This is the level of idiocy he was told to expect, Hideki's forgiven.
As much as a surprise nugget of revelation would've been a bonus, Stephen's actually out for more generic logistical info! So things like: when can his mom (& other parent?? I don't know his homelife situation sorry hideki) be relied upon to be out of the house, do the guards tend to go with aoi or remain around the apartment, is there ever any time the apartment is empty or are there always staff in, does the whole building have heightened security or just the apartment?
Initially he will have wanted this info to see if there's any time he can mind control Hideki into letting him or someone else into the apartment without it immediately landing them in hot water but it's the 26th century and the place is probably kitted out with other security measures so because he's less dense than me he's going to turn more toward seeing how elaborate a plan he'll need to concoct to be able to enter the building and hang out on a different floor so that he's within range to read Maeda or anyone else in the apartment's minds at some point.
He'll do his best to steer Hideki toward thinking about his mom and her schedule and the building setup (a staffed reception desk? or do guests just get in by being granted implant access?) using little intrusive thoughts about his mom and home cloaked in Hideki's own neural signature, and by latching on to any relevant thoughts he does have and amplifying them to try to encourage him to think down those lines. Then he'll just nab any clues he can from impressions he gets.
Owing to the fact that Hideki is a rich kid and Stephen lives in a basement though going into venues is probably scrapped in favour of lurking outside until he figures out Hideki's signature so he can get on with it from afar without losing all of his worldly wealth. Also if the moral of the story here is that Hideki will be too drunk or distracted to be nudged into thinking about family and home while out on a nighttime social spree that's good too! Strange'll just have to start taking risks again rather than creeping about after unknowing youths... probably a healthy swap.
no subject
As much as a surprise nugget of revelation would've been a bonus, Stephen's actually out for more generic logistical info! So things like: when can his mom (& other parent?? I don't know his homelife situation sorry hideki) be relied upon to be out of the house, do the guards tend to go with aoi or remain around the apartment, is there ever any time the apartment is empty or are there always staff in, does the whole building have heightened security or just the apartment?
Initially he will have wanted this info to see if there's any time he can mind control Hideki into letting him or someone else into the apartment without it immediately landing them in hot water but it's the 26th century and the place is probably kitted out with other security measures so because he's less dense than me he's going to turn more toward seeing how elaborate a plan he'll need to concoct to be able to enter the building and hang out on a different floor so that he's within range to read Maeda or anyone else in the apartment's minds at some point.
He'll do his best to steer Hideki toward thinking about his mom and her schedule and the building setup (a staffed reception desk? or do guests just get in by being granted implant access?) using little intrusive thoughts about his mom and home cloaked in Hideki's own neural signature, and by latching on to any relevant thoughts he does have and amplifying them to try to encourage him to think down those lines. Then he'll just nab any clues he can from impressions he gets.
Owing to the fact that Hideki is a rich kid and Stephen lives in a basement though going into venues is probably scrapped in favour of lurking outside until he figures out Hideki's signature so he can get on with it from afar without losing all of his worldly wealth. Also if the moral of the story here is that Hideki will be too drunk or distracted to be nudged into thinking about family and home while out on a nighttime social spree that's good too! Strange'll just have to start taking risks again rather than creeping about after unknowing youths... probably a healthy swap.