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The USA PATRIOT Act: The Story of an Impulsive Bill that Eviscerated America's Civil Liberties

The USA PATRIOT Act provides a textbook example of how the United States federal government expands its power. An emergency happens, legitimate or otherwise. The media, playing its dutiful role as goad for greater government oversight, demands "something must be done." Government power is massively expanded, with little regard for whether or not what is being done is efficacious, to say nothing of the overall impact on our nation's civil liberties.
No goals are posted, because if targets are hit, this would necessitate the ending or scaling back of the program. Instead, the program becomes normalized. There are no questions asked about whether the program is accomplishing what it set out to do. It is now simply a part of American life and there is no going back.
The American public largely accepts the USA PATRIOT Act as a part of civic life as immutable, perhaps even more so than the Bill of Rights. However, this act – passed in the dead of night, with little to no oversight, in a panic after the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor – is not only novel, it is also fundamentally opposed to virtually every principle on which the United States of America was founded. It might not be going anywhere anytime soon, but patriots, liberty lovers and defenders of Constitutional government should nonetheless familiarize themselves with the onerous provisions of this law, which is nothing short of a full-throttle attack on the American republic.

What’s Even in the USA PATRIOT Act?

What is in the USA PATRIOT Act? In the Michael Moore film Fahrenheit 9/11, then Rep. John Conyers cracked wise about how no one had actually read the Act and how this was in fact par for the course with America's laws. Thus, before delving into the deeper issues surrounding the PATRIOT Act, it is worth discussing what the Act actually says. Here’s a brief look at the 10 Titles in the PATRIOT Act:
Most of the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act were set to sunset four years after the bill was passed into law. However, the law was extended first by President George W. Bush and then by President Barack H. Obama. The latter is particularly scandalous given that, at least in part, a rejection of the surveillance culture that permeated the Bush Administration was responsible for the election of Obama in 2008.

Passing the USA PATRIOT Act

Next, it’s important to remember the environment in which the USA PATRIOT Act was passed: Post-9/11. It is not the slightest bit of exaggeration to label the environment in which the PATRIOT Act was passed as “hysterical,” nor is “compliant” a misnomer for the Congress of the time. Opposition to the Act was slim and intensive review of one of the most sweeping Acts of Congress in American history was nonexistent.
All told, Congress took a whopping six weeks drafting, revising, reviewing and passing the PATRIOT Act. That’s less time than Congress typically spends on totally uncontroversial and routine bills that don’t gut the Fourth Amendment. The final vote found only 66 opponents in the House and one (Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold) in the Senate. The entire passage of the PATRIOT Act, from start to finish, took place behind closed doors. There were no committee reports or hearings for opponents to testify, nor did anyone bother to read the bill.
“Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” is the bloated and overwrought full name of the bill, crafted by a 23-year-old Congressional staffer named Chris Cylke. This ridiculous name puts the focus not on the surveillance aspects or the erosion of basic civil liberties enshrined in Western society since the Magna Carta, but on patriotism. At the time of its creation, the messaging was very clear: Real patriots support massive intrusions on civil rights. As President George W. Bush said at the time, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” This sentiment very much seemed to apply to American citizens.
While the argument that if you have nothing to hide you shouldn’t fear investigation is anathema in a Constitutional republic with regard to citizens, it should be standard operating procedure when it comes to our organs of government. If we cannot expect transparency from the United States Congress – elected officials charged with representing the will of the people and protecting the Constitution – then we certainly can’t expect it anywhere else.

The Unfortunate Growth of the USA PATRIOT Act

It’s no surprise to those in the liberty movement that given an inch, the government (in particular the military-intelligence community) took a mile. Even the nebulous definition of “terrorism,” largely centered around a long litany of acts rather than the motivation behind them, has expanded to include receiving military training from a proscribed organization (without actually committing any terrorist acts or even acts of violence of any stripe) as well as “narcoterrorism” – the latter particularly convenient, as the United States government continues its losing “War on Drugs.”
Indeed, in many ways, the War on (Some) Drugs was the template for the War on Terror. Both wars have no defined enemy, no defined terms of victory. Instead, they are waged against a nebulous concept, while enjoying bipartisan support for their ever-expanding budgets. What’s more, it didn’t take long for the Feds to start using the USA PATRIOT Act for things it was never intended for, including prosecuting the War on Drugs.
Perhaps the silliest application of the USA PATRIOT Act is the prosecution of Adam McGaughey. McGaughey maintained a fansite for the television series Stargate SG-1. The Feds charged him with copyright infringement and computer fraud. In the course of their investigation, the FBI leveraged the PATRIOT Act to get financial records from his website’s ISP. This was made possible by the USA PATRIOT Act amending the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, allowing for search and seizure of ISP records.
The New York Times discovered in September 2003, that the USA PATRIOT Act was being used to investigate alleged drug traffickers without what would otherwise be sufficient probable cause. These were investigations into non-terrorist acts using a law ostensibly designed to investigate terrorism. There was some suspicion that the Act was being used to investigate crimes occurring before the Act was passed, violating the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution.
In one of the biggest power grabs (excluding virtually everything we know from Edward Snowden – more on that below), the FBI sent tens of thousands of “national security letters” and procured over one million financial records from targeted businesses in Las Vegas. These businesses were primarily casinos, car rental bureaus and storage spaces. The data obtained included financial records, credit histories, employment records and even people’s personal health records.
The FBI maintains and databases this – and, indeed, all information collected through the USA PATRIOT Act – indefinitely. In the good old days before the PATRIOT Act, the Feds were compelled to destroy any evidence they collected on someone later found not guilty of a crime. Note that the aforementioned data collection brought to public attention by Edward Snowden (which, again – we’re getting to that) falls under this provision. Not only is the government collecting obscene amounts of private and personal information about you, they’re also storing it indefinitely with no plans to stop.
What’s more, the FBI has approached public libraries to turn over the records for specific terminals, collecting information not about specific users who might be under investigation, but about anyone who has ever used the computer at the public library. Libraries, to their credit, have been very much at the forefront of resistance against the PATRIOT Act, with some litigating compliance despite operating on small budgets and others posting “canary letters,” which effectively say “The FBI Hasn’t Been Here Yet.” The removal of such a letter would warn patrons that the FBI has been sniffing around in their records.
Indeed, the greatest criticism of the PATRIOT Act is the simplest and perhaps most obvious: Why does an Act ostensibly passed to fight terrorism so drastically expand the government’s power to investigate virtually everyone else? The PATRIOT Act is not merely unconstitutional, it is an unprecedented expansion of state power in the Anglosphere, a culture based on restricted government and the primacy of individual rights.
An excellent example of this is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expansion. Most people are familiar with the term “FISA court,” but very few people actually know what it is – a special federal court created under the Carter Administration that grants approval of electronic surveillance of both citizens and resident aliens in the event that they are accused of acting in the service of a foreign power. The last part of this sentence is very important: The FISA courts are not simply for allowing surveillance of anyone that it might be expedient to collect information about. The scope of their powers is very, very limited.
Or was.
The PATRIOT Act lowered the burden of evidence required to obtain a FISA warrant for electronic surveillance and expanded the overall scope of the FISA courts. Any savvy federal agent can now drape his charges in the garb of (what else?) “national security” and obtain electronic surveillance privileges hitherto only dreamed of by investigators. FISA courts have become pliant tools in the hands of the Feds, gladly approving their requests to monitor phone and internet surveillance, as well as access to medical, financial and educational records.

The Future of the USA PATRIOT Act

Do we still need the PATRIOT Act? Did we ever? All laws are certainly a product of their times. But this seems much more acutely true of the USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed in a rush and under duress without due consideration.
Particularly in light of the revelations from Edward Snowden – that the government is spying on everything they possibly can – it’s worth asking if there’s any walking back. He points out that the police state apparatus was originally for drug dealers, then for terrorists, but ultimately ended up being applied to anyone and everyone.
What’s more, Bob Bullard notes another frightful aspect of the USA PATRIOT Act: Terrorism-related cases are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This means that there is little or no oversight. There is no surer hallmark of a police state than an all-powerful domestic surveillance agency with no transparency or oversight. While the USA PATRIOT Act might not create an American Stasi as such, it certainly paves the way for one.
Continue reading The USA PATRIOT Act: The Story of an Impulsive Bill that Eviscerated America's Civil Liberties at Ammo.com.
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Inside Underground NY Poker

I have a ton of stories from my days of dealing in the underground clubs in New York. I now live in Vegas and work here full time in the poker industry. I often get asked by the players here in Vegas to tell some stories of my club days. Maybe poker will find it interesting as well.
This all started in 2006.
Fox's Club - 1.1 A bit of some background about me -- I basically grew up in the poker world. My grandmother was a playedealer decades ago (her boyfriend ran a large club in Queens, NY) and she started teaching me 7 Stud, 5-Card Draw Hi, and NL Hold'Em starting when I was 6 years old. We would play with a cheap Hoyle chipset she had purchased from the local grocery store. Occasionally, I even beat her — I’ll never be sure to this day if she let me win, but I’ll always hold those memories close. Poker was something we always did together and did often. It would be unusual to see my Grandma without a deck of cards on her.
As I got older, my whole family would play together. When I reached middle and high school, I would host multi-table $20-$50 buy-in tournaments at my house and there would be about 40-50 of us at my house playing poker, socializing, eating, and doing what kids do. We were all terrible and had no idea what we were doing, but we were all having fun and little did I know it, but I was getting a taste of what was to come in terms of my career later on in life.
When I hit 16 years old, a friend of mine from high school — Joey — who had gone off to college in Queens at St. John’s had come back home for the summer. He had been introduced to a very large and popular underground club in College Point, NY. At the time, he was making a regular income from playing small stakes MTT’s on Full Tilt instead of having a regular job during college, and naturally found his way into live poker. This was my first introduction to the underground poker world. In addition to playing online with him, I accompanied him and a couple of his college buddies one night to play $1/$3 NL at a live underground club. I was able to play because I had made some substantial money from running and eventually selling my own web hosting business while in high school. My other passion that I had started learning from a very young age was computer programming. I was coding in Visual Basic by 11 years old because a friend of my father’s, who was a software developer, had decided that I had shown some aptitude for the field and took an interest in mentoring me. I was lucky to have been given the opportunity of his time, teachings, books, etc. Anyway, off we went to Fox’s Club — Fox was the connected mob guy who owned the club. The game was protected and everyone knew it. It was a very social place.
If you’ve ever been to an underground club, then you know that the quality of the customer service and experience can vary greatly from game to game. Fox’s game was the creme of the crop, it was absolutely top notch. It ran everyday, night and day.
It was located in a large, multi-story industrial lot which sat right near a main intersection, which meant lots of traffic — a very good thing because the traffic to and from the game just blended in with the usual activity.
When you pulled in, you could park anywhere you wanted out of the tens of dozens of spots. It didn’t matter where you parked anyway — I’ll get to why in a minute. Then, you would walk upstairs to the 2nd story to come stop in front of a giant steel door with a buzzer and several cameras positioned in front.
When you rang the bell, they’d ask you who you were, you’d tell them how and who invited you, and in a minute or two you’d be buzzed in through the first steel door. After entering, you’d come to a second steel door with another camera positioned in front, which only opened from the inside.
When you finally entered the room, it was gorgeous — clean, large, comfortable, and was equipped with everything you wanted in a club. A full-sized kitchen, multiple clean bathrooms (one even had a shower), a lounge area, a high limit room, waitresses, a bunch of large flat screen TV’s, and a smoking room among other things. The first thing you’d notice was that they had 6 high-quality poker tables paired with executive chairs, not including the one in the high-limit room. This club was spacious.
As you walked in, a valet would ask for your keys and he would go fetch your vehicle and park it in an organized fashion amongst the others. You’d then make your way over to the podium and tell the floor which game you wanted to play — they usually had at least several games going — $1/$3, $2/$5, and $5/$10 NL and higher when it ran, but the much higher games were much more private.
Strapped with $1,000 in cash on me, I request a seat in the $1/$3 game and eventually make my way onto the table. The max buy-in was $500, which I opted for because most stacks at the table were deep. It didn’t really matter anyway — this was my first time playing in an underground poker club and I was nervous as hell. I didn’t know how to act, was totally naive to my safety, I was 16 years old and I was clearly “the kid” in the club.
I remember winning one of my first pots, and a mid-30’s Asian guy sitting next to me taps me on the shoulder.
“Aren’t you going to tip the dealer?”
“What do you mean? Are we supposed to do that?”
“Of course, they work on tips. When you win a pot, toss them a buck, if it’s a big pot then maybe a redbird or two.”
“Oh, uh… I see… I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” and I toss the dealer a buck.
Over the course of the summer and playing there a dozen or so times, I began to take notice how much these dealers were making. Back then, in this particular club, dealers were well taken care of and I managed figure out that they were pulling in at least $1,000 per shift depending on their duties and how long they spent in the box. Some guys had multiple roles, would often spend time on the phone with players, some would work the cage area, some would floor other times, etc.
The questioned then dawned upon me — why am I risking my money playing this game, when I could learn how to deal it and be guaranteed to make money without any risk?
That was when I started to become friendly with Big Mike — one of the regular dealers. I wanted to deal and I wanted a job there… How was I going to make this happen? How could I pass up learning how to make $1k a night at a job that looked like it could be a lot of fun?
To be continued…
​
Fox’s Club — 1.2
Thinking about it now, the thought of a 16 year old kid wanting to learn how to deal poker in an underground club and actually turning out to be good at it… is just plain hilarious. But, I was determined to learn this skill, and even though I was a little naive about it, I made a promise to myself that I was going to study poker and poker dealing.
When you’re that young, the problem is that your brain is not yet fully developed and no matter how mature and intelligent someone of that age can be, the fact remains that they have yet to gain “wisdom” — the kind which can only be acquired through time. I say this because I grossly underestimated the amount of time on the felt it really takes to become a solid, “A”-Dealer. But again, I had drive and determination to learn how to deal.
I became friendly with Big Mike, got his phone number, and would text him whenever I wanted to come down to the club. I let him know that I wanted to learn how to deal and asked him how he learned. He told me that he had went to dealer school. I didn’t know such a thing existed. He wasn’t too enthusiastic about me learning how to deal, he said I was too young and didn’t know the game well enough yet. I came to the conclusion that Big Mike wasn’t going to help me, and sure enough, he never did in that regard. I kept him as a poker contact and would eventually be invited to other games and clubs by him, something that could be really helpful later on.
With Big Mike not wanting to teach me, my plan was to go to Fox’s to play, and when I wasn’t in a hand I was going to study what the dealer was doing — what he did with his hands, how he shuffled, what he said, what he was constantly doing with the chips in his rack? This was how I discovered rake, by the way. I didn’t even know what rake was.
At Fox’s, everybody paid $5 per half when the dealers would make their push. I thought that that was how they were making their money. What I didn’t know was that they were also taking a rake. There wasn’t a gator or dropbox for the rake. It didn’t sit out openly in front of the players as it does in casino card rooms. The dealer would quickly take out chips from the pot and they would go right into the well. Every half, the dealer that was pushing in would replace the well with the one they were carrying.
The first time I saw the rake being taken, I was puzzled by what was happening and didn’t know what was going on. No-one else at the table ever seemed to say anything or even acknowledge it so I figured it must be okay. When I saw Big Mike go into the smoking lounge for his break, I got up from the table and went inside to ask him about it. He then educated me about rake and what it was. I was dumbfounded. This place must be making a sh*tload of money. 10% of the pot up to $25? I started to do the math on all the tables running, the time being taken every half hour, an average pot size for an average rake amount, and came up with an impressive number. Damn, what a lucrative business to be in.
During the time I spent watching the dealer, I picked up lots of little things here and there, but ultimately just watching was not enough. I needed some proper instruction. I also knew I needed to learn how to “deal” the cards the way Big Mike did with that flick of his fingers — not knowing at the time that it was called “pitching the cards”.
All of this information. All of these techniques. There must be some resources and information on poker dealing on the internet, right? I mean, if Big Mike went to a school that teaches how to deal poker, then there must be some info on where to go. I’d later on make a discovery that would make a huge impact on my life.
So, I decided that moving forward, I was going to focus on getting better at the game while I spent my time at Fox’s. Maybe Big Mike was right. Maybe I didn’t know the game well enough yet. Instead of trying to learn how to deal there, I’ll just play the game and try and win as much money as I can.
This didn’t turn out so well, however, as I was not yet a competent player. I had no live experience — I was very easy to read, made the mistake of engaging in table talk and failing at every verbal jousting I took part in, and I hadn’t yet been a real student of the game. I was learning the hard way through trial and error, which of course cost me tons of money.
I didn’t always lose, because I wasn’t an idiot and was intelligent enough to realize that there actually is a skill component to this game. The Asian guy (from Part 1) in his mid 30’s, the one who politely taught me about tipping dealers, turned out to be a pretty cool guy.
His name was Andy. When we first officially met, he asked me about which college I was going to and what major I was studying.
“So, you in college? What are you studying?”
“Actually, I’m still in high school. I haven’t decided yet which school I want to go to. I still have a couple of years left.”
“What? How old are you, buddy?”
“I’m 16, I’ll be 17 after the summer.”
“So you can’t even drive, yet? Is that why you always come by with a friend?”
“Yeah, I’m still saving up for a car. I think I’m gonna buy a used Mazda 6.”
He was curious about where I was getting all of this money I had to play with at the tables. I told him about my computer background and web hosting business. He was impressed and I had earned his respect. He told me that he had initially thought that I was just another one of the college kids that came by to play — money from their parents, or playing with the extra college loan money that was left over and sent out as a check to students who got loans.
We developed a kind of student-teacher relationship. He smoked a ton of cigarettes, and every time he did, I would join him in the smoking lounge and he would tell me his thoughts on how I played certain hands, point out mistakes I made, give me positive reinforcement on things I was doing correctly, pull me off the table when I would start to tilt, and overall just looked out for me. Andy was a very good player as well, judging by the fact that he consistently won and could always give me a logical reason and argument to why I should do things a certain way.
Other people who tried to teach me the game would say things like “You should have raised on the turn”, and when I asked “Why?”, I would always get the same response — “Because you lost the hand”. That made no sense at all to me. That’s not an answer, it doesn’t answer the question at all. That’s just another way of saying that if I was a psychic and could predict the future, the way I could have won the hand was by knowing what the outcome was and making the right play.
Andy would say things like “You should have raised on the turn”, and when I asked, “Why?” He would say things like “Well, why did you decide to call instead of raise? Did you even consider raising at all? Did you consider folding? What did you think he was betting into you with? You had a set of 9’s on a board that had one broadway card and two flush draws”. That was when I realized that I wasn’t even thinking much about what the other guys had, I was just playing my own cards and when I didn’t make hands, I would try and bluff, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so much. I was starting to learn the game from a thinking player’s perspective.
Andy had been playing poker for a long time already and was an underground grinder. After graduating from college with a degree in finance, he got a job at some firm but eventually left to pursue poker. Between his investments and playing poker full time, that was how he made his income. He played in tons of games and clubs all around New York and was what you would call an underground pro.
At the time, if you were a competent player, it was quite easy to make money in those games. There were tons of fish and people who would literally donate money. In the beginning, I was one of them. So were Joey and his college buddies. Joey was a decent online MTT player — skilled enough to consistently cash in small tournaments — but he wasn’t very good at playing cash games. Especially live cash games. He was too easy to read. So was I — absolutely awful at hiding tells, let alone knowing what those tells were.
I remember one particular session at Fox’s where I was running like God. I had turned $500 into nearly $4,000. I was getting super lucky, super quickly. I’ll never forget this session as it was the first time I walked out of Fox’s with a huge wad of cash in my pocket. And it started off with the first hand I played that night.
I always waited to play until I was in the big blind, something Andy advised me to do, as you couldn’t come in for free behind the button, not that I even knew what that was at the time. Forgive my recollection of this hand, it’s rough at best, it was over a decade ago, but it was the first time I saw how brutal poker could be.
There was a raise to $15, a re-raise to $50, a call, another call, and I look down in the big blind at T9ss. I was still superstitious at the time and always played my first hand, no matter what it was. So I called and the original raiser called as well. 5 players.
The flop comes TT9 with two clubs, and I check. There’s a bet of $150, then the next guy jams, the next guy also jams, another all-in, and at this point I remember thinking to myself — holy sh*t — I quickly call, so does the guy in front of me. I then turn my hand over. What does it matter? Everybody is all in, give me the money baby!
Everyone else follows suit, and tables their holdings wondering what the hell is going on here. We’ve got a 5-way all-in, something I’d never seen before — AK of clubs, pocket aces, pocket 9’s, and QJ, which I’m fairly sure was suited.
I’d be lying if I told you what happened after this point. My body was overflowing with adrenaline. The dealer does his work and the next thing I know I have $2.5k in front of me and some really pissed off people sitting next to me.
As the session continues, within the next few orbits I manage to pick up pocket aces and pocket kings, stack two players, and it was at this point that I had around $4,000 in front of me.
Like I said, running like God. Then, it happened.
Thinking I was invincible, I re-raise a guy with 64o. The flop comes A44. The guy bets and I just go all-in, not knowing what else I could do. He then tanks for a minute, and says to me, “You’re really that lucky huh? You got that 4 don’t you?”
I remember just smiling like a teenager who had just lost his virginity.
“I don’t know what to tell you man, but yeah, I do. I have 64”, as I shook my head “yes”.
“I believe you.” And the guy open mucks AK. I show him the 64.
I get shipped the pot, and then Andy says to come join him in the smoking lounge. I didn’t smoke, but my Mother had for years so it didn’t bother me much.
“Why in the hell did you tell that guy what you had? You need to learn how to act composed at the table.”
“I didn’t know what else to do. It didn’t feel right lying to the guy.”
“That’s because you’re a good kid. This is poker, buddy. You can’t ever feel bad about taking someone’s chips, or else you’ll never succeed at this game.”
“Well what should I have done then? What should I have said?”
“For now, the next time that happens, don’t say a word. Just stare at the board until the other player makes a decision. You’re clearly not capable of table talk, yet. If you feel like you have to respond and can’t ignore the other player any longer, then just use my line and then tell him it’s on him.”
“What’s your line?”
“Well, I can’t lose if you fold.”
And I’ll never forget that line. I still use it sometimes to this day. You have to understand that this happened back when you could actually engage your opponent verbally when it was heads up. Now, you can’t discuss the contents of your hand whatsoever. That era has ended and table talk is not what it once was. In my opinion, I firmly believe that this particular change in poker was not a positive one. It made poker really fun and really interesting. It was a large contributor to the social element of the game. And it felt really, really, good when you would successfully talk your opponent into making the move you wanted them to make.
Andy continued smoking his cigarette while telling me I should cash out and go home with a huge win.
“How much more money do you really expect to make? You’re way too deep now in this game where everyone is going to start shoving on you. Trust me, cash out and hang out until your friend is done playing so you can go home.”
“What else am I supposed to do? Isn’t everyone going to get mad that I’m leaving?”
“Who cares? Sit at the table and fold everything except Aces or Kings for the next hour. If you pick up one of those hands, just go all-in. Trust me, you have nothing more to gain and only something to lose if you continue playing. For the next hour, just watch everyone else and how they play and what they showdown. You might learn something.”
And that’s exactly what I did. I folded every hand for the next hour, then cashed out.
While I was hanging out and railing Andy and my friend who I came with, I realized that I needed to buy a poker table and the same type of cards they were using at Fox’s — they used KEM bridge size, jumbo index. Something I had learned about from picking Big Mike’s brain. I figured this would be a perfect time to invest in a real poker table, considering that I just cashed out $4k.
Maybe I could start having cash games at my house with my friends and deal the game to practice? I already hosted tournaments at my house regularly, but never thought about hosting a cash game. Would my friends even want to play a cash game? What stakes would it be? I still need to figure out how I’m going to learn how to deal.
Hmm, I’ve got some thinking to do.
To be continued…
Next: Inside Underground NY Poker #2
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Trust in Friends: (T.A.B)

TL;DR. Among the Leuketra Basin, the most recent addition to the League’s domain, the construction of Panopolis, the city which would serve as Panaristos’ official capital, is underway. No other city founded since the conception of Panaristos more than a millenia ago, in these unprecedented times unprecedented treachery plots from the shadows. The conspiring meet, but just what will it come to mean for the rest of Panaristos, and even the wider world at large?
(The names of/or relevancy to player claims will be both bolded and italicised for ease of searching)
Klytodoke
The thought makes my teeth grind, fists clenched and arms shivering furious, my body is hot with rage even the thought of such disrespect. I am First Companion of Androthemis, second only to the most magnificent, awe inspiring and brilliant of the Carriers of Panaristos, my true love, Tisphileo. And yet that pompous impertinent bitch thinks she can just disregard me, as though I were some simple wench, as though my most illustrious love was only some common knave!?
“You ought to send me back, my Carrier. Let me teach that impudent slattern exactly what happens when your authority is neglected!” I asked Tisphileo aloud struggling to keep pace following behind him in all of my wrath. Merely glancing back to me he didn’t answer as he continued onward.
“I mean, it’s just simple amenities!?” I exclaimed in frustration. “Truly, is it really that difficult to construct a bath house!? To build a sauna and toiletry? Surely that cannot be too great of a task for the First Companion of Anatolpolys?”
“I put in this request nearly four months ago, even was kind enough to remind her of it this past month!” I explained to no response. “If it was only me I would merely go without, but it is your health which goes neglected! I can’t fathom the thought of you being disrespected to such an extent that you would need to use public hot springs, even knowing that your manor only has four latrines when it should have at least ten makes my skin writhe.”
That smug harlot Sucrafoeti best hope that we don’t meet anytime soon, even the sight of her conceited wretched face would be enough for me to take her by the head and gouge out those bewitching eyes of hers until her bloated brain pops spewing out all of the rot which festers inside. “Sounds like quite a dilemma.” Tisphileo responded at last turning his glance back to me with an amused grin.
“I am being serious, Tisphileo!” I insisted stomping a foot down with a pout only for him to chuckle in response.
“I know you are, and I appreciate it, Klytodoke.” He thanked me stilling my feet as my heart nearly lept from my body. I feel so flustered I don’t know how to respond, my face is burning and I'm blushing, I just want to hide away! He so rarely compliments me directly by name, I won’t ever forget this…
Suddenly realizing that he was still proceeding ahead I hurried my pace to catch up beside him. Not such a simple task these days, the streets have become so busy with people that it's difficult to walk alongside anyone for very long.
Tenements under construction all over the city, these housings which can be over four stories high never seem to be enough for the seemingly endless flow of new arrivals. Built of brick from Leuketra’s abundant white stone and the plentiful Perkekasmai wood stalks both harvested locally and imported from Agrikore. So it seems urban housing like this is to become the future for the common masses.
Innovation like this seems to appear all over this city as for the first time in our recorded history citizenry from all over Panaristos gather to live in one place. This city, the city of Leuketra, the only new city founded in more than a millenia. The fifteenth, and what is to become the capital of all Panaristos, Panopolis.
Yet despite all the wonder and awe that could be witnessed where the common people tread upon the brick roads and the light shines over them we do not intend to remain. Between every couple buildings narrow paths stretch into the depths hidden confined behind these numerous structures. And it is precisely among some select number of these coves that a seemingly inconspicuous locked door can be found.
Unlocking one of these very doors I opened it for Tisphileo allowing him passage before me. A narrow corridor, one which if followed leads to access to the city’s sewage system, however it is along the short hallway to this passage that we’re here for. Each of these corridors are numbered informing a worker exactly where they are, but it also tells us which have a false wall, and which series of bricks will reveal its secret to me.
Behind the false wall is a tiny room of which only contains a trapdoor. Climbing down the ladder to the darkness below you know you’re in the correct place when confirmed by the hue of torch light coming from the space beneath the underground door.
Entering together into the well lit stone block room our peers awaited us seated among the round table at the center of the room. “Tisphileo, welcome. A bit less dismal of a place than our usual meeting places, no?” Lampyron greeted standing to present to us only one of the many replicate rooms hidden all throughout the city.
“If you took any longer I would have had Dealer break out the dice.” Tychisos commented with a sly grin. “Nothing excites a room like a little bit of risk.”
Stood behind the Carrier of Asterhesios was the fit figured Dealer merely glanced down to him before returning her stoic expression ahead, always ready to serve at a moment’s notice her response likely more instinct than anything by now. A younger woman possibly early to mid twenties with black short hair and straight cut bangs she garbed the panoply and armament of the First Companion of Asterhesios. “Why must everything be about gambling with you? I know, how about you take a chance with me? I promise, it’d be very exhilarating...”
“There’s no fun in it if only one of us is taking the risk. Ain’t that right, Xenimera?” He asked to the Dealer who merely gave a silent nod in agreement.
“It would certainly be fun for me, and that’s all that matters really.” Phonekalos admitted, the thought amusing herself. “Amazanym, love. You’ll play my kinds of games won’t you, Subservient?” She asked innocently to the stout figured woman who stood behind her.
The Carrier of Achilaros reaching out to her she gently pulled the First Companion of Achilaros’ face to her own, the two embracing passionately. This Subservient appearing anywhere from her mid to late twenties was fairly tall for a woman with her broad shoulders and muscular frame. One might assume that she would be the one in control. However Phonekalos clearly guided the woman’s actions, her curled mid length light brown hair held in the Carrier’s vice grasp.
“If you want to play your games, of either kind, do so elsewhere!” Lampyron spoke up at last having finally reached the ends of his patience. “We have business to discuss, and we don’t have forever to discuss it.”
Nodding to Tisphileo who was all very amused by his peers antics gestured for my follow as he took his seat at last. All six of the conspiring Carriers have gathered here, meeting for the first time since the founding of Panopolis.
“Shall we begin as normal?” Demodotos inquired to the other five’s nod agreement. “Very good. Now, Lampyron.”
“Why do you always insist that I begin!?” Lampyron yelled in irritation to the Carrier of Alexalecto who didn’t respond, as is not unexpected. “Fine, damnit...”
Shuffling around at something beside him Lampyron brought out a large ledger dropping it before him, its weight audible with the heft of its thud and the shiver of the table. “I don’t think I need to explain this to anyone but this city endeavor is not cheap.”
“Publicly, my share contributed to this investment sink is thirty percent of the total costs. Substantial, but not enough to garner a response from the others.” Lampyron explained opening his ledger examining the expansive records it contained. “In actuality however it is sixty five percent, as I cover your shares in your name.”
Closing the ledger about as quickly as he revealed its contents he now looked between us with a certain frustration about him. “Though it is thanks to your combined efforts that the remaining costs have been taken by our opposition. And though it might not be quite as costly, and it certainly won’t empty my treasury that’s for sure, it is however a large drain.”
“On the day this project was proposed before the Panaristos League I had said something along the lines of ‘why need coin when you can have the adoration of the people’. A bold faced lie, under a different context it’d be unbelievable.” Lampyron insisted slamming his fist on the table suddenly. “I don’t give a damn about the people I care about money! I want my returns!”
“Goodness, so animated.” Anaxleitos commented in amusement. “Surely you understood that results would take some time, so why mention this now?”
“Because, quite simply I don’t have some time.” Lampyron claimed to Anaxleitos’ clear confusion. “I’m not getting any younger, you know! By the time we had already begun our endeavors together I was already over forty. As far as i’m concerned I could keel over at any moment.”
“If this is a joke then I’m not amused.” Phonekalos retorted to Lampyron’s growl beneath his breath in irritation. “Forties should be fantastic, they’re refined. Not to mention other features.”
“You are only that much closer to dying, I can comprehend such a plight.” Demodotos stoically countered to Phonekalos’ scoff in disregard. “However that does not change just what we are actually able to do to assist in your sating.”
“How about you invest in my casinos in Panopolis?” Tychisos suggested to Lampyron’s quick shift in attention. “Won’t be long before they’re operational, and with the extra funds I could bring in more staff, or even invest in expansions. I’d give you a share of the profits of course, I was never big on holding onto coin anyway.”
“I can offer similarly for my brothels here in the capital.” Phonekalos responded in kind. “We’re sure to be a hit, especially with all of these new and untapped bodies about the capital. With your kind of patronage who knows what kind of fun we could have, the thoughts alone are simply exhilarating.”
“To think you all cared so much about an old soul like mine. It truly makes me realize i’m in the right company.” Lampyron replied from behind his hand placed over his face, his pretend facade hiding his unnerving wide reaching grin.
“Alright, i’ll do it.” He stated simply revealing his pleasant smile to all as he sat back into his seat all pleased with this seemingly almost scripted exchange.
Things have truly devolved more so than even before since Phonekalos and Tychisos joined our plotting. It was as if the room only required the added total of combined depravity to descend into near insanity. More than ever I need to remain vigilant, for Tisphileo’s sake I can not let his associates drag him down to their level.
“I suppose there are things I can speak of.” Demodotos spoke up quite suddenly, his normally expressionless face already appearing to crack with all thoughts going through his head. “Advancements have not been as quick as I had initially hoped, with virtue and your contributions I can confirm that there has been developments.”
“Oh, very good. I’m sure everyone is as excited to hear as I am.” Anaxleitos prodded the disturbed Demodotos onward whose emotionless demeanor gave way to his stomach turning unsettling stretched smile. I can’t say there is anyone else in the room who actively wishes to hear of this inhuman things ‘developments’.
“Yes, please do.” Phonekalos insisted with a twisted smirk. “Just the thought of their horror writhing in agony, it’s enough to make a woman drool.”
“I am very glad to see additional interest in my project.” Demodotos thanked with a nod to each. “Creating perfection is no simple task, but with virtue and such encouragement I will see to the task diligently.”
"Foremost to speak on is the human anatomy.” Demodotos stated glancing back at the man who stood behind him, the First Companion of Alexalecto, who having remained entirely still this entire time animated suddenly handing over several sealed parchments. “Serve with virtue, Autanos.”
Breaking the signet wax seal Demodotos revealed the contents within which displayed full and detailed anatomical drawings of both the front and side views of the complete muscular and skeletal systems of not only each human sexes but from infancy to the elderly. “These documents are only copies, however they are the complete and accurate reconstruction of the human body. It took time to record it in its entirety as we first had to make detailed deconstructions of every muscle and bone within the human body. As you might imagine such a task required quite a number of sacrifices.”
“And here I had previously said your experimentation would be of no gain for me.” Lampyron admitted, impressed with the results to Demodotos’ pleasure. “It seems as though I were mistaken, these do look like they could be very profitable indeed.”
“Yet that is not all.” Demodotos retorted gesturing behind him once more to which Autanos handed him a glass vial of which he held the cap between his fingers for us to see the nearly clear liquid contents inside. “This is Alexidemos.”
“It is a sedative, an effective one however also imperfect in some ways.” Demodotos proclaimed handing back the vial to his subordinate. “It reduces feelings of anxiety and stress while its sporadic amnestic effect causes distortions of memories throughout a procedure.”
“Regardless of imperfections it is still quite a marvel.” Anaxleitos commended to Demodotos’ nod, though knowing anything about him he surely won’t accept anything imperfect. “ How is it administered and is it fast acting? In fact, just how exactly did you come across such a thing?”
“I will answer one at a time.” Demodotos insisted to Anaxleitos’ patient smirk. “Depending on the age and weight of a specimen it can take anywhere from ten minutes to sixty to take effect. In regards to administration we had attempted various methods but had found using a chambered system which drips the drug directly into the bloodstream produces the least adverse effects.”
“However we have yet to perfect the method as such there can be some minor complications throughout a procedure, usually only intense pain in a specimen.” Demodotos explained as though the suffering meant nearly nothing to him. “In terms of its discovery the answer is laborious and drawn so I will answer simply. The problem of stress induced death had remained persistent, so we sought to solve this issue with ideas outside of a purely magical solution. After some time of success’ and failings and in association with knowledge from my peers here we had come to numerous flora of which whose poisons were used as a base to develop a more pure compound.”
“At first I wasn’t interested. Why would I be, I don’t give a damn about plants?” Phonekalos spoke up her mischievous grin revealing more than spoken. “That was until I was told what they were to be used for. I couldn’t deny such an allure after that.”
“You are still welcome to come and witness our practitioners at work yourself.” Demodotos consented to Phonekalos’ oddly abnormal giddiness. “Of course you can not take part in the procedure yourself. Not unless you would be so kind as to lend yourself for the advancement toward perfection.”
“It saddens me to hear that, I would be an active student after all.” Phonekalos joked to Demodotos’ clear confusion. “It’s fine, sometimes I enjoy watching others more anyway.”
“Regardless, our advancement in human perfection has only recently begun to pick up pace. With these new assets I hope I will be able to have more to show on that subject in time.” So Demodotos concluded at last, thankfully before anything more disturbing was brought up from his abhorrent testing to be discussed.
“Speaking of time, Tisphileo.” Anaxleitos spoke up startling me as I hadn’t even noticed the shift in his attention toward him. “I suppose it is about time that you speak of your own progression.”
All this time Tisphileo seemed to fade in and out of consciousness, his attention only ever loosely focused on the speaker at hand. Myself sometimes doubting if he’s even awake at some points. “Ah, everythings fine. Thanks for asking though.”
“Why must you always make this such a challenge?” Anaxleitos inquired to Tisphileo’s shrug having not quite thought of the answer himself.
“I really just don’t care to talk about it very much.” Tisphileo admitted to almost the room’s combined scowl. “I’m more of a results kind of guy, I get things done and tell you everything is alright. Almost like a kind of trust exercise.”
“Well, I trust you understand that we are planning an insurrection here.” Anaxleitos reminded, his tone causing Tisphileo to correct his posture taking matters more seriously. “If we don’t have all of the information available then we can not plot accordingly. I know you understand this, so cease this charade already and speak.”
Anaxleitos’ tone too demeaning to one of Tisphileo’s status I nearly spoke out when his gesture stilled my retort before I even made a noise. “Alright, fine. I apologize for any added difficulty.”
“I currently maintain roughly four thousand Companions.” Tisphileo assured to Anaxleitos’ smile as he laid back into his seat. “With our prior expansion into Penegeron I have moved my two thousand newguard Companions into the untamed mountain hillside. They merely await my command.”
“That’s quite the gamble you’re taking there.” Tychisos insisted with a grin. “Anyone find out you’re sending supplies enough to feed an army then there’d be some sure to suspect.”
“That would be if it wasn’t under the guise of a focus on settling.” Tisphileo countered to Tychisos shrug accepting the answer just like that. “Being so near to Pyrbios might have been trouble if Agaphemi wasn’t so focused on settling her own partition. And with the expenses required to maintain such colonies Agnodoula wouldn’t actively sacrifice Akantharhodon’s growth for no immediate results.”
“That may be true, but having much of your forces abroad does cause another issue.” Demodotos noted suddenly. “When we do inevitably commit, it is not unlikely that Androthemis set between Pyrbios and Akantharhodon may well be the first of their targets.”
“Don’t underestimate me, Demodotos.” Tisphileo retorted swiftly his direct manner surely a surprise to him if he were capable of showing common expression. “I’ve accounted for this much, and have planned accordingly.”
“If you say so, I trust you that much at least.” Anaxleitos stated with a nod to Tisphileo before taking a stand to speak to all. “With that concluded we can move on at last.”
“Took you all long enough, was sick of the wasting about.” Tychisos joked to Lampyron’s scoff. “What’s it to you, glimmer boy? Don’t you bet what you don’t have.”
“No, it’s nothing really. I just find it amusing that you’re the one bring such up.” Lampyron excused to Anaxleitos’ scowl, the lack of progress clearly bothering him. “Fine, fine. Just get on with it then.”
“It is due to our combined efforts that we’re even able to be here today.” Anaxleitos reminded as the room seemed to almost darken with his tone. “I won’t have any of us here ruin what we’ve created here just yet. So compromise to sate your desires, because if you don’t I promise you I'll see you dead myself.”
“With that said, I hope we all continue to get along.” Anaxleitos cheered to Tisphileos’ amusement at the sight of such a character. “On that mentioned just before, I wanted to congratulate all on their part in my hastily assembled little act. Because of our mutual pressure, and Tisphileo’s own compromise, we have successfully drawn Nomoseba away from Kydilysis.”
“The thought of bleeding that pretty little body of her’s dry makes me heated.” Phonekalos spoke up with a sharp grin. “I hope it’ll be me who’s lucky enough to have such fun. That said, despite her being away from her city she did still bring with her a sizable force of Companions along with her.”
“To ensure order is maintained during the construction of the new capital or some nonsense like that. If any other had used such an excuse the rest of the League would be outraged!” Lampyron sourly mocked in frustration. “Still, this is our best chance. We won’t have it any better than now.”
“We won’t, but I might.” Tisphileo spoke up to even my surprise. “I’ll give us our chance, inform you all when we’re ready to commit.”
“I understand you have little interest in explaining yourself but I hope that you will indulge me because I ask.” Demodotos inquired to Tisphileo’s shrug in response contemplating just how he was to reply when Anaxleitos cleared his throat.
“There’s no need.” He spoke up to the table who anticipated any response at all. “He’s the only one she doesn’t distrust among us. No other could acquire the information we would need to plan such an operation. This much should be evident enough.”
Assured this much the matter was given to my Carrier’s brilliant care, no doubt in my mind that he would accomplish what was needed.
“While I trust that Tisphileo is capable enough to handle that much I am more concerned about communication. Just how exactly will we know when to commence this insurgency?” Lampyron questioned to Anaxleitos who this time didn’t have a response on hand. “Surely, you don’t have the assets presently to just handle five hundred Companions at ease.”
“At ease, probably not, nor presently either.” Tisphileo admitted yet with a grin he looked back up with confidence. “The latter to come soon enough. As for the when, I’ll give the date when I know it. The time however, I'm sure you’ll know when it happens.”
“Can you please stop questioning the lad, let’s take a chance and trust him with this much.” Tychisos insisted to all’s agreement, nothing more to be said on the matter just yet.
“There are some happenings of note which I think would be most pressing to discuss.” Demodotos commented, all were well aware of what at least one these would be. “We are all aware of the epidemic north of Panaristos which ravages the near nations so there is no need explain. However word may not have reached you of the wounds it has delivered to those nations and its influentials, wounds that could be in our interest to help treat or aid in festering.”
All understood what this meant however to what extent none were quite certain. Even among Panaristos itself the doings of one’s neighbors among the League have never been quite clear, the nations abroad may well be anomalies to us so inwardly focused.
“There’s a summons.” Anaxleitos spoke up suddenly. “In some relatively near backwater land of Aelbaion their king, or whatever’s, nation has been quite stricken by this infestation. Some Aeldebaric figure seeks to gather foreign nations to discuss a treatment for their pandemic or plan on its prevention in the future.”
“Surely there will be some of note present. And where there is influence there is sure to be wealth.” Lampyron insisted to much of the table’s uncertainty. “If word reached us at our extents then this Aelbaion must have some pull at least. It is worth the time, I say.”
“You claimed you knew of influentials, assume some big shots have kicked it because of this disease?” Tychisos questioned to Demodotos nod in acknowledgement.
“Among a large island, east of Panaristos, there is the land of Bisclavret. Not long ago I had agents among another city state nation not far from this Queendom of which have informed me of the passing of the late sovereigness.” Demodotos explained to Anaxleitos’ amusement, clearly he already knows something. “It seems that she had been assassinated by one of her servants who had knowingly infected her.”
“Sounds like fun, I ought to try that myself.” Phonekalos exclaimed amused at the thought of such a terrible way to die. “Or not. Unlike some here I would rather not leave things to chance.”
“Then how about another? We’ll bet the task between us, see who will need to bother in the end.” Tychisos suggested pointing to Phonekalos who scowled at the mention of a gamble. “You know the name of my game, and I haven’t had many chances to play recently. All should know just what's risked if you don’t.”
“She’ll accept.” Anaxleitos agreed on her behalf as she nearly lept at his throat in rage yet settled with frustration at the sight of Anaxleitos’ kind smile. “You have my appreciation. There are other things I am to be betting with him anyway.”
“Whatever occurs we can not always be reactionary in our policies.” Tisphileo noted to all’s agreement standing from his seat. “We should remember to look also southward as there are many west of the vast mountains’ expanse that could be to our benefit. Whoever is not indisposed shall be.”
“All but your own you mean?” Anaxleitos corrected to Tisphileo’s chuckle as he stepped away from his chair turning to the door to leave. So it’s already time, how I dread this.
“Of course. We’re already expected elsewhere.” He stated to my sigh aloud, all else didn’t know but me alone. If only he didn’t already know it was his task to be, I wouldn’t have to be around her so soon. I really am not looking forward to seeing another woman around my love, especially when she herself is another Carrier. If Nomoseba even thinks of trying her luck I'll kill her right there myself.
It would be some short time before we came upon the outskirts of her manse’s plot, the place was visible from a fair distance due to the perimeter of her estate being dominated by hundreds of some dozen meters tall Perkekasmai stalks. Her land was like a jungle, wild and untamed, yet completely surrounded by the urban landscape.
Approaching the main path toward her manor one had awaited for us there, an older man whose slightly sagging face almost seemed to compliment his short grey combed back hair and kempt grizzled beard.
“It is an honor, Tisphileo, Carrier of Androthemis.” The man greeted with a bow of the head, his unusual light armament that of the Companions of Kydilysis. “I am Etogyros, First Companion of Kydilysis. My Carrier had requested that I await your arrival and escort you. So, if you would please.”
Turning back along the path that proceeds through the densely brushed exterior Etogyros gestured for us to follow onward. Treading along the only clear area visible around us I was still fully aware of the stirrings that shifted around us as we advanced. The entire reed forest must be watched by these sentinels; if I hadn’t already assumed there would be Companions hidden among the underbrush I might have never even noticed they were there. “Do not be uneased by their presence, they are merely a precaution, nothing more.”
“Does your Carrier intend to insult her guests in such a manner?” I questioned back sharply to Etogyros’ surprise not expecting the response to come from me.
“No, of course not. In fact the added precaution was my suggestion, not her own.” Etogyros corrected smiling with a nod. “She had only agreed to stop my persistence. She seemed confident enough to believe her perimeter guards were all that was needed.”
Speaking no further we soon came upon a large clearing where there at the center was a sizable quaint manor. Continuing along the path toward the abode the Companions who once tailed us among the stalk forest did not follow us any further. They didn’t need to, as even on our approach I could see watchful eyes examining us carefully, this place seemed more like the keep of a fortress than a manor on an estate.
The doors opened for our come Etogyros led us inside gesturing along for our follow into a corridor near continuing among a series of hallways until at last we came upon an interior garden. There among the center of this collection of flora from all across Panaristos sat on a bench Nomoseba. “My Carrier, your guests have arrived and I have escorted them to you as requested.”
“Thank you, Etogyros. You may standby, I'll summon you if I need any further.” Nomoseba dismissed him to his bow to each before swiftly making his exit as she stood to greet us herself. “Welcome to my residence, Tisphileo and aide. I hope you do not mind us speaking in my flower garden, if that is fine with you of course.”
“Not at all, it’s lovely.” Tisphileo replied approaching Nomoseba who gestured to the near bench where she awaited us originally. “If I had known you were fond of flowers I would have brought you some from my own garden at Androakron. It’s not so unlike this, a bit more open space.”
“Yes, unfortunately I could not bring my entire garden with me here.” She commented as they sat down beside one another. “I had brought with me a small piece of home. A reminder that it still awaits my return.”
“Have you ever taken residence outside of the city Kydilysis?” Tisphileo questioned to her quiet, her expression almost solemn at thought. I could nearly feel pity for her pathetic self if she wasn’t sitting directly beside my love.
“Have any of us?” She inquired back clearly not certain exactly how she should be responding. “As Carriers our homes always remain with our city. It is our duty, we’re as much dependent on them as they are to us.”
“I had.” Tisphileo admitted to Nomoseba’s surprise not having expected that from him. “Only when I was a child, and it wasn’t very far outside of the city. Though in a way I never remember it feeling quite like home.”
“Why is that?” She probed further to the waft of Tisphileo’s hand dismissing the line of conversation. It’s only right, if he hadn’t told me about it then she can’t know either; if she’ll know anything, it must be something he’s told me already at least.
“It did make me realise something about homes.” Tisphileo responded turning the focus of his gaze upon her. “Home is where you make it, and who you make it with.”
Taken aback by such sudden closeness she scooted herself into the opposite corner of the three seat bench almost seemingly in flight of him. “Um… Yes, of course it is… Well anyway, I hope you don’t mind me talking so casually with you. I wasn’t exactly sure how Carriers would speak with one another, you know, when not in a professional setting.”
“Casual is fine, I consider you a friend anyway.” Tisphileo stated to her relief. “I prefer it anyway, the best start in any relationship is as friends.”
His words forcing her to her feet she didn’t know quite how to respond, his tone entirely joyful she didn’t know exactly what he meant by that. “Business…! We’re here to discuss important things! So let us, if we could please.”
Seeing her disregard my most magnificent makes me seethe inside, to waste even false words on a disgrace like her agonizes me. If only I were in her place now... “Yeah, of course. What else did you think we were to be talking about?”
Confused by his comment she returned to her seat once more having retained some kind of composure again. “Good, because I fear for Panaristos’ future.”
“I suppose it would be best to talk about current conditions.” Nomoseba suggested to Tisphileo’s nod in agreement listening keenly. “I assume you have kept in touch with Androthemis?”
“Yes, as of last heard some days ago all remains well.” Tisphileo confirmed to Nomoseba’s fervent nodding. “The costs incurred have been steep. And though it may not affect Androthemis itself too severely it has drastically reduced my funding toward the settling of my partition in Penegeron.”
“I’m sorry for having to involve you in all this.” Nomoseba apologized to Tisphileo’s confusion. “Such endeavors took all of us completely by surprise, none of us would have expected that Lampyron of all people would seek such an enterprise.”
“There’s no need to apologize.” Tisphileo dismissed the notion nodding to himself. “I took action on behalf of the League, where no other could I did as was needed to ensure our independence is secured.”
“I never got the chance to thank you for that...” She insisted to Tisphileo’s refusal once more, completely uninterested in thanks for doing what was ‘right’.
“There was hardly another choice.” Tisphileo claimed to her silent nodding. “I had hoped it wouldn’t have come to such, but I wouldn’t allow Anatolpolys to wield such influence without opposition. That said, what of Kydilysis? How has your domain been handling this burden?”
“It’s a struggle, that’s for sure.” She admitted almost sorrowfully, the plight of her people clearly weighing heavily on her. “It makes me feel even worse knowing that my people support my decision in full. That because of all this they need to ration their servings and neglect the tears and holes in their garb, and they’re not even outraged by this.”
“Your people hold a great deal of respect for you.” Tisphileo stated directly as she listened from an ashamed averted glance. “They always seem to see more in those who lead them than they see in themselves.”
“Yet, maybe they’re right to.” Tisphileo suggested with a shrug. “We’re so busy watching over every moving piece far below us that maybe we just miss the little things that they can see looking up.”
“It seems hard to believe...” Nomoseba replied coyly, not quite sure how to think of the matter. “I’m only one person. Sure I was able to earn my place as the Carrier of my city, but what does that actually mean?”
“The only power a Carrier truly has is in the artefact they hold.” Tisphileo answered certainly. “The authority that we’re given is the peoples’, not ours. If we retained power only because of a weapon or piece of armour then I doubt the League would’ve existed intact for as long as it did. It’s in the person who wears that armour or wields that weapon in which our true strength is derived from.”
“I trust in you, and if you meant what you said prior then you can trust in yourself.” Tisphileo admitted his words baffling Nomoseba unsure of how to respond. The only thing I can think of is removing each of those slender fingers that she fails to cover her hideous slattern mug with.
“Really…? I don’t know what to say, truly.” Nomoseba struggled to respond to no answer from Tisphileo who seemed to only stare confused as to what she was doing exactly. “I appreciate the flattery, I suppose... It’s not something you hear often from those who don’t feel like they’re obliged to give praise.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Tisphileo agreed casually as he leaned back into the bench with the stretch of his arms. I feel like he’s giving mixed signals, is this intentional or what I’m not sure what exactly he’s intending to do. All I know is that I don’t like it being done with her.
“I worry, Tisphileo.” Nomoseba spoke up from her almost cowering in the corner of the bench. “If all this is escalated much further we may need to form a coalition.”
“Factions within the League.” Tisphileo repeated to his sigh aloud. “If only things could be much simpler.”
“The likes of Lampyron and Anaxleitos alone would be formidable enough.” Nomoseba noted to Tisphileo’s listening in silence. “But include Demodotos, and most recently possibly even Tychisos and Phonekalos… I’m scared it might lead to civil war.”
“It would be the first since Panaristos’ conception.” Tisphileo acknowledged solemnly his tone empathetic with her fear. “It would change the shape of the League forever more, that’s for certain.”
“But I can’t seem to figure out why...? Why now?” Nomoseba questioned with uncertainty, no answer to be found. “I don’t understand it, what could have possibly changed for this kind of division to come about?”
“The Carriers have always been tense among one another. Surely there must be something that has drawn them together.” Tisphileo stated to her nod in agreement. “If only I were more like Thymocharis, i’m sure he would have an idea of what is going on…”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Tisphileo.” Nomoseba confided in him to his smile in appreciation. “I’m sure before all of this comes about we’ll be able to resolve this, amend this wrong, together…” She insisted putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort, myself almost tempted to tear off that harlot’s arm from her disgusting meat sack of a body. I can’t help but quiver with rage at the sight of her, I just hope that so long as I remain outside of her field of view she might not notice the grinding of my teeth.
“All I can be sure of is that the someone that has assembled whoever among the Carriers makes up their ranks could only be Anaxleitos.” Tisphileo claimed to her momentary contemplation before concurring likewise. “There could be no other with this kind of cunning, so I think it may be best for us to keep an eye on his activities. To keep one another informed, and meet if there is any new potential developments that we’ll need to inform one another of. Does that sound fair?”
“Yes, but what of the others? Those who’re suspect or those who we might need to rely on?” Nomoseba inquired with Tisphileos’ stand. “Perhaps we should contact the other Carriers outside of Panopolis who do not seem to be involved in Anaxleitos’ machinations? Or at least keep Agaphemi informed.”
“Those abroad, we can request they remain ready to assist. Nothing more, they weren’t all too interested before so unless the situation changes drastically I doubt we can ask anymore.” Tisphileo noted as he began to step away from her coming closer before me until with an arm outstretched and a sly grin he grasped my shoulder giving it a shake of confidence. “As for Agaphemi, we may as well count her among the suspects. After all we’re the ones our peoples trust in, so let us trust in their judgement and trust in one another, ok?”
submitted by L0gothetes to createthisworld [link] [comments]

Episode I: Kindling

In the early days of the year 420 ABY, the galaxy was in a state of relative peace - at least when compared to the four tumultuous centuries prior, which had culminated with the ending of the Outer Rim War two decades earlier. While the aftershocks of that war could still be felt by most of the galaxy’s beings, our tale begins on a world that had been nearly untouched by the larger conflicts of the galaxy. A lone starship would land on the planet of Dathomir and an unlikely meeting would commence between three very different individuals. Borcha of Clan Ferel, a maverick Mandalorian mercenary; Owyn 'Sibo' Sivokino, an Agent of the Principate Security with a skill for vibroblades overshadowed only by his inflated ego; and Ciaran, the mysterious, blind Shaman and de facto leader of a rogue group of Nightsisters. While the three of them kept their true motives hidden from one another, destiny ironically unified them in their shared suspicion of each other. Words were given and promises of assistance were made between Borcha, Sibo, and Ciaran, each of whom was just as likely to try to kill the other two as they were to cooperate. The first seeks an ancient and venerated treasure, the second seeks power through self-perceived subterfuge, and the third claims only to seek peace and unity among her people…
Far from the dark and swampy world of Dathomir, a restless, well-off entrepreneur and former Captain of the New Galactic Republic Marine Corps by the name of Hellexix Ordo leaves behind the picturesque beaches of Spira, beckoned unexpectedly from his vacation by a lead for a multimillion-credit catering contract with the upper-echelons of the Principate government - an opportunity too good to pass up for the up-and-coming restaurant owner. No time was wasted, and within a matter of days, the high-end restaurant owner found himself on Taris standing face to face with none other than the First Citizen of the Severan Principate, Murith Severan himself.
The leader of the boldly Imperial-styled nation had met with many potential businessmen and entrepreneurs from throughout the galaxy that vied for the chance to extend their business dealings into the borders of the Severan Principate, but for what he had planned, Murith would accept only the finest that the galaxy had to offer - including what would be on the menu. Perhaps it was the low-level celebrity status and potential political access that Hellexix Ordo had garnered on Coruscant thanks to his restaurant being in close proximity of the NGR Senate Rotunda, or maybe it was that Murith could sense something different about the recently-retired NGR Marine, but at the end of their brief meeting, a deal was struck, granting Hellexix and his restaurant the exclusive rights to cater the Principate's upcoming diplomatic event, upon which Murith promised the fate of the galaxy would turn...
Elsewhere in the Outer Rim, the planet of Ubrikkia - once the center of a thriving trade empire before the fall of the Hutts during the Outer Rim War - received a seemingly unimportant and unremarkable visitor. Touching down on the planet on a hot, dry day, a seasoned Twi’lek merchant (and extremely well-connected criminal lord) by the name of Bril Rha sets up a small shop near one of the more well-off markets in the city surrounding Takwin Keep. Possessing an unassuming quality, Bril Rha goes unrecognized by all those that come to visit his shop, where he offers various goods from off-world, including fine clothes, exotic foods, and several models of droids and hardware. It was on this day that among the petty lords of Ubrikkia walked a man who, unbeknownst to either himself or Bril, was of particular interest to the galaxy. Formerly a member of the Jedi Order, Maskar Kython had returned to his homeworld of Ubrikkia some months prior, seeking to reclaim his rightful place and title as Prince of the once-great Trade Empire - and, perhaps one day, to revive its fallen throne. Bril Rha was offered to sell several high-end, modified KX-series droids to the Ubikkian noble for a significant sum of Credits. Both individuals walked away from the exchange oblivious to the other’s place in the galaxy, with Maskar unaware that he had just purchased droids from an ex-member of the notorious Black Lylek Cartel, and Bril ignorant to the fact he was assisting the Prince Maskar Kython himself in his machinations...
On the planet Ord Trasi, Jedi Knight Xijun Zhen found herself chasing the Force, being led to different perceived disturbances; a dead forest on a distant planet, a continental drought on another. The Force was leading the Jedi on a path, but the destination was unclear. Xijun was granted a vision of all of the steps in her path thus far, and one more that she had not yet taken. The vision shown to her by the Force pointed to Dantooine, though she wasn't sure why.
On a distant planet in the fringes of the Outer Rim, a young smuggler by the name of Sairah O’Rinn met with her Uncle and mentor Toni in a seedy tavern. Toni, a long-time friend of the notorious crime lord Haldar Varss, had managed to set up a meeting between the pirate and his niece, hoping to kick start Sairah into a successful smuggling career with good contacts and steady work with the Tarran Consortium. Haldar agreed to give Sairah a chance and offered her a job as a way to test her ability. The Consortium had long endured trouble smuggling cargo onto the planet of Dantooine due to the growing Reformation militia on the planet, let alone the presence of a small NGR Naval force. Sairah was to smuggle a new shipment past any NGR blockades or Reformation forces on the planet and deliver the shipment to Haldar’s pirate allies planetside. Tagging along to oversee her first major job, Toni joined Sairah, helping her load Haldar’s cargo aboard the Raven’s Nest before they set off for Dantooine.
The Raven’s Nest would exit hyperspace above Dantooine only to find itself in the middle of a pitched battle between Reformation corvettes and a Republic Star Destroyer. Sairah deftly maneuvered the Raven between the battling ships, shaking off a squadron of Republic fighters as her Uncle Toni manned a turret aboard the smuggling craft. The pair managed to escape with their lives as, behind them, the NGR Star Destroyer beat an unexpected and hasty retreat from the star system. Once planetside, Sairah brought the Raven’s Nest down in a clearing before setting off to meet their contacts. After a couple of days of hard riding and dodging Reformation camps and patrols, the smugglers arrived at their rendezvous point only to find the pirates they were supposed to meet under siege from Reformation militiamen. Dantooine, it seemed, had become one of the Reformation’s major bases of operations - though the NGR Navy would surely return once word reached the Core worlds.
With a job well done, Toni and Sairah head back home to Rishi. After flying the Raven’s Nest for one last time, Toni set it down on a landing pad in the planet’s preeminent spaceport. With a tear in his eyes and filled with pride, Toni turned the ship over to his niece. Sairah, the new captain of the Raven’s Nest, now looked to the distant stars, awaiting the next adventure.
On the planet of Umbara, Lesh Deechi - a well-known native of the planet and lifelong political and military leader - considers his position in the cell-based nature of the Reformation. Having spent many years in the Umbaran militia, Lesh sees the current leaders of the Reformation movement as ineffectual, from his perspective. Holding a seat on the Reformation Action Council (the Reformation’s temporary equivalent to a ‘Senate’ for those worlds that supported the Reformation), Lesh was afforded a look into the inner workings of the movement's hierarchy and military leadership. Barring the recent actions taken on Dantooine, Lesh concludes to himself that his superiors are ineffectual military leaders, himself a proponent of much more decisive and assertive action - again, barring the Dantooine situation. As such, the Umbaran begins laying out an elaborate and sinister plan to assassinate his direct superior, none other than the legendary Outer Rim War hero and NGR defector and Grand Marshall of the Reformation military conglomerate, Jason Haig.
On the planet Deneba, Jedi Master Frifth Nilim - while waiting to select a new Padawan - was having a holocall with his former Padawan, now a Jedi Knight, Ravee Chasel, about recent discoveries she’d made. While researching alternative Force traditions, Ravee discovered that many years back, a Jedi Master named Mimuahr Niadh had gone mysteriously missing while researching the Dathomirian Nightsisters. She decided to use the opportunity of joining the Jedi Ambassadors that would go to the Princep’s ball as a chance to go to Dathomir. Also inspired by Frifth’s search for a new Padawan, Ravee hoped to find a potential prospect to train for herself, and teach them the ways of the Jedi. Later Frifth met up with Mirialan Jedi Master Lail Staark. The two observed the Jedi initiate exercises. To get a better idea of each initiate’s skill, Frifth decided to personally spar with each initiate. By the end, he selected the energetic Jackson Melafinious and the reverent Se'Soom Ra'Bhamus.
The following day, Jedi Master Frifth sent his two new Padawans down to the crystal caves beneath the Deneba Temple, where the two were faced with visions from the Force. After experiencing a harrowing vision, Se’Soom awoke with two Kyber crystals in his hand. Returning to the surface, Se’Soom was greeted by Master Frifth, who informed him that he had been down in the caves for a day and a half. After constructing his lightsaber, the two would leave Deneba for Ossus as Master and Padawan. While Se’Soom had passed his trial, Jackson, unfortunately, did not. Unable to overcome his own visions and stuck in a comatose state, Jackson never left the caves. Several weeks later, his body was located and the young Padawan was pronounced dead, his body cremated by the Deneba Temple Guard.
Several days after their initial meeting, Bril returned to Ubrikkia with the KX-series droids after he performed a series of complicated, but minute modifications that Maskar Kython had specified. Maskar would end up sending the droids to the Randon Security Force; perfect for covert operations on the important financial world, which Maskar hoped to bring under Ubrikkian influence through clandestine means. After their trade-off was made, Bril earned even more credits from Maskar by selling him information about a rumored holocron, said to exist somewhere on the planet Lamaredd, a rumor that intrigued the Ubrikkian ex-Jedi greatly...
With the nefarious preparations set, Lesh Deechi invited his rival Grand Marshal Jason Haig to Umbara to give the former NGR Marine a tour of the Umbaran weapons development facilities and showcase a prototype armored attack walker. During a demonstration of the new walker unit, Lesh’s plan was enacted, resulting in the sudden and “tragic” death of Jason Haig at the hands of an unseen sniper. Lesh’s plan proved successful in that there was no suspicion thrown on him by the Reformation Action Council. Additionally, Haig’s passing would go on to result in Lesh’s seemingly reluctant acceptance of the role that had been left unfilled in Haig’s sudden absence. The victory would likely prove to be double-edged, however, as while Haig’s death would allow Lesh to seize more direct control over the Reformation’s military agenda, the people of the New Galactic Republic would no doubt be only further turned away by the increasingly radical actions of the Reformation movement once word of the war hero’s death began to spread through NGR space.
At last, the day had come. After generating significant buzz within certain social circles of the galactic elite, the Severan Principate would host a diplomatic ball. Taking place in the governmental palace on the nation's capital, Taris, no expense had been spared in preparation for the event. Galactic holovid celebrities, business moguls, NGR politicians, Outer Rim world representatives - even a few members of the Jedi Order, including Jedi Knight Kaseerah Holdan (a respected Jedi and owner of a clinic on Coruscant specializing in the rehabilitation of war veterans) and Jedi Knight Ravee Chasel - all gathered within the walls of the palace to attend, indulging in rich, robust cuisine of Ordo's Ristorante and partaking in ballroom dance by the sweeping tempo of a live orchestra. From the high-end dining experience and entertainment to the guest list, this was to be a grand and unforgettable night that would leave its mark on history, just as Murith Severan would have it.
One particular high-profile guest that would not be in attendance at the Principate's historic event was billionaire Telvuga Acco, the CEO and Chairman of manufacturing conglomerate Accotech United, based out of the Corporate Sector. Hosting his own press conference, Telvuga offered biting words attacking the Severan Principate's leader while publicly declining his invitation. While Telvuga Acco's public display of opinion towards Murith Severan didn't garner much attention from the galaxy, it did give the holonet drama tabloids something to talk about for the next several weeks as they tried (and failed) to elicit a response from the heir of the Severan dynasty.
Telvuga’s slight mattered not to Murith Severan, as the Ball (or "the Orb," as holonet messaging boards would later dub it) was simply Murith’s way of gathering together many of the Outer Rim's business and political representatives, and while the exclusion of one of the Corporate Sector’s leading moguls was unfortunate, Murith Severan would not be perturbed. Hidden beneath the veneer of the Ball was Murith’s true purpose for the extravagant event - a much smaller and less publicized meeting behind closed doors with said business and political representatives of nearby Outer Rim worlds, where Murith Severan made an offer for them to join the Severan Principate. Using the promise of protection and trade, he hoped to bring the worlds under his dominion. While the majority of the more well-established worlds refused the offer, citing political differences and or lack of need, a few key systems readily accepted the offer, thanks in no small part to the words of the Delegation sent from Presbalin. While not the grand, sweeping victory that Murith had hoped for, several smaller system would go on to follow Presbalin’s example and agree to integrate under the banner of the Severan Principate.
Jedi Knight Ravee Chasel, having been in brief attendance of the Severan Principate’s diplomatic Ball, found herself romantically spurned while attempting to interact with the non-Jedi denizens of the gathering. Embarrassed and frustrated with herself, she left the extravagant event in a flurry of emotions, much to the concern of the Jedi Masters in attendance. Instead, Ravee slipped away from the high-society crowds in search of a smuggler that would be able to secret her from Taris, past the Principate’s fleets, and onto the neighboring planet of Dathomir. After all, it was there that Ravee’s findings back on Deneba pointed, regarding the disappearance of former Jedi Master Mimuahr Niadh. As the Force would have it, Knight Ravee traveled down to the Undercity of Taris, where she was able to find and hire someone willing to get her to Dathomir for the arguably exorbitant price of 10,000 Credits. Thus, Ravee set off aboard the light-freighter owned by freelance bounty hunter Gavray Kast.
It took only a matter of a few hours for Knight Ravee Chasel to reach Dathomir with Gavray’s help, the latter agreeing to stow his ship out of sight and await Ravee’s word to retrieve her, per their deal. Upon stumbling her way to a Nightsister village, Ravee was devastated to find that the missing Master she was seeking was, in fact, the leader of the village, Ciaran. The shaman, in turn, was surprised that someone had finally bothered and managed to track her down, but was nevertheless welcoming to the nervous Jedi Knight. Ravee was taken into the village, where both Ciaran and other Nightsisters explained how they lived, trying to convince their guest that despite their alignment to the dark side of the force, they were still a thriving and tightly-knit community. Knight Chasel, tempted by the thoughts of having a family, ultimately managed to resist the temptations, and after being given a transmitter by the Nightsister Shaman, she left for Gavray’s ship, leaving Dathomir - and Mimuahr Niadh, now known as Ciaran - behind.
During the journey away from Principate space, Ravee attempted to recruit Gavray to the Jedi Order, due to his latent Force-sensitivity. Already having been asked to join the Order in the past, Gavray refused. As the days progressed on, Ravee began to doubt her purpose in the galaxy, looking towards her failure to sway Ciaran or Gavray to the Jedi as a sign that she no longer knew the will of the Force. Thus, the Arkanian-offshoot Jedi Knight went on to take the Barash Vow.
On the planet Eiradu, Sith Paladin of the Holy Order Tommentis Tiranis lay in the afterglow of a passionate moment with his lover, unaware that a strike team of Jedi Shadows were about to interrupt them. Jedi Master Lytrinn Halt - along with the Jedi Knights Kairus Ririkan and Jae Feistine - stormed Tommentis’s estate after sneaking through the Eriaduan’s defenses and fighting their way through a small detachment of battle droids. Having caught Tommentis by surprise, a brief duel ensued. The Jedi proved victorious, though the Sith and his woman were killed before the Jedi could extract any valuable information from them. One less evil man claiming to be a “Sith” had been purged by the Jedi Shadows, though at the unseen cost of the Jedi Order narrowly missing their opportunity to learn of the existence and whereabouts of the Sith Holy Order in the Unknown Regions.
Unseen by the vast majority of the known galaxy, the Holy Order of the Sith were followers of an obscure and strict religious Order based around the eons-old teachings of the Pius Dea. Established four centuries earlier, the Holy Order had flourished in the Unknown Regions, far from the eyes of the Jedi or the New Galactic Republic. As such, they had conquered many of the former First Order remnants and peoples that inhabited the Unknown Regions, committing multiple genocides over the past several centuries in the name of fanatical, religious xenophobia. With nearly all but the Chiss subdued, the Holy Order had begun looking to expand its reach into the known galaxy. While some like Dumenaris Axios looked inward to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Sith’s past, the Holy Order’s newly proclaimed Lord had ambitions to look beyond the Unknown Regions. Styling himself as Darth Prodigal after seizing control of the Holy Order, Prodigal began dispatching something akin to diplomatic emissaries into the known galaxy, hoping to eventually turn some of its oblivious inhabitants into allies...
In response to the consistent reports of trouble with the local tribals on Dathomir, the Severan Principate tasked one of their most elite and effective Security Agents, Lilith Amaria, with resolving the issues that were now beginning to spill beyond petty tribal disputes and proving an annoyance to the local Principate garrison. According to the reports Lilith looked over, the Dathomirians were caught in a tribal dispute of some kind that had turned violent, with some reports detaling attacks on Principate outposts on the planet. One of the Witches (none other than Ciaran herself) promised to ensure an end to any future hostilities towards local Principate forces in exchange for the Principate Military’s backing in her war with the current Nightmother. Additionally, Ciaran demanded that the Principate lift their military blockade of the planet once the conflict was resolved. As a Senior Operative of the Principate Security, Lilith had extensive authority that went as far as allowing her to operate above and beyond the Principate’s Military command, so she used this power to call in the assistance of Arthur Xadran, Captain of the Imperator V-Class Star Destroyer, Monarch. With the imposing vessel at her disposal, Agent Lilith Amaria planned to land on Dathomir to have a meeting of her own with this Ciaran to assess the details of the Witch's proposal, personally.
Aboard the Ace of Staves,- a retrofitted, Imperial-era carrier now equipped to serve as a casino - former NGR intelligence agent, racketeer and co-owner of the casino vessel Marclay Coppola awakens from a spice-induced bender, coming to the realization that he has a potent addiction but pushing it from his thoughts, as there was business that needed attending. He met with his half-brother and co-owner of the Ace, Gavyn Coppola, himself also a former NGR Marine-turned criminal. In addition to discussing recent dealings as well as planning for their financial future, they met up with their newly-appointed Security Chief, an older Zabrak male by the name of Pexuu Vrasro. His shadowy past, contrasted by a bright reputation as a very capable veteran of the Outer Rim War with no known family or obligations to tie him down, Pexuu seemed like a great new addition to the Coppola’s Casino - provided that the old Zabrak didn’t have any old ghosts from his past still chasing him.
After the departure of their new Security Chief, Gavyn - a notorious hothead - incites a brawl on the gaming floor. After dispatching several pirates and allowing security to handle the rest, Marclay dragged his half-brother, now blacked-out from drinking too much, back to his room. Whilst lugging Gavyn, an idea occurred to Marclay, a drunken thought to better secure their financial security and gain considerable capital to continue building their empire upon. The next day, head pounding from his hangover, the idea stayed with Marclay, and he began planning what would amount to an elaborate bank heist. The target? None other than the Seswenna Sector bank, headquartered on Eriadu. To accomplish something like this, the Coppolas knew they would need a team, so they began work on seeking out individuals of talent to hire for the job. They started by sending an invitation to a smuggler that had recently made some noise over Dantooine, earning a name for herself after slipping right through a pitched naval battle between the NGR and Reformation forces to get planetside. Seeing as Eriadu was within NGR jurisdiction, it made sense to bring in someone like Sairah O’Rinn, based on her recent experiences.
In the bustling, lower city streets of Coruscant, a down-on-his-luck pilot named Corman Candar meets with a long-time friend, Aval Derevan. In a small cantina known as Frassi’s Corner, Corman greets with the older man and they discuss the possibilities of future job offers before they are interrupted by a Cathar assassin. After disarming the Cathar, Corman begins to question the would-be assassin but his line of questioning is cut short when, to Corman's suprise, Aval suddenly kills the attacker and stuns Corman, knocking him unconscious. Inexplicably, Aval flees the scene and, in turn, frames Corman for the murder of the Cathar.
A day later, Corman awakens in Coruscant Security custody. He is questioned by Coruscant Security Forces before being set free, the officer piecing together that Corman had been framed. Back on the streets of Coruscant; Corman calls his co-pilot, a Rattataki named Shuriah Reynault, asking for the fuel to get off-planet. They met at an abandoned hangar, where Corman had been illegally parking his light freighter, The Sunset Eclipse. Bent on tracking Aval down (either for revenge or even just for answers), Corman reveals to Shuriah their destination - The Ace of Staves - a casino that Aval had mentioned to Corman previously. Knowing Aval, this would be his most likely destination.
Before departing Coruscant, however, the Sunset Eclipse received an encoded, one-way transmission. In it, a man named Ulric Sigliano spoke of Twado Hyrotia, the Sunset Eclipse’s previous owner - now dead - and was hoping to catch a ride off-world. Unbeknownst to Ulric, Twado had left the Sunset Eclipse to Corman Candar, so it would be up to Corman whether or not to grant Ulric’s request for passage. Despite their hesitations, Corman and Shuriah agreed to follow the rendezvous coordinates, which lead them to a landing pad of the 500 Republica building. Awaiting them there was the man himself, Ulric Sigliano, son of the late Frank Sigliano, a local legend from Corellia. Along with him was none other than Hellexix Ordo, recently returned from Principate space and ready to spend some credits. When The Sunset Eclipse landed, Hellexix and Ulric were greeted by a hesitant Corman and Shuriah. While there was some initial, cautious tension between the two parties, the crew of the Sunset Eclipse agreed to allow Hellexix and Ulric passage. As the will of the Force would have it, Hellexix and Ulric were also bound for the Ace of Staves - Hellexix going to gamble away some of his recently-acquired Credits, while Ulric needed to meet with one of the Casino’s owners on business. After agreeing on a modest sum to cover the cost of Hellexix and Ulric’s passage, the four were off towards the Eriadu system, the last known location of the Casino.
Meanwhile, back on Dathomir, Borcha and Sibo returned to the Nightsister village for their part of the deal: the Mandalorian in Exile revealed he was seeking the Darksaber, an ancient and unique black-bladed lightsaber created nearly one and a half millennia ago by the first Mandalorian Jedi. While it remained unclear as to the exact motives of Borcha’s longing for this ancient artifact, it was clear he was adamant on finding it, and his original plan when coming to Dathomir was to visit a long-abandoned First Order base, that supposedly held vital information within its still-working database. The Nightsister Shaman revealed, however, that a splinter group within the Nightsisters — the Spiderclan — had claimed the base as their new home after being driven from their previous one long ago. Knowing full-well that taking Borcha to them could spell trouble, Ciaran insisted on retrieving the data on her own and was soon on her way together with her partner, Aijjling. Once at the base, she chose to head in alone, weaponless, in an attempt to further signal her well-meant intentions: the Clan Mother had come here not only to retrieve the data for the Mandalorian, but also with hopes of reconciling with the Spiderclan, seeing them as a possible ally to take down her rival. This feeling was one-sided, however, as Ciaran was met with a clan that had centuries worth of nothing but contempt and hatred for the outside world. Appalled by the savagery and degeneracy of the Spiderclan, she was allowed to get the data she needed and was released back to the surface, where she would soon give Borcha his data, fulfilling her part of their deal.
There was no time to rest, however, because Lilith Amaria had entered the Dathomir system, soon joined by Captain Xadran and his Star Destroyer the Monarch. With the fleet on oversight, the Principate’s elite security agent headed down to the surface to meet with the Nightsisters, under the guise of Commodore Rose Maral, a Star Destroyer commander. Despite the large difference between the two women, they seemed to be on equal footing, not only in their personality but also the lies they carried along with them at all times: Ciaran lied about who contacted the Principate, whereas Lilith lied about who she truly was. And while neither of these lies was found out by the other, it was clearly having an effect on the negotiations: neither party was particularly forthcoming to the other until the Principate officer made a peculiar offer: the Nightsister would get her requested airstrike, but she would have to give up her wife as collateral. Ciaran initially refused, but when Aijjling herself agreed, the Shaman could do nothing but concede.
It turned out to be a ruse, however, because as soon as Lilith had left the planet, she and the supporting fleet left the Dathomir system, leaving the Nightsisters back to their own devices. Enraged, Ciaran called a meeting at her village, and in a speech fueled by hatred and disdain, she rallied her people to come together and take down her rival without the assistance of the Principate Navy, before leaving with a small group for a distant planet to receive an ancient artifact...
After several days journey through hyperspace, the Sunset Eclipse arrives in the Eriadu system. A quick scan of nearby space locates the signal of the Ace of Staves, the Coppola’s retrofitted casino. After passing a security check under the watchful eye of the casino’s Security Chief, all of the Sunset Eclipse’s passengers would be granted admission into the casino proper. Unbeknownst to Hellexix Ordo, Pexuu recognizes him, though not for the man’s entrepreneurial accomplishments in the Core. Rather, the arrival of Hellexix Ordo brought a flood of memories from decades prior to Pexuu’s mind - memories of Corellia. The Zabrak Security Chief keeps these memories to himself, however, seeing as Hellexix had been too young to recognize him from their shared past. Ulric Sigliano, having come to the Ace specifically for the sake of meeting with the Coppola brothers, splits off, leaving Hellexix and Corman to head to the casino floor, where debts owed are paid in full for Corman allowing Hellexix and Ulric passage aboard his ship. Later that same day, Sairah O’Rinn, captain of the Raven’s Nest, also arrives at the Ace, invited to the Casino with the possibility of another lucrative job, though the details of the job had yet to be revealed...
After receiving payment and saying his farewells to Hellexix Ordo, Corman Candar began his hunt for Aval Derevan, the man who framed him for murder. It wasn't long before Corman found who he was looking for. Sitting down opposite the older man, the two engaged in a game of Pazaak against each other. To throw Corman off of his game, Aval reveals that he was the one who murdered Corman’s foster father Twado. The stakes of the game are raised to a lifetime of savings, and Corman barely takes the victory in the final round. An enraged Aval leaves the Ace of Staves, but not before Corman can place a tracker on him. With Coordinates in hand, the crew of the Sunset Eclipse leaves the Casino to follow Aval’s footsteps.
Back in the heart of the New Galactic Republic on Coruscant, a young man by the name of Calvin Tiberiusolis - in an attempt to spite his father - graduates from the Senate Guard’s Officer Training Facility and gets assigned to the Public Duties Company. While optimistic about his new lot in life, Calvin came into his new profession at an… interesting time. For years, Chancellor Snow’s political career had been suffering, mostly due to the ongoing talk of guerilla warfare and attacks employed by rogue Reformation sympathizers in the Outer Rim. While the Reformation had only recently begun mounting into a true threat to key NGR planets (Dantooine, most recently), many of the NGR’s citizens and representatives placed the blame for their continued existence at the Chancellor’s feet. Unhappiness with the Chancellor’s performance came to a head when, during one of Calvin’s first deployments with the Senate Guard, a few of the Senate Guards were ordered to fire live mortar rounds into a crowd of peaceful protestors. While the official report claimed that it was an accident, rumors began to fly that the Senate Guard had faulty received orders from somewhere above. The investigation, to this day, is still pending, though it is theorized that the call was made by someone wishing to further diminish Chancellor Snow’s reputation with the NGR’s populace - a strategy which proved effective, as popular support for the Chancellor reached an all-time low, and rumors began to swirl in the Senate of a vote of no confidence.
Several days after leaving Deneba, Jedi Master Frifth brought Se’Soom to the Jedi Temple on Ossus. Frifth spent two weeks instructing Se’Soom with the goal of expanding upon his bases. During a meeting with the Academy of Archaeology, they were shown a message from the planet Spintir, sent to the Jedi Temple by the leader of the planet’s only city offering a recently-discovered Jedi holocron for study. Initially puzzled by the sudden request, Frifth and Se’Soom were offered the opportunity to travel to Spintir to retrieve the holocron, to which Frifth and his new Padawan accepted. While researching prior to the expedition, they learned that Spintir was an artistic and agricultural world that fell on hard times and had likely come into possession of the holocron centuries earlier. Suspecting that they might run into trouble of some kind, Frifth shifted Se’Soom’s training regiment to focus on defensive techniques as a precaution. An old friend of Master Frifth’s, the Jedi Knight Tal Margos, also requested to join Frifth and his Padawan on their expedition to act as a backup in case something went wrong.
Wielding knowledge of the rumored holocron on the planet Lamaredd, Maskar Kython journeyed to the far-off world. Upon arriving, Maskar posed as a representative of the Outer Rim Oreworks Company, going by the false identity of Haken Tull. His ruse proved highly effective when dealing with Lamaredd’s local authorities (if one could call them that), which led “Haken” to meeting a Duros of peculiar interest by the name of Obadd Ulat. A former member of the loose organization of darkside practitioners often referred to off-handedly as the “Sith Union,” Obadd had, through means of his own, learned of the possible location of an old, Sith Temple hidden somewhere on the planet - though, much like Maskar, the Duros had lied to the Lamaredd officials in order to conceal his true reason for coming to the planet. Their lies landed them both in a speeder planetside, spurred onward by the enthusiastically oblivious Lamaredd officials that were just thrilled to have something happening on their backwater planet and under the impression that both Maskar and Obadd were there on official business. Though their speeder ride was a long and awkward one, it gave Maskar and the Duros the privacy they needed to eventually delve into their own suspicions of one another, eventually acknowledging that they were both not only liars but two individuals after the same thing. For better or worse, they agreed to cooperate in their efforts to track down the supposed location of the ancient Sith Temple that Obadd was sure existed, and where Maskar hoped to find the holocron that Bril Rha had spoken of...
While the galaxy continued to inexorably expand, a small-scale war was waging on the planet of Sy Myrth in the Outer Rim. Falling under the jurisdiction of Mandalorian space, the planet and its surrounding systems were in dispute as thousands of rival Mandalorian New Crusaders fought for dominance in the wake of Mandalore the Reaper’s death, which was followed quickly by the patricide of one of the New Crusader’s greatest leaders and founder, Warlord Harkon Ordo. Assassinated by his own son, Harkon’s death kicked off one of many bids for power that were going on throughout Mandalorian space as the hierarchy of rulers and warriors of the Mandalorian culture was tested in light of the fact that the conquering nation now stood without a clear successor to the title of Mandalore. In the midst of all of this, the battle for Sy Myrth stood out, as Harkon’s forces were divided between those loyal to his son Glaz Ordo, and those loyal to another warrior of growing infamy, a Twi’lek Mandalorian and survivor of the Outer Rim War’s Battle of Ryloth by the name of Maelzagard. Two weeks of scorched-earth warfare would lead to Glaz’s forces eventually crumbling under the weight of Maelzagard’s loyalists, resulting in Glaz’s death and his Twi’lek rival claiming the title of Warlord over the Sy Myrth New Crusaders. Meanwhile, the mystery of Mandalore the Reaper’s death and who would claim leadership over the rest of the Mandalorians remained unknown…
submitted by Crixus_Payne to Starwarsrp [link] [comments]

Can Blockchain / Crypto Be Utilized to Replace TITO in Casinos?

Original Article

Could Blockchain Technology Ever Replace TITO?

First, what is TITO?

A system for slot machine play through the use of a barcoded paper ticket. The ticket may be purchased in advance of slot machine play, or issued from the slot machine if there are credits remaining at the conclusion of the patron’s gaming session. When the patron has completed his play, balances on the ticket can be redeemed for cash at a kiosk or the casino cage or used for further play at the casino that issued the ticket

Where did it come from?

In consideration of the potential use of blockchain to phase-out the TITO, we must understand the nuances around which TITO was adopted. This entails understanding how TITO helps to solve the problem of data collection in the casino industry.
​
Ticket-in, ticket out (TITO) machines are used in casino slot machines to print out a slip of paper with a barcode indicating the amount of money represented. These can in turn be redeemed for cash at an automated kiosk, or be used for game play at other slot machines. The machines utilize a barcode scanner built into the bill acceptor, a thermal ticket printer in place of a coin hopper (some rare machines are set up to pay with coins if the payout is less than the payout limit, and to print a ticket in situations where a hand pay would normally be required) and a network interface to communicate with a central system that tracks tickets. MGM was in the middle of construction of its major hotel in Las Vegas and invited several gaming machine manufacturers to join a consortium for its Cashless Casino experiment. In the group were Bally Gaming, IGT, Sigma Games, Universal and several others. They were all presented with the MGM UIB Protocol documents and were aided in the realization of the protocol on their gaming platforms. The first trial of the system was actually at the Desert Inn property. MGM Had situated several trailers in the parking lot where the manufacturers could bring their gaming devices for test before being installed on the Field Trial at the Desert Inn.
​
On or about March of 1992 Applied Computer Technology began evaluating software that was developed for Five Star Solutions and subsequently sold to MGM Grand Hotels, Inc. for a slot monitoring and accounting system. Applied Computer Technology began to modify software and specify a new hardware platform for MGM to use in order to implement its designed system and to allow expansion of its current capabilities at the time. On June 30, 1992, Applied Computer Technology, Inc. issued a quotation to MGM Grand, Inc. to engineer and design a Universal Interface Board or UIB for MGM Grand to be installed into slot machines for the purpose of monitoring critical machine status and components, displaying messages to the user of the slot machine, reading magnetic strip cards and communicating messages to and from a host mainframe computer. On or about July of 1992 the quotation was expanded to include the printing of Bar Codes on a receipt ticket printer manufactured by Star Micronics Inc, model #sp300. MGM Grand provided them with a model printing algorithm in BASIC source code as an example of how to print the ticket which they used to develop the algorithm. This saved a lot of development time since the code they provided already had been developed. They were also presented at that time with a sample ticket. On or about August of 1992, they received word from MGM that they had located a bill validator that was capable of reading the tickets that Applied Computer Technology was currently printing, and for ACT to start writing preliminary code for the validation of tickets to and from the mainframe computer so that when the unit did arrive ACT would be ready in a short time to test their protocols. On or about October 22 of 1992 ACT received a prototype Bill Validator from MGM Grand hotel who had received it from Pat Green of Triad Design. The Bill Validator was special in that it not only was able to validate currency but also to validate coupons with bar coded tickets on them. Mr. Green was using a second parties Bill Validator outfitted with his own special circuitry which incorporated a laser bar code reading system.
​
The following in an excerpt of the very first functioning version of code
​
https://preview.redd.it/u9i7rwt4zi121.png?width=580&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee6ec6151ce37fbe654eebad1af7b8de41473b4c
As can be seen by the above section of program highlighted in blue and titled Revision History, an entry was made on June 5, 1992 repairing a section of the program with the function name do_sds_pend(). This section upon further examination shows that the program at that time was capable of handling pending transactions for cashouts, and jackpots whereas the program would receive a cashout signal from the gaming device, transmit the amount of cashout or handpay to the mainframe computer, and await a command from the mainframe to print a ticket worth a set amount of credits/coins and finally signal the gaming machine after the ticket was printed that the pending state was complete and to continue its operations as normal.
​

TITO USE

The concept of Ticket In / Ticket Out (TITO), as described above was a boon to the Casino Slots Departments and the estates they manage. TITO enabled the phase-out of mechanical machine hoppers, prone to jamming, and requiring constant replenishment which tied up considerable sums of cash which was open to theft as it crossed the casino floor instead of being secured in a vault.
Today, the TITO voucher is ubiquitous and the ability to track them across the gaming floor is increasingly prized in its ability to address:
However, for all the benefits TITO brought to the casino floor, it is not without it’s pitfalls and weaknesses which provide opportunities for improvements in the system or, potentially a phased replacement of the entire TITO system.

TITO VULNERABILITIES

  1. Partial Payouts: A partial payout occurs when a ticket is inserted into a machine, with an amount that is not supported by the denomination. For example, a ticket valued at $148 is inserted into a $10 per spin slot. In this instance, the machine will print a ticket for the remaining $8.00. Quite often, patrons unfamiliar with the process, will assume the machine is out of order, taking the $8.00 and leaving.
  2. Ticket Theft: At first, this may seem rare. However in the casino environment, designed to distract patrons and guide their eyes elsewhere and combined with comped alcohol, it happens more often than assumed. This is not just theft from the patron however. Ticket Theft uses casino resources as they are often asked to investigate lost or stolen tickets. A stolen ticket for $20 to a patron, may cost a casino $75 in labor to resolve.
  3. Money Laundering: Casinos have always been an ideal location to change illegal money. With the advent of TITO, it’s never been easier. Though FinCEN has tasked gaming operators with the responsibility of reporting suspicious transactions, with so many events happening on the casino floor, this activity remains difficult to prevent. Suspicious activity involving TITO usage can be any, all, or hybrids of the following two examples:
a. Placing currency in a slot machine, then cashing out after minimal or no play and redeeming the TITO ticket at a kiosk on the gaming floor (“bill stuffing);
b. Patrons pass a large quantity of chips, cash or TITO tickets between themselves in an apparent effort to conceal the ownership of the chips, cash or TITO tickets; if patrons are closely related, such activity may not be seen as suspicious.
  1. Employee Collusion/Reprinting: Employee theft accounts for the majority of loss throughout all industries, and casino gaming is no exception. Most lost or stolen tickets are reported, but some remain unclaimed. Each TITO ticket is created with an expiration date. If they are not redeemed within 60 days of their creation, the funds are returned to the house. Employees with sufficient access are able to run reports of unclaimed tickets which are about to expire then reprint and pass them to a non-employee for redemption.
  2. Theft of Time: TITO incidents are frequent. The investigation on them is time consuming. Each time a ticket is inserted into a machine, the system generates a new ticket number. A single TITO ticket may have a dozen or more events. Manually referring to slot location, time of ticket event, and pulling up the correlated video takes dozens of man-hours each week.
  3. Exploiting reporting times in ticket creation with the mainframe disseminating the ticket information to the slot control system and kiosk systems allows a window for patrons to copy and cashout a ticket more than once.
  4. Tickets are often counterfeited with advanced processes or fake tickets are created and sold at a discount to unknowing patrons. While this doesn’t seem to effect the casino, it does, as any money a player loses on the street, is money the casino loses an opportunity to win on house edge.
​

CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE PAST

Understanding the why, behind the advent of TITO requires a bit more knowledge of how operations in both cash handling as well as data was collected during the past. To start, as late as the 1980’s, the ubiquitous presence of computers and smart-phones with which we are all so familiar were unknown because, for the most part, they did not exist. This meant that most analytics were done manually, if at all. Typically, this meant that they were not really done, and people relied upon superstition verging upon Witchcraft and "gut feel" for the decisions that they made. There was no data available to help in this decision making and no simple way to analyze or to interpret it even if the data had been available.
​
Back in the day, "the Count", where one emptied the Gaming Table drop boxes and counted out the money and checked out the Fill and Credit paperwork, was critical. Only at these times was the Operation really aware of what they were winning and losing and until the money was actually counted then everything else was little better than guesswork.
By the time the 1990’s rolled around, we might term the epoch the near past. In the near past, computers existed and within a few years after mobile phones of the most basic sort were becoming common. By this time, Microsoft Office had revolutionized office productivity and Excel actually meant that a normal person could produce graphs that looked professional.
​
Indeed, by this point, a huge share of the (still very small amount) data analysis conducted was processed in Excel while simple Access databases accounted for much of the rest. There were, of course, more complex analytic tools out there, but my they were not commonly employed and were all but invisible to the majority of employees.
​
At least some of this was due to the staff still employed and rising to the top ranks of the industry. With some notable and far sighted exceptions, the majority had "grown up" in the Gaming Industry, especially the Table Games portion of it, without analytics and reliant upon the "gut feel" method of working out what was going on; many of them distrusted technology and of the work and training they would need to be able to get the most out of even the basic tools available to them at this time.
​
Analysis was lacking in almost every aspect of the Table Games Operation. This could, of course, be contrasted with the Slots Departments who were beginning to reap the benefits of mechanization and the analysis that could be applied to the early electro-mechanical and increasingly purely electronic slots systems. So, in Slots, you could say there were the beginnings of the "Siloed systems", that is systems that gathered data and allowed analysis solely within their own bounded confines (or with Excel); while for Table games there was nothing...unless enterprising staff entered the data themselves.
​

CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE PRESENT

If we skip forward from the 1990’s, to around 2011 when Galaxy Macau opened, a cornerstone of the largest and most vital Table Gaming market the world had ever seen, much had changed. By this time, analytics systems, even for Table Games had become ubiquitous and pioneering companies were beginning to go further and to promise real, timely, actionable intelligence from the deluge of data that had flourished in the sixteen years between these dates.
​
Indeed, it is easy to argue that the actual collection of data, the easy bit, had completely outstripped the ability to suitably organize, analyze and act on the data being recorded and stored: the hard bit. The growth of data and the formation of the silo systems themselves seemed almost designed to stymie efforts to draw anything meaningful from the awful weight of what was being collected.
​
This is not to denigrate the Silo Systems in use at the time. Indeed, this whole era might be handily subtitled the Silo Systems Age even as the period before this could be considered the Data Dark Ages. The silo systems had been spectacularly productive in what they were designed to do and, in earlier periods of this age, had given unprecedented insight into operations, within the siloed data itself. While data flows were, relatively speaking, low and what needed to be known or understood strictly circumscribed they worked very well indeed.
​
But the very strength of systems designed to store data within limited parameters and to analyze and interpret this data inevitably meant that these systems could not consider data from outside their silo. Nor, as it increasingly became apparent, were they entirely well suited to the increasing data flows coming from larger and more data intensive operations and from the increases in the areas from which data was being collected. The answer to this always seemed to be to add more independent siloes, but it seemed that as quickly as these were added, they were being filled up by what data was being collected and they were being superseded in what Operations Management wished was being collected.
​
To even attempt to consider data across the growing numbers of siloes in use, it was back to Excel for the enterprising staff member brave, or fool-hardy, enough to try to sift the deluge of data for the nuggets of information buried within. It was a period that could, for our nascent data explorer, be characterized by the printout and the highlighter pen.
​
Forests of print outs for the siloed data were produced; much of which could not be extracted in any other way as this feature had never been considered when the silo was constructed. Then the explorer sat down and tried to impose order upon the chaos of the data and to consider events on printout "A" that might illuminate detail on printout "B" before typing everything into Excel and trying to graph or pivot table it.
​

CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE FUTURE

The future will be a world without siloed systems. Or rather, since it will take a while for the current siloed systems to be replaced, it will become like that after having gone through a transitional period where there are overarching systems binding the siloes together and taking data from all of them.
​
We have already reached a stage where cross-silo systems exist and are looking at data, and more importantly the connections between data in different siloes collected for different purposes, in new and illuminating ways. There are some very exciting technologies out there that are examining data in entirely new and unprecedented ways; giving insights into things people have long believed and confirming some ideas even while they debunk others. Now data can be examined from IoT style devices on the gaming floor and combined with data from Ratings and Food and Beverage systems to give a far more detailed and nuanced picture of a Patron and their interaction with the Operation.
​
Similarly, data can be taken on dealer performance and ratings to determine how they interact with Patrons, how efficiently they perform their duties and even such things as how they impact upon Patron dwell tie at their tables.
​
In a business such as Casino Table Games where rewarding Patrons through reinvestment has to be balanced against making sure that they actually add value to the Operation by their wager amounts and style of play and where customer service must be balanced against sufficient game-pace to make margin there are myriad areas where data analytics can be beneficial.
​
Bringing this data together from the siloes within which it is stored and analyzing it in context can already provide incredible business insights. The idea that there has to be only one provider, that one company, supplier or organization can do everything end-to-end, is a holdover from the Silo Age.
​
The Future of Gaming Analytics will be one of best-of-breed suppliers of the basic building blocks of data collecting feeding into similar providers of data analytics and the entirety of this analysis and output being available on whatever medium best suits the individual planning to consume it.
​

OK, BUT NONE OF THIS HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH BLOCKCHAIN...

Well, it does now - and it's under the guise of how Casinos know their players - be patient...
​
Without knowing your players, there is no real way a casino can best serve them. They can’t be sure what it is they like, or how they are expected to play. The concern being that if competition has a better grasp on player identity and behavior, there is every reason for a casino’s players to defect to another property. When this occurs, and it does, casinos begin to “buy their business” by offering higher promotional levels in an effort to entice the return of their once loyal players.
​
So, how can technologies be deployed to aid a casino in their quest for information regarding their players and understanding what they like and what their actions are on the casino floor? There is, unsurprisingly, a considerable overlap with the data that is used to determine the best optimization of Table Games.
​
Ratings data as it currently exists is the obvious starting point. This gives the casino a picture of what their staff and systems believe is happening, and while it may not (and almost certainly isn't) completely accurate it does do a very good job of determining Gaming Preference.
​
What do patrons prefer to do?
​
Data from smart IoT enabled devices, such as Smart Shoes are currently determining actual game pace, determining what is really going on at the Gaming Table level. Next Generation sensors, already in "real world" deployments, can determine both the location of any wagers made and with increasing accuracy the cash values of these wagers. Data from Venue, Hotel and POS systems can be linked to create a Patron profile of what they are doing when they are not wagering on the Gaming Tables. Where are they interacting with the broader Casino offering? How are they paying for this interaction? What are their non-gaming preferences? Geo-location sensors can be deployed, via opt-in applications, to track Patron movements about the property. Where are they going when they do not interact with the wider offering?
​
From the sum of this data, again gathered from across the various siloes in which it currently resides, a more complete and more holistic picture of the Patron as an autonomous actor can be determined.
​
A combination of bet recognition and game pace can determine their real, as opposed to assumed, value to the operation. What is meant by this is the real House Advantage maintained by the Casino against their play (for any Table Game type where this can be a variable). It can issue alerts when play exceeds certain thresholds, or changes in marked ways.
​
For the first time an accurate appraisal of what they like to do in addition to their Gaming can be determined. This enables enhanced market segmentation and a fuller picture of the likes and dislikes of the patron in question. If he or she only goes to the seafood restaurant, why would a casino send them a voucher for a steak? If they like the Spa, why reward them with a buffet voucher?
​
Offers can be made "on the fly" when the Patron is in proximity with something a casino now recognizes that they enjoy doing. Subtly rewarding them for brand loyalty to the casino and explicitly discouraging them from gaming somewhere that does not know them as well.
​
An increasingly non-siloed, data rich and free data environment is a picture of the future when customers are more reliant on technology. So while no-one knows for sure in what precise direction technology will shape how the Casino Industry will face the future, the broad trends are sufficiently established to be knowable. What is required therefore is the ability to do this, before the competition does.
​

AGAIN, WHAT ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN?

Any Blockchain solution company, in evaluating the potential for casino penetration should take into heavy consideration the history of TITO, how and why it was developed, and the continued lean on knowing the players. Combining that with how a wallet/ledger solution would solve the 7 identified TITO vulnerabilities above will give you a solid approach in both development and marketing efforts. It should be obvious to those of us involved in Blockchain tech how, the implementation of an enterprise level, patron utilized wallet which communicates with not only slots, but casino credit mechanisms would be of tremendous asset in combating fraud while generating new player data casinos have never had access to. The value proposition lies within cost savings, player retention, player information and habit knowledge, and anti-theft.

The question is not will Blockchain replace TITO, but who is willing to step up and begin that process?

​
submitted by JeremyMcG1 to Crypto_General [link] [comments]

Blockchain Start-Up - how come you aren't taking it to the Casinos?

I've always wondered why companies aren't utilizing BOTH sides of blockchain (finance and data) in the world of casinos. I wrote this in the hopes that someone will step up and introduce blockchain as a way to replace the current TITO systems in place in casinos.
​
First, what is TITO?
A system for slot machine play through the use of a barcoded paper ticket. The ticket may be purchased in advance of slot machine play, or issued from the slot machine if there are credits remaining at the conclusion of the patron’s gaming session. When the patron has completed his play, balances on the ticket can be redeemed for cash at a kiosk or the casino cage or used for further play at the casino that issued the ticket
Where did it come from?
In consideration of the potential use of blockchain to phase-out the TITO, we must understand the nuances around which TITO was adopted. This entails understanding how TITO helps to solve the problem of data collection in the casino industry.
Ticket-in, ticket out (TITO) machines are used in casino slot machines to print out a slip of paper with a barcode indicating the amount of money represented. These can in turn be redeemed for cash at an automated kiosk, or be used for game play at other slot machines. The machines utilize a barcode scanner built into the bill acceptor, a thermal ticket printer in place of a coin hopper (some rare machines are set up to pay with coins if the payout is less than the payout limit, and to print a ticket in situations where a hand pay would normally be required) and a network interface to communicate with a central system that tracks tickets. MGM was in the middle of construction of its major hotel in Las Vegas and invited several gaming machine manufacturers to join a consortium for its Cashless Casino experiment. In the group were Bally Gaming, IGT, Sigma Games, Universal and several others. They were all presented with the MGM UIB Protocol documents and were aided in the realization of the protocol on their gaming platforms. The first trial of the system was actually at the Desert Inn property. MGM Had situated several trailers in the parking lot where the manufacturers could bring their gaming devices for test before being installed on the Field Trial at the Desert Inn.
On or about March of 1992 Applied Computer Technology began evaluating software that was developed for Five Star Solutions and subsequently sold to MGM Grand Hotels, Inc. for a slot monitoring and accounting system. Applied Computer Technology began to modify software and specify a new hardware platform for MGM to use in order to implement its designed system and to allow expansion of its current capabilities at the time. On June 30, 1992, Applied Computer Technology, Inc. issued a quotation to MGM Grand, Inc. to engineer and design a Universal Interface Board or UIB for MGM Grand to be installed into slot machines for the purpose of monitoring critical machine status and components, displaying messages to the user of the slot machine, reading magnetic strip cards and communicating messages to and from a host mainframe computer. On or about July of 1992 the quotation was expanded to include the printing of Bar Codes on a receipt ticket printer manufactured by Star Micronics Inc, model #sp300. MGM Grand provided them with a model printing algorithm in BASIC source code as an example of how to print the ticket which we used to develop the algorithm. This saved a lot of development time since the code they provided already had been developed. They were also presented at that time with a sample ticket. On or about August of 1992, they received word from MGM that they had located a bill validator that was capable of reading the tickets that Applied Computer Technology was currently printing, and for ACT to start writing preliminary code for the validation of tickets to and from the mainframe computer so that when the unit did arrive ACT would be ready in a short time to test their protocols. On or about October 22 of 1992 ACT received a prototype Bill Validator from MGM Grand hotel who had received it from Pat Green of Triad Design. The Bill Validator was special in that it not only was able to validate currency but also to validate coupons with bar coded tickets on them. Mr. Green was using a second parties Bill Validator outfitted with his own special circuitry which incorporated a laser bar code reading system.
The following in an excerpt of the very first functioning version of code
#nointerleave /* so compiler does not interleave */
//#nodebug /* disable debug mode */
/* debug tools */
#define dbugport 1 /* if def using debugger serial port */
//#define fakestrat 1 /* if faking stratus mainframe */
//#define romver 1 /* if compiling for rom */
#define disp 0xA0
#define ledon IRES(PIODA,1; /* macro to turn on led */)
#define ledoff ISET(PIODA,1; /* macro to turn off led */)
/* TUI.C -- Universal Interface Board program for Z-World Tiny Giant */
/* Copyright (C 1992, 1993, Applied Computer Technology */)
/* Author: Peter Filiberti */
/*
Revision History
Rev 1.01 5/20/92 Fixed do_sds_pend( incorrect indexing bug.)
Rev 1.02 6/04/93 Added check for end_TX in Do_Stratus_Xmt to make sure
that previous xmit ended before new one begins.
Also remmed out old drop ticket print string and added
new one that doesn't display cash amounts.
As can be seen by the above section of program highlighted in blue and titled Revision History, an entry was made on June 5, 1992 repairing a section of the program with the function name do_sds_pend(). This section upon further examination shows that the program at that time was capable of handling pending transactions for cashouts, and jackpots whereas the program would receive a cashout signal from the gaming device, transmit the amount of cashout or handpay to the mainframe computer, and await a command from the mainframe to print a ticket worth a set amount of credits/coins and finally signal the gaming machine after the ticket was printed that the pending state was complete and to continue its operations as normal.
TITO USE
The concept of Ticket In / Ticket Out (TITO), as described above was a boon to the Casino Slots Departments and the estates they manage. TITO enabled the phase-out of mechanical machine hoppers, prone to jamming, and requiring constant replenishment which tied up considerable sums of cash which was open to theft as it crossed the casino floor instead of being secured in a vault.
Today, the TITO voucher is ubiquitous and the ability to track them across the gaming floor is increasingly prized in its ability to address:
When there is theft, to rapidly determine who the perpetrator is for swift apprehension.
To issue alerts when more than a certain value, or vouchers in a certain combination, are cashed in.
To detect patterns of activity when vouchers close to expiry, or multiple small “remainder” values are cashed.
To track the preference of players who move from machine to machine and measure time of play.
However, for all the benefits TITO brought to the casino floor, it is not without it’s pitfalls and weaknesses which provide opportunities for improvements in the system or, potentially a phased replacement of the entire TITO system.
TITO VULNERABILITIES
Partial Payouts: A partial payout occurs when a ticket is inserted into a machine, with an amount that is not supported by the denomination. For example, a ticket valued at $148 is inserted into a $10 per spin slot. In this instance, the machine will print a ticket for the remaining $8.00. Quite often, patrons unfamiliar with the process, will assume the machine is out of order, taking the $8.00 and leaving.
Ticket Theft: At first, this may seem rare. However in the casino environment, designed to distract patrons and guide their eyes elsewhere and combined with comped alcohol, it happens more often than assumed. This is not just theft from the patron however. Ticket Theft uses casino resources as they are often asked to investigate lost or stolen tickets. A stolen ticket for $20 to a patron, may cost a casino $75 in labor to resolve.
Money Laundering: Casinos have always been an ideal location to change illegal money. With the advent of TITO, it’s never been easier. Though FinCEN has tasked gaming operators with the responsibility of reporting suspicious transactions, with so many events happening on the casino floor, this activity remains difficult to prevent. Suspicious activity involving TITO usage can be any, all, or hybrids of the following two examples:
a. Placing currency in a slot machine, then cashing out after minimal or no play and redeeming the TITO ticket at a kiosk on the gaming floor (“bill stuffing);
b. Patrons pass a large quantity of chips, cash or TITO tickets between themselves in an apparent effort to conceal the ownership of the chips, cash or TITO tickets; if patrons are closely related, such activity may not be seen as suspicious.
Employee Collusion/Reprinting: Employee theft accounts for the majority of loss throughout all industries, and casino gaming is no exception. Most lost or stolen tickets are reported, but some remain unclaimed. Each TITO ticket is created with an expiration date. If they are not redeemed within 60 days of their creation, the funds are returned to the house. Employees with sufficient access are able to run reports of unclaimed tickets which are about to expire then reprint and pass them to a non-employee for redemption.
Theft of Time: TITO incidents are frequent. The investigation on them is time consuming. Each time a ticket is inserted into a machine, the system generates a new ticket number. A single TITO ticket may have a dozen or more events. Manually referring to slot location, time of ticket event, and pulling up the correlated video takes dozens of man-hours each week.
Exploiting reporting times in ticket creation with the mainframe disseminating the ticket information to the slot control system and kiosk systems allows a window for patrons to copy and cashout a ticket more than once.
Tickets are often counterfeited with advanced processes or fake tickets are created and sold at a discount to unknowing patrons. While this doesn’t seem to effect the casino, it does, as any money a player loses on the street, is money the casino loses an opportunity to win on house edge.
CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE PAST
Understanding the why, behind the advent of TITO requires a bit more knowledge of how operations in both cash handling as well as data was collected during the past. To start, as late as the 1980’s, the ubiquitous presence of computers and smart-phones with which we are all so familiar were unknown because, for the most part, they did not exist. This meant that most analytics were done manually, if at all. Typically, this meant that they were not really done, and people relied upon superstition verging upon Witchcraft and "gut feel" for the decisions that they made. There was no data available to help in this decision making and no simple way to analyze or to interpret it even if the data had been available.
Back in the day, "the Count", where one emptied the Gaming Table drop boxes and counted out the money and checked out the Fill and Credit paperwork, was critical. Only at these times was the Operation really aware of what they were winning and losing and until the money was actually counted then everything else was little better than guesswork.
By the time the 1990’s rolled around, we might term the epoch the near past. In the near past, computers existed and within a few years after mobile phones of the most basic sort were becoming common. By this time, Microsoft Office had revolutionized office productivity and Excel actually meant that a normal person could produce graphs that looked professional.
Indeed, by this point, a huge share of the (still very small amount) data analysis conducted was processed in Excel while simple Access databases accounted for much of the rest. There were, of course, more complex analytic tools out there, but my they were not commonly employed and were all but invisible to the majority of employees.
At least some of this was due to the staff still employed and rising to the top ranks of the industry. With some notable and far sighted exceptions, the majority had "grown up" in the Gaming Industry, especially the Table Games portion of it, without analytics and reliant upon the "gut feel" method of working out what was going on; many of them distrusted technology and of the work and training they would need to be able to get the most out of even the basic tools available to them at this time.
Analysis was lacking in almost every aspect of the Table Games Operation. This could, of course, be contrasted with the Slots Departments who were beginning to reap the benefits of mechanization and the analysis that could be applied to the early electro-mechanical and increasingly purely electronic slots systems. So, in Slots, you could say there were the beginnings of the "Siloed systems", that is systems that gathered data and allowed analysis solely within their own bounded confines (or with Excel); while for Table games there was nothing...unless enterprising staff entered the data themselves.
CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE PRESENT
If we skip forward from the 1990’s, to around 2011 when Galaxy Macau opened, a cornerstone of the largest and most vital Table Gaming market the world had ever seen, much had changed. By this time, analytics systems, even for Table Games had become ubiquitous and pioneering companies were beginning to go further and to promise real, timely, actionable intelligence from the deluge of data that had flourished in the sixteen years between these dates.
Indeed, it is easy to argue that the actual collection of data, the easy bit, had completely outstripped the ability to suitably organize, analyze and act on the data being recorded and stored: the hard bit. The growth of data and the formation of the silo systems themselves seemed almost designed to stymie efforts to draw anything meaningful from the awful weight of what was being collected.
This is not to denigrate the Silo Systems in use at the time. Indeed, this whole era might be handily subtitled the Silo Systems Age even as the period before this could be considered the Data Dark Ages. The silo systems had been spectacularly productive in what they were designed to do and, in earlier periods of this age, had given unprecedented insight into operations, within the siloed data itself. While data flows were, relatively speaking, low and what needed to be known or understood strictly circumscribed they worked very well indeed.
But the very strength of systems designed to store data within limited parameters and to analyze and interpret this data inevitably meant that these systems could not consider data from outside their silo. Nor, as it increasingly became apparent, were they entirely well suited to the increasing data flows coming from larger and more data intensive operations and from the increases in the areas from which data was being collected. The answer to this always seemed to be to add more independent siloes, but it seemed that as quickly as these were added, they were being filled up by what data was being collected and they were being superseded in what Operations Management wished was being collected.
To even attempt to consider data across the growing numbers of siloes in use, it was back to Excel for the enterprising staff member brave, or fool-hardy, enough to try to sift the deluge of data for the nuggets of information buried within. It was a period that could, for our nascent data explorer, be characterized by the printout and the highlighter pen.
Forests of print outs for the siloed data were produced; much of which could not be extracted in any other way as this feature had never been considered when the silo was constructed. Then the explorer sat down and tried to impose order upon the chaos of the data and to consider events on printout "A" that might illuminate detail on printout "B" before typing everything into Excel and trying to graph or pivot table it.
CASINO ANALYTICS IN THE FUTURE
The future will be a world without siloed systems. Or rather, since it will take a while for the current siloed systems to be replaced, it will become like that after having gone through a transitional period where there are overarching systems binding the siloes together and taking data from all of them.
We have already reached a stage where cross-silo systems exist and are looking at data, and more importantly the connections between data in different siloes collected for different purposes, in new and illuminating ways. There are some very exciting technologies out there that are examining data in entirely new and unprecedented ways; giving insights into things people have long believed and confirming some ideas even while they debunk others. Now data can be examined from IoT style devices on the gaming floor and combined with data from Ratings and Food and Beverage systems to give a far more detailed and nuanced picture of a Patron and their interaction with the Operation.
Similarly, data can be taken on dealer performance and ratings to determine how they interact with Patrons, how efficiently they perform their duties and even such things as how they impact upon Patron dwell tie at their tables.
In a business such as Casino Table Games where rewarding Patrons through reinvestment has to be balanced against making sure that they actually add value to the Operation by their wager amounts and style of play and where customer service must be balanced against sufficient game-pace to make margin there are myriad areas where data analytics can be beneficial.
Bringing this data together from the siloes within which it is stored and analyzing it in context can already provide incredible business insights. The idea that there has to be only one provider, that one company, supplier or organization can do everything end-to-end, is a holdover from the Silo Age.
The Future of Gaming Analytics will be one of best-of-breed suppliers of the basic building blocks of data collecting feeding into similar providers of data analytics and the entirety of this analysis and output being available on whatever medium best suits the individual planning to consume it.
OK, BUT NONE OF THIS HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH BLOCKCHAIN...
Well, it does now - and it's under the guise of how Casinos know their players - be patient...
Without knowing your players, there is no real way a casino can best serve them. They can’t be sure what it is they like, or how they are expected to play. The concern being that if competition has a better grasp on player identity and behavior, there is every reason for a casino’s players to defect to another property. When this occurs, and it does, casinos begin to “buy their business” by offering higher promotional levels in an effort to entice the return of their once loyal players.
So, how can technologies be deployed to aid a casino in their quest for information regarding their players and understanding what they like and what their actions are on the casino floor? There is, unsurprisingly, a considerable overlap with the data that is used to determine the best optimization of Table Games.
Rating data as it currently exists is the obvious starting point. This gives the casino a picture of what their staff and systems believe is happening, and while it may not (and almost certainly isn't) completely accurate it does do a very good job of determining Gaming Preference.
Data from smart IoT enabled devices, such as Smart Shoes are currently determining actual game pace, determining what is really going on at the Gaming Table level. Next Generation sensors, already in "real world" deployments, can determine both the location of any wagers made and with increasing accuracy the cash values of these wagers. Data from Venue, Hotel and POS systems can be linked to create a Patron profile of what they are doing when they are not wagering on the Gaming Tables. Where are they interacting with the broader Casino offering? How are they paying for this interaction? What are their non-gaming preferences? Geo-location sensors can be deployed, via opt-in applications, to track Patron movements about the property. Where are they going when they do not interact with the wider offering?
From the sum of this data, again gathered from across the various siloes in which it currently resides, a more complete and more holistic picture of the Patron as an autonomous actor can be determined.
A combination of bet recognition and game pace can determine their real, as opposed to assumed, value to the operation. What is meant by this is the real House Advantage maintained by the Casino against their play (for any Table Game type where this can be a variable). It can issue alerts when play exceeds certain thresholds, or changes in marked ways.
For the first time an accurate appraisal of what they like to do in addition to their Gaming can be determined. This enables enhanced market segmentation and a fuller picture of the likes and dislikes of the patron in question. If he or she only goes to the seafood restaurant, why would a casino send them a voucher for a steak? If they like the Spa, why reward them with a buffet voucher?
Offers can be made "on the fly" when the Patron is in proximity with something a casino now recognizes that they enjoy doing. Subtly rewarding them for brand loyalty to the casino and explicitly discouraging them from gaming somewhere that does not know them as well.
An increasingly non-siloed, data-rich and free data environment is a picture of the future when customers are more reliant on technology. So while no-one knows for sure in what precise direction technology will shape how the Casino Industry will face the future, the broad trends are sufficiently established to be knowable. What is required therefore is the ability to do this, before the competition does?
AGAIN, WHAT ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN?
Any Blockchain solution company, in evaluating the potential for casino penetration should take into heavy consideration the history of TITO, how and why it was developed, and the continued lean on knowing the players. Combining that with how a wallet/ledger solution would solve the 7 identified TITO vulnerabilities above will give you a solid approach in both development and marketing efforts. It should be obvious to those of us involved in Blockchain tech how, the implementation of an enterprise level, patron utilized wallet which communicates with not only slots, but casino credit mechanisms would be of tremendous asset in combating fraud while generating new player data casinos have never had access to. The value proposition lies within cost savings, player retention, player information and habit knowledge, and anti-theft.
The question is not will Blockchain replace TITO, but who is willing to step up and begin that process?
submitted by JeremyMcG1 to BlockchainStartups [link] [comments]

what are the duties and responsibilities of a casino dealer video

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what are the duties and responsibilities of a casino dealer

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