Infiltrating the temple

If there is a system for detecting electronics in the temple it appears it never detected Father Wilson's truth detector nor his storage system paperweight and power/projection system.

When describing it to the inner circle, he never mentions any injunction to never take it near the temple.

While I might not want to get an atomic powered PICA anywhere near the temple, a simple recording device would not seem to be an issue.

(and on that note, how the heck do you power a snark remote that is the size of a gnat?)

evilauthor wrote:
And it'd be bigger than the laptop I'm using to write this reply. Any "spy" who could sneak such a thing into sensitive meetings and out again probably wouldn't need it; they'd just memorize the conversation and report the highlights without risking giving himself away by carrying a big heavy contraption that would be even more out of place than an altar to Shan-Wei.

Well, I suppose with some futuristic materials and solutions the purely mechanical device may be made small enough to be build into something... like chandelier, or book, or large dishes, or some furniture. So, for example, if Merlin&Co would manage to insert their agent into the Temple servants, such agent could just place the device in room before GoF meeting, and pick it up after.

Rnewman wrote:If there is a system for detecting electronics in the temple it appears it never detected Father Wilson's truth detector nor his storage system paperweight and power/projection system.

When describing it to the inner circle, he never mentions any injunction to never take it near the temple.

While I might not want to get an atomic powered PICA anywhere near the temple, a simple recording device would not seem to be an issue.

(and on that note, how the heck do you power a snark remote that is the size of a gnat?)

That's because the Key and power system were designed and made by the same people who created the Temple. That would by default put them on any "Allowed" list that any automated Temple security system looking for electronics. That would NOT apply to Merlin or any electronics he and Owl would make because they don't know what security protocols the Temple is using.

Dilandu wrote:Well, I suppose with some futuristic materials and solutions the purely mechanical device may be made small enough to be build into something... like chandelier, or book, or large dishes, or some furniture. So, for example, if Merlin&Co would manage to insert their agent into the Temple servants, such agent could just place the device in room before GoF meeting, and pick it up after.

How is an agent supposed to get anything into a Go4 meeting without being a member of the Go4 themselves? And what item could they possibly leave lying around that they could retrieve later without being accused of thievery and/or assassination attempt?

Any way you look at it, the risks are far too high for any reasonable return. Just having an agent in a position to get close to Go4 meetings would make them far too valuable to risk them doing things like planting and retrieving obvious bugs.

And that leaves aside the technical aspect of such a recording device even being possible without a) electronics, b) being noisy due to all the moving mechanical components, and c) having enough memory capacity to record a whole meeting.

evilauthor wrote:
Any way you look at it, the risks are far too high for any reasonable return. Just having an agent in a position to get close to Go4 meetings would make them far too valuable to risk them doing things like planting and retrieving obvious bugs.

And that leaves aside the technical aspect of such a recording device even being possible without a) electronics, b) being noisy due to all the moving mechanical components, and c) having enough memory capacity to record a whole meeting.

NTM If you can get something that big into a GoF meeting it should make a big BOOM and possibly be a Kau Yung

Something that struck me regarding what we know about the temple, is that there have been some instances where it's remarked on that it's location is a bit remarkable considering there are much more easily accessible places that have much better climates.

So is it a Chekhov's gun, red herring or just plain backdrop?

(Oh, and sorry for hi-jacking the thread )

evilauthor wrote:How is an agent supposed to get anything into a Go4 meeting without being a member of the Go4 themselves? And what item could they possibly leave lying around that they could retrieve later without being accused of thievery and/or assassination attempt?

Well, basically anything that he could have pretext to clean it or something)

Let's not forget, Go4 have no clues about the existence of sound-recording devices. So basically, for their point of view, everything that happened in the room AFTER they left represented no security breach at all.

None of the below. It's believed, but not AFAIK confirmed, that Zion, like Alexandria, was intended to be one of the tech enclaves, and therefore quite deliberately placed in an inaccessible location. With reasonable tech, the climate isn't much of an issue.

When Langhorne turned up, he made it his holy headquarters, since after all there was no reason for _him_ to do without technology. The location would just make it more attractive, since it underscored how easily angels could accomplish what mortals found challenging. After they departed, what mortal would dare to move the Church, even assuming they could dispense with the Temple.

Joat42 wrote:Something that struck me regarding what we know about the temple, is that there have been some instances where it's remarked on that it's location is a bit remarkable considering there are much more easily accessible places that have much better climates.

So is it a Chekhov's gun, red herring or just plain backdrop?

(Oh, and sorry for hi-jacking the thread )

Joat42 wrote:Something that struck me regarding what we know about the temple, is that there have been some instances where it's remarked on that it's location is a bit remarkable considering there are much more easily accessible places that have much better climates.

So is it a Chekhov's gun, red herring or just plain backdrop?

While I go with Louis R that the location isn't a Chekhov's Gun, the reason I think it isn't is because the location tells us so much about the current CGA. Or rather, the winter weather, and the way the incredibly rich Temple priests ignore the poor around them - who can't survive without help.

The Zion winter is a really important factor, and you can tell so much about characters by the way they either avoid it, turn inward during it, try and save the lives it threatens etc.

Bluesqueak wrote:While I go with Louis R that the location isn't a Chekhov's Gun, the reason I think it isn't is because the location tells us so much about the current CGA. Or rather, the winter weather, and the way the incredibly rich Temple priests ignore the poor around them - who can't survive without help.

The Zion winter is a really important factor, and you can tell so much about characters by the way they either avoid it, turn inward during it, try and save the lives it threatens etc.

OTOH, plotwise, the Zion winter (well, north Haven winter really) is making it REALLY difficult for the CoGA to prosecute a war.

What about parabolic microphones? Sure it might be tricky to get them set up, but they are a passive system, and could potentially set up outside the bug free zoning limits Merlin set up. The temple Windows might even hinder the system, but open windows are always a security threat.

Part of the inquisition power are their spies and informants, what would happen if such information was leaked out? Even if they are left unharmed, they would know their covers are blown.