Collar Checkup Boycott

[animusmods]

Characters: open to all
Setting: infirmary; around the Tower in general
Format: party-style all week; please note the date your post is taking place in the subject line
Summary: The results of the collar boycott slowly become clear...
Warnings: standard Tower warnings
Note: You may NPC your own retrieval units.

The results don't begin to become clear until Tuesday--Monday passes more or less without incident, except for the number of orange-collared residents who miss their checks. And on Tuesday, the retrieval units are out to search for them. It doesn't seem like they were meant to recover so many, though: a clever resident will be able to avoid their retrieval unit entirely. And so, some oranges continue to have escaped their collar checkup today.

It's worse on Wednesday. Retrieval units are out and about again, but this time to try and search for the yellow-collared residents who skipped the day before. No orange-collared residents are searched out at all, and even then there seems to be enough confusion in the programming of the retrieval units any boycotting yellows can run off and hide if they're careful about it.

By the time Thursday arrives, there's a general, obvious level of confusion in the retrieval units' retrieval programming. They were obviously not programmed to be searching for so many colors at once. Some residents may find themselves being dragged in for a second collar check this week, even if they went to theirs, and the infirmary seems to be working at double time. No one even bothers to search for the two wayward greens.

By Friday the retrieval units are out in a number that seems more fitting for a small militia than anything else. Still, they seem more intent on tracking down the greens--their programming still telling them to retrieve those who were missed the day before--but they don't seem to know which greens they're looking for. Anyone with a green collar may be dragged in for a collar check, possibly multiple times today.

Saturday is chaos in the infirmary. The retrieval units seem to have entirely lost sight of who they're actually searching for, and anyone brought into the checkup room will be able to see how messy and confused it looks, with no real time to clean it and orange through violet collar fluid all lined up at once where normally only the color of the day and of the day before would be out at all. Again people may be brought in for multiple checks while those intent on evading capture can remain elusive.

But Sunday--on Sunday the entire process breaks down. There's too much volume for the retrieval units to handle, and they scatter about in a strange catch and release program, dragging anyone they catch to random places around the Tower before letting them go. They don't seem to be entirely certain of what they're supposed to be doing.

Something else happens on Sunday, as well...

Comments

[halfpintsorceress]

[After a few days' worth of careful retrieval unit avoidance - both for her own color and for any overzealous overlap on their aggressors' part, Lina peeks around a corner and sees...well, a seemingly empty infirmary. Which is odd, to her at least. Maybe the others involved in the boycott are just that good at hiding and/or running that the guys that should be working here got called in to help.

Either way, it seems like it's worth investigating. Reaching behind her, she swats at someone to get their attention, while whispering.]

Psst, Zel! Check it out, it looks like there's nobody in there.

[animusnpcs]

[The room is completely empty--it looks like a standard doctor's checkup room, except it's incredibly messy.

There are also several large containers of collar fluid, sealed properly and ready to be used for collar checkups.

No one is guarding them.]

[nobarnacles]

[ It was nice for Zel to have someone he trusted covering his back while avoiding the retrieval units, but after watching them get overloaded after the first few days of the boycott, they didn't even have much of a problem skipping their own collar checks.

He looks around and determines that the infirmary is indeed empty, and the room is oddly quiet considering how much mayhem there was in the past few days. Unlike Lina, he doesn't bother acting like he's sneaking down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. ]

This has to be a trap. Why would they leave this room unguarded?

[ He's eying the collar fluid with equal parts suspicion and curiosity, and steps calmly past Lina for a closer look. ]

[animusnpcs]

[The containers are solid steel. There are valves with a button on each.]

[halfpintsorceress]

[Call it experience that's making Lina be sneaky this time - much as she'd like to just waltz around nonchalantly like she's used to doing, that's gotten her in too much trouble here before.

Once Zel advances, Lina follows. A bit cowardly, perhaps, but if it is a trap, well, Zel can bounce back a whole lot better from damage than she can.]

It might be a trap, but this is a pretty big chance we've got here! We're gonna catch hell for dodging our checks anyway, so we may as well go for broke, I figure.

[Lina pushes ahead, and pokes at the button on a random container.]

[animusnpcs]

[Yellow liquid pours out. After a few moments exposed to the air it turns clear.]

[nobarnacles]

I'd rather not push the circumstances, but still, this looks like a good chance to gather some information.

[ Though he was the one to make the first move, he stops short of actually touching one, letting himself have a moment of careful inspection before doin-- ]

Lina, wait!

[ Too late. Zel's alert level kicks up three notches at once, and he tenses as the yellow liquid drips out. But nothing more dramatic happens. ]

Don't touch that.

[halfpintsorceress]

A little late for that now, Zel. And besides, we got information out of it. This one's got the yellow liquid in it, and the buttons dispense it.

[Lina's rather cocky and sure of herself at this point.]

[nobarnacles]

That doesn't tell us much. What does the liquid do? What's it made out of? Why is it turning clear after it runs out?

[ In for a penny, in for a pound. Now that any damage that is likely to be done has probably already been done, Zel goes and pushes the button on all the other containers. ]

At least we'll see what colors we have here.

[animusnpcs]

[There are orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo containers.]

[halfpintsorceress]

Something important, obviously, since they want us in here twice a month to change it.

[Lina frowns and crosses her arms, obviously thinking.]

I recall once a lot of people wound up with different colors and it made powers go insane. Felt like I was just leaking magic all over like a waterfall.

[Lina pauses for a moment, then snaps her fingers.]

And other people - I remember that other people felt tired and worn-down with different colors! The message said that something's holding us back - what if it's this stuff?

[nobarnacles]

Well, I wonder what will happen if we don't change it at all. I don't particularly feel like I'm being held back, but obviously something has power over us.

[ He's eyes the indigo fluid, it being the color that flows through his and Lina's collars.]

Let's take some with us. If it turns out to be critical to our survival, I want to at least have access to it on myown terms, not some mad scientist's whims.

[ Obviously, this is a sore spot for him. He's looking around the infirmary for some sort of secondary container.]

[animusnpcs]

[There are a few beakers scattered around.]

[halfpintsorceress]

Well, you haven't been trying to blow this place apart like I did - you act out enough, then they start yanking our chains.

[Lina points at her collar as she says that, then grins at Zel's idea. She then promptly grabs the nearest canister with some effort.]

One of 'em oughta be more than enough.

[nobarnacles]

You're right, I did get my chain yanked, so to speak. I met the child administrator recently, and every time I got close to him, I'd lose control over my body.

[ Zel goes for a beaker, but when he turns back to Lina and sees that she already has an entire container in her arms, he stops in surprise. A slow grin creeps onto his face; trust Lina to live in excess for all areas of her life. ]

Hopefully we won't have to share it with anyone. [ He pushes the button of the container in her arms just to make sure it's the indigo fluid, then goes for the container of blue fluid himself. ] But let's take this one just in case we do.