WEEK 11 - TRIAL

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (11)

saturday TRIAL DAY ONE (13) survivors At 9 AM, a klaxon alarm begins blaring in every area of the ship. The alarm will continue to go off until everyone has gathered in the conference room. Should anyone be running late or avoiding the trial for whatever reason, a robot guide will appear wherever they are and gently but firmly escort them into the room. Once all the living players are present, the conference room doors will lock shut; anyone who wishes to leave for whatever reason will need to ask AL-2955 or one of the robots. Anyone leaving for non-investigative purposes, such as bathroom breaks, will be accompanied by a robot escort. The large round table in the center of the conference room has been set up to help the trial run as smoothly as possible. Three holographic screens hover above the center hollow of the table, visible from every angle. The first screen displays the pictures and profiles of the suspects and victim; the second displays the autopsy report; the third displays a blank word processor. Each of the chairs comes equipped with a virtual keyboard which can be used to type information directly into the third screen, such as theories and updated information; they can also be set into privacy mode, which will transfer whatever notes someone writes directly into their datapad instead of on screen. There's also a tablet function for those who wish to draw charts or pictures on screen. The keyboards will detect the DNA of whoever's using them and record who's typed what - simply press an area of text and the name of whoever wrote it will pop up. The area to the right of the table has been temporarily sectioned off with a glass partition and sliding door for hygienic issues. Inside, the victim's body has been laid out on a metal autopsy table, covered by a plastic sheet. Above it is a holographic screen that displays a close-up color photograph of the body when it was found. A hand sanitizer dispenser has been considerately attached to the wall nearby for anyone getting up close and personal to the body. To the left of the conference table is a display case. Any evidence found during the investigation will be carefully collected by the robots at some point the previous day and placed here before the trial starts. Beneath each piece of evidence is a small tablet where players can type up information, such as a short description or where it was found. There are also empty areas left over for any evidence that may be found during the trial. The shelf at the very bottom of the case has been reserved for an extra rulebook in case anyone needs it. Food will be served throughout the day by the robots, who will take individual orders whenever you're feeling hungry. The trial will end at 9:00 PM, at which point all players will have been expected to cast their vote.

victim



suspects



Character Statuses
Setting
Rulebook
Voting

Comments

[antietam]

[ OK this is something. How long are they going to be in here for? Might as well discuss something useful. ]

So—whatever happened to Fiona, that wasn't a normal souvlaki, was it? It acted different, it died easily, and there was actually something in its blood as opposed to everyone else. [ Because there's probably still more aliens? Who knows. ]

Can we talk about that?

[antagonize]

No. It didn't act like a normal souvlaki at all. No villainous monologue. Movements were too erratic and uncoordinated. And— those things under her skin. Maybe I missed it because, y'know, one eye. But I'm pretty damn sure none of our other meat puppets had something literally crawling under their flesh.

[antietam]

No, they were more well-hidden. This one was... underdeveloped maybe? I have to hope it's still one of them and not a totally new threat.

[missmaladroite]

Maybe... it was an unattached alien trying to attach itself to a host? Or a subspecies?

[Rhys babies]

[chiseler]

Too bad we can't take a closer look at it and see if we can study it a little closer.

[missmaladroite]

It's completely disappeared.....

[chiseler]

No signs of it or anything? Nothing came from Fiona?

[missmaladroite]

We looked, but we couldn't find anything. Maybe if there were a way to draw it out... Or I could check the vents.

[chiseler]

I don't know if I want you crawling around in the vents when we have no idea what might be out there yet. Sit tight. We'll do it as a last resort.

[monsieurchatastrophe]

[winces]

Um-- actually, something came out of her mouth? Grell had it pinned and I might've... destroyed it.

[LISTEN? IT WAS GROSS?]

[chiseler]

[...]

What do you mean something came out of her mouth? What'd it look like? Was it just the one thing?

[antagonize]

Wow. And here I was thinking, there's no way this could get nastier than it already is.

[missmaladroite]

What?!

[okay she missed this one little detail because her player was exhausted]

[bloodteller]

You found it?!

[ THAT WAS THE ENTIRE REASON SHE EVISCERATED FIONA AAAAAAAAAAA ]

[antagonize]

Maybe it was one of the souvlaki's beloved pet dog?

[He's joking, but. Ugh.]

Could have been an underdeveloped one, though. A recent infection, from spending too much time around someone else who's possessed.

[tevinteriscoming]

So they can spread. Lovely.

We ought to do your little blood test daily. At least we can catch them in nascent form.

[chiseler]

The good thing in all of this is that we're discovering them now instead of letting them grow and come out in a totally different way. That's gotta count for something.

[tevinteriscoming]

Yes, it does count for something. [Whatever his feelings on how the experiment was handled given the motive this week, the results are undeniably useful.] If they're going to try to spread, we must be even more on guard than we were before. If we test every day, they'll know spreading won't do them any good, and perhaps they'll stop.

[chiseler]

The other question I've got is wondering how they spread in the first place. With the new information that something crawled out of Fiona we've gotta wonder...what, did it crawl in while she was sleeping or what? And more importantly I think we need to ask the most important question.

Why Fiona in the first place?

[tevinteriscoming]

Can it be a coincidence? Rhys. They were close, but that was weeks ago.

[God. He hopes it doesn't spread like that. Maybe that's why they have a ship full of virgins; the infection would be spreading much faster if it were otherwise.

No he actually is thinking these terrible thoughts I'm typing here in the meta text.]

[refactor]

Gonna say that's possible. We still don't know what the hell these shitbags want, so going on a safer side and assuming it's basic doesn't seem a bad place to start.

[ Jack shrugs ]

They're parasites. So what does a parasite want? To infect as many people as possible. The numbers are getting lower, so, hell, maybe it's getting feasible for them to do so or something. In any case, that thing? Definitely not one of the things we've been looking for. Not in the same way, at least.

[antietam]

The question would be how long it takes, then. To spread and possibly mature.

But I mean—do we even have time to worry about that? If that wasn't what we were looking for, that means we still have to deal with real threats first.

[refactor]

Mmmmight not get an answer on that one easily. Or, uh, in time. Since we can't really guess when she got infected, if that's the case. Coulda been from one of the assholes we already killed, or coulda been, shit, I dunno, this week from the ones we've got left.

[ He shrugs ]

I think dealing with the main ones is still the focus. You have to cut off the head of the beast first. But if it's spreading? That's a problem too. If it's spreading, that's a different problem entirely.

[antietam]

At least we can find these ones. I mean, more blood testing isn't going to be popular but if we have to...

So unless we can vaccinate people somehow, the only way to stop this is by killing the bigger ones first. Then dealing with the smaller guys.

[refactor]

[ Jack nods in agreement, though it comes with a sigh ]

Yeah. Killing off the big ones is definitely the priority here, since, hell, if that's what's happening? Least they couldn't spread the infection more.