OPERANT

"What you know as the 'Operant Bureau' is nothing but a metaphysical conceit. Know this: if there is an 'Opera' there is also an inner Opera."

"During the late 50s, the Operant Bureau became obsessed with sound-triggered explosives. This one's directional -- intended for assassination, not terrorism."

Standard Operant Bureau procedure: once burned, an asset is not to be revived except under exceptional circumstances.

Trepanation is hardly the most extreme thing an operant has done in pursuit of becoming a supranaturally-inclined spy. Nor is it, for that matter, the only one involving bodily mutilation.

Such crucial information should have been conveyed directly to the Operant Bureau. Something is out of step.

"Ha." He smiles wryly. "The Operant Bureau always did retain a sense of humour."

A theatre-grade inference. Operant CASCADE re-emerges from the shadows.

Proposals to put assets through empathy-effacing conditioning protocols have been stymied by 'humanist' elements within the Operant bureau, creating a generation of vulnerable, emotionally-compromised spies.

"Wrong ideology, operant. I abhor social-democrats."

Tesoro Buendia. To the Operant Bureau he is the Hundred-Eyed Golem. To La Luz he is the Chief of the Weeping Eye.

"You must be Tempo del Sur's 'well-connected friend' -- the wretch from the Operant Bureau."

An operant of the cosmic plane.

'Defector', 'spy', 'operant', 'miserable failure' -- these are all just cheap genre terms, a mask for the perfect impenetrability of the text.

Operant, please. This kind of stagecraft takes application, a methodology. You can't just dash it off.

"And you're the operant called CASCADE. Nice to be on the same page." He nods. "Now, let's catch up with your friends."

"And you're the operant called CASCADE. Nice to be on the same page." He nods. "Now, let's catch up with your friends."

... 'constitutes the single greatest tactical catastrophe in the Operant Bureau's history'...

Once seen, it is obvious -- he's not just an asset. He's a high-level operant for the Weeping Eye.

He could've engineered this entire silo as an automated operant-mulching device. Tripwires, swinging blades, an inevitable furnace, a pile of your half-siblings down here, rotting in the dark.

The classic operant's lament. Too late.

Bold words coming from an operant walking down into a silo like a complete amateur.

Focus, operant. You're here for the records about Project AUTONOMÍA. Get in, get out.

Operant CASCADE is ready for advancement, one slither forward at a time.

Time to show some grit, operant.

"What do you mean? I'm here!" He takes a breath. "And this junior operant you sent me. She's completely insane, delirious even. How am I supposed to find forgiveness with people like this?"

"Where are those missile strikes? This is Operant CASCADE. I was dispatched from Novessa. My name is..."

"Requesting back-up! This is Operant CASCADE. I was dispatched from Novessa. My name is..."

"Of course. Bring PSEUDOPOD home, operant."

The type of enquiry that should be far beneath an operant, especially one with your level of experience.

"At least get some protective gear. A cleaner's suit? Be careful, operant. Better yet -- buy a real gun."

Operant PROBABLE is definitely a man.

During operant training, you were taught to swallow your fear through dissociation...

It involves reciting a specific sequence of words to gradually unspool the delusions the operant has wrapped himself in.

"Cut the shit, operant. We've got stuff to do."

There's a manoeuvre you were taught to use when an operant is lost within their chosen persona. A kind of psychic demolition technique. Unfortunately, you've only retained the basic idea of it.

There's a sheen of vulgarity, but she changes character as quickly as a master operant in theatre. Impressive.

"Head Operant? That's cruel, Mel. We don't even have Head Operants. I'm going to the freezer, I'm going to sort files. I'm going to sort files forever."

"No, operant. But this isn't what you want."

"The best operant ever?"

"You're a shit operant, CASCADE."

"You kneel for me, operant. But this isn't what you want."

"No. You're not going to the freezer. You're getting promoted. Head Operant."

There are times when an operant's humanity prevents them from getting the job done...

Coincidentally, the final words of the late Operant GESTURE, zeroed out by a cyanide-laced wafer.

'The People's Republics dream of a kinder world; the Opera dreams of revealing it; the operant dreams of dreams. All fantasies in-waiting, yet to be given memory.'

'... a melancholic air of permanent regret, and an insistence on taking everything upon oneself, alone. But Operant C was not alone. They had people beside them.'

'... intense concern among their assets and fellow operants. By the culmination, Operant C wasn't burnt out; they were scorched out. Razed to the very nerves. Maybe gone for good.'

'... ██ assignment failed. It couldn't help but fail. Assuming Operant C survived the collapse, she was duly remanded to Satellite Facility B, a.k.a. the notorious 'Freezer'. Isolation with no end date...'

'Operant C's talents, regrettably, are only matched by a tremendous capacity for self-sabotage.'

'This claim does not absolve Operant X as such; one's psyche is their own responsibility, ultimately. But it does indicate that the Opera can't and won't do the work for you.'