Cauldron of Ghosts - unlikely 'allies'

Hanrahan is an investigative journalist with an impressive interstellar reputation. What is a Treecat going to pick up on if it sits in on one of her interviews?
An agressive reporter?
A Solly who "might" be upset with Manticore because of the loss of SLN life and ships at 2nd Manticore?

Is Mike really likely to ask Hanrahan if she knows anything about the Alignment- which WOULD be a clear enough question to get a more-or-less clear read by the Treecat that Hanrahan is lying dispite anything she says (like "I have seen what is being reported through Manticorian news service")

As Hanrahan was not killed deliberately and apparently manuvered into relativly safer living quarters on Mesa, she is probably capable of getting herself out of Mesa safely either though some sort of public transport (if any is allowed) or by her press credentials and conversations with whomever is in charge of the incomming fleet. Sure, it is possible she could be come collateral damage in rioting or acts by various factions in the Mesa government but in at least the short term, those people have a lot more to worry about that one Solly journalist.

Brigade XO wrote:Is Mike really likely to ask Hanrahan if she knows anything about the Alignment- which WOULD be a clear enough question to get a more-or-less clear read by the Treecat that Hanrahan is lying dispite anything she says (like "I have seen what is being reported through Manticorian news service")

If Hanrahan didn't leave prior to Mike turning up, it might be considered strange if she left afterwards. If she's still on the planet, it might well be considered strange if she doesn't at least attempt to get an interview with Mike. Mike might well, for all she'd probably prefer not to talk to a journalist, grant said interview for reasons given by other posters.

Now assuming all of that (which doesn't seem much of an assumption IMHO), it's also perfectly reasonable that the Manties would want to ask Hanrahan some questions. She was, after all, on the planet for all of the recent events and might well have some insight into things!

Now I in no way thinking that Alfredo is going to start signing "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" as soon as Hanrahan walks into the room, but the combination of Alfredo, intelligence analysis of the interview and data from elsewhere on Mesa might lead to some suggestive thoughts that the Mesan Alignment (in general) and Hanrahan (in particular) might prefer the Manties don't come up with.

Hanrahan wouldn't necessarily try to interview Henke. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to decide to interview a number of lower-ranked officers. Yes, it would probably be strange for her to try to leave just as things are heating up on Mesa, and I don't think she will. I believe her journalist skills are easily up to maintaining her cover.

SWM wrote:Hanrahan wouldn't necessarily try to interview Henke. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to decide to interview a number of lower-ranked officers. Yes, it would probably be strange for her to try to leave just as things are heating up on Mesa, and I don't think she will. I believe her journalist skills are easily up to maintaining her cover.

It would seem to me that a journalist of Hanrahan's visibility and reputation probably would try to interview Henke. Further, given Hanrahan's reputation for integrity and fair play, Henke might well give her the interview without Alfredo present.

Also, it is probably in the Alignment's interest for Hanrahan to maintain her reputation for journalistic integrity by fairly representing Mike's perspective, thus possibly gaining continued access at least until something crucial comes up where the gain for the Alignment would be such that Hanrahan's cover could be sacrificed for it.

Don

SWM wrote:Hanrahan wouldn't necessarily try to interview Henke. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to decide to interview a number of lower-ranked officers. Yes, it would probably be strange for her to try to leave just as things are heating up on Mesa, and I don't think she will. I believe her journalist skills are easily up to maintaining her cover.

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When I was active duty, we were always advised to refer all Press questions to the Public Affairs Office to avoid being labeled as a "Navy Spokesman". I suspect the same caution / practice carried thru to the RMN as it generally makes sense (and protects your career and avoids unwanted personal interviews with the Cmd Master Chief, XO and CO in that order).

If O'Hanrahan interviews anyone, it will be coordinated thru Gold Peak's office.

-- Stewart

stewart wrote:

SWM wrote:Hanrahan wouldn't necessarily try to interview Henke. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to decide to interview a number of lower-ranked officers. Yes, it would probably be strange for her to try to leave just as things are heating up on Mesa, and I don't think she will. I believe her journalist skills are easily up to maintaining her cover.

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When I was active duty, we were always advised to refer all Press questions to the Public Affairs Office to avoid being labeled as a "Navy Spokesman". I suspect the same caution / practice carried thru to the RMN as it generally makes sense (and protects your career and avoids unwanted personal interviews with the Cmd Master Chief, XO and CO in that order).

If O'Hanrahan interviews anyone, it will be coordinated thru Gold Peak's office.

-- Stewart

Oh, I agree that any such interview would be coordinated through her office. I was just saying that it is perfectly reasonable for Hanrahan to interview someone other than Henke herself. How often do admirals or generals give direct interviews, as opposed to designated spokesmen? A news reporter, even a well-known one, does not automatically ask to speak directly with the commanding officer of an entire fleet. Sometimes they do, but it is much more common to ask to speak with lesser officers. No one would think it odd at all if Hanrahan did not try to speak with Henke herself.

JohnRoth wrote:There are a lot of Mesan Alignment people on Mesa who aren't members of the Onion, and who aren't being taken off in Houdini. Admiral Henke is almost certainly going to meet one of them sooner rather than later - with Alfredo on hand.

Cauldron of Ghosts, Chapter 56 wrote:Chicherin leaned back in his chair, watching the other members of the General Board, and tried to keep his dismay from showing. He was an alpha-line whose family had been part of the Alignment for generations, and like the vast majority of the Aligment's membership he'd always hated Manpower and the institution of genetic slavery.

Just by being who he is, and where he's placed, he's going to be a very interesting prize. When Admiral Henke and Alfredo go to interview the General Board, his attitude toward genetic slavery is going to stand out like a beacon.

Up to this point, the Grand Alliance doesn't have a clue about the alpha-, beta- and gamma- lines. Given that, they might well be able to throw together a quick "alpha-line detector."

I also think Alfredo is going to be a permanent fixture around Admiral Henke, at least when she's interviewing anyone from Mesa.

And O'Hanrahan is going to be in deep trouble if Alfredo is anywhere around when the term "alpha-line" comes up. Especially if her genome shows significant similarities with Chicherin's.

Idealists are funny people. Some of them will continue to the bitter end, some of them will switch political alligence in a heartbeat, without giving up any iota of their ideals.

Even with a willing collaborator providing a genetic sample to work from, an "alpha-line detector" is going to be tricky. Not all Alpha line people have exactly the same package of genetic tweaks, but all those tweaks were tried out in various combinations in both the genetic slaves and in lesser lines.

That's going to make it tricky to differente between an actual Alpha line person verses someone who was simply the beta tester for many of those genes.

JohnRoth wrote:There are a lot of Mesan Alignment people on Mesa who aren't members of the Onion, and who aren't being taken off in Houdini. Admiral Henke is almost certainly going to meet one of them sooner rather than later - with Alfredo on hand.

Cauldron of Ghosts, Chapter 56 wrote:Chicherin leaned back in his chair, watching the other members of the General Board, and tried to keep his dismay from showing. He was an alpha-line whose family had been part of the Alignment for generations, and like the vast majority of the Aligment's membership he'd always hated Manpower and the institution of genetic slavery.

Just by being who he is, and where he's placed, he's going to be a very interesting prize. When Admiral Henke and Alfredo go to interview the General Board, his attitude toward genetic slavery is going to stand out like a beacon.

Up to this point, the Grand Alliance doesn't have a clue about the alpha-, beta- and gamma- lines. Given that, they might well be able to throw together a quick "alpha-line detector."

I also think Alfredo is going to be a permanent fixture around Admiral Henke, at least when she's interviewing anyone from Mesa.

And O'Hanrahan is going to be in deep trouble if Alfredo is anywhere around when the term "alpha-line" comes up. Especially if her genome shows significant similarities with Chicherin's.

Idealists are funny people. Some of them will continue to the bitter end, some of them will switch political alligence in a heartbeat, without giving up any iota of their ideals.

Jonathan_S wrote:Even with a willing collaborator providing a genetic sample to work from, an "alpha-line detector" is going to be tricky. Not all Alpha line people have exactly the same package of genetic tweaks, but all those tweaks were tried out in various combinations in both the genetic slaves and in lesser lines.

That's going to make it tricky to differente between an actual Alpha line person verses someone who was simply the beta tester for many of those genes.

Interesting, but there is something you may be missing.

From Cauldron of Ghosts:

“Why the hell haven’t you—oh. Never mind.” She’d just remember that the three agents were engaged in undercover work. The trackers that were embedded in Alignment personnel on Mesa sometimes didn’t work if they were taken behind shielding—or just too many meters of soil, if someone went underground. Given the nature of their duties, that wasn’t unlikely to happen.
“Hold on a minute.” She brought up her own records and gave them a quick examination. She was almost sure she already knew the answer to her question, but for something like this she felt obligated to make sure.
“Okay, what I thought. None of them were slated for Houdini. I assume their meds have been kept up to date?”

She gave the figure on the screen a sharp look. “Yes?”
“Yeah, sure. All my people had the refresher within the last two months.”

The special med implants in the trackers were good for at least a year. More to the point, if they weren’t pinged periodically the suicide program would automatically be initiated.

and

The culprits would never be found, however. Within two hours of their disappearance, they’d been consumed in a commercial garbage disintegrator whose security program had been bypassed by one of the Alignment’s top software specialists.

The software specialist would be one of the very last evacuees. The two Alignment agents who’d kidnapped the baggage handlers were not slated for Houdini. They’d both die soon when their med implants failed to receive the ping that would abort the suicide program.

One of them would die from a heart attack, the other from a stroke. The Alignment had been careful to vary the cause of death so that there would be no unusual statistical “clumps.” Each program was also tailored to the individual’s medical history. Or medical records, at least. Those sometimes needed to be tweaked to give a healthy person a plausible cause of death.

Bolding and italics mine.

Now those were folks that were part of the Alignment but not part of Houdini...which makes me wonder if some of the Manpower folks (the smarter ones, who might have a clue), have had the same treatment.

Another meta-analysis by Anton coming up?

JohnRoth wrote:There are a lot of Mesan Alignment people on Mesa who aren't members of the Onion, and who aren't being taken off in Houdini. Admiral Henke is almost certainly going to meet one of them sooner rather than later - with Alfredo on hand.

Cauldron of Ghosts, Chapter 56 wrote:Chicherin leaned back in his chair, watching the other members of the General Board, and tried to keep his dismay from showing. He was an alpha-line whose family had been part of the Alignment for generations, and like the vast majority of the Aligment's membership he'd always hated Manpower and the institution of genetic slavery.

Just by being who he is, and where he's placed, he's going to be a very interesting prize. When Admiral Henke and Alfredo go to interview the General Board, his attitude toward genetic slavery is going to stand out like a beacon.

Up to this point, the Grand Alliance doesn't have a clue about the alpha-, beta- and gamma- lines. Given that, they might well be able to throw together a quick "alpha-line detector."

I also think Alfredo is going to be a permanent fixture around Admiral Henke, at least when she's interviewing anyone from Mesa.

And O'Hanrahan is going to be in deep trouble if Alfredo is anywhere around when the term "alpha-line" comes up. Especially if her genome shows significant similarities with Chicherin's.

Idealists are funny people. Some of them will continue to the bitter end, some of them will switch political alligence in a heartbeat, without giving up any iota of their ideals.

Jonathan_S wrote:Even with a willing collaborator providing a genetic sample to work from, an "alpha-line detector" is going to be tricky. Not all Alpha line people have exactly the same package of genetic tweaks, but all those tweaks were tried out in various combinations in both the genetic slaves and in lesser lines.

That's going to make it tricky to differente between an actual Alpha line person verses someone who was simply the beta tester for many of those genes.

Interesting, but there is something you may be missing.

From Cauldron of Ghosts:

“Why the hell haven’t you—oh. Never mind.” She’d just remember that the three agents were engaged in undercover work. The trackers that were embedded in Alignment personnel on Mesa sometimes didn’t work if they were taken behind shielding—or just too many meters of soil, if someone went underground. Given the nature of their duties, that wasn’t unlikely to happen.
“Hold on a minute.” She brought up her own records and gave them a quick examination. She was almost sure she already knew the answer to her question, but for something like this she felt obligated to make sure.
“Okay, what I thought. None of them were slated for Houdini. I assume their meds have been kept up to date?”

She gave the figure on the screen a sharp look. “Yes?”
“Yeah, sure. All my people had the refresher within the last two months.”

The special med implants in the trackers were good for at least a year. More to the point, if they weren’t pinged periodically the suicide program would automatically be initiated.

and

The culprits would never be found, however. Within two hours of their disappearance, they’d been consumed in a commercial garbage disintegrator whose security program had been bypassed by one of the Alignment’s top software specialists.

The software specialist would be one of the very last evacuees. The two Alignment agents who’d kidnapped the baggage handlers were not slated for Houdini. They’d both die soon when their med implants failed to receive the ping that would abort the suicide program.

One of them would die from a heart attack, the other from a stroke. The Alignment had been careful to vary the cause of death so that there would be no unusual statistical “clumps.” Each program was also tailored to the individual’s medical history. Or medical records, at least. Those sometimes needed to be tweaked to give a healthy person a plausible cause of death.

Hutch wrote:
Bolding and italics mine.

Now those were folks that were part of the Alignment but not part of Houdini...which makes me wonder if some of the Manpower folks (the smarter ones, who might have a clue), have had the same treatment.

Another meta-analysis by Anton coming up?

Interesting idea, but Chicherin isn't part of Manpower. There's also nothing to indicate he's inside the Onion. The only people who we've seen killed to date are people who are in the outer layer of the onion, and hence who know that there is a conspiracy, or people who have been involved in the coverup.

<snip>

Cauldron of Ghosts, Chapter 56 wrote:Chicherin leaned back in his chair, watching the other members of the General Board, and tried to keep his dismay from showing. He was an alpha-line whose family had been part of the Alignment for generations, and like the vast majority of the Aligment's membership he'd always hated Manpower and the institution of genetic slavery.

JohnRoth wrote:Just by being who he is, and where he's placed, he's going to be a very interesting prize. When Admiral Henke and Alfredo go to interview the General Board, his attitude toward genetic slavery is going to stand out like a beacon.

Up to this point, the Grand Alliance doesn't have a clue about the alpha-, beta- and gamma- lines. Given that, they might well be able to throw together a quick "alpha-line detector."

Jonathan_S wrote:Idealists are funny people. Some of them will continue to the bitter end, some of them will switch political alligence in a heartbeat, without giving up any iota of their ideals.

Even with a willing collaborator providing a genetic sample to work from, an "alpha-line detector" is going to be tricky. Not all Alpha line people have exactly the same package of genetic tweaks, but all those tweaks were tried out in various combinations in both the genetic slaves and in lesser lines.

That's going to make it tricky to differente between an actual Alpha line person verses someone who was simply the beta tester for many of those genes.

I don't know if McBride told The Boys about the Star Lines, but didn't they already have a "willing collaborator" who knew he was an Alpha Line? Herlander, I mean.


Also, Chicherin is on the general board and hates Manpower. Well, so did most of the others--Manpower wasn't a likable entity. So whatever his attitude about Manpower and slavery, we already knew there were people among the citizens of Mesa who wanted to get rid of slavery.

Rob

edited to fix a bad quote.