#idk if flattered or offended but it didn't sound complimentary?

[sanerontheinside]

also that feel when you’re apparently writing an interview/news article with your oc? wuuuut? 

In the shadowy labyrinthine depths of the Judicial building, the main branch of Coruscant Security Forces makes its home. Presumably, somewhere at the heart of this convoluted structure that rivals the Senate Dome itself, sits a being possessed of immense power and influence: a near-mythical entity, known simply as ‘The Director’.

Or so the Holonet would have us believe. The Director, as described by these intrepid analysts, is an entity of expansive influence. They can alter the ranking of search results, cherry-pick the truths they wish the public to know while burying the inconvenient ledes. Ostensibly, they are involved in coordinating the high-priority security details that guard the Senators and the Chancellor of our Republic. Our entire political system is at their mercy. Should they choose to dismantle our democracy, they have but to look the other way while the sharpshooter takes his mark.

It has long been a subject of speculation in the journalistic community whether or not such a figure existed, or indeed, could possibly exist, and whether they could truly be as effective as Holonet conspiracy theorists assure us they must be. Indeed, it is a question nearly as old as the profession itself: ‘Is the Chancellor truly in control, or is there a shadow government that can stand in his way, picking and choosing which of his reforms will stand and which are doomed to failure?’

This is, without doubt, the true White Gundark of journalism. Often, esteemed members of the profession regard it with a dismissive glance. Why go looking for such an influence, when the donors who pay the way for our Senators’ elections are shadow government enough? In the midst of the Separatist Crisis and the threat of secession, it appears the donors’ influence is far more limited than we’d originally thought. Perhaps this, more than anything else, has renewed speculation and reignited in the hunt for the mythical White Gundark.

The Director of Coruscant Security Forces herself appeared faintly amused by all this speculation. “I suppose it must be nice, even therapeutic, to imagine that someone has control over that august body [the Senate],” she remarked. “They must be a truly extraordinary person, whoever they are.”

Indeed, Director Bin’ am-Bin does not seem at all extraordinary, on the surface. If you were to pass her in the street up until only a week ago, you wouldn't dream that such a person could have any real influence on our politics. She is not very tall, walks with a faintly uneven gait that betrays an old injury, speaks softly and seems inclined to stay out of everyone's way.

Yet she has a wickedly humourous streak, and is more than happy to indulge in the occasional debate over the veracity of some conspiracy theory. Director am-Bin dismisses the rumoured extent of her influence out of hand, as unfair inflation of her power.

“That is a gross exaggeration,” she says, laughing. “I almost wish I were capable of such a thing. To rearrange the Holonet search engines’ responses? It took years to develop and perfect those algorithms.”

“But it is not impossible,” I asked.

“No,” am-Bin allowed graciously, “but hardly ethical.”

Director am-Bin’s take on ethics is a fascinating study in flexibility of the mind. Admittedly, her own ethics are clear-cut and absolutely unassailable. It’s the exceptions we all find so difficult to handle.

There has been a recent rise in public outrage over the galactic monitoring program, OberVine, that sifts through enormous piles of data in search of certain flagged keywords or phrases. The flagged terms are generally related to missions and operations CSF has record of. Some of them are submitted by systems throughout the galaxy, with a request for CSF’s assistance.

“Of course, the monitoring program has been active since before my induction to any sort of position in CSF,” Bin’ pointed out.

Indeed, by her direction I was able to locate blatant mentions of the program in old court files. “But one would only be able to find these if they knew where to look.”

Bin’ agreed. “Yes. That is also an example of what I mean, when I say there is privacy in volume.”

“But you could as soon hire a droid to sift through all of that information,” I pressed.

“We could. But what, in truth, is the difference between a droid and a supercomputer? Only that a droid can presumably talk back and carry a report outside the walls of the Judicial building. Perhaps people are afraid that droid could take the information to someone not cleared to have access to it, someone who was able to slice into our system and procure it. The security risk attached to someone hard-tapping a branch of our data processing unit, which is fed by a different generator and a private server, is significantly lesser than the security risk inherent in tracking down roving droid units. Moreover, we make every best effort to ensure that the most gifted slicers work for us,” Bin’ adds with a smile.