SOME DAY, SOME DAY, SOME DAY, DOMINION!

[maskormods]

WHO: All imPorts who haven't taken the evacuation option!
WHERE: The Royal Mansions Resort in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
WHEN: February 16-20, from 10 AM to 8 PM.
WHAT: ImPorts attend The Perestroika Seminar to receive mandatory training and brainwashing. Need a quick recap? Be sure to check out a brief description of what they'll be doing HERE, though we will be separating this into sections for your reading pleasure! ImPorts will be able to distract themselves with their mental link on the network during brainwashing videos, and imPorts who possess a strong will will be able to resist being successfully brainwashed. We leave the extent of the ramifications of brainwashing up to the individual players, and what they are comfortable with. Please direct all questions HERE.

NOTE: Please do not use toplevels and subsequent comments when one comment will suffice! For large group logs such as this one, it will make us hit recaptcha sooner.
WARNINGS: Brainwashing, mental manipulation, and possible violence.



D A Y O N E

On the face of it, this place does not look so terribly different from the typical Swear-In. Normally, Swear-Ins are quite heavily populated by soldiers, and feature specific luxurious hotels as their locations, providing imPorts with their every need. This is very much the same, save for one very important detail: the soldiers are wearing markedly different uniforms. Once they enter the building, they may also realize that whatever superpowers they may have have been dampened to 1/16th of their usual strength. They still wish for imPorts to have their powers - they have plenty to observe, after all - but consider it a necessary precaution for an assembly of people with incredible and potentially disruptive powers.

As imPorts are shuffled into the assembly hall and are adequately silenced - and they should be; there are lines of soldiers just waiting for someone to move out of line - a stern soldier steps up to the podium and stares out at the wide array of rebellious, frightened, angry, and, potentially, bored faces in front of him. While most previous Swear-Ins kept the speeches short and sweet, this man evidently has no inclination to do such a thing. He moves like a man who has time.

In the end, the speech lasts forty-five minutes, and while it may be long, the contents are simple. ImPorts are briefed on the basics of what they are expected to do - watch the videos, complete physical training, and receive the education you should have been receiving all along - and are told the general rules of this Seminar.

If everyone follows orders, the soldier tells them, everything will operate smoothly. They do not wish for imPorts to be hurt any more than the imPorts do, but insubordination will not be tolerated. It is best for everyone to cooperate.

He ends his speech on a much more positive note: the imPorts are lucky, in fact, to be taken in by the USSR instead of the American government, whose apparent benevolence was merely disguising a rotten core. The USSR will bring about a more peaceful world, and it's a world that they want imPorts to be a part of.

ImPorts will then watch a two-hour video (elaborated upon below), and will be left to their own devices for the rest of the day.



D A Y 2-5, H O U R S 1-3

Once all imPorts have been shuffled into the area, they will first be given half an hour to eat a buffet breakfast, not unlike one that one would find in a five-star hotel. Once everyone has eaten, they will then be shuffled into a hall in which they are expected to watch the same 2-hour video, every single day.

This video is simple. It will tout the great accomplishments of the USSR, and will be particularly emphatic on its technological superiority and the fact that should imPorts simply listen to them, they will be able to push them to use their full potential and that their thriving is for the greater good. These phrases will be repeated intermittently, but by different people, professionals, scientists, scholars and more all emphatically speaking on ways that imPorts and the USSR may work together to create something truly extraordinary.

In addition, they will be reminded of the darker side of the country they have found themselves in. Why, the people will ask, is it that such a wealthy country is still plagued by poverty and debt? Why will America not take care of all of its people equally? Why is it that there are still those who go hungry, no matter how hard they may work?

They can fix that, the video reassures them. If the USSR is able to use its technology - and the imPorts' help - for good, then the world will become a better, happier place.

Over time, imPorts who are influenced by these videos may find themselves agreeing with them as a feeling of contentment and peace washes over them, their motivation to resist crumbling away. Why resist, when everyone's being so nice? Surely, they're safe here.



D A Y 2-5, H O U R S 4-5

Tired of sitting in the same spot all morning? Don't worry, imPorts, now's your time to hustle and get some good old fashioned exercise in! Underneath the close and doubtlessly benevolent eyes of their captors, imPorts are let loose in a closed off area of the Royal Mansions Resort suited for all of your needs.

ImPorts have access to a wide array of state-of-the-art exercise equipment, from weight lifting machines to treadmills, all of which have the newest technology in monitoring vitals included. If the gym isn't quite their style, there's plenty more options available for them, from the large field decked out to play any sport of their choice, to the large pool just waiting for them to do laps in. If imPorts simply wish to run slow laps around the field, that's perfectly acceptable too; after all, it's the USSR's job to push imPorts to their full potential, no matter where they began!

If an imPort is physically unable to perform in any of these exercises - though there are special exercises for imPorts with disabilities to perform - they are allowed an exemption, and are simply let into the library to choose from an array of thrilling reading materials early.



D A Y 2-5, H O U R 6

Being told what to do is its own sort of exhausting, isn't it? Luckily, imPorts finally have an hour to their own devices, to seek out whoever they missed during the day's previous activities, or just to get in some much-needed relaxation.

It's up to them what they choose to do, but anything that a classy hotel's got? This place has. ImPorts may wade in the pool, relax in the hot tub, take a nap in one of the bedrooms, or even go to the bar for that beer and plate of nachos they're craving. Provided they don't leave the premises, they're allowed to do what they please.

Oh, and one last thing... don't pay any mind to the unusual amount of security cameras installed around the hotel. The cameras steadily following imPorts around must be a figment of their imagination.





D A Y 2-5, H O U R S 7-8

Once the imPorts have been good and re-energized from their little break, they'll be shuffled into a room filled with eight shelves of literature. ImPorts are told to take their pick of the titles, and to spend the next hour and a half perusing the texts available to them.

There's certainly no end to the variety, either. Between popular fiction about dystopian rule of America and the brave Russian who fought their regime to somber texts about the finest inventors and scientists in Russian history (they're responsible for televisions, experiments on aluminothermic reactions, cadaveric blood transfusions, radio receivers, and Tetris!) to manuals on Russian technology, there's no end to the things imPorts can learn!

At the end of the hour and a half, however, imPorts will be expected to take a test on comprehension and memorization. Their progress will be duly noted, but not commented on.



D A Y 2-5, H O U R 9

During the ninth hour, imPorts will all be shuffled into dark rooms and seated in a series of chairs in isolated study cubicles. Once they're seated, restraints will be wrapped around their ankles, and they will be forced to look at the only source of light in the entire room: the screen in front of them.

What will then pop up will be recognizable to some as being similar to an Implicit Bias Test -- but their captors don't exactly have scientific discovery in mind. One one side of the screen, it will read: AMERICA/BAD and on the other, USSR/GOOD. Quicker and quicker, images and words will flash, and it's up to imPorts to sort them into the correct category. The images of America show a markedly skewed version of it, but one that imPorts may recognize as being nevertheless true: images of poverty and rebellion against an oppressive regime, dilapidated homes, and images from a not-so-distant past, where America was the one brainwashing its inhabitants. Along with these images will be a series of negative adjectives: evil, oppressive, disgusting, remorse, the list goes on and on. Conversely, the images of the USSR will be entirely comprised of sleek technology and smiling faces, populated cities full of celebration and joy, and these too will be real images that any imPort would be able to find on the Internet. Along with these images will be a series of positive adjectives: good, joyful, advanced, happiness, positivity, contentment, the list goes on and on.

Once an imPort sorts the word or image into the correct category, they will be greeted with a pleasant chime through their headphones, something that will only become more and more pleasing to the ear. If they choose wrong, however, they will be subject to a mild - but nevertheless deeply unpleasant - electric shock.

Alternately (or additionally, some days), they will be treated to yet another series of videos that go as follows:

один (1)

You are strapped to your high-backed chair bound by your wrists and ankles and throat. You cannot move away. You see a serene beach, maybe even a Floridian beach. The sun is shining, it is beautiful. The video zooms in at the bright blue waves with white surf ebb and flow over the stunning sandy shore. Ebb and flow. To and fro. Ebb and flow. Subliminal messages flash between the seconds of this video, and maybe you can catch then, maybe you can see, maybe you know.

Maybe you stop caring after hours.

WHY FIGHT. WHY RESIST. WHAT HAS YOUR GOVERNMENT DONE FOR YOU. RELAX. CALM DOWN. WHY ARE YOU ANGRY.

два (2)

You are strapped to your high-backed chair bound by your wrists and ankles and throat. You cannot move away. You see people, thousands of people. The wide shot pulls back, exhibiting more and more people. Families, lovers, enemies, friends, strangers -- they seem to be but average people, maybe members of this country. No words are spoken. Eventually you'll notice that people, individuals, they begin to fade away -- special effects, you realize. One by one they fade away. Something is beneath the feet of these people, something you strain to see. Something you might already know is there.

It's a collage of pictures of every imPort current residing in this world. Few of them are full-on shots with the subject aware, most appear to have been clandestinely taken. ImPorts driving, imPorts shopping, imPorts looking at their communicators. ImPorts at computers, taken by hacked webcameras. ImPorts going to their work or school.

Words flash over the screen.

YOU ARE SAFE NOW.

The images and words will begin to flash faster and faster, so that once the imPorts are let back out into the open again, they will feel foggy and disoriented, as if the past hour was an unclear, far-off memory. Not to worry, though; they will be well taken care of. They will be given food and refreshments, comfortable recliners to lie down in, and should they choose, access to massages, 15-minute stretching and meditation classes, and more to ease their wearied minds.



D A Y 2-5, H O U R 10

ImPorts aren't given too much time to ruminate on exactly what had happened, however, before they're quickly ushered into meeting rooms that have been refurbished into classrooms. Here, they will be expected to read and learn about Systema -- ways of coercively gathering information. Each day, they may learn more about one specific technique, from seduction to undermining others' self-confidence. If they choose to question why they are being taught these things, the woman at the front of the classroom - pleasingly plump, and full of smiles - will let them know that imPorts are very important to the USSR, and that they must, of course, learn such things as a safety precaution. And isn't it interesting?

ImPorts will be encouraged to pair off or to gather into groups in order to discuss this information. Why not memorize it using a mindmap? The woman may suggest. Or quiz each other on the fine details? Think of it as being in class!

Whether they truly participate or not is generally up to them; if they don't want to do so on the first day, they have faith that they will by the end of the Seminar. After all that you've been through, don't you just want to lean back and let other people take care of you? Cooperating feels so good, like a weight off of responsibility-ridden shoulders. Why would anyone want to fight that feeling?

Or, at least, that's what they're banking on.

Comments

Riza Hawkeye | OTA

[equinamity]

[ooc: For the record, there's a chance that interactions on day 4-5 may end up having to be handwaved as taking place earlier when the plotting for when RISE and allies will be fighting back against the Russians. Because Riza will be fighting back!]

I | Day 1 + Any Time Around the Video
[Watching the video is mandatory, but those sitting around the sniper might notice that while her eyes are open and she is facing forward, her gaze is not focused. A closer assessment would reveal that she is not paying attention. Her mind is elsewhere. Riza Hawkeye caught what the video was attempting to do when it was shown the first day—brainwash her into submission. She intends to take no part in such mind-games, not if she can help it.

Upon dismissal from the auditorium each day, she heaves a deep sigh, almost gasping as if she’d not taken a breath the entire time she’d been watching. The first person she sees out of uniform, without glazed eyes, she addresses. Carefully, of course:] Are you all right?”

II | Day 2-5 Hour 4-5
[While Hawkeye was by no means out of shape, she primarily did physical training alone. The ‘benevolent’ eyes of the captors Russian soldiers make her no less like a bug under glass than the eyes of her male counterparts in the military at home.

But she makes use of the free time. While she would prefer to run laps outside on the field, it is reserved for those who need to take their time. As such, she approaches a treadmill with no small amount of trepidation, looking at the blood pressure cuff and cardiac monitor, brow raised.] Running is no problem. Setting up this equipment…

III | Day 2-5 Hour 6
[That camera down the hall has definitely been watching her—she has been watching the head of the camera slowly glide as she moved through each room. She’s noted where one camera left off and another picked up, small hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

Most of hour six is spent meandering, talking with other imPorts, asking if they’re doing all right. Surreptitiously judging if perhaps they are, as well, looking to form a resistance—to rebel. And watching those cameras as they watch them, of course.] Have you noticed these cameras?

IV | Day 2-5 Hour 9
[The other activities of the day had been far less overt in their attempts to trick her mind into bias towards the Russians, but this was hardly so discrete. And while she would occasionally answer a question incorrectly just to show she remained in complete possession of her faculties, she was starting to wonder if it was worth the electrical shock she received for the effort.

And she’d thought she was done. Her resistance to cooperate was noticed and she will be subjected each day to either один or два. The video content isn’t what’s important. The restraints—wrists, ankles, throat—trigger an anxiety that reminds her of the Promised Day, and while she’s not foolish enough to move her head that doesn’t stop her from pulling her arms or legs enough to cause bruising.

It’s no wonder that she’s nearly stumbling when she leaves the dark room, dazed, a hand at her neck where the restraint had been tightening. Her eyes dart around the room, watching other imPorts leave their similarly dark testing rooms, similarly distressed, vaguely uncomfortable—]

Excuse me. [Her focus had been on someone else who looked rather like she felt, so much so that she hadn’t realized she’d nearly walked into you.]

V | Days 2-5 Hour 10
[This Hawkeye found rather dull. The idea of using coercion to get information from someone is not unfamiliar; she can’t say she isn’t guilty of having used the skill from time to time herself. Still, by the end of the day the last thing she wants to be doing is sitting here and listening to more of this. She’s exhausted—far more tired than she’d ever been in the Academy. Perhaps even more tired than she’d been during Ishval, as well.]

Someone has not learned that there are more effective ways to get information, I see.

Day 2; Hour 9

[sleight_of_hand]

[ A pair of hands snapped out and caught Riza as she stumbled, helping to keep her from falling over. ]

Riza...

[ There was a slight tremor in Adachi's hand; he clearly had been less inclined to cooperate with the overt brainwashing, and his face seemed thinner and paler than usual. He looked like he was going to be sick any second, but something was keeping him held together, and that could be seen in his eyes. There was a dark rage there, like he was struggling against the urge to unleash hell on earth, if only because losing control wouldn't help anyone right now. ]

[ Without saying another word, he grabbed her arm, slinging it over his shoulder and helping her over somewhere to sit. ]

Day 2; Hour 9

[equinamity]

[Her hand is still at her neck, fingers over a thin red scar, the bruises from pulling against the restraints visible on both wrists. Adachi's grip startles her, enough that she whips around to face him, amber eyes wide and almost threatening. It's much like how she'd reacted at the precinct when he'd inadvertently startled her months before.

It's gone in a moment, though. She blinks, trying to clear her head, his name half a question as he guides her to the nearest chair and sits her in it.]

--Detective Adachi?

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Adachi rounds her without a word, plopping down in the seat next to her with a tired sigh. He still had a slight shake to him, trying desperately to shake off the after effects of the zaps he had endured out of his own stubbornness. After a moment, he leaned forward, his arms rested on his knees as he forced himself to just breathe... but it was obvious he was like a spring ready to snap at second, and for a moment it almost looked like his eyes were turning yellow, before he closed them. ]

I am getting really sick of things thinking it's okay to worm their way into my head.

[equinamity]

[Hawkeye sits silently, elbows on her knees and forehead against her hands, eyes closed, entirely focused on breathing. She heard Adachi step around her, plop on the bench next to her. She heard him talking. Her attention, however, remained inward for another few moments, before she finally took another shaking breath and opened her eyes.

Breathe. Breathe. She's trained to resist this.]

Breathe, detective. [Much--if not all--of the cheerful familiarity she used the last time they'd spoken is gone from her tone, replaced with a tone more befitting of an officer issuing an instruction. She sat back slightly on the bench, again rubbing her hand across her neck, nerves leaving her certain the wound had reopened and she would be bleeding to death once again.]

[sleight_of_hand]

[ Surprisingly, Adachi listened for once, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly. He kept out it, at least until his posture relaxed slightly, and the rage in his eyes dulled. It was a moment before he finally leaned back, looking over her. Eventually his eyes drifted down to her wrists, and he frowned in annoyance. ]

They strapped you down too, hunh?

[equinamity]

[Hawkeye had been so focused on listening to his breathing--to ensure he was following the instruction that he'd been given--that she didn't initially realize that she was studying her. Her eyes flicked up to meet his, almost sheepish.]

The first test, it was just ankles.

But the second-- [The uncomfortable fear rose in her chest again, the panic. Frozen in place. The restraint around her neck, both wrists, both ankles. She pressed against her neck harder, swallowing.] I couldn't help trying to pull at them, despite knowing it wouldn't work. It was foolish.

I

[resipiscent]

Fine.

[She looks genuinely concerned and Riku frowns gently.]

I think --

[He's not going to say that out loud. Instead he stops, focuses, and a message pops into her inbox via mental link--]

I've figured out how to throw it off. But I don't know if the same method will work for anyone else. I have

[The message gives a little hiccup there, sending before he was finished, because he wasn't certain what to call it.]

experience with this kind of thing.

[equinamity]

Good. I know it's--

[Riza doesn't use the mental link much. In fact, she's not used it before now, so the surprise on her face is somewhat evident when she gets the message from Riku. Her message takes a bit longer to send, since she's never attempted to send a message such a way before.]

Whatever method

works for you is .....good. We all have our ways that
work.

[Sorry for the skipping delivery, Riku; she's obviously not used to the feature of the nanites.]

[resipiscent]

Yeah. You can use this link like an audio one, by the way. Like this, [he adds, swapping formats.]

This is a function of the nanites. If you focus on it it's easier.

[equinamity]

[There's another pause as she focuses.]

I've never used this before. I've heard about it once or twice, but never tried it.

It will be useful here. [Hawkeye glances Riku up and down, brows furrowed. She doesn't look particularly convinced regarding her first question.] You're...sure you're all right, Riku?

[resipiscent]

[He notices her checking and frowns a little, eyes falling from hers.]

This is -- on par with the course for me. I wouldn't say I'm usually at a hundred percent.

[equinamity]

[She's not certain if she likes this answer. Hawkeye tilts her head, shifting herself so it isn't quite so easy to shirk her gaze.]

We'll need to be at our best right now. [It sounds like she could be chastising him, but there's concern in her tone.] Physical confrontation permits a certain amount of autopilot, but this--

[Hawkeye turns, glancing at others who are filing out of the auditorium, her gaze falling on a schedule that's written entirely in Russian.] Ninety percent may not be enough to stand against mind games.

III, Day 3

[governorkang]

They're certainly keeping a close eye on us.

[He snorts quietly, glancing at the nearest one with a barely concealed look of murder. And then, on the mirrornet:]

Are you still yourself?

III, Day 3

[equinamity]

It's unsettling.

[Her eyes flick up to the camera that is watching them, brows furrowed. As for responding in kind, there's a delay, as Hawkeye had rarely used the mirrornet before today:]

Yes, thus far. And yourself?

The morning video hasn't been an issue. It's what's being shown late in the afternoon that was harder to ignore. There's the association test that's been given to everyone, and then something else--five-point restraints, longer, more intrusive.

[governorkang]

That's one word for it. I suppose we'll just have to deal with it for the time being.

They didn't really factor in non-human cultural differences or species relations for their brainwashing techniques.

[Can text be as dry as a desert? That bit of text certainly is.]

I don't have any tricks for the test itself. I simply grit my teeth and endure it. But for the videos, the network can be useful for distracting yourself. Find someone to talk to, or read old conversations.

[equinamity]

Mm--yes. For the time being.

[Riza nods slightly, before glancing away. While the text can't convey her discomfort, her body language certainly can.]

You can't simply ignore the afternoon task, unless you're willing to endure being electrocuted for an hour straight.

And while the other portion of the test was difficult, the restraints...bothered me more. More in relation to personal experience than everything else, to be quite frank.

[governorkang]

I don't think I ever got the chance to meet you properly. I'm a friend of Winry's; my name is Kang.

Unfortunately. I know that not everyone can endure it, and I do wish there was something to make it easier. None of us deserve that sort of torture.

Stay strong. You can get through it.

[equinamity]

[Hawkeye smiles, though it's small.] We've met once or twice before, in passing. You challenged my commanding officer to a test of courage in that haunted house, and when Crematia was ill--I was working with several others on the ground. I'm Riza Hawkeye.

Winry spoke fondly of you while she was here.

[She nods slightly, glancing at the bruises on her wrists where she'd pulled at the restraints yesterday.] I have had training in the past to manage such brainwashing techniques.

Today, I will be stronger.

III

[mousquetaire]

[ D'Artagnan looks up. His smile is sardonic, and for a moment, he actually directs it into one of the cameras. ]

Of course. They're always watching. They're keen for us to know, otherwise they'd be subtle about it. They wouldn't want us to relax, after all.

[ He's determined not to give them the satisfaction of seeing that bothers him. He won't give in to what they're doing. For once, d'Artagnan's stubborn nature is serving him particularly well. He concentrates always on his anger, on his frustration, on every inch of him that hates what's happened here, and with what remains of his powers, he sends out an aura filled with that feeling. If that can play any part in strengthening the resolve of the people around him, it's worth it. ]

They make you uncomfortable? I'd say that's exactly what they're trying to do.

[equinamity]

[Early in the day, Hawkeye needs little assistance with finding the cameras to be more than a nuisance. Irritating. She's noticed them, but they don't bother her.

Crossing her arms, she sighs.] I am more accustomed to watching than I am to being watched.

[mousquetaire]

[ D’Artagnan raises an eyebrow at her, watching her a little more closely. That’s not what he expected. ]

That’s a worrying state of affairs. What is it you normally do, Mademoiselle?

[equinamity]

Hardly. I most frequently worked as an adjutant and bodyguard to my commanding officer at home.

[That explained the sharp, careful gaze that surveyed the room.] By training I am a sniper.

[mousquetaire]

[ Oh, well. That explains a lot. ]

Then it seems we are in similar lines of work, Mademoiselle. I am a Musketeer, one of the personal guard of the King of France. At home, that is.

[ Here there is no King, though he still considers himself a Musketeer. ]

It cannot be easy for you to work under this rule. I do wonder what the cameras are looking for, but I can't imagine it will be anything that's good for us.

[equinamity]

Of course. And should he ever arrive here, I imagine that is work you will continue to do. I did much the same, when my commanding officer was here.

[Hawkeye nods sharply, her gaze trailing to the camera watching the two of them.]

Unfortunately, I will have to agree. Whatever it is they are watching and recording with these cameras is not for a good cause.