Ellynne wrote: <I'm not sure if Cally told them anything or not just because she doesn't act like it later. It seems like, if she had been forced to betray the others (even if she couldn't help it), she's the sort to suffer a lot of guilt over betraying companions.>
Mmmm ... maybe, maybe not. After all, she does some fairly unfriendly things to them while Under The (Alien) Influence, and we don't see her feeling much guilt (or anything else, it's oh, like 'been there, done that) about that. If Cally's an experienced dissident, she probably knows enough about the Federation methods to know that she was no more to blame than she was for running amuck in The Web. And Blake would be the last one to blame someone for breaking ...
<Also, I'm not sure if it wouldn't have effected how the others treated her, especially Avon, who's not big on others betraying him.>
Agreed, but again from SLD, there's no sign that they blame Blake for 'betraying' his former friends when mind-raped. Bearing in mind we don't know what she 'confessed' to (bear in mind that she might not even *know* what she told Travis, if the machine attacks the mind, the victim may have no memory of what they've said), it's possible that - as long as any damage was contained - they saw it as no more her fault than Blake's (yes, even Avon :-). He's still detached enough from Cally to look at the whole thing unemotionally).
<Based on Rumors and Killer, I suppose Avon had been interrogated before and was reasonably certain of his ability to withstand it (especially with the added psychological edge that _he_ controlled when it stopped [give or take a couple minutes]). Perhaps Avalon had had a little too much Federation PR and the interrogation could be beaten?>
No, I don't think so. Blake is *also* certain that she will tell Travis everything she knows (and, for all she's a drip, I *do* see the woman who started rebel groups on 30 worlds as a tough lady. Tougher than Cally at least, IMO, and quite possibly tougher than Avon).
Neither 'Anna' (or the figment of imagination known as Anna) nor Avon would appear to have been as important to the authorities as Avalon or Blake, even if said authorities did think they were political. Presumably Anna's reports, while playing up the political angle, played *down* the danger involved to the PWB (this is only sensible, because if she made it sound *too* big, no amount of stalling on her part would have stopped the ersatz-Gestapo moving in before she was ready).
<How did I get off on this subject? I can think of other possibilities that are making me feel ill, not to mention making me hope Cally managed to block out most of the experience.>
I have a feeling Cally's mental powers would enable her to do that (after all, having various Uglies messing about inside her head would be pretty horrible to, but she seems able to shut the memory of that away).
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--- Sally and Ellynne:
Ellynne: I'm not sure if Cally told them anything or not just because she doesn't act like it later. It seems like, if she had been forced to betray the others (even if she couldn't help it), she's the sort to suffer a lot of guilt over betraying companions.
Sally: Mmmm ... maybe, maybe not. After all, she does some fairly unfriendly things to them while Under The (Alien) Influence, and we don't see her feeling much guilt (or anything else, it's oh, like 'been there, done that) about that. If Cally's an experienced dissident, she probably knows enough about the Federation methods to know that she was no more to blame than she was for running amuck in The Web. And Blake would be the last one to blame someone for breaking ...
But she does volunteer to go down to the planet with Blake which, to me at least, is a sign that she wanted to atone in some way for being taken over. I think that if she had given the Federation some information which could be used to help crush the resistance we'd have seen some guilt. I know that it's not sensible to blame oneself in those kinds of circumstances, but who said guilt had to be sensible.
Ellynne: Also, I'm not sure if it wouldn't have effected how the others treated her, especially Avon, who's not big on others betraying him.
Sally: Agreed, but again from SLD, there's no sign that they blame Blake for 'betraying' his former friends when mind-raped. Bearing in mind we don't know what she 'confessed' to (bear in mind that she might not even *know* what she told Travis, if the machine attacks the mind, the victim may have no memory of what they've said), it's possible that
- as long as any damage
was contained - they saw it as no more her fault than Blake's (yes, even Avon :-). He's still detached enough from Cally to look at the whole thing unemotionally).
Again, this runs counter to what we see in the Web when Avon's reaction to Cally's possession is to advocate dumping her. In the teleport area when Cally says "I was unprepared" Avon says "So were we". Avon isn't very good at cutting people slack for their mistakes.
Sally: No, I don't think so. Blake is *also* certain that she will tell Travis everything she knows (and, for all she's a drip, I *do* see the woman who started rebel groups on 30 worlds as a tough lady. Tougher than Cally at least, IMO, and quite possibly tougher than Avon).
My own take on the machines used is that they could regulate the amount of pain inflicted without damaging the victim unnecessarily. So once Avalon is hooked up to one of the machines indefinitely it is overwhelmingly likely that she would talk. Cally was released fairly early on so it is entirely possible that she told the Federation little or nothing. There are accounts of SOE/ Resistance members who suffered astonishing amounts of torture under the Gestapo without talking. It is possible that, as Cally was injured when she was captured and that this inhibited the amount of pain that the interrogation division were able/ willing to inflict if they didn't want to kill her to early.
Ellynne: How did I get off on this subject? I can think of other possibilities that are making me feel ill, not to mention making me hope Cally managed to block out most of the experience.
I sympathise. What little I know about the subject strikes me as being way too much.
Stephen.
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Sally Manton -
Stephen Date