Taboo (before battle)

<Oh, crap...!>

As soon as I registered Meursault's words, my hand reflexively threw the film to the ground.

<A-are we gonna be okay...? We might've just broken a Taboo...!>

My mind began to race, rapidly traveling back through our journey - specifically to the time when Don Quixote had smashed that window at K Corp. and caused the Wing to wipe out our team multiple times over. I felt faint.

At least we had Vergilius with us then, and it ended up being not that big of a deal at the end of the day since I could revive the Sinners, but...

<Some Nest Taboos can get us in serious trouble just for carrying anything that has to do with them, can't they...?!>

I hurriedly turned toward the Sinners, many of whom looked every bit as troubled as I felt.

Still, a few of them expressed a casual lack of concern, citing all the crazy things we've gone through so far...

M-M-Miss F-Faust...! W-what'll happen to us if this gets the Manager killed...?

…….

Okay... So this is it, huh?

Stop freakin' out, guys. They're not dying, and we'll be fine. N Corp.'s not gonna kill you on the spot just for possessing a film roll.

R-really?

Well, it might be a problem if the film roll does contain genuine recorded footage, but... it's not like you guys had a hand in filming it, right?

When N Corp. dudes get here to pick it up, just comply with their commands, thank them for their service, and nicely hand it over to the authorities! And everything should be a-ok.

There is a possibility that everything will not be okay.

... Eh?

Because I have developed the contents of that film roll in that darkroom.

Oh...

The court will take the lack of intentionality into consideration. However, it is very likely that my actions will be deemed as "aiding" the primary violator of the Taboo.

R-really?

B-but, but...

Team Leader said that N Corp. has their own regulatory standards regarding image quality, which they use to determine the severity of Taboo violation.

If the footage's image quality or framerate is within regulations, N Corp. won't be siccing their Fixers on our butts right away. And that could buy us time or give our company some leverage to make a deal, however small it might be.

'Cuz what they're really sniffing around for is how close to reality the video is... Or how close of an experience it provides to real life.

So, even if we're really, really unlucky, and they actually come after us... it's going to be fine as long as the footage is low fidelity. Probably.

Mm.

So, what exactly does "framerate within regulations" entail?

Uh... It means that the interval between each frame shouldn't be, like, super brief.

Think about photo slideshows. They only show you one image every few seconds, so it doesn't feel "real," or "vivid," right? You can technically call them motion pictures, but there's no "vividness" required to violate their Taboo.

Then... let us analyze this film roll and see how "vivid" it really is.

Meursault, I trust that you are knowledgeable in subjects concerning N Corp., yes? Cooperate.

Could this film roll be considered a violation of the Taboo?

Outis picked up the film from the ground and showed it to Meursault.

That cannot be determined.

Unless each frame is thoroughly analyzed and compared with adjacent -

Without waiting for Meursault to finish, Outis unrolled the film roll and raised it against the sky.

The rest of you, get over here. We must analyze these frames.

The film canister was labeled "experiment," so I assume the culprit had created this as a test run of sorts.

An experiment to see how close they could get to violating a Taboo... and testing the limits of the law. It may even be a mere collection of similar photographs that are pretending to be recorded footage.

The Sinners all gather around Outis and look up toward the unrolled film in unison.

Here - the flower pot moves between frames, doesn't it?

The Docugrapher couldn't possibly have moved the pot while also holding down the shutter button.

Uhm... I-I don't see any difference...

Hm... See here, the expression risen on the subject's visage appears rather stiff.

Maybe they're just a gloomy sort.

Perhaps, yet observe closer - the stiffness arises not from gloom, but from strain to maintain it.

Ooh~ If that's the case, maybe the subject really is trying to fake an actual footage by moving very, very slowly!

That's a pretty convincing theory, but I'm not sure if that's enough to conclude that we're in the clear just yet...

That's when Bamboo-hatted Kim, who had been sprawled on the ground ever since Ezra punched him, stepped into the conversation.

... Let's see...

Look at the shadow cast on the window sill.

See how it noticeably shifts between each frame?

Whoever made this knows their craft for sure. But I can't imagine a Backstreets dweller would have any way to mess with the sun's trajectory.

Then the likely scenario must be that the creator of this film roll deliberately made its subject move very slowly from frame to frame, creating a series of disconnected photos that, when played sequentially, would look like footage that violates the Taboo...

In which case, this film roll does not violate the Nest's Taboo. Correct?

Mm. That is highly probable.

... So he says, Executive Manager. We should be in the clear for now, at least in regards to aiding the violation of a Wing's Taboo.

<Phew...>

But if he was willing to go through this much trouble just to test N Corp.'s patience, it's hard to believe that he'd have stopped here.

Based on all available evidence, Executive Manager, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Inflection Point of this case is a Taboo violator on the run.

Huh... But what motive would they have to do that?

Sure, working for a Wing subsidiary has nothing on being an actual Wing employee, but it's still pretty up there when it comes to careers available in the Backstreets.

Work for a subsidiary long enough, and you might even get transferred to a factory job in a Nest. That gives you a pretty okay chance at a better life, so...

... Maybe he was just tired of living that kind of life.

Everyone has one of those days, don't they? The sudden feeling that you could be doing more than live the rest of your life in 9-to-5 hell. The drive to do something that takes you away from the pressure of trying to make a life.

Something about what Ishmael said must've tickled Bamboo-hatted Kim, because he suddenly whipped around toward her and shook his head.

Maybe. But how many of those people do you think are capable of throwing away everything they've built on a whim?

From what I've seen... Maybe our culprit just likes to play with fire.

Play with fire?

Yeah. Must've started by doing something that technically doesn't count as Taboo - and inched on and on until he brushed thrillingly close to one.

One thrilling shot through this camera, and another with the next...

... Until eventually, he ended up recording actual "footage."

Cool, then that leaves the question of "what the heck was he tryna do with it?"

Might've been trying to screen it using a projector for all of this part of the Backstreets to see.

Whaaat? B-but wouldn't that make everyone here, even those who unwittingly came across the projection...

... Right on. It'd have made those folks violators of the Taboo.

<But why would anyone...>

So, would ya care to explain how you know that, Mister Bread-brain?

I asked around on the opposite street, and apparently, some guy's been going around asking the Workshops if they could make him a projector.

Seemed like most of them turned him down, but they also said that he stopped showing up after a certain point. Fair to guess that he got his hands on a projector somehow.

Alas, is it not a Taboo of N Corp. to view recorded videos? Pray tell, why would any in sane mind...

Well... it ain't Taboo if you only made a projector, innit? Backstreets blokes're down for anything 'long as there's coin.

<Huh... So how do we track this guy down...?>

Multiple individuals in the same garb as the Pinframe Team have just been identified in the vicinity. They are all carrying the same briefcase.

Oho~ Well, isn't that convenient? Maybe we can play this like a festival or a convention and just tail people who look like they're involved with what we're looking for, so they'll lead us to wherever we need to go?

Indeed. At architecture conventions, there would be those in formal plaid shirts and suspenders milling about, and I could always trust them to lead me to the convention venue.

... Uh-huh. And was it common for those plaid-shirt fellas to look around like they're scanning the area?

... Did they also... go around checking people against photographs?

...r. Collec... vidence. Please advise for...

They also radioed each other? Glaring at people like they're glaring at... Huh?

... Perhaps you could answer that series of queries yourself.

... Nope. This crowd sure don't look like they're gonna let us follow them.