James 315 Tactics, Part 2

Previously, on MinerBumping... For eight years, Soleexpo's sole activity in EVE was highsec mining. Then he encountered Mal Warre, who opened his eyes with a spectacularly executed gank. Upon being offered a permit, Soleexpo condemned the "asshole James 315 tactics" being used against him. Yet he admitted he needed a permit to avoid further destruction.

Mal Warre > don't regress
Soleexpo > Please don't patronize me... You know as well as I do that I'm not doing any of this out of some sort of loyalty to your order... I am doing it to assure that I experience no further loss of assets to this temporary rule of James 315.
Mal Warre > that really is the wrong attitude to take

The miner wasn't a changed man; he was an opportunist. It's a step above full bot-aspirancy, but not nearly as high as we aim for in the New Order.

Mal Warre > I've offered you a rich eve experience
Mal Warre > I would think gratitiude would be the primary thing you feel
Soleexpo > No, you offer me an Eve experience that is fraught with constant concern that you or one of your fellow agents will jump into my local system without my notice and that I will subsiquently be without one more exhumer.
Mal Warre > Exactly
Mal Warre > You are now actually playing eve
Mal Warre > with people

The two different visions of EVE came into conflict once again. Soleexpo didn't want excitement in the video games he played.

Soleexpo > What? If I am only now playing eve... with people... what was I doing those other 8 yeas?
Mal Warre > Well I have no idea what you have been doing with or without others
Soleexpo > Durring the fall and spring semester I don't have the time required to commite to your unreasonable expectations.
Mal Warre > Then perhaps you are plaing the wrong game?

The idea of mining while at the keyboard was too much for Soleexpo. Actually being present at the computer while playing a computer game constituted an undue burden.

Soleexpo > So now you are presuming to tell me which game I should play?
Mal Warre > I simply observing that since you cannot play EVE properly it perhaps isn't the right game for you
Soleexpo > Correction, since my willingness to prioritize my education above my attention to this game, in the ways you see fit, you feel it best if I just stop playing all together.
Soleexpo > This is vastly different from me not being able to play eve properly.

In the New Order, we place a very high value on education. Indeed, we've provided educations to many EVE players over the years. We do, in fact, allow players to attend classes and do homework--on their own time. When you enter highsec, the Code takes priority over such things.

Mal Warre > I admire your drive for education.
Mal Warre > but since it is interferring with eve
Mal Warre > perhaps eve should be put on hold for you
Soleexpo > Wow... because there is nothing more to Eve than mining and paying for permits.
Mal Warre > There is much more to it than that
Mal Warre > And since you seem overwhelmed playing at the lowest level
Mal Warre > maybe finishing your academic year before you log on again is in your best interest

Soleexpo balked. He expressed, for the first time in eight years, an interest in EVE activities outside of mining.

Soleexpo > lol, wow... You are some kind of amazing! Your insight is unparalleled.
Soleexpo > So how long does it take for James 315 to send me my permit?
Mal Warre > I will
Mal Warre > once you meet the requirements to be a permit holder
Mal Warre > apology letter, 50 mil isk, etc.
Soleexpo > When did it go from 50 mil? I thought it was just the 30 mil you quoted me, minus the 10 mil I already sent...

The uppity miner considered himself above the law. He was ready to pay for a permit, but only on his own terms. Unfortunately, he was getting himself into a deeper hole.

Mal Warre > Your attitude overall has gotten you into 20 mil worth of additional trouble
Soleexpo > When?
Mal Warre > just a tad too much sarcasm
Soleexpo > That wasn't sarcasm, that was contempt.
Mal Warre > and now you;ve accured an additional 30 mil penalty

As the Code teaches us, EVE is about more than money. That's why the Code contains many requirements that have nothing to do with isk. Soleexpo was unwilling to show respect to his superior. He probably didn't even accept his position at the bottom of the EVE hierarchy.

Mal Warre > so let's call it 60 mil
Mal Warre > we'll go in 30 mil ticks from here
Soleexpo > What earned me the additional 30 mil?
Soleexpo > offering clarity?
Mal Warre > Guess minding your tounge may be something to start practicing?

Ironically, the more time Soleexpo spent at the keyboard, the more trouble he got himself into.

Soleexpo > You do realize that most of the manners that you've distilled from our conversation is fabricated by the lense through which you've read it right?
Mal Warre > Given that I am the agent, it is my perception that matters
Soleexpo > Interesting... I hate what you do, I hate who you've aligned yourself with; but I must admit, I admire your loyalty and persistence in continuing this conversation. I'm working on that apology letter now and I'll send it over A.S.A.P.

Agent Mal Warre had succeeded in getting the miner to calm down. That was the good news. The bad news was that the miner was growing increasingly postmodern. He wouldn't allow our Agent to define his reality. However, defining reality is well within our Agents' authority--since carebears are so bad at handling it.

Mal Warre > You can always join us.
Soleexpo > I'm already comminting all the time I can afford just paying for exhumers, but thanks for the suggestion.
Soleexpo > Maybe, if your organization is still around when I graduate.
Mal Warre > we will be
Mal Warre > so what are you studying
Soleexpo > Astronomy and Physics with a minor in Bioastronomy

The miner was fascinated by the stars. Some say the stars are our future. This is speculative. We know that the Code is our future, and the highsec carebears need to remain grounded by something real. Highsec has seen the alternative, and it's not pretty.

Soleexpo > Do you guys own any Ice fields?
Mal Warre > all of highsec
Soleexpo > Quick question; the code only restricts the use of profanity in Local. Why are you counting it against me in private chat?
Mal Warre > Respect to agents
Soleexpo > So, even if I am prone to profane outbursts, I am expected to put on a facade for any and all agents?
Mal Warre > No different then what we do with real agents of social control, no?

Social conventions held no appeal to the starry-eyed miner. No wonder he'd spent eight years mining by himself.

Soleexpo > Wait... while we're drawing parrallels between fantasy and reality, can James 315 be impeached, or more likely, overthrown?
Mal Warre > but why would we want to
Soleexpo > I abhor his code...
Mal Warre > only because you are getting used to being held accountable as a player
Soleexpo > Also, the judicial system in the country from which I play dispenses justice based on actions, and intentions not words...
Mal Warre > So you are not an American then

Finally, Soleexpo made a full confession. He "abhorred" the Code. Underneath it all, he was just another rebel.

Soleexpo > I really don't understand your persistent need to goad me with your claims against my particular game play style... It isn't very respectful.
Mal Warre > It is not goading. It is simply a statement of reality.
Soleexpo > Correction, it's a statment of opinion based upon an arbitrary code derived by one player to impose his will on others.
Mal Warre > many dislike this accountability
Mal Warre > at first at least
Soleexpo > lol, you are blindly loyal aren't you? There are many frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum and your's is but one wavelength. Your unwillingness to recognize the myriad of differing views saddens me.

Soleexpo's vision was one of pure chaos. Incredibly, he dismissed the value of the unifying force of a single Code, even though he was surrounded by empirical evidence of its benefits.

Mal Warre > Don't regress
Mal Warre > Apologize sincerely
Mal Warre > or not at all
Soleexpo > Peace out, we'll see you in nullsec
Mal Warre > either works for me

The eight-year veteran of the highsec asteroid belts promised to take revenge in nullsec, or something like that. Mal Warre concluded that for the moment, the miner was too immature to accept his responsibilities. Soleexpo was going through a rebellious phase, sampling different frequencies from the electromagnetic spectrum, as he put it. Our Agents, with their wisdom, know better. In highsec, there is only one light. Everything else is darkness and bot-aspirancy.