(no subject)

[midgarhorizon]

Characters: Anyone and everyone
Setting: Cafeteria, Noon, Nov 7th
Format: Anything
Summary: A party/discussion mingle after calling a meeting of the residents.
Warnings: tba


The anonymous post on the network was an invitation to gather, discuss and share information. Maybe they would get incredibly lucky and get to the bottom of things, such as who was behind the bombings or the strange things that went on during Quarantine.

Someone has been at work down here in the dining hall, moving the tables around to create a space in the middle in case people felt like dancing. Most of the chairs are around the outside and facing the middle, for everyone to see each other better. There was another space and some chairs for musicians, and a couple of the larger tables were set up with a large buffet of normal cafeteria food (because Zo wasn't likely to poison them) and resident prepared dishes, both clearly marked.

Of course, there was always the oatmeal.

[ooc: Feel free to make your own threads and subthreads!]

Comments

[withani]

[A]

[Finally. After the whole fiasco with her attempt to talk about things last month, Dani's been looking forward to something like this. There's a lot more going on in this place than she knows yet, and she's gotten a pretty strong impression that there are others who know more than they're letting on. That mysterious anon on her network post, for one.

So she'll be popping among the different groups she sees talking, trying to eavesdrop on what they're saying. She's sticking with human form for now. Her ghost powers lately have been even more tiring than usual. Which would be more worrying if there weren't so much going on.

If anybody happens to spot her though, she'll hitch on a totally innocent look her face.]

Don't mind me! Just a regular girl, wandering around.

[Totally inconspicuous right?]

[B]

[Once she's had her fill of listening in - or has found it to be unprofitable enough to not bother with further - Dani decides to take a more direct approach. The mysterious anon on the network said that people didn't talk about stuff like that on there. Maybe now would be different?]

Now will any of you guys talk to me about what was up with all the explosions and weird stuff at the end of September?

[Beat. Maybe that's too specific]

Or just stuff about this place in general. That works too.

[A]

[midgarhorizon]

[Do you really expect to fool someone that lurks in the shadows themselves, Dani?

Reno is watching her with his eyes while keeping his ears open. And yes, giving her looks.]

[withani]

[She catches that look and looks right back, all innocence. She's not doing anything wrong you're not her real dad.]

Uhh... hi?

[midgarhorizon]

Find out anything interesting?

[withani]

[Dani folds her hands behind her back, rocking backward and forwards on the balls of her feet]

Depends what you call interesting.

[midgarhorizon]

Y'could use some practice at that.

[withani]

What do you mean?

[She... genuinely sounds confused.]

Practice with what?

[B]

[alephbet]

The short answer is we don't know yet.

[Aleph takes a moment to think of how to explain this to a person who's new.]

In early August, the tower was rocked by a few explosions. The admin Jason sent out a message over the network - according to that, one of us had gotten hold of some actual explosives, not just the illusory film stuff that most things in the tower are made of, and used it. It's Jason, so not much of that is trustworthy, but it's a fact that there was an explosion in the tower and shortly after that shadows appeared, claiming to be people from our dead worlds.

The shadows spoke in the voices of people we knew and blamed us for their deaths and the destruction of our worlds. They drained our energy - staying with the people we'd attached to in the tower helped slow this process, but those who gave into the shadow's words died and were not revived until the infestation of shadow children was cleared away. However, they're still around in the tower occasionally.

In late September, the admin Riki announced he would be coming up to the dormitory floors to take questions. After some time talking to us, there was another series of explosions. Riki told us to either get into a dorm room or escape below. Those who took shelter in the rooms were trapped - those who were below found afterwards that the passage to that floor was blocked by rubble.

I was part of the group below, so I can most accurately talk about what happened from there: we were told to help move rubble and metal away from floors one hundred and one hundred and one. There were a few more explosions, and we were warned not to touch anything that looked like a bomb.

On the third day of clearing rubble, we downstairs were given cameras and video cameras to record the scene. We were also warned that monsters caught on camera would react badly. I wasn't taking pictures, so someone who was can fill you in on that.

Three days after that, Riki announced that there was a psychoradiation leak. He told us that we shouldn't work for more than an hour or two at a time. Those who ignored this warning - I was one of them - began to have vivid hallucinations.

Two days after that, work finished and we were able to reach the dormitory levels. Everyone blacked out for an hour as Riki did a "soft reset" and woke up in their own rooms.

I can't talk with authority about what happened inside the dorm rooms, but that's the extent of my knowledge. Does that help discussion any?

[B]

[firstnothing]

"Those trapped in the rooms were subjected to very limited food and water resources, as well as minimal lighting and no bathing facilities. Making noise led to injury, and then to death."

Xemnas' appearance is sudden and silent, but he's adding to what Aleph's already said. He's not terribly imposing for the moment.

"There were the sounds of activity like a hospital outside the doors, but attempting contact drew violent retribution and whispers to be quiet. Eventually the audible sounds of hospital became visual hallucinations of the same, as days passed. In those hallucinations children seemed to be the primary victims. And if you stayed silent, you stayed unharmed."

He spreads his hands before folding them infront of himself. "I imagine everyone trapped experienced the same. Riki mentioned the administration, or at least he himself, was looking for another active Tower to prevent total loss if this one fails."

Or when. The countdown is ongoing.

[withani]

[And... as it turns out Aleph really missed the point. The stuff about August was a bit interesting, since she hadn't been there for that. But as for the rest of it...]

Uh, I was there for all the September stuff. You don't have to tell me about it, especially for the people who weren't trapped up there. I just want to know what's going on? Why is this stuff even happening?

[What Xemnas has to offer is a bit more interesting. And putting it together with her own experiences and what Aleph said...]

Is the hallucinations and stuff because of that psychoradi-whatsis?

[She pauses for a moment, then adds]

Wait, so there's more than one of this place?

[Jeez, that wasn't a fun thought.]

[firstnothing]

[After a long moment of thoughtful silence when questioned, reviewing his own memories, Xemnas ... shrugs.]

I don't know for certain. It seems likely. However I had the impression due to the mmm, similarity of the hallucinations experienced that it wasn't simply our minds playing tricks on us. As if we were not the first denizens to this Tower, and we were experiencing their ...echoes, like ghosts in time. Perhaps this gas simply allowed it to happen. I can only guess.

[Xemnas is not aware that there were previous victims to this place.

It's interesting. This is the first time he'd even heard of people discussing this place so openly.]

As for other Towers, it seems so. More than one or two, at any rate, but they are inactive and thus apparently useless.

[withani]

Oh. Well... I guess that's good news. Maybe.

[Perhaps. The idea of multiple places like this isn't appealing. Though what he said about the Tower shutting down is concerning.]

But I guess... what does it all mean? What is this psychoradium stuff anyway? It's letting us see the past, what does all the random stuff the rest of us saw mean? Like I saw disembodied legs just walking around, and heard a weird knocking noise.

[firstnothing]

I wish I had answers to that. I only have guesses.

[Xemnas would prefer having more pieces to his puzzle but that's all he had so far.]

If one goes by the root words of it, psychoradiation could either be mind energy, or mind poison .. or various other meanings depending on which 'radiation' is meant. In this case given the effects my suspicions are it's a sort of psionic lingering poison from.. possibly earlier experimentation. Perhaps what we saw was once reality and what you saw was the hallucinations the victims suffered.

[His smile is brief and humorless.]

It is of course simply guessing. I am no longer a scientist I'm afraid.

[alephbet]

Psychoradiation. And yes.

[Aleph doesn't seem to mind what Dani says first. She could've been upstairs and asked exactly the same question, and he doesn't really have an answer to generalities.]

Apparently, we're in tower designation Animus. There are supposed to be many, many more of these. This is according to someone we think was Ruana.

[withani]

Yeah, that stuff.

[Correct pronunciation over complicated words is lame anyway.]

Ruana is another one of those admins, right?

[alephbet]

Right. She's the one in charge, and is responsible for running the tower during October, so the 'game' we all just went through is her doing. She's the worst of the bunch.

[bashfulshifter]

...Children?

[The interjection is silent, but more intrusive than Rick would've liked. Honestly he would've preferred not to get involved in this discussion at all--but he's had some bits and bobs kicking around in his head, and listening in whilst bringing out another tray of fancy sandwiches has made a few of them click oddly into place. It's more a musing to himself than anyone gathered nearby.]

L-Like the ones in the l-l-lower f-floors...a-and the p-pictures...hmm...

[firstnothing]

Yes.

[Hello, Rick. Xemnas subjects the shapeshifter to a level, thoughtful stare.]

These pictures you speak of. What are they? Do you still have them?

[bashfulshifter]

[Very lucky for both of them that Rick doesn't recognize Xemnas, otherwise he'd be across the room right now. Not that he's any less horrified at being called out.]

--Huh?

[The blonde man pivots after depositing his tray and realizes that there are multiple sets of eyes on him. His face turns a particularly dark shade of embarrassed.]

O-O-Oh...uh...th--they w-w-weren't...w-well they w-w-were...M-Miles'.

[More commonly, Edgeworth's. Rick likes to think he's on a first-name-basis with the prosecutor.]

[firstnothing]

[Xemnas does however recognize Rick .. he's just not saying a word about that. It's probably for the best.]

Breathe a little, and try to relax.

[Not that this recommendation will do ANY good.]

Then they are someone else's pictures. But you've seen them? Then you can still describe them, while we hope 'Miles' turns up and fills in the blanks.

[Option A]

[bloodyashes]

[...Yeah, that's not suspicious at all, especially from someone with a violet collar. Whether they're replicas or not, in Asch's experience, violets are never "regular."

Not that there's anyone regular at the Tower in general.]

You'll find out a lot more if you stop acting like you've been caught at something you shouldn't be.

[withani]

[Dani folds her arms, scowling up at the much taller redhead]

I'm not doing anything wrong.

[She's not. Trying to find out more information isn't bad]

They don't have to hide anything in the first place. I'm not some little kid.

[Compared to most of the Tower you are, Dani]

[bloodyashes]

Then why are you sneaking around?

[Asch is probably one of the few people who isn't going to look down on her strictly because of her age. If someone's here, then they have as much right to know as anyone.]

If you think you have the right to the information, act like it.

[withani]

[Well then. Dani considers this for a moment, then nods her approval.]

Fine then. I will.

[She puts her hands on her hips and looks straight up at him.]

What do you know about this place, then?

[bloodyashes]

[Dani has earned one (1) Asch Respect Point.]

Where do you want to start?

[He's been here nearly a year, he qualifies as an oldbie now.]