WEEK 4

[bathymetric]

Another trial, another week, and still you're probably running lower on answers than you'd like. And on people - you lost three since last Sunday. By the end of this week, you'll have been here for nearly a full month, yet still the days crawl on.

You wake up Sunday, again with no memory of Saturday, but this time with a simple message on your devices: You may resume requesting items, if you like. Enjoy. Guess it really was just a stealth motive after all, but at least it's being communicated that it's over! That's something, at least.

And when you leave your rooms on Sunday, there's another new area to explore! This one is... certainly more ambitious in its construction than the last one, to say the least. But hey, you have a pretty neat place to host parties, if you feel so inclined! That's... fun...

Hey, you gotta find the fun in situations like this where you can! Silver linings, right?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 4! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! ]

Comments

[bolderfell]

...Guess so. Well, if we ever run out of places to search...

[He looks down at his book and painstakingly writes another letter on his paper.]

[snackooed]

Personally, I'd say it's a last resort. Can I ask how you're killing the time, there? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a bit antsy over by the bar...

[bolderfell]

[He pauses, then lifts the paper to show her.]

Teaching myself those... Greek letters.

[There they are, uppercase and lower: Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ...

Seems once he fills a whole row, he repeats it with his other hand. He's very attentive to detail, even if it's just the alphabet.]

Anna told me they're used in scholarly work, but she didn't explain much more than that.

[snackooed]

Ah-ha. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta...

[ Just like our mystery subjects, huh? ]

In science and math, they're often parts of formulas, or they represent a constant value that doesn't change. For example, easily the most famous one is the lowercase "pi," which is the one that looks kind of like a table, if you've gotten to it? "Pi" has an incredibly specific numeric value, and it's actually impossible to write it out as a number all the way; it's what mathematicians call an "irrational number". So instead of writing out the complete value, or having to round it, you would just write down the letter for "pi," and people would understand it as being equivalent to that number. Do you follow me so far?

But that's just one way that "pi" can be used. What Greek letters actually represent varies pretty wildly depending on what specific field you're working in, so usually we use context to figure out exactly what they're placeholders for? So where you would use "alpha" when you're working with physics, the study of how things move, for example, would be completely different from where you'd use "alpha" in trigonometry, the study of triangles.

[bolderfell]

[This is definitely one of the more theoretical lectures Therion's been asked to follow of late, and he, uh, pretty clearly doesn't understand too much of it. He blinks, and then frowns, and by the time she gets to trig, all he can do is mutter under his breath:]

The study of triangles.

[Sigh. He rubs the corners of his eyes.]

Uh... So far, I don't think I've seen them used with any... specific meaning. They're just going in order. But it's nagging at me.

[He points to gamma.]

The subjects before us had these letters for titles. But we're "Dodger," "Skunkman," "Ace Scientist." If there's a connection, why the change? Got plenty of letters left.

[snackooed]

Actually, even if he started back at "alpha" for our group, wouldn't he be one short? Unlike the Roman alphabet, the Greek one only uses twenty-four letters.

[ But more importantly... ]

You're right that it's a huge change in naming scheme, though. I wonder if the person that decided to call those original subjects by Greek letters is actually the same person as the one that gave us these labels...

[bolderfell]

[He opens his mouth, then closes it.]

...The Professor never shows his face. Not to us, and... maybe not to Angel, either.

[snackooed]

I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the case. I can't imagine he'd do anything to make himself a liability. But then, even as I say that, that recording had to come from somewhere...

[bolderfell]

The... the way his voice always sounds... odd. It's to keep us from hearing what he really sounds like, right? Like if I put on an accent, but. More.

Could it make two different people sound like the same person?

[snackooed]

Oh, you mean that voice filter he uses? Not with one-hundred percent accuracy.

[ There's a glint in her eyes here, actually... ]

What he's actually doing there is he's speaking into a device that adds distortion to his voice, and lets him change the pitch and tone of it, too. These "voice changers" can be either extremely simple or incredibly sophisticated, depending on exactly what the person is trying to use it for. You'll often see it used for disguise, but some are so advanced that you can make yourself convincingly sound like someone of the opposite sex.

However, even if two different people used one of these voice changers, it's impossible to make it so that their voices sound completely and totally identical. But, but, it is very possible to make them sound convincing enough that, to a normal listener, they come from the same speaker. Do you remember how I told you that we have photograph specialists and the like at the forensics lab? Well, we also have audio forensic experts, who specialize in reconstructing crime scenes and identifying speakers and sounds based on what we call their acoustic fingerprints. They enhance quiet sounds like whispers and footsteps, and carefully note who's talking and what's being said...

[bolderfell]

So... basically, it's possible. Since none of us knows how to do... what you just said. At least, not without the right tools. Right?

[snackooed]

Exactly. I'd need some kind of audio analysis software to be able to compare the two voices closely enough, but without that, it's very possible, with a voice-changer that was of a good enough quality.

[bolderfell]

Then who's to say the Professor we talk to from one day to the next is ever the same guy? Or that he's the man who took care of Angel before now?

[snackooed]

Unless we somehow managed to quiz him, I'd say there's pretty much no way to be one-hundred percent certain at this point. As of now, there's no way to completely rule out the idea that there are multiple people behind that screen, at that outside facility.

[bolderfell]

[Therion chews on that idea for a while.]

...Think it's at all likely?

[snackooed]

I think the involvement of multiple people at the head of the operation seems probable, but multiple people claiming to be the same person? I wonder why they would need to go that far...

[bolderfell]

[He quickly scribbles a string of small letters after his uppercase Α.

Angel?]

At least one person behind that screen knows how to run a con. [Looks like Therion's been doing some criminal research of his own.] We may not be the only ones getting tricked.

[snackooed]

[ Ema just nods and adjusts her glasses, hoping to relay that she got the message. ]

Heard. Moving forward, I think we should keep an ear out for the way he addresses us. Look for any discrepancies in the way that he talks from day to day. Even if we can't go by a voice, we can go by clues in his speech. It's a bit of a long con, but we only need to catch one or two slips.

[bolderfell]

...Ugh. Might be harder than we expect. Outside of the meeting room, the regular announcements, and the trials--and when that Damien guy attacked Angel--I think I've only heard of him sending print messages. Through the devices, I mean.

[snackooed]

I'm really hoping that we won't have to deal with another trial, but, if we do...well, let's take care to note anything he says or any quirks in his speech that can't be easily replicated. After that, we can at least tackle it with a frame of reference. It's not much, but it's worth looking into, if the opportunity presents itself.

[bolderfell]

Guess I'll keep my ears open. You've got enough to do at the trials already.

[snackooed]

You say that as if you don't contribute too, Therion. You're important to the team, you know...

[bolderfell]

[He... flinches? Recoils? Something.]

I doubt that.

[snackooed]

You doubt it? You're a helpful investigator, and you've more than shown that you know how to quickly apply information you've learned to a task at hand.

[ She can't help but smile at him. ]

If I needed someone here to help me in a pinch, you'd be one of the first I'd turn to. You've got a good head on your shoulders.

[bolderfell]

[It's the stupid kind of thing Alfyn would say, or Cyrus. Like it doesn't even matter how he typically applies those talents. Like it's a given he's part of something. Ema smiles at him and matter-of-factly praises his skills, and it sends warmth and dread in equal measure swirling through his gut.

She hasn't phrased it in a way he can easily parry, this insinuation she trusts his judgment. Or trusts him.]

I'm still a thief, you know.