WEEK FIVE

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (5)

monday - thursday (33) survivors It had been merely a week since the last trial, but you find yourself faced with a new week on The Pygmalion. When you awaken, you will find the handcuff around your wrist gone. The robot in the cafeteria has prepared another breakfast of various foods. (OOC: Please submit your murder proposals by 9 PM EST Tuesday.) taken list profiles private conversations setting rulebook murder proposals ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[breakshot]

... It's saying something when it's become a matter of "when" over "if."

[ It's a little unsettling! Machias can't really rebuke that, because Luke's right on point. As much as he doesn't want to admit - all this doesn't quite sit well with him. ]

There's no way they didn't. There are "eyes" everywhere, after all. Perhaps that extends to long before we even arrived here. [ There's a slight aside glance at his own case, his frown briefly faltering. ] ... Nonetheless, having pre-arranged scenarios doesn't mean anyone here is going to take it up, let alone follow it to the letter.

[ For a moment, it seems there's nothing wrong and he's about to continue. But then he stops himself. And then it sinks in. ]

[chiseler]

[He doesn't like it either, and given the expression on his face he's actually more bothered than he wants to say.]

You don't think they have failsafes? Do we really need to talk about what happened a couple of weeks ago…? [You know. With the paranoia. He'd rather not talk about that considering who he's talking to. He follows Machias's gaze to the case to see if he can figure out what he's looking at, but he continues to talk. Seems like Machias might have figured it out on his own anyway.]

It's always going to turn into "when" as the stakes get higher and higher. That's why we start figuring out how other people tick and keep people on watch, don't you think?

[breakshot]

...

[ Machias for once in his life is dead silent and staring right at Luke, expression tensing. He kind of knows and he hasn't forgotten. Nor will he anytime soon. It takes a moment, but he'll respond soon enough. ]

I... can't argue that. Better to be a few step ahead than the other way around, but... [ ugh. ] Some might claim to be unaffected, but we know that's not always true. Even now, we're not just looking at one or two people affected by this one. We're looking at quite a bit and in this case it might not be that easy to narrow it down.

[ He's even affected by this! ... Mostly because this had already been the source of his frustration for weeks now, but still. As much as they didn't need a repeat of the other week, they also didn't need a recap of what happened the week before then either. ]

[chiseler]

[This whole thing's sticking them all between a rock and a hard place, and even if he won't necessarily kill to get his item back he'd really, really like to keep it and obtain it. There's a reason he's thinking of sneaky ways around the AI but it's had little success.]

Anybody who claims to be unaffected's just bullshitting us. People can be really good at hiding it though. That's our real problem. [He gestures to his place at the table.] Why do you think I'm sitting here asking people what belongs to them? Someone with more stakes in their items than just sentimental value are going to be higher up on the suspects list. It's the only way we can stay ahead.

[breakshot]

It's a start, but most are probably going to tell you the same thing I told you - that their item isn't worth killing over.

[ Machias pauses for a moment hand raised up in a contemplative look, his attention drawn back to the display cases. At least it appears to be that way, but that frown of his could mean several things. ]

One thing to keep in mind is that some of these may not be as "sentimental" as we're led to believe. But even if it is true, there's no saying that alone can't be enough of a motivation for some.

[chiseler]

You can say one thing and do another. For all we know somebody's gonna downplay how important their item really is. [Kinda like what he's doing. He's watching all of Machias's movements, carefully thinking it over.]

What would you think of somebody if, say, their item was something all-powerful and life-altering? Would you think they're more suspicious?