WEEK 5 - Trial

[al2955]

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

saturday TRIAL DAY ONE (32) 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

[bloodbiter]

I have several things I would like to discuss.

First, driers are devices that are meant to be used to dry clothing, correct? If we assume that one was used because the killer's clothing became wet when they were near the pool, would there be any way to determine whether a piece of clothing had been recently dried?

Additionally, if the gun was only fired once according to what Machias has reported, I don't know how difficult it is to use a gun to accurately hit a target. Would anyone have been able to kill her in this manner, or would it more likely be someone experienced with such weaponry?

[antietam]

It depends on if the target was moving or not. If she was still alive and standing, it would be significantly harder. Shooting her while unconscious would make the most sense, and probably wouldn't require a lot of skill.

[bloodbiter]

If she were knocked unconscious, wouldn't there be a sign? She had bruises on her arms and torso, but it doesn't seem as though harming either of those areas would cause unconsciousness.

[antietam]

If there's no bruising on her head, maybe they held her under water until she lost consciousness? I mean, we wouldn't be able to tell now but that could be a reason she was weighted into the pool even after death.

[bloodbiter]

Her profile specifies that she's adept in hand to hand combat, I would at least imagine she could prevent someone from attaching weights to her feet while she was still conscious. Unless the bruises on her arms are from somebody holding her down while they did so?

[antietam]

Well, I would imagine they held her head under the water until she was unconscious, shot her, then dropped her into the pool so we wouldn't know exactly how she lost consciousness.

[bloodbiter]

If that's correct, the question becomes what they would gain from us not knowing how she lost consciousness. Her injuries are obvious regardless.

[antietam]

Yeah. I think we should figure out why exactly they went through the trouble of getting the weights and a resistance band if the shot killed her. The band wasn't found, right?

[refactor]

[ The first question he'll leave to someone else, but the second? The resident CEO of a company that manufactures guns is definitely here to help with that one. ]

Depends on how close range they were. Short of it is the further away you get from your target, the better of a shot you're gonna have to be. But if they're only a few feet away? Not going to be a big deal unless you really suck at dealing with recoil. Once you start getting beyond a few feet, you're either going to have to be lucky or have some experience with guns though, yeah. Head's a small target.

[bloodbiter]

And she was experienced with hand to hand combat... If they were that close, one would think she would have been able to fend them off unless they incapacitated her somehow. It would have been more difficult if she were moving, wouldn't it?

[brooches]

Then why tie weights to her legs? If she was fending for herself and shot in the process...

[ SORRY, SHE JUST KINDA SLIDES IN HERE. Jack talking to cute young girls seems wrong but don't be fooled! ]

The autopsy report says appears to be a bullet wound but can we confirm that? It makes no sense as to create this elaborate display of a drowned body if it was a clear headshot.

[bloodbiter]

One thought is that they pushed her into the pool after weighing her down in order to have a better shot, but... You're correct. It's strange.

[parodeity]

I guess maybe they wanted to be super sure she was dead and drownin' wasn't gonna cut it?

[ yeah no this is Weird ]

[bloodbiter]

We need to consider what the killer would gain from this sequence of events. If she were already drowned, why shoot her, or why push her into the pool if she were already shot and that fact would remain obvious?

Perhaps the water was meant to obscure some piece of evidence... That is the first thing that comes to mind. Or they were in a hurry for some reason and shot her to be certain she didn't come out of the pool somehow.

[parodeity]

Would a bullet wound look different if she got shot while in the water as opposed to not?

[ he's the sword guy, not the gun guy. one of the gun guys plz shed light on this. ]

[refactor]

Oh, absolutely. Even a guy that lives and breathes guns is gonna have a hard time hitting someone moving. So, I see where you're going here, and yeah, feasible. Knock her out, shoot her in the head. No worries about aiming there, even-- especially if you've never used a gun.

[bloodbiter]

Then the question becomes at what point they pushed her into the pool, and why.

[refactor]

Well, if I'm completely honest? All of the shit that goes into people hiding the fact that they killed someone is the part that's stupid. Just shoot her or drown her, bam, done, simple. But combining the two because...? I don't know. Because you're just wanting to be real thorough. Don't get that part.

[ He waves a hand dismissively, since that's more or less an aside. ]

Think we can say for now that it was either a bullet or drowning that did her in. So, in one case, she's shot then put in the pool, and the other, she's drowned, dragged out, shot, then put back. One kind of makes sense, I guess, the other, that's a lot of effort. So if that's one to look at, I'd be thinking about "why."

[bloodbiter]

Do you have any theories as to why they would do both?

[thanatosincarnate]

No. With advanced technology such as this, it'd be hard to tell whether a piece of clothing had been recently dried as opposed to otherwise.

{ ... }

A handgun is easier to use than a shotgun-- feasibly someone inexperienced could use it as well. Naturally, it'll be easier for someone who is more experienced with the weapon to kill Carta with it than someone who isn't.

It also depends on the distance factor. Which, I am going to infer for now was little at the time the struggle began, and when Carta lost her gun to the killer.

[refactor]

Just gotta correct you here, princess, but a handgun isn't easier than a shotgun. You don't even have to friggin' aim a shotgun. Just point, shoot, bam, the spray will take care of anything in front of it. Pistol doesn't do that. You've gotta be way more precise or way closer to what you're trying to shoot.

[chiseler]

[He's thought about this a bit before deciding to speak up.]

There's not really a way to tell if the clothing's been dried recently, but you could always check the lint trap to see if there's anything that came off of the clothing itself.

[bloodbiter]

I see. If Alice is willing, would you accompany me?

[chiseler]

Yeah, I'll go. It's worth a shot.

[bloodbiter]

[bam]