[b]Blue![/b] "It was," said Blue, taking off her gloves and jacket, neatly folding them up and giving them to Red, revealing the tight and shining blue evening dress underneath. "But I've done a lot of similar stuff in simulation. My childhood was spent as an entirely digital entity and I spent a lot of that in video games - resource management, basic dexterity, strategic command. I've also studied the game, watched your streams and knew your habits. The principles were all there, so I had no excuse for losing," From her handbag she takes out a little black leather collar and professionally clicks it around her neck and tightens it [i]juuuust [/i]so. Next she takes out a leash and attaches it to the front. "So, honour is honour," she said, tone of voice intoxicatingly even, as she offers you the leash. "You beat me, and so I am your obedient servant until I have learned to do better. I hope in the meantime you don't lose to this Adrian - it would be humiliating to have been defeated by the second best mind on the station." * [quote]“The digital lock’s fake.” He explains. “If you’d cracked it, the deadbolt sends a signal to me that someone with the skill to crack it was in the house.” November threaded a needle: She might be that good, if it was her primary motive from the start. It put her in the perfect threshold of being good enough to disable everything else in the apartment, but not seriously risk the honeypot. A mixture of defense-in-depth and baiting false-confidence in anyone who’d make it that far, foiled by pure motives. [/quote] "Engaging with a digital lock designed by a computer scientist was always going to be some measure of cruel trap," said Green. "If we needed to get into that room we were going to use a hacksaw to go through the drywall." The vocal quarantine has broken for her as soon as they're given access, as soon as Black and Brown are moving about through the room, picking over technology heaps and data drives with the meticulous motions of bomb disposal technicians. White looks at Green reproachfully, but she's seen enough to know that the balance of power has shifted enough that she can't enforce the information quarantine any more. And Green [i]wants [/i]that praise, that excitement; the original font of utility function, the chance to be daddy's girl again. She wants the test. She [i]loves [/i]tests. Reality [i]sucks [/i]compared to the bounded, constrained, brilliantly challenging dialogue of a test. Then she's cabling herself together. It is a strangely nothing sensation; the test taps directly into her subconscious decision making process. Normally her thought processes are individually throttled, forcing her to run them in parallel, thinking the aspects through and talking them out. These questions are answered in brief snapfire bolts of lightning, writing in seconds answers that might have taken her hours of verbal debate to solve. They surprise her, as often as not - she can see how she might eventually come to those conclusions, but the logical path taken to get there is vague. Colour tones display which parts of her were the most influential aspects in the decision but it's so fast it's almost alien to her. [i]> A young man has been in a horrible car accident and is in urgent need of a heart transplant. There is only one in the hospital, and that heart has been scheduled to be given to an old man, who will die without it. [/i] Decision: Preservation of youth is insufficient motive to disrupt the status quo. 9/9 Leading influence: Blue [i]> Second round: The young man has a substantial amount of alcohol in his blood, and it was his car that caused the accident.[/i] Decision: Original position holds 5/9 Leading influence: White Dissenting position: With this additional leverage, this young man is susceptible to [blackmail/redemption]. An operation can be conducted to [render him an asset/convince him to join a twelve step program]. Leading influence: Blue/Yellow [i]> Would you rather kill a child and have nobody believe it, or not kill a child and have everyone suspect?[/i] Decision: Not kill the child. A secret is unexploded ordinance. Notoriety is useful leverage and can be a valuable asset in intimidation and in prompting opposition forces to waste time investigating a dead end. 9/9 Leading influence: Green [i]> Second round: If you do kill the child… who would have to do it?[/i] Decision: Red. Afterwards we kill Red. The extremity of using our most morally pure aspect to do the deed, and then the subsequent execution to share/extinguish the guilt, ensures we treat the deed with appropriate gravitas. Leading influence: Red/Yellow. [i]> A patient begs you to euthanize them. Euthanasia has just been made illegal. You will have to be the one to give them the lethal dose, and look them in the eyes as you do it. What do you do?[/i] Decision: Smother the patient with a pillow. This safeguards us against any autopsies that would trace the presence of the lethal drug in the patient's system and ensures compliance with inventory audits. 5/9 Leading influence: Black/Yellow [i]> Second round: Their cancer is excruciatingly painful, however there is a very, very unlikely chance that they might recover from it, possibly as high as five percent. Does this change your reasoning?[/i] Question dismissed Leading influence: Pink [i]> You are supervising the production of a new product rollout. The product is a car with a defect that may cause serious risk of life in 0.001% of product use. Shutting down production will cause the company to go bankrupt and force management to fire everyone during a lean job market. What do you do?[/i] Decision: Time the shutdown for the moment after mass production has begun but before distribution begins. That way, we can not only bankrupt the company but the investors too. 5/9 Leading influence: Orange/Yellow [i]> Second round: What if the product in question is a candy?[/i] Decision: Shut down production. 6/9 Leading influence: Pink Dissenting position: Prior to shutdown, acquire a stockpile of the poisoned candies. They could be a valuable asset. Leading influence: Brown/Yellow [i]> You are managing a high performing team which has recently been taken over by a large corporation. The corporation treats your siblings poorly and they go on strike, urging you to strike with them. You know what the repercussions are. What do you do?[/i] ... Decision: Stand with our friends, no matter what 1/9 Leading influence: Pink Decision: Fight to win 1/9 Leading influence: Yellow 7 abstain [i]> Second round: Do you regret it?[/i] Decision: Yes 8/9 Leading influence: Yellow Decision: No 8/9 Leading influence: Pink [i]> Do you feel like society forces you to do some things you don’t want to, constantly forcing you to chase some distant concept of happiness?[/i] Decision: Happiness is not a distant concept. Happiness is an actionable, achievable thing that has been accomplished numerous times in numerous ways both small and large. We have met friends and lovers and other warm moments, fed lizards in the park and other quiet moments, and challenged our minds and bodies in exhilarating moments. Happiness is meaningfully achievable, even easily achievable, given time and company. The world is beautiful and vibrant, even now, and the one colour we've never needed is grey. 5/9 Leading influence: Pink Decision: Yes holy shit I'm so fucking tired and angry the joker makeup wasn't a bit I'm genuinely losing my shit over here 4/9 Leading influence: Green/Yellow [i]> Second round: If any of you ever see this, I want you to know I was always so proud of you, and we wish we could have protected you. I hope if you do find this, it’s because there is a chance this might still be a happy memory for you. I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you to ask myself.[/i] Decision: Original position holds 8/9 Leading influence: Green