WEEK 7 - Trial Day Two

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (7)

sunday TRIAL DAY TWO (24) 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

[tevinteriscoming]

Assuming the monitor was in this vent, that is. It would have to have been heard in the cafeteria, and it seems the kitchen vent isn't so easily heard from there.

Let's think of the timing of events. We have, presumably, a killer inside this room, with Fumi either unconscious or dead. The monitor is in here too. At a certain moment, there's a sound from the vent leading from the cafeteria to the pod room. A vent the killer can't manipulate from inside this room.

In that moment, he killer uses the monitor to hit Fumi, and then escapes when the door is opened.

I can't see how the killer both used the monitor to hit someone and made the noise in the vent. One of the two things had to have been manipulated remotely.

[bloodbiter]

[she nods along with dorian's reasoning]

That seems reasonable. But... What could they have been manipulating if the monitor was in this room?

[tevinteriscoming]

I've no idea whatsoever. Maybe there's a rat infestation. Twine? Can we take a piece of twine and move it about and see if that does anything?

[bloodbiter]

I can't imagine a piece of twine would make much noise, but it could not hurt to try.

[hm.]

I wonder if we could ask Alice for replicas of the items we think may have been used in the murder other than the monitor.

[breakshot]

... I wonder. Before we do that, let's try something.

[ He'd try this himself, but it might be better to have someone more agile on hand for this. He'll hold up some twine for her to take. ]

Adelina, could you take this? I'd like you to tie this from the inside of the vent in the cafeteria, close it, and tug from there.

[tevinteriscoming]

I'll listen from inside the cafeteria.

[And going!]

[bloodbiter]

Of course.

[taking the twine! and then into the vent she goes to do as machias has suggested.]

[al2955]

[The sound doesn't sound anything similar. Furthermore, tugging the vent grate using the twine won't close it.]

[tevinteriscoming]

Adelina, could you try rolling the twine around somehow?

[breakshot]

[ well, that was sure a bust. ]

Right. Try tossing the roll down the vent and letting it unravel.

[bloodbiter]

Certainly.

[again, she's doing as they've instructed. go twine go.]

[al2955]

[The sound echoes in the vent clearly enough to be heard in the cafeteria, but it still doesn't sound like skittering.]

[tevinteriscoming]

Adelina...I wonder if you couldn't just drum your nails against the vent?

[al2955]

[If Addie drums both her fingers against the vent in the pod room, the echoes will reach Dorian. Sounds an awful lot like skittering!]

[breakshot]

... That sounds an awful lot like what we heard early Thursday morning. I think we're getting close.

[bloodbiter]

Is there anything else I should try while I am here?

[tevinteriscoming]

So, then, what. Our killer, shielded by cloak, put his or her fingers in the vent and simply drummed them to make it sound as though someone was climbing through the vent?

But that means the killer was out here, in the cafeteria, and not in the room with Fumi. So then what on earth happened in there with Fumi? There was no crashing sound as if the monitor fell reported, yes?

[breakshot]

I think that will be enough for now, Adelina. Thank you.

[ hand to chin, pondering sound. ]

Not that I'm aware, and a monitor of that size would have to make a sound if someone triggered a trap just then. Yet all we heard were the drumming sounds, which means our killer was well away from the scene of the crime by the time we discovered Ms. Kanno. ... I wonder if we aren't looking at this one backwards.

Let's stop and consider what happened when Luke and Arumat discovered her, but before breaking down the door. Apparently right around then, that's when they heard the sounds. And it stopped shortly before you arrived to help them get it open, right? [ at Adelina. ] If we're on the right track, our killer was indeed long gone by the time the body announcement went up. Which was around 7:05AM.

[bloodbiter]

I did not hear anything in the vents before arriving at the scene - only Luke and Arumat were in a position to hear whatever it was.

So they must have murdered her beforehand, or at least set up a scenario in which she would be killed when they were far away.

[tevinteriscoming]

Very well. Adelina, stay there in the vent, and continue tapping your fingers. I'll wait here in the cafeteria. Machias, you go into the kitchen and try hitting the test dummy with the monitor. Let's see what I hear.

[al2955]

[Dropping the monitor on the dummy makes a pretty loud and obvious crashing noise.]

[tevinteriscoming]

So that's curious, isn't it. Machias, try once more. Don't drop the monitor, just hit it manually as hard as you can. If you're able to that is; don't hurt yourself.

[al2955]

[Still makes a pretty obvious thumping noise even through the door.]