Day 323 (Open)

[freedom_engineer]

Who: Colin, anyone interested in what he's doing.
Open: Like a convenience store.
When: Day 323, all morning. (BACKDATED)
Where: Several key locations around the Bastion.
What: Setting up surveillance systems
Format: Action to start, but anything's good.
Warnings: A short-tempered Colin.

[Just the other day he had been speaking with Nathan about the thefts that had been taking place. They'd agreed that some sort of surveillance system would be necessary in order to better defend against the thief.]

[Then the party came back, minus two souls, and Colin's mind went straight into defense mode. Cameras were purchased, sites were chosen, and plans were put in motion.]

[This morning Colin is moving from place to place, setting up cameras and wires as appropriate. Some of the cameras are huge, blatant affairs that can't help but be noticed. Others are tiny, designed to be hidden.]

[He's stopping by most of the buildings in the Bastion to set up at least one camera. If anyone has an opinion on big brother, now's your time to express yourself.]

Comments

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[Blink blink.]

Yeah. Canadian, specifically.

[He'll see where this sudden non sequitur leads before continuing with the main topic.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin isn't so socially inept as to miss what's going on here after all of these questions...]

Do you have any idea how many different cameras, from how many different entities, were recording you with no regard for your well-being at all, every single day?

[He glances at Rob briefly before returning his attention to his work.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

I do. And I hate having cameras pointed at me, whether held by a person or not. No one needs to be recording me when I'm adjusting my underwear or something. There are in fact things from home that don't need to be brought here.

[freedom_engineer]

That's not the point I'm making.

The point I am making is that it most likely didn't change your life one whit on your world.

Cameras, in all but the most tyrannical of civilizations, have no purpose for the average person. The people watching the cameras don't care if you're walking down the street, or chatting up someone you want to date, or otherwise living your life. There are too many things going on for any observation system to focus on the unimportant matters of day-to-day life.

They do, however, offer the observant a tool to use against threats. For nameless, faceless corporations, that means catching someone in the act of sticking a chocolate bar down their pants and making for the door and punishing them to the full extent of the law.

For people who are very worried about not waking up tomorrow, it gives us a better chance to stop people from killing us without a chance to defend ourselves.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Knowing that I'm being watched wherever I go changes my life. I'll admit they have their uses but there's no need to put them everywhere. I shouldn't have to jump through hoops to go about my day without being on camera.

[freedom_engineer]

They're not everywhere. They're in five spots at the moment.

The Storehouse, The Food Stores, The Hospital, The Monument, and the Farms. The vital locations for survival. I'm not even putting cameras up in the semi-important places like the forge or the docks.

... Well, and my Workshop is getting numerous, but I've had that place wired up with full surveillance for ages now, even before the cameras. And that's my place, I don't ask for permission to upgrade my own facilities.