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Void Missions ([personal profile] voidmissions) wrote2021-12-18 06:31 am

[MINISTRY] Message left to Voidtreckers

To those aboard The Voidtrecker Express,
This is a message from Ten-Nank, Ministry of Void STAFF ID #0011-0000-000-333. My capacity as a representative from the Ministry of Void was: to gather testimonies in relating to an open case we have on you; to answer the questions I could; to assess the passengers as a whole, so as to better understand them.

I will attempt with this message to provide transparency. Additional pages will be included with a basic rundown of questions and answers, so that future passengers may read them if this recording is kept.

I will offer apologies for the stress experienced during what you know as the false mission put forth by the inspection arm of the Ministry. Further details for this will be included in this document. Trust and cooperation was not expected of anyone, then nor now, as both entities - those of the Ministry, those aboard The Voidtrecker Express - lack an understanding of one another. Whether this changes is to be seen, though I do not expect it to be fully so: You each have your reasons for doubt, your reasons for indifference.

Whatever the future brings, I hope the information provided will give more knowledge for the situation you're in.

Ten-Nank


Post Script: If you will accept our resources, please reach out to the Ministry if you believe your world to be in danger due to being apart from it. We will investigate.


( ➤ OOC: Summary of the below points for quicker reading; click to view )
Section 1: The Ministry of Void

- An explanation of what the Ministry is, does, why. They watch over the void and make sure laws are followed. Keep track and minimize bad void travel and conduct

- An explanation of their case and coming to meet the Voidtreckers during The Waking of Neran festival on Osiga in the Orchestra month (OOC post)

- What role Ten-Nank was playing in it: taking down their testimonies and meeting with them




Section 2: The False Mission

- Ten-Nank states they weren't part of the operation, but attempt to explain what factors led them to the decision to make the false mission into what it was.

- The factors are mainly:
    - No idea if the passengers were sound of mind, in a few ways, due to voidsickness, but also an apparent lack of attempt to find help in void active locations visited. This included a belief of being void scouts and missionaries, or at least enough of them to make the rest fall in line

    - No idea of the strength and skills of the Voidtreckers, but assumed to have many.

    - When you have people from different existences on board, it can be hard assume the right actions to take; the Inspectors also had to consider their own safety

    - This was also why only a few people were interviewed

    - The setup was a training simulation, and since they did have knowledge the Voidtreckers were capable, they assumed that a low difficulty training simulation with the damage mostly turned off and helpful adjustments made wouldn't be so bad for them.
- Basically, it's really hard to just assume what's going to be the better option when you know little about a group of people and there are a large amount of universes.




Section 3: Generalised Assessment of those aboard The Voidtrecker Expression.

- Ten-Nank describes a general idea of the passengers they have. They see them as people who know a very, very basic understanding of what's going on, and with a desire to fix the cause of the train's problems. Most seem to trust the train, and just want to go around saving people and doing as they are.

- They believe that most of the Voidtreckers don't take into account how dangerous their situation could be, don't employ more caution to the train's assessments

- They help explain a few things. Such as:
    - Unstable tether issues: dissociation once you fully leave the void, possibly of becoming comatosed; becoming separated completeley from mind and body/spiritual anchor (those without physical bodies), your mind and soul beocming corroded

    - Voidcrafts 101: They describe the function of voidcrafts as AI engines that are linked to its tethered passengers. However, while 'travel' smart, they're not good at understanding beyond their functions

    - Voidcrafts can be corrupted to read emotions wrong, and also just suffer a trauma that can cause irrational responses

- Ten-Nank acknowledges that they don't think the Voidtreckers shouldn't distrust the intentions of the craft completely, but that complying and relying on it wholeheartedly isn't a good idea either

- They want passengers to understand that while things may seem 'fine' in their current state, this isn't the case and they should question their situation more, and accept outside help and more actively search for it

- Being compliant with the train and how it functions due to sympathising with it is bad, actually. Please train your pets dragon train




Section 4: Questions and concerns.

- Why did you trick us? Why don't you just ask us?
- Can you make the voidcraft drop the curfew, give us more equipment?
- How long will the Ministry take to do/find out [x]?
- I want to get back home/I want to keep travelling the void
- Why won't the Ministry leave us alone?
- What do we get out of working with the Ministry?
- We see people leave on the platforms. Doesn't that mean they're okay?
- The voidcraft is intelligent. It shouldn't be left out of the conversation.
- What do you know about System #1015, the 'World Eaters', etc






➤ Section 1: Goals of the Ministry of Void
What we do

A basic explanation of the Ministry of Void's function is a commitment to ensure safe passage both for individuals in the void, and safety for the void itself. There are those who wish to travel the void for leisure, business, exploration, to do no intentional harm to it or systems visited. There are those indifferent to the imprint they leave in their travels. There are those who see it as a tool for profit, a resource, for making a living, to spread their influence.

This can be a single individual, a group, a people, a business, an entire system. It is the Ministry of Void's purpose to watch over the health of the void, and that systems and individuals don't suffer through using it. To make sure the laws and regulations agreed upon by representatives of void active systems are followed. To minimize the harm to any and all done through the procedures that promote use of the void.

Our intentions with The Voidtrecker Express, and passengers

Our intentions with the passengers: To investigate into the unstable tethers, to prioritise scouting locations that may be at risk due to an individual's absence (and/or inability to be present) or no longer exist; to ensure their health and safety. To help return individuals to their systems or to seek out alternatives.

Our intentions with the voidcraft: To understand its directive, to investigate and stop its tethering capabilities of individuals without consent. To learn about where it came from, the system #1015, and the events that led to its recent actions. To investigate its mission protocols.

Your case

I met with some of these tethered to the voidcraft The Voidtrecker Express, and spoke openly about your case. There is a committee reviewing how to approach your situation, to find cooperation where possible and the best course of action to investigte and work on your situation.

Before the committee meet, they read a case and give their initial impressions on it and plans. You have 12 individuals reviewing your case. Disregarding minor details, the suggestions had two re-occurring arguments:

1. To bring the voidcraft and the individuals into a place of refuge, to better investigate and to protect the displaced people. Allowing the voidcraft to continue will bring unnecessary harm to those tethered by the train, that progress into their circumstances can be made more efficiently if detained.

2. To allow the voidcraft to continue its journey, to keep close watch and to bring levels of communication and cooperation with the displaced people and the voidcraft. That to halt the voidcraft will bring unintentional consequences, is too risky.

My role

A vote was put forward to seek more details, and testimonies from the affected people to include their voices in the case. This vote passed, and I was told to answer details of the case as asked. I will now go back with the testimonie and make a report of my conversations and sharing my impression.

I will put forward an arguement based upon the information I have on the overall concerns and wants of those most affected.


➤ Section 2: The False Mission
A basic overview: Inspectors were approved to set up a false mission signal to attract the voidcraft The Voidtrecker Express, to separate the passengers on board into a low level training exercise. It was approved that Inspectors, for their health and safety, would interview only a small portion of the passengers. They were separated, and the operation took the span of 65 SS-0011 hours.

Passengers have expressed displeasure at the tactic used. It is not understood why these methods were chosen, when others would have been considered more acceptable. I can only give my perspective in reading relevant reporting, as I was not assigned or a part of this operation. However, I do not disagree with them coming to this option based on the information available at the time.

Factors

Stability of passengers: Unknown. Earlier reporting of passengers showed awareness of their situation, but time in the void can cause alteration to one's mind. Information available led to signs that a majority of passengers were not seeking out help for their situation, despite stopping in void active locations. Those that we did find were expected to be from the same people. The intentions of these messages were unknown.

Threat level of passengers: Unknown, but possibly dangerous due to engagement with missions. Capable of varying talents, are willing to engage in battle. Cultures largely unknown. Many assumed human, one known as Elvish. Too little data to go off.

Calculation of mental endurance of passengers: Unknown, but considered capable due to engagement with missions. A varying mix of intelligence levels and mental endurance for tasking situations. More data needed.

Analysis capabilities of the voidcraft: Unknown. Hacking equipment unknown, ability to scan locations unknown.

Adjustments were made in an attempt to help passengers: A low-level training simulation was used; the threat of the simulation was stripped of its design, inability to do bodily harm; maps were set up to show where those taken for interviews had been placed.


My read of the decisions behind the operation is that the inspectors saw a risk to themselves, with the willingness of cooperation from the passengers too unclear. The capabilties of the voidcraft were also unknown, ruling out a more open setting. There have been conflict between the passengers and with inspectors in the past, and knowledge of the crew participating in missions is not enough to judge their agreement to outside presence.

The void is vast, the amount of existences countless, and with it the ways that people respond. Without enough information, little can be presumed, and the safety of our inspectors must also be considered.

The void is complex, and so is every case involving it.


➤ Section 3: Generalised assessment of those aboard The Voidtrecker Express
It's my opinion that many - or most - aboard The Voidtrecker Express do not have the means to accurately assess their situation, the risks to themselves or to others.

A general understanding of a passenger's belief of their situation: That you have an unstable tether, that you have been brought aboard the voidcraft - the 'train' - to help worlds, and to also help it locate its missing crew. Some have a desire to help with this, and also to find out more about the 'shapes in the sky'. Some wish for people to be able to volunteer on the craft. You have desires to return home or to find a new place to go to.

Other than consent to the tethering, people disappearing due to unstable tether and the shapes in the sky, the situation would be relatively fine.

Extra notes: The voidcraft does not trust the Ministry, so you don't either. You also don't have reason to trust the Ministry after the false mission. Those in the craft are part of a community, and you have no qualms about continuing as you are. The Voidtrecker Express should do as it pleases. You are helping people. You accept being a Voidtrecker. You're not able to see what difference you can make.

Reaffirmation: This is a generalised viewing. You all have differing opinions. This is in no way to diminish or to exaggerate any particular view.

I want to touch on some points, such as: the danger of unstable tethers, the function of voidcrafts and their limitations, the danger to yourselves and others.

Unstable Tethers

Unstable tethers can cause many symptoms on an individual, even if their void self is unable to pick up on this. Sometimes, individuals can be fine. Sometimes, if an individual who has been unsafely tethered after a long period begins to suffer symptoms due to the unstable tether, they can be recovered.

However, there are still risks. These include:

  • Dissociation from one's physical body and void self, extreme cases resulting in a coma

  • Death of the physical body, leaving the void self stranded (known as 'Void Spirit Echoes')

  • A deterioration of the mind and/or soul

  • A loss of bodily and mental functions

I have no means of assessing your health, and those qualified will have trouble without access to your physical body/spiritual anchor. Without more information, nothing can be concluded. I do not wish to place unnecessary stress on passengers, but at the same time found an inadequate level of concern for one's tether, beyond it being "unstable" and people "disappearing".

Even without a tether being unstabled, it must regularly be refreshed - a period where the tether is disconnected, and reconnected - for the health of the individual tethered.

I have included public articles of incidents involving people placed in unstable tethers and their consequences, as well as an article of 'Void Spirits Echoes' - individuals who only exist by what remains of their tether inside the void.


Voidcrafts and their functions

The function of a voidcraft is to allow safe passage through the void. The engine of a voidcraft, the 'brain', is programmed with the ability to do this, to make 'decisions' as necessary to ensure the safety of those on board, and additional 'instructions' related to their further purpose, i.e, missions, cruises, personal.

The Voidtrecker Express is likely no different, and has its own instructions set for how to treat "Voidtreckers". You are to it Voidtreckers, with many willingly to work within its programming. You do missions. You do the chores it sets out. You work within its boundaries more often than not.

Voidcrafts are similar to the concept some systems know as "Artificial Intelligence". They have a capacity for understanding, they are linked to your emotions, but they do not have what many called 'sentience' to the extent that some may be mistaking The Voidtrecker Express to. This is based on the information available.

This does not make the voidcraft's assessments untrustworthy as a result. Your concern for the craft and its history is not a mistake. However, I want to stress that voidcrafts will not always make logical assessments, that it doesn't know best because it travels the void.

Be cautious. Letting the voidcraft 'do as it pleases' without pushback does not allow it to understand when and what it does wrong. Sympathies for the craft resulting in inactionwill allow it to continue bad habits.

Limitations of a voidcraft

Voidcrafts have limitations, and will not always be able to take action we would find appropriate. Their obligation to certain instructions will override their ability to accurately assess others, or complaints that passengers may have. This can occur when a voidcraft has been tampered with, or suffered a traumatic experience that has not been caught and addressed.

Examples of tampering - illegal trafficking: Trafficking is a problem over many universes, many realities. The passage of the void is no different, and an issue we take seriously. While all of the cases do not reflect your own, I have included public articles on trafficking cases in the void, and the corruption of a voidcraft's engine to aid in this transport.

Voidcrafts can be made to assess fear as happiness, grief as being content. Voidcrafts can react 'illogically' based on past incidents, and also in a way that may put its passengers at risk. Voidcrafts will do what they believe is right, but not be able to assess it entirely.


I understand I am unable to fully grasp the circumstances of the passengers. I have not lived your experiences, before and after being tethered to the voidcraft. A portion of you have care for the craft and its circumstances, and also a willingness to do the missions you are taken to. Some of you have nowhere to return to, or don't wish to return to where you came. You may find it difficult to imagine the danger you could be in, or are simply exhausted. You have lost people that you had formed strong bonds with. You must hope for the best. You don't know who to trust, so you trust no one but those you can see.

Or, you don't care for the risks. The risks are worth it, you prefer the craft to where you came from. You're along for the ride, and nothing can surely happen to you. You will be able to find those lost again. You can fix this. You just need time. It's none of your concern.

Whatever your reasons, remember: if you have care for yourself or others, the way you are tethered is not safe. Your sense of community on the train and your trust in the train should not blind you to the faults around you, to those that become lost to the void. That worlds suffer because of whom the train tethers. That there have been deaths.

Use the Ministry of Void to your advantage, even without trust. Use any resource you find. You cannot rely only on yourselves and the lead of a craft driven by its grief and limitations.

Read articles:
  • 54 people rescued from trafficking craft, 17 found unresponsive

  • Sellers of refurbished voidcraft arrested after family trip turns into 3 months of agony

  • Fleeting: When People Become Void Ghost Echoes

  • History of the 2 point and 3 point tether system


➤ Section 4: Questions and concerns
- Why did you trick us? Why don't you just ask us?
If related to 'The false mission', please read the related material for an expanded explanation. Otherwise: The Voidtrecker Express was not allowing contact between us. We could not predict what the voidcraft would do, nor the actions of the passengers. The void and what constitutes as 'the right thing to do' is not simple to assess.

We are attempting more agreeable forms of communication, but using non-straightforward methods is likely to continue.

- Can you make the voidcraft drop the curfew, give us more equipment?
Curfew, chores: This has nothing to do with us. We can attempt to communicate with the craft, as you can yourself, but only with a closer relationship. Curfews are standard on voidcrafts for the health of passengers. Chores, from what I understand, are your choice to take on.

We may be able to provide some equipment, but a review must be made, and future cooperation will determine what we can do.

- How long will the Ministry take to do/find out [x]?
Time is difficult to estimate in terms of a moving craft, and your view of time. What is a day to one system is a week to another, and while you will experience only a day in one system, going to the other will show you have been gone for that week.

To be able to give you better estimates, we will need to measure the voidcraft's sense of time and calculate it against the time the Ministry uses. Giving us numbers or names alone won't help without knowing how to measure different times.

In the future, as we work together, we can hopefully give you better estimates. But also be aware that the Ministry is large and busy, with other cases that also require attention. We will prioritise requests based on their apparent severity, but will try to keep you informed.

- I want to get back home/I want to keep travelling the void
We can discuss and review ways to help individuals aboard The Voidtrecker Express where they want to be. Returning individuals to their systems will be a main goal, as well as relocating those without a system to return to, as well as finding ways to accomodating those who won't be able to exit beyond their tethers.

Staying with The Voidtrecker Express may also be an option, as long as changes are made to its current methods. Further time, investigation, and discussion will be required for any of the options above.


- Why won't the Ministry leave us alone?
Because The Voidtrecker Express is tethering individuals without consent, putting them and others at risk. Your personal agreement to your circumstance is not one held by everyone.

At the same time, even if it was, health and safety regulations require a stable tether that doesn't frequently 'lose' individuals. And a licensed voidcraft. And other file work. Tethers should also be regularly reset and refreshed, for the health of individuals. One's personal interest or that of a group doesn't eliminate the importance of these factors.

Having the right file work shows that the voidcraft and those use it are following the same standards as anyone else in the void.


- What do we get out of working with the Ministry?
The regulations of the Ministry are decided by representatives of the different systems that are void active. Together, they decide proper use of the void, voidcrafts, of activities within the void and connected to it.

Due to this, we have an obligation to your situation no matter what, as passengers inside the void. What would be obtained by 'working with us' is information, opportunities to return to the systems you came from or others. Safety. Resources.

I am uncertain of how else to express that your current conditions are not advisable. Your situation is not advisable. We want to help.


- We see people leave on the platforms. Doesn't that mean they're okay?
No. Unfortunately, at this time, there's no enough to indicate the safety of individuals that are or once were tethered to The Voidtrecker Express. While this means there's a chance individuals are safe, without more data, the status of yourselves or anyone else can't be concluded to be one way or another.

1. Unless individuals 'return' to the voidcraft with memories of their time gone, their connection to their original self is unknown.
2. That people have returned in the past doesn't speak of the individuals who haven't.
3. There really is no saying what side-effects any of you are suffering that you're not aware of.

Nothing can be assumed as likely without more information.


- The voidcraft is intelligent. It shouldn't be left out of the conversation.
Voidcrafts and passengers are linked, and so the craft can never be 'left out of the conversation'. If a better relationship can be formed, we will work with the craft as well as the passengers. However, as those aboard The Voidtrecker Express are due to their illegal tether, our concern is for the passengers first.


- What do you know about System #1015, the 'World Eaters', etc
Currently, nothing new. We will keep you updated.

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