Communist: "..."
790->1502
791->81
792
You: "You want her to live in a better world."
1682
Steban, the Student Communist: "I want us *all* to live in a better world. But yes... she's a part of it... I guess we're all a part of it..."
792->1682
793->418
794
You: "What does this have to do with communism?"
1015
Steban, the Student Communist: "Everything, man. That is part of the communist project, to destroy the ideological structures that reduce men and women to these hollow shells of identity."
794->1015
795
Steban, the Student Communist: "Of course it's possible. Just extremely difficult. You practically have to be a world-historical individual to do it."
1844
Steban, the Student Communist: "Do you know the story of Dobreva and Abadanaiz?"
795->1844
796->880
796->1211
797
Steban, the Student Communist: "Wait a minute, if you don't mind..."
797->154
1107
Echo Maker: "Hmm. I thought the *cloak-and-dagger routine* made us seem more appealing."
798->1107
799
You: "Sounds like something Cindy could help with..."
1020
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's *exactly* what I was thinking..."
799->1020
800->164
1600
Echo Maker: "Mazov says it's the arrogance of capital that will be its ultimate undoing. It does not believe it can fail, which is why it must fail."
801->1600
802->1852
1229
Steban, the Student Communist: "Cindy is... how to describe her *role*..."
803->1229
804->527
805
Jump to: [readinghub]
805->110
1610
sweatfailhub
806->1610
807->206
809
Variable["TASK.what_happened_between_klaasje_and_hanged_done"] and Variable["whirling.klaasje_i_wanna_have_fuck_with_you"]
808->809
810
!(Variable["TASK.what_happened_between_klaasje_and_hanged_done"] and Variable["whirling.klaasje_i_wanna_have_fuck_with_you"])
808->810
809->165
810->257
811
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, sure. It's definitely *interesting*, I would say..."
1034
Reaction Speed: 'Interesting' -- isn't that just binoclard for 'I don't have a real opinion'?
811->1034
812->620
813
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckItem("jacket_interisolar_white")
814
CheckItem("jacket_interisolar_white")
813->814
815
!(CheckItem("jacket_interisolar_white"))
813->815
820
Savoir Faire: Just a moment -- could this be the former owner of a certain jacket you 'acquired' recently?
814->820
815->349
816
Steban, the Student Communist: "Would you mind? We've got *group business* to take care of."
816->733
817
You: "Why do you sound *excited* to be raided by the RCM?"
817->100
818->631
1527
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_composure_tension"]
819->1527
820->349
822
Variable["apt.student_phys_int_boxer"]
821->822
823
!(Variable["apt.student_phys_int_boxer"])
821->823
922
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"]
822->922
1703
Steban, the Student Communist: "We all have to take precautions, especially during these delicate times. What matters is that you've made it, and that you've done the reading."
823->1703
824->452
825
Logic: It's obvious they take this 'group' of theirs extremely seriously. Whatever you do, *don't* compare it to a common book club.
1332
Half Light: *YAWWWWN!* Can you imagine anything duller than a bunch of binoclards yanking each others' knobs?
825->1332
826
You: "Is this where I can square off in *theory combat*?"
1134
Steban, the Student Communist: "We have been known to get into some *spirited* debates. But it's always in service of our larger intellectual and ideological project."
826->1134
827
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere() and Variable["plaza.kim_said_stopped_obsessing"] == true
828
IsKimHere() and Variable["plaza.kim_said_stopped_obsessing"] == true
827->828
829
!(IsKimHere() and Variable["plaza.kim_said_stopped_obsessing"] == true)
827->829
828->544
926
Steban, the Student Communist: "But now we're getting hung up on the pathologies of capitalism. Let's move on."
829->926
830
Volition: Uh oh, you can feel your attention span rapidly deteriorating...
830->357
831
Conceptualization: Communist theorists love puns, in case that wasn't obvious.
831->360
832
Steban, the Student Communist: "But, of course, our *special emphasis* is on the theories of Ignus Nilsen and his followers, especially the infra-materialists."
832->1447
833
Echo Maker: "This gendarme talks just like a moralist. They *love* getting on their high horses about so-called 'war crimes'."
833->1624
834->361
1694
Conceptualization: The way they billow in the night breeze reminds you of something...
835->1694
836->1694
837
You: "*Are* there any operational communists in Martinaise?" (Proceed.)
1247
Steban, the Student Communist: "No, unfortunately. The communards were hunted down and killed nearly to a man. All that's left of them are bones and old rifles."
837->1247
838
Savoir Faire: Delivered with the smug assurance of a schoolboy reciting a maxim he's committed to memory.
838->363
839->274
840
Conceptualization: Just a minute. Steban... Ulixes... *why* do those names ring the faintest of bells?
1716
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"]
840->1716
841->473
842
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, yes, that's the crux of our thesis. Ulixes is especially interested in capitalist violence."
950
Echo Maker: "Really just violence in general. I find it *fascinating*."
842->950
843
Steban, the Student Communist: "... assuming he's even still interested, that is."
843->115
844
You: "But once you've got a political lens, you can read anything critically. Even those Hjelmdallermann books."
844->667
845->117
846
challengebookhub
846->119
846->560
846->668
846->761
847->26
848->207
849
Steban, the Student Communist: "Interesting, I always thought that stuff was common folk superstitions repackaged as bourgeois spiritualism, but maybe I've been overly dismissive?"
849->564
850
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["yard.hanged_spoke_to_the_corpse"]
851
Variable["yard.hanged_spoke_to_the_corpse"]
850->851
852
!(Variable["yard.hanged_spoke_to_the_corpse"])
850->852
962
You: "Right, of course. I'm really talking about my top-notch forensics skills."
851->962
963
You: "No, I mean literally."
851->963
1174
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
852->1174
853
Echo Maker: "If you encountered it in a novel, you'd say it sounded like a plot contrivance, or like a fantasy."
853->42
853->674
854
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 1
855
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 1
854->855
856
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 1)
854->856
971
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 4
855->971
856->127
857
Kim Kitsuragi: "It seems he's lost his words. A case of momentary aphasia, it looks like..." The lieutenant does not appear overly concerned.
857->583
1386
Composure: This isn't going to work. Maybe there's some other way you could prove yourself to them?
858->1386
859
You: Why am I getting so worked up? They're just a couple of kids!
859->212
860
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["yard.cuno_fist_fail"]
861
Variable["yard.cuno_fist_fail"]
860->861
862
!(Variable["yard.cuno_fist_fail"])
860->862
1285
Half Light: Now's your chance to redeem yourself for that dive you took before the gremlin child.
861->1285
1185
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["gates.mhead_fight_failed_another_time"]
862->1185
1391
You: "What does the manual say?"
863->1391
1572
You: "I don't need a book to tell me how to deck a guy."
863->1572
864
Physical Instrument: If you were trying this against an actual opponent, it would be a meagre, embarrassing effort.
1188
Logic: Fortunately, you're trying *not* to cause any real damage.
864->1188
1289
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
865->1289
866
Savoir Faire: You've accrued a modest account balance over the last few days, but probably not enough to warp your thinking *too* much.
866->60
867
Shivers: Now the breeze has subsided. All is still except for the last bits of steam rising from the coffee pot.
867->873
868
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
869
IsKimHere()
868->869
870
!(IsKimHere())
868->870
995
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, only the detective here would draw a connection between a made-up division of para-psychics and the addled ramblings of a defunct communist mage..."
869->995
1585
Esprit de Corps: A fortunate turn that the lieutenant isn't here. Imagine what he would have to say about this.
870->1585
1201
You: "... or maybe I'm wrong. It could really go either way."
871->1201
1761
You: "... anyway, I think I've made my point."
871->1761
872
Rhetoric: The evening is winding down...
873->248
874
Rhetoric: The question you mean to ask is both very complicated and incredibly simple...
1000
Endurance: Take a deep breath. Best to go one piece at a time.
874->1000
875->235
876
Steban, the Student Communist: "Easy, Uli..."
876->236
877
Steban, the Student Communist: "Alright, gendarme, your turn."
1500
Interfacing: You've got this. Theories aside, they're only matchboxes.
877->1500
878
Echo Maker: "It is, it is..."
878->416
879->541
880->419
881
Steban, the Student Communist: "No. They were the Revolutionary Lovers, the Dual Commissars of Revolution in Insulinde."
881->329
883
Variable["gates.manana_communist_revolutionary_lovers"]
882->883
884
!(Variable["gates.manana_communist_revolutionary_lovers"])
882->884
1845
Encyclopedia: It's too bad they wound up equally dead on some nameless island in Ozonne...
883->1845
1306
Encyclopedia: What became of them, though? There seems to be a blank paragraph in the history books...
884->1306
885
Jump to: [FINAL RC FAIL HUB]
885->1017
1213
Echo Maker: "That's interesting. I thought people *loved* group interviews."
886->1213
1846
Echo Maker: "I suppose we have read through most of the infra-materialist canon by this point."
887->1846
888
You: "As someone who's dabbled in murals himself, I support this plan."
1511
Steban, the Student Communist: "Ah, it makes sense. There's already a sub-theme of radical street art running through our reading group..."
888->1511
889
Steban, the Student Communist: "Exactly! I was thinking we could print them in the old communard style, with huge slogans..."
904
Echo Maker: "Hmmm, it *does* sound pretty cool when you describe it like that."
889->904
890
Echo Maker: "When nothing could be further from the truth."
1513
Steban, the Student Communist: "Right. We'll have to table this question until we've considered the potential downstream effects."
890->1513
891
Echo Maker: "Or even *third*."
1794
Conceptualization: What are these levels they're talking about? This doesn't sound like any communism you've encountered before...
891->1794
892->395
893
You: "Okay, but what if you *know* there isn't going to be a future?"
1222
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm not sure I get what you're driving at. Of course there will be a future, even if the form it takes might appear unrecognisable. That's the spiral of progress."
893->1222
894
Interfacing: The charge in the air has changed. You allow the moment to pass.
1223
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
894->1223
1224
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's fine, Uli. That's enough parlour games for one night. We should clean up."
895->1224
896
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
897
IsKimHere()
896->897
898
!(IsKimHere())
896->898
897->432
898->330
899
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, the problem is almost certainly your *lack of commitment*, and not, say, gravity."
899->433
901
IsKimHere()
900->901
902
!(IsKimHere())
900->902
901->434
1681
Visual Calculus: There's no way it should stay up like that. How is the weight being distributed?
902->1681
1540
You: "Speaking from experience, definitely."
903->1540
1541
You: "Probably not."
903->1541
904->1596
905
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_cindy_supplies_seen"]
906
Variable["apt.student_cindy_supplies_seen"]
905->906
907
!(Variable["apt.student_cindy_supplies_seen"])
905->907
1855
Steban, the Student Communist: He sighs. "Yeah, it's hers. She just sort of... moved it all in a few months ago."
906->1855
1431
Steban, the Student Communist: He sighs. "That's Cindy's stuff. She just sort of... moved it all in a few months ago."
907->1431
1233
Steban, the Student Communist: "I think she'll get there, though. She's still looking for a subject equal to her ambitions."
908->1233
909->725
910
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_concept_breeze"]
911
Variable["apt.student_concept_breeze"]
910->911
912
!(Variable["apt.student_concept_breeze"])
910->912
911->107
911->268
911->547
1125
Conceptualization: It reminds you of something, but you can't think of what. Oh well, let's see if the students are still going...
912->1125
914
Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_cancelled"]
913->914
915
!(Variable["TASK.get_yourself_organised_cancelled"])
913->915
914->816
915->625
916
You: "Look, man, it doesn't even fit you, anyway."
1443
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're right. It was a gift from my grandmother. But now you've *got* to keep it..."
916->1443
917
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant sighs. "Something tells me these young men are not very experienced with law enforcement."
917->261
918
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.communist_room_broke_into"]
919
Variable["apt.communist_room_broke_into"]
918->919
920
!(Variable["apt.communist_room_broke_into"])
918->920
919->351
920->1130
921
Echo Maker: The young man's companion reflexively snorts at the mention of Gottwaldians and Econoclards.
921->1703
923
Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"]
922->923
924
!(Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"])
922->924
1131
Inland Empire: This must be the *theory combat* the boiadeiro warned you about! En garde!
923->1131
924->1703
925->103
926->635
1451
Echo Maker: "And before that, there was Abelard's 'Un Pays Infernal'..."
927->1451
928
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
929
IsKimHere()
928->929
930
!(IsKimHere())
928->930
929->183
930->362
931
Encyclopedia: The SRV refers to the People's Republic of Samara. Established as a socialist utopia by survivors of the Revolution, it has since degenerated into a bureaucratic workers' state under the decades-long rule of President Sapormat 'Sport' Knezhinisky.
1338
Echo Maker: "Though historically speaking, the SRV *has supported* direct action against right-wing paramilitary squads, especially when they're doing the Indotribes' dirty work."
931->1338
932->185
933
Rhetoric: Whatever this turnip business is about, one thing *is* perfectly clear: These young students have a much deeper understanding of communism than you do...
933->15
934
You: "What's wrong with beans? I like beans."
935
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, sure. But Econoclards are *obsessed* with beans. They love thinking about beans, they love counting beans, but most of all, they love building models to predict how many beans there'll be *in the future*."
934->935
1638
Encyclopedia: Nota bene: 'Econoclard' is an extra-pejorative form of the already pejorative name 'Mazovian Economists', a moderate school of Mazovianism, which advocates a gradual transition to communism through carefully managed economic modernisation rather than violent social revolution.
935->1638
936
Steban, the Student Communist: "You're no Econoclard, then. They're *obsessed* with beans. They love thinking about beans, they love counting beans, but most of all, they love building models to predict how many beans there'll be *in the future*."
936->1638
1544
Echo Maker: "If only! They've got all the beans accounted for in their asset sheets, their quarterly budgets, their future projections. But for some reason there are never enough beans to go around, so we've just got to cut our bean rations in half..."
937->1544
938
Echo Maker: "Basically indistinguishable from fascists. You'd need an x-ray machine to tell the difference."
1715
Jump to: [readinghub]
938->1715
939
Steban, the Student Communist: Another sigh. “It's an unfortunate story. You see, our ex-comrade Maurice is something of an economist...”
939->554
940
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"] == true and Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"] == false and Variable["apt.student_discussed_article"] == false
941
Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"] == true and Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"] == false and Variable["apt.student_discussed_article"] == false
940->941
942
!(Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_pseudonyms"] == true and Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"] == false and Variable["apt.student_discussed_article"] == false)
940->942
941->840
942->1346
943
Steban, the Student Communist: "We're extremely disappointed. Maurice used to be a good friend of ours."
943->1719
1347
Echo Maker: "Providing you haven't been hanging out with non-communists, like Maurice."
944->1347
1546
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man frowns at the little pile of boxes on the floor.
945->1546
946
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.fumee_logic_anagrams"] or Variable["inventory.fumee_rhetoric_names"]
947
Variable["inventory.fumee_logic_anagrams"] or Variable["inventory.fumee_rhetoric_names"]
946->947
948
!(Variable["inventory.fumee_logic_anagrams"] or Variable["inventory.fumee_rhetoric_names"])
946->948
947->1806
949
Steban, the Student Communist: "I don't think so." The young man gives you a curious look. "Unless you've been hanging around the Cultural Studies faculty at the École Normale de Revachol..."
948->949
1351
Echo Maker: "Perhaps he subscribes to 'La Fumée'."
949->1351
950->19
951
1st Q Hub
951->21
951->116
1154
You: "Like you guys, I really get into political and historical subjects."
951->1154
1466
You: "For me, it's more about finding the right thing for the right moment."
951->1466
952
Steban, the Student Communist: "... though I'd love to hear your take on it."
952->22
952->23
1812
You: "I thought it was pretty fun. No need to intellectualise it too much."
952->1812
953
Echo Maker: "Drip after drip after drip after drip..." The young man's companion appears to be mashing his fist into his palm.
953->24
954
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's enough, Uli. It's the gendarme's opinions we're interested in."
954->1168
955->121
956->298
957->389
1057
Steban, the Student Communist: "Absolutely. It's the only proper foundation to develop a real understanding of events." He nods in vigorous agreement.
"... don't you think, though, that you can only really understand current events if you have a firm background in history and political theory?"
958->1057
960
Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"]
959->960
961
!(Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"])
959->961
1821
Steban, the Student Communist: "... so is it typical for men of your background to use that, um, formulation?"
960->1821
1276
Steban, the Student Communist: "I'm just trying to imagine what it would be like to wake up with no concept of what money is..."
961->1276
962->575
963->491
964
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
965
IsKimHere()
964->965
966
!(IsKimHere())
964->966
965->40
966->492
967
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"]
968
Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"]
967->968
969
!(Variable["apt.student_story_klaasje"])
967->969
968->254
968->303
1823
You: "... and anyway, even if you could somehow *unpeel* time, it wouldn't be the *you* you who gets rich from those investments..."
969->1823
970->854
972
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 4
971->972
973
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] < 4)
971->973
972->683
1072
Rhetoric: Maybe now's a good time to call it an evening. Why don't you find a good book, clear your mind, and come back when you're refreshed?
973->1072
974->541
976
Variable["apt.student_composure_wc_failed_once"]
975->976
977
!(Variable["apt.student_composure_wc_failed_once"])
975->977
976->305
1743
Composure: Is it getting warm in here? There seems to be a little pool of sweat forming in the depression of your lower back.
977->1743
978
Kim Kitsuragi: "Everything in order, detective?" The lieutenant gives you a concerned look.
978->306
1661
You: Nod your head yes.
978->1661
979->45
980
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, it *is*, and it only gets *more disco* from here..."
980->1827
981
Steban, the Student Communist: "What... really? You're saying... but there's no way... uh huh... yes, okay, I'm listening..."
981->437
983
Variable["gates.mhead_fight_success"]
982->983
984
!(Variable["gates.mhead_fight_success"])
982->984
1830
Half Light: You've done it before, and against a *much* tougher opponent. You'll make mincemeat of this fool's jaw.
983->1830
984->405
985
Kim Kitsuragi: "Ah, so we're beating the youth now? That's an unexpected development."
985->986
986->407
987->591
1668
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, gendarme? What are we waiting for?"
988->1668
989->589
990
Physical Instrument: OH YEAH, we're gonna spin this kid like a top!
1669
Logic: Wait-wait-wait, you were trying *not* to do that!
990->1669
992
IsKimHere()
991->992
993
!(IsKimHere())
991->993
1195
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.kim"] >1
992->1195
993->410
994->1091
1676
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man ignores the lieutenant. "But I suppose it makes sense that some common strain of infra-materialist thought would persist in the RCM, even to this day, given its origins."
995->1676
996
You: "I changed my mind. I don't have any questions."
1398
Echo Maker: "He says he doesn't have any questions, Steban."
996->1398
997
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
998
Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
997->998
999
!(Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"])
997->999
998->874
1400
Rhetoric: Alright, here we go. We're devoting all your available brain cells to coming up with a question about communism. Scratch that, to coming up with *the* question about communism, the alpha and omega of communism questions, and that question is:
999->1400
1000->67
1000->68
1000->144
1590
You: "... what's the point?"
1001->1590
1002
You: Say nothing.
1413
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man appears lost inside his own thoughts...
1002->1413
1003
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man looks at you a moment, then at his companion.
1003->517
1004
Rhetoric: For a long moment, no one says a word. You're all three transfixed.
For a long moment, no one says a word. Even the lieutenant is transfixed.
1004->790
1005
You: Say nothing.
1005->612
1006
You: "Why do you call her 'mums'"?
1594
Steban, the Student Communist: "Because I always have. Though I try not to do it too often now... it's kind of embarrassing, isn't it?"
1006->1594
1007->711
1302
You: "I don't know if I believe it, though."
1007->1302
1412
Empathy: His words aren't really directed at you. He's wrestling with himself now...
1008->1412
1009
Shivers: A cold wind whips at the canvas. From far below, the sounds of waves smashing themselves against the rocks. You are exposed.
1303
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_shivers_exposed"]
1009->1303
1100
Perception (Hearing): Somehow it sounded even *worse* out loud.
1010->1100
1011
Endurance: You only said what everyone else was thinking. Look around -- do you see any women here?
1011->151
1012
You: "Because I can't handle *them*."
"Because I can't handle them. I'm a sorry excuse for a man."
1012->602
1013
Electrochemistry: Is "Ideology" some kind of high-proof liquor? Because that's the only thing your brain is floating in.
1013->1014
1209
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's what ideology is. It's like there are these invisible forces everywhere, pushing and tugging you this way and that, and you don't even know they're *there*."
1014->1209
1015->1844
1016
You: "I thought that was just some gibberish you made up for the passphrase."
1016->881
1017->152
1017->341
1017->714
1017->715
1103
You: "It's too bad they died like all the rest of the communards."
1017->1103
1415
You: "What happened to them, Dobreva and Abadanaiz?"
1017->1415
1018->717
1019->155
1020->438
1021
Steban, the Student Communist: "... and next thing you know there are *budget cuts*, so now we've got to cut the bean rations in half *again*..."
1021->647
1022->721
1024
Variable["apt.student_shivers_breeze"]
1023->1024
1025
!(Variable["apt.student_shivers_breeze"])
1023->1025
1024->867
1025->328
1026
Echo Maker: "And of course, we'll be shooting right back."
1026->1314
1028
IsKimHere()
1027->1028
1029
!(IsKimHere())
1027->1029
1028->79
1029->1499
1030->162
1031
Echo Maker: "See? Even a gendarme gets it."
1031->186
1232
You: "Now I'm wondering, what's the deal with this place?"
1032->1232
1613
You: "Okay, let's move on."
1032->1613
1782
You: "You want me to kick her out for you? I've served an eviction or two recently."
1032->1782
1856
You: "Do you like her art?"
1032->1856
1033->1032
1034->334
1035->1032
1037
IsKimHere()
1036->1037
1038
!(IsKimHere())
1036->1038
1324
Kim Kitsuragi: "Well, I think we're probably finished here, detective."
1037->1324
1523
Rhetoric: Yes, it's probably time for you to take your leave as well.
1038->1523
1039
Jump to: [CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_wh ...]
1039->441
1040->259
1041->448
1042
You: "You weren't exactly easy to find."
1531
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's the whole point, of course. We can't just have *anybody* waltzing in here. Martinaise is crawling with reactionary infiltrators."
1042->1531
1043
You: (Just wing it.) "The reading, yes. I've *definitely* done that."
1043->102
1044->103
1045
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""It doesn't sound like he's done th..."]
1045->1331
1046->833
1047
Conceptualization: Slowly, too slowly, the pain fades from your side. You turn your attention to the two young men, who appear just about finished.
1047->1451
1048
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""But, of course, our *special empha..."]
1048->832
1049->465
1050
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's why they spend all their time smoking cigarettes and writing long works of criticism that make you want to commit suicide."
1050->553
1343
You: "Sounds rewarding, actually."
1050->1343
1249
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, please. There's nothing 'moderate' about their love for counting beans. If I were a Gottwaldian, I would probably diagnose them with *Bohnenfixierung*..."
1051->1249
1250
Echo Maker: "It was unbelievable. He said, 'Turnips don't care if they're grown by communists, moralists, or welkin. They grow just the same'."
1052->1250
1053->110
1054->377
1722
Empathy: He has the look of a man spread naked on the operating table. He can feel the cool metal of the scalpel, the bracing sting of the antiseptic, and yet his expression isn't wholly unpleasant. A part of him actually seems to *enjoy* the attention.
1055->1722
1056
Untitled hub (07)
1056->194
1056->756
1057->379
1057->757
1057->844
1809
You: "That reminds me, Kim and I just played this interesting game, 'Suzerainty'."
1057->1809
1642
Encyclopedia: Best of all, your arguments are liberally seasoned with references to particular historical events and personages.
1058->1642
1059
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but don't you think that pornographic fascist mythology gets pretty tiresome after a few books?"
1360
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("shirt_hjelmdall")
1059->1360
1364
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
1060->1364
1813
Steban, the Student Communist: "Sounds to me like a typical bourgeois social novel, designed to assuage the egos of frustrated housewives and win international awards."
1061->1813
1062
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant doesn't speak, but you believe you detect a slight widening of his eyes, as though he never expected such a cogent thought to emerge from your mouth.
1727
Steban, the Student Communist: "A compelling point, for sure. We'd probably be better off if more police officers learned to think so reflectively about their social function."
1062->1727
1063->763
1064
You: "I enjoy thinking about truly fundamental concepts, like the alphabet for instance."
1064->563
1065
You: "I can't say how reliable it is, but I did just read a book on pale-centric medicine."
1065->849
1067
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
1066->1067
1068
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
1066->1068
1475
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. Soon you're subjecting even the alphabet to a meticulous archaeologico-materialist critique.
1067->1475
1650
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. Soon you're subjecting even the alphabet to a meticulous archaeologico-materialist critique.
1068->1650
1069
Inland Empire: It's better not to know, that's what the wind is telling you.
1069->1170
1070
Steban, the Student Communist: "Wait, are you saying the hanged man wasn't really *hanged*?"
1070->395
1071
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
1071->541
1072->974
1073
Kim Kitsuragi: "That's a 'yes,' I take it? Can you give me an affirmative?"
1181
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1
1073->1181
1074
Rhetoric: You're intimidated by all the books these kids have read, aren't you? Maybe a trip to the bookstore would do you some good.
1074->684
1074->979
1075->685
1076
You: It's because I don't do well in interviews.
1282
Composure: No, you're terrible at them. The thought of everyone looking at you, judging you, makes you want to heave, frankly...
1076->1282
1077
Half Light: Now's your chance to avenge yourself for your embarrassment by the harbour gates.
1077->218
1079
IsKimHere()
1078->1079
1080
!(IsKimHere())
1078->1080
1079->985
1080->986
1081
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
1082
IsKimHere()
1081->1082
1083
!(IsKimHere())
1081->1083
1831
Kim Kitsuragi: "Ah, we're replaying *this* little episode. Please, do try to stay on your feet this time."
1082->1831
1083->986
1573
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_faln")
1084->1573
1085->226
1085->698
1085->699
1086
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_kept"] or Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_confessed"]
1087
Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_kept"] or Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_confessed"]
1086->1087
1088
!(Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_kept"] or Variable["whirling.kim_mysterious_confessed"])
1086->1088
1089
Inland Empire: Oh god, tell us you haven't done it *again*. Are you twice the killer now?
1087->1089
1088->57
1089->593
1090->410
1198
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["cargo.mrlb_greet_done"]
1091->1198
1092
Steban, the Student Communist: MoneyAmount() >=2000
1093
MoneyAmount() >=2000
1092->1093
1094
!(MoneyAmount() >=2000)
1092->1094
1757
Steban, the Student Communist: MoneyAmount() >=10000
1093->1757
1584
Savoir Faire: Nothing to fear. Judging from your account balance, you should be thinking *extremely* clearly.
1094->1584
1095->868
1096->233
1494
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, you could always *ask*, I guess." The two young men look at each other a moment.
1097->1494
1098->143
1099
You: Say nothing.
1497
Steban, the Student Communist: "Right. Basically an infra-materialist parlour game. Let's forget about it."
1099->1497
1100->1011
1101
Steban, the Student Communist: "What makes you ask *that* question, above any other?"
1101->241
1101->420
1101->1012
1414
You: "I don't know! It's just what my brain told me to say."
1101->1414
1102
d&a hub
1102->1016
1773
You: "You mean the Revolutionary Lovers?"
1102->1773
1774
You: "I don't know what you're talking about. Who were they?"
1102->1774
1416
Steban, the Student Communist: "They died on their own terms, like real revolutionaries. There's a lot to say for that."
1103->1416
1104->85
1105
Jump to: [FINAL RC FAIL HUB]
1105->1017
1683
Echo Maker: "Exactly what I've been saying. On fundamental matters there can be no compromise!"
1106->1683
1508
Steban, the Student Communist: "I thought so, too, but perhaps we overdid it, just a little..."
1107->1508
1108
Steban, the Student Communist: "I suppose that would open us up to charges of hypocrisy... not to mention it might make us *look pretty desperate* for new members..."
1108->890
1109
Encyclopedia: It's hard to overstate how unimpressed he is that you've never heard of this world-historical individual.
1707
Steban, the Student Communist: "He *also* happens to be the greatest communist theorist after Mazov himself. It was Nilsen who first postulated the existence of ideological plasm, which forms the basis of infra-materialist theory."
1109->1707
1111
IsKimHere()
1110->1111
1112
!(IsKimHere())
1110->1112
1111->74
1112->1652
1113->160
1114
You: "We should try again, all of us."
1114->1003
1115
Kim Kitsuragi: "I'll sit this one out. I don't think you want my *skeptical materialism* interfering..."
1115->789
1116->895
1784
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""We should probably clean up...""]
1117->1784
1118
Echo Maker: "We should probably clean up..."
1118->172
1119
Echo Maker: "I suppose that makes it a historical inevitability, beyond contradiction."
1119->1596
1120
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["TASK.perform_field_autopsy_done"] == true
1121
Variable["TASK.perform_field_autopsy_done"] == true
1120->1121
1122
!(Variable["TASK.perform_field_autopsy_done"] == true)
1120->1122
1692
Esprit de Corps: A real-life procedural, complete with gory details...
1121->1692
1122->616
1321
Steban, the Student Communist: "Mmm, yeah that's not bad."
1123->1321
1124->727
1522
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""And before that, there was Abelard..."]
1125->1522
1126->239
1127->258
1323
You: (Let it go.)
1127->1323
1616
Steban, the Student Communist: "Careful, careful!"
1128->1616
1622
Jump to: [MAIN HUB]
1129->1622
1130->921
1131->1703
1704
Steban, the Student Communist: "Characters? What characters are you talking about?"
1132->1704
1133
Jump to: [Echo Maker: ""It doesn't sound like he's done th..."]
1133->1331
1134->545
1135
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's nothing like that. A yank-fest is a decadent bourgeois phenomenon, a pastime for over-educated office workers who lack proper revolutionary outlets for their social dissatisfactions and repressed sexuality."
1135->827
1137
IsKimHere()
1136->1137
1138
!(IsKimHere())
1136->1138
1137->636
1138->635
1139
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_reaction_plasm"]
1140
Variable["apt.student_reaction_plasm"]
1139->1140
1141
!(Variable["apt.student_reaction_plasm"])
1139->1141
1140->265
1449
Electrochemistry: 'Plasm', huh? Sounds like a hell of a drug. You might wanna ask about it.
1141->1449
1142
Steban, the Student Communist: "One thing you learn quickly at university is that you're not going to find a real education in any lecture hall or discussion seminar."
1142->456
1143->457
1144
You: "Okay, but what's your group's stance on the lynching?"
"Are you sure? My working theory is that *communism* killed the hanged man."
1335
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["yard.hanged_communism_killed_him"]
1144->1335
1145
Rhetoric: One thing *is* perfectly clear: These young students have a much deeper understanding of communism than you do...
1339
Rhetoric: You could learn a thing or two from them, if you can convince them you're one of them.
1145->1339
1457
Steban, the Student Communist: "Right. Sure he does." He gives you a sly half-smile.
1146->1457
1147->541
1148
Steban, the Student Communist: "Intellectual attrition is maybe the best way to describe it. Felix said he couldn't keep up with the reading on top of his classwork. And Zuzanna wanted to read texts *other than* Mazovian theory. Like novels, if you can believe it..."
1148->14
1149->934
1345
You: "*Beans*?"
1149->1345
1542
You: "No beans for me. Can't stand the stuff."
1149->1542
1150->649
1151
You: "Man, what an ignoramus." (Shake your head.)
1150->1151
1151->943
1348
Steban, the Student Communist: "Well, it wasn't so much that he was expelled..."
1152->1348
1153->655
1154->1057
1155->1357
1157
Variable["reputation.kim"] > 1
1156->1157
1158
!(Variable["reputation.kim"] > 1)
1156->1158
1157->380
1158->199
1159->117
1160->117
1161
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. Soon you're in a lively back and forth on the political substrata of the Hjelmdallermann universe...
1268
Half Light: Even if they won't admit it, these two love blood and sex as much as anyone.
1161->1268
1162
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. Soon you're in a lively back and forth on the political substrata of the Hjelmdallermann universe...
1162->1268
1163
Steban, the Student Communist: IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
1164
IsTHCPresent("art_cop")
1163->1164
1165
!(IsTHCPresent("art_cop"))
1163->1165
1164->383
1165->1166
1165->1558
1166->25
1167->1731
1168->846
1169->484
1171
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2
1170->1171
1172
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] >= 2)
1170->1172
1171->486
1172->390
1275
Steban, the Student Communist: "It makes sense, though. Mazovianism stresses the essential continuity between humanity and nature, so anything you find in one should be reflected in the other. What's the exact quote, Uli?"
1173->1275
1175
IsKimHere()
1174->1175
1176
!(IsKimHere())
1174->1176
1374
Kim Kitsuragi: "Not pretty. Eventually the force of gravity would have caused the rest of the body to separate from the head. There would have been *very little* for us to work with..."
1175->1374
1177
You: "It would have been a mess, let me tell you. No way I would've been able to find the true cause of death..."
"Kim's right. There's no way we would've been able to determine the true cause of death..."
1176->1177
1177->1070
1178->1179
1179->497
1180->399
1182
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1
1181->1182
1183
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 1)
1181->1183
1482
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4
1182->1482
1183->44
1184->1827
1186
Variable["gates.mhead_fight_failed_another_time"]
1185->1186
1187
!(Variable["gates.mhead_fight_failed_another_time"])
1185->1187
1186->1077
1187->215
1188->1573
1189
Pain Threshold: That would be the sweet endorphin rush. You've granted him a natural high, at least until the hurt sets in.
1189->1319
1191
Variable["apt.student_interfacing_faln"]
1190->1191
1192
!(Variable["apt.student_interfacing_faln"])
1190->1192
1583
Rhetoric: Of course, it's not *actually* ultra-sonic, that's just an illusion produced by good branding. Still, the force you've unleashed really is tremendous.
1191->1583
1192->593
1193
You: Say nothing.
1194
Steban, the Student Communist: "What? You're just gonna stand there after you nearly broke my fucking jaw?"
1193->1194
1194->777
1196
Variable["reputation.kim"] >1
1195->1196
1197
!(Variable["reputation.kim"] >1)
1195->1197
1196->594
1835
Kim Kitsuragi: "Thank god we avoided *that* fiasco, at least..."
1197->1835
1199
Variable["cargo.mrlb_greet_done"]
1198->1199
1200
!(Variable["cargo.mrlb_greet_done"])
1198->1200
1756
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but if it's true that this individual possesses *so much capital* that light literally *bends* around him, then that must mean..."
1199->1756
1200->511
1201->66
1202->1296
1203->876
1204
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["reputation.communist"] > 20
1205
Variable["reputation.communist"] > 20
1204->1205
1206
!(Variable["reputation.communist"] > 20)
1204->1206
1205->253
1206->601
1207->429
1208
You: "That was weird."
1208->1117
1209->794
1772
You: "Is it even *possible* to imagine a world without ideology?"
1209->1772
1843
You: "What does this have to do with women?"
1209->1843
1210->885
1211->716
1212->797
1213->1508
1215
Steban, the Student Communist: "Plus, all these empty chairs are a little sad, aren't they?"
1214->1215
1215->244
1216->605
1218
You: Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"]
1217->1218
1219
Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"]
1218->1219
1220
!(Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"])
1218->1220
1286
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"]
1219->1286
1220->1286
1221
Echo Maker: "It means you're not a communist, in other words."
1221->893
1850
You: "What are you then?"
1221->1850
1222->251
1223->541
1224->1036
1226
IsKimHere()
1225->1226
1227
!(IsKimHere())
1225->1227
1690
Kim Kitsuragi: "What are you talking about, detective? You can't give up *now*."
1226->1690
1227->80
1228->1626
1229->91
1780
Echo Maker: "Yes, a fascinating case study..."
1230->1780
1231->186
1232->96
1783
Jump to: [spacehub]
1233->1783
1235
Variable["apt.student_left_pre_main_hub"]
1234->1235
1236
!(Variable["apt.student_left_pre_main_hub"])
1234->1236
1235->1039
1236->446
1237
Steban, the Student Communist: "I think it's holding, Ulixes..."
1237->2
1537
Echo Maker: "Ha! As though you can call that pablum *teaching*."
1238->1537
1239->453
1706
Echo Maker: "Obviously." He snorts.
1240->1706
1241
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_encyclo_nilsen"]
1242
Variable["apt.student_encyclo_nilsen"]
1241->1242
1243
!(Variable["apt.student_encyclo_nilsen"])
1241->1243
1244
Half Light: Why do you always leave out the good parts? Tell him how he got his *true name*, right now!
1242->1244
1243->610
1310
You: "I know who Kras Mazov is, but who is this 'Ignus Nilsen' guy?"
1243->1310
1244->742
1245
Volition: Your attention detaches. The voices of the young men fade away. It's a cool evening, you notice.
1245->266
1245->267
1246
Encyclopedia: The Counter-Truancy Task Force (or 'skip squad') is the division of the RCM that drives around in wagons looking for delinquent minors. It's generally considered a punitive assignment for under-performing officers.
1334
Jump to: [book club hub]
1246->1334
1247->109
1247->364
1454
You: "Right. They all got shot in the head, just like the anarchists."
1247->1454
1633
You: "Like this one." (Show him the Belle-Magrave rifle.)
1247->1633
1248
Kim Kitsuragi: "Kim and *I*..." the lieutenant mutters under his breath. He scribbles something in his notebook but adds nothing else.
1248->465
1249->647
1250->940
1251->650
1460
You: "Remind me what infra-materialist theory says about turnips again?"
1251->1460
1252->1152
1253->946
1254->280
1255->377
1256->541
1257->1806
1259
You: Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"]
1258->1259
1260
Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"]
1259->1260
1261
!(Variable["apt.student_composure_wc"])
1259->1261
1260->282
1261->282
1263
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 3
1262->1263
1264
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 3)
1262->1264
1263->657
1464
Composure: Remember: Where most people go wrong is in thinking they have to hide what they don't know...
1264->1464
1265->477
1266->197
1267->662
1268->1059
1269
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. You ably summarise the novel's characters and themes...
1269->202
1270->29
1271
You: "Right, which is why the *dweorgr* are definitely the labouring class."
1271->388
1272
You: "I reject the race-class paradigm. My personal build is a highly experimental *welkin-pygmy hybrid*."
1818
Steban, the Student Communist: "Combining the best race with the worst race... Not sure about the skill progressions, but I bet the role-playing opportunities are *wild*."
1272->1818
1367
Echo Maker: "Steban's welkin is so mega. He's got this umbral stave that gives him *ungodly* bonuses against shadowborn."
1273->1367
1274
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's pretty awesome, I won't deny it."
1274->29
1373
Echo Maker: "I believe it's 'Man is the mirror of the world'."
1275->1373
1276->853
1277->395
1278
Steban, the Student Communist: "Here's your first assignment. It's an overview of infra-materialist theory. A little basic, as you'll see, but one has to start somewhere."
1278->123
1278->498
1742
You: "Guess it's time to see what this 'book' stuff is all about."
1278->1742
1279
Rhetoric: You're intimidated by all the books these kids have read, aren't you? Maybe a trip to the bookstore would do you some good.
1279->499
1279->500
1280
You: Definitely not sweating, no sir. (Wipe the sweat away.)
Definitely not sweating, no sir. (Dab the sweat with your shirt.)
1281
Composure: Excellent work, now there's a glistening smear across your bare chest. Everyone will be able to see the evidence of your overactive sweat glands.
Excellent work, now there's a dark handprint on the back of your shirt. Everyone will be able to see the evidence of your overactive sweat glands.
1280->1281
1281->806
1282->806
1283->214
1283->689
1283->774
1387
You: "I'm a completionist. I've got to finish what I start."
"For me it's a matter of honour. I must finish what I started."
1283->1387
1485
You: "Because this plasm stuff sounds totally disco. I have to get to the bottom of it."
1283->1485
1284->93
1285->1081
1287
Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"]
1286->1287
1288
!(Variable["apt.student_rc_very_hard"])
1286->1288
1287->990
1288->864
1290
IsKimHere()
1289->1290
1291
!(IsKimHere())
1289->1291
1290->697
1291->1085
1292->314
1753
Perception (Hearing): You think you can hear a slight popping sound as he moves his mouth.
1293->1753
1294
You: "I have some questions about the origins of this theory."
1395
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, it's a great story. You should check out Nilsen's journals if you ever have the chance."
1294->1395
1295
Echo Maker: "He probably won't get a better chance, honestly."
1837
Steban, the Student Communist: "But it's getting late, so maybe pick the *most important* question?"
1295->1837
1296->783
1296->784
1296->996
1762
You: Ask the most important question about communism.
1296->1762
1838
You: "Yeah, I'm good. No questions for me." (Cancel task.)
1296->1838
1297
Echo Maker: "See, Steban? I told you there's no such thing as a gendarme communist."
1297->600
1298->71
1298->415
1298->706
1298->788
1298->1002
1299->1099
1299->1114
1300->878
1301->1315
1411
Steban, the Student Communist: "You've got to believe in *something*. Otherwise, what are you doing?"
1302->1411
1304
Variable["apt.student_shivers_exposed"]
1303->1304
1305
!(Variable["apt.student_shivers_exposed"])
1303->1305
1304->322
1851
Shivers: Somehow you only now realise that the temperature has been dropping steadily for the last half hour.
1305->1851
1306->422
1684
Echo Maker: "Precisely my point. It's about quality, not quantity."
1307->1684
1308
You: "Think of it this way: you're appropriating bourgeois methods for revolutionary ends."
1512
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, I *like* that. We're dismantling the structures of capital with their own tools..."
1308->1512
1309->528
1514
Steban, the Student Communist: "Only Kras Mazov's most trusted lieutenant, the Evangelist of the Revolution, and the founding father of the People's Republic of Samara."
1310->1514
1311->1514
1312
Rhetoric: No, it was an artifact of your pre-ideological consciousness.
1313
Steban, the Student Communist: "Then you don't believe in the historic role of the proletariat, which also means you reject the basis of historical materialism."
1313->1221
1314->76
1317
Steban, the Student Communist: "Alternatively, it could be that our own ideological fervour is still *insufficient*."
1315->1317
1316->1315
1605
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
1317->1605
1318->436
1318->615
1426
You: "Just people working a job, like any other."
1318->1426
1599
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""And with that, welcome to the most..."]
1319->1599
1320
Pain Threshold: It *is* tearing you up. It's like there's a tiny hateful beast shredding your very soul...
1320->156
1321->624
1322
Steban, the Student Communist: "Besides, it's just a first draft."
1322->1035
1323->619
1324->611
1325
Visual Calculus: His eyes are tracing an invisible line back and forth from your jacket to his companion.
1325->342
1326
Authority: Damn right. If he keeps mouthing off, you should take his pants too.
1326->739
1327->348
1327->817
1327->916
1619
You: "So, do you want your jacket *back*?"
1327->1619
1328->917
1329
Composure: Meanwhile, his companion inclines toward him, eager to catch every word that dribbles from his friend's mouth.
1329->813
1330
You: (Play along.) "My apologies, comrades. I had to be sure I wasn't being tailed... by our *class enemies*."
1532
Steban, the Student Communist: "Mmmm." The young man considers you a moment...
1330->1532
1331->1044
1332->179
1332->543
1332->826
1790
You: "Sounds like a yank-fest for binos."
1332->1790
1333->830
1334->635
1336
Variable["yard.hanged_communism_killed_him"]
1335->1336
1337
!(Variable["yard.hanged_communism_killed_him"])
1335->1337
1336->928
1337->745
1631
Steban, the Student Communist: "Good point. So as a provisional matter, I can say we support it."
1338->1631
1452
Jump to: [crime hub]
1339->1452
1340
Shivers: The attitude of a priest bearing one of the holy relics of his faith. Though it is long out-of-service, its power is evident to him.
1340->459
1341->462
1711
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false and Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"] == false
1342->1711
1344
Steban, the Student Communist: "If it were, they wouldn't keep committing suicide."
1343->1344
1344->274
1637
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's right. Econoclards are *obsessed* with beans. They love thinking about beans, they love counting beans, but most of all, they love building models to predict how many beans there'll be *in the future*."
1345->1637
1346->470
1545
Steban, the Student Communist: "For us the question boiled down to: 'If you don't even accept the basic ideas of Nilsen and infra-materialist theory, why are you in the reading group?'"
1347->1545
1348->276
1349
Logic: With predictable results.
1349->371
1350->541
1351->755
1353
Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_term_paper"]
1352->1353
1354
!(Variable["inventory.fumee_concept_term_paper"])
1352->1354
1641
Conceptualization: Of course! They're the ones who produced that overwrought *critique* of TipTop Tournée.
1353->1641
1354->1056
1723
Steban, the Student Communist: "But given that we have some extra seating at the moment, I guess we could be convinced to expedite an application or two."
1355->1723
1356
Steban, the Student Communist: "Why don't you tell us a bit about the books you're interested in, and we'll just see where the conversation goes."
1356->951
1467
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's so good. Brutally revelatory."
1357->1467
1358->1642
1359->953
1361
CheckEquipped("shirt_hjelmdall")
1360->1361
1362
!(CheckEquipped("shirt_hjelmdall"))
1360->1362
1724
Steban, the Student Communist: He nods to your shirt. "No offence, of course."
1361->1724
1362->1163
1363->201
1365
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
1364->1365
1366
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
1364->1366
1365->1269
1469
Composure: This is a good start. They're starting to loosen up. You feel relaxed and in control. You ably summarise the novel's characters and themes...
1366->1469
1367->1274
1368->1731
1561
Steban, the Student Communist: "A fair point. It also reminds me of one of Mazov and Nilsen's unrealized projects, a universal system of communist pictographs, one that would allow revolutionaries to communicate and organise across any language barrier."
1369->1561
1371
Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_birch"]
1370->1371
1372
!(Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_birch"])
1370->1372
1478
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh? Sounds nice, actually. Comrade Mazov himself preferred chamomile tea, as I'm sure you're aware."
1371->1478
1563
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_whiskey"]
1372->1563
1373->1170
1374->1177
1376
IsKimHere()
1375->1376
1377
!(IsKimHere())
1375->1377
1376->578
1377->1566
1378->395
1568
Echo Maker: "Steban's right. If it's going to happen, it will happen."
1379->1568
1380->1278
1381->1071
1383
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4
1382->1383
1384
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4)
1382->1384
1747
Rhetoric: What are you worried about? You've read plenty of books. Why don't you take a little pause, come back once your mind's clear?
1383->1747
1384->1279
1385->401
1386->402
1387->134
1389
Variable["apt.student_logic_spitballing_fail"]
1388->1389
1390
!(Variable["apt.student_logic_spitballing_fail"])
1388->1390
1389->48
1487
You: That sounds really stupid.
1389->1487
1390->589
1391->776
1579
Composure: He isn't bluffing. He appears invigorated, as though he's truly experiencing life for the first time.
1392->1579
1393
Interfacing: Ensconced in your ceramic armour, you barely notice the moment of contact. But you do hear the distinct *ting* of your knuckles catching the young man's cheekbone.
1393->1086
1394
You: "I really want to hear more about these hyper-revolutionary figures."
1394->779
1396
Echo Maker: His companion nods in agreement.
1395->1396
1397->1095
1495
Steban, the Student Communist: "Are you absolutely sure? A communist can't be afraid to ask questions, just because they don't know what the answer might be."
1398->1495
1400->240
1400->880
1401
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_empathy_someone"]
1402
Variable["apt.student_empathy_someone"]
1401->1402
1403
!(Variable["apt.student_empathy_someone"])
1401->1403
1404
You: Forget it.
1402->1404
1591
You: Wait, who is he thinking about?
1402->1591
1423
Empathy: There's something going on in there, but his innermost sanctum is still beyond your reach...
1403->1423
1404->1840
1406
Variable["apt.student_logic_no_way"] or IsKimHere()
1405->1406
1407
!(Variable["apt.student_logic_no_way"] or IsKimHere())
1405->1407
1768
Inland Empire: But it is! It is!
1406->1768
1407->1004
1408
You: "... what do we do now?"
1408->149
1410
Steban, the Student Communist: "... and there it goes..."
1409->1410
1410->435
1410->1005
1410->1208
1411->1412
1412->418
1413->1009
1414->713
1415->1416
1416->1105
1417->242
1418->326
1419->891
1421
IsKimHere()
1420->1421
1422
!(IsKimHere())
1420->1422
1421->249
1422->490
1423->1840
1424->1026
1446
Steban, the Student Communist: "But more specifically, we're running a reading group, the most rigorous and theoretically advanced materialist reading group in Martinaise."
1425->1446
1426->24
1427->186
1429
Variable["apt.student_pain_holding_together"]
1428->1429
1430
!(Variable["apt.student_pain_holding_together"])
1428->1430
1429->156
1430->1320
1431->333
1432
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_logic_law_oink"]
1433
Variable["apt.student_logic_law_oink"]
1432->1433
1434
!(Variable["apt.student_logic_law_oink"])
1432->1434
1433->439
1434->1857
1435->1322
1436->877
1438
CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white")
1437->1438
1439
!(CheckEquipped("jacket_interisolar_white"))
1437->1439
1438->1325
1439->178
1440->3
1441
Conceptualization: You should get to the bottom of this, when you have the chance.
1441->344
1442
Steban, the Student Communist: "Absolutely not. You have to keep it..."
1442->1787
1443->1787
1444->1702
1445
readinghub
1445->101
1445->539
1445->1043
1533
You: "There must be some misunderstanding. No one mentioned any reading."
1445->1533
1789
Echo Maker: "Comrade Steban is a great discussion leader. One of the best at the university."
1446->1789
1447->1241
1448->10
1449->637
1450->1245
1451->1048
1452->1626
1453->1626
1798
Steban, the Student Communist: "The Insulindian Deluge wiped out an entire generation of communists. Afterward, they were all bulldozed into mass graves." The young man looks slightly queasy at the thought.
1454->1798
1455
Echo Maker: His companion's eyes widen as you hold up the ancient weapon.
1799
Hand/Eye Coordination: He's practically itching to stick that thing in someone's face and pull the trigger.
1455->1799
1456->366
1457->1458
1458->541
1459->1620
1460->16
1461->114
1462->541
1463
Steban, the Student Communist: "I am serious. As materialists we've got to adapt to conditions as they are. Besides, he'll still need to pass the *interview portion* of the entrance process..." He turns back to you.
1463->843
1464->555
1465->1356
1560
Echo Maker: "We prefer difficult books. Books that might destroy you, if you don't destroy them first."
1466->1560
1467->557
1468->497
1469->202
1470->387
1472
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
1471->1472
1473
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
1471->1473
1815
Composure: Now's your chance to end this interview on a high-note. Soon you're all animatedly debating the political subtext of character creation...
1472->1815
1473->120
1474->1649
1728
You: "... but even abstractions as basic as letterforms must have *some* origin in material reality..."
1475->1728
1476->485
1477
Steban, the Student Communist: "To be perfectly honest, 'poultice' is one of those words I see around, but I have no idea what it means."
1477->1170
1478->1170
1480
IsKimHere()
1479->1480
1481
!(IsKimHere())
1479->1481
1480->978
1481->770
1483
Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4
1482->1483
1484
!(Variable["character.books_read_counter"] >= 4)
1482->1484
1824
Rhetoric: What are you worried about? You've read plenty of books. Why don't you take a little pause, come back once your mind's clear?
1483->1824
1484->1074
1485->980
1486
Echo Maker: "Steban, a moment..." The young man's companion beckons him into a private conference.
1486->981
1570
Logic: Yes, stupidly *brilliant*.
1487->1570
1488
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_bum")
1489
CheckEquipped("gloves_bum")
1488->1489
1490
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_bum"))
1488->1490
1492
Interfacing: At the moment of contact you feel the wool of your fingerless gloves entangling with the wiry hairs of the young man's beard. His eyes are wide as a pair of old silver coins.
1489->1492
1576
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_garden")
1490->1576
1491
Interfacing: The actual moment of contact is ever-so-slightly disappointing, as the feeling is dulled by the yellow latex shell that contains your hand.
1491->865
1492->865
1493->593
1494->1295
1495->704
1496->69
1588
You: "... and whenever we *do* try it just devolves into a corrupt farce..."
"... and the SRV has degenerated into a corrupt farce of a workers' republic..."
1496->1588
1589
You: "... and we keep fracturing over theoretical disagreements..."
"... and we waste all our time arguing over who's secretly a liberal or not..."
1496->1589
1497->894
1498->531
1499->1224
1500->896
1501->518
1502->1408
1503
You: "..."
1502->1503
1503->320
1504->520
1504->792
1504->1006
1506
Variable["character.habit_alcohol"]
1505->1506
1507
!(Variable["character.habit_alcohol"])
1505->1507
1506->1013
1507->1014
1508->244
1509->244
1510->718
1510->799
1510->888
1510->1308
1685
You: "Posters are great. Who doesn't like posters?"
1510->1685
1686
You: "Yeah, posters *are* pretty bourgeois."
1510->1686
1511->1119
1512->904
1513->723
1514->1109
1515
Steban, the Student Communist: "Something else..." The young man shakes his head.
1515->251
1516->162
1517->1410
1518->426
1519
Composure: Take a deep breath. You've done some reading these past few days. But you also know there's more to life than what you find in books...
1520->905
1521->340
1522->1451
1523->611
1525->735
1526->260
1528
Variable["apt.student_composure_tension"]
1527->1528
1529
!(Variable["apt.student_composure_tension"])
1527->1529
1528->1329
1529->813
1530->350
1530->536
1530->537
1530->1042
1530->1330
1531->918
1532->538
1533->1044
1534->741
1535->831
1536->1246
1537->1142
1538
You: "So what's your stance on crime in general?"
1539
Steban, the Student Communist: "That's easy: Crime is simply the inevitable expression of the injustice and incoherence embedded within capitalism itself."
1538->1539
1539->838
1540->187
1541->751
1542->936
1543
Steban, the Student Communist: "They're by far the most bean-centric school of communism."
1543->752
1544->1021
1545->113
1545->275
1545->370
1545->1152
1804
Steban, the Student Communist: "Nothing, just messing around until the meeting started."
1546->1804
1547
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["apt.student_interfacing_matchboxes_intent"]
1548
Variable["apt.student_interfacing_matchboxes_intent"]
1547->1548
1549
!(Variable["apt.student_interfacing_matchboxes_intent"])
1547->1549
1720
Interfacing: It's almost as though they were trying to create the most unstable structure they could...
1548->1720
1549->371
1550->280
1551
Echo Maker: "Steban, you can't be serious... for a gendarme?"
"Steban, you can't be serious... for these gendarmes?"
1551->1463
1552->556
1553->1357
1554
Steban, the Student Communist: "... but then my issue with these historical cube-pushers is that they offer the *illusion* of subjectivity even as they reinscribe the logic of colonialism itself..."
1554->952
1556
Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2
1555->1556
1557
!(Variable["apt.student_books_discussed_counter"] == 2)
1555->1557
1556->1162
1557->1161
1643
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, sure, we don't mean to deny the value of *pleasure* in reading."
1558->1643
1725
Echo Maker: "'To find victory in the cultural war we must first scout the battlefield'."
1559->1725
1560->954
1561->956
1729
Steban, the Student Communist: "There are so many theories out there, most of them ridiculous. But we'd be here all night if we tried to get into them."
1562->1729
1564
Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_whiskey"]
1563->1564
1565
!(Variable["inventory.palemed_ing_whiskey"])
1563->1565
1564->764
1565->1477
1566->579
1566->767
1822
You: "Yeah, I'm still trying to piece the whole thing together, but I can't get it to add up yet."
1566->1822
1567->1179
1568->1179
1569->773
1570->310
1571->222
1572->590
1574
CheckEquipped("gloves_faln")
1573->1574
1575
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_faln"))
1573->1575
1574->592
1575->1488
1577
CheckEquipped("gloves_garden")
1576->1577
1578
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_garden"))
1576->1578
1577->1491
1748
Steban, the Student Communist: CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
1578->1748
1579->1189
1581
CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
1580->1581
1582
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_t500"))
1580->1582
1581->1393
1673
Interfacing: You feel a bright pain as your bare knuckle collides with the young man's oddly prominent cheekbone. At the moment of contact his eyes are wide as old silver coins.
1582->1673
1583->593
1584->60
1586
Steban, the Student Communist: The young man nods thoughtfully. "But I suppose it makes sense that some common strain of infra-materialist thought would persist in the RCM, even to this day, given its origins."
1585->1586
1586->1023
1587->1023
1588->234
1589->234
1590->785
1677
Empathy: Hard to say. Someone dear to him.
1591->1677
1592
You: Toward the skyscrapers of La Delta.
1592->70
1593->148
1841
You: "Easy now..."
1593->1841
1594->793
1595->1017
1687
Steban, the Student Communist: "Put some more coffee on, Uli. We've got a long night ahead of us. We should probably get Cindy in here too..."
1596->1687
1597->603
1598->157
1599->1380
1600->1314
1601
Steban, the Student Communist: "I have to say, I've never *entirely* understood what they mean, but I think maybe the answer is in there, somewhere."
1601->159
1601->1113
1601->1689
1603
IsKimHere()
1602->1603
1604
!(IsKimHere())
1602->1604
1603->1115
1604->789
1606
IsKimHere()
1605->1606
1607
!(IsKimHere())
1605->1607
1606->899
1607->433
1608->805
1609->1050
1610->130
1610->688
1610->859
1610->1076
1610->1280
1611->557
1612->808
1615
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Go ahead." The young man gives you..."]
1613->1615
1614
Logic: If this is what the Union man meant by theory combat, you've just scored a decisive blow.
1614->440
1615->1620
1616->173
1617->734
1618->84
1619->1442
1620->541
1621->634
1622->541
1623->1136
1624->1707
1691
Pain Threshold: The more it hurts, the more you have to have it.
1625->1691
1626->837
1626->1144
1626->1538
1627
You: "Is your reading group affiliated with the Union somehow?"
1626->1627
1627->270
1629
Variable["tc.srv"]
1628->1629
1630
!(Variable["tc.srv"])
1628->1630
1629->1338
1630->931
1632
Savoir Faire: It's not that the boundary between sarcasm and sincerity is porous with these two, it's that they actually seem to *overlap*, as though one is meant to conceal the other.
1631->1632
1632->548
1633->1455
1634->1248
1635->939
1636->110
1637->1638
1638->1543
1639->1021
1640->1052
1641->1056
1642->1554
1643->557
1644->557
1645->561
1646
Steban, the Student Communist: IsKimHere()
1647
IsKimHere()
1646->1647
1648
!(IsKimHere())
1646->1648
1647->1062
1648->1727
1649->562
1649->1064
1649->1065
1819
You: "Listen, books are fine and all, but to be straight with you, they're no substitute for a real story."
1649->1819
1650->1728
1651->1170
1652->850
1653->721
1654->395
1656
IsKimHere()
1655->1656
1657
!(IsKimHere())
1655->1657
1656->580
1657->493
1659
Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"]
1658->1659
1660
!(Variable["apt.student_story_jam_mystery"])
1658->1660
1659->678
1660->967
1661->1073
1662
Steban, the Student Communist: Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true
1663
Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true
1662->1663
1664
!(Variable["pier.joyce_logicloop"] == true or Variable["XP.doorbell_recording_heard"] == true or Variable["whirling.mirror_elchem_failed_once"] == true or Variable["whirling.lena_intro_wink_neuro"] == true)
1662->1664
1663->128
1664->129
1665->806
1666->860
1667->988
1668->56
1669->1670
1671
CheckEquipped("gloves_faln")
1670->1671
1672
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_faln"))
1670->1672
1671->316
1672->507
1673->593
1674
You: "Let that be a lesson to you."
1674->231
1675->1092
1676->1023
1677->414
1679
Variable["apt.student_viscal_gaze"]
1678->1679
1680
!(Variable["apt.student_viscal_gaze"])
1678->1680
1679->145
1679->705
1679->1592
1680->1840
1681->1405
1682->793
1683->604
1684->244
1685->889
1847
Echo Maker: "See? Even the gendarme agrees."
1686->1847
1687->425
1688
Echo Maker: "Precisely. It's only beneath the cold light of scorn that deep truths are revealed..."
1689->1313
1690->80
1691->1047
1692->616
1693->1432
1694->910
1695->445
1696->343
1697->4
1699
Variable["jam.siileng_rhetoric_civil_forfeiture"]
1698->1699
1700
!(Variable["jam.siileng_rhetoric_civil_forfeiture"])
1698->1700
1699->1326
1700->739
1701
Echo Maker: "He'll shit himself! Positively."
1701->628
1702->1445
1703->1702
1704->1133
1705->180
1706->832
1707->1139
1709
Steban, the Student Communist: "It's heavier than I was expecting." The rifle rests in his open palms. Its position reminds you of something...
1708->1709
1709->1340
1710->337
1712
Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false and Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"] == false
1711->1712
1713
!(Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false and Variable["inventory.basic_guide_read"] == false)
1711->1713
1712->933
1713->1636
1714->938
1715->110
1717
Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"]
1716->1717
1718
!(Variable["apt.student_concept_la_fumee"])
1716->1718
1717->648
1718->1346
1719->1545
1720->1349
1721->842
1722->474
1723->1551
1724->1163
1725->557
1726->294
1727->29
1728->297
1729->1069
1730
Jump to: [Steban, the Student Communist: ""Okay, we'll bite." The young man a..."]
1730->1731
1731->1120
1732->570
1733->571
1734->41
1735->493
1736->395
1737->581
1738
Echo Maker: "But that would imply that whenever you unpeel time you leave behind some kind of *doppelgänger* in now-time..."
1738->679
1740
Variable["apt.student_wc_mentioned_wirral"]
1739->1740
1741
!(Variable["apt.student_wc_mentioned_wirral"])
1739->1741
1740->43
1741->1380
1742->768
1743->1610
1745
IsKimHere()
1744->1745
1746
!(IsKimHere())
1744->1746
1745->857
1746->1662
1747->499
1747->500
1749
CheckEquipped("gloves_t500")
1748->1749
1750
!(CheckEquipped("gloves_t500"))
1748->1750
1749->312
1750->313
1751->136
1752
Physical Instrument: You're both lucky you didn't shatter his cheekbone. He may want to count his teeth before he goes to bed tonight.
1752->510
1752->1193
1752->1674
1753->255
1754
Rhetoric: You'll be leading this conversation, so wherever you take it, they'll be glad to follow.
1754->232
1754->1294
1754->1394
1755->701
1756->58
1756->59
1758
MoneyAmount() >=10000
1757->1758
1759
!(MoneyAmount() >=10000)
1757->1759
1758->703
1759->866
1760->871
1761->66
1763
You: Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
1762->1763
1764
Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
1763->1764
1765
!(Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"])
1763->1765
1764->997
1765->997
1766->1401
1767->1204
1768->1004
1769->711
1769->1302
1770->1101
1771->1014
1772->795
1773->73
1774->72
1775->438
1777
Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"]
1776->1777
1778
!(Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_rc_question"])
1776->1778
1777->719
1778->523
1779->879
1780->1179
1781->1031
1782->166
1783->1032
1784->1118
1785->345
1786->1441
1787->1701
1788->1045
1789->825
1790->1135
1791->1707
1792->332
1793->1451
1794->745
1796
Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false
1795->1796
1797
!(Variable["apt.student_plasm_counter"] >= 2 and Variable["apt.student_rhetoric_understanding"] == false)
1795->1797
1796->1145
1797->1452
1798->463
1799->642
1800->541
1801->1148
1802->613
1803->753
1805
Interfacing: They're watching those matchboxes awfully intently for two guys who are just 'messing around.'
1804->1805
1805->1547
1806->372
1807->652
1808->18
1811
Steban, the Student Communist: "Oh, right. We've been meaning to try that out."
1809->1811
1810->285
1811->664
1812->200
1813->27
1814->1646
1815->955
1816->32
1816->33
1816->1271
1816->1272
1817->34
1818->208
1819->1730
1820->302
1821->964
1822->673
1823->1738
1824->684
1824->979
1825->46
1826->1569
1827->1486
1828->404
1829->307
1830->691
1831->986
1832->986
1833->986
1834->1752
1835->410
1836->778
1837->1296
1838->1297
1839->1296
1840->1601
1841->1767
1842->319
1843->1015
1844->1102
1845->422
1846->521
1847->1108
1848->609
1849->1295
1850->1515
1851->322
1852->251
1853->1118
1854->1237
1855->333
1856->811
1857->621
1859
Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"]
1858->1859
1860
!(Variable["gates.manana_theory_combat"])
1858->1860
1859->1614
1860->95