002 - Near - [Audio] - Please bear with him and his tl;dr

[whitestlie]

[A week of waiting had been enough. Near had see how the epidemic had subsided just as quickly as it had come, and all over the course of exactly one week, just as he was told. The event itself paved way for other advantages as well. Near did not have to worry about any sort of physical threats due to everyone else falling ill, and since those who

Comments

[Audio]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[He's keeping a very composed, level tone through all of this...]

Spare locks and security cameras are something you may have to scavenge - we'll end up in another city temporarily sooner or later, I'm sure.

As for regulating crimes, that's ... [he frowns.] There was an attempt at a system that imploded rather badly; attempts at reorganizing something have been slow. I suspect that some are still wary after the last attempt.

I haven't been here as long as some others, but I have been attempting to study the Author and her patterns; I might know something of use. As for contacting her, the best that I know of is that there's a talking rabbit that appears occasionally who seems to be connected to her that would know. The plots typically last a week, although there's occasionally shifts in what's going on that'll drag it out for two or three weeks, and change over quite regularly sometime Sunday night; it seems to vary exactly when.

What sort of tasks are you looking for help with?

[Audio]

[whitestlie]

[Pfft, silly boy, Near doesn't scavenge. He gets people to scavenge for him!]

Thank you for the information. [A very comprehensive answer. Congratulations, stranger. Near is mildly impressed with you.]

So crimes do exist at the manor? I suppose there are people around to alert if they ever occur, perhaps you yourself, since you sound involved? How does one contact this rabbit? I don't suppose he owns one of these phones?

As for the tasks, how much of your time are you willing to spare?

[Audio]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[Well, it's how he's used to functioning; filling someone in on what's going on is more to his benefit in any case, since someone screwing up and doing something stupid or tripping over something they didn't expect is more likely of a danger than someone trying to somehow manipulate or take advantage of things.Yes, they do exist, although what qualifies is open to debate - generally it seems that starting chaos or stepping outside the bounds of some sort of personal conflict is the general definition here. The population is widely varied, and there's a range between people accustomed to structured stable societies, as I'd presume you to be so far, and people from situations that're far more chaotic and far less stable. The previous legal system partly tripped up in attempting to hold people who had no reason to have faith in authority and law for its own sake to their definition of the rules, and "society" here has certainly not had time to develop any sense of commonalities that'd allow for rules that are "stable foregone

[Audio]

[whitestlie]

Yes, I have noticed those with short tempers on the network over the past week, which is why I am concerned. Given the density of the community and how public everything is, I do not believe extravagant, planned crimes would be as much of a problem, since they could hardly go undetected. However, that does not decrease the likelihood of someone acting out from provocation or insanity. In that case, like you said, basic common sense dictates how things progress. Good choices would be the best prevention factor, but it is always good to be prepared in case something does go wrong, which is what I intend to do. This is not strictly limited to dangers caused by the residents, but also those instigated by the Author. You mentioned that there are a few here who volunteered to act for exactly this reason. I would like to know who they are so that I may take your advice and forge a decent relationship with these people.

["Relationship" is a very broad term here.]

Also, if this rabbit has a blackberry, do you have his contact information?

[

[Audio]

[im_in_ur_exit]

Well, there was the string of serial murders one week, but that's a rather long story and was dealt with quite soundly. The impermanence of death here shifts things strangely, and honestly, I would intend that any response include the victim's wishes - quite a few cases of "provocation" end up settled by the parties involved without others being drug into it. Insanity is a touch less stable; the Author cannot directly control people's actions, but she has occasionally done things like temporarily shift what point in their life they're "from", leading to changes in how they interact with others.

[ and as much as you're speaking sense for the most part, he's still inclined to be - cautious.] Apollo Justice, Shinichi Kudo, Tom Hanson, Mikami Teru, Naomi Misora, Heiji Hattori, and Ichabod Crane are the main ones involved; I suspect Mello is liable to be involved as well. There's a few others that assist as well, but better to start with the ones that are most solidly involved and introductions to the others that are incidental help

[Audio]

[whitestlie]

[Well then, Near supposes he can wait for the rabbit, as much as that annoys him. He recites the list of names in his head. Interesting that Mikami is on the list. Mello's name, on the other hand, was raised with what seemed like doubt, but Near supposes that that's not too surprising.]

You may call me Near [As if that's enough to solve his problems], but do not get me wrong. Right now, I am just a newcomer interested in finding out about the workings of the manor and how to optimize my safety. Of course, as a member of this community, I would like to help when help is needed, but I have no desire to officially join this unofficial police force since, like you implied, I have not been here long enough to earn any sort of trust and am perfectly aware of it. Out of curiosity though, what would be enough to assure you of my honesty, as you so put it

[Audio]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[Only making audio posts and going by a likely alias - paranoid little thing aren't you?] My name is Saguru Hakuba - and a meeting in person would certainly be a start. [After all, there's so much more he can put together in person that may or may not be things someone would telegraph if they knew about it or had a chance to avoid it...and you are being oh-so-careful about what you're saying and how you're wording it, aren't you?]

For what it's worth here, I'm a detective. [He could elaborate, but he's curious to see how that bit of information will be taken and in which directions.]

[Audio->Private]

[whitestlie]

Nice to meet you, Saguru Hakuba. I have actually heard quite a good deal about you.

[There is the sound of soft tapping in the background. Near is playing with his action figures at this point.]

Of course we can meet.

[Near deliberately cuts off the feed at this point to issue a new encrypted version. If Kira was listening, no doubt he would be itching to see Near's actual face.]

Sorry about that. Anyway, I mean it when I say I could meet you. However, for the same reasons outlined above, I would not feel comfortable leaving my room unless I am sure that I can remain safe.

You are free to come to my room if you wish, however.

[Private]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[He's going to let go the fact that if someone were listening in, it'd be slightly odd timing for the feed cutoff.]

Safety is always going to be a very relative and subjective term, but I can understand caution.

I can be there shortly, if it wouldn't be an issue.

[Private]

[whitestlie]

Room 002 then. I look forward to meeting you.

[Private -> In Person]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[Saguru will be knocking on the door shortly - and waiting, calmly; of course he's armed and of course it's not visible.]

[In Person]

[whitestlie]

[Near speaks through the door.]

Just as a precaution, Saguru Hakuba, I have modified my phone such that if anything happens, a simple press of a button will send an emergency message throughout the entire network. Also, I have another device hidden here that is constantly recording audio so if anything happens, it will pick it up. Left untouched, after a certain period of time, the device will automatically send the recording to the entire network. If every goes smoothly, I will disable it and erase all data following our conversation.

[In other words, if you attempt to harm Near, the entire house will be alerted sooner or later.]

Of course we won't be discussing anything that would require secrecy. This is all just for precaution. Would that be a problem?

[In reality, Near does not have any recording system set up, at least not yet, but it doesn't hurt to lie about it for now, especially since he's pretty sure Hakuba will not pull anything out of the blue anyway.]

[In Person]

[im_in_ur_exit]

That sounds like a reasonable enough precaution for a foreign place. [So long as you assume the rest of the network would help and that it's not some scenario where they're all in on the kidnapping - but paranoia is paranoia, and he's not exactly going to go starting a fight.]

Is it alright to come in?

Re: [In Person]

[whitestlie]

[Near verifies that Hakuba is alone through one of the new peepholes that he had Dende forge for him on the sides of the wall before unlocking the door and opening it.

Have a lil 5'1 white haired freak in pajamas two sizes too big for him greeting you at the door. Oh yeah, he's also wearing this lovely little thing.]

Welcome. Please come in.

[Welcome to Near's room! It's clean but not exactly the most tidy. Several toys, action figures, robots, dinosaurs, you name it, are scattered around the floor, a miniature train set is running in the back corner of the room, and on the other side is an unfinished card tower about two feet high.]

And don't step on the toys.

[He waits in case Hakuba has anything to say. He's heard enough about the man to know that he's an important figure at he manor. If there's a way to attain power during Near's stay here, he might just be the ticket to it, although Near will continue to feign disinterest until he acquires more information. Besides, going back home and taking care of unfinished business is

[In Person]

[im_in_ur_exit]

[The mask is just further paranoia; he's noted that Near apparently doesn't leave the room, and that there's likely next to no social experience; he's obviously dealt with PEOPLE before, but there's likely a few tics possibly bordering on disorders there, if not crossing that line. Judging by the toys, he's from a version of Earth, at least...]

[He is, at least, not going to comment on the mask, although he does raise an eyebrow lightly.]

I admit, I'm curious - you do seem quite curious about the law enforcement situation for someone who claims to be purely a bystander.

[In Person]

[whitestlie]

[Curiosity breeds curiosity. Near twirls a strand of hair as he slowly turns and walks towards the center of the room. He then takes a seat kneel on the floor, never mind that there's a perfectly good chair right next to him.]

Are most newcomers not interested in their safety?

[Half sarcastic, half serious, but who can tell through the boy's spiritless drone? Based on what he's seen, Near wouldn't past most of the stupid unobservant, naive residents here to trust just about anything and anyone.]