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[Glass]

...
Thing is, you can never be sure. At least one side needs to be unsure. If we wait until he's sent the rebels to us to send him the money, then he's unsure. If we give him the money beforehand, then we're unsure.

Really, the only solution is to give him the money right when he gives us the rebels, and that may not really be plausible.

[Paxiecrunchle]

wait did we ever give the parrot a name? What is he/she doing today?

[blueturtle1134]

We never did name the parrot. He's currently advising Celling using his incredible knowledge of conditions in Antarctica, Padelheb's situation, and the fourth wall.

[Paxiecrunchle]

We never did name the parrot. He's currently advising Celling using his incredible knowledge of conditions in Antarctica, Padelheb's situation, and the fourth wall.

I vote for naming him Alex Eisenstein, after a very smart man and a very smart man.

[blueturtle1134]

I'd like an exact-words response to the caller, please.

[Glass]

Hmn...

"Alright, sir, we need you to listen.
It is not physically possible for us to make it so that you can be absolutely certain that we'll give you the money once the rebels are turned in. Hear me out.

There's three possible situations: the money is turned over before, during, or after you turn over the rebels. If we give it to you before, then while you are sure that you're getting the money, we're not sure that you actually have the rebels, or that you're actually going to turn them over, which is the point of the reward. If we give it to you afterwards, then we know you gave us the rebels, but you're not sure that we'll give you the money. And if we give it to you when you give us the rebels, then it would have to be carefully set up such that the rebel tramsfer and the money transfer happen at the exact same time, and that there's no possibility that either group may attack the other.

Do you see where the issue is?

Essentially, the only practical methods - that is, payment before or after - requires a degree of trust from one side or the other, and for a transaction of this size, it would have to be a lot of trust.

So, in short, one of us is going to just trust the other to follow up on their side of the deal."

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS AS WHAT WE SAY RIGHT NOW! PLEASE GIVE THE OTHER POEPLE TIME TO GIVE INPUT ON THIS! THIS IS PROBABLY NOT AT ALL THE RIGHT THING TO SAY!

[blueturtle1134]

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS AS WHAT WE SAY RIGHT NOW!

Well, too bad.


The phone man tries to explain.

“Alright, sir, we need you to listen. It is not physically possible for us to make it so that you can be absolutely certain-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” the caller says. “Keep on going like this, and we'll end up juggling money and rebels. But you’ve told me this, which-”

BANG!

There is a shot on the other end of the line.

The line goes dead.


The man at the phone slowly sinks back into his chair.

Celling lowers his head in defeat.

And that’s when the tech head on the other end of the table chirps up, “I’m doooonnee!”

Celling lifts his head back up. “What?”

“Traced the call!” he says happily. “Based on the phone number and records obtained from telecom companies, the call originated from Sector AQ-49, Substation 4, a twenty-mile stretch of land by the beach.”

Celling’s eyes go wide. “I don’t suppose we could-”

“Already done,” says the tech. He tosses Celling a map. The area in question is highlighted. “It’s prime tourist property. There are several zones of interest that are used for different things.”

Area 1: Street. This area encompasses Windward Lane and is surrounded by commercial district. There are different shops as well as some small single-family houses here.
Area 2: Hotels. This area is at the end of Eden Street and has several hotels and restaurants that cater to tourists.
Area 3: Pier. This is Pier 42, mainly a souvenir and shopping place, with different stores. It’s also a prime spot for sightseeing and fishing, and dolphins frequent the area.
Area 4: Beach. This is your classical day-trip beach, full of sunbathing people and sand castles. Several boats are also moored here.
Area 5: Marina. This smaller pier is lesser used and is a fishing spot as well as a boat dock. There are several fishing supply stores here.



We now have the option to search any of these areas. If you pick the correct one you will instantly know. If you pick the wrong one then consequences happen. You can also simply abort and leave at any time.

Spoiler: Consequences (click to show/hide)

For the n-th wrong guess:

N out of 6 chance of decrease to Political stat.

(N-1) out of 6 chance of decrease to Military stat

(2N-1) out of 6 chance the rebels leave the location and it's over.

Choose:
A: Area 1, Main Street
B: Area 2, Hotels and restaurants
C: Area 3, Shopping Pier
D: Area 4, Beach
E: Area 5, Boats and Fishing
F: Abort, end event, no risk

[Glass]

Any hints?
Also, was this going to happen regardless?

[blueturtle1134]

Any hints?
Also, was this going to happen regardless?

After 100 words were spoken by both sides, the informant would be found out, as informants usually are in action fiction. This whole event was a test of whether you could extract the relevant information within 100 words - without knowing that you had a limit.

I hope you've realized that being in a cliche universe is actually terrifyingly dangerous. This is actually what motivates Quill, by the way.

Hints? Don't think about where the rebels are. They could conceivably hide in all places. Rather, think of where they're going. I've already given you enough hints.

[Glass]

Hints? Don't think about where the rebels are. They could conceivably hide in all places. Rather, think of where they're going.

Check the Marina. There's nothing more dramatic than a boat chase, especially with stolen boats.
If it's not that, it's going to be Main Street.

[blueturtle1134]

Check the Marina. There's nothing more dramatic than a boat chase, especially with stolen boats.
If it's not that, it's going to be Main Street.

Can I get a +1?

[crazyabe]

Check the Marina. There's nothing more dramatic than a boat chase, especially with stolen boats.
If it's not that, it's going to be Main Street.

I +1?

[Paxiecrunchle]

Check the Marina. There's nothing more dramatic than a boat chase, especially with stolen boats.
If it's not that, it's going to be Main Street.

I +1?

+2 ?

[blueturtle1134]

Alright then.


...

...

YOU WIN!

The Mariana was the correct choice. I will soon post what may be my most ambitiously ostentatious segment yet - a fully-3D model of the dock in question, used for simulating your tactics. In the meantime, let's cut to Ensign Armen DeMarco.

[omada]

oh god, of the first bet