towerofanimus | No real escape

Entry tags:

No real escape

Characters: Elian Zigmarl and Ryuho Ryu
Setting: Room 1-12
Format: Prose
Summary: Elian has to help out a friend from his world. It's not going to be easy.
Warnings: Death talk, emotional breakdowns, and seismic upthrusts and a lot of other things that might not make a lot of sense.

With the arrival of Ryuho came the complicated matter of taking care of his leader. He had to choose his words carefully considering now that he had no memories. Elian made his way through the halls from his current location at the infirmary, to his friend's room. There really wasn't much that he could do other than to help Ryuho understand what was going on.

The navigation came easy to him, since he worked on these floors. It was a menial job but it had its benefits. The trek through the halls allowed him time to think. It was important to make sure that Ryuho knew precisely what was happening and he left very little to chance. It was a gamble he chose not to take by leaving his friend to face his issues alone.

The otherwise stoic boy didn't show any happiness on his face through his walk. It was as if it was business as usual with the same impassive expression. All those years of discipline and training made him socially invisible and rarely has he gone out of his way to explain anything other than to those that needed to know.

This was one such incident. His small hand reached up to knock on the door upon his approach to room 1-12.

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Elian looked over at Ryuho's collar and his movements and nodded. "I'm not entirely sure myself. No one really knows the truth behind them. Some say it suppresses powers. Others believe it is to keep us from abusing our powers. I wouldn't hold it passed them that it's for tracking us through the Tower. My powers were suppressed randomly. If they are not maintained, the staff will knock you out and bring you to the infirmary for maintenance."

"How do they know you out?" He really didn't like the sound of that. It was like being a slave again.

"Are most powers suppressed here?" It would be infuriating if he worked so hard to recover his alter and found it wasn't possible to summon it here anyway.

"I'm not sure how. I hadn't thought to test it and I didn't ask anyone to know for sure how they do it. It's simply not recommended." Elian stood up after a period of rest that he needed to regain his strength to make the trip to the cafeteria.

"Come. We still have to eat."

"Oh, right." Now that he thought of it, he was hungry. In fact, he didn't remember eating within recent memory, although the rough men who had been grabbing unfortunates for the mining town had promised food.

"Where do we go?"

"The first floor. This month, the food is better than it was last month. It's not far to walk." At least to him it wasn't compared to the 38 floors that he walked before and was winded by the time he reached the tenth. Short legs really didn't help at all in tackling stairs.

"I'll follow you. Although, the note said something about oatmeal?" He wasn't sure why that was.

Elian nodded his head. "Yes. Your first meal must be oatmeal otherwise you would become violently ill unless you ate it. I didn't take that chance."

He was always one to follow instructions and now he sort of wished he went outside of the box just to see what it was like, that is, he did up until he saw someone get real sick for not following the instructions.

"I suppose I don't have much choice then." Not that it really mattered. He's been eating scraps the last few weeks, or whatever charity he was offered.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Once you have it as your first meal, you can have anything you want thereafter. It's relatively filling." Elian actually preferred it from the choices he had his first month here. Nothing was appetizing and the oatmeal at least was familiar.

"Come. You need your strength."

"Are there specific mealtimes, or is food always available?" This place so far had almost an institutional quality to it.

"There are specified times, yes. Otherwise, you are welcome to make your own. I have seen residents create their own meals." Elian was used to that institutional feel which was why he never complained. He hardly ever did.

"Is food purchased, or provided?" He was catalouging all that he would need to know if he was expected to live here for a period of time. So far, it did not seem terrible, although the situation certainly was.

"Provided. The Administration does not want any of us to languish needlessly. They need us alive." Elian was still looking for that reason why and so far he has come up empty in his searches and the blocks didn't allow him to get passed their protocols. That was the most unsettling part to the young Alter user.

"I wonder then if the jobs are not really required but a way of occupying our minds so they we do not get bored." He did not expect that he would make any kind of leeway getting out until he had at least setting and began to try understanding this place.

"Jobs are a means of monitoring our whereabouts. We have no days off should you take one and the work is not rewarded in the same sense as a job in a village would be. There are no benefits to the tasks given." It almost seemed more like a waste of time than something just to pass the time.

The jobs needed to be done but it wasn't easy work, at least on his end. "Missing work is not advised."

"It seems that they could monitor our whereabouts in any case." he continued to follow down the hallways as he mulled that over. "What happens if you miss work?"

"Yes, this is correct. I hadn't missed work to know the answer to that question first hand. From what I understand in passing, you are caught and taken to your post whether you want to be there or not. Complaints are ignored completely." Since he doesn't complain anyway, he never suffered the consequences.

The hall seemed longer than he remembered and it showed in his expression. "I am uncertain what changes will occur now since the attacks."

"Then it really is no different than slavery." Unless there was a good reason for it, but he couldn't really grasp what that was. If their worlds were gone, then they had to work together, but without any meaningful control over thier own destiny, it was degrading.

"We do receive pay as compensation, but it does us no good when we can only spend it in limited venues." In Elian's mind, it was hardly worth mentioning.

"Where is the money used?"

"No where, at the moment. The floor where money could be spent is destroyed. However, the restaurant on the upper floor may have been restored by now, but the cafeteria seems adequate for the time being. I see no purpose in making meal purchases at this time." It was for that reason that his account is becoming relatively sizable. He spends only on the things he needs and saves his money in case he needs it.

With no real place to spend it, it seemed pointless.

"I see. It seems that the necessities are taken care of then, so there is not much point."

"The monetary system is pointless in my opinion." He hardly offered opinions. For Elian, it seemed like it was just another way to get people to work without really offering much as a means of an incentive.

"This Tower offers a face of false hope to many that can't see beyond their own greed."

"Since there is very little to feel greedy over, it may be that they simple take the hope that is offered because they have no other recourse."

Elian fell silent and fixed his gaze ahead as he fell in step with his former colleague. Ryuho was always to the point and he could barely keep up at times. He wasn't nearly as practiced in the ways of society as everyone else and Ryuho had shown his superiority in more ways than one.

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