To Archie
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3710
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
To Archie
Doesn't your past adversely affect your job as a spy? Plus, let's be honest; you're kind of hard to miss. You blended in back in the late eighteen-hundreds, but now, not so much. How do you compensate for that?
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3710
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
As Archie
"First of all, I still am deactivated in the eyes of this country's letter agencies. Until such time as an adequate cover can be provided for me, I remain what is known as a pending asset for the CIA and FBI. As you've observed, my nature as Lord Holden and leader of the city's superhuman force would make it rather difficult for me to simply fade away. I can no longer operate as a spy in the fashion to which I was accustomed. Archimedes is, for all intents and purposes, no longer deployable.
Let us assume that I receive a clear indication of my return to service, then, for the sake of discussion... I would have to lie to my group of friends, possibly even break their hearts - and a few limbs here and there - in order to effectively die as Archibald Holden. With my public persona no longer the thorny issue it obviously stands as, I would be free to be outfitted with a different armature or, at the very least, different facial features and a different point of origin. My life as the man I currently am would be effectively over, and I would be forced to infiltrate whatever locale the authorities would deem pertinent. Considering my make and model and the political proclivities of the era that characterized me, I've always believed that I would be likely to be sent back to Russia. Old Naughton commercial armatures survive in the care of private collectors and eccentric Clank "body snatchers" - essentially wealthy spiritual vagabonds with a yen for collecting various corporeal shells for their personal use. Taught to reproduce their mannerisms, I could very well blend into Russia's fading Victorian intelligentsia, all the better to keep an eye on our bellicose neighbors in the Caucasus.
Suffice it to say, I do not enjoy the concept of abandoning my recent enterprises. As I am an American, however, and have held allegiance to this country's Presidents for over a century. If I am commanded to harm those I care for so that others may live, I will be forced to comply. Obsolescence, in this case, is its own reward. This is also why I am rather reticent when proposed with the chance to upgrade my armature significantly, or to change bodies outright.
I feel. I care. I am not a machine a Langley-mandated keyboard-stroker may switch on or off. I would do as requested, of course - but at great personal cost.
Semper Fidelis. Only the youngsters - the mortals, particularly, may spout these words in complete confidence. Over time, they grow bitter to the taste."
Let us assume that I receive a clear indication of my return to service, then, for the sake of discussion... I would have to lie to my group of friends, possibly even break their hearts - and a few limbs here and there - in order to effectively die as Archibald Holden. With my public persona no longer the thorny issue it obviously stands as, I would be free to be outfitted with a different armature or, at the very least, different facial features and a different point of origin. My life as the man I currently am would be effectively over, and I would be forced to infiltrate whatever locale the authorities would deem pertinent. Considering my make and model and the political proclivities of the era that characterized me, I've always believed that I would be likely to be sent back to Russia. Old Naughton commercial armatures survive in the care of private collectors and eccentric Clank "body snatchers" - essentially wealthy spiritual vagabonds with a yen for collecting various corporeal shells for their personal use. Taught to reproduce their mannerisms, I could very well blend into Russia's fading Victorian intelligentsia, all the better to keep an eye on our bellicose neighbors in the Caucasus.
Suffice it to say, I do not enjoy the concept of abandoning my recent enterprises. As I am an American, however, and have held allegiance to this country's Presidents for over a century. If I am commanded to harm those I care for so that others may live, I will be forced to comply. Obsolescence, in this case, is its own reward. This is also why I am rather reticent when proposed with the chance to upgrade my armature significantly, or to change bodies outright.
I feel. I care. I am not a machine a Langley-mandated keyboard-stroker may switch on or off. I would do as requested, of course - but at great personal cost.
Semper Fidelis. Only the youngsters - the mortals, particularly, may spout these words in complete confidence. Over time, they grow bitter to the taste."