damned_institute | Day 38: Game Room

She’d never been in the Game Room before.

It didn’t look spectacularly interesting, she had to admit… but it’d be more fun than just hanging out in the Sun Room, right? Yuffie idly thumbed through a deck of cards, walking around the room to examine various bits and pieces. Board games, video games, chess… No really awesome prank material that she could see, but maybe she could rope somebody into a game of poker? That could be fun, but… ah, then again, most of the patients were just like her -- they didn’t have anything really cool that she could swindle out of them. Not until Nightshift, anyway.

Still! She’d keep it in mind. It wasn’t like there was anybody else in the room yet anyway, so any potential swindling would have to wait a little while. What could she do in the meantime, huh? Pick- pocketing a nurse could be fun..! Wait -- no, not when it was quiet like this. She’d have to wait until there was more cover, unless she got distracted. Yuffie hadn’t stolen anything in days, not since that time in Doyleton, with the Kaito kid…

Yuffie smirked. That had been fun.

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A wistful smile spread across his face as the Doctor listened to Brainiac 5 talk about Colu. It sounded so much like Gallifrey, in terms of society. One of the most advanced, isolated, those who leaving being outcasts and renegades… Not for the first time, he missed his home. Colu and Gallifrey seemed unlikely to share any further similarities, but he couldn't help but ask, for curiosity's sake if nothing else. He hadn't heard of Colu (which indicated Brianiac 5 was, most likely, from a different dimension), and so he wanted to know more about it. "What's it like on Colu? The atmosphere, the terrain, the culture…?"

It seemed his new friend had seen Donna's note on the board. "Yes, spaceman, that's me. Donna—the woman who wrote on the board—she's a mate of mine— She calls me that sometimes." At least 'spaceman' was better than when she'd been calling him 'Martian'… He wasn't anything like a Martian. "My ship is… It just looks like a box—a British police box, to be exact. It's a sort of camouflage."

It also seemed that Brainiac 5 thought himself a superior thinker, and the Doctor's lips quirked into a smug smile. "Don't be so quick to judge, Brainiac 5. I'm sure I can follow your Time Sphere technology. I'm a bit of a genius, especially when it comes to time travel. But if you can't explain it, well…"

As for his origins… "And if you must know, I'm from the age of Rassilon. But I don't expect you would have heard of it, unless you know of Gallifrey…?" He watched the boy carefully for any sign of recognition as he named his home planet. "But that age is gone."

He was somewhat surprised to hear that Brainiac 5 had been a cybernetic being before his arrival here. Despite having been told that there were even some robots stuck in human bodies, he'd expected more aliens of the purely organic variety. He didn't comment on the boy's tears, but he could understand them, to an extent. He was vulnerable like this. This form wasn't the body he belonged in, and to change what he was…? No one should have to go through that without a choice.

Edited 2009-01-24 00:40 (UTC)

Brainiac 5 hesitated before answering. "Living on Colu... much of the planet has been converted into cities with controlled environments, and considering my social standing there... I spent most of my life inside and separate from whatever 'culture' we may have. It was one of the reasons I decided to leave." While John seemed to enjoy hearing about Colu and its society, Brainiac 5 found the memories his words evoked less pleasurable. Not only had his childhood been largely isolated, but talking of his homeworld also reminded him of his return not long ago and the circumstances surrounding it. It was something he didn't want to dwell on if he didn't have to.

"Besides, I'm much... happier now that I'm on my own," he said aloud, though it sounded more like it was for his own benefit than anything else. "And my friends have been useful in helping me to overcome the difficulties of being away from Colu."

It seemed as though John also had friends - or in this case, a mate - he could rely on to help him. "So you think your ship is here?" Brainiac 5 asked curiously. "Unless it's reasonable small, I'm not sure if that would be possible. My Time Sphere technology, for example, was designed to shift out of phase with reality while not in use and could be summoned via control devices." He returned John's smug smile with one of his own and relaxed a little, unfolding from his curled up position before continuing to speak. "Well if you're familiar with the Bleed and how it could theoretically be used for cross-dimensional and time travel, then I suppose something like the Time Sphere would be well within your understanding," he said, for once sounding slightly amused. "Unless your box uses a different means of travel?"

"Gallifrey... No, I'm afraid not. I would have heard if Earth had colonised any planets by that name. So most likely we're from different dimensions or vastly different time periods." Though the former was clearly more likely, as there should have at least been records of Colu or Gallifrey for either planet to find.

The burning in his eyes was lessening, though the Coluan boy was surprised to find traces of moisture on his hand. Apparently for the second time now he'd been crying without even realising it. "I apologise," he said stiffly, his face heating of its own accord. "It appears I'm still learning to adapt."

The similarities with Brainiac 5's situation and his own weren't quite as strong as the outward similarities of Gallifrey and Colu, but the Doctor couldn't help but identify with the boy all the same. Isolation from one's own people was a lonely thing, and loneliness was something he understood very well. He'd had Susan, when he'd first left Gallifrey, and she had helped tremendously to stave off the feeling, and then there had been others, but they always left in the end. Humans didn't live forever, and they couldn't stay with him forever. He was glad Brainiac 5 had friends with him, or it would have been difficult for anyone.

Deciding to leave the topic of Colu be for the moment, he focused on time and space travel. "The TARDIS—that's my ship—is small. Well, on the outside, at least... It fits into close quarters rather nicely, which is good for hiding it, but not so good for finding where it may've been hidden," he said.

"And while I'm not familiar with 'the Bleed' as far as terms go, that doesn't mean I'm unfamiliar; I may simply know it by another name... which I suspect could be the Void, the space between universes. The TARDIS uses the time vortex for travel, not the Void, but it's not meant for cross-dimensional travel."

The Doctor was a bit disappointed that Brainiac 5 had not heard of Gallifrey, but it was replaced quickly by amusement. "Oh, Gallifrey isn't an Earth colony. In most times, humans haven't even heard of it, or if they have, it's been the stuff of legend and myth."

He would have liked to speak with the boy more, but unfortunately, it seemed that the end of the shift had come, and nurses were going around to collect everyone. That was a shame; he'd have to remember the boy and speak to him again.

Day 38: Game Room

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