[b]Pink![/b]

"You're talking about corporations at pride, right?" said Pink. "Because I don't know how to put this but, I don't care. It's a navel gazing, protectionist instinct that fundamentally misunderstands the nature of art and culture."

She raises her hands expansively. "We're not special because we're furries. We're not special because we're part of any subculture or combination of subcultures. [i]This [/i]has been a part of humanity since the Pyramids and [i]they're[/i] the ones who decided to check out of it for a while. What made us special, what [i]makes [/i]us special, is that we are authentic people who communicate sincerely and build lasting friendships, inside a positive, creative, mutually supporting environment. The fandom didn't create that. There are nazi furs out there, god bless them, just like there are absolute total normies who create works of unbelievable culture without a single body mod. Being [i]good people[/i] let us build this. It'll continue to be good in exact proportion to the number of good people and positive friendships operating within it. Shedding a tear for authenticity lost to the mainstream just means you lost sight of who, exactly, was authentic in the first place."

[b]Red![/b]

No hand reveal at this point. Time to make a call.

First possibility was that they were fishing for an over-reaction - shouting 'I know what you did!' to see who glanced for the exit. This was too specific and too dialed in for that - there are no alternate suspects here who she could possibly have blended in with. This was too much information about capabilities and methods to spend for pretty much any operational result.

So the second possibility was that her initial instincts were correct and she was being fucked with. In that case the demonstration of power was the point, and that could lead basically anywhere. There was no need to let it play out any further, then; it was time to force them to show their hand or fold. She sends a message to Leather.

> I think the simulator is hacked for real. Shut it down and get out safe and quick.

[b]Green![/b]

"I think you might have misunderstood the story," said Green. "The pronouns are ambiguous - but I think it says that Gutei cut off [i]his own[/i] finger. He held up his own severed finger in front of the boy to demonstrate that he would rather communicate the truth about enlightenment rather than the technicalities of his communication method."

She feels happy that she's solved the riddle. An intellectual puzzle unpicked using a fast-burning brain, complete with a sense of accomplishment and absolutely no need to reflect more deeply. If Monk truly understood Buddhism she would have hit her on the head with her staff in that moment.

"Taking the inheritance would have presented an unacceptable risk," said Black quietly. "The only way to avoid the notice of people who care only about money is to have none of your own."

"Our system has its drawbacks, I promise you," said Brown. "Applying our full attention to things is... difficult, bordering impossible. We're often missing critical colours so we have to coach each other on how to react when we're not present. Internal debates don't so much resolve as they go latent."