The idea of a "civilian navi force" that would go unoperated and help the police sounds appealing, but then you have to remember the fact that unoperated means unprotected. An unoperated force would not have the same potential to reconfigure themselves if deleted and the netpolice could never support such reckless behavior as putting oneself in harm's way with no insurance against deletion.

As to why there is no attempt to house or protect them by the netpolice, while the netpolice does support the shelters by opinion, I doubt they'd have the manpower to provide them protection. At worst, supporting the shelters with defenses like that could create a public opinion that they were being sought as draft opportunities or could even draw mafia attention to them. The last thing that the police want to do is to get the abandoned navis drawn into the mafia war, which we all know has been escalating with the recent event of the Great Net War. It's a lot safer for them for now if we don't bring the police into a defensive role there.

Then again, all of that's just my opinion and I may be biased with a lean towards the netpolice due to my navi's status. Currently, while they may be a target for mafia recruitment, at least we haven't seen any mafia terrorism directed towards them. If the NP use them as drafting facilities, I have no doubt that we'd see mafia opinion shift to an increasingly unfavorable view of the shelters. By that, I mean that the mafia would see them as a threat rather than just as a nuisance.

You're right, Polonius; we can't treat all abandoned navis like they're the same case. Besides the reasons for their abandonment and their states of preparation, we must also consider that they each have their own personal motivations. Some mafia recruitment might just be unpreventable. It's important to remember that not all abandoned navis will feel any sort of influence by what we (or I) would consider civic duty.

Useful input towards the discussion, thank you both. I guess this is all the more reason we should follow former NP Officer Cranium's original advice and discuss our navi's futures with them ahead of time.

Just like our own world, the navi world is filled with more people and events than we can keep track of. While we have death to think about, our navis do not. This is both a blessing and a curse to them, as its obvious advantages are counteracted by an uncertainty in regard to their operator's mortality. Anyis asks us all to brooch a topic that nobody wants to think about and I'd agree that it's better to do it earlier than later.

Further discussion on unoperated navis is welcome.

This is Donald Murdoc, freelance reporter, bringing you a few articles I've recently collected offering contrasting opinions on the options available to navis that find themselves without operators. A long-existing, but under-the-radar problem: What happens to navis who are abandoned? It's an easy enough matter for the operator to replace their navi, but when the opposite occurs, navis have no real guidance in the matter. The articles presented below offer opinions by retired Netpolice officer Cranium and a well-known (if slightly sensationalist) journalist, Gurta Wurm.

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Source: Cranium's homepage, which is largely devoted to the discussion of navis without operators:

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Operator's neglect is what leads many navis to the poor state of becoming unoperated; there's not much that can be done to change that. Many people think that as soon as you get rid of the PET, your navi goes with it. This is often not the case, as the net is a vast storage space beyond your personal terminal. The navi is often left abandoned on the net, not knowing what options they have available to them. I'd like all of you navis to take a moment to think of what you ought to do if this hypothetical situation becomes your own.

There was a time where some netpolice officers had the unfortunate misconception that all navis without operators were labeled "Rogue." This is not the case. A Rogue navi is a navi with no operator, yes, but a navi only achieves the status of "Rogue" after performing a crime, which is kept on our record. It should also be noted that aiding a Rogue navi is another indicator of Rogue status, so on-the-fly judgments may be made accordingly. Still, becoming a Rogue should never be considered as an option for any navi without an operator.

An important fact to remember is that without your operator and his personal terminal, your lifeline is cut. You can't receive aid in battle, and more importantly, you can't reassemble your data after deletion like most navis can without the aid of special technology. In short, you're on your own, and with virus attacks as they are, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

The right option is to seek out a navi shelter. These "navi shelters" are not organized by the government, but are run as public homepages. The homepages are protected by other navis; you'll find safety in numbers. I'd ask that you consider advertising yourself for adoption by a new operator. Many operators are unsure of how to design a new navi and would be more than willing to adopt you and give you a new terminal to connect to.

Most importantly: the mafia is not your friend in this. If you are approached by a mafia recruiter, do not be swayed by anything he tells you. Joining the mafia is not your only option. Hell, it's not even an option. The mafia will use you to their own ends. To their recruiters, you're just profit. Furthermore, if they have to dump you to make their exit after being cornered by a netpolice operative, they'll be more than willing to do it. You're an acceptable loss and there's a million more of you out there, the way they see it.

The easiest way to avoid this topic, which is uncomfortable for everyone, is to make educated decisions regarding your own navi. Taking care of a navi is a commitment and hell, we're practically human. Dumping a navi isn't like dumping out an appliance that you no longer use. We'll all benefit if you guys take some time to talk it out, navi to operator.

-Cranium

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Source: Gurta Wurm's weekly newsletter, "The Worm."

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Now, I don't support the mafia by any means, but I think it's high time we paused to consider the sort of motives that might lead an unoperated navi to join up with a net mafia recruiter. We're all quick to point the finger when we imagine some hulking, ogre-like navi bribing these lost souls into a life of crime, but really, are there any alternatives worth considering for them? We know that the netpolice offers no sponsorship to any kind of shelters for these navis. The few organizations that do spring up for them are really nothing more than pounds for navis. They offer a slim chance of adoption for the navis they house. Beyond that, the navis have nothing. They are deprived of their chance to virus bust or netbattle, due to their lack of an operated PET.

Can we really condemn them for choosing an organization that allows them those advantages again, with the additional promise of monetary rewards? The mafia offers these navis opportunities for advancement! The net police offers them at best nothing and at worst deletion. If we consider the net mafia and net police two heads of a single coin, can we not see why navis are drawn by the sweeter deal?

Next time you condemn a navi for his decision to join the mafia, perhaps you should instead direct an accusing finger at the police organization that fails to support them.

-Gurta Wurm

"Welcome back, folks. It's been a while since my last pre-tournament coverage update, but I'm back for a little more. Soon this pre-tournament's going to turn into mid-tournament coverage, seeing as the beginning of the battles is now close at hand. My own navi, DimensionMan, is here to help with me cover the exciting competitors. Well, DimensionMan, who starts our list for today?"

"Looks to me like we should start today off with VoltMan. Some people might recognize the navi's name from long ago. He's been around for a lot longer than most of these tournament navis."

"Indeed. Well, uh, he's a sword navi with the element of electricity. Awful lot of elec navis in this tournament, I might say. The elemental navi has seen a sharp uprising since we were back in virus busting, eh?"

"Sure has, Don."

"The guy's level 19, which definitely puts him in the upper tier of tournament navis. He's been through a lot over the years and has amassed an extensive collection of chips. Of course, the chips won't matter much, but you can't discount his speed and the impressive abilities open to him as such a high level navi."

"You know what I've noticed though? From all the observations we have of him... He's kinda weird acting, eh? One of those people who acts completely different from occasion to occasion. It reminds me of those people who think that I'm a jerk because they accidentally caught Alternate DimensionMan at an autograph signing instead of me, ha ha ha!"

"Uh, not quite the same thing. He's one of those guys with multiple personalities. Weird intentional personality faults like that are all the rage nowadays, with people trying to differentiate their navis from the norm."

"That's a little baseless if you ask me! You can't say he's an attention grabber without really knowing him. Maybe some kind of bug caused it, perhaps?

"Eh, who knows? Navis with weird quirks like that just tend to piss me off. But anyways, that's just my opinion, let's not deter anyone else any further with it. Let's move on to SummonerMan. As his name suggests, SummonerMan's primary function is to summon objects in combat. He's also the navi of the good Miss Rose Dunrae, whom several of you might recognize from her newspaper."

"Ha ha ha! A healthy interest in public affairs. That's the duty of all citizens!

"Anyways, the guy's got interesting attacks, I'll give him that. He seems to summon just about everything under the sun to aid him in battle. It'll be exciting to see how he handles his opponents. I wonder if even I have seen all of his repertoire? Let's hope all of his matches go as well as his fight against Koumori, eh?"

"I wonder if he can make any giant robots? I've been wanting to try having a giant robot battle for a good, long while now!"

"Kinda doubt it, DimensionMan. Anyways, let's hope we'll see Miss Rose show up at the tournament before she's DQ'd, eh? I've heard there's a couple of fighters who are still no-shows at this point!"

"Well, luckily, SummonerMan isn't one of them; his fight's not till later. Still, guys, get there and give us a good fight, okay? You can't let the fans down when they're expecting an exspectacle! Specting a spectacle... Inspecting a spectacle?"

"Whatever, just drop it! Next is another normal/normal, Capuchin, a level 13 navi familiar to many for her involvement in battles with important figures such as the now-deceased SoulMan. I hear she's been doing some partnering with SoulMan's son, SoulMan Jr. Her operator is Aida Ambridge. I'm guessing Capuchin will be around middle tier in this tournament, but she's going to need all of the strength she can get to go up against some of the navis in her early bracket."

"Best of luck to her! You know, I'll bet her monkey kung-fu style and martial arts make her a formidable opponent from any range."

"Indeed. She's so cute though, you really think she'd be a bitch in combat?"

"Something tells me she could be. At any rate, I wouldn't drop my guard!"

"Sure, sure. Anyways, that's all the time I have for this right now, I've got to stop by the donut shop on the way home and so forth. But uh, you guys take it easy and I'll try to bring you more up to date coverage at the very next opportunity I seize."

No need to worry too much, Damian, as there are many similarly leveled navis in the tournament. Excessive measures have been taken to put newbies on a level playing ground with veteran navis. And yes, do not worry about the EJO system, I'm sure it's well accounted for.

A newspaper in today's day and age is refreshing to see, Rose! I'll be excited to read everything you have to say about the tournament.

If you're a fan of DimensionMan, just don't bug me about it in person, alright? I get way too many of his damn fans stalking me to meet him nowadays. I wish we could go back to the good old days sometimes...

Well, thanks for your input guys, it's nice to know people are reading.

-Donald Murdoc

"Okay, let's return to our pre-tournament coverage. Kate's urging me to get home earlier today, so I've got to talk fast. Luckily I can keep this online and go back through and touch it up later. The internet's really so convenient, I can't believe I went without a net navigator for so long."

"You were just waiting for a great idea to come along, ha ha ha!"

"Don't be so egotistic. Okay, today we're looking into the next three names on the list, starting with DruidMan. A lot of you may have heard of this guy; he's in the very highest tier in terms of stats amongst the tournament navis."

"Level 19, Wood/Normal, you don't wanna mess with that guy without packing some heat, if you'll pardon the expression."

"Not pardoned. Anyways, have you seen the guy? Somebody needs a haircut. Seriously, women aren't in to the rugged look any more. If I don't groom my goatee and keep the rest of my face shaved, Kate won't let me out of the house."

"Well, I'd grow my hair out too if it weren't for this helmet. I think it looks pretty heroic!"

"Sure, whatever you say, DimensionMan. At any rate, with a long history of tangling with cybeasts and all sorts of tough situations... I'd say DruidMan's one guy to keep your eye on come the day of the tournament. With him out of the way, let's go ahead and move on to DNR. What's that acronym for anyways?"

"Hmm... Dunno."

"Well, at any rate, he's another high tier navi. Level 14, Elec and... Sword? Isn't he a doctor? I would think a doctor would be healing people."

"He's got a big scalpel in a lot of the pictures. I'll bet he specializes in swordplay using that as his weapon.

"You serious? That's pretty grizzly. I wonder where the electricity comes in? He's like Doctor Frankenstein or something. Dr. Freakenstein, more like it."

"Don, don't call the tournament navis weird names."

"Alright, alright. Weird or not, he's one of the biggest contenders in this tournament, so I'd be careful fighting him. Highly... unpredictable. That's a good word for it. Now that we're done with him, let's cover Enigma. With a name like that, I guess I'm not likely to have much information on him, right?"

"That's a poor excuse. What are the guy's stats?"

"Level six, I'd put him between mid and low tier. He's normal/recovery, so I guess he's designed more for helping others than fighting on his own. He might have a hard time fighting in this tournament. Appearance wise, hell, I can't make out a thing. It looks like I took a picture of a different guy each time. He's one of those shapeshifters."

"Ooh, sounds dangerous! Let's not count him out just cause of his stats. Shapeshifting sounds like a pretty scary technique!"

"If you say so, DimensionMan. Anyways, that's all the time I have for now, but join us next time when we'll cover many more exciting navis and provide you with the most up-to-date tournament coverage or... really the only tournament media I can find. Can't argue with that, right? It's us or nobody."

"Hey folks, this is Donald Murdoc, doing a little freelance reporting to break my chain of commercialism as of late. I think we all know about the upcoming tournament being held in the netbattle Colosseum. With many special rules to balance competitors in terms of folder strength and with its motivation and prizes veiled in mystery, you'd have to be blind not to be keeping a sharp eye on it. There's a good chance you may have even entered it, if you're reading this entry. If that's the case, you'll value this report detailing the lives of some of the fine navi competitors in this exhibition. Joining me today to commentate, taking time off from his busy NP schedule, is my very own navi, DimensionMan."

"Any service that I can do for the people is synonymous with my duty as a Netpolice officer, Don. At any rate, you don't think it's a little unfair to be detailing all of the strategies of the competitors?"

"Pfft, any netbattler who knows what they're doing ought to know their competition. It's just like any other circuit of competitive play; there are always aces that we keep our eyes on. As a reporter, it's my duty to keep up with these people so that we can discuss them at times like this. But anyways, don't think we're only covering the bigshots. Our plan for this coverage is to start at the top and work our way down. We're not really going into strategies anyways..."

"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's see who's first!"

"Fine. First is uh... Miyu.EXE, a level 10 elec/wind navi. Personally, I'd place her about mid-tier amongst the powers of this tournament. She has a connection with that one guy you used to work with, right?"

"You say 'used to work with' so lightly Don! Don't forget that SoulMan died honorably in combat to protect us during the Sunshine Conflict."

"You're right, sorry. Anyways, she's just a little girl, right? She's quite powerful to have such a form as that."

"Size means nothing on the net! You'd be surprised how many little girls we have in this tournament. I'm confident that in the end it will be the one with the most conviction that triumphs! How about you, little Miyu? Will the spirit of your father spur you on to victory in this challenge?"

"Now now, it's not good to expect too much of little kids. Let's move on to another competitor... Koumori.EXE, operated by Kedamono Kodarashi. That's quite a mouthful, I'm glad I can abridge this in our typed conversation."

"Ha ha ha!"

"Koumori is a level 3 navi, normal/recovery. She's probably to be put pretty low rank, expectation-wise."

"Hey, can't count anyone out this early! Remember, one's true strength cannot be measured so simply as through mere numbers, classifications, and nomenclature! One must never count their chickens before they hatch!"

"Uh, remind me to amend that last part before I put this conversation online. Okay, so, let's see... Koumori's like... a bat, right? I really don't have much of anything about her at all. Gathering info on newbies is hard."

"So cold, Don!"

"Well sorry if we can't all run on Justice Juice and Sunshine like you do. Okay, let's hurry up and move on, alright?"

"Don't worry, Koumori! DimensionMan cheers you on even if no one else is there to support you!"

"Let's take a look at Djinni.EXE. A fire/cursor navi, Djinni is level 14, putting her into the higher tiers of tournament navis. She'll be a formidable challenge for anyone in the tournament and have you seen her pictures?"

"Careful, Don, Kate might be listening! She doesn't have legs either, you know!"

"What? No legs... Crap, you're right. Okay, uh, anyways... So Djinni. Pretty good odds, I think."

"With encouragement like yours, I'll bet she wishes nobody had an eye on her at all, ha ha ha!"

"Alright, well, why don't we take a break here for now? We'll be back later with more pre-tournament coverage of the many exciting competitors. Stay tuned... Well, okay, not radio, so not tuned. But uh, keep watching this board, and try to remember why I'm rated higher than my competitors!"

"Are you?"

"Uh... I think so... I guess I'll be getting mail about it tomorrow if I'm not."

This is Donald Murdoc, bringing you a declassified report by Netpolice Official DimensionMan.EXE, a navi under my operation. DimensionMan has been given authorization to release some information to the public detailing some of the outcomes of the netpolice vs. netmafia battle that recently occurred. I doubt there's anyone out there who is not familiar with it, so I won't say much about it here. Know, however, that this report has been declassified as to the actions of netpolice officers and mafia members alike, giving you the full detail as to what happened without bias. The words below this point are those written by my navi...

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Introduction

I don't have to tell most of you all about the gruesome, terrible battle that occurred recently, involving the Netpolice, the mafia, and even innocent civilians. We saw brutality, cruelty on both sides... But also, we saw some of the braves acts of heroism that have ever been displayed upon the net. The crisis brought out the truth behind people's personalities: good and bad. I've detailed a full report of all that I surveyed myself and secondhand information.

Section 01: Personal Engagements

[SECTION OMITTED]*

Section 02: Apprentince Involvement

At the time of the incident, I had two navis working closely under my wing as apprentices, studying to become officers in the netpolice forces. One was deployed into the field of battle due to the demand of officers. She was close to completing her training, a master of a new technique of DimensionSword control, but I will omit the specifics of this discipline as they are not valid to my report. Her name was Libertine.

Libertine had been deployed to the area late and by the time she arrived she was already charged with the difficult task of rescuing a group of navis under attack by an experimental Mafia weapon. We later recovered some data on this navi, recognizing him as CravenMan, a navi who dropped off of the face of the net shortly after his creation. He'd been modified to be an unwilling soldier. My apprentice, Libertine, engaged him. Two other navis were present at the scene, mafia members, though their names are not available. Unsettlingly, two civilians were present as well. These navis, cooperating with the netmafia, killed the force that Libertine had fought to protect. They then turned to Libertine herself, ultimately destroying her. She failed to jack out and was lost, along with her Prototype DimensionSword. Another netmafia navi was later spotted at the scene, retreating with the sword in her possession.

Even in a report like this, I cannot remain totally detached. The acts of these civilians, in my book, has branded them as enemies of the Netpolice. These two navis, whom we have been unable to positively identify, deliberately cooperated with the netmafia to delete my greatest apprentince. I will not pretend that I'm not affected by her loss.

Eyewitnesses say that another netmafia operative, identified as PachinkoMan, later engaged NetPolice Officer Saucer. Neither navi was destroyed, and luckily, the fighting concluded with Saucer's safe withdrawal.

Section 03: NetPolice Officers MIA or Deleted

This is by no means a complete list of netpolice officers deleted or missing after the incident, but rather, the toll of officers that I have done specific research upon.

- Libertine: Her deletion is detailed in Part 02.

- WoodwindMan: WoodwindMan was killed, along with his troop, by the same rogue navis and netmafia officers that slaughtered Libertine. He was a fairly high ranking officer. His jurisdiction was limited to basic peace-keeping patrol; in my opinion, like Libertine, he was unfit to be out on the field. A comrade, BrassMan, who works in the department of officials, gave me a description of his personality, which I have concluded for psychological or background analysis, in case it proves useful to anyone studying the case. He was an ambitious employee, moving quickly through the ranks. He was known for his use of force. BrassMan respected him as an ally, but said that he had a strong competitive side and seemed discontent with his position.

- Patriarch: A navi in WoodwindMan's troop who was killed along with his commander. Like WoodwindMan, he was unfit for the field. It was a strategical error or our part to bring him out. We recovered what seemed like fragments of his data, but he'd been scorched and ruined before the jack-out barrier fell. There was no saving him. BrassMan told me briefly that he was a manipulative fellow whom Brassman felt little respect for. The deceased navi had a bad record of politeness in person and cruelty off the job.

- DisciplineMan: Like Patriarch, he was a low-ranking officer killed along with Patriarch. BrassMan had little to say concerning him, besides that he matched many of Patriarch's traits, but to an extreme. Still, he, nor the others, deserved to die in the manner in which these navis were slaughtered.

- Spine: An officer under Commander Cranium, also killed in the line of duty. I knew little about him, but apparently, he was also attacked by a group of mafia navis working alongside a civilian accomplice. The mafia navis all died in the battle, but the others, including the civilians and Cranium himself, escaped. Spine was reportedly a good man, abandoned as a navi and taken in by Cranium, formed into an officer under his care. From the way Cranium describes him, he was a credit to the force. His deletion is again an example of the tragic release of under-trained personnel into the battle due to a lack of intelligence on the situation at the time of deployment.

Many other navis were killed apart from these, remember; these are just those whom I recovered information on following the battle.

Section 04: NetMafia Navis Deleted or Escaping

I felt it would also be important to detail the netmafia navis who were deleted in the absence of jack-out capabilities during this confrontation. Only those that we could manage to identify are mentioned. Note that we were unable to identify many of those who escaped, so information on them is sparse.

- MaulMan: This navi was deleted by the civilian navi Seraphim. He reportedly had an acute ability to incite rage in nearby navis and exploit it. Little is know about him besides the fact that he was an active recruitment officer for the NetMafia.

- Guy Bates: This navi had been a civilian up until the point at which he met the mafia. After being inducted mid-battle, he fought against netpolice and civilians alike. He somehow obtained the power of a dark chip during the battle, which built frothing rage in the minds of others. Luckily, he was defeated. The chip data was destroyed following his deletion.

- ManMan: A navi deleted in the absence of the jack-out barrier. Fighting against civilians and netpolice officers. He was ultimately slain by his own ally, Guy Bates. Sadly, he'd been abandoned only a few days earlier by his operator.

- Dark Angel 1015: A navi who managed to escape the confrontation, avoiding being killed alongside Guy Bates and ManMan. Like ManMan, she'd been abandoned only a few days earlier and was, until MaulMan's intervention, a civilian. She has now gone missing and is being considered a NetMafia navi.

- CravenMan: Along with two accomplices and two civilian navis, CravenMan participated in the destruction of Libertine. He was later recovered by the NetMafia before any further information could be gathered, along with the Prototype DimensionBlade.

Section 05: Concerning Civilian Navis Involved in the Battles

Most civilian navis, we are pleased to report, acted cooperatively alongside officials during the battle. Some, however, aided mafia officials and even participated in the destruction of NetPolice enforcers. If you or someone you know has any information on these navis aiding the mafia, please contact our information office as quickly as possible. We can't do anything more than we are to stop NetMafia sympathisers, but nobody has the right to injure or kill Netpolice navis over their view and these navis must be hunted down and prosecuted just as if they were the Rogues of old.

Those navis who aided the Netpolice during this time of crisis have my deepest thanks. If only all civilian navis had your sense of justice, Libertine wouldn't have ended up like she did. I can only thank you all for making the right choice in the heat of battle and proving the bravery of the fine and upstanding navis that inhabit our great net.

Section 06: Conclusion

Never before has such a great and catastrophic event gripped the world of the net. Neither the threat of the Rogues nor the crisis of the Cybeasts can be compared to a disaster of this magnitude. This clearly shows not only that public opinion has moved away from the Netpolice, but also that we are lacking preparation for an event of this magnitude. In the future, we must be ready to handle such a threat and must have more of our high ranking officers at the ready to avoid the deployment of our under-trained officials. At the very least, we must be ready to dispatch our men in a more concentrated fashion. As I understand, the netpolice defense force has been beefed, so anyone reading this report can be assured that a repeat of this event will not occur again.

~DimensionMan.EXE

*Some sections have been omitted due to classified content.

As a reporter who is also closely tied in with the netpolice, I can confirm that any rumors you've been hearing about netpolice corruption or the good intentions of the mafia are probably made by biased mafia supporters that have come out with their views since the incident. The NetMafia have been criminals as far back as I can remember and I doubt they've changed.

On a side note, my navi is finishing up a declassified report of some of the events that occurred then. Please view it once it's released if you have the time.

Also, I applaud your interest in public discussion! It's a healthy practice. I wish I... uh... did more of it.

~Donald Murdoc

((Sorry, long weekend, Sky. I'll post when I get back.))