damned_institute | Day 40: Lunch

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Day 40: Lunch

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

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"It's not an uncommon experience," Edgeworth explained. "I know of at least three other cases in which it's happened. The extent of those abilities is highly variable. I..." Edgeworth paused, taking a sip of water while he pondered how to best phrase the rest of the reply. It was important information, particularly if a young child might be experiencing that same type of effect. "In my own case, the 'ability', as you might call it, tends to kick in when I'm in danger or around someone who may be dangerous. You could call it a warning system of sorts. But it varies, as I've said; I don't know the full range of things they're capable of."

He nodded at the statement regarding the two people from Mitsuru's group. "That's in line with what I've seen from people that have undergone brainwashing. Some of them are...rather unrepentant, or at least that's what they've stated on the bulletin, but more of them seem generally traumatized by the experience. But in at least one case, the person has recovered fully, so I see no reason why Miss Takeba won't, as well."

Edgeworth smiled just a bit at the last statement. "Of course. Do you have further questions?"

It looked like the experimentation was, indeed, something rather personal to Mr. Edgeworth, but it was interesting and valuable information. "Indeed. I've been told the basics of what they did to him, and we're worried that an ability he already possesses may go out of control. It's happened before to others back home, and the boy's own life could be in danger." She simply nodded at his comment on the brainwashed patients making a full recovery. She certainly hoped that would be the case, at any rate.

"In regards to a separate matter, yes, I do. It seems as though you've been here for some time, so perhaps you could shed some light on this..." She paused long enough to open her journal and glance down. "45 patients disappeared over the course of two days, not including the ones reportedly missing today." She looked back up at Edgeworth. "And yet they continue to bring in large batches of new patients every few days. Have the disappeared always vanished in such numbers, and since you've been here, has the size of the patient body always remained relatively the same? Was there ever a time when it seemed significantly smaller than it is now?"

Miles nodded seriously at Mitsuru's first statement. It didn't surprise him in the least that the 'sleep study' doctors were capable of fine-tuning one's abilities to the point they would go out of control at the slightest provocation, particularly when such provocations were so readily available during the night. At the same time, it seemed especially cruel to do so to a child. "I'm sure you're keeping a close eye on him, and I'm also sure he's in good hands. But I'll certainly keep an eye out for any relevant information about occurrences such as that, and pass it along to you," he said, jotting down the relevant information as a reminder.

"The number of patients here has grown in the time that I've been here," Edgeworth began. "Initially, it seemed to be smaller than what it is now. The patient population seems to wax and wane at times, though there isn't a clear pattern to the disappearances. I had thought they correlated with the new arrivals, but the numbers don't quite match, nor does the timing."

He hummed to himself, thinking for a moment. "I'll admit, though, the number of them lately has been alarming, because that number is higher than usual. In more than one case, the missing person has been someone with a high profile, and that only adds to my worry."

"I would greatly appreciate it," she replied to his first statement, before moving on to considering the other facts. "Indeed, the higher-profiled disappearances are troubling, but it's the numbers themselves that bother me. I almost wonder if perhaps the disappearances and new arrivals are meant to keep the Institute itself at a certain occupancy level, but as you said, the numbers wouldn't match up.

"As for the reasoning behind it, I'm more than willing to believe that he's holding us here for an experiment of some sort. What that is, only he would know. Every experiment needs a decent-sized sample to use as a control group, while the rest are split into one or more variable groups.

"The disappearances could be related to a portion who were selected for a variable group, and were discarded once he collected the data he needed. The new arrivals could be a part of a new variable group, or brought in to test a separate portion of the hypothesis altogether." She paused, considering her own words. "It would explain why some of the patients who have been here longer have been the ones to vanish, while the newer patients are still around: the old ones weren't needed for this portion of the test, while the ones left could make up the control group and perhaps even another variable group."

Mitsuru paused again, and sighed after a moment. "Of course, this is all based off of second-hand information. I've also heard that the building itself changed one night several weeks ago, that the majority of the patient body was replaced when this occurred, and that prior to it, the former man over the radio and Landel seemed to have no real connection between them." She glanced down, underlining a phrase in her notes. "I wonder if perhaps the person over the radio is involved with the experiment, assuming that's why we're all here, and that the mass replacement of the population was the completion of a separate experiment and the beginning of a new one."

"I agree with the conclusion that we're being held for some type of experiment. I had thought possibly a military one of some type in the past, but the patient population is far too variable for that to make sense. The ability spread and the age spread alone are enough to make a strong argument against that theory. It makes much more sense if you break the spread down the way that you have," Edgeworth said. He was quite impressed with the young lady's logic and thought processes, and that much showed in his expression.

That, combined with his previous conversations that day and what was happening on the bulletin board, was beginning to make him feel a little more hopeful about getting to the bottom of this place in a way that hadn't been possible before. It would have made him smile if the rest of the conversation wasn't so serious.

"I've also heard that the building changed completely not long after I arrived," he said, with a nod. "There are very few here left from when that change happened - one I know for sure that you may want to speak to is Mr. Hughes from the Cooking Club." There were others, but he was the most likely to provide helpful information, assuming that he was still here - it was unusual that Celes had posted the signup list for Cooking Club rather than Hughes himself. That was a tangent, however, and he drew his thoughts back to the current topic.

"From what I know about the previous incarnation - if we can call it that, which I think we can - of this place, I think that you're correct that it may have changed hands, or that one experiment ended and a second began. But..." He paused, trailing off.

"That brings me to some other thoughts I've had regarding the radio broadcasters and the Head Doctor, actually. I've often considered whether the prior man over the radio and Martin Landel were once friends or partners, and then went their separate ways. It seemed to be the case, based on the intercom announcements and radio broadcasts at the time. I don't have enough information about the new voice on the radio to be sure of her level of involvement, I'm afraid. Her broadcasts have grown increasingly more sporadic, and don't contain quite the level of information of her predecessor's. It's difficult to tell from them whether she's being manipulated by Landel in some way, or whether she's acting on her own and is simply disorganized."

Mitsuru wasn't so certain that the age spread mattered, from her own past experiences, but when it came down to abilities, he was right. It was good to know, at least, that there were those other than Renamon who had heard the same story, and that there were still those around who had experienced it. She would have to speak with this Mr. Hughes whenever she had the chance.

In regards to the radio, it was nice to get the opinion of someone who had been here for longer. She'd hardly heard this new voice since arriving, and knew nothing about the former voice. It may be a good time to get some clarification on the issue.

"I'd assume that the more we investigate, the clearer the details of that would become. To be honest, though, I don't know much at all about the radio voice's predecessor, only that bit of second-hand information that I mentioned. What sort of information did he have that she doesn't?" she asked curiously.

"His messages could be enigmatic at times, but those that solved the puzzles were often rewarded quite well, with things like weapons, healing items, and the like. But that wasn't all that there was to him," Edgeworth began. He took a moment for a sip of water, then continued.

"The original radio voice was also the source for the roof map. There was one day where he disguised himself as part of the patient body, and that night, he made a broadcast that stated he was taking requests for items and such. Someone requested that map then, though I don't believe anyone has been up there personally yet. They were kind enough to share it with the rest of the population. And occasionally, his broadcasts would hint that he was working with us, against Landel. The intercom replies and their back-and-forth dialogue could be quite heated at times, even.

Unfortunately, I've seen little of that same kind of action from his predecessor. Patients have tried following the clues and come up empty-handed at times, suggesting she doesn't have the same type of insider knowledge that he did."

Mitsuru listened carefully, jotting down a few notes as Edgeworth spoke. The former voice certainly did seem to be more reliable, based on what the man was saying. He'd even gotten through their security in order to aid the patients.

"Lacking in the same type of insider knowledge, or is it something worse?" she mused aloud. "Is coming up empty-handed all that happened to those who followed the clues, or were they also attacked?" Of course, there were monsters all over, but if there were consistently monsters and no rewards in the areas that the radio hinted, then it seemed to Mitsuru more like a trap.

"It's been a mix of both, to my knowledge," Edgeworth replied. "It wasn't uncommon in the past for radio clues to be guarded in some way, and I don't know who was behind those attacks. It's a possibility that Landel planned the attacks after the clue was announced, and one I think may be likely. I don't know what's happening with the radio now - whether it's a trap or whether she just doesn't have the same level of knowledge."

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Day 40: Lunch

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