SECOND TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Time's up, boys and girls. Please gather up your evidence and make your way to the vault door.

[ The process of heading to the elevator and crowding in remains the same as last week - Angel leads you all to the elevator car, then stays behind as you make your slow descent to the dome below. You might not even notice if you aren't paying attention, but... the cart is already less crowded than it was last week. You certainly won't be able to avoid noticing it if your numbers dwindle too much further than this.

When the doors open on the trial room, it's just as bleak a place as last week. ]

Take your places, won't you? And this time, you all know what's at stake. No more... funny business.

[The number of podiums displaying that red light is higher now - Damien, Lif, and Piers are all represented by blank spots now, no tasteful covers or anything normal to mark their passing, just a red glow and a gap in your number.

Cheery!

The screens raise up to the ceiling to give you all room to see, and the Professor's final words before the trial begins ring out: ]

Find the killer, leave alive. And killer? Try a little harder to stop them from doing that than the last one in your shoes. Call out for me if you require anything.

[ Welcome to your second trial. ]

Comments

[reallyhatesharks]

[Cool, great. Love it.]

Okay, so then who's requested shit from Angel?

[blackmass]

I presume that an easy thing to lie about, unless the Professor himself should dare to weigh in.

Though I will tell you I have not.

[reallyhatesharks]

I was asking more for snitching than self-reporting. [What's a trial without some healthy snitching!!!] For completion's sake: I haven't even spoken to her, let alone requested shit.

[philoxenia]

I did. A sketchbook and pencils, and then a few of movies from last Thursday.

[lovelikeyou]

She gave me Aladdin the first week. I was going to ask her for some dirt, too, but then that happened.

[no worries, she's starting some kind of weird composting endeavor instead]

[nothingcanstop]

[ A pause, and-- ]

Premixed appletini. Just once.

[precognit]

I haven't.

[emberserker]

Wait, that doesn't gel, Alice. Not with what you said when we first met the Professor.

[precognit]

[Alice frowns, confused.] What do you mean?

[emberserker]

You asked about what they'd done to your body, and then what they could provide for your "previous diet," didn't you? I thought you were on one of those American fad diets where you consume nothing but Slim-Fast.

[precognit]

Right, but...I didn't request that from Angel. As far as I know, it came from the Professor.

[blackmass]

[RECORD SCRATCH]

'What they'd done to your body'? Is there something wrong, Alice?

[precognit]

I just...

[Alice sighs heavily. Are all the skeletons going to come out of the closet today?]

Normally, in my own world...I'm a precognitive. I can see the future. I'm sure you all noticed my title...'The Clairvoyant.'

The minute I woke up here, I knew something was wrong...something had been done to me, because I couldn't see anything. That's what I meant by that.

[emberserker]

Is a power like that really just a physical trait?

[nothingcanstop]

...The protein shake. [ Della frowns a little, at that. ] You didn't get in touch with her after?

[precognit]

I did, yes, just to ask why I couldn't get any more.

[Alice looks...unsettled.]

She couldn't tell me why, just that she'd put in an urgent request.

[philoxenia]

... An urgent request?

[emberserker]

He implied just the things from Angel. But what he actually said was "suspending your requested goods." Isn't that right?

[precognit]

I...I guess so. [Alice shrugs.] All I know is that he told me it would be provided. I didn't think that counted as a request.

[snackooed]

Clear scotch tape! After I got my fingerprint powder, I needed the tape to lift prints.

[bogwife]

I haven't, no. I was considering it but then Tuesday happened.

[mouflon]

I haven't even talked to her, and I have no desire to. Other people can vouch for that.

[ladygeryon]

I asked her for curtains for my room, but she couldn't provide that.

[nothingcanstop]

...Curtains, that would've been smart. I just stuck a bunch of paper on top of it.

[ladygeryon]

...that might've worked. I just moved everything in my room so I wouldn't have to face that window regularly.