towerofanimus | Collar Checkup Boycott

Collar Checkup Boycott

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...

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[On Sunday morning, the infirmary is strangely empty, given the circumstances.

In fact, for the first time, anyone who wishes will be able to enter the collar checkup room unsupervised.]

[For a second time, the infirmary is completely empty and the collar checkup room left open--anyone who wants to could just wander right in.]

*Enoch always goes up to the eleventh floor if he arrives too late for breakfast but too early for lunch. But something is strange, and not just his odd second collar check yesterday. Where are the workers here? Clearly they hadn't managed to control the situation...

With a glance up the stairs and then down at the retrieval unit Jason had following him, he cautiously steps off the stairs.*

Is...is anyone working here?

*Tentatively, he heads towards the examination rooms after not being met with any worker units.*

I swear to god--

[Exasperated and only managing to contain his temper by reminding himself he couldn't fight retrieval units, Waver cursed vividly under his breath. Swearing up and down he was going to punch whoever was responsible for this mess, he let himself be dragged along for what must have been the third time.]

[Deep breaths, Waver.]

I'm going, I'm going--don't start pulling my hair you goddamned shirt-circuiting little--!

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

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

No one is guarding them.]

What the...?

[Considering how many times he'd been dragged to the infirmary the past couple days (despite going on his own when he was supposed to) John was a little surprised to see it completely empty when he walked by on his way to the cafeteria.]

[He peeks his head in curiously, glancing around to see if maybe people are just hiding somewhere where he can't see them.]

Helloooo? [He wanders around a bit, followed by his own retrieval unit.] Anybody in here?? Okay, guess not... hm?

[He's about to leave when he catches sight of the open check up room. For a moment, he's tempted to just keep on walking out but... well nobody is in here. Surely a quick peek can't hurt....]

[ Following Riki's punishment, Doc assumed this was all yet another consequence of their hack. That's when he remembered he'd read about that boycott. The situation was quite chaotic and he got dragged quite a few times by the retrieval units around-- That's when he decided to stop by the infirmary to see the extent of the disaster, only to find it empty.

... Doc entered the collar checkup room, slowly, taking a look around to see what may have brought up the desertion of this place. Oh, and his dog followed him, as always. That's when eh saw Enoch as well. ]

Great Scott! Is this... The collar liquid?

Sure as hell looks like it.

[Says the ponytailed teacher being followed by a 3d silhouetted maid of liquid mercury.]

*Enoch looks at his retrieval stalker, then at the two newcomers.*

So it seems. The others had some merit when they pointed out it's likely how we're drugged, but going without isn't the way, I can say so from experience.

[Rick is starting to get a little flustered with how many times he's been dragged to the infirmary so far, so he's decided to take the initiative this morning and just get it over with.]

[But--surprise, surprise--the place is apparently empty. That is, on the onset. After cautiously taking a few steps inside, he finds he's not the only curious soul in this tower.]

[Unable to say anything coherent, Rick catches whoever's eye he can keep and makes an inquiring expression with his brow, pointing to all the empty beds where patients should be sitting, and the strange fluids lying next to them. But he seems willing to stick around and see what happens.]

[Wriggle floats in later in the night, a rather large gash on the side of her leg. She had been hiding from the retrieval units in the trees after being dragged up to the thirty-second floor but managed to injure herself when the branch she was on broke and slashed her when she landed on top of it.

She starts searching the cupboards for some bandages, currently unaware of the situation at the tower. She hadn't intentionally been a part of the boycott, she'd just forgotten her check-up like normal]

[It's impossible to tell what color the fluids are here--they're all labeled, but the label is in an unknown language, and the containers are completely solid and sealed. They are all lined up in a row, however...]

[April had been less than impressed with being dragged back to the infirmary the past couple of days for check-ups, even after she did go, so she was wary about walking past the infirmary. Except the quiet also catches her attention, and when she sees someone else peek in, she peeks in too.]

... Ah, they've left the collar fluid out!

[Nue hasn't been avoiding her collar checkups thanks to any organized boycott—she just hates being wrangled and held down like an animal. As such, she has been doing her best to avoid the retrieval units altogether during the week, and for the most part, she has steered clear of the infirmary as well. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't set foot in the checkup room unless forced.]

[However, when she passes through the infirmary during her usual nighttime search for entertainment, her curiosity is piqued by the strangely empty room. She creeps inside, sticking close to the walls as her eyes sweep her surroundings. She strains her ears and nose for any strange sounds or smells as well.]

[Hopefully she doesn't get mistaken for a retrieval unit herself...]

Hm. I don't suppose I need to say it might be a good idea to take one if not all of these and see if it can be determined what it is.

The question is, should we open them first and see what we're working with?

[ Sertoria's not too thrilled over being followed everywhere by a retrieval unit, but it's something she can deal with. What also didn't help was being dragged multiple times after her checkup, which she went to. During the third time, she had asked the units if they were operational enough to remember her face.

She peeks her head in to where Waver, Doc, Enoch and Rick are, looking at the unguarded fluids for a brief moment. ]

...You would think these would be better guarded, concerning their value.

How curious.

[Here's Richtofen, lurking like a creep in the infirmary with his arms crossed over his chest.]

They're slacking off.

[A flick of fingers is audible and Lucifel appears in the infirmary, looking around curiously.]

My, isn't it crowded today.

[And then his eyes are drawn to the containers.]

... Is this what I think it is?

We need to take samples indeed. I suspect they may be ordered following the visible spectrum-- From Orange to Violet.

[ Doc approaches the containers, looking very serious for once as he observes them. ]

With enough quantity of the liquid, we could analyze it.

...wait, they did what?

[Yukiko looks around at the others.]

...Isn't there one extra, or am I counting colors incorrectly?

[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.]

Edited 2013-07-17 21:46 (UTC)

[A sheepish voice, from the back of the growing crowd:]

Wait...sh-should we be t-taking these?

[He casts a nervous eye at Enoch's trailing retrieval stalker.]

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Collar Checkup Boycott

SUNDAY, MORNING

SUNDAY, ELEVEN PM

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