Week 4

[airlockedmods]

Week 4

[The Champions have had their first deliberate murders this week, and just like that, Prompto and Lunafreya are gone. Slaine followed them shortly after, however most people may feel about that.

This time, C.E.C.E.'s addition to the morning announcement probably doesn't come as much of a surprise:]

Congratulations, Champions! By surviving your second trial, you have unlocked the third floor of the ship. A new mini map has been added to your P.I.P.! To access the second floor please stand on the teleporter and select the floor you wish to be teleported to.

[In addition to the new floor, the Champions will find that they've gained another memory this week.]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday



(( Welcome to Week 4! Don't forget to check in and submit your memory regains! Turn in your benefactor threads for sweet loot, too! ))

Comments

greenhouse

[andjerry]

[he finds himself drawn back to the same place: this is nowhere near home, but the sounds of birds are- familiar, if not really comforting. it's better than the persistent machine hums and teenagers shouting, and positions himself on the other side of the coop to listen to the pigeons. there's something almost metaphorical here, if he wants to pull it out, but he really doesn't. he wants to be silent, but he catches Manaka's eye as if to say "I can leave".]

[immaculacies]

Ah, MacLaine-san.

[Manaka doesn't seem bothered by his presence, offering him a polite smile where stands opposite of her.]

Do you like birds? These ones look a little strange, but I think they're pretty.

[andjerry]

I like these. Of course they're strange, but- they aren't the strangest thing here. [he offers one his fingers through the bars like most people would a dog, trying to get it comfortable with him before he tries to feed it.]

[immaculacies]

Mm, I suppose they aren't. [She rubs a finger along the patterned feathers of the one in front of her.] Still, they make me wonder about some things.

[andjerry]

[a look at her, inviting her to continue as he crouches lower to get to know the birds and watches her from the corner of his eye]

Something about space?

[immaculacies]

Logistics, mostly. Were they engineered to look like this? Bred, somehow? They look so much like normal pigeons, it's hard for me to imagine that they're an alien species.

It's things like this that make me think that Kaiba-san is right, and all this is just a virtual simulation.

[andjerry]

... if he's right, what does that mean for you?

[immaculacies]

[She blinks slowly at that, then tilts her head. Still, her smile doesn't fade as she asks,]

What do you mean?

[andjerry]

If none of this is real, what does it mean?

[immaculacies]

Even if it's a simulation, that doesn't mean that it isn't real. We're still experiencing it, and sensory input is a powerful thing. If you found out that this environment was fake, would that make the deaths you've seen any less unsettling in your memory?

[andjerry]

I'd... yes, I'd remember them. But coming out of this with no consequences once we left...

...never mind. We'd still have those.

[immaculacies]

Mm-hm, that's right. Even if there are no physical consequences, the psychological effect of those memories wouldn't disappear.

[She says all this like a teacher might when lecturing to a classroom, upbeat but entirely dispassionate.]

[andjerry]

[this is more than a little creepy, honestly, the way she's handling it.]

...and that doesn't worry you.

[immaculacies]

[She does sober a little at his implied question.]

For whose sake? My own, or everyone else's?

[andjerry]

Yours.

[immaculacies]

Ah! It's fine, then. I already know how I'll handle myself, so there's nothing to worry about.

[andjerry]

What are you going to do?

[immaculacies]

I don't need to do much. I already know how to distance myself from my emotions when they become inconvenient.

[andjerry]

[... and that really worries him. A lot of emotions are "inconvenient", but they're a warning system. He draws in his lip, pretending to concentrate on the crumbled snacks he's dropping into the pigeon coop.]

That's why you aren't afraid, isn't it?

[immaculacies]

Mm. Something like that.

[Actually it's because she's a horrible gremlin, but?? She doesn't say that.]

[andjerry]

You're almost lucky.

[immaculacies]

I know.