WEEK 5

[bathymetric]

That's three murders now - and this last trial got more than slightly out of hand. It looks like you might be in for another tough week... or at least, maybe that's just the refusal of this place to change too much. You lose Saturday again, but maybe six-day weeks are starting to feel normal by now. Who knows? The cycle of day and night continues apace, changing so little.

Speaking of change, though, there's a new area to look through, the biggest and most complex yet. And the end of one wing of the facility, from the looks of it - though you can probably guess where more areas might start to open up.

And speaking of opening up (segues!), this week if you're out particularly late, you might sometimes see Angel out and about! So hey, maybe change is on the horizon.

Just gotta hope it's a change for the better, don't you?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 5! 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! Or, if you want Angel to come to you, that's now an option! Simply put a prompt after lights-out into your toplevel and indicate you want Angel in the subject line, same as investigations! ]

Comments

Investigation!

[fivestagegod]

[...Do you ever just look at something and sigh very deeply.

That's about where Birkin is, with regards to the damn aquarium. He isn't sure he hates it, but he sure as hell doesn't like it and he's spending a while just...massaging his temple like he's warding off a headache because why.]

That's it, isn't it. We've reached peak idiocy. Please tell me it's downhill from here.

[...Granted, he'll be investigating in here, because honestly he might as well...

That said, the new wing does seem to be more to his liking, just overall; granted, once he hits the garden it serves its purpose very briefly as a serotonin machine before something about some of the herbs gets his attention.]

...I get that he's stealing things from other worlds, but it's just weird seeing these here.

Investigation!

[bathymetric]

[ Aww, the aquarium loves you too, Birkin! Where do you want to get started looking around? The tank layout on the locations page is about accurate to the contents of the room, minus a couple scattered benches and signs to help identify the species in each tank. ]

[fivestagegod]

[I appreciate the layout on the locations page, because I am in fact one of those people that gets lost going to the store.

That said, let's go check out the sharks, just because they're here and also fucking sharks. What does their setup look like, here. Presumably the tank is large enough and they're not eating each other.]

[bathymetric]

[ The tank is in fact of decent size! Maybe a little on the smaller side of what's required, but this aquarium doesn't look at all half-assed. The water is clean, the equipment to filter and such is new and shiny... this is a professional-grade aquarium. ]

[fivestagegod]

[Good to know! Is it also like the usual, with the dimmer lighting and illuminated tanks?

Also, and I hate asking this, but is there a way to access the tanks from this side, or would they be accessed from somewhere behind the walls?]

[bathymetric]

[ Yup! If you'd find it at a real well-regarded aquarium irl, that's probably the setup.

Well funny you mention that, actually - the shark tank has a very easy point of access from this side. There's an opening where you can climb up the tank and access the water directly - none of the other tanks in here have that. ]

[fivestagegod]

[...so normally he has a self-preservation instinct, really he does

he has been trying very hard to not die this whole time

but damn if that is not inspiring some insane call of the void, HE MAY GO UP THERE TO TAKE A DAMN LOOK IF NOBODY MINDS

...how mad will the sharks be if he does this, do they seem aggro]

[bathymetric]

[ Nah unless he's bleeding and you haven't mentioned they seem chill.

Wouldn't suggest bleeding, though, but it's easy enough to get up there and look in! There's nothing really inside worth noting, investigation-wise, but there are shark friends! ]

[fivestagegod]

[Nah, he's not bleeding - he's used to working in a BSL-4 lab, he's really finicky about cleanliness and not having open wounds anywhere. That said, hello, sharkfriends.

...Okay, he'll get down after a while and get back to looking around; let's check the tanks along the other wall. Not the jellyfish, the other ones. What's in them, first of all?]

[bathymetric]

[ If they could, the sharkfriends would surely say hello back!

So as to make this room maybe slightly less pointless, there are a lot of fish in here and none of them are from the Pacific Ocean! They're certainly not any of the kinds you've seen outside, for sure, even if you don't trust the informational plaques. ]

[fivestagegod]

[Oh, good. He's showing us different fish.

...Actually, are they all fish? Like obviously they're all aquatic things, but are there like. Cuttlefish. Or general cephalopods. Do we have seahorses. My god, has Wiggles finally found its friends?]

[bathymetric]

[ There's a wide assortment in these! The jellyfish tubes are... entirely the one thing, from a quick glance, but it's a full-on tropical habitat over here! No leeches, sadly, but there are bottom-dwellers for sure.

There's a squid passing by! Say hello to the squid! ]

Garden

[bolderfell]

Seeing what?

[Therion's not all that interested in plants, as a rule, but he knows enough now about how valuable some of them can be. He moseys over to look.]

[fivestagegod]

[Oh, hey Therion.]

...Some of these are common around where I grew up. They don't really grow anywhere else.

[bolderfell]

[He'll always be here to creep up on people and respond to conversations he was not invited to.]

Huh.

[That has weird implications, but he shakes his head.]

I shouldn't take long. I just wanted to know--has the Professor ever said anything to you outside something... scheduled? Besides the trials or those "pushes" he gives us, or announcements for everybody.

[A pause.]

By voice, I mean.

[fivestagegod]

To me, directly? No. Why?

[It's an interesting question, he'll definitely grant that much.]

[bolderfell]

[Well, he asked because Birkin's the one who ever reports hearing anything from or about the Professor at all, but that's not something to say outside an Area A restroom.]

You were the first one to see that... record on the television. The one talking about confidence work. It got me thinking. We hardly hear from him. We never see him--not even some image of himself he'd like to project. We have no idea what's behind that screen.

[fivestagegod]

We really don't. I've never really liked that, honestly - but I'm guessing you think there's a reason for all of that.

[bolderfell]

He tried to make it sound like... talking with us would skew his "experiment," somehow. That's why he doesn't call us by name. Supposedly.

[Supposedly that's the reason, and also supposedly he doesn't call them by name.]

But if he's as much a thief as he is a researcher, then there's more to it. He's concealing his identity on purpose.

[fivestagegod]

[...]

I've had thoughts on that for a while, actually.

[...Just...how does one explain this.]

We're all from different worlds, right? Maybe one or two of us are from the same world, but there's actually no guarantee that they're from the exact same place. Maybe Jasper and Rose are from worlds that are generally the same, but a decision was made that renders them different. Maybe it's something simple, like someone chose to wear a blue shirt instead of red, or maybe it's something big that they haven't seen the consequences of yet. Either way, their worlds are close enough that they recognize each other, and they remember everything generally being the same, even though they're technically from different worlds altogether.

I'm bringing this up because of what I asked him on the first day we were brought here - I asked if any of us would recognize him. He said no, unless a certain multiverse theory is true.

I think the chances are high that he's recognizable. We might not know him, but at least one of us would recognize who he is.

[bolderfell]

[Oh man, all right, yeah, we can try to teach multiverse theory to the guy who didn't know what toilets are for. He blinks, glances away, and scratches his head a bit.]

I... think I understand. Enough of it, anyway. [The punchline is enough.] That's not where I would've taken it, but... sure. I could see that, if that sort of thing is possible. Guess it'd likely be someone from one of your Earths.

[fivestagegod]

[He hasn't had to do it for a while, but he was able to explain some fairly complex stuff to Aela without making her head explode. It's worth a shot.]

It's just a guess, but it's been bothering me. I don't see a reason for that particular answer if that isn't the case.

aquarium

[reallyhatesharks]

Well, where I come from sharks are usually a sign of things going downhill.

[Nova's looking at the shark tank, her eyes tracking the movement of the sharks. She's having fun right now.]

[fivestagegod]

We are already surrounded by fish.

[He hates everything.]

Giant sharks are never exactly harbingers of anything great where I come from, either, though.

[reallyhatesharks]

These are different. These fish shouldn't be here, except for maybe the sharks.

[Visibly, Nova looks away from the sharks to examine one of the other tanks of fish.]

Tropical? Indian ocean, Caribbean maybe.