Public The Art of Deception [SIA Persona Masterclass] - Open to GA and Allies

[Kalie Alverez]

SIA SENIOR AGENT: KALIE ALVEREZ
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: TEACH A MASTERCLASS ON PERSONA DEVELOPMENT FOR AN SIA ACADEMY WORKSHOP

​

The classroom was decently packed, each row progressively descending towards the center of the room, were Kalie was beginning to demonstrate another technique for persona development.

"… You see, the key is to use something that you know… something that carries weight… feeling… emotion… connection." She said as she walked back over to the chalkboard and started listing the additional tidbits of advice on the board, the sound of chalk striking the surface resonated throughout the chamber.

"...But then to bring it in a different direction. Take what you know, but use it in a different way. Make sense?" She said as she turned back to observe her students faces, "So, for example…" She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, closing her eyes as she focused intently on a memory of her mother. "I had a deep connection to my mother…" She said as her eyebrows shifted, as if reliving a specific memory, "I can drawn on that… It could be positive, or negative… It is good to develop specific moments that you can recall in the moment… It takes practice, but eventually you will be able to recall the memory and emotion at will…" Tears suddenly filled her eyes as her voice began to break, her face contorting in a picture of genuine pain. "And then I direct that emotion into the moment… for whatever reason it may be…" She said as tears began to stream down her face, her voice struggling to form the words. But then suddenly she transformed before their eyes into a joyful girl full of delight, her eyes danced with vibrancy, "And you can develop your strong memories, and the emotions connected to those memories, into an asset at your disposal." She instantly cut it off, returning to a neural state. Kalie looked across the crowd of faces, trying to assess if she had clearly demonstrated the concept. "People can tell if something is forced, or fake. If you want to truly develop an affective persona, you need to draw on something real. So... are there any questions on what i've said before we begin your own attempts at emotional conjuring?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

Kalie Alverez

Seeing something quite different from his usual Jedi training was quite fascinating. Upon hearing of a masterclass being set up at the SIA academy, he couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him. Thankfully, the day was set on a personal development date else he would have found it hard to convince the knight watching him an excuse to come here.

Dressed in a smart sweatshirt and jeans, he blended in well with the rest of the viewers and took a seat near the front. Silas didn't come here for the sake of it, learning personality skills like this could potentially get him out of some trouble in the near future. Sometimes when it came to learning, you'd need to think outside the box and try things not even related to the thing you're working towards. You never know what you could get out of it...

Silas watched on as their teacher, Kalie Alverez began to instruct them on emotion. It amazed him how fast she could turn a totally clear face into one of pure sorrow. Her trigger memories reminded him of his family and how he had a deep connection with them. He didn't remember the last time he cried, nor did he want to. The number of tears he held in over the years was sure to release a whole flood if he even came close to that point again.

Within moments, the distraught face of the woman snapped back to her original calm expression. Silas couldn't figure out how much time it took her to be that good, but it clearly took lots of patience for sure.

So... are there any questions on what I've said before we begin your own attempts at emotional conjuring?"

Silas looked around and saw no one putting their hands up, giving the indication that the audience was ready to give it a go. Just like that, the people around him began giving their best acting performances, some being naturally good while others being ridiculously bad. He couldn't help but reveal a grin as he examined some of their attempts, but even he knew he'd probably be the same as them if he gave it a go.

Rising up from his seat, he looked over to the teacher and decided to ask her a question in private. The audience was distracted, so he doubted they'd be interested in him at all. He carefully made his way down and stood beside the woman, respectfully coughing to gain her attention

"Hello Miss Alverez, Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to teach us a thing or two" the boy nodded in thanks, even though he probably didn't need it as much as the others "I have a question regarding emotions. What if your attachment to a particular memory is too strong? Would it be possible to control it through practice? or would it be wise to avoid it altogether?" Having a memory like the destruction of his family was a fine example. If he chose to dive into it that thought his emotions would be uncontrollable, past the point of acting and deception.

 

[Kalie Alverez]

SIA SENIOR AGENT: KALIE ALVEREZ
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: TEACH A MASTERCLASS ON PERSONA DEVELOPMENT FOR AN SIA ACADEMY WORKSHOP
TAGS: Silas Westgard (closed)

​

Kalie had opened up her next set of teaching notes on her data pad and was reviewing the initial points when the young man approached her and requested her attention. She quickly looked up and gave him a welcoming smile.

“My pleasure!” She said, then listened to his question intently. It was a good question indeed. She nodded knowingly and turned her body to face him directly as she began to respond,

“Control is not the ultimate goal. If you are controlling your emotion, then you are hindering its fullest potential. There is an element of control, of coarse, but the control is more related to the activation and deactivation of the emotion, not the experience of the emotion itself.” She crossed her arms thoughtfully in front of her as she continued to muse upon his question, “True emotion does things that we are unaware of… it contorts muscles and releases nuanced details in our expression that we could never purely replicate effectively. So the goal is not to “act”. If you are acting, then you are faking. You must go beyond acting and enter into experiencing.”

She then softened her expression as she put a comforting hand upon his shoulder, preparing to answer the core of his question, “There are certain memories that provoke deep, devastating emotions from our soul. You can use such memories, but they should be reserved for the most appropriate of circumstances. You will need to develop multiple memories, and in the process, you will eventually begin to categorize them into various levels of severity. Not every circumstance calls for profound grief and weeping, for example.” She paused, smiling at the young man, “I would recommend saving the memory that you are referring to for a later date. First, begin with memories that are less intense and learn to cultivate those… then, when you are ready, you can attempt to develop the memories that are more intense.” She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, assuming that the memory he referred to was one that was very difficult for him to address. She would not ask form him to go into detail as to what it was about, as that was surely a very personal thing to ask.

"Does that answer your question? By the way, what is your name? I don't believe I have seen you in my classes before..."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Kalie Alverez

Upon asking his question Kalie seemed to be more than happy to answer his inquiry. To his surprise, control wasn't the main focus but instead how you activated and deactivated at the right moments. Compressing them would only hinder what he could achieve, in turn making it less believable to the person who was being targeted. Instead of trying to act, you truly had to experience your emotion to really make the most out of it. With his undivided attention, he nodded in agreement to what she said.

It was clear Alverez was a professional who had done this for years, possibly all of her life. She breathed espionage, even if she didn't know it herself. The way she explained it made it look easy when in reality it was a pretty hard skill to perfect.

Feeling her hand rest on his shoulder his gaze didn't move by the slightest, his attention was solely focused on what she had to say. Deep emotions were normally found to be a weakness to Jedi like himself, but with the use of Kalie's training, they could be used as a weapon to deceive and outwit a stronger opponent. Although, there was a level of danger behind all of it. If he didn't know how to control such deep emotion it could easily form into a target the enemy could exploit.

Slowly, a small frown would cross his face when she squeezed his shoulder and mentioned to keep his saddest memory locked away for another time. The memory of his parents dying would be the deepest of all, one that went into his very soul. If she looked hard enough, tears would begin to well in the corner of his light blue eyes.

"Thank you miss Alverez, that certainly answers my question. My name is Silas Westgard, Jedi Padawan..." he said with a slight bow before a hand came up to his eye and nonchalantly wiped away any signs of the previous sighting of tears "I came on one of my development days to try something new and different compared to my traditional training. I thought it would help at some point if ever I was in a tight spot"

Silas knew he wouldn't be able to get the gist of emotional camouflage in one lesson, he'd need to keep training, and attending these sorts of lessons to really develop his understanding.

"I will be attending more for sure, so before you know it I'll be more of a regular"

 

[Kalie Alverez]

SIA SENIOR AGENT: KALIE ALVEREZ
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: TEACH A MASTERCLASS ON PERSONA DEVELOPMENT FOR AN SIA ACADEMY WORKSHOP
TAGS: Silas Westgard (closed)

Her empathy couldn’t help but cause her own eyes to glisten as she saw the evidence of deep hurt and pain that the Padawan was struggling with. She pulled her hand back and interlocked her fingers in front of her, listening to him share about why he was here and that he planned on becoming a regular attendant. She smiled warmly, “Well that’s wonderful, Mr. Westgard! And if that’s the case…” She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a small data card, offering it to the Padawan, “Then it seems you are officially one of my students! I always make myself available to those who are truly willing to invest in their education, so here is my contact information if you feel like that might be you.”

After he took it from her hand, she straightened her dress and took a look back out at the rest of the class, making sure that everyone was still engaging with the assignment. She then turned her attention back to Silas, “I’m assuming you’re aware that some of my philosophy might not align with that of the Jedi, so please, don’t get me into trouble with the NJO!” She laughed, “And you don’t have to call me master, either.” She winked. With a more serious yet compassionate tone, she ventured back to his deepest emotions, “I know what it’s like to have emotions so intense that they seem unsurmountable, but from my personal experience, the more you try to bury it and ignore it, the more control it has over you. I can help to guide you through your memories if you like, helping to create a safe space for you to let the emotions out in a way that you can release them and address them. It is not an enjoyable experience, but it is a healthy one, and you will likely feel much better afterwards. But it is also very vulnerable, so I completely understand if you would need to build some trust with me before such guidance occurs.”