I think it will be considerably less effective if I tell you, [ he answers mildly, going back to typing. ] Don't you?
[ Harold is secretive to a fault. He purposefully doesn't disclose most of his plans to most of his allies, not even John half the time. Controlling the flow of information is one of the most effective forms of power there is, and it's the one he excels at, even in the absence of physical capability.
He's also good at directing assets, as the Machine calls them -- or rather, as he'd named them in the Machine's core programming. He strives to keep a clear sense of each friend or ally's skill set, their own preferences and morals, and he's made a handful here he feels confident he could call on if necessary. In particular, he thinks Accelerator is likely to be able to deal with anything Carver's commander could try to throw at them, and he thinks it likely that if he explains the situation, he'll want to help purely out of a sense of moral outrage. There's also the sheer fact that Shaw is an extremely competent sniper who could shoot out a knee from a significant distance. To say nothing of John, who hardly needs mentioning.
It's all very calculated... but it's far from callous. He wants it to alert only him specifically so he has maximal discretion in how to respond. ]
no subject
[ Harold is secretive to a fault. He purposefully doesn't disclose most of his plans to most of his allies, not even John half the time. Controlling the flow of information is one of the most effective forms of power there is, and it's the one he excels at, even in the absence of physical capability.
He's also good at directing assets, as the Machine calls them -- or rather, as he'd named them in the Machine's core programming. He strives to keep a clear sense of each friend or ally's skill set, their own preferences and morals, and he's made a handful here he feels confident he could call on if necessary. In particular, he thinks Accelerator is likely to be able to deal with anything Carver's commander could try to throw at them, and he thinks it likely that if he explains the situation, he'll want to help purely out of a sense of moral outrage. There's also the sheer fact that Shaw is an extremely competent sniper who could shoot out a knee from a significant distance. To say nothing of John, who hardly needs mentioning.
It's all very calculated... but it's far from callous. He wants it to alert only him specifically so he has maximal discretion in how to respond. ]