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// 11. Archive #11 - On The Observers 
// Story: The Archives of Equusweyr 
// by Coranth 
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To an Outsider - one whom is not part of our Collective - just the knowledge of the Observers flitting about Our City would be horrifying. Just think of it now: the tiny, golden machines, outfitted with cloaking devices and packed with sensor suites, able to record anything, anywhere, at any time--and, most horrifying: they do! "A City of total Surveillance!" you cry. "Nopony has any privacy!" Wrong. Our Prince and the Weyrmind are aware of the concept of privacy; as such, if it is asked that you not be Observed then it will be so; the Observers are not just 'cold, unthinking' surveillance machines; they - like all technologies of Our City - are alive with wills of their own; if you do not wish to be watched over then they - and others - will leave you be if you ask it of them. 

In addition, let's be honest: much of what we all do is of such little importance that no one cares. Our Prince only uses the Observers to lightly watch over his people and - most importantly - to check for occurrences of crime, what little of it there might be, as well as dangers outside Our City in the Everfree. What you, as an Outsider, fail to understand is that being part of Our City means being part of our Collective. As such, you can command any Observer you know automatically is near. Take one with you if you know you're going Outside, somewhere dangerous. Take one with you to record a First Date with your beloved, or your foal's first steps or birthday; but be aware that if you do you might feel a surge of pure joy for the next few days or so as the Weyrmind loves things like this, and you also might receive an Ihan Memory Crystal mailed to your hotel room!

Much like puppies the Observers can be excitable, flighty things; you - as a visitor to our City - might be followed by a small swarm of Observers and, unless fitted with a temporary transceiver, you would not even know it, until someone with a transceiver shoos them away! If you do not like the thought of being Observed the response is simple; either ask the nearest Observer to leave you alone - it will then notify others to do the same - or... do not visit our city. The Observers are NOT cold, ruthless devices of surveillance and control; rather we regard them as the eyes of our Prince, always watching over us--and this, at times, can be quite literal as He is able to see through them whilst asleep on His Throne. Be warned, however, to attempt destruction of an Observer is a heinous crime, as if you manage to destroy one of these sometimes flighty, sometimes very shy little machines, you are snuffing out a sentient being. Once gone, that specific Observer can never be created again; even more so if said Observer's consciousness happens to be one of the Transequines! 

Punishment for destruction of the Eyes of Our Prince is most always the immediate transferal of the Observers Consciousness into the mind of the one who committed the crime through an Essence Translator; lest we not forget the ignorant pony who smashed an Observer, only to find that he'd "killed" the shell housing the mind of a gentle, innocent, Transequine filly! His burden was to live with her inside of him for a year. As such they got to know each other, and he ended up weeping for weeks on end because he'd destroyed the mechanical shell of a filly so much like his own daughter, who had died - along with his wife - due to a tragic accident. In the end, when his punishment was done, this Outsider - once the filly's consciousness was removed from him - chose to upload himself into the Weyrmind to be with her still, whereupon he met her Mother and, well... they've been together as a family ever since.