Tears of Joy

Halaima used to be nothing more than an obscure system in highsec. Now it is one of the most famous destinations in all of EVE. For it is the birthplace of the Code.

After scoring an unusually good gank, Agent Aaaarrgg celebrated by jumping a few systems over to Halaima. The ice miners ran away as soon as he arrived, but at least one teary-eyed miner remained in local chat.

Unlike the early days when almost everyone screamed at our Agents, Code enforcers are typically followed by a handful of well-wishers. Silentchaos Orti invited Aaaarrgg to share a killmail in local. Aaaarrgg proudly displayed a 1.5 billion isk Mackinaw and its billion isk pod, which had just been ganked a few systems over.

Fezline Wiggins refused to make merry with Aaaarrgg and Silentchaos. Fezline was a bot-aspirant miner, and nothing put him in a sorrier mood than seeing a juicy miner killmail.

When Aaaarrgg instructed Fezline to calm down, the miner's demeanor suddenly changed. Fezline exploded into laughter. But it was not a sincere, jolly laugh like the kind you'd expect from an Agent or a Gallant. Fezline's laughter was strange and unnatural.

Fezline claimed to be enjoying himself. Yet Aaaarrgg's finely-honed Agent instincts told him otherwise.

Aaaarrgg tried to include Fezline by encouraging him to post one of his own kills so they could all celebrate it. The "happy" miner bristled.

Silentchaos, too, began to notice that something wasn't right with the allegedly carefree Fezline.

With no apparent provocation, Fezline ranted about Aaaarrgg in local chat. Could it be that Fezline was attempting to hide his miner tears behind a facade?

In fact, Aaaarrgg's stats show that he's killed hundreds of combat vessels--all while maintaining a 99.3% efficiency rating. Like most miners, Fezline wasn't interested in facts.

The compassionate Agent gently told Fezline that he knew he was hurting. But once again, Fezline refused to open up and make himself vulnerable. Which is too bad, because Aaaarrgg really could've helped him.

Fezline grew anxious. What if Halaima local wasn't buying his "happy miner" routine? He tried to bolster the credibility of his persona the only way he knew how--with isk. Why do miners think everything is about money?

The miner believed that acting confident and amused would win him the respect of the Halaima residents. Needless to say, the effort backfired. Silentchaos expressed his desire to see Fezline lose another mining ship.

One of the reasons highsec is increasingly siding with the New Order: We're not a bunch of phonies. Even if you don't fully accept the truth of the Code (yet), at least you know where we stand. By contrast, a bot-aspirant miner knows that his true self is miserable; he does not dare share it with his fellow EVE players.