Day 64: Cafeteria (brunch)

[gald_digger]

Well, that went well! Anise had gained herself a gorgeously handsome new friend. She just hoped that weird illness didn't get either of them killed before she could get to know him any better.

... Yeah, that was morbid. It was hard not to think about, though.

Before going to the Cafeteria, Anise made a stop at her room to grab her journal, maps, and a pen. Once she finished eating, she could get a start on copying the maps for Barnaby. He was going to be so glad he met her!

With that done, Anise made her way to the Cafeteria, where she picked up an assortment of food, making sure to get some meat, vegetables, and milk on her tray. She then sat down at a table and set her notes aside while she started on her meal. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about the rash on her arm, though the makeup she used had blended the discolored part enough that it couldn't be seen from a distance. Anise just hoped no one would come specifically looking for it.

[Ilia!]

Comments

[dividedby]

Something that was going around...and something that had gotten worse since it showed up. Hmm. Definitely suspicious, especially if this guy's nurse was telling him it was the supposed 'bug' that the intercom kept talking about...

The desire to drop the conversation was gone in almost an instant. "It might be something worse than what she's telling you." Zero paused, staring hard at the man out of poorly conveyed concern. (Concern didn't even seem to be present in his expression at all, in fact.) "You have been hearing the warnings, haven't you?"

The man said he hadn't thought much of his rash...but even so, it would be a surprise if he hadn't heard a thing. Certainly, he must have heard something from somewhere. But if he really didn't know, then the sooner he was informed, the better. Hopefully he would be the type to react calmly to the news...

[scarefaux]

"About the infection?" he asked, his inflection on that last word more sounding like a repetition of something he'd heard a few times. The Scarecrow rubbed idly at his hair, trying to think of all he'd absorbed over the past few days. It was honestly a muddled mess, given everything else on his mind: the basement, the disappearance of the military, the mission, his friends' disappearances, and Depth Charge's absence. There was a lot to think about- more than he was sure his human brain, as damaged at it was, could handle.

He knew there was the warning that some patients were infected with something, but he wasn't sure what that meant in the slightest. He understood he was sick only because his nurse kept insisting he was. It bit at his confidence, to be so ignorant again- he was sure if he'd had his brains, he'd have already figured out not only what it all meant, but how it applied to him, now being human, and how it all tied together with Wizard Landel. Even better was he was positive he'd know how to fix things and go home.

Well, there was no worrying over his missing brains for the moment. He looked down at his arm again, wondering about its condition and if the man before him was implying what he thought he might be. "I saw the nurse on the bus change yesterday, right before our eyes! I thought I would try to find my roommate to ask him about it all, as I think he knows more about humans and how they work than I do at the moment. I haven't seen him for a day or so, and I was afraid they might've taken him and turned him into one of those somethings that roams the halls at night."

[dividedby]

"Yeah, that."

So he did know about the threat after all. From the sound of things, he knew enough to understand what it might mean through seeing how the nurses transformed into unrecognizable monsters last night. (Would the 'infected' patients be changed the same way, Zero wondered? Probably so, and it wasn't a comforting thought...) But apparently, the stranger didn't know much beyond that - or at least, he wasn't aware of his illness in the way Zero was expecting.

The way he described humans and how they work....

"You aren't normally a human, either?" the once-Reploid asked curiously. He would ignore the other's concerned rambling about his roommate in the meantime. It wasn't like Zero could tell the guy anything helpful about that when he didn't know the answer himself...

[scarefaux]

In his fretting over the rash and his missing roommate and the transforming nurses, the Scarecrow hadn't been thinking to try to keep up the appearance of being human, even if only to see if he could. People sometimes accepted the false name Peter had given him, Frank Westerning, easier than his own. He wasn't entirely sure why, though he assumed it was because his name was actually what he was, and no longer being a scarecrow, it did seem a bit odd. It'd be about as practical as naming the Tin Man something like Cowardly Lion when he was neither cowardly, nor a lion.

His answer for the man across from him was an honest one. After all, he tagged an 'either' onto the end of his question. Surely that meant he was a non-human, as well. "That's right," he replied with a nod. "Oh, I should've introduced myself sooner! I'm Scarecrow."

[dividedby]

"Zero," the once-Reploid responded in turn, still staring hard. Scarecrow...? Yeah, Zero had never heard of a regular human having such a name before. Wonder what Scarecrow used to be? A crow-like Reploid was the first thing that came to mind, judging solely from the name (...though he doubted he was right).

Whatever he used to be, the confirmation that this man wasn't originally a human was enough to explain his apparent attitude toward his illness. If he didn't understand it (or how humans worked in general), then how was he supposed to truly feel alarmed by it beyond what he had seen or heard? Zero would probably be in the same position as him if he'd been showing symptoms.

...Impulsive curiosity would once again get the better of him, it seemed. "So...what were you?" Kind of a pointless question, admittedly, but it wasn't like he had anything better to ask at the moment. Anything else he could say at all would amount to 'well then, be careful', and that he could save for whenever they were finished talking.

[scarefaux]

"Why, a scarecrow, of course," he answered, rethinking it almost as soon as he'd replied. First of all, not all constructs like himself were simply called what they had been before their arrival- he had a feeling Depth Charge was more of a name than a function, though he'd yet to ask. Names weren't just reserved for the living.

He'd met people who seemed surprised he'd be named after scarecrows, never believing he could actually have been one. On the other hand, he'd almost met some who had never heard of scarecrows before, simply because there were no crows where they came from, and therefore no need for someone to scare them away. With everyone coming from different worlds, it was hard to tell who knew what, especially when some may have not had brains before their arrival.

"Though I suppose that's not entirely obvious, now is it?" he continued with a small smile, deciding to explain. "Scarecrows are built to look like people and set out in fields to keep birds away from the crops. I never was very good at it, though."

[dividedby]

Good thing Scarecrow promptly explained himself; that saved Zero the trouble of having to ask for much needed clarification. So his name was less a 'name' and more what he actually was along with his function...which was to protect crops from birds. (?) He was also built to look like a human, much like a Reploid... Huh. So then, Zero's assumption was correct after all? Scarecrow was originally an android of some sort, too?

...Interesting. Odd function for a machine, though... How long ago was it that humans actually grew their own food in fields, anyway? And why would a human-like robot be made just for the sole purpose of standing in the field all day, shooing away birds? Zero didn't get it at all.

"I...see." He blinked slowly and slightly tilted his head to the side questioningly. Very, very interesting. It was becoming harder to hold his curiosity back. "I've never heard of that. But then, I haven't heard of humans having farms for a long time, either."

A long time - yes, that could explain it. People came here from all different times, right? So then Scarecrow would have to be a much older model from some century in the past. It didn't make sense to Zero otherwise...

[scarefaux]

"I suppose it might not be as common here as it is in Oz," the Scarecrow replied after a moment of thought, finally taking a bite of his meal as his mind was drawn from his concerns over his roommate and the infection to the home he'd left behind. He wondered if anyone had noticed he was gone- surely they would have by now. Then again, despite being the wisest and the king, he didn't have very many duties with his position. While he was positive Tin Man and Lion would have thought something was wrong, the rest of the Ozites might not have thought a thing about his absence, assuming he'd wandered off to do some heavy thinking, as he often did.

Oh right, the conversation. There went his mind again, wandering off. "And what were you before coming here, Zero?"

[dividedby]

Oz...? So that's where this guy came from. Never heard of such a place before...which opened up one new possibility: perhaps Scarecrow was from a completely different planet rather than a different era?

Wouldn't be surprising to hear.

Still, if they made robots that scared birds there...their technology had to be at least somewhat modern, right? Or else...

--hm? Zero was so busy thinking about possibilities that he almost didn't hear Scarecrow's question. Foolish... Even during the daytime, he didn't need to be losing focus like that. "A Reploid," he answered - then, once again, reminded himself that no one here knew what that was. "Self aware android."

Surely, if Scarecrow was built by people as he claimed, he would know what an android was at least?