mind_blown | (no subject)

Without asking him directly.

[ a tactic jason had already tried... once. but Will's naming conventions had completely thrown him for a loop, and so he was left with almost nothing... except the knowledge that he could do something like that again, if he wanted to. Maybe not to Will, and maybe not immediately.

but he could. ]

I'm just asking for a general explanation to start off with, here. I mean it when I say I barely know what the word means. Besides, I'm not sure any of us should let on that we know something more than what Robin said in public.

[It's tough, not knowing that still. Daylight showed him the tablet months ago and he's been debating with himself ever since if he should tell Will he knows. So he hasn't, because at least that still leaves him the option to go either way.

But it's something he'd like to discuss with Jason, at least. Just, one step at a time]

A general explanation.

[this is annoyingly difficult, but realistically, it's just a piece of armor, right?]

Keep in mind, we don't really know what he did. We don't know who is providing these tablets, and how they connect to the whole situation here. As for hacking, just think of it this way: the stuff that runs those tablets? It's got some armor. Think chainmail. Sometimes it's a shitty, rusted piece of work. Other times, it's a lot more advanced.

Hacking's just taking advantage of any chinks in that armor to get at the heart of the program. That simple enough for ya?

[It's probably too simple, but he nods. It's still a useful simile. He doesn't have the foggiest idea how all that is accomplished with a tablet but maybe he's just better off asking Will for a general primer on hacking after all without letting on why he's curious. He'd already been picturing it as breaking into a vault, of sorts - one just has to have the right key, the right lockpick, the right combination. A sort of puzzle to solve. But Jason's imagery, while more violent, also carries with it the importance of one swift, sure, well-aimed shot. Precision and speed. And that's something he prides himself at with a pistol. Why tinker around for too long? Just get the job done or you put yourself at more risk.]

All right. Yes, that's... fine. Thank you. So whatever he did, he found the weak spot. Disabled, somehow, her ability to include him in the reset, and Robin couldn't "fix" that in time. But not just him - it sounds like, if he had wanted to, he could have included anyone along with him. Like the spirits follow instructions tied to individual people, and you can turn those off, or hide them, one at a time.

[Can Robin execute a reset if she isn't on the network? Hm. No, the foghorn might still be able to push the message out. That's what had gotten half of them killed that first time anyway.]

Seems like you got the general gist of it, yeah. Something about the resets is tied to the network, and his advantage is that he figured out how to make himself a secondary admin.

[ he's not about to say Robin can't figure out how to undo it-- but it sounds like she couldn't. and given how quickly he'd broken through Will's firewall, Jason suspects it's more likely that she just wasn't technically savvy enough to do it-- that there was some sort of automatic process.

which. again. that has so many questions and implications that are laid bare. how, in some sort of "objective reality" where they are dead... are they supposed to believe that so much was left in the hands of a computer program?

honestly, he'd place bets that they somehow got sucked into some weird computer simulation. it's a long shot, but it makes sense. ]

Every program has weak spots, yeah. And while Will's smart, I don't get the impression that he's that much smarter than someone else who happens to be good at computers. But I could be wrong.

And are you good at computers?

[That's a word that keeps coming up. It seems related to the tablets and via context he's come up with a sort of half-definition: machines relating to storing and executing information. Bigger than the tablets maybe, or more general in function. Everyone regards them as more important than the tablets so it's something like that.

Regardless, the way Jason talks implies he knows a decent amount about them. Is it general knowledge? Or can he "hack" too?]

Passable.

But I haven't asked anyone else. There's so few of us here, it's possible I might know more about computers. But I wouldn't just assume that.

[That is one extreme non-answer. He's over-explaining. Either awkward, lying, or nervous. All three seem plausible in the circumstances, so Rosinante just shrugs.]

All right. So, what do we do? What would you do, if it were up to you? We know the doctor can break into Robin's computer, or at least that he has. He could probably make all kinds of changes, not just keep people from being reset. Do we say anything, to him or to Robin?

[ the joke is that this is out of Jason's wheelhouse, so he discounts his skill there when it matters. ]

You can say something to him, assuming they're not truly on the same side. It's a risk, but it's calculated enough. I haven't, though.

You would.

[Certainly not a question, but Rosinante almost make it into one. He spends a moment in thought, weighing the context with the consequences. There's so much information in that short little conversation the others in Beacon don't know - about how desperately Robin wanted Will dead, how she would probably still get rid of him just to keep him from causing her further trouble. About how Winters vouched for him. There are ways to twist the information to pit people against either Robin or Will and while he doesn't want either of them hurt, it's a good thing to have in one's back pocket.]

I don't think there's anything to gain from it. I think bringing it up will make him nervous we want something from him. He'll be less likely to cooperate down the line, and at the slightest hint of an oncoming reset, we'll lose whatever help he might have provided when he flees to protect himself. I'm inclined to stay quiet, and tell the others to do the same.