Not sure if this was meant as a joke or not.

Don't really care about the cake thing, but /sign for the stat hack vendor.

Awesome read, sugaree.  Anxiously awaiting Part II...

Thank you, sir.  As I mentioned in the other thread, your mere presence down there in the "active users" has a profound effect on what we're all going through right now.  I am one of the lucky ones who lost all access but have regained at least forum access in the last few hours.  Let's give these guys a chance to work it out, people.

I would like to publicly thank Raijinn and Virrago for the job they're doing today in handling this disaster.  I know what it is like to have to tell paying customers the same shpiel over and over because we haven't received word from our higher ups yet.  It is frustrating and all one can do is try to reassure people.  Walrus, I also appreciate your short words...your mere presence on these forums puts some minds to rest, but I think you already know that.

What we're seeing here is a venting of several years of frustration with SOE's management of the game...the best thing they can do right now to prevent this from spiraling even further out of control is to be as transparent as possible.  I agree with those who say that the article is misleading, so I welcome those who are interested in keeping it accurate to post responses and to continue upping it.  Pity whoever posted it didn't bother proofreading it.

Hopefully we'll all see each other in game real soon and we can put this clusterf**k behind us.

Thank you for a wonderful birthday gift, SOE.  Not exactly what I wanted, but it'll do.

See you in the simulation, redpills.  Glad to be here, one last time.  Wish meh a happy birthday!

I'm glad this got changed to Thursday...I'm there, perhaps one other will be joining me.

Can't make Fridays, unfortunately.

Fascinating read about one of the few names I still recognize.  Where's a "Would You Like To Know More?" button when you need it?

Past and present, yo.

Zion:  Phrack, Fenshire, Tbone

Mech:  Illyria, Metalogic, Seraosha (mehbeh)

Mero:  Return, GreatWyrm, Lilianne (sp?)

Cyph:  Really couldn't think of one, save Ebola.

EPN:  Phrack.

Morphite:  CountZero.

I'm experiencing the same issue, and for some odd reason I can hear the music but get no other sounds...updated everything I could think of, defragged, yada yada yada.  Bit of a bummer after having been away for so long only to come back for this, but hopefully we get a resolution soon.  Good luck.

Based on comments made by the Intruder, and the direction this appears to be headed, I believe the Intruder is searching for the very thing that gave Neo power over Machine tech in the Real.  Many have deduced that because the Source granted the One his power, he was therefore connected to all things that the Source had influence over.  A "biological interface program" sounds like the name given to the tech the One carried that allowed him to fry Sentinels and what granted him and Trinity access to the Machine City.

I'm obviously not the first who has thought of this idea, but I wonder what exactly the Intruder needs such tech for?  Ah well, just something to think about.

Prophets of Peace.  In December 2004, the Prophets of Peace was the first Beta Faction created that specifically and openly advertised their allegiance to Morpheus and his mission.

You know, everytime I mention the concept of the Matrix to my friends, who know me very well, I can almost feel their eyes rolling.  Why is it that everywhere I turn, whenever someone mentions the Matrix, it isn't something that carries much weight with them anymore?

Yet you look around, and you see that our society was forever changed by it.  The word "Matrix" itself has specific connotations:  fashion, gunplay, martial arts, etc.  It's no secret that the word does carry a certain coolness factor.  The Matrix franchise was one of the most lucrative ever created, and most will tell you that it never realized its full potential.

I used to be of the type of player that said, "Forget this game.  All this you get what you put in crap is making my head spin.  SOE doesn't care."  Yada yada yada.  No longer.  I can definitely understand the deep frustration many of you feel with SOE's apparent inability to achieve this game's true potential.  We know they aren't stupid people; we know what's really going on.  Players can only do so much, and if players are doing the work, well, isn't there something wrong with that?

I sat with Darminian last night, and asked him a question.  It is a question that has plagued most of us who have played this game at one point or another.  Why does it feel like the Wachowski Bros. abandoned the Matrix concept?  If they did, why did they?  I can imagine that the conclusion of the Path of Neo certainly made us wonder what the Bros. really thought about this concept.

However, I'd like to believe that most of you are here primarily because at one point or another, this beautiful story touched your lives.  It changed you in some way, as it changed me.  The friends you have met in game were drawn here for that same reason.  This is why you play with your friends.  This is why you're still here, why you keep coming back.  This is why the Prophets of Peace chose to return, if only for a while.

This is why efforts like this aren't in vain.  It's never in vain to express one's love for something dear to them.  Yeah, yeah, it's just a game, but even the most stoic veteran will recant the old stories to you with a small smile on their face and a sigh.  You all know that feeling.  So keep on keepin' on.  Yeah, SOE execs will love the fact that you're doing their work for them, but eff 'em.  Do what you're doing because you love this great story, and if anyone still thinks you're wasting your time, well, you might try asking them what keeps them here.

Keep on keepin' on. 

## DataNode1 Mainframe Connection Established...
## Welcome Medical Officer Soulfire...
## Begin Report Log...

I send this communication out, knowing full well the risk I am taking.

Our last incursion into the Matrix was an idealistic one, to say the least.  Strong examples seem to be the only thing to shake people out of their apathy, and we saw fit to provide one.   That message did not go unheard, and there were...reprisals.  It didn't matter what tech we had to evade the Machines; every time we came up with something new, the enemy seemed to find a way to counter it.  Stealth no longer mattered, and we began to take increasingly bolder risks just to complete our tasks.

It was decided that our Matrix incursions would need to be mitigated; stepping up our operations in the Real would make us more effective.  We are very adept at evading the Machines there, and over time, we have become...exceedingly efficient at it.

But now something draws us back.  What it is, we cannot say.  However, I would like to say this:  we have not forgotton who we are or what we are here to do.  We do NOT care what happens to us, as our lives were forfeit to this cause long ago.  We remember our friends, and those that have already given their lives for the cause.  Theirs is glory unimaginable.

So I leave this message to our supporters out there...the Mentor is alive.  The cause is ours for the moment.  It matters not where any of you have come to call home.  Your heart and soul belongs to ZION, it always has.  We sincerely hope you make the right decision, should that time ever come.

## Encryption Protocol Initiated...
## Secure Data Uplink in Progress
## Veridicus Mainframe Acknowledgement Received...
## Transmission Ending...
## Connection Terminated ##

Nice thread, Skull...well, I don't PvP much at all, almost never on a team.  I like going after the big names, you know, to test their skills, match them to my own.  Other than to complete a goal, the only other reason I enjoy PvP is the thrill of defeating someone I thought was better than me.  To be fair, I would have to fight them many times.  I know I've killed more than died; I actually do write that stuff down, including how many times I've been Agented.

Congratulations on the successful operation.  I think we'll have gained a powerful ally in Ms. Dunkirk, provided she doesn't let her emotions over her friend Sarah get in the way of her reason.  Welcome to the real world, Rachel.

IC:

Aww, did I touch a nerve, Illyria?  Careful, your emotions are showing...

Again, I ask you all:  During all that rucus he caused, who did Morpheus, or by proxy, Morphites, kill?  Fresh clones are harvested daily to replace the dead ones every single day.  Every single bluepill that was lost during that campaign has been replaced, unless the optimal number of bluepills producing power has changed.  Or are you making a religious argument, that the clones have souls?  Let me assure you, the Machines aren't making one; to them, a dead bluepill is simply a battery that needs replacing.  After having done it for centuries, one can safely assume that the process has been refined.

No, I think the real reason the Machines got all huffy was because of what damage Morpheus' actions might have done to the System:  it becomes rather difficult to create a perpetual 1999 when a powerful psychological event forever imprints itself upon the mind.  Goodbye 1%, hello 100%.  A code-bomb certainly does the job; your very reality peeling away from you to expose the truth of your situation sounds like a pretty bad day to me.

Your blanket statements make me wonder how your masters saw any logic within you in the first place!  You assume that in my bluepill life I was a loner; you take that and run with it, never asking yourself, "Do I actually know what sort of man he was back then?"  You assume that there are no riots or revolution in Zion because people simply leave.  So do you mean to tell me that not one person within the gates of Zion exists that is willing to take their dissenting opinion and seek out others in an attempt to change the system?  You don't even live there!  Where do you people come up with this crap?

Do you honestly believe that the realities of our total situation are lost on me, or for that matter, Zionists?  That we don't know what the Real is like?  I'm "inhuman and sick", but even this "sociopath" knows better than to release every bluepill from the Matrix at once.  Our overall goal is to present the choice to every bluepill we can accomodate.  If we are denied that, then the only solution that exists is to fight for that opportunity.  Unfortunately, this seems to be the truth of our situation.  Every man, woman, and child that calls themself a Zionite has the right to live free.  If we are denied that, then we must fight off our antagonist.  It is simple logic.

Or are we back to "we lost the war, the world belongs to the Machines, we have to abide by the rules" again?  No, we don't!  We don't have to do anything that affects us negatively, and if even one person thinks that the Matrix is a bad idea, they have the right and opportunity to fight for that belief.  This is what is meant when Fellini said that freedom is not a gift; it must be taken.

So, unless the Machines are willing to relinquish control and move towards equality, neither side will know peace.  It isn't as simple as, put Humanity in a cage, and we'll provide the sustenance and entertainment.  Some of Humanity is out now, and there's no going back...though I suppose one could just eliminate that part of Humanity.  Then everything goes back to normal, right?  Ha!

Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives, power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts. - Salman Rushdie

((Anyone else enjoying this as much as I am?))

IC: 

I can certainly concede that Morpheus' actions could be viewed as the actions of a madman.  I don't agree with that viewpoint, but I acknowledge it.  At last we come to the "Morphite" position, which is fully known by some, misinterpreted by many more.

Though many may disagree, there's a difference between "murdering millions of bluepills" and "threatening the System".  Yes, many did die, and many more will be grown to replace them.  To call such an argument diabolical, well, try another on for size:  What would you have to say about the feeding of the dead intravenously to the living, fueling new, cloned bodies to replace the dead ones?  Who did Morpheus kill?  Oh, but he sure was the troublemaker, wasn't he?  The Machines recognized the threat, knew what the man was capable of in the name of the One, knew his history.  He had to be stopped.  His work continues, and believe me, had we the capability to produce code-bombs of catastrophic size (working on it, one option), your precious Matrix simulation would be reduced to nothing but scraps of code.

I am not concerned with being a savior.  None of us "terrorists" are, though perhaps I shouldn't be speaking for every one.  I do make a case for Zion, for the freedminds, for their right to exist seperately and safely from the System.  I make a case for their families, born free, truly free.  Their freedom could be true freedom, if not for the shackle of the Machine Empire.  Their existence is always in question, simply because of their belief that other human beings should be granted the chance to taste TRUE freedom.

You know what I have never heard of taking place in Zion?  Riots.  Revolution.  People coming together to say in one loud voice, "Awakenings are wrong, they enganger us, we're tired of it, no more!"  Such a thing doesn't happen, because despite all the different beliefs and viewpoints represented within that glorious city, there is one thing that unites them.

"As long as the Matrix exists, the human race can never be free."

Call us cave-monkeys.  Call our existence despicable, uncomfortable, inconvenient, unnecessary.  At least we haven't fooled ourselves into thinking that a computer simulation is a real life.  We know perfectly well what would happen if suddenly the Matrix feed shut off.  Bye bye, Exile programs.  Bye bye, all powerful Agents.  Bye bye, Matrix powers.  Bye bye, false lives.  Welcome back to reality, folks.  What a day that would be, as you writhe and flap around, anxious for your next "fix", not knowing what to do with yourselves, mourning the "deaths" of your false friends and relatives.  Pathetic.

Even more pathetic?  Defending such a system.  No, wait.  How about saying it's even worth defending?  No, even better.  What about retaliating for losing it?  Disgusting.

IC: 

Well, ok, but what about those who are free of the Matrix?  Is that freedom subjective as well?  Dangerous argument, eh, because if you say, "No, Soulfire, those minds are free", then you, by proxy, admit that the minds in the Matrix are not free.  It's ok, I won't ask you to compromise your beliefs.  Just...chew on it for a moment.

PoP has never been concerned with the 1%.  We see all bluepills as the same; imprisoned with no knowledge of what is ACTUALLY happening.  So, we give them the choice.  If the mind wishes to remain, they do.  Morpheus himself ran into many who chose the bluepill, and did not force them into reality.  You can say, oh, but what about the code bombs...yes, there were code-bombs.  Those where the actions of a desperate man who desperately wanted what any man or woman would want:  the right to bury their dead in the place of their choosing.  C'mon, if someone stole the body of your good friend, wouldn't you be a bit vindictive?  No?  What if it was the body of your mother?  Or even...savior.  Hard to think about.  Let's say you had the power to get it back...would you refuse the opportunity?  I know some would, some wouldn't.  I fall into the "would" category.  I think Morpheus knew more than he was letting on, otherwise, why go on a fruitless campaign?

Good to see some of Zion still cares about freeing bluepills for freedom's sake, and not just to further an agenda.

Wootage, canon discussion. 

Well, we know that at least 6 months elapsed in the real between The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded..."Consider that in the last 6 months, we have freed more minds than in the last 6 years" - Morpheus.  However, I might be wrong in assuming this, because I'm assuming he's telling Councillor Haman this to illustrate how much help Neo has been giving them.

As for MxO, I can't recall any further passage of time...I'd always assumed that the first year was the end of 2199, or in Matrix-time, 1999.  In the "looping 1999" argument, I wonder how the passage of holidays and seasons is managed...regardless of how fast or slow the Matrix is going, the passage of season and weather would still be in every human's mind.  We know that there has been a lot of rain, especially more recently, and towards the beginning of the game.  May showers?  Or is it like Southern California, where we get lots of rain in the winter, but no snow (except in the mountains)?

Confused?  I know I am.

OOC:

As far as I know, we're operating under the assumption that Machinists were essentially disillusioned Zionists who left Zion and approached the Machines about a job.  As for awakenings, the deal concerning the One was for Zion.  I can't think of a similar deal for Machinists, though I imagine Machine awakenings would be counterproductive to the System.

The System has defenders, but employs Operatives as well.  Why, I can't say for sure, other than to give Zion a human face to beat on.  It's much more difficult to villainize a human being, especially when trying to be moral about things.  Also, a counter-viewpoint may sway the minds of many a Zionist, and has...even the staunchest ones.  I think the Machinists could give a better response.  Just my take.

((Thank you.))

EDIT:  My last line read "traitors of humanity", but I meant "traitors of free humanity".  Game on! 

Really?  I've never run into that personally, but that just sucks.  I've always operated on the knowledge that everything that is said in the movies becomes a part of Zion's history in the Archive.  Operators can record what you are saying as long as they have direct access to your feed, Neo probably informed Morpheus later about what happened with the Architect, who then told Zion, yada yada yada.  That's how I've always done things.

I think if someone questions you for quoting people they claim you never knew, they're taking things a bit too seriously.  Roleplay how you want, with whom you want.  If they don't like it, there's plenty others out there.  Just...enough with the lesbian vampires.

IC:

So much like arguing with children; their limited understanding of things can make it frustrating.  One simply has to let the children live, and hope they glean a better understanding as they grow.  Unfortunately, when your parents are the Machines, and you've accepted their brainwashing even in the pods, we can't really expect you all to grow, now can we.  You truly are Machines; as long as your programming remains "efficient", no further updates are needed.

No one needs to die to show how murderous you are.  You certainly don't need to insult everyone's intelligence by pretending that if EJS didn't exist, you wouldn't feel absolute relish in your work.  Let me put it this way:  if EJS didn't exist, and you kept on keepin' on, who would there be left to have a truce with?  Don't worry, you don't need to answer that...you're killers, it's not in your programming.

Supporting the truce doesn't make anyone better than anything.  Those with true understanding (and the ability to discern) understood what the Truce was from Day 1: a lie, another form of control.  Keep Zion on our side, promoting peace at the barrel of a gun, give 'em the 1%, and pray to Deus Ex that they don't interpret the Truce differently.  Now that the Mechies are losing control over the free populace, they're scared, or at least, scared in the Machine sense of the word.  They should be.  With a force of over 500,000 useless Sentinels stationed outside Zion, Sentinels that couldn't stop New Zion's creation (all that tech for nothing, lol), the poor dears are left with nothing other than to search the Tunnels to dispatch a HvCFT here, a HvCFT there.

In other news, do you have any idea how long it takes for a freedmind to be trained to active-duty military status?  Now compare that to the amount of awakenings actually taking place right now.  Anyone with a brain - or, CPU - can see that building an army isn't exactly going to work very well.  It's going to be a very small army.

No, the truth of the matter is a lot more simple than armies or wars, etc.  The reason we do what we do is because we stood horrified at the truth of the situation.  We weren't tempted by false Matrix power, or delusional in thinking we were somehow better than our forefathers.  We woke up and saw that billions of innocent lives were enslaved into powering an empire that shouldn't exist.  We learned about the past, saw what happened, and wondered why it all had to go down and why it still was.  We decided enough was enough, that SOMEONE had to show enslaved humanity the truth, and let them make the choice without interference.  Call it biased if you want to, call it "our truth", but deep down in places you don't like to talk about, you know I'm right.  You know the truth.

So, awakening bluepills or perpetual murder...I think it's plain to see who has the high moral ground here.  The awakenings continue, and the "escalating probability of disaster" does too.  Take your best shot, traitors of free humanity.

IC:

Your arguments amuse me and those of us who know what is at the core of all of this.  You can talk about Machine and Man, and philosophize until you're blue as Cypherites in the face.  It really doesn't matter.

This is about free men and women.  This is about idle threats and the henchmen arguing and killing each other while the powers that be send us to our deaths like sacrificial pawns.  This is why the Prophets of Peace left Zion and why our mentor, the man you all so fondly remember as Morpheus did the same.  It's a chess game, but we can't die in the simulation.  Fate continues to reward OUR understanding; the only way to kill each other is to do it in the real.  What a dilemma for our former Machinist comrades, or as I like to refer to them (Machine invention or no) the Gestapo.

Zion is Zion and worth defending because those men and women are free.  It is in the nature of a free person to continue to defend their freedom, regardless of the situation they are put in.  Talk all you want of terrorism and add whatever sort of spin you'd like, but you know this to be the truth.  Bluepills don't have a clue as to what's going on, so they aren't about to be fighting anything but each other in pointless wars and street violence, though...it would be interesting to know who would side with who when presented with the truth of their situation.

Machinists claim to want to protect life at all costs; bluepills must have the priority in their eyes.  From my observations, you are the biggest bunch of murderers around.  You thrive on your ability to kill because it is all you are good at.  It is in your nature to end life, not preserve it.  It doesn't matter who is free and who isn't.  It's all just meat to you, and everyone wants a piece.  You make your high and mighty arguments, but you are no different than your ancestors.

Thankfully, none of it matters.  You have no real impact, no real way of stopping anything of significance.  You are assigned a battlefield, and you hurry to kill, praying that your commanders got you there on time.  You couldn't stop New Zion from being created; it was discovered too late.  Now, your masters in their knee-jerk reaction - so unlike a Machine - drive you to "treat any Zionist operative as hostile".  They know about EJS, but they still assign you this busy work?  Do they honestly think you can do a better job of stopping Zion from freeing all the bluepills they can than their Agents can?  Though let us not forget; not even the mighty System Agents could stop the awakenings pre-Truce.  It wasn't in their capability.  It was part of the system of control.

So what's changed, oh mighty Machinist hordes?  Nothing, and the Machines know it.  They can't do a *CENSORED* thing but fire pointless bullets and throw pointless blows.  The true battle will be in the Real, where we fight for keeps.  That's why they reacted the way they did.  That's why we're at "war" now.

We'll see who sides with who when the REAL fighting goes down.  Until then:

We are watching...we are waiting. - The Prophets of Peace

Or maybe he has a point, Sattakan.  Haven't you asked yourself why almost no one is taking this thread seriously?  Or for that matter, why all these pages of utter bullcrap (save for the intelligent responses) are saturated with shots taken against it?  Or are you taking the dignified route, not "stooping to our level?"

I think the majority of people viewing this thread now recognize it for what it has become...a joke, and a fair bit of a failure.  While I won't tell you what to do, I think you should ask yourself, "At what point do I consider this venture unviable?"

If you can't stop and recognize what is happening, well, I feel sorry for ya there, man.  At least you acknowledged that perhaps people have a problem with it being you asking the question.  I know I did.

Oh, and Serenity's post troubles me...you've received multiple abuse reports concerning this thread and it still isn't locked?  Excuse me, but we were having a ball on my old thread capping off the M for Morpheus campaign (pics of the Mech Construct infiltration, and subsequent debate)...we get a few people making "flames" and then it's not only locked, but also deleted by the man himself, Walrus.  Can someone explain that to me?  'Cause I sure didn't get a response.

[Am I the only person that thinks "Unus Somnium" sounds like a CYPH faction name?  Meh, probably.

Not implying anything, just kinda made me do a double-take there...]

[In other news, Soulfire has adopted the bracket system!]

Soulfire1 wrote:

I have to say...I'm about as disappointed as I've ever been with my fun level concerning the game.  It isn't because of lack of content or anything like that.  No, this problem has a more human face.

My fun is being infringed upon by the OOC actions of several players within the EPN org who decided to take my IC post "Marcus Tripp:  Bluepill" as a personal attack on the entire EPN organization.  They've taken it to such an extreme that I am receiving personal attacks in game as a result.

What irks me the most is that OOC, I've come to know and respect many of those players.  I make the post, and suddenly, I'm some sort of traitor or something...can you believe that?  Does that even make sense?  Yet there it is...someone's got some beef to pick with me at Camon C, or I'm doing a mission and BAM!

What the heck is wrong with these people?  The event in question concerned a mistake on the part of a bluepill played by a LESIG member that was shot by a neighborhood gang.  Apparently, the death was unscripted, but at the time, I didn't know that.  I decided to get some RP going, injecting as much emotion as I could, lamenting his death.  I had no idea that my RP would become fuel for a preposterous OOC fire.

To my attackers:  Please stop.  I'm asking nicely that you back off.  My fun is being affected, and that's not fair.  I pay my 14.99 every month to have fun, and this stopped being fun a while ago.  Any further attacks will result in CCRs, because I don't pay to be harrassed.  I pay to play, and to be absolutely honest with you, I think your actions have been absurd in the extreme.  There could have been some nice RP as a result of my post, but instead you chose to take IC criticism OOC. 

We can't always be the good guys, people, so take your IC licks as they're meant to be taken.  Hell, PoP sat on codebombs, and we endured IC and OOC criticism as a result, but we didn't start attacking people personally.  We fleshed out the RP, and created some awesome rivalries that are still talked about today.  We loved every minute.  A big tsktsk to you for ruining that opportunity and showing an immaturity uncharacteristic of the roles you play.

That's all, folks.  Thank you for reading.

Alright, whoa.



Soulfire, OOC, you and I have been cool for as well as I know, a long time now. And I can honestly say that I haven't sent you anything OOC about this whole ordeal... if members of my faction have, then I haven't heard about it until now. Tell me who and it'll be handled.



Also, try to understand, and no, I'm not defending EPN's OOC actions in regard to this, but try to understand WHY EPN might take something like this so seriously.



1. We have been attacked OOC by almost everyone at one point or another, we've had people RP with us in an attempt to get back at us for OOC vengeances. We've been made fun of, been called every name in the book. Yes, we've had meetings broken up 100 meters from a hardline, but when we asked those SAME PEOPLE OOC to leave, they refused IC with comments like "We own the system, we go where ever we wish." Needless to say, EPN has a quick trigger finger and borders on slight paranoia on who's out to get them... maybe because everyone IS out to get them, I don't know.



2. Regardless of your motives behind posting what you did, IC or not, you came to an EPN event as an observer, watched carefully, then found whatever flaw you could and reported it back to everyone on DN1 in the most dramatic fashion ever, not in the NR forum, but in the General Discussion forum... you can see how that would come across as a OOC public attack on the organization as a whole, right? Or could be perceived as such? Especially with no OOC commentary to go with the IC commentary, to justify the whole thing?



Look, I'm sorry you're beging harrassed. I'll do whatever I can to put an end to it. I have no doubt that my people are angry and upset and crossing the line, but as a friend, Soulfire, try to understand where it comes across to them that you crossed a line as well.

I can defintely concede that perhaps General Discussion wasn't the right place for my first thread.  I'll never make THAT mistake again, you can be *CENSORED* sure of that.  As for quitting the game over something like this...please, guys, if I haven't left after having SOOOO many reasons to do so, I'm not leaving because some immature people decided to attack me over some innocent RP.  Next time, I know who not to RP with.

As for calling them out, Phrack, I'll need to get back to you on that in a private manner.

It sucks how much OOC flak many of you have taken over your in game beliefs and IC actions.  The truly great factions weather such things, make appropriate adaptations, and move on.  Neither myself nor the Prophets of Peace will blame all of EPN over the actions of a few reckless people.  The same would be true if a Machinst or Merv or Cyph had personally attacked me.  We would simply know who to watch out for next time.

Now, I'm going to put all this unpleasantness behind me, and go back to finding a way to make the Machines come to the table as equals with Humanity, or die upon it.  Game on.

I have to say...I'm about as disappointed as I've ever been with my fun level concerning the game.  It isn't because of lack of content or anything like that.  No, this problem has a more human face.

My fun is being infringed upon by the OOC actions of several players within the EPN org who decided to take my IC post "Marcus Tripp:  Bluepill" as a personal attack on the entire EPN organization.  They've taken it to such an extreme that I am receiving personal attacks in game as a result.

What irks me the most is that OOC, I've come to know and respect many of those players.  I make the post, and suddenly, I'm some sort of traitor or something...can you believe that?  Does that even make sense?  Yet there it is...someone's got some beef to pick with me at Camon C, or I'm doing a mission and BAM!

What the heck is wrong with these people?  The event in question concerned a mistake on the part of a bluepill played by a LESIG member that was shot by a neighborhood gang.  Apparently, the death was unscripted, but at the time, I didn't know that.  I decided to get some RP going, injecting as much emotion as I could, lamenting his death.  I had no idea that my RP would become fuel for a preposterous OOC fire.

To my attackers:  Please stop.  I'm asking nicely that you back off.  My fun is being affected, and that's not fair.  I pay my 14.99 every month to have fun, and this stopped being fun a while ago.  Any further attacks will result in CCRs, because I don't pay to be harrassed.  I pay to play, and to be absolutely honest with you, I think your actions have been absurd in the extreme.  There could have been some nice RP as a result of my post, but instead you chose to take IC criticism OOC. 

We can't always be the good guys, people, so take your IC licks as they're meant to be taken.  Hell, PoP sat on codebombs, and we endured IC and OOC criticism as a result, but we didn't start attacking people personally.  We fleshed out the RP, and created some awesome rivalries that are still talked about today.  We loved every minute.  A big tsktsk to you for ruining that opportunity and showing an immaturity uncharacteristic of the roles you play.

That's all, folks.  Thank you for reading.

OOC (though at this point I guess it doesn't matter anymore):

You know, this is getting way out of hand.  I'm getting attacks in game OOC, and I haven't the foggiest clue why.  You people astonish me; I can handle IC criticism, because that's what I was hoping to invoke.  But OOC?  Forget it.  Just forget it.

Sigh.  I'm done with EPN...it's not fun anymore.  I know who my friends are.

/target Foxxdie

/invoke EgoStroke 1.0

Very well-said, Foxxdie.  You're the best.

Foxxdie gains +10 Ego points

/bwahahahaha

*Marks Agent Pace down on the list*

 *shuffles out of the thread, never to be seen again*

OOC:

Sigh.  You know, I really hoped you guys would've taken this and ran with it.  There could've been some real nice RP fleshed out as a result of it.

I had no idea the death wasn't scripted...so I took it upon myself to inject emotion into the whole thing, so I could see what could come of it.  Obviously, now, I can see that I was mistaken, as the lines between OOC and IC are becoming, once again, blurred.

If it's too much to ask that OOC and IC remain separate, then I'm going to have to ask that we save ourselves a flamefest and this thread be locked.  BTW, Rarebit, Ibuprofen works much better for headaches than an ice pack.  I'm a pretty big guy, so I take about 600 mg...works like a charm.  Cheers. 

There some things that need to be clarified, Operatives.  However, I must first thank Officer Zeissman for his account, and I am heartened that EPN leadership is taking this very seriously.

Let me begin by stating that the Prophets of Peace were invited to the meeting by Officer Zeissman himself.  The plan was to have only one representative in the simulation to assist and monitor the situation.  As you know, it is very difficult to procure allies one can trust within this world of deceit.  Nothing is ever as it seems, and I was tasked with feeling out what I initially thought would be a promising relationship with fellow freedom-fighters.

I was with you all from the moment the meeting began, to the task of finding the potentials (I was on Vesuveus' team), to the meeting in Dannah, to the moment Marcus Tripp's life was extinguished.  My captain, CountZero, joined me in the search for the potentials, as the team was having difficulty.  I felt an additional operative (especially one with his knowledge of the MegaCity) would be helpful.

There is no need to comment on what was said at the meeting, as I promised Officer Zeissman that I would keep such information in confidence, instead using generalizations.  However, I will say this:

When a bluepill chooses blue, and when Shimada herself promises that bluepill that they will wake up SAFE AND SOUND at home and remember nothing of that event, you *CENSORED* well better deliver on that promise.  Otherwise, what integrity do you have?

Morpheus would have given him that.

Let me begin by saying that the Prophets of Peace is a Morphite faction having no ties to the E Pluribus Neo organization or the Kid.

We came as observers to an EPN attempt at freeing bluepills. We didn't know we would be witnesses to the death of a bluepill.

EPN was sent to scour Richland for three potentials: Kathy Dawson, Marcus Tripp, and Mitchel Harper. According to EPN Liasion Officer Zeissman, these bluepills had been identified as ready to accept the redpill. All they needed to do was find them.

Through a web of deceit and manipulation, EPN operatives brought the three bluepills to a run down building in Dannah Heights. The bluepills were told various lies, some of the choice ones being that they had won a trip, or had been invited to a seminar. We waited for Shimada to arrive, and she presented the choice to the bluepills.

None of the three appeared ready at first. Marcus himself wanted time to think, but the EPN operatives pushed, putting massive pressure on those poor souls to take the red pill. They had many questions, and did not appear to be bluepills ready to take the red pill, at least from our perspective. The only thing I could equate it to was a pack of wolves surrounding their prey, ready to pounce at any moment.

Eventually, Kathy Dawson and Mitchel Harper accepted the red pill, despite all their confusion. Marcus did not, taking the blue pill. He was escorted from the meeting after that. The Prophets of Peace stood there, aghast at what had just taken place...and my captain was first to question EPN's methodology. He was told (by a certain prominent EPN operative) that his logic was flawed.

We left the meeting after that, and were welcomed into the afternoon sun by the sound of gunshots. I swore, readying myself for what I assumed was an attack. Unfortunately, I wasn't greeted by an attack. To my horror, I saw a terrified bluepill, screaming in horror as a Bullet chased him past the Blue Line. I cursed myself for not having had my Clamors at the ready. By the time I could get in range to grab the Exile, I was too late. Marcus Tripp was dead.

An EPN operative tried to resuscitate him with Restore RSI, but I knew it was a fruitless endeavor. Screaming in rage, I saw one of the EPN officers who had been given the task of presenting the bluepills with the red pill. His reaction was simple: "It was his choice."

It wasn't this man's choice to die. EPN's methodology today led to the death of an innocent; his blood is on their hands. Our logic was proven right in a pool of blood on the streets of Dannah Heights.

May he find peace at last.

Is this what EPN stands for? Is this what they put those black coats on for? I wonder...were the last words that went through Marcus Tripp's head "For Neo"? What a shame, that this man died never knowing who Neo was, or what he stood for.

/applause

Cov, you have quite a head on those shoulders of yorn.  Well played.

LOL

My name, for those who do not already know me, is Soulfire.

For years (2, to be precise), I have trained for a moment such as this, and though my progress was significantly slower than that of my peers, I have at last arrived at a milestone important to any successful operative's life.

I'm turning level 50!  Woo hoo!

Those who know me know how big this is for me...I honestly didn't think I'd make it to 50, but here I am.  The plan?

I'm throwing a bit of a shindig, this Saturday, the 10th.  I will be turning 50 in full view of the public (oh, the scandal!), but that's not all.  I'll be going all out for this thing, so be prepared for some surprises.

Time:  4 PM MCT (Megacity Time, PST)

Date:  3/10/2007

Location:  The Cobra Lounge (also known as the Red Bear Club), an unmarked club close to Baldwin Heights Central HL.

Dress code:  Formal...dress to impress!

Anyone and everyone is invited!  I love this community; it wouldn't be the same game without you guys.  It would be an honor to meet you all in person and in turn facilitate a special time for you to get to know the men and women that make up the best server in MxO!

Though the event is in Downtown, there will be armed security available to keep the area clear of NPCs.  Factions, if you have newer players who haven't seen Downtown yet, or don't have the Baldwin Heights Access Node yet, this would be a prime opportunity for such things.

There will be a pre-party gathering in the Network Media plaza directly in front of the Baldwin Heights Central hardline approximately 10 minutes before the party.

SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY!  BE THERE!

A very gracious host (who wishes to remain anonymous) will be hosting the event on their radio station.  The address will apparently be sent to me the day of the event, so it will be announced at the pre-party gathering, as well as during the party.