Yomiel and Simon, Day 03

[schrodingers_man]

[ Hey Simon were you planning on doing something anytime soon? NOT ANYMORE YOU'RE NOT, not with this sudden ambush by Yomiel. At least he had the decency to make sure nobody was around first, but apparently that's not good enough as he jerks his head in the direction of the bedrooms. ]

I need to talk to you. Now.

Comments

[murimurimuri]

[Simon is easily herded, at least.]

What's up?

[schrodingers_man]

I need to know the details of how your role works.

You were right last night, when you guessed I might be the Loyalty Officer myself. Now that Kimbley's dead and he's taken the Citizens' shield with him, the game's changed. If Rin predicted the Communists' actions right at last night's trial, they scanned me last night, and even if they didn't, they probably suspect the same thing you did.

Either way, as long as they have any reason to suspect I could be the Loyalty Officer, I'm almost definitely a dead man tonight. It's a long shot, but there's only one way I can think of to get them off-track. I have to convince everyone that I have the other unidentified role: yours.

[murimurimuri]

I was afraid of that...

I have an extra menu in my PDC. It shouldn't be hard for you to fake it.

[schrodingers_man]

[ Yomiel nods. His role works the same way, but the menu's locked during the day. ]

Sorry, Simon. My plan's a little more complicated than holding up my PDC and pointing to a menu no one else can see. But it'll be a lot more convincing, too.

I found one of the Communists last night. If I make a big show of pretending to eliminate her on the Loyalty Officer's orders while you actually take her out, that should fool everyone. It'll use up your single bullet, but I don't think there'll be a better opportunity to use it than today.

[murimurimuri]

I agree completely. But who are you going to imply is the real Loyalty Officer?

[schrodingers_man]

No one. I already said I wouldn't say anything to reveal them and there's definitely no reason to go back on that now that the Defense Officer is gone. The "real" Loyalty Officer will become a ghost, impossible to catch.

...I realize that if this works there's a risk they'll scan you and decide you're the Loyalty Officer. But I don't think that's likely to happen. Their targets up until now have been people who draw attention to themselves, people who look like they pose a threat. You're not like me or Kimbley. Stick to Knightley's shadow like you have been, and I don't think they'll have any reason to suspect you of anything.

[murimurimuri]

Um, to be perfectly honest... I don't think your plan is going to work. You've been so intelligent and trustworthy thus far that without a better target, the Communists will kill you regardless of whether they figure out you're the Loyalty Officer.

If you really want to survive, you're going to need to offer someone else up, and it will have to look both accidental and convincing.

[schrodingers_man]

...That kid, Paul. He already offered to claim the role to buy some time. I told him I'd have to discuss it with the Loyalty Officer and get back to him.

I was going to tell him not to, but... you're probably right.

[ The idea obviously doesn't sit well with him, but... Kimbley was right last night, more right than he probably even realized. If he's serious about winning, he has to live. ]

[murimurimuri]

...It's a difficult thing to do. Maybe even a cruel thing. But if he's willing to help, he could save a lot of lives. You're the best hope the rest of us have.

Does the anonymous messaging system update in real time or just once a day? If it's the former, we could have him send out a signal - one you will respond to publicly and me privately.

[schrodingers_man]

You haven't tried it yet? The program won't even run during the day. I don't get the results of my investigation until the morning, so it's probably set up that way to make my job more difficult. Or at least keep it from being easier. We'll have to think of another way.

What if he just confessed to falsely claiming the role? Say he tricked me and got a lucky guess in on Anthy. [ Oh hey apparently that's who he wants Simon to eliminate. Good job not saying that earlier, Yomiel. ] It checks out. Greed was already dead by the time I was "told" he was cleared. The message about Phi really was faked by the Communists. The "real" Loyalty Officer "probably" let us do it because it saved them the trouble of revealing themselves. Then the kid gets a chance to live, I look like the kind of idiot who gets fooled by a twelve-year-old, and the "real" Loyalty Officer disappears, only sharing their information through the anonymous messages. It should work.

[murimurimuri]

(I'd rather just sacrifice the kid, but I guess it's not my hide on the line here.)

That's not a bad plan. He can frame it like he had a hunch he needed to vindicate even at the risk of killing somebody innocent. That seems pretty in-line with his personality.

How do we time it?

[schrodingers_man]

The sooner we kill Anthy the better. We'll get a clearance boost from that, and it could prove useful. [ Also the food options will improve, that's always important. ]

The kid... I think he should let it slip right after that. Pretend he just got caught up in the moment of victory and wasn't watching exactly what he was saying. That's probably more believable than deliberately confessing it later. The lie should hold up even to careful scrutiny, so it doesn't matter how long we let the Communists think about the new information. And if we put it off too long, they might already have their minds made up about who to kill.

[murimurimuri]

All right. I'm ready whenever you and Paul are.