Spy Tech, Class Two (17 Jan)

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Wednesday, January 17, Period 1

The only change in the classroom from last week is the presence of several boxes set on the floor near M's desk. The professor herself is standing near the projection screen, and addresses the class once everyone is seated.

"The first order of business today is to remind you that I require some manner of written excuse for any failure to attend class. Failure to attend class or to supply a valid excuse will result in disciplinary action."

A slide appears briefly on the screen:

CLASS ONE: ABSENCES

SCHRODINGER

LECTURE: "We begin our examination of espionage technology with what is probably the first item that comes to mind when you think of spies and gadgets -- the camera." As she speaks, slides appear on the screen to illustrate the lecture. "Cameras have evolved a great deal over time, and in the field of espionage they continue to prove extremely useful. Inventors have developed cameras that work underwater, from a distance, are miniaturized, can be hidden inside an item or article of clothing, and that work under intense light or low light conditions."

M pauses in the lecture and instructs Nadia to open up the boxes and pass around the items inside. "These infrared cameras -- and you'll each be receiving one on loan -- are designed to take photographs in complete darkness, without the benefit of a flash. This is a particularly useful item, as I'm certain you can imagine. The bright light from a camera flash would make a typical camera useless in situations which require the photographer to remain unobserved in a darkened room."

DISCUSSION: "Share with the class your ideas on how cameras are used in espionage, and why the industry can't make do with the ordinary cameras you can buy at the mall."

ASSIGNMENT: "Your assignment for next week is to take a minimum of five photographs with the infrared camera. Keep in mind two things: first, that these photographs must be taken in complete darkness, or they will not develop properly. Second, any obscene photographs that result from this assignment will earn you an automatic F for the class. And trust me, you're not going to be able to doctor the film to avoid being found out. You will turn in your cameras, film intact, next week, and I will have the photographs developed. If you have any questions about how the cameras work, please ask before you leave class. Also, remember to turn in your essay assignments from last week before leaving."

[ooc: If your character is from a time/world where they would have no idea how to work the cameras, ask M or the TAs to demonstrate. Also, for goodness sake, PLEASE get permission from any charcters you attempt to photograph for the assignment! Please to be waiting for OCD is now up!]

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[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Collapse here please.

Re: Sign In

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Marty Blank

Homework

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Hand in last week's homework assignment: Write a brief essay on one item of technology that could be adapted from everyday use for the espionage world. Explain how it would be adapted, and what would make it useful.

Re: Homework

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker decided that using what you learned in one class was a damn good way to work on stuff for the other.

A basic Walkman or AM/FM radio can be adapted to react to localized EMF frequencies, and thus detect listening devices in the immediate vicinity. Just as a television or radio reacts to the EMF field of a living person, a Walkman which is not set on a radio frequency can react to the EMF field given off by any electronic device....

Parker went on to explain how you'd tweak the Walkman, per Hunting 101, then added: While this type of detection is would probably be detected by those monitoring your activities, it would give the person investigating a window in which to conduct unmonitored conversations prior to taking any action or conducting other business which should not, under any circumstances, be overheard.

Re: Homework

[courier-gavin.livejournal.com]

Jake's essay covered the many uses of the ordinary and enhanced pen in espionage.

Re: Homework

[nadiathesaint]

Though it might not seem hi-tech or special, a simple stop watch can be life saving in the field. As these are often times included in modern watches, especially digital ones, they do not draw attention when you're carrying them through airport terminals or on the street, and in sensitive situations where time limits can mean the difference between getting clear and getting caught, having a quick, accurate measure of the passage of time on hand can be essential. By carrying one on your person on a mission, you can ensure that even if you are cut off from base during an operation, you can track how much time you have left before any security systems or timed explosives are going to go off. It's a simple, yet extraordinarily useful thing to have on hand.

Re: Homework

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Suddenly extra glad that he'd done his assignment early, Anders turned in an essay about Palm Pilots, especially the ones with built-in cameras, and the various applications that could be adapted for spying purposes.

He figured one that dispensed jujubes could be useful when you were trying to talk people up.

Re: Homework

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

The computer. From playing Minesweeper to hacking a government missile command center and launching nuclear weapons, the computer can also keep tabs on patterns of spending, congregation, and net traffic, and more closely follow people and events than people themselves. Plus, nowadays, it's not as suspicious to bring a laptop with you. Or even a game console with a boot disk designed to hack security.

Re: Homework

[2-twin-devils-2.livejournal.com]

Hikaru may not have been the best writer, but he thought his idea was a pretty good one.

Since cell phones have become such a norm around the world, carrying one on your person is not nearly as suspisious as something large and bulky or unusual. With some tweaking, a normal cell phone could turn into a mini tapping device that a person can use to record conversations or 'bug' another person by lending it to them or leaving it near them in a room.

Not only that, but today's cell phones have gotten fairly advanced with their camera, video recording, and internet features. Some even have GPS. A cell phone seems like, even without major fixing, it could be a very useful tool.

Re: Homework

[cat-in-the-box.livejournal.com]

Schrodinger has no essay. Because he had not been in class the previous week to learn about them.

And a true honest written excuse would probably cause M to flip out and try to send the entire British Army into Brazil.

Re: Homework

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna had...difficulty with this one. She...didn't use a lot of technology in her spying work. She felt like it was a cop-out, but she settled with a very brief, to-the-point essay on how the advances in cell phone technology allows for a subtle and interestingly quick way to transfer information. She had to research it a lot, since she still hated her phone, so it ended up really rigid. But her spelling was a lot better than usual, at least.

It was really, really, really hard not to end it with But I don't see why you should bother with any of that when magic works just fine... But she kept herself in check.

Re: Homework

[http://users.livejournal.com/weissguy_/]

Weiss's paper talked about how an ordinary lockpick could be upgraded to double as a network interface device for electronic locks.

Re: Homework

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack turned in an essay detailing how a watch would be extremely adaptable to a number of uses in the espionage world. He placed particular emphasis on the near endless variation - from complex electronics to cogs and wheels - which people carry or wear, and the sheer ubiquitousness of them which would mean it could be carried unnoticed in plain sight.

Re: Homework

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette's essay covered the varying angles of hidden cameras. The tiny and sometimes not so tiny gadgets that can be hid almost anywhere. She mainly talked about the hidden camera in a childs stuffed animal; when set at a strategic and explainable position, the child could be watched at all times. And not only the child, but perhaps the caregiver as well.

As finding an honest, trustworthy person to take care of your infant or small toddler, even older children, has become more difficult in today's world. To save a hard lesson learned, many parents were installing devices to record that persons interaction with their child. The lack of privacy could be argued but in a parents home, with their children, a caregivers privacy is not their own.

Re: Homework

[imac-kenzie.livejournal.com]

Mac's essay, fortunately had been done when she was less distracted. She wrote about digital radios and other portable media devices, and how they could be altered to pick up nearby wireless signals and phone conversations.

Re: Homework

[surferboy-09er.livejournal.com]

Even though it was poorly written, Dick had done his homework about car radios and how they could be used to pick up phone signals. And dispense fruit roll-ups.

Re: Homework

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

Broots turned in an essay about how a wrist watch could be re-programmed to do anything from blowing up a building to working as a communication device.

Re: Homework

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

D'anna turned in a paper detailing how common portable music players could be adapted to record sound and images, as well as hold various types of information other than simply playing music and entertainment video filed.

Re: Homework

[sound-loyalty.livejournal.com]

Kabuto had written an essay on Kimimaro. Or, more precisely, on Kimimaro's ability to take out his own bones and use them as weapons. If that didn't count, then that was a real shame. Nobody expected an enemy to put a bonesword out of his own shoulder and attack, afterall.

Being a ninja, Kabuto hadn't even thought about writing about something more mundane. Those were always more than they seemed.

Discussion

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

"Share with the class your ideas on how cameras are used in espionage, and why the industry can't make do with the ordinary cameras you can buy at the mall."

Re: Discussion

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"To monitor those whom you wish to gather evidence against, prior to an arrest," Parker said slowly. "When you can't let them have any idea that they're under surveillance. Especially if you're hoping they'll lead you to other contacts of unknown importance or extreme dangerousness-- you'd want distance and anonymity until the last possible moment."

Talk to M

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Ask questions about the lecture or request assistance with figuring out the cameras.

Re: Talk to M

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Marty approaches M before class starts looking like he hasn't slept all night.

"Professor M? I won't be able to attend class today. My girlfriend has gone missing and no one has seen her."

Talk to the TAs

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Please wait for Santos and Blank to tag in. Any students requiring assistance with figuring out the cameras can also ask for help here.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia was there, though she looked like she wanted to get a chance to talk to Marty more than to focus on the class.

Any time she might have caught M looking, though, she made sure she was paying her full attention.

Talk to Each Other

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

Pass notes during the lecture or discuss the cameras and assignment. Or just goof off and get detention.

Re: Talk to Each Other

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders had his chin propped up on his hands and was staring into space.

Looking kind of pissed off, granted.

OOC

[mi6-m.livejournal.com]

And that is all I have to say about that.

Re: OOC

[cat-in-the-box.livejournal.com]

Yeep!

I'm sorry! I totally didn't see Schrodinger's name on the class roster list! I thought I had been kicked because of excessive numbers or something.