The Conscience of the King Chapter 14: Mortal City "She said 'What kind of people make a city where you can't see the sky and you can't feel the ground? I tell you something, I have this feeling that this city's dying.' He said, 'It's not dying, it's the people who are dying.' She said, 'Yes, yes, I think the people are dying and nobody cares. We had all this technology, our dreams were bold and vague...'" -- Dar Williams The call had come in when Tseng was halfway through dinner. Once he'd heard what it was about, he had stopped being annoyed by the interruption, and had barely stopped to pull on his jacket and shoes before starting to move. Reno met him down on street level, simply materializing at his side as he pushed through the crowds heading from one subway track to the other through the mall. Reno was deadly serious as he asked, "How bad is it?" Tseng didn't even glance over his shoulder, simply picked up the pace. "Bad. They said he's conscious and talking, but just barely. I sent Rude over to the site to keep an eye on ExSec and supervise the forensics; you and I are going over to the hospital to make damn sure that nothing /else/ happens." Reno fell into step beside Tseng, matching his superior's long strides. "Any word on who did it?" Tseng's lips thinned. "I have a few suspicions," he said, grimly. "You remember that I was given a warning several weeks ago. I have a feeling that this was intended to hit us, and they missed." Reno had known full well, when Tseng had passed along that warning, where it had come from. None of them had spoken about it. "You think she had anything to do with it?" Reno asked now, a frown crossing his face. "I'm certain she didn't. I might be /wrong/, but I'm /certain/." They hit the glass doors in the front of the building at stride, barely pausing as they went through; the car was already parked in front of the building. Illegally, of course, but the Midgar police department -- reduced to traffic enforcement, for the most part, these days -- knew better than to even try to ticket it. Reno peeled out into the traffic with the typical screech of tires. "How many people down?" Tseng's eyes were on the sidewalks as Reno drove, looking for anything out of place. "Fifteen dead, twenty-three wounded, was the last report I heard. Only one of ours." /But what a one/, were the words that were left unspoken. "Fuck," was Reno's only response, before they settled into their usual routine; Reno drove, his eyes on the road and on the other drivers, little of his attention free for conversation. Tseng was happy to give him the space to concentrate; Reno's driving had saved both of them, on more than one occasion. The doctors and nurses at Midgar General didn't like the Turks very much -- ~because we send them too many customers,~ Tseng thought as he and Reno strode into the emergency room -- but waved them both over to the appropriate bed even in the midst of the chaos. Two Shinra guards were standing outside the curtained cubicle, both alert and more than a bit jumpy. Tseng stopped to talk to them as Reno, without needing instructions, strode off to inspect the rest of the hospital security. "Is he awake?" The guard on the left nodded; his eyes continued to sweep the corridor. "Last I saw. They're gonna get him into surgery as soon as they finish treating the most serious cases. They've got him pretty doped up, but he was awake." Tseng nodded, and pushed the curtain aside. Reeve, sitting in the hospital chair next to the bed, jumped at the noise and half-reared out of the chair. Tseng took Reeve in with a glance -- hair askew, spots of blood and grime across his face, skin pale, eyes wide and drugged for either pain or shock -- before letting his eyes drift to the figure on the bed. Rufus had been laid on his stomach, and the remnants of his clothing cut away; his back was a raw, aching ooze of burn marks and blood. The worst of the shrapnel had been cleaned, but buried in the small of Rufus's back, distressingly close to the spine, was a sharp-edged wedge of metal. Twin IVs of blood and saline dripped into his arm. "He's sleeping," Reeve whispered, his voice shaky. "They just upped the dosage of the drugs they're giving him. They're worried that if he moves, that metal might shift and cut the spinal cord." Tseng nodded. He could feel the anger starting to rise, but forced it down; now was not the time. He matched his volume to Reeve's, keeping his voice as cool and dispassionate as he could. "Tell me what happened." Reeve was cut and shaken, but not much of the blood on his face and clothes appeared to be his own. He was trembling, badly, but tried to answer, quick choppy sentences with pauses for breath between them all. "We went for dinner. We wanted to get out. We didn't want to be in the building anymore. They'd just brought over the appetizers. I looked up and I saw someone coming over to the table carrying -- a box or something, it looked like a box. I don't know what made Rufus look over. The next thing I knew I was on the ground and Rufus was lying over me covering my head and neck and my body and pulling the table over -- and then -- the noise --" He broke off, took a deep breath, and shivered. Tseng briefly considered calling in a nurse or a doctor, but Reeve had obviously already been treated for shock, and just as obviously would refuse to leave Rufus's bedside. It was a sentiment he could understand. "Describe the man you saw carrying the box," he said, as calmly as he could. It was the first rule of incident response: interview the witnesses as quickly as you could. Reeve shuddered again. "I don't know -- I didn't get a good look -- dark hair, I think --" The voice that came from the bed was deeply slurred, fighting for consciousness, and both men stilled to hear it better. "Five seven, five eight. Dark brown hair. Broad face, deep-set eyes, sharp nose. Dark eyes, I think. Wearing rough clothes, but not too out of place. You'll pro'ly find pieces of him." Rufus didn't move, simply opened his eyes; his pupils were dilated so large that they seemed to swallow the irises. "Don't think it was on a timer. Think he set it off himself." Reeve had Rufus's hand in his own before Rufus was even finished talking. "You need to sleep," he said, frantically. "You're hurt. Don't move. You need to sleep." Rufus let his eyes drift half-shut again. "Not here," he said, weakly, sounding for the first time in years like the fifteen-year-old he'd been when Tseng had first met him. "Too open. Too exposed." "We'll get you home as soon as possible, Rufus," Tseng said, softly. He knew precisely what Rufus meant. He had trained Rufus himself; he knew to the last inch every drop of paranoia he had instilled into his young charge, and he was more than aware that paranoia and the resulting quick reflexes were probably the only reason that Rufus was alive and Reeve was mostly unhurt. "You did a good job," he said, remembering the child Rufus had once been, the child who had needed approval more than he needed sunshine. "It's over now. Reno and I are here. We'll watch over the two of you. You don't have to worry anymore. Sleep." A lock of hair fell into Rufus's face as he exhaled, still struggling to remain awake. "Have to get home as soon's possible. Can't let Scar an' th' old man use this's an 'scuse..." "I know." Tseng brushed Rufus's hair back before Reeve could reach for it. "Reeve and I will take care of it until you're better. Sleep." They watched as Rufus's eyes drifted fully shut, and waited until his breathing slipped over the edge into the evenness of unconsciousness again. Reeve was the first to speak, still sounding just one step shy of hysteria. "He got hurt protecting me," he said. "He -- that should have been me getting hurt. Not him. I should have seen it. I should have known. I should have done something. Not him. He got hurt protecting me." Weakly, he pushed his hair out of his face. "That should have been me." Calmly, Tseng reached over, placed both of his hands on Reeve's shoulders, and gave him a quick and rough shake. Reeve looked up at him and blinked a few times, and Tseng shook his head. "You'll do him no favors by falling apart now," Tseng said, though it was not unkind. "He reacted the way he's been trained to react since he was fifteen. We've always know that it could happen, and he did everything he should have done. Except for going out without guards in the first place." "We've never needed them before," Reeve protested, still blinking owlishly at Tseng. Tseng sighed. "I know. But it looks like things have gotten worse." He lifted one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, feeling the headache starting there already at the thought of the amount of work that would to be done. "And if we're not quick and careful, we're going to find that not only have things gotten worse, but that we've lost more ground than we can afford to lose. You need to pull yourself together, /now/, before it's too late." Reeve's eyes got wider, and he forgot to keep his voice down. "Rufus nearly died tonight, and you're talking about playing politics? What the hell kind of friend /are/ you?" Even after all these years, Tseng reflected, Reeve sometimes just fundamentally missed the point. "It's not about politics," he said, grimly. "It's about survival. Because if we fuck this up, Reeve, the survival chances of us and of this company will most likely be measured in microunits. What the hell kind of a friend am I? I'm the kind who wants to make sure that when his friend wakes up, he doesn't wake up to an unsalvagable situation." He shook his head. "It's a war in that tower just as much as it's a war between Shinra and the rebels, or between Midgar and Wutai. And if we lose that, Rufus and anyone who's loyal to him is /dead/. What happened tonight can happen again, and the old man would wind up crying crocodile tears for the camera at Rufus's funeral and secretly rejoicing that the thorn was out of his paw. And if you want to save your own skin, you should probably remember that fact." Reeve looked away, bringing a hand to his face and pressing it against his eyes. "I can't think about this now," he said, his voice thin and tight. "I -- I can't." Tseng nodded. "All right. But you need to think about it soon." He turned to go; the guards outside were one thing, but Tseng, like Rufus, trusted no man more than he trusted himself. "And you should try to sleep a little, yourself. I'll follow him into surgery and make sure that he's all right." Reeve nodded, a little jerk of a movement. Tseng turned to go, and then turned back. "Oh, and Reeve?" "Yeah?" Reeve still had his hand across his eyes. Tseng's voice softened. "Don't beat yourself up too badly. You did everything right. You're not a fighter, or a bodyguard. Don't hate yourself for not being able to act like one." On those parting words, he turned to leave. There were a number of phone calls he needed to make. The hospital would just have to live with his cell phone being on for a while. -- * -- [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 3/18/83 ] REPORTER: ...sources say that Shinra External Security believes it to be the work of anti-Shinra terrorists, and urge all citizens of Upper Midgar to be alert and aware of their surroundings at all times for anything that may appear suspicious. They also wish to assure the citizens of Upper Midgar that all possible steps are being taken to preserve their safety and liberty. Anyone having any information regarding this attack should contact Shinra's security department at the number on your screen. Back to you, Janet. NEWSCASTER: Thank you, Stef. Is there any word on the Vice-President's condition? REPORTER: He's listed as being in stable condition in an undisclosed location, Janet. Doctors say that he's expected to make a full recovery. NEWSCASTER: Well, I'm certain that I speak for all of our audience when I say that we wish him a quick return to health. Now, to the weather... [ transcript, Shinra press conference, afternoon of 3/19/83 ] JONATHAN SHINRA: ...shocked and saddened by the attack, this attack on the freedom and safety of all the people of Upper Midgar. We consider this an act of war no less heinous than those committed by the nation of Wutai against the people of the city of Midgar. We will not stand idly by and watch while the actions of terrorists without conscience threaten the people of the city of Midgar, and we will take arms and fight to preserve the liberty and quality of life of our people. (applause) We shall not capitulate to the demands of terrorism! (applause) We shall not bow to the demands of those who reach out to spread their evil into our homes, our places of business, our places of recreation! We shall stand firm and fearless in the face of those demands and say to those who are making them: /we shall not give in/! (applause) The people of Midgar, yesterday, were given a warning. We were given a warning that our enemies do not respect borders or boundaries. We were given a warning that the enemy walks among us, and strikes without warning. We were given a warning that our safety, our liberty, our very lives are at risk. And I ask that the people of Midgar rise against that warning, and prove once again that we are the strongest, the most courageous, the most powerful city in the world! (applause) The only way to eliminate terrorism as a threat to our people is to reach out and destroy it where it first springs from. To that end, I have appointed Theodore Voltemand, the vice-president of Shinra's External Security department, to head a special commission intended to investigate this attack and prevent further incidents. I ask that you give Theo and his people your full cooperation in the weeks and months to come. Things may be difficult for a while, but we will not allow these attacks to destroy us. To the people who planned and executed this attack, I say to you: the people of Midgar will not stand for your actions. Rather, we shall all stand together, and united, we shall bring a stop to your evil! (applause) I bring a message to the people of Midgar, and that message is this: we of Shinra will stand beside you. We will stand among you, and we will protect you. We will not allow these terrorists to win this war. For it is now, in this very hour, that I can stand before you and say that I am /proud/ to be a citizen of Midgar! (applause, cheers) I stand before you and say that we shall not meekly bow our heads! (applause, cheers) I stand before you and say that /we shall not be defeated!/ (applause, cheers) Thank you. (applause) REPORTER: [shouting over the sea of questions] President Shinra, sir! Sir, what do you say to those who claim that this attack is no less than the justified expression of outrage against a company trying to rule the world? SHINRA: [smiling affably] Well, son, I say that some people just aren't satisfied unless they're stirring up trouble. Thank you all, and good afternoon. [ excerpt from flyer circulating around Wall Market, late March 983, of unknown origin ] They have oppressed us, they have killed us, and now they rise against us and call us terrorists, calling for a war against the very people they have forced into slavery. Will they send their very armies to murder us in our sleep? Will our women and children be unable to sleep for fear that they will not wake? We had thought that there was no more that Shinra could do to heighten our misery, and we were wrong. How can we stand by and watch while the company that destroyed Nibelheim, that destroyed Corel, turns its hands to producing the destruction of the slums that they have forced us into? If the people of Shinra have declared war on us, they should watch out that we don't declare war right back on them. What happened this month was the actions of a few people. If we are all forced to rise to action, we will be unstoppable. [ graffiti noticed in Midgar slums, March - April 983 ] "The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise." [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 3/29/83 ] REPORTER: ...standing in Upper Three at the scene of this afternoon's riots, which left two dead and several hundred wounded. The riots began at a rally protesting the new proposed Midgar citizen ID cards required for travel from Lower Midgar to Upper Midgar. The move, intended to increase safety and decrease the likelihood of further terrorist bombings, has been sharply criticized by anti-Shinra factions who claim that this will place unnecessary restrictions on travel; Shinra sources have repeatedly issued statements saying that ordinary citizens will have no need to worry, and the cards will not include methods of tracking individuals. Inhabitants of Lower Midgar have strenuously resisted the change, claiming that this proposal is the equivalent of stating that they are all terrorists.... [ excerpt, email conversation, 4/5/83 - 4/6/83 ] Date: Thu, 29 Mar 983 14:28:53 -0000 (MST) From: rbrannon@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- Will you look over this memo for me and tell me what you think? I want to send it to the president before tomorrow's staff meeting. How are you feeling? --rb [ Attached file: memo.txt ] -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i mQCNAzFxoVEAAAEEAMp57IaA80tr1XxcCrH6f0z59XYu40mnrCLUxLUNJP6KIQJj d27RnB3G7CPyG7Q0lvJ+SZeOgjkEhwcJQmgChDbUNmXyQniSYVU4sxokP/2RFM0X LWw31kxLN9DirNijkYNdqModb+A7N6/q58xSbMEzMdZPDOgQtlTtNfTWxXdNAAUR tBtNYWNHeXZlciA8bWFjZ3l2ZXJAdG9zL85ldD6JAJUDBRAxdWfrYmX6SAdWdFUB AfYNA/9DkQLEDn9extZlC1IQh+ZLJisg4gLBJmOGvm63ibrc8c/quzkQeeNusip6 fc4GtVjDv90DT2ekK7cvYk8s6B3t7p7W21Xi+hRgrw63B3HElr01gdMZY5XA5ey/ WmnyBS6LOxXlnVBE+2uSQ+aZHqrLpXcRvq2ZonOziDSE0i940ZvIwlSzn0U5BQWl 9hBDQw78RacYqaFvlpcGiPj75bScB4eemxV6Wdo9mtK0Vrr+9bWScXHEv7did4X+ 7tBWKbA8M+g290OSzjeQBGLuPmbjxzEKH9jcUumzBzzC5x5GFh7On9TLXQ4K/oRT 6QQpS93YrTVbR60G4MKsePWLJmg7IgYUtNdLGjsAAwUP/0aAAq8CmWtourj1XxNY pFmOAU45d65fPWVadKyF++B+uDyRNYN7HQCqrJ7ddn0sH7OBtlE8yaBYgR0TFly9 9+LqQO4r4IGCw2TBgA5tKnOWoPGEzvrLeoxR3SnPrKBlDvx6Rr9h3OJ9UV5u/NLh mCP9iN10gWCGzsWbONc6qD6PugbTur44D6s4CRK9xfliSrtG3GBHW914UKjJeB9s e3oc1rkmNv39kKcu33w4XVETAj4qpXnwoJvy639dfvnQt1TWFjIt20iP7m+jkT3B b526uJ5GuJl6r8sm5OYYRs5cLigvUzRZVgYnjjqlRRACx0WcinKK55Li2Pq4qcRV vSE5Tr3kTUTGxdmy113FbscrhLhesGALv3Hb7jeeWC8jviGEaHppgUumR6v0hsI1 rZ3K8kCjFRAYV8OKtcEeMqjouArGi5dn0ClmG4lwH4SEdqC/TRNWGG+iVpWf5yCj 9mvtvUhLtl6QjXHLrJdSGyafvqR1EQMJadFt4URvx0M7tqZIcwPUnb+7Oc+J96po +s8C0sc= =KQyO -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Date: Thu, 4 Apr 983 23:52:04 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: rbrannon@shinra.com Subject: Re: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Thu, 4 Apr 983, "Reeve Brannon" wrote: > Will you look over this memo for me and tell me what you think? I want > to send it to the president before tomorrow's staff meeting. Looks good to me, except for where you wrote: > unnecessary restriction on the civil liberties of all citizens of > Midgar, not simply the residents of the slums; Don't bring the slums into this; his proposal didn't mention anything about them, except to outline where the ID cards would be required. Don't bring civil liberties into this either; he doesn't want to hear about it. He's trying to take the moral high ground and make this about terrorism. It's not. It's about his need to control things. You sure as hell can't point that out, but you can make him realize that the company /cannot afford/ to spend millions of gil to put in a system that's totally unnecessary. Hit him in the pocketbook; that's the important part. Of course, I can hope that he'll see the error of his ways and start doing things that make /sense/, but more likely the world will end first, so. > How are you feeling? Tired. Sore. Cranky. Tired of being drugged. Smuggle a Cure3 in the next time they let you in to visit; I'm tired of this slow recovery physical therapy hand-holding bullshit and I don't care if the cure materia means that I won't heal as well. I need to get back to work, /now/, before this shit gets worse. The news reports are bad enough. Hojo of all people came in to visit me today. I was all ready to keep an eye on him, but he was apparently here for some sort of surgical consult with a patient and just stopped in to say hi. He seemed surprisingly human. And -- get this -- he agreed that I was getting better care here than I would back at the tower. For some reason, that makes me nervous. Miss you. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4rjs mQGiBDnirDkRBADCTL/iUTeZKb0tiAcKdZdsUP/KSnrGGjlinolUAsUC0D6/hUB1 RdCpJOOERTIEr1yvehqDM7veRhNMoxJNQxa/sSrkywey5qc8uaskUNEqenimq/70 bahWJeoWXjad68mQFh65lULnHQrrioeJnh9UpyGJppNb/yIjdnymH9aYEwCglgP7 UegBzH22h8NVQEK2PWWbyUUD/jQA4lI0wRWcL9HpkYkHcH0LTKRB9zYpQYtyvzJi yTGwJyFMfYNXy0RT11dICeLkf3HMR84hkPERKMhALobLxVUbfc7j2AygmzGphWGy DH/xjptQP/zrsq87ylYRONK18w1J42cm+yZa4XThMDPJMrb9/l8qnxU1JnW7W1al HKTpBACbs+91KLqrnIGcF44TMwxgUj5CUrayPoEnLU+ZMBqfSjmu8RqEYmTxJCKv 7erBFSuazBGj5X7twunrtrW3bxO63MbLbHjfXSRrMnKOb8dRULIg6eWAnoAx8VVZ YjrOpwAntU3WxYOpbiCHt9kLbb+N5rvNtFcmOqRRQaCIUFOOaLQ8TGludXggS2Vy kHnemtA65ixAlhuxvyN3MPuYs1jAHyDGcyMfomp1qH9tXFQhhyXRrG2eMAfslstC XGXLcoLN3O2BMR/fG2GlV6kOqGOvoMIW3clVeQLQ9B1yyekKiVY6Vg+CgK5qhg8z 9tjH4f33zzNDwsx1WSCOU/1LIPzFBNbR9QtTF2XmOUfRs4hGBBARAgAGBQI54rBc AAoJEH2d7s4ry8YhmjsAoMUW9RxfXBSos0A6LwGd+5pXv/MRAKCYFLG2T4GSV+qf iRsXnrgDHQHD04hGBBARAgAGBQI54rOZAAoJEPKlddweGoeC/+sAoL5f7JF21mRe Z8VV4nhh7prm+idSAKCMXDWW/tBOeJDYpiEhgyGSGgJJWrkEDQQ54q+cEBAAjRmb txamcZ9EYsQTnQvVL2l6vY5Rnbc1JDdcyHEV1kH5OwZWqvckL4QgKKBbTQwyB9pC o0nGK4PkBbrwL0outfHQ5jl9DUzTKIu+asWUyf3fxfUV6j2A6BMo59KNnJzUyJ2+ B5na6NN8nEqEtmogROtjT8LkOvYwqD4A/5re2vwtie+h5yU6A+JbyGQF6lFxThZj 4WGctBgCcDBqRkPAG8DFFAdeN5SMAArktCYuUGXi2q88EDoOs3Ykw0kB8+ZFECz/ 4/b93so5Wt2hC15cxAJoXFfR3mXHm40EHzMdEublWV4blB2KvFocQC74/H74QPUk cWlc6EhPodKvcuOfTimDxXaiGNFONUPgNAmCXeVoOapdWpb3x7iOHPwSaXeJSrO9 e/EQmnm6rFnTpWz0BbY4mbJC7vUH4JyLs0nlxiKrBjaO9C1DSAKBpjqaga8dQe1Z kLOI2F7IWFeKV2LaMl+ZvvfWMECNcqNW2fkCuP9Fpz5K+xg21TwovVy93aWKgFL6 06jK51oQp3fW86xXK9ZGKYqQiEYEGBECAAYFAjnir5wACgkQyGugalF9Dw5M9QCg hhmHalzWf8B3AVrjPrtrRHA1vlgAn3YRlU5l0V5W1iXvHXQCUHIESpgm =SZZb -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Date: Fri, 5 Apr 983 07:58:21 -0000 (MST) From: rbrannon@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Thursday, 4 Mar 983, "Rufus J. Shinra" wrote: > It's not. It's about his need to control things. You sure as hell > can't point that out, but you can make him realize that the company > /cannot afford/ to spend millions of gil to put in a system that's > totally unnecessary. *sigh* I know. I don't have a snowball's chance in Costa del Sol of actually talking him out of this, but I'm hoping that if I'm very, very lucky, we'll pick up one or two more votes. Maybe if I try and sweet-talk Heidegger into realizing that this cuts into /his/ budget. When did I get to be good at this politics thing? > Tired. Sore. Cranky. Tired of being drugged. Smuggle a Cure3 in the > next time they let you in to visit; I'm tired of this slow recovery > physical therapy handholding bullshit and I don't care if the cure > materia means that I won't heal as well. I need to get back to work, > /now/, before this shit gets worse. I'm not helping you hurt yourself in the long run, Rufus. I never want to be that scared again in my entire life. Recover the natural way. The doctors say that you can come home soon. > And -- get this -- he agreed that I was getting better care here than > I would back at the tower. For some reason, that makes me nervous. That makes me very nervous, too. I'll ask Tseng to keep an eye on him. I still don't know who's on what side, dammit. No matter how much you try to tell me. [ excerpt from press release, 4/10/83 ] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Beginning Monday, April 30, 983, all passengers traveling on the Shinra Plate-to-Ground Express will be required to carry an electronic ID card, which will be automatically scanned at security checkpoints. Citizens of Midgar can register for an ID card at their local Shinra corporate outpost and receive it within minutes. Please bring two forms of photo ID with you when you go to apply. Failure to carry the card will result in detainment and possible fines... [ excerpt from flyer seen in Midgar slums, early May 983, of unknown origin ] NEED A COUNTERFEIT ID CARD? Not a problem! Stop in your local market and ask to speak to the Hands of Technology group. We will get in contact with you shortly afterwards to discuss... [ excerpt from email, 5/11/83 ] Date: Fri, 11 May 983 06:21:19 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: tseng@shinra.com Subject: Re: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- What percentage are counterfeit? --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4rjs ... Date: Fri, 11 May 983 08:14:32 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Friday, 11 May 983, "Rufus J. Shinra" wrote: > What percentage are counterfeit? We're estimating over 65%. --T. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... Date: Fri, 11 May 983 08:31:54 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: tseng@shinra.com Subject: Re: ID cards -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Friday, 11 May 983, "Tseng" wrote: > > What percentage are counterfeit? > We're estimating over 65%. You mean 35% didn't go for the fake kind? ...Sheep, all of 'em. Keep spreading the fake ones. The old man /is/ checking the demographic data, no matter how much he says it can't be done. I don't want to give him any more ammunition than he's already got. -r -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4rjs ... [ transcript, Shinra press conference, morning of 6/4/83 ] REEVE BRANNON: ...social work programs will be extended to residents of Lower Midgar at the beginning of next month. We recognize that Shinra is uniquely suited to offer humanitarian aid to people who might be down on their luck, and we want to reach out and help them. Nobody should be going hungry in this day and age. REPORTER: Mister Brannon, sir, how can you reconcile Shinra's new policies with your statement that you want to reach out to the people living in the slums? BRANNON: Ask the accounting department; I've always been bad at reconciling things. (laughter) No, that was a serious question, and it deserves a serious answer. I think that the best answer to your question is that Shinra's a big company, and sometimes big companies have to do things that individual members of that company don't always like. The fight against terrorism is an important one, but sometimes we lose track of the reasons why people feel like they're backed into a corner and have no other choices, and that's what I want to try to address with these new programs... [ excerpt from email, 6/4/83 ] Date: Mon, 4 Jun 983 12:02:29 -0000 (MST) From: jonathan@shinra.com To: "Executive Board" exec@shinra.com Subject: Communications Effective immediately, no member of the executive board is to speak with the press without previously clearing it with me and with the PR department. --JS/wrp -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... Date: Mon, 4 Jun 983 12:09:23 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: rbrannon@shinra.com Subject: Re: Communications -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Monday, 4 Jun 983, "Jonathan Shinra"^W^W The Old Man's Secretary Typing Everything He Dictates Because He's Too Dumb To Work Email wrote: > Effective immediately, no member of the executive board is to speak > with the press without previously clearing it with me and with the PR > department. Ten points to you. Lunch? --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4rjs ... Date: Mon, 4 Jun 983 12:15:34 -0000 (MST) From: rbrannon@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: Communications -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Monday, 4 Jun 983, "Rufus J. Shinra" wrote: > On Monday, 4 Jun 983, "Jonathan Shinra"^W^W The Old Man's Secretary > Typing Everything He Dictates Because He's Too Dumb To Work Email > wrote: That's not kind. ...True, but not kind. > That's one for you. Lunch? I still can't believe I had the balls to do that. I just flat-out declared war, didn't I? ...Should it feel that good? And sure, lunch sounds great. I'll be up in five, as soon as I send out the press releases. --reeve -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... [ cell phone call, encrypted channel, 6/21/83 ] RUDE: You'd better get down here, boss. Lower Five. Hurry. TSENG: What happened? RUDE: Tear gas in the old church. Nobody's badly hurt but I'm in pursuit now -- TSENG: The kid likes to hang out in that church, Rude. Is she okay? [pause, urgently] /Is she okay/? RUDE: Fuck -- (conversation cuts off) [ song being sung in the slums, mid-July, 983 ] Are you poor, forlorn and hungry? Are there lots of things you lack? Is your life made up of misery? Then dump the Shinra off your back. Are your clothes all patched and tattered? Are you living in a shack? Would you have your troubles scattered? Then dump the Shinra off your back. [ excerpt from flyer circulating in slums, early August, 983 ] ...even though we reject Shinra's control over the slums and over our people, there comes a time when we as humans and as citizens of Midgar -- for we are citizens of Midgar, no matter how much they want to deny that fact -- must stand against our fellows and say: no more. There must be no more killing. Blood does not pay for blood. If we are to rise, let us rise together. If history is to speak of us, let it say: They fought honorably and won fairly... [ sign displayed at abandoned construction site, Upper Midgar, August 983 ] SHINRA ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY - Building You a Better Tomorrow From March 1, 982 to July 1, 982, this road will be closed for construction... [ excerpt from email, 8/27/83-8/28/83 ] Date: Mon, 27 Aug 983 22:31:48 -0000 (MST) From: rbrannon@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- I just got back from my first trip Downstairs since this whole thing started -- Rufus, we need to talk. Conditions down there are miserable. I tried calling you, but the line was busy. Where have you been? -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... Date: Tue, 28 Aug 983 03:09:42 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: rbrannon@shinra.com Subject: Re: Your Mail -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Monday, 27 August 983, "Reeve Brannon" wrote: > I just got back from my first trip Downstairs since this whole thing > started -- Rufus, we need to talk. Conditions down there are > miserable. I know. I wanted to get down there myself to see, but Tseng put the stop to that fairly quickly. I'm doing what I can. The old man is increasing the military budget again; I saw his files just now. /He/ says that the solution to the mess is going to be to put more troops down there. > I tried calling you, but the line was busy. Where have you been? Downstairs in the gym, and then Reno caught me and pulled me off to the lounge for a strategy session. I must have forgotten to put the phone back on the hook; I took it off this afternoon when the old man was being an ass again. I'll come over tomorrow night. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4rjs ... Date: Tue, 28 Aug 983 08:57:29 -0000 (MST) From: rbrannon@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: Your Mail -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- > I'll come over tomorrow night. You said that Saturday and Sunday, too. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... [ snapshot, laptop of Rufus Shinra, 9/14/83 ] encryption-crack v2.8015-469-CTR-01051421-rjs : Resume after pause [Sep 14 13:44:57 MST] Automatic processor detection found 1 processor. [Sep 14 13:45:04 MST] Connected to localhost:2064... [Sep 14 13:45:47 MST] The keyserver says: "You are 24% finished searching keyspace!" [Sep 14 13:45:47 MST] Retrieved project state data from server. (cached) [Sep 14 13:45:59 MST] Blowfish: Retrieved stats unit 26 of 26 (100.00%) [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] OGR: Retrieved packet 24 of 24 (100.00%) [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] Connection closed. [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] OGR: using core #0 (GARSP 5.13-A). [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] OGR: Loaded 25/8-13-17-12-10-4 [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] OGR: 23 packets remain in buff-in.ogr [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] OGR: 0 packets are in buff-out.ogr [Sep 14 13:46:44 MST] 1 cruncher has been started. [Sep 14 13:46:59 MST] #1: OGR:25/8-13-17-12-10-4+1-18-35-24 [48,047,053] [Sep 14 13:58:22 MST] OGR: No keymatch. Fetching next key to try... [ transcript, Shinra executive board meeting, 9/28/83 ] [ attendees: Jonathan Shinra, Rufus Shinra, Edward Heidegger, Clarence Palmer, Scarlet Burke, Reeve Brannon ] J SHINRA: I'm sick and tired of these rebels thinking that they can push us around. We're not going to give into their demands, and we're not going to back down. Heidegger, what's the latest figures on troop deployment? HEIDEGGER: We've gotten the last of the peacekeeping units home from Wutai, sir, and they've been restationed around the slums in the worst of the hotspots. The Turks are working undercover to try and trace where they're getting their weapons from. J SHINRA: Ah, yes, the weapons. Do tell me, Scarlet, why the last group of rebels we arrested were carrying army-issue weapons? BURKE: Your guess is as good as mine, sir. I suspect that there are leaks in the army supply department, and that would be Heidegger's problem. HEIDEGGER: /My/ people have been checked quite thoroughly by IntSec, and they've all been given clearance. None of the weapons that have been turned in have been recorded in any of the supply databases. None of them have been given serial numbers. That means that there's a leak before the equipment even gets to the army. R SHINRA: And of course, nobody's ever learned how to file off a serial number, have they? BURKE: Equipment that's shipped from my labs and my foundry is serial-number marked before it gets off the assembly line. Rufus is probably right; they're being laundered somehow. We'll need to start serial-marking each individual component part, and I'll figure out some way of building the factory and the individual assembly line into the serial number so that we can at least trace back where the leak is. BRANNON: I don't suppose anyone's noticed the fact that the more we try to crack down on rebel activity, the more rebel activity there is to crack down on, have they? PALMER: And when are you going to look at those figures I gave you on the space program, Jonathan? BRANNON: I didn't think so... [ poster displayed in Shinra buildings, October 983 ] SECURITY IS YOUR JOB Shinra employees have access to sensitive information on a daily basis. Repeating that information to anyone is a direct violation of your security clearance and the non-disclosure agreement signed by each Shinra employee. Remember: security is everyone's responsibility. Violations of this policy will be dealt with harshly. If you have any questions, contact the Internal Security department, x. 53992 ... [ cell phone call, encrypted channel, 10/7/83 ] RENO: No luck, boss. We found the warehouse, all right, but they cleared it out by the time we got here. Looks like they left in a hurry, though. There's bits and pieces everywhere, but no weapons. TSENG: Someone must have gotten word to them before we sent people in. You're sure that there weren't any leaks? RENO: No leaks on our side. I can't vouch for ExSec. Information's gettin' out somehow. Dammit, I knew we shouldn't'a let them in on this operation. TSENG: I'll look into ExSec. You just gather up whatever you can find that looks like it might be helpful, and get back here as soon as possible. And be careful. If the warehouse was abandoned, it might be trapped. RENO: One step ahead of ya, boss. I'll be back up in a few hours... [ graffiti noticed in Wall Market, late October, 983 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 11/11/83 ] NEWSCASTER: ...forty-three dead, one hundred and twelve wounded in the latest attack on Upper Midgar. Shinra's official statment is that their fight to contain terrorism continues, and wishes to once more reassure citizens of Upper Midgar that measures to control travel are for a limited duration only ... [ excerpt from memo to all Shinra employees, 11/11/83 ] ...In the light of the latest attacks specifically targeting Shinra employees, metal detectors and X-ray machines are being installed at all entrances to Shinra corporate offices and Shinra-owned housing complexes, and we ask that employees calculate an additional 20 minutes for morning commutes to avoid serious delays at security checkpoints. If any employee has concerns about personal security, or wishes to report a threat, contact the Internal Security department, x. 53992 ... [ sign seen at Shinra Transit Station, Lower Sector 2, 11/19/83 ] THESE TURNSTILES TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE Line For Security Gate Forms To Left [ excerpt from email, 11/29/83 ] Date: Thu, 29 Nov 983 10:13:29 -0000 (MST) From: heidegge@shinra.com To: TSENG@SHINRA.COM Subject: EXSEC TSENG - GET UP HERE AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS MESSAGE. EXSEC HAS HAD AN INCIDENT AND ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE MISSING WITH HALF THE DEPARTMENT FILES WIPED OUT. WE NEED YOU TO HEAD UP THE INVESTIGATION. AND ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE. I HATE EMAIL. ED Date: Thu, 29 Nov 983 19:11:02 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: EXSEC (fwd) -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- Got this this morning, went up to see what he was blathering on about, and to my surprise, found out he was right. One of ExSec's technology people is missing, the department files have been wiped, the fileserver itself has been smashed, and she cleaned out her desk before she left. I think we're dealing with sabotage here. I called the IT guys to impound the tape backups of the fileserver, so we can see what it was that she tried to wipe. I know you've got plans for this weekend, but will you come and supervise the file restore? For obvious reasons, I'd like to limit the number of people who touch things in the interim. We've put out the usual bulletins, and I'll let you know if and when we find her. And, as usual, someone needs to remove Heidegger's Caps Lock key. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 29 Nov 983 10:13:29 -0000 (MST) From: heidegge@shinra.com To: TSENG@SHINRA.COM Subject: EXSEC TSENG - GET UP HERE AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS MESSAGE. EXSEC HAS HAD AN INCIDENT AND ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE MISSING WITH HALF THE DEPARTMENT FILES WIPED OUT. WE NEED YOU TO HEAD UP THE INVESTIGATION. AND ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE. I HATE EMAIL. ED -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i ... [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 12/5/83 ] REPORTER: ...violence broke out at the train station in Upper Seven today when approximately thirty citizens of Upper and Lower Midgar linked arms and marched on the security gates set up at the station, chanting protests against the citizen ID cards and the restrictions placed on travel after last month's attacks. The resulting riots left five dead and over a hundred wounded, and suspended service on the A-C-E subway line for eight hours. I'm here on the scene with Theo Voltemand, head of the Shinra anti-terrorism task force... [ graffiti noticed on motel building, Lower Eight, December 983 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ transcript, Shinra executive board meeting, 12/14/83 ] [ attendees: Jonathan Shinra, Rufus Shinra, Edward Heidegger, Clarence Palmer, Simon Hojo, Scarlet Burke, Reeve Brannon ] J SHINRA: ...any other proposals? BRANNON: Well, actually, sir, I believe I may have a solution to the problem of unrest in Lower Midgar. J SHINRA: I'm listening. BRANNON: Well, sir, it's becoming pretty clear that the problem just stems from the fact that there are a few rotten apples down there who just want out of Midgar. Why don't we just lower the exit permit fees, and grant exit permits to anyone who wants to leave instead of requiring a reason? That way, the people who just aren't satisfied can leave, and maybe we can get some peace and quiet down there. J SHINRA: Mister Brannon, don't you know anything about running a business? You can't just let your customers leave whenever they want. Do you want to bankrupt us? R SHINRA: Respectfully, sir, that's not very logical. If things quiet down, we'll be able to divert some of the millions of gil we're using for increased security measures, and that would go right back to being profit. J SHINRA: Son, you of all people should know that you have to spend money to make money. Now, are there any /serious/ proposals? [ snapshot, laptop of Rufus Shinra, 12/30/83 ] encryption-crack v2.8015-469-CTR-01051426-rjs : Resume after pause [Dec 30 01:23:57 MST] Automatic processor detection found 1 processor. [Dec 30 01:25:04 MST] Connected to localhost:2064... [Dec 30 01:25:47 MST] The keyserver says: "You are 48% finished searching keyspace!" [Dec 30 01:25:47 MST] Retrieved project state data from server. (cached) [Dec 30 01:25:59 MST] Blowfish: Retrieved stats unit 26 of 26 (100.00%) [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] OGR: Retrieved packet 24 of 24 (100.00%) [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] Connection closed. [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] OGR: using core #0 (GARSP 5.18-A). [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] OGR: Loaded 31/9-13-14-12-21-4 [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] OGR: 23 packets remain in buff-in.ogr [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] OGR: 0 packets are in buff-out.ogr [Dec 30 01:25:44 MST] 1 cruncher has been started. [Dec 30 01:26:59 MST] #1: OGR:31/9-13-14-12-21-4+1-19-81-9 [48,617,915] [Dec 30 01:33:22 MST] OGR: No keymatch. Fetching next key to try... [ cell phone call, encrypted channel, 1/25/84 ] TSENG: ...contact down here, and she's someone who might have more information. I'll see what I can get out of her. RUFUS: If she knows that much, just bring her in for questioning. TSENG: That wouldn't be a good idea. She's just recently started to halfway trust me, and she's in a good position to hear information. If we bring her in, it would more or less mean that we'd lose one of our most valuable sources down here. I'll talk to her later tonight, and I'll let you know what I find out... [ excerpt from email, 1/26/84 ] Date: Sat, 26 Jan 984 02:39:17 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Information -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- Just got back from Downstairs. She didn't know much, but I have some leads to follow. And I think that we'll be following up on them ourselves, instead of giving them to ExSec. -T. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4-release.... Date: Sat, 26 Jan 984 02:48:17 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: tseng@shinra.com Subject: Re: Information -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Saturday, 26 Jan 984, "Tseng" wrote: > Just got back from Downstairs. She didn't know much, but I have some > leads to follow. And I think that we'll be following up on them > ourselves, instead of giving them to ExSec. I think that's an excellent idea. Right now I wouldn't trust Voltemand and ExSec to find their asses with both hands, a map, a flashlight, and a GPS system. Take the time you need, and if Heidegger gives you shit about it, let me know and I'll requisition you guys for one of my projects or something. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.1-rjs.... Date: Sat, 26 Jan 984 02:51:44 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: Information -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- What are you still doing up? -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4-release.... Date: Sat, 26 Jan 984 02:54:17 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: tseng@shinra.com Subject: Re: Information -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- On Saturday, 26 January 984, "Tseng" wrote: > What are you still doing up? Helping Reeve with the paperwork for the social-work programs in the slums and idly pondering punching the old man in the nose just out of general principle. The usual Friday night occupations. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.1-rjs.... [ graffiti noticed on side of item shop, Lower Three, February 984 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ excerpt from email, 3/24/84 ] Date: Mon, 24 Mar 984 21:13:52 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: hojo@shinra.com Subject: Monthly Report As requested, we have made your monthly check on the Gainsborough family, and all seems well. The girl is healthy and appears happy; she has taken a job selling flowers in the slums. I've given her the usual cautions regarding her safety. Once more, sir, I will reiterate that the Turks can better accomplish our tasks if we are kept informed as to what our purposes are; no doubt, we could be of greater assistance if we knew to what purpose you had us keeping surveillance on the family. We've told her that this is part of the SOLDIER recruitment program, but this is not a fiction that can be kept up indefinitely ... [ graffiti noticed on side of Shinra corporate outpost, Lower Eight, April 984 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ snapshot, laptop of Rufus Shinra, 4/19/84 ] encryption-crack v2.9144-469b-rjs : Resume after pause [Apr 19 05:14:57 MST] Automatic processor detection found 1 processor. [Apr 19 05:15:04 MST] Connected to localhost:2064... [Apr 19 05:15:47 MST] The keyserver says: "You are 74% finished searching keyspace!" [Apr 19 05:15:47 MST] Retrieved project state data from server. (cached) [Apr 19 05:15:59 MST] Blowfish: Retrieved stats unit 26 of 26 (100.00%) [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] OGR: Retrieved packet 24 of 24 (100.00%) [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] Connection closed. [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] OGR: using core #0 (GARSP 5.18-A). [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] OGR: Loaded 26/12-25-26-11-19-3 [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] OGR: 23 packets remain in buff-in.ogr [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] OGR: 0 packets are in buff-out.ogr [Apr 19 05:16:32 MST] 1 cruncher has been started. [Apr 19 05:17:21 MST] #1: OGR:26/12-25-26-11-19-3+4-11-79-4 [44,924,183] [Apr 19 05:21:48 MST] OGR: No keymatch. Fetching next key to try... [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 5/23/84 ] NEWSCASTER: Hopes that the terrorist attacks have drawn to a close were shattered this morning, when after five weeks of no hostilities, another explosion destroyed a coffeeshop several blocks from the main Shinra corporate offices. Eight people were killed, and fifteen injured. A group calling themselves the Midgar Liberation Front claims credit for the attack, and in an anonymous statement to this station, has declared that the destruction will continue until sanctions on the residents of Lower Midgar are lifted.... [ graffiti noticed on side of Shinra Transit train, mid-June, 984 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 6/19/84 ] NEWSCASTER: ...bringing the total death toll to eighty-four, the highest fatality count so far in this ever-escalating war on terrorism. Shinra has declared a new allotment of over one hundred million gil to anti-terrorism programs, and has offered a reward of one million gil for information leading to the capture or death of those responsible for the bombings... [ conversation picked up via cell tower tap, 7/28/84 (untraceable) ] MALE VOICE: You gotta do somethin' about this. It's out of hand, and they ready to come down on us like a ton of wet bricks -- FEMALE VOICE: I know! I -- I've done what I can, but I can't do anything else. We're going to have to talk about the possibility of turning them in. MALE VOICE: Aw, /fuck/, that shit ain't right. FEMALE VOICE: I know. It's wrong. But if we don't -- they've come so close to destroying everything we've spent this past fifteen months working to build. We're /so close/, we just can't risk it. MALE VOICE: Don't mean I gotta like it. FEMALE VOICE: It doesn't mean I have to like it either, but sometimes -- you have to do things you don't like ... [ snapshot, laptop of Rufus Shinra, 8/11/84 ] encryption-crack v2.9964-31i-rjs : Resume after pause [Aug 11 23:26:13 MST] Automatic processor detection found 1 processor. [Aug 11 23:27:49 MST] Connected to localhost:2064... [Aug 11 23:27:51 MST] The keyserver says: "You are 100% finished searching keyspace!" [Aug 11 23:27:51 MST] Retrieved project state data from server. (cached) [Aug 11 23:27:58 MST] OGR: Error. All possible keys searched. No keymatch found. [Aug 11 23:27:59 MST] *** WARNING *** Brute force decryption assuming Blowfish algorithm has failed. [Aug 11 23:28:01 MST] Do you wish to begin brute-force decryption assuming SHIVA algorithm? (Y/n) [ email, 8/12/84 ] Date: Tue, 12 Aug 984 01:14:48 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: tseng@shinra.com Subject: Dr. Creepy -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- God damn it, breaking into Hojo's files failed /again/. He's got to be using something he came up with on his own, and not one of the standard algorithms. Fuck. He's a biologist. How the hell can a fucking /biologist/ come up with crypto that I can't crack? I didn't /think/ that the brute-force attack would work, but I'm still not having any luck with known-plaintext attacks. Got any other ideas about what words I might find in there? --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.1-rjs.... [ crumbled scrap of paper found in pocket of Tseng, 8/15/84, after visit to '7th Heaven', bar in sector 7 slums ] Basement of Goblins Bar, sector 8, Sunday nights at 6PM. Tell the bartender "Life is short"; he'll say "But the days are long." Respond "But not while the evil days come not." [ email, 8/16/84 ] Date: Sat, 16 Aug 984 10:09:26 -0000 (MST) From: tseng@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Sunday -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- Tell Heidegger you're assigning all three of us to something on Sunday. We might have a solution to this whole thing; I think my contact came through for me. -T. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4-release.... [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 8/17/84 ] NEWSCASTER: ...in custody. Fifteen men and three women, alleged members of the Midgar Liberation Front, were apprehended by members of Shinra's Department of Administrative Research during what appeared to be a regularly-scheduled meeting. Sources say that the group's unknown leader was not among those taken into custody... [ conversation picked up via cell tower tap, 8/20/84 (untraceable) ] MAN'S VOICE: Dammit, I know you had something to do with this. You thought I wouldn't notice that you /insisted/ I go pick up those extra supplies for you right then, when you had two other people who could have done it for you? WOMAN'S VOICE: Something to do with what? [pause] I haven't seen the news since last week. Are you in trouble again? MAN'S VOICE: Don't try pulling that bullshit on me, you know full well what I'm talking about. Did they pay you good money to sell out your friends? WOMAN'S VOICE: Sell out /who/? MAN'S VOICE: Fuck, I should have known better than to think that you'd be man enough to admit it. Why'd you do it? Was it for the money, or was it because you just can't get enough of spreading your legs for them? WOMAN'S VOICE: Look, why don't you call me back when you haven't been drinking and you're ready to be a human being again. MAN'S VOICE: Yeah, well, why don't you call me back when you're ready to tell me why you're so fucking willing to sell out your friends -- hello? Hello? Don't you hang up on me -- [ graffiti found painted on plate support, central Midgar, September, 984 ] THE AVALANCHE IS COMING [ transcript, Midgar Evening News, 9/17/84 ] REPORTER: ...shots fired into the crowd by members of Shinra's Regular Army, leaving thirteen students dead at the site of the protests at Midgar University. Witnesses say that the shots were fired after student protesters became verbally abusive to members of the Army. Five students are listed in critical condition in Midgar General Hospital, and their parents and the parents of the students who have died are increasing their pleas for Shinra to stand down their troops. The army was deployed to the campus of Midgar University following four days of class cancellation because of a student-imposed blockade around administrative and academic buildings in protest of what student leaders have called "the needlessly brutal treatment of human beings in the slums that Shinra has created"... [ editorial, Midgar University Daily Comet, 9/18/84 (print run confiscated by administration before distribution) ] ...they have set foot on this campus only to kill, and once more they have proven their true colors. How can a /corporation/, a company founded to do no more than to supply electricity to keep Midgar running, have the authority to declare our campus a military zone? How can we stand idly by and watch as they come only to kill, when we have done nothing but exercise our rights to free speech and peaceful assembly? This newspaper deplores the tactics of violence used by protesters in the slums. But if this is how Shinra answers peaceful assembly, how can we blame the residents of the slums for turning to violence? How can we do anything but join in their crusade? [ excerpts from email, 9/18/84 ] Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 07:11:21 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: heidegge@shinra.com Subject: Midgar U Call your damn goons off, Heidegger. The publicity is killing us. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2rjs ... Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 10:31:42 -0000 (MST) From: heidegge@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Re: Midgar U I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM YOUR FATHER YET. On Thursday, 18 September 984, "Rufus J. Shinra" wrote: > Call your damn goons off, Heidegger. The publicity is killing us. > > --rjs Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 10:33:19 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: heidegge@shinra.com Subject: Re: Midgar U On Thursday, 18 September 984, "EDWARD HEIDEGGER" wrote: > I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM YOUR FATHER YET. I didn't /ask/ you about my father, Heidegger, that was a fucking order, and if you don't obey it, I will come up to your office and feed you your own lower intestines. And turn the damn caps lock the fuck off. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2rjs ... [ transcript, press conference, afternoon of 9/18/84 ] RUFUS SHINRA: ... our condolences to the families of the victims, and our assurances that this tragedy will never be repeated. Though money cannot begin to replace the lives of sons and daughters, I have created a fund for the families of the deceased, and would like to assure the families of the injured that Shinra will of course be covering all medical bills involved with the incident. We have launched a full internal investigation into circumstances surrounding this incident, and will take all necessary disciplinary steps against the individuals involved... [ excerpt from email, 9/18/84 ] Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 16:02:29 -0000 (MST) From: jonathan@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Your Press Conference Under whose authority did you call that conference? --js -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4-release... Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 16:18:33 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: jonathan@shinra.com Subject: Re: Your Press Conference On Thursday, 18 September 984, "Jonathan Shinra" wrote: > Under whose authority did you call that conference? My own. While you were dicking around with the PR idiots, I was over at Midgar U. trying to calm people down, and happened to run across the early morning press run of the Midgar U. Daily Comet. I certainly didn't think you'd want the rest of the damn city to see the editorial that they were going to publish, so I had it impounded, but we couldn't wait for PR to whitewash things and turn out some sort of half-assed statement for the press. We needed to react and react quickly. Public sentiment was running pretty high against us this morning, and I managed to catch it and save it and turn it against the /individuals/, not the company. I tried to find you this morning when I got back from campus, but your secretary said that you were in an all-day meeting with Hojo and refused to interrupt. I will, of course, take full responsibility for my actions. But you might want to check the polls before you come down on me like a ton of wet bricks, because I pulled your ass out of the fire this afternoon. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2rjs ... Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 16:41:29 -0000 (MST) From: jonathan@shinra.com To: rjshinra@shinra.com Subject: Your Press Conference On Thursday, 18 September 984, "Rufus J. Shinra" wrote: > Public sentiment was running pretty high against us this morning, and > I managed to catch it and save it and turn it against the > /individuals/, not the company. That money is coming out of your budget. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.4-release ... Date: Thu, 18 Sep 984 16:45:11 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: jonathan@shinra.com Subject: Re: Your Press Conference On Thursday, 18 September, "Jonathan Shinra" wrote: > That money is coming out of your budget. In anticipation of that very response, that money, sir, is coming out of my own damn pocket. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2rjs ... [ cell phone call, encrypted channel, 9/27/84 ] RUFUS: If I don't get out of this building soon, I'm going to claw out my own eyeballs. REEVE: ...I know, I know. But you /can't/. You remember what happened the last time we went anywhere without guards, don't you? RUFUS: [sighs] I know. Closest I've come to getting out lately has been that trip cross-city to the university last week, and /that/ certainly wasn't the most pleasant of circumstances. I just wish this whole thing would calm the hell down soon. We're bleeding money like a waterfall, and I'm sick and tired of living in a war zone. REEVE: And there are people dying. RUFUS: ...Well, yes. REEVE: [sighs] Nevermind ... I'll be up in a few minutes. Let's at least go downstairs and make someone serve us dinner instead of having someone bring us takeout. [ email, 10/9/84 ] Date: Thu, 9 Oct 983 17:04:52 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: rbrannon@shinra.com, tseng@shinra.com Subject: /fuck/. -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- I just got back from a meeting with the old man. Fuck. I'm so angry I can barely see straight to type. He's sending me back to Fucking Junon. Oh, his excuse is some bullshit about decentralization of Shinra corporate command in the event of further disaster, but we all know that I've just been a bad boy lately and he wants to send me to bed without supper again. /Fuck/. I'm leaving tomorrow after the staff meeting. You'd think he'd fucking give me fucking time to /pack/. At least we've /finally/ got a network connection through UUCP out in Fucking Junon. Because if we didn't, I'd go Fucking Nuts. --rjs -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2-rjs.... Date: Thu, 9 Oct 983 17:06:03 -0000 (MST) From: rjshinra@shinra.com To: rbrannon@shinra.com Subject: -----BEGIN PGP ENCRYPTED MESSAGE----- Stay with me tonight? -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.7.2-rjs.... [ SEPIA (Shinra Email Program, Internally Audited) Drafts, November - February 984 ] SEPIA 2.41 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: (rbrannon) INBOX 78 Messages To : rjshinra@shinra.com Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- I don't know how to start out this message. Well, I suppose saying that I don't know how to start out this message is a good enough way to start out this message as anything else, but I still don't know how to start it. There. I've said it, and I can move on now. I'd start off by saying that I miss you, except that's pretty much a given. You know, I wonder sometimes, in the middle of the night when there isn't much time for me to be doing much other than wondering, whether or not you even think of me while you're stuck out there with nothing but ^C Cancel message (answering "Yes" will abandon your mail message) ? Y SEPIA 2.41 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: (rbrannon) INBOX 126 Messages To : rjshinra@shinra.com Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- So I was sitting in yet another stupid board meeting this afternoon, and thinking about whether or not you have stupid board meetings out in Junon. I think I finally decided that you probably don't. You're pretty much running the show over there, aren't you? I'd get rid of stupid board meetings if I were you. And then I got to thinking about what's been going on around here. You know, I never did buy the old man's bullshit excuses about why he's doing things. I know you didn't, either. But it's gotten to the point now where I don't know what to believe, I don't know who to listen to -- I can't believe the news, and I can't believe the memos, and I sure as hell can't believe your old man. I can't believe anything without getting out there and seeing it for myself, and I can't even do that anymore. Too dangerous, they say. Makes me think of sneaking out of the building like I used to sneak out of my parents' house after curfew. I can't help but remember the night before you left, when the two of us were lying curled up on your bed and looking out on the city. You know, every time I see you lit by Midgar, I wind up thinking that -- look, did you ever hear that story, when you were a kid? No, you wouldn't have, but there's this story that they tell, back where I come from. Not a fairy tale, just a story. You probably haven't heard it. I don't think it would have made it to Midgar. It's about a city that one day just -- wakes up. Picks up consciousness, gains sentience, /wakes up/, and goes out and does a lot of horrible things to the people that live in it. I always thought that it was fantasy, until I moved here. Now I think that it was supposed to be some kind of warning. Midgar's awake, I know. You showed me that. But I don't think I like what it woke from. I have to wonder. If Midgar woke up, what would it say? What would it /do/? I can't help but think that if Midgar woke up, it would want to reach up its hand and strike us down for our arrogance in believing that we could -- that we could lift ourselves up as gods over it, maybe? I'm not sure. I've never been sure. But maybe it's just me. Maybe I can't help but stop and think of the /people/ instead of the city. Because without the people, you don't have a city, you've got a bunch of buildings that are more often than not in bad need of repair. I've tried to show you that, over the past couple of years, and I don't know whether or not I've ever succeeded. You think more about the people than you used to; when the riots broke out over at campus, you were over there in a heartbeat. But I can't help but wonder; did you do that because you were worried about the students, or because you were worried about the image it would present? Was your first thought for the people, or for the company? I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know. This is your city. I know that. I know that no matter how much your father might think that he owns it, that he runs it, you're the one in the family that really understands it. But to you, Midgar is the /city/, and not the people in the city. Sometimes I wonder if you even really see them. I know that you know practically everyone who works for this company, but is that just because you want something from them? Is it for what they can give you, and not who they are ^C Cancel message (answering "Yes" will abandon your mail message) ? Y SEPIA 2.42 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: (rbrannon) INBOX 84 Messages To : rjshinra@shinra.com Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, to which I say 'it's about damn time', really. It's nice to have some quiet to counterbalance all of the loud from the past two years. I wonder how long the quiet's going to last? Let's hope it'll be for a while. It'd be nice to get back to where we were before all of this shit blew up. I mean -- we used to talk about things other than profit margins and security and terrorism and politics and who was doing what to whom. I think I miss that. It's been so long since we sat down and had a conversation about anything other than neutral topics that I almost forget what it was like. Sometimes I wonder if I even have any idea who the hell you really are. I went through a stage of thinking that I didn't have any idea who the hell you were, and then I went through a stage of thinking that I knew exactly who you were. And now -- I'm not sure. I might be able to answer that question, if I'd seen you for more than ten minutes in the past six months. Which I haven't. Sure, we've been in the same room, sometimes we've even been alone in the same room with each other, but you were never really there. Your mind's always off doing something or seeking something or looking for some sort of ... I don't even know what you're looking for. I don't know what you think you'll do when you find it, either. This whole damn mess is about you doing what you think you need to do, and sometimes you wind up letting the little things just fall by the wayside. Things like being human. Things like me. I wonder, sometimes, what it must have been like growing up in your world -- not having a family, not having parents, not having anything to fall back on but yourself. Because -- look, okay, my childhood wasn't anything perfect, and I'm still recovering from it in a lot of ways. You know that. Or you used to know that, and I haven't seen any hints that you've forgotten. Even though there hasn't really been many hints lately that you remember. But even through all of the shit that happened to me when I was younger, I still had a family. I hated them sometimes for not seeing what was happening to me, and I spent about half the time wishing that one or another of them would drop dead, but I had a family. More important, I had people who /acted/ like I was family. Even when they were fucking me over -- through their own blindness or their active ignorance -- they still loved me. Or at least they said they did. And hearing that makes a lot of difference for a kid, I think. You never had that. I sometimes wonder how much that helped make you who you are. I ... oh, hell, I'm never going to send this one either. What the hell am I doing? What am I doing to myself? ^C Cancel message (answering "Yes" will abandon your mail message) ? Y SEPIA 2.42 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: (rbrannon) INBOX 93 Messages To : Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- So maybe if this time I deliberately start out to write an email that I know I won't send, I'll wind up with one that I don't mind sending you. Sure as hell seems that every time I sit down to write an email that I can send you, I wind up making an ass of myself and hitting cancel before it gets any further. This place is hell. I know you know that, but even when you're talking about how much of a hell it really is, you get this look in the back of your eyes, like you're saying -- if it /is/ hell, somehow that's okay, because at least it's /your/ hell. Better to reign... no, I'm not funny. I've always gotten the feeling that you could convince yourself that you were happy, just about anywhere -- as much as you really can ever be happy, anyway -- as long as you're calling the shots. You've always got to be the one who's in control of things. Or at least, that's the impression that you've always given me. You never tell me much about yourself. I've had to piece it together from what I can find on my own, from other people, from what I see. Sometimes I wonder if there's nothing there to you except what you show other people. I used to think that made you mysterious, somehow, and it drew me in -- the thought that maybe, just maybe, I could be the One that you'd let in, the person to really understand you. But lately it's just been making me wonder if you even know yourself. And I'd have to say that the answer is no. What do you want to do with yourself, Rufus? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do with this company? Do you want to change the world, or are you just interested in wearing the paper crown and watching the world bow at your feet? Do you even know? I don't know what to expect from you. I don't know what to expect from me when I'm around you. When I look at you it's like the rules have all changed, like you bend the normal functions of the universe until they all invert themselves to suit you. When I'm around you I can't remember any of the things that bothering me. Sometimes I can't even remember myself. You're like a bad drug, or maybe like a brushfire that's out of control. You reach out and consume everything. In the end, there's only you. For me, there's only you. And then you go to fucking /Junon/ for three months with no end in sight and can't even come home for the stupid Yule Ball -- I didn't go, and I don't care what that looks like or who's whispering about me behind their backs -- and you leave me sitting here in bed with my laptop in my lap keeping my legs warm and the cat sleeping with his head on my ankles, typing just so the sound of my fingers on the keys takes away all that silence that reminds me just how fucking alone I am. And I'm thinking all the things that I just forget to think about when you're there. When all the glitter's gone to Junon, it's easier to see the feet of clay. And maybe I'm just choking from withdrawl, but maybe I can see more clearly when I'm looking at Midgar through my own eyes instead of yours. Do you even realize what you can do to people? What you can do to me? What you /do/ do to me, every time I look at you, every time I wonder how many other people are looking at you the same way I'm looking at you, how many others there are out there. How many others who could take you home and feed you and fuck you -- or let you fuck them -- and put you to bed, all better than I can? Do you realize what you're doing to me every time I lie next to you sprawled out on the bed that you claim as easily as you breathe, with my cheek against the pillows that smell like you, wondering who else has ground her lipstick or his aftershave into these sheets? Do you have /any idea/ how much power you really hold? I don't think you do. I think that if you did, you'd be unbearable. I love you. There; I said it. /I love you/. I'll sure as hell never say it to your face, and I'm never going to send this email either -- who the hell was I kidding? -- but I said it. I love you so much that it hurts. So much that I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and I can't breathe, because there's a knot the size of you in the middle of my chest and it's never going to go away. This scares the /hell/ out of me. I didn't want this. It's not like I /wanted/ to fall in love with you. So many other people must have, and don't think that I don't know that every time someone starts talking about love, your eyes start wandering to the next conquest. But one day I just turned around and looked and you gave me that /smile/ -- and there it was. Ready to choke me. Pre-packaged insomnia wrapped up in one heart-stopping grin. And I don't know what to do with it, because I have no idea how you would react if I ever said anything to you. How many other people have declared their love for you? Did you let them down gently? Did you laugh? Did you fuck them senseless and then slowly just stop calling? I'd ask you if I'm worth more than that, but I don't want to hear the answer if the answer is no. So I don't ask at all. It's safer that way. You've stopped sleeping with all of them -- you say, and I believe you, the gods alone know why -- for me. How long before you get tired of me and do the same to me? Is that what you were doing, the last few months before you left? Letting me down gently, because we still need to work with each other? Why am I still typing this? I should have hit cancel ten paragraphs ago. You know, I'm perfectly happy with what I have. If I can't have all of your attention -- you've got friends and responsibilities and things in your life that aren't me -- I can at least have some of it. No, that's bullshit; I want all of your attention, and I resent the hell out of anything that distracts you from me. But -- I guess that if I have to have a rival (doesn't that sound stupid and arrogant and petty?) I'm glad that it's Midgar, instead This is ridiculous. I don't even know why I'm typing at myself instead of talking to myself, except that the cat doesn't think I'm nuts when I'm typing. Nobody here but the cat to think that I'm crazy. Just me. I miss you, Rufus. I miss you so much that it aches. Come home soon. But come home human. ^C Cancel message (answering "Yes" will abandon your mail message) ? Y SEPIA 2.42 COMPOSE MESSAGE Folder: (rbrannon) INBOX 93 Messages To : rjshinra@shinra.com Cc : Attchmnt: Subject : ----- Message Text ----- Miss you. ^X Send message (filtered thru "pgp-encrypt")? Y [ graffiti observed on side of Shinra corporate outpost, Lower Sector 7, written in small, neat handwriting, March, 985 ] To my shame I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men That for a fantasy and trick of fame Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, Which is not tomb enough and continent To hide the slain? O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth. [Author's Note: This chapter took a very long time for me to be able to write, and I hope that in the end I struck the right balance between following my original outline, and being sensitive to the current political climate. Once more, I would like to reiterate that the entire content of this story was plotted before the events of 9-11-01 and subsequent political decisions. Enjoy the ride from here on in, folks. It's gonna be a good one.]