paradoxlol | 075

Entry tags:

075 | Voice

[WARDEN FILTER + PERRY; backdated to shortly after this post and this log.]
Just to give you an update on the murder of Agent Sandoval, the party responsible was my inmate, Perry Dawsey. He's in Level 0 now, and he'll be there for the week. If you have any further questions, now's the time to ask.

[Private to Agent Sandoval + Perry]
My name's Arthur; I'm the warden of the man who killed you. [Might as well just get it out there as plainly as possible.] How are you feeling? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened?

[Private to Ariadne + Perry]
Are you free?

[OOC: As usual, Arthur's filters include Perry; however, that doesn't mean that responses to Arthur need to include Perry!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sure. My place or yours?

Mine. Although I was thinking of calling it "our place."

Edited 2012-11-14 01:47 (UTC)

[There's a brief pause because she has to parse that. And then -]

Hang on.

[And give her like five minutes, Arthur, before she's at your door. She's soooooo not having this conversation on the network.]

[Arthur opens up, and decides to just PLAY IT CASUAL.]

Hey.

[Have a smile.]

[She is not buying the casual act, Arthur. Not one bit. She sort of grips the front of his shirt affectionately, tugging him inside with her and giving him an appraising look.]

Explain, please.

[Arthur backs on up into the apartment.] I don't know if there's much to explain. I've been thinking about what you said, about us moving in together. [He shrugs and looks around at his apartment.] I don't want to come back to an empty apartment anymore.

[What he doesn't say is he hasn't been sleeping well-- or much at all-- since Wonderland. And that it may have something to do with his change of heart.]

That's ultra-romantic, Arthur. [Her voice is dry but she's got a little smile on her face as she gives him a quick kiss.] So you're lonely and remembered you've got a willing woman waiting in the wings, huh?

[He holds up his hands.] Hey, I've never done this before. [He leans in close to return that kiss.] I guess I should've asked you over dinner.

But the point is. [He digs a hand in his pocket and pulls out his keys, offering them to her.] They're yours if you want them.

[She takes them, still smiling.] There's not really a nice, romantic place to eat dinner here, anyway. Somehow, you always seem to manage to impress me, though. Maybe I just have low standards.

Ouch. [Arthur slips his arms around Ariadne's waist and pulls her in.] Now who's being 'ultra-romantic'?

[Her smile just gets bigger, and she presses their foreheads together.] You know if I stopped picking on you, I'd just start telling you how I really feel, and then you'd get all uncomfortable.

[Arthur smiles.] I think I can handle it.

Really? So if I started to say that you're a really great guy, and you make me very happy, you'd be able to handle that?

[Arthur looks around the room.] Would you look at that? You said it, and the world didn't end.

And you're still standing here, wow. Not running away, I'm very impressed. [She starts tugging him toward the couch.] So okay, but what if I want to make a few changes to this place, hm?

[Arthur sits down on the couch and looks at Ariadne, his brow arched. Here comes the tricky part. He's never had somebody make changes to his place before.]

Like what?

[She follows, slipping her arms around him.] Ah, so he is worried about something.

Well, there's my drafting table, for one thing. All my models and layouts, all my clothes...

[Oh, phew. Changes he can accommodate. As long as she's not touching his pretentious and ultra-modern decor.]

I'll make room for them. [Then, he gets an idea.] Of course, we could always use your cabin as an office. [Or Arthur can just give up his office. There's always that possibility.]

We could always ask the Admiral for some expansion. [She raises her eyebrows a little. Well, it would give her something to do all those hours in the art room.]

We could.

[Probably a better idea than an office on another floor.]

You design something, and I'll put in the request.

Yeah? You really don't mind me messing with this place like that? [She smiles and kisses the corner of his mouth. Arthur, you're so getting laid tonight.]

I've seen what you can do. [And he knows she's one of the best.] I trust you.

You mean, you trust that I know what you like. [She just can't quite keep the happy smile off her face. She feels - well, sort of giddy, in a way. She hasn't felt like this about someone in a long time. Maybe not ever.] Someday I'll get you a Francis Bacon.

[He's been watching the network now that he knows about it (and returned to his room, completely unaware of who lives next door.) So at least he's not quite as fumbling as he could be.]

I'm hurting, but I'm given to understand that's normal. [He has his best professional tone on now, the panic and the disorientation are gone.]

It should pass in about a week.

If you're up for it, do you mind telling me your side of what happened?

[It's still confusing, but now that he's remembering it, he's experiencing it more clearly than the first time it happened. Everything, in perfect detail, down to the fact that Perry's fists were balled before he even reached him.

He hadn't noticed that before.]

I am fairly certain I died. It wasn't painful, but I must have. Then I awoke in my room, and my face had been repaired. I didn't take the time to look around- I assumed that my death was a manufactured scenario to test my loyalty, and my superiors were going to come and kill me. When I tried to leave my room there was an unfamiliar hallway.

I went up the stairs and each door I tried there was a new hallway like the last. The doors to the rooms were different, but still notably similar. [He hadn't noticed the individual doors the first time. Now he could clearly identify each, if asked.]

I came out on the deck and I saw him. He was tense, but I wasn't clear minded at the time and I approached him for help. I had assumed the Taelons had transported me to another world for another test, and he was another one of their test subjects. His reaction didn't do much to change my mind. He grabbed my arm and demanded to know what my skrill was. I told him and he attacked me.

[So his story matches up with what Perry told him. Good. It means he doesn't have to add "lying" to the list of offenses-- not that he thought Perry had been, anyway.]

I'm sorry about that. My inmate doesn't do well with aliens, and your... skrill set something off in him. I wish I could say he'll get used to it, but...

It's probably for the best if you two kept a wide berth from each other. Not that I expect you'll want to be in his company again any time soon.

[Pause, then he continues.]

Did anyone give you a rundown on this place yet, why you're here?

I will be happy to oblige. It wasn't exactly something I would like to relive. [But if he's made angry enough he could possibly kill right back. Right now he's not angry. Just lost.] They were mostly convincing me that I didn't wake up in a Taelon hospital.

Yeah, you're a long way away from the Taelons. This is the Barge-- it's a sort of prison ship meets the afterlife kind of deal. If you woke up without knowing why you're here, I'd say you're an inmate. It means you're here for a second chance at life.

An inmate? [Though the question is stated more than asked, as if he's not terribly surprised by this turn of events. They did put him on trial for his service to the Taelons, ever all.

But humans didn't have prison ships in space, not usually.]

Who sanctioned this?

The Admiral. He chooses who's going to be here, but nobody really knows his methods, why he picks who he does. You'll soon learn that he's not the best driver, either.

It's not as bad as it sounds. You're not locked up-- not anymore than the wardens are-- and you're more or less free to go about your business. I won't lie, sometimes life here is tough. But it's a lot better than dying without a second shot.

[He wasn't exactly wanting to die. He supposes if he did, he would have died a long time ago.]

The Admiral, with no other attachment to his name?

You'll have to forgive my doubt. The alien races I was in contact with were skilled at creating illusions for information and altering entire frames of mind. I can't be sure what's absolutely true.

But I'm going to lash out in outrage over it. [Scheme a little, possibly. Maybe after he's confirmed what Arthur has said. But he won't lash out.] I'm used to it.

Do inmates have wardens assigned to them?

None that anyone knows. I don't think anyone's even seen his face.

I know it's unbelievable, but I'm telling you the truth. It's a strange place, and it doesn't always feel real, but it is.

And yeah. Each inmate gets assigned a warden. Sometimes, it takes a while, but it'll happen eventually.

Is there anything in particular that a warden does? We don't seem to have locks on our doors or curfews. [And he doesn't know about Zero or Perry being in it yet.]

I suppose I should ask if there's anything else you want to know.

A warden's primary job is to guide you. They work with you one-on-one to sort out anything you might need before you can graduate and get out of here. And, if you commit a crime, do something violent, they'll be the one to take you to Level 0-- the cells.

Beyond that, your warden might assign you to a job. And, if you die while assigned, they'll have to ask the Admiral to bring you back. [He pauses, then adds:] It's a little messed up. [At least, he thinks so.]

As for need-to-know... Could you tell me more about your skrill?

Edited 2012-11-20 01:56 (UTC)

I wonder who brought me back this time.

[Mildly curious, though. He's still a little hesitant about the whole "waking from the dead thing".]

It's an animal. It only has the intelligence of an insect drone, or a well-trained pet. My CVI allows me to control it.

To be honest, if it was at full strength your inmate probably would have been dead instead of me when he attacked. I shot him in self-defense, but its capacity was reduced.

I believe "why" would be a pertinent question.

[Arthur considers waving the "warden-inmate confidentiality" flag, but then after some time spent considering, decides against it. This is a matter of public safety, after all.]

The thing on Sandoval's arm-- you can see it briefly in the initial video-- it startled Perry. Set him off.

Set him off...

Because it's alien? If so, you'll understand why I find that very concerning. I don't want to end up dead just because your inmate sees me redistribute artron energy into a power crystal or the like.

[Firmly:] He won't. He can deal with aliens, most of the time. So long as they're humanoid. Sandoval's alien was just a little too close to something he dealt with back home.

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075 | Voice

voice; that same private thing

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