His sworn oath was a 'capstone', not the entire basis of my read. This is not the same thing as my 'buddying' in a previous game, where I later admitted to knowing nothing about his alignment (and I never, ever claimed to, like I am here and now). I have two weeks of analysis and insight into his motivations that I'm basing this read on.
But just for the sake of argument, I'll discard his oath for now and give a more objective opinion.
I don't think anyone would argue that NQT hasn't been frustrated. After the last game he played with me, he was surprised by my sudden change in attitude towards him. Where I had previously been jovial and friendly, I was now cold and hostile. (This was intentional on my part. If nothing else, I wanted him to see that he'd been a little overconfident when he said he didn't need another BM) (I also can't take sole credit. Nerjin provided the lead for me to start on, and it was really the combined effect of the entire group's suspicion that kept the pressure on him)
His frustration is pretty clearly visible, even from the beginning. You can clearly see that he's feeling the pressure in his early overreactions and exaggerations, like these:
Ford
What's your beef, man? We're all supposed to be comrades here.
However, I'm thinking that as Nerjin, and to some extent Ford, have been tunnelling me so intently... -snip-
Later on, he begins acting out in a passive-aggressive manner, with
statements like this, and by criticizing the game itself for being flawed. If you have even a passing familiarity with this aspect of psychology, you know that this kind of behavior is practically synonymous with frustration.
So with that established, his 'sworn oath' is clearly the product of his frustration. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Either way, he's frustrated that he's being dismissed as a spy, and he would seek to counterbalance it.
However, this oath reminds me more of Chris Dorner. It sounds to me more like someone with a martyr complex than someone who is simply frustrated at failing to blend in.
I think there's two reasons to believe this oath:
1. It's more consistent with someone who is falsely accused than with someone who is merely frustrated.
2. When it's challenged, NQT chooses to defend it by reinforcing the idea that he believes it to have consequences beyond the game.
So to put it down simply, I'm calling NQT a rebel because I've looked at the choices he made, and they are most consistent with a rebel who feels like he has been oppressed and mistreated the entire game.
...but that's not all.
I'm pretty sure that NQT wasn't faking his cluelessness and lack of insight, which is what I've been probing him for the entire game. His first answers indicated that he hadn't discussed any sort of strategy prior to the game (since his answers fit perfectly with someone who hadn't grasped the basic strategy yet), but I wasn't sure at the time whether he was faking it or not. Even at the time I thought it would difficult for him to fake that particular brand of cluelessness.
Bottom Line: I know he's controversial, but I can't leave out anybody "to be safe". I have to make some calls and take some risks, and this read is the one I think is the most reliable.
Author
Topic: Viva la Revolucion! Game Over, man, Game over! (Read 124231 times)