damned_institute | Day 61: Sun Room (third shift)

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Day 61: Sun Room (third shift)

The moment dear Landel-san announced that it was time for lunch, Erika wasted no time and headed straight for the Sun Room's bulletin board to check if there was any response to her message left for her dear friend. Predictably, there was nothing for her on the board, and the detective scowled as she realized she might have to write him off as a loss. She had lost a good number of potential allies in this place, but losing this one was a bit of a blow, if only because he had useful things on him. On the other hand, if he was gone, and that ring was still here...

Perhaps it was not a great loss, then. Still, Erika was mildly annoyed as she wandered away from the board and back towards a nearby couch. She was spending a lot of time in the Sun Room lately, which seemed to be a bit of a waste as she could have spent in going around the Institute. On the other hand, she had a sandwich here that was waiting to be consumed and after spending a week with little access to "real food", Erika was more then happy to enjoy her time spent eating.

Still, at some point she was going to have to manage her time a little more effectively. There was no reason why she couldn't multitask, so Erika kept her gaze on the door of the Sun Room so she could watch people filter in on their way to other rooms. She wouldn't get everyone, no, but perhaps she would find someone useful that she could bother for the rest of the shift. A familiar face, or maybe someone new. She'd decide on that eventually.

[ hau Seishin ready for round 2. /killed ]

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"Good to hear." The safety of the patients here mattered quite a bit to Byrne, and he was especially concerned with the well-being of those he knew and cared for. Renamon happened to fall into the category of 'people he knew and cared for', as he'd seen her nearly every day of the week he'd been here so far, and he'd come to put a lot of trust in her as result. Not to mention, despite the young age she appeared to be, she spoke and behaved with more maturity than half the people Byrne had ever worked with back home. Anyone who behaved like a proper human being got points in his book.

Assuming Renamon was human, of course. Although, with those powers she showed him the other night...perhaps she wasn't so human after all? He'd, ah, remember to ask after he took a look at the thing she was handing him now.

...Except that he completely forgot about asking - and in fact, forgot about everything else, too - after reading the note.

'Might' find it interesting? Hell, if this was all true, then this explained a hell of a lot of things Byrne had been wondering about all this time. Why the events of two nights ago happened. Who the traitor to the military was. And, most importantly, so very much importantly, the (unfortunately vague) reason why all of these people were kept here. Attacked by something devastating. Gone to these lengths to be prepared if such a thing happens again.

What...what the hell? Byrne slowly looked up from the note to Renamon, his face half pale. What does this all mean? he would have asked out loud; while being so shocked, however, his eyes would have to do the speaking for him.

He was quiet as he took it, as he read, and she watched in some idle fascination as his face paled out, the color seeping away in a haze of emotion. Was it shock or disbelief? Confusion or denial? There were definite flavors to a reaction of this sort, and she could no longer assume more than she could judge another. She waited until he finished, waited until he looked up silently and asked without a word.

As if they were conversing normally, Renamon started speaking. "The fact of note," she started casually. "Is Lydia. To myself, at the least. Lydia was the head nurse since before I've been here, and more, she was the reported alias of Jill. Which," she gestured to the paper, "has been clarified at least.

"More to the point," the Digimon went on. "I am in possession of transcripts of the older radio and intercom announcements." Sadly, not on her. "Before Alec Doyle--Jack, 'Mr. Radio'--was killed, Landel referenced a friend briefly and then Lydia made an announcement that night. It made Doyle murderous. And the next day the man was dead." It went unsaid, the obvious. That Doyle had allowed his feelings to walk him into a likely trap. "It's unclear, all of the aspects involving that woman. But she seems key, if nothing else."

Byrne listened to Renamon's explanation about Lydia...which uh, wasn't exactly what he was most surprised about from that note, but it consisted of things he wanted to know regardless. Pieces to the puzzle of this place. Although, he got kind of confused when she mentioned those names. Lydia and 'Jill', 'Alec Doyle' and 'Mr. Radio' - it all sounded familiar, especially the thing about the radio, but the metaphorical lightbulb over Byrne's head wasn't lighting up just yet. The events Renamon talked about sounded kind of familiar, too, but he couldn't really remember details on that either. Too much going on the past few days, too many things to remember at once...

"I-I'm sorry, you lost me," the prosecutor admitted, color still absent from his face (and would probably remain that way for a little while after that kind of shock, goodness). "Maybe it's this week or maybe I'm just braindead right now, but--but I don't really remember who Alec Doyle or Lydia are." That didn't mean Byrne didn't want to be reminded right now, especially if one of these people used to be a head nurse here, but--but----but-------but---------

Planet was attacked by something devastating captors have gone to great lengths to prevent WHAT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, what did that even mean!??!

God, at this rate Byrne might just faint from trying to think of all the possibilities. So naturally, he would ask someone more level headed about this while slowly losing more of his composure. "Renamon... Is this--this reason mentioned here, about the planet being attacked and--and...i-is this seriously what we're all here for?"

She was silent as she witnessed and listened to the man, and was, once again, reminded of the humanity present in this place that she often ignored. It was not as easy, for those who had not become accustomed to such things, to continuously take in new information at such shocking degrees like this. Feeling slightly contrite, she mentally backtracked, expression softening. "Alec Doyle was the man who started this institute with Landel. He went rogue and began helping patients instead with his knowledge and abilities. Landel eventually killed him. Lydia--" She gestured at the note. "Is supposedly what you see there."

She wanted the explanation simple and out of the way, so she could formulate her response to the rest. It seemed more important, the fact he'd asked about, the one that she nearly breezed over when she read it the first time. "I can't say," she said slowly. "It's possible that the planet being attacked is true or a lie, and putting stock in something you can't wholly prove would be faulty. It doesn't necessarily affect us at the moment, so it's not something I would spend much time thinking on." That was her view, but it was not entirely what he had asked. The Digimon sighed, eyes clouded with thought.

There were probably ways to go about this better than what she was intending. "It's not uncommon," she said outright, tone, if not apologetic, then at least clear. She would offer that respect. "People come from different worlds. Different universes. Dimensions. Realities. And in many of them, there is an external force, natural or unnatural, that's threatening the world, the people there, or their way of life. Something that seems fantasy to some is quite real to others. They struggle and fight to defend and protect what is precious."

Her tone was obvious, and she didn't try to hide it. The personal note in those words was allowed. "My world," she said slowly. "Was like that. The two conjoined worlds that I come from were under threat in which I fought against constantly." She watched Byrne, bright eyes clear. "So yes, it might be why we are here. But it's an exceedingly simple reason for a complex scenario. I don't believe that is all there is."

This time, Byrne made sure to mentally note down everything he was being told about the people Renamon mentioned. Alec Doyle - started the Institute, changed sides, was killed by Landel. Lydia - everything that was listed in the note, previous head nurse, sided with the rebels. Got it. Lesson learned: this was all going straight to the notebook at dinnertime, and would not be left up to his mind to keep track of. Clearly there was too much info here to trust his mind to remember it for days at a time.

Somehow, he managed to (somewhat) recover his composure for that moment of mental note taking. But as Renamon continued on with her explanation, he quickly lost it once again. The talk of other worlds and dimensions... Yeah, she'd mentioned this kind of talk in previous conversations, but that didn't mean it wasn't still so hard to take. Seriously, who the hell would believe that there were other dimensions out there, with human civilizations fighting to protect their worlds from some other force? And Renamon said she came from two of those worlds simultaneously? No, impossible. This was stuff from kid's morning cartoon shows! Not real life!

......

And yet, after all Byrne had seen the past few days... How could he deny any of it?

Renamon showed him first hand two nights ago the extent of her powers. Not just her, everyone here. The Institute was capable of equally weird and creepy things, and not just thanks to drugs. Perhaps the biggest proof of all, however, was the fact that he himself was alive while everyone else he knew had moved on years ahead of him. There was no scientific explanation for that. For any of this.

That was why, although he looked like he might faint at any moment, Byrne's eyes showed a sort of clarity. The kind of clarity that said I believe you.

"...So, take it with a grain of salt, then," he replied at last, slowly. He paused; what else could he say? How did someone respond to news like this? He glanced away, trying to force himself to recover. So many things he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how. (And some of them he probably couldn't ask, being intrusive questions about Renamon herself...even in this state, the last thing he wanted to do was to be rude.)

She watched him, carefully. His emotions were both obscure and easily read, and the strange duality of it made her respectful. "A grain of salt," she replied after a breath of silence. "Nothing should be trusted without some kind of evidence or backing." A fact he likely knew, if he had know Edgeworth or his father as he had said previously.

But there existed something in the silence, something that Renamon needed to clear up. Surprisingly, unlike some that she had explained herself to, there was not much in the way of reservation. She liked Byrne, and she would offer herself for him to accept or judge to his content. "You're human," she said quietly, gently, without lacking any clarity to her tones. "This is all new to you. So if you have questions." Her bright eyes kept to his. "About these things, what I've said, myself... Please ask." There was a beat of time. "I'm willing to explain to you."

Byrne was definitely going to take up Renamon's offer to ask her anything. But there was so much he wanted to know and only so much time before this shift would inevitably end and cut their conversation short; he would need to choose his questions carefully. Or so he would have, had Renamon not made one possibly innocent comment that made him insanely curious:

You're human.

Normally, Byrne could have taken that as a common expression. He was human, therefore he was imperfect and shouldn't expect to immediately understand or cope with everything that was happening here. Which made sense. But the fact that Renamon was saying that, after everything impossible that she'd showed him and this talk about the dimensions she came from... Maybe it was a stretch, but was she possibly alluding to something about herself here?

It was likely discourteous to ask, but she did say he could ask about herself. And so he would. Nervously. He adjusted himself in his seat, clasped his hands together and set them in his lap, and looked at Renamon a little sheepishly. "Well, first of all, I...I-I apologize if this is rude on my part, but I've been wondering and I'd like to know, even if this may or may not relate to what we were just talking about..." He swallowed. This shouldn't be this hard to ask, just ask it.

"Renamon, are you human?"

...It had been a while. Since Renamon had been faced with such a complete human. In all honesty, there was a kind of charm about his reaction, in his careful wording brimming with politeness and hesitation. It was human decorum, human nerves, and when she had first arrived here, it had been a language she was ill-gotten to learn. Now the nuances came more simply. Now the points to lay down were a bit easier. Even so, now, like this.

She smiled slightly, bordering on beatific. "I said I was willing to explain. So don't hesitate to ask anything. On this subject...." A subject she had only touched on with a handful, and mostly, a bit unwillingly. Here, however, it spoke somewhat different. "To your question the answer is no."

Renamon let it sink in for a moment, then went on. "To a possible next question, what I am can be said to be a few things. This isn't my natural form, in any regard. I'm an anthropomorphic fox visually." She glanced down at her hands, and the yin-yangs on the back of them. "The markings are the same." She looked back up at him. "I'm a Digimon. A digital monster created to fight. I'm different from the average Digimon, but no, Byrne. I am nothing like a human."

Byrne expected Renamon to say no. That much of an answer was predictable. But hearing her describe her true form as an 'anthropomorphic fox' and a 'digital monster'? That was far off his expectation charts.

Still, he'd learned better than to doubt her, so his reaction only consisted of him being confused as all hell while trying to figure out two things: one, how Landel managed to make Renamon human if she wasn't one before, and two, trying to imagine what a digital anthropomorphic fox looked like. The second one was much harder to think about than the first because, well. Landel was capable of doing pretty much anything as far as Byrne was concerned. But just what did a digital fox look like, anyway?

"A digital monster... Like a computer program type of digital?" He was trying to put this in terms he could comprehend better, because he understood computers and programs more than he understood digital monsters. And hey, she did say she came from two dimensions. One of them could be the computer or the Internet. But then, if she was a program, what would she be created to fight against? Computer viruses?

...Now Byrne was briefly imagining a cartoony-looking fox living in someone's computer, being the newest anti-virus software. The thought was almost enough to make him smile, if he weren't still so concerned with not insulting the poor girl. Er, fox.

[ skjfd Renamon as an anti-virus program, dying XDDDD ]

This was given the smallest of smiles in return. "Precisely. Exactly like a computer program." How to go about this.... "I don't know if you're aware, but there are several that claim to have been robots or AI's here. In essence, you can take it as most digital apparatus, programming included, as having a kind of sentience. True sentience is rare, but most maintain a child- or animal-like awareness of their surroundings.

"My... 'race' is a program created to battle against each other. Through certain circumstances--" She understood she was leaving parts vague, but explaining the fact of bonding with children in order to become something more than you previously were could add some... complications as things stood. "--Some Digimon are able to cross over into the physical world. Which is why I previously said two worlds."

[THE NEW NORTON ANTIVIRUS, SEARCHES OUT SPYWARE AND BEATS IT TO THE GROUND. ...yeah idek XDDD;]

Oh...oh wow. She really was a...sentient computer program. From a race of other sentient computer programs made to fight each other. So wait, when she talked about robots and AIs and all that, did she mean all computer programs are sentient, even if partially?! ...Shit, now Byrne was going to feel bad for all those times he got frustrated with his computer for not working correctly. His internet browser probably never appreciated being called stupid for failing to load webpages on occasion. If it ever materialized as a human being in this institute too, then the prosecutor would make sure to apologize to it in full...

But as for now, he'd be content to stare at this particular living program with a sort of dumbstruck expression on his face. "I...wow." That was all he could manage to say for the first few moments. Come back to earth now, Faraday. "Living programs able to come into the physical world... The place you come from must be really..." Crazy? Incomprehensible? Weird? Cool? "...unique." Mm, yeah, that fit too.

And all of this still left him with questions. The biggest one on his mind now was 'why did someone make programs just to fight each other?' It sounded like a sad reason to create something. But he wouldn't ask that out of respect for her. Instead, he'd ask the second biggest question on his mind. "So how the hell did Landel manage to make you human, anyway?"

[ preeeetty much. XDDDD ]

She raised an eyebrow in humor. Time and understanding had allowed her that. "It is," she gave. "Though in some areas, it's similar to here. A militant-run operation to capture, destroy, or duplicate abnormalities that could be useful for wars. I had that there as well. It became... very bad. But in some ways, it's very much the same as here." It was one of the things she noted nearly the first day here. The similarities of this with Hypnosis and Yamaki's actions. Especially after the military revealed themselves. It was bitterly alike. And it made part of her weary. Humans kept to patterns of destruction more than Digimon.

"There's theories," she answered coolly. "On the board, there used to be discussions on it. I believe the most common is that it's not that he turned us human, but that our 'actual' bodies are elsewhere, likely in the locked ward on the second floor or the third floor, and these aren't ours as well." The Digimon looked thoughtful for a moment. "I had some problems with that," she admitted, touching one of the yin-yangs on her hands. "While this body is disturbing and off-putting, and used to inspire some kinds of fear--" Still did, in parts. Human flesh seemed too much like she had been skinned alive sometimes. "--I don't feel distanced from it, or uncomfortable in it."

If she was to tell the truth, Byrne was the first one that had asked her this outright, and she interested by her own responses. It was truthful--she wasn't uncomfortable in the way that she didn't belong in this form. It was just utterly apparent to her, in a way that she could not forget, that this was not her true form. "And I could use my abilities the other night. Only Digimon have those abilities. If this body was truly human, I wouldn't have been able to."

...... This was all starting to give Byrne a major headache trying to sort it out in his head.

It probably wasn't worth it trying to think too hard about his current situation, or how Landel managed to bring computer programs into human bodies that could still use the previous form's original powers, or...y'know, trying to explain stuff that only science fiction novels could come up with. But it was way too difficult for him to just accept something as it was and move on. His job as a prosecutor was to figure out every last detail about a mystery, for crying out loud. Who could blame him for wanting to solve this one, too?

What was perhaps the most difficult information to accept, however, was everything Renamon was saying about her species and her home. She really came from a place not much different from this one? No wonder she seemed so calm here. But how...why would someone do that? Creating sentient programs just for war, treating them like weapons? What war? And why... Oh, if only Byrne wasn't so hesitant to ask for details! He'd never spoken with someone from a completely different universe as him, so the awareness of his gestures and the words he chose to say was very high. He didn't want to ask anything that she might find rude, despite the fact that they'd spoken many times in the past without any issues.

Or at least, mostly without any issues.

Anyway, she probably didn't want to talk in detail about her home, especially if it was horrific like this Institute, so he wouldn't ask. But he did have a very obvious worried look on his face regardless, both in reaction to Renamon's home and about the whole being-turned-into-a-human thing. What was he supposed to say? He had no idea; surprise and confusion were overwhelming him. (As if that much wasn't obvious from the way he looked right now.)

After a few moments, however, he finally managed to find words to say. Not many, but at least it was something. "I don't...believe it." He mentally repeated the words he'd just said, realized what they could imply, and was immediately hit with regret. And an almost over-exaggerated need to apologize, wide-eyed and shaking his head. "No no no, I-I don't mean I don't believe you! I believe you! I mean--it's just--I...I'm at a loss for words right now." Byrne laughed a little, still shaking his head. Yep. That was just about all he could really say right now.

He was panicking. Lightly, and nervously, but it was clear all the same. She only looked at him calmly. "It's fine. It's realistic for it to all come as a shock." Though she did note his worried expression, and responded to that as well. "Don't be overly concerned for me," she continued. "I've adjusted, and am still adjusting." To the human form, at the least. As for the other subject she had spoken-- "And I'm not overly hopeless here. We were able to overcome the organization in my world." More or less. It was more that Yamaki finally learned what the true enemy was. "So it's more something I'm at ease with. It's something I'm becoming used to," the Digimon said. "The error of human rationalization when it comes to war and weapons."

The evils that men will do, when given the right motivation.

There was a beat of silence, and then she bowed her head apologetically. "I seem to have gotten us off track," she said evenly. "I apologize. My usual offer stands. Anything you're unclear on, I'll answer to the best of my abilities." Her expression shifted to something more congenial. "On this place, my worlds, or my self, if you want."

[I am so sorry that I keep failing to tag this. ;; Would you be okay with wrapping this up in the next few tags?]

So she's just been...adjusting to all of this. So calmly. Okay, then.

...No! Not okay then! How in the world...?! No, it wasn't like Byrne had forgotten Renamon mentioning the fact that she was made for war, nor had he misheard her saying the organization responsible for the military regime in her worlds had been overcome, but still. But still! Maybe it was his paternal instincts kicking into overdrive here, despite the fact that Renamon was likely much older than she appeared to be, but he didn't care. How could she just be okay with all of this? There were better things in life than war! So many better things!

And oh, did Byrne understand what she meant by the error of human rationalization with war and weapons. He saw enough of that through his work as a prosecutor. It wasn't technically a war, but it still gave him a chance to see first hand how ugly mankind could get. Even with that experience, though, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like living in a place like what Renamon described...being used to living in a place like this Institute! It wasn't right.

And so the worried expression stayed on his face and he was quiet, even after Renamon offered again to answer any questions he had. After another few moments of silence, he shook his head another time and looked away. "I'm--I'm sorry." Again with the apologizing. Apparently it was his favorite thing to do around Renamon. "I'm just...shocked to hear about all of this. I can't help worrying - about you being so used to a place like this, about why an organization would feel the need to create and abuse sentient programs for war..." About everything, basically.

It bothered him so much, he'd almost completely forgotten everything about this Institute and the shocking facts he'd learned in relation to that mess. One coronary-inducing subject at a time, please.

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Day 61: Sun Room (third shift)

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