Welcome, new Agent, to the Liberty Security Force. This guide has been provided to you by the Department of War Operations Planning, and is safely classified as non-sensitive, so feel free to refer to it whenever you need to. We've made some new additions, so read carefully. You, as a LSF agent, have a great burden placed upon you. You are unable to hide behind orders from your superiors, or the incompetence of your subordinates, unlike the career military. You are it. You will be making judgement calls for which there is no right answer, and that's okay. This guide can in no way prepare you for combat or ship maintenance, but that's what the Navy and civcons are for. However, we can prepare you to carry out Liberty's will far beyond its remit, which is what this guide is aimed to help you do. This guide is in no way a substitute for your own gut instinct or street smarts; if the guide says something but your immediate survival depends on doing something else, do the something else.
Don't. To broadcast yourself as an Agent of the Liberty Security Force is to automatically out yourself as a lawman, to communicate to the foreigners that you might not have their best interests at heart, to warn your enemies that you are coming for them.
Circumstances in which displaying your affiliation may be necessary:
Combined Arms Operations with other Liberty Forces (friendly fire prevention)
Whitelist authorization
Intimidation[1]
[1] This is usually something broadcast well in advance by your group leader.
The enemies of Liberty within her borders can be broken up into two main distinctions: The Impoverished, and the Ideologues. In the last ten years, all of them have aligned themselves in some way with Malta and the Cardamine trade.
We'll start with the Liberty Rogues, the most prolific criminal "organization" within Liberty. The Liberty Rogues is generally a name placed upon them to describe them as being criminals. These are usually not too bright opportunists who prey upon whomever they can find. Occasionally, a visionary rises up from among the squabbling gangs (see: "Lord" Moka) but as their rule is over criminal dens, their influence is mitigated somewhat by the fractious nature of such places. The economic downturn suffered by Liberty some centuries ago saw a centuries-spanning crime wave Liberty Police, Inc. has no incentive to clamp down on; the more dumb crooks there are, the easier it is to send them to the Wall.
The Liberty Rogues are currently fighting turf wars with the Lane Hackers and Xenos all over Liberty.
General tips: Rogues have something to prove: The machismo gang culture permeating Liberty requires that Rogues constantly prove how tough they are. This means that even if they think you a random Freelancer, they may attack you anyway to prove they're still tough. Rogue technology is ramshackle but effective: Rogues don't really plan for the future. Their guns risk killing their user from prolonged use, but they don't care. The trade-off is acceptable to them if they win whatever bout they are fighting and steal the loot to pay for repairs, a concept unsustainable to conventional fighting forces who value their personnel but almost perfectly suited to devil-may-care pirates and terrorists. Rogues are inherently distrustful: A culture of "screw you, got mine" permeates the gangs. This attitude can be of benefit as they occasionally screw each other over.
When Questioning: They will namedrop their bosses easily, thinking it to be a form of intimidation. Offers of Cardamine will open doors. They prioritize immediate gain over something long-term.
The Xenos, or the Liberty Free Republic as they style themselves, are a terrorist group founded by dispossessed skilled laborers out of a job when DSE deemed Kusari laborers to be more efficient to the bottom line. Their "Liberty first" attitude as well as their belief in the common man has earned them no shortage of sympathizers and inductees. In recent decades, more Xenos are coming out of the Wall, criminals who were radicalized by Xeno inmates while paying their debt to society.
The Xenos are currently engaged in a turf war in Ontario with the Junkers and Lane Hackers, the outcome projected to be a pyrrhic victory.
General tips: Xenos generally work a skilled trade. Xenos are organized along cell lines. The Xenos trade in Cardamine: The Xenos seek to blackmail Liberty high society into acceding to their demands by threatening to withhold their supply of Cardamine. They are currently bitter rivals with the Junkers who hold the position as middleman (see: Malta) The Xenos target foreign corporations. However, Liberty corporations are not above targeting if their convoys have something the Xenos need.
When Questioning: Their HVTs go by codenames. Offers of equipment will open doors. Xenos think for the long haul, a continuous arrangement will be more enticing.
The Lane Hackers are two separate entities. The first operates in the Independent Worlds between Liberty and Bretonia. This "Mactan Cell" is the first, and is comprised of ex-Ageira employees, whose separation from the company was over the Dallas disaster. The second entity is the "Leiden Cell", a team Ageira let go after the expensive Galileo Trade Lane connection. Both harbor special hatred for Ageira and combined their forces to present a unified front. It is believed that there are still Ageira employees who sympathize with them giving them backdoors into the Trade Lane And Gate Security Network (TLAGSNET), whose information they sell to other pirate gangs.
Until very recently, the Rogues were their best customers. However, events on Malta fostered a rift and the two groups are locked in a bitter turf war for the foreseeable future.
General tips: Most Lane Hackers are script kiddies: The Inner Circle was the creative force behind the Lane Hackers, most survivors now are bootlegging off their work. The Lane Hackers are some of Malta's best customers: The Lane Hackers consume large quantities of Cardamine. The sale of stolen TLAGSNET data keeps a steady enough income stream for them to afford it. The Lane Hackers hate Ageira: They hate pretty much every corporation, but Ageira has especially earned their ire. Their entire existence can be summed up as a wrongful termination lawsuit.
When Questioning: Their HVTs go by codenames. Offers of Cardamine will open doors. Lane Hackers prefer buyers.
Foreign powers are smart and want to live just as much as you do. We'll give you a brief run-down on them, and go into detail later.
Don't even try to exploit them.
The Nomads are individual colonies of organisms akin to the Earth's Portuguese Man O' War commanded by a brain-like entity. They are opportunistic and predatory, but their real danger comes from within. It is theorized that their "incubus" organisms are how they infiltrate and destroy civilizations they believe to encroach upon "their" territory. Their attempt in 801 A.S. failed, and the remnants continue to carry it out. They are the most foreign of all, but one can find their nonexistent thumbs in places they may not expect...
General tips: Nomads offer the short-sighted power, but it's hollow: Any bargain with them will be Faustian in nature, and the end goal for them is the annihilation of the human race. Once the human is no longer useful, they will be cast aside and killed unceremoniously, or the Nomad parasite within them stops even entertaining their delusions of control. Nomads are reactive: The Nomads are forced to shepherd their limited resources and so any actions undertaken by a Nomad organism is likely in reaction to human activity. Nomad human servitors range between very human and Nomad drones. Nomad organisms only negotiate as a delaying tactic.
When Questioning: This only applies to potential human servitors; Nomad organisms are likely to attack on sight. Anyone talking about "the light" and whatnot is likely not being too subtle. Psychic phenomena are usually an indicator of Nomad presence. Don't let them near you.
All further information on these aliens is either classified or redundant for this guide, and if you are cleared to know, you have already seen the relevant materials related to them.
The Kingdom of Bretonia is a broken shell of what it once was. It maintains a fleet of mothballed warships and is plagued by secessionist movements that have for the most part succeeded.
They maintain solid diplomatic relations with us, Rheinland and the Crayter Republic. Planetform, Inc. is currently engaging in contracts within Gallia, so relations between them may improve, although what the Royal Navy did to Leeds will be a black mark until the end of human history.
General tips: Bretonians are aristocratic: You all know good kids from good families. Most of you are said good kids from good families. Multiply that by about a hundred. That's Bretonia. The BAF is stretched thin: Bretonia's industrial base is in shambles, and is expected to continue to be for the foreseeable future; the loss of Leeds saw the total industrial output in the entire Sirius Sector reduced by an approximate 15%. Large numbers of Bretonian refugees have settled in Liberty:[1] The Gallic War saw billions of Bretonians displaced. Most of them re-settled on Cambridge, Carlisle, and Sprague, but a sizeable amount ended up on California Minor and Erie.
When Questioning: Most high-class Bretonians are courteous, whereas the working class are crass. Know what kind of Bretonian you're talking to before trying to pump them. Bretonian national pride is the hook into their heart. Offers of smokes and real food are likely to open doors.
[1] There are large amounts of Bretonian war brides in Liberty. Our sources show that in most cases, children of such unions are being raised Libertonian.
The Gallic Union is an amalgamation of the Gallic breakaway states having re-formed after the Gallic War and subsequent Kusari surprise attack.
They are currently building relations with Imperial Rheinland and mending relations with the Empire of Kusari.
General tips: Gallia is Liberty's indirect competitor: Citizens of Liberty are advised not to linger too long within Gallia. Agents of the LSF are to have a strong cover identity before even considering operations in the area. EFL is a priority target: EFL represents competition to Ageira and Interspace's control of the Gates and Lanes. Gallia is wounded but unbroken: Gallia's economy is expected to recover rapidly. The loss of centuries of military buildup in ten years has for the most part shut down their dreams of ruling over all of humanity.
When Questioning: Former Council personnel may be the best building blocks to getting an ear in. The Nobility still hold power: For all their talk of being more equal, the nobility within Gallia still hold enough power to get their way. The nouveau-riche will likely implode soon enough. The Union Corse holds more sway than they let on: The Corse are a criminal organization akin to the Junkers and Hogosha, organized along family lines. Lean on them to get dirt on other criminals.
The Empire of Kusari is a proud and prosperous nation, with close ties to the Gas Miners Guild.
They are currently maintaining excellent relations with Imperial Rheinland, mending relations with the Gallic Confederacy, and are once more leaning into the Bretonian markets. They may also be building relations with the Corsair Empire, but Corsairs are still occasionally seen raiding within Kusari.
They currently have tense relations with the Crayter Republic. Junkers are treated as even worse dirty unwashed foreigners.
General tips: The Kusari place large emphasis upon respect: This respect is mostly the same as Libertonian ideals of respect, with a few odd customs. Personal space is more prized for the individual, for example, and bowing takes the place of handshakes. The Emperor is the spiritual head of the Kusari people: The Emperor is a distant figure to most, but is still the font of wisdom and legitimacy. He exists better as a distant spiritual ideal, so the Samura corporate-backed Shogun can command his armies and wield de facto power. The Kusari are, in general, xenophobic: Imagine if everyone was a Xeno. That's Kusari. Foreigners are barely tolerated, and even then, they pretty much have to be sugar daddies (that is, spending money in Kusari).
When Questioning: Never demand, always request: Kusari place a larger emphasis on networking. See guanxi for details. The Kusari place a larger emphasis on face: Be gracious and let them save face. Never impugn the Emperor: The lowest of the low, the most base outlaw, the most honorless pig, if they are Kusarian, will try to gut you if you disparage the Emperor. Any political quarrel would be between the Shogun, the supreme military leader, and the rest of Sirius. The Emperor is sacrosanct.
The Empire of Rheinland was wracked by civil war and Nomad infestations, but we don't say the second half out loud.
They are currently maintaining excellent relations with Imperial Kusari, building up relations with the Gallic Confederacy, and have at least decent relations with Bretonia.
General tips: Rheinlanders may seem cold: Rheinlanders are to a fault hierarchical and authoritarian. There is little bad blood over the war: Everyone's wanted to move on for fifteen years. Don't bring it up. Rheinland's brass are secretive: Information is actually kept under decent lock and key. It's likely that most people interviewed genuinely know nothing.
When Questioning: Lager opens doors. Social activities revolve around bars, or "beer halls": Privacy is not guaranteed in person. Nomad Infection runs rampant: A Rheinland HVT is most likely to have a Nomad parasite near them. Efforts to contain them are underway by their intelligence services, but until they bear fruit, operations within Rheinland are severely curtailed.
The Kingdom of Bretonia has multiple interests within it. All are subjects of the Queen, Carina I Windsor.
The Bretonia Police Authority is a strict bastion of men and women with a reputation of incorruptibility and competence under duress. They have been stretched thin with keeping order within Bretonia, causing them to have formed the Civil Defense Initiative, which gave any punk with a gun in the Omegas a badge. The effort has mostly kept order on Sprague.
The Bretonia Armed Forces are mostly demobilized now, focusing on containing terrorist attacks by both the Gaians and the Mollys, as well as repulsing Corsair raiders. The Essex notably enforces a blockade upon the Republic of Dublin. However, they maintain a large mothballed fleet in case the worst should happen.
The Bretonian Intelligence Service is all right. They do their jobs well enough, and have caused no notable trouble in Liberty. Our respective agencies enjoy a fruitful cooperation.
Borderworld Exports is the premier shipping company within Bretonia, owned by the Crown, like its sister company, Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing.
They are the more genteel, aristocratic types, should you meet them. Bowex is likely to quote a higher price for more prompt delivery of goods. The majority of Bowex profits go towards paying the Bretonian war debt. Bowex has a rivalry with Gateway and the IMG that is likely to have turned to violence at least once.
Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing is the source of the majority of Bretonia's domestic woes, especially related to their mistreatment of workers.
As a cost-cutting measure, they once replaced the food rations they served their workers on Leeds with cattle feed, reasoning that the severe pollution had sufficiently degraded their taste buds to where they could not have noticed the difference. Synth Foods was quite upset to hear that. That, and other abuses of their workers directly led to the Founders Day Revolt and the subsequent founding of the Republic of Dublin. Recently, the Molly terrorists were able to effectively drive Bretonia out from the Dublin system entirely barring sporadic raids.
Bretonian heavy industry turned the Leeds system into a polluted hellscape even before the Gallic War. Those who visit now are either on their way to Kusari, or are staying in only long enough to either purchase or mine the Uranium from the local deposits. BMM is prideful of its industry. BMM and the IMG hold a bitter rivalry in the Omegas and Taus, over Cobalt and Niobium, respectively. BMM was driven out of the Taus by the Kusari, then Gallic War, leaving the IMG the last man standing. BMM and Bowex, both owned by the Crown, make for a strong partnership, holding the majority of the Bretonian economy.
Planetform, Inc. is the leading experts on terraforming the worlds within Sirius to make them fit for human habitation. They are almost an honorary Liberty corporation for their work on California Minor and Atka.
Planetform, Inc. collects lavish contracts from foreign Houses to make the worlds within their borders more supporting of human life.
Planetform has earned the ire of the Gaians for doing what they claim to be irreversible ecological damage to worlds. Planetform tends to work over centuries. Planetform remains a vital partner to the Republic of Liberty in the terraforming of Atka and California Minor.
Planetform produces their terraforming gasses in Bretonia and distributes them to their operations Sirius-wide. They also purchase Sigma alien organisms from the Sigmas to speed the terraforming process.
Gateway Shipping is Bowex's primary competitor, holding a fraction of the shipping the Crown's company does. They partner with the Independent Miners Guild to export materials from the Omegas and Taus, and have a strong rivalry with Bowex, one that has likely seen weapons fire exchanged.
Their existence in competition to the Crown's companies does not exempt them from Molly reprisals or Gaian terror attacks.
Gateway's partnership with the IMG was strained in the Aland conflict, but it did not break, and from all indications, they've returned to an uneasy business as usual.
They are also the "crass" to Bowex's "genteel", but they hide it better.
The Mollys are the informal name for the forces of the Republic of Dublin. While further down, we will discuss the Republic of Dublin proper, this refers to forces operating within Bretonia.
Mollys operating within Bretonia are usually piratical. Mollys raiding will prefer to rob random people instead of terror bombing outright. Molly terror attacks have largely subsided. The conflict with the Corsairs within Dublin takes a higher priority to their leadership. Various Molly gangs still operate paying lip service to Dublin, but these squadrons are one step removed from pirates and smugglers. Mollys make up the majority of prisoners on the Newgate. The Newgate prison holds most Mollys arrested by the BPA; the BAF does not tend to make arrests of Mollys. The Mollys really don't like Gallia The loss of Belfast to the Embrun's surprise attack and the subsequent reclamation of Middlesbrough put a damper on the Molly movement's industry for years. Their destruction of the New London Gate is likely the only reason the movement has been able to survive in a meaningful capacity. Molly gangs have in recent years come to distrust the Sirius Coalition, previously one of their best allies.
Gaians are the radical arm of the Green Front, a movement in Bretonia dedicated to environmentalism, especially protesting the corporate exploitation of Planet Gaia. Given the nature of Leeds pre-Gallic War, they might have a point. After years, they drove the Gallic Royalists and BMM from the planet, and have since shifted their efforts to lodge their protests of Planetform's terraforming with weapons fire elsewhere.
Gaians absolutely despise Planetform. Gaians can work agricultural wonders on existing ecosystems: The Gaians leadership hails from a background of agricultural experts on Cambridge, give them a planet and they'll give you a garden. The Gaians are involved in the Artifact trade. The Gaians cooperated with the Corsairs and the Kingdom of Gallia in the Gallic War against Bretonia. After the war's end, they still work with the Corsairs in seeing their dream of an ecological Bretonia. The Gaians clash with the Mollys. The Mollys have been forced to turn to heavy industry to survive, a move that angered the Gaians. The Gaians already being rich genteel types, the working class Mollys already hated their guts.
The Union of Gallia is a relative newcomer to the Great Houses. Centuries of preparation
for a war with the Houses ended in ten years with a forced withdrawal to beyond the Taus.
The Kingdom of Gallia's last monarch was Charles XI, and the order to fall back was issued by the Duke of Burgundy. The Gallic Royal Enclave was established in the Edinburgh System until the Bretonia Armed Forces and Gaians finally forced them into the Taus. The war with Kusari saw the two blocs forced to band together to ultimate crush the Naval Forces in Burgundy. Despite being crushed militarily, the Kusari managed to have the Tau Decree repealed, leaving them a relative diplomatic victory. The few remaining Enclave holdouts have since re-branded to the Royalists, and the Confederacy re-form into the Gallic Union. The Confederacy of Gallia, and the Union that has succeeded it, was much more allegedly democratic, although most people still voted along the lines of the interests of the local power holders.
The Gallic Navy is a mix of the Royal Navy personnel who survived the war crimes tribunals, former Council members, and the latest crop of enlistees. A large portion of the former Council members have since dropped out of the Navy because they attained the goals they took up arms to achieve, leaving the Duke of Burgundy's loyalists mostly in command.
The Gallic Royal Police were subsumed into the Navy to form the Gendarmee. Before their absorption, they were a core of corrupt incompetents, several of whom were on the payroll of the local flavor of Gallic criminals. It is in part thanks to them that Gallia has no equivalent to the Lane Hackers; they would just straight-up sell the data to the Brigands themselves.
Gallic National Intelligence is a reasonably competent intelligence service. The surviving Gallic Junkers were subsumed into the GRN to become the Gallic Royal Intelligence. Their effects on the war were minimal, except for their backstab of the Republic of Dublin during the retreat from Bretonia. After the Kingdom became the Confederacy, the GRI became the GNI, and functionally operates as a unit of the Navy; their economy sees little to no H-Fuel or MOX imports and so the GNI tends to operate Gallic civilian and military craft most of the time.
EFL Oil and Machinery is a conglomerate equivalent to Ageira and DSE. Their absorption of Solar Engineering saw them become the greatest "hardside" commercial concern within Gallia. They partnered closely with IDF Shipping. The Gallic Crown owned a majority stake in their company, and it is likely that those shares have reverted to the current head of state of the Gallic Union.
R&D is part of EFL's portfolio: EFL corporate security is somewhat lax, information may be more easily pried from them than the GNI. EFL is harsh taskmasters: EFL employees still see no shortage of abuse from their superiors. The reasons change but the workload remains the same. EFL hates Ageira and Interspace: Ageira is EFL's primary competitor within Sirius. Interspace Commerce is the primary financier for any entity seeking their services. This goes both ways; Ageira is forced to offer competitive bids instead of naming their price. As EFL and any major construction they engaged in was property of the Crown, they just did it; their monopoly was not as profitable as it was for Ageira and its four free markets.
Solar Engineering was an up-and-coming engineering firm that sought to compete with EFL. After a few centuries of competition, and supposed siphoning of resources to hostile powers, all of Solar's assets were seized by the Crown and distributed to its companies, EFL and IDF.
Most assets went to EFL. It is postulated that some Solar holdouts were sighted in the Vespucci system, but these are unsubstantiated. They were likely absorbed by the Commonwealth if such claims are true.
Ile-De-France Shipping is the premier shipping company within Gallia.
Their partnership with EFL is a profitable one, and it is an IDF transport that is likely to deliver EFL and GMS goods beyond Gallia.
The Outcast and Crayter disruption of IDF convoys through the Taus did more damage to the Gallic war effort than the repulsion of the Southampton Trio, or so experts claim.
IDF is property of the Gallic Union. The Gallic government owns a majority share of IDF, although it is treated as a private company instead of a public office. IDF has strong ties to the nobility. The CEO was once considered part of the Royal Household. IDF is to Gallia what Universal is to Liberty: Disruption of IDF convoys is an excellent side objective should operations be conducted within Gallia; it is likely goods with no Liberty corporate involvement and so we lose nothing if they are intercepted.
The Gallic Metal Service was a Council-sympathizing company that specialized in the extraction of raw materials.
This put them in conflict with the IMG in the Taus when Gallia overran them in their invasion of Kusari and Bretonia.
GMS is pretty cool. GMS pilots, despite some slapstick antics, are generally better-disposed to Liberty than anyone else. This is likely because of their Council connections. GMS was punished for their disloyalty. GMS pilots are unlikely to be privy to state secrets. Former regime loyalists tend to look down on them. The Council has won, but it likely that GMS has lost. GMS has little competition with Liberty's corporations. GMS is most likely to play ball with Liberty.
The Unione Corse is a "legitimate" business within Gallia, organized along family lines.
Their closest equivalent in Sirius would be the Hogosha, and they mostly perform along the same lines.
Unlike the Hogosha, who deal in Artifacts purchased from the Corsairs, the Union Corse maintain a monopoly on the production of the drug Nox, synthesized in drug labs somewhere in the Minarchy of Provence. Usage of Nox is widespread in the Gallic criminal underground, affording the Corse's senior members a great deal of personal wealth and sway.
Corse are underworld aristocrats The Corse demand respect. Corse are largely loyal to the regime Corse robbery of Gallic corporations is minimal; they tend to prefer targeting foreigners, both for bounty claims and piracy. Corse will sell outsiders out for a fee. The Union Corse is easier to play ball with, but their silence cannot be guaranteed.
The Brigands are to Gallia what the Rogues are to Liberty:
A loose assortment of petty criminals, organized robber gangs, and smugglers. Until recently, they were joined at the hip to the Council, but as the Council has since become part of the ruling class of Gallia and they are still common criminals, it is likely that arrangement is terminated.
Brigands like Nox. The Brigands poison of choice is Nox, not Cardamine; the difficulty of breaching Gallia means that Cardamine addicts are in crippling debt in short order if they're lucky. Brigands are in it for the money. The ideological types tended to throw in with the Council, leaving the ones who don't care about ideology to be petty bandits. Brigands tend to stay within Gallia. The loss of profit from supplying the Council as well as a side-effect of the Orange Hammer has seen the Brigands largely restricted to Gallia.
The Union Corse is as likely to supply Brigands as prey upon them for bounties from the authorities. The Brigands mostly have to put up with this, as the Corse has exercised an almost complete monopoly on the production and distribution of Nox.
The Maquis are the remaining hardliners after the Council achieved its goals.
Not content with the King deposed, they are seeking the heads of the nobility and any former regime loyalists as well.
For obvious reasons, they are locked in a bitter conflict with the Royalists. Maquis are a fertile ground: LSF agents are likely to be warmly received by Maquis terrorists, especially if they come bearing supplies. The Maquis are idealists. They believe in a free Gallia. They believe Gallia is not free yet. The Maquis are greatly reduced. The Council becoming part of the new ruling elite of Gallia meant they took most of their hardware with them. The Maquis continue to fight the power with what they were able to make off with when the Council that did not join the Confederacy lumped in with them. Most of them were, after all, ex-Council thrown out for being "too extreme".
The Royalists are the remaining loyalists to King Charles XI.
Reduced to a projected strength of a few capital assets, their numbers were further bled with the Kusari invasion, as large swathes of their forces accepted a pardon and re-instatement to defeat the KNF again.
They are as diplomatically isolated as they get. Royalists have been fighting for years: The Enclave, then the Royalists, have been locked in total war for close to ten years. Those who have survived are tough as nails. Royalists have not degenerated into a pack of bandits. The Royalists have resisted the temptation to become a pack of bandits. Their discipline keeps them focused. Negotiations are likely impossible The Royalists despise the House of Liberty. As their aims are largely restricted to Gallia, they are not in a position to launch terrorist attacks within Liberty, and so pose little threat to the nation at this time.
The Treaty that ended the first Gallic Civil War saw the Normandy separatists sealed off in the system with a vast fleet.
The Kingdom of Gallia sealed off the two Jump Gates and left large battlefleets in the system just in case they returned. That they have not rejoined Sirius after the Council, who it was speculated they were supplying, achieved its goals troubles the few who follow such events.
These Normandy Separatists have yet to re-emerge. It is believed that they may have been cut off from the Jump Hole network by the Blackout. Their fleet capacity is speculated to rival every House combined, should they re-emerge.
All other information is unknown; those who can talk, won't, at least not to us.