They're on to you. They know what you want, and they give it to you. They look in the dossiers and their folders and their filofaxes and their spreadsheets and their schematics, and they suss you out easier than Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Hungry Baby Who Just Wants Another Shot At The Tit.
Ok, sure. You gave them a bit of trouble at first. To be fair, they hadn't finished a decent proof of concept yet, and were doing most of the work by hand, cranking out the reports, and communications just weren't what they are today. Now, they can run things in real time—did you know they had a special team trained just to handle your case? They were given special exceptions to think laterally; it turns out that was the key, and once they got permission for that, they locked in.
You see, ever since that month back in '86, they knew the standard programs wouldn't work. Hell, they pretty much gave up the idea of direct programming entirely. It was Henry Schaeffer who came up with the idea, at first. He knew that standard containment practices weren't going to work either, which is where the idea of dynamic containment was born. Management was desperate to try anything at that point, so they gave it a shot.
Roger, you're a free man... One of the only free men left. But they realized that doesn't matter, if you're the only free man in a programmed world. They couldn't get to you, so they got to everything else. They track you, they notice you, they mark you, and then they change your environment to get you to do exactly what they want. Traffic patterns, work flow, supermarket checkout lines, it's all being controlled to get a specific reaction out of you. To leave you exactly where they've planned to leave you.
They gave Henry a medal when he pointed out that you'd keep feeling like you were acting independently, and with free will. No more problems with you shaking off the indoctrinations, rebelling against authority, breaking rules. They plotted the inevitable results, with real-time adjustments when the Butterfly Effect kicks in. A few tweaks here, a brief rain shower there, maybe just an additional tumbleweed. They know what they're doing. They've been doing it for years.
It's all in there, Roger. In the files. All the commands, the controls, action/reaction analysis, everything. It's spooky, the things they can make the people around you do. I saw a screencap grabbed during your last interaction with Mike the engineer. Henry showed me. He started to feel bad about what they were making you do, once the dynamic containment proved successful. Some Director got her hands on one of the Butterfly reports, and got to thinking. From there, some poor analyst starting working after hours with no overtime calculating probability streams, coming up with strategies that far surpassed anything the Company had tried before. Far reaching consequences, based around the programs they set up to contain you. Everyone seemed to like it, too, that after all the trouble you gave them, they could ultimately say that everything that happened was your fault. Everyone except Henry, as it turned out.
Poor guy. They got him shortly after he showed me the screencap. I guess he forgot that when the Butterfly report hit critical mass, it contained the possibilities of everyone who came into contact with you. He slipped by, just barely, but they were able to correct pretty quickly by shifting Ken's third visit last week. And yeah, I know what this means regarding me, and this very letter. Unfortunate implications, indeed.
So, what's it like being the Last Free Man?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 22, 2010, 07:22:43 PM
So, what's it like being the Last Free Man?
It feels like Papa Hemmingway in a dry county. It feels like Johnny Cash trying to perform Dolly Parton tunes. It's like Roger Bannister on a treadmill, and like Cinco De Mayo with skunky beer.
It's like your Ipod jammed on Taylor Swift.
Yeah, I'm free. Just like the planets are free to move all they like, and just like a mouse is free to move at will within the confines of its maze. I'm so fucking free, I eat stars and shit stripes.
Your point is all too depressingly accurate. Of what use is freedom, when your options are limited by market realities?
Fuck.
I'm getting drunk tonight.
LMNO, Chairman of the Board.
Fuck, you guys are on a roll today. I enjoyed reading.. .well, everything today.
Sorry about that, Roger. I tried to write, and this is what came out.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 22, 2010, 08:04:17 PM
Sorry about that, Roger. I tried to write, and this is what came out.
No sweat. There's no point not taking the bull by the tail and staring the facts in the face.
I just have to adjust my worldview a bit, with the use of Johnny Cash and some cheapshit whiskey.
Also, I've always suspected Ken. He's too stupid to be real.
I thought it was depressingly brilliant.
Excellent writing. Really hit the... Er, well. It hit something, that's for damn sure.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 22, 2010, 08:12:41 PM
Also, I've always suspected Ken. He's too stupid to be real.
Keep your eye out for more of them. With luck, you'll start noticing the patterns.
LMNO
-John Nash ain't got nuthin' on me.
Christ, you've got even me looking over my shoulder.
GODDAMN!
Fucking awesome, it has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
YES. THSI. MOAR.
Last night, Roger left me a truly awesome voicemail.
"YEAH, I'M FREE YOU SONOFABITCH! I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN COKE AND PEPSI! I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN LEVI'S AND WRANGLER, AND GODDAMIT, I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN FORD AND CHEVY! HOT DAMN, I'M THE NEXT GODDAMN THOMAS JEFFERSON!"
:lulz: That sounds like him, alright.
And excellent OP, Alphapance...what you produce when you're apparently "stuck" in brainspace is phenomenal. :mittens:
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on December 23, 2010, 01:50:32 PM
Last night, Roger left me a truly awesome voicemail.
"YEAH, I'M FREE YOU SONOFABITCH! I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN COKE AND PEPSI! I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN LEVI'S AND WRANGLER, AND GODDAMIT, I CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN FORD AND CHEVY! HOT DAMN, I'M THE NEXT GODDAMN THOMAS JEFFERSON!"
It's been too long since I've done that sort of shit.
Sorry to cockblock your VM last night, by the way.