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[mandrakeroot]

Mandrake here.

Comments

[deuceoftears]

Given the inmate population, sometimes looking out for all of you, in aggregate, means keeping some information secure.

We don't want to set off escalation spirals or the like, for one thing. And the wardens who know the most about some inmates also have even odds of being very invested in their getting a chance.

[He doesn't always agree with where his fellow wardens end up drawing those lines - but certainly some of them have been drawn.]

[mandrakeroot]

[He crosses his arms, considering.]

But I don't know if it's worthwhile information.

[deuceoftears]

I don't know what you think is worthwhile. But browsing the back archive, 'this seemingly very polite new inmate likes to wear people as jackets, don't let him work in the wardrobe' type notices seem to crop up occasionally. Which I don't know if I'm glad to know, but seems better than not knowing.

[mandrakeroot]

Is that a literal example? [It sounds like something someone here would do. No proper respect for how deeply unhygienic that would be. As well as melodramatic. But that's off topic.] I'd be willing to test a temporary arrangement. Share anything 'locked' until the end of the month, and then see from there.

[deuceoftears]

Not quite. But - you know. That general mood.

Alright, deal.

[Three days later.]

Come over. It's not exactly jackets, but it's interesting.

three days later

[mandrakeroot]

Jackets wouldn't be interesting, just disgusting.

[He doesn't need a special filter to assume that about his fellow passengers. But he's willing to consider the possibility that there is something he'd want to know, so he does make his way directly down to Jedao's.]

What is it?

[deuceoftears]

I'm not narrating it all. The reactions are interesting too. Or I think so, anyway. I'll make tea and you can just read it on mine.

[mandrakeroot]

[Nathaniel nods, sitting down to go through the post.]

Explosives.

[Definitely said in a completely reasonable tone, given the circumstances. Who has managed to keep two thumbs despite being in a number of buildings that suffered explosions and/or collapse? It's the teenager on the couch who's never heard the word 'trauma'.]

[deuceoftears]

Apparently he's something of a professional, but I certainly wouldn't want them in circulation.

If you have additional suggestions for precautions, I'm happy to pass them on.

[mandrakeroot]

A professional means he's better at blowing things up. Without getting himself caught up in it. [Which he'd deserve.]

The 'precaution' is not to give out explosives. I saw no evidence it's a justifiable choice. I saw no indication that Jacobi's some ghastly creature that requires explosives to survive. It sounds like he just wants them.

[deuceoftears]

I think so, yes.

[Jedao scoots a cup of herbal tea over to him.]

What do you expect him to do?

[mandrakeroot]

What does he expect to do with them?

If it's nothing, than why does he need to have them?

[deuceoftears]

Experiment and design, I think?

As a matter of craft.

[mandrakeroot]

[He scoffs, remembering the man bleeding himself dry for his craft. His grandchildren, in a place where no one's left to care remember them.]

So, not something that outweighs risk. And that's if nothing goes 'wrong'. I'm so glad to hear that his warden will be taking responsibility for people being killed if some other idiot gets their hands on them. Really takes care of any potential objections.

[deuceoftears]

Not in any ordinary accounting. Which does make it an extremely tenuous privilege he doesn't want to lose.

I felt much the same. Apparently they're close enough that it's further incentive to caution.

[mandrakeroot]

Is Jacobi the most powerful inmate on this ship?

[deuceoftears]

I don't think so.

Would that be better or worse?

[mandrakeroot]

It might offer justification for the belief that he'd be the only one keeping hold of these 'explosives'. [More than a little sarcastic.]

[deuceoftears]

Several of the wardens involved with making sure they don't get out are among the more powerful ones.

[mandrakeroot]

[Nathaniel scowls. Even deeper than usual. He doesn't slump on the couch, as adopting such a posture would be unfathomable, but perhaps in a world where he hadn't been drilled so strictly on proper behavior.]

I still don't think there's any good reason. Or that it's right.

[deuceoftears]

I know think I know them well enough to say with any confidence whether it's a good enough reason or not.

But I do think it's being undertaken with more caution than almost anything else I've seen here, and unlikely to lead to disaster. Especially compared to...all the other risks here.

[mandrakeroot]

If so, that's proof that other things could be undertaken with more caution. And should be.

[But a deal is a deal. He takes out his own communicator.] There was this and this on the 'inmate' filter.

[deuceoftears]

[Jedao reads through them both - not just the posts but all the subsequent conversations on the filter.]

Thank you.

[mandrakeroot]

I keep my deals.

[deuceoftears]

I thought so.

[And there's a small, fond smile.]