H
Hansagan
The plague begins...
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Z
Zumbo Prime
This was pretty predictable from the beginning, but it's decent IMO.
This page does seem to strongly hint at the Plague being a terran ploy to weaken Chara. The "mission" the spies were given certainly stinks of BS based on the information on this page, what kind of intelligence on charan military strength could they hope to gain from within a jail cell, surrounded by suspicious charans? And a rescue mission three months later from an undoubtedly high-security charan installation... It'll be interesting to know how the terrans thought they could keep the plague contained within rebel space.
As an aside, if those bar-type things are anything to go by, it seems that the two died inside their jail cell (funny that they were imprisoned together, one might assume they were held and questioned separately). This could mean that, although being sick for 24 hours, the charan bastards didn't even bother to take them to a medical bay for treatment.
Heartless rebel scum...
EDIT: Or, that someone was quick to recognize a terran biological weapon, quaranteed the cell block, and then had environmentally-suited doctors treat them. Assuming the plague didn't break out all over the facility at the same time.
As an aside, if those bar-type things are anything to go by, it seems that the two died inside their jail cell (funny that they were imprisoned together, one might assume they were held and questioned separately). This could mean that, although being sick for 24 hours, the charan bastards didn't even bother to take them to a medical bay for treatment.
Heartless rebel scum...
EDIT: Or, that someone was quick to recognize a terran biological weapon, quaranteed the cell block, and then had environmentally-suited doctors treat them. Assuming the plague didn't break out all over the facility at the same time.
Dave
Staff member
Because they were in the same cell means nothing. A lot of times they are questioned separately and they put together to see how they interact. Sometimes people talk too much and give things away.
Or, you know, the quarantine thing. That works, too.
Well, I have very little knowledge of intelligence or law enforcement interrogation methods. But in the cop and spy shows I've seen on TV, they often tend to keep suspects as separated as possible, to limit the chances of them doing damage control in case one of them slips up during questioning. I guess it'd be a lot harder for them to keep their story straight if they don't know exactly what the other person has said. And I suppose even legit defectors might talk with each other about their questioning if held in the same cell.
But, as I said, I really don't know that much about these things.
But, as I said, I really don't know that much about these things.
If they are being watched in their cell as well then they wouldn't have much of an opportunity to coordinate their stories. And as Dave suggested they could keep an eye on any interactions between them for more clues.
Also, if they are doing their intelligence gathering correctly then it's more about fostering some form of relationship rather than just trying to "catch them in a lie". The quality of that relationship has more effect on the quality of the information than whether they keep their stories straight. Now of course we know that these guys are "double agents" so to speak, but then that's why you don't give too many details away to a source you don't have a solid relationship with.
I'm not sure the coordination of the stories really needs to be an open discussion on what to say next, it could also be several levels of pre-arranged back-up stories and seemingly innocent signals to inform the other person that a level has been breached and that they need to fall back. A situation where one of them has been caught in a lie while the other still thinks the cover is good might be one that a skilled interrogator could work with, I don't know.
On intelligence gathering, yes, this is what a couple of spy novels in my bookshelf also say about informants. However, the charans probably know that the two may well be what we know them to be, double agents. If they can't seem to keep their stories straight, then wouldn't that be a strong indication that this may indeed the case, and that any real information they have is likely either false or something the terrans want them to believe? If so, then it could be that catching them in a lie is quite significant in terms of determining the quality of the information the two provide.
On intelligence gathering, yes, this is what a couple of spy novels in my bookshelf also say about informants. However, the charans probably know that the two may well be what we know them to be, double agents. If they can't seem to keep their stories straight, then wouldn't that be a strong indication that this may indeed the case, and that any real information they have is likely either false or something the terrans want them to believe? If so, then it could be that catching them in a lie is quite significant in terms of determining the quality of the information the two provide.
There's only so much you could possibly hope to transmit via "seemingly innocent" signals. I mean, what "level" has been breached? "Fall back" to where? Once you factor in all of the various permutations, it'd be pretty difficult to truly coordinate their stories. Surely the time spent learning such a complicated method of communication would be better spent getting their backstories straight in the first place.
I really don't see trained agents being that easy to catch in such a manner, to be honest. If either of these guys couldn't keep their stories straight even if they were separated then I doubt that they were the best candidates for this mission in the first place.
I go back to Dave's comment that they'd probably learn more about their trustworthyness by watching how they interact with each other than by playing "Gotcha" with them. Then again for all we know they could have been put in the same cell because of a lack cell-space due to the Charan "Three Strikes" policy. For that matter they're going to die a horrible death soon so it's all kinda moot.
Well, what I had in mind was certain line of conversation being reserved for communicating hidden messages. Starting out with it will get your partner's attention. The main message to be conveyed is something like "I screwed up Story A, I'm soon going to 'crack' and 'confess' to story B", which could be reduced to a couple of codewords.
That's true. Though I imagine a trained agent is still more likely to slip up during professional interrogation than he is to be careless in the relatively casual and stress-free environment of their cell.
Isn't the "Three Strikes" policy a penal policy, assuming we're talking about something like the US system? I'm guessing these guys would be held in a charan intelligence facility rather than a regular correctional facility. But you are right and this is all likely moot, they are in the same cell and it probably holds no significance in the story.I go back to Dave's comment that they'd probably learn more about their trustworthyness by watching how they interact with each other than by playing "Gotcha" with them. Then again for all we know they could have been put in the same cell because of a lack cell-space due to the Charan "Three Strikes" policy. For that matter they're going to die a horrible death soon so it's all kinda moot.
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