Scandalous. [ And a small smile, because he really is trying to cheer things up, focus on the work, on being as positive as he can be. ] If you're sure.
[ He settles himself in, ankles crossed and tucked underneath the chair, hands folded up in his lap. Probably it means he's a coward that he is grateful that they don't have to watch the footage of him just yet, but he's just glad for the temporary reprieve. Probably the most Peter will see of him will be a lot of reading and snacking and doing his hair for a little too long, too. And maybe some waking up from nightmares and pacing in tiny frantic circles, and then reading until he passes out again. Not exactly the most dignified. But it's nothing mortifying.
When Peter asks, in a rhetorical sort of way, why anyone would want to record these mundane moments of their lives, Ben realizes it's his moment. On the way here, he had been debating with himself. There are pros and cons, to speaking up. Most of the cons are merely emotional or interpersonal - variations on I really really don't wanna. The potential pros, however, are practical, and he'd decided ultimately outweigh them. ]
I'm sure it's not for entertainment value...
[ He's stalling and he knows it. Time to pull the trigger. Staring down at his hands, like his nails are suddenly cool and interesting, Ben says, neutrally: ]
I can um. Tell you a few of the reasons why my dad used to do it, and that might give us some hypotheses to work with other than 'they're great big perverts', which is still a possibility, but my gut says it's something else.
[ The fact that all the rooms had cameras indiscriminately, the fact that it focused on bedrooms and not showers or whatever... it just doesn't add up.
Ben is doing this, he's talking about this, but he's not going to get into any of the irrelevant details or even give Peter the courtesy of a little setup. Peter's a smart guy. Ben assumes he'll be able to fill in the gaps. Between the very few things he's mentioned about his dad so far and his freakout earlier. It's not rocket science. ]
Partly it was to enforce rules. The whole panopticon effect. You never know if you're being watched or not, you behave. That seems less likely to me because there's no one in authority handing out punishments and the cameras were secret. So, possible, but a weak possibility. There's also information-gathering on our habits. Hours we sleep, the amount we eat, general health. That's the- the kind of-
[ He'd made it this far easily, but he hits his first snag here, picking at his nails and pausing for a breath before he goes on: ]
-the kind of data that can be useful for a lot of things. If they had a good sense of our health and biometric info they can calibrate a lot of different drugs or who knows. There's also information-gathering about strengths and weaknesses. Even mundane stuff like this- it tells you who's forgetful and keeps losing their pen and who has nightmares and who cries alone at night and might be- might be. A better choice to manipulate.
no subject
[ He settles himself in, ankles crossed and tucked underneath the chair, hands folded up in his lap. Probably it means he's a coward that he is grateful that they don't have to watch the footage of him just yet, but he's just glad for the temporary reprieve. Probably the most Peter will see of him will be a lot of reading and snacking and doing his hair for a little too long, too. And maybe some waking up from nightmares and pacing in tiny frantic circles, and then reading until he passes out again. Not exactly the most dignified. But it's nothing mortifying.
When Peter asks, in a rhetorical sort of way, why anyone would want to record these mundane moments of their lives, Ben realizes it's his moment. On the way here, he had been debating with himself. There are pros and cons, to speaking up. Most of the cons are merely emotional or interpersonal - variations on I really really don't wanna. The potential pros, however, are practical, and he'd decided ultimately outweigh them. ]
I'm sure it's not for entertainment value...
[ He's stalling and he knows it. Time to pull the trigger. Staring down at his hands, like his nails are suddenly cool and interesting, Ben says, neutrally: ]
I can um. Tell you a few of the reasons why my dad used to do it, and that might give us some hypotheses to work with other than 'they're great big perverts', which is still a possibility, but my gut says it's something else.
[ The fact that all the rooms had cameras indiscriminately, the fact that it focused on bedrooms and not showers or whatever... it just doesn't add up.
Ben is doing this, he's talking about this, but he's not going to get into any of the irrelevant details or even give Peter the courtesy of a little setup. Peter's a smart guy. Ben assumes he'll be able to fill in the gaps. Between the very few things he's mentioned about his dad so far and his freakout earlier. It's not rocket science. ]
Partly it was to enforce rules. The whole panopticon effect. You never know if you're being watched or not, you behave. That seems less likely to me because there's no one in authority handing out punishments and the cameras were secret. So, possible, but a weak possibility. There's also information-gathering on our habits. Hours we sleep, the amount we eat, general health. That's the- the kind of-
[ He'd made it this far easily, but he hits his first snag here, picking at his nails and pausing for a breath before he goes on: ]
-the kind of data that can be useful for a lot of things. If they had a good sense of our health and biometric info they can calibrate a lot of different drugs or who knows. There's also information-gathering about strengths and weaknesses. Even mundane stuff like this- it tells you who's forgetful and keeps losing their pen and who has nightmares and who cries alone at night and might be- might be. A better choice to manipulate.