damned_institute | Day 41: Sun Room

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Day 41: Sun Room

Haseo's steps were heavy with the weight of righteous anger as he was escorted into the Sun Room, his posture so sullen and reluctant you could almost hear the nostalgic cry of an electric guitar. He was seething, and though perhaps it was a bit harder to be intimidating while wearing the uniform of an insane asylum and flanked by a bored-looking orderly, it was not for lack of trying.

Unfortunately, his nurse seemed unaffected by the act, and even with the cloud of failing to keep "Kai" away from "Peyton" hanging over her, remained determinedly cheerful. She merely said something about receiving a lecture later on, ignored his retorts, and assured him that it would be alright even though his internet stalker was in the same building. For the most part, Haseo tuned her babbling out after that, dismissing it as hopeless.

"...and usually this would be the time children would be taking showers, but you don't have to worry about that right now. Now then, le--"

"Wait. What?"

"Oh, all the children seventeen or under are separated right now while the adults go to the courtyard..."

"Hey, I'm not a kid you old--!"

"Oh of course you aren't dear, but you're not eighteen yet either, now are you?"

Haseo resisted the urge to do something rash, literally biting his tongue to keep quiet. But upon having the bulletin board pointed out to him, he shrugged off his anger for the most part and headed that way, fully intending to get more answers than he'd had time to receive during breakfast.

Well... at least Endrance is in another shower group, he thought, Thank god.

[Closed to Tsukasa, for now!]

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Klavier looked more than a little bemused, which in turn, made Nigredo wonder. He thought he had been obvious. "Yes," he answered. "We're technically clones with minor genetic variations. Our makeup is closer than natural human siblings, but different enough to make us individuals." Not like the standards, who were virtually identical to Yuriev aside from will.

The boy blinked, unsure. "Excuse me, but did I say something wrong?"

More than one thing. Klavier was rather taken aback by the whole thing, so much so he didn't immediately respond. Cloning of people? And this child was one? He'd certainly never heard of such a thing, though he honestly had no reason to believe Nigredo was lying. There was hardly a need to.

So Nigredo, Rubedo, and at least one other; a minimum of three clones. He knew scientists had been interested in the idea of cloning for a long time, but cloning children so successfully? Honestly, he never would have thought such a thing possible. Nigredo hardly seemed phased by the idea either. One would think a genetic miracle would be fully aware of how special they were.

But he was being rude now, wasn't he? Klavier blinked to regain his bearings and simply shook his head. He tried to regain his former tone of voice. "Ah. No. Not wrong, per say," he said as though trying to think of the right words. "I'd just never heard of anyone being cloned before. It's just... a little surprising is all."

There was an understatement. Though in retrospect, he hoped Nigredo hadn't been in any way offended by the reaction. "My apologies. I didn't mean to imply anything was wrong." Honestly, he was greatly curious about the whole thing, but he didn't want to seem like he was prying where he shouldn't have been. If he wanted to ask more about it, he would need to go about this politely.

How odd. This was the first in his short life to run across someone who found the concept of clones so unfamiliar. Then again, aside from the few exceptions, Nigredo had never set foot outside of Zavarov. Maybe things were different for normal humans or different "worlds". He could accept the possibility of his knowledge being rather limited in this respect.

And yet, even when Klavier said there was nothing wrong and apologized for it, the variant could not help but wonder. Life without genetic experimentation and production. Seeing a result of the opposite firsthand must feel rather strange. "No, you're fine. It's just--" Nigredo frowned thoughtfully. "You really never heard of anyone being cloned? The act is commonplace where I live." Technically, anyway. His father had to receive special permission from the Federation, but he had heard that was fairly easy to obtain.

Nigredo leaned forward, suddenly interested. "Where are you from, if you don't mind?" he asked.

The idea of human cloning was confusing and certainly strange enough on its own. But the claim that such a thing was 'commonplace' anywhere was impossible. Completely ignoring the fact that he had never heard of such a thing, one of the largest debates in the academic world regarding the subject was that of human rights. Even if technologically capable, would would people actually use such a thing regularly? Why would there even be a need?

One thing at a time, however. Nigredo had asked a question and it was best to address that first before asking any of his own. "I'm from Los Angelos. In America." He felt the need to specify that in this case. "I like to think I keep on top of both local and international news, but no, I've never heard of cloning in any manner. Where is it you're from?"

America? No amount of memory and recall could make Nigredo associate the name with a specific place. Was this what they meant by multiple dimensions and worlds? He couldn't tell if this was one of those novel aspects of the institute or if he was merely being ignorant.

The boy moved on, regardless. "Zavarov, in the capitol," he said. "We lived in one of the major facilities there." No name yet. They were trying to keep a low profile, after all.

Zavarov? He'd never heard of such a place, no. And one would think the feat of a successful cloning would be the product of a country he'd heard of. Which led to another possibility, of course. There was always the chance of this Zavarov being similar to locations like 'Auldrant.' Again, it seemed unlikely either party was lying about these places.

Between this discussion and the ones he'd previously held with Miss Alita and Endrance, this idea of multiple worlds or dimensions or whichever popular opinion seemed to favor... it seemed like it was more and more probable with every conversation. He'd been proceeding simply humoring the idea, but... Sigh. He was really going to have to accept this now, wasn't he?

Alright. It was probably simpler not to think too much on that detail. Easier said than done. "I see. Admittedly, I've never heard of Zavarov either... which probably explains why I'm not familiar with this cloning concept." That was a much nicer way of putting it, and it was still true. "But you said this was commonplace there, correct? So... where you're from there are many clones about, yes?" He smiled at Nigredo a mix of polite resolve and curiosity. "That sounds pretty interesting. It's like having a large extended family. If you don't mind my being curious, what's it like back home?"

As far as Klavier could conceive, there would only be one real reason for anyone to clone another person: to give a child to those incapable of bearing their own. If Nigredo hadn't already been adopted by a family, then perhaps there was a sort of orphanage for these types of children? Perhaps it wasn't his call to presume what other cultures might do, but it was the only thing that made sense to him.

It was beginning to become obvious that one of the more foreign aspects of Landel's was forefront in this situation. Other worlds, ones not written in the geographical knowledge of either individual. How very curious.

A simple grown-up might have dismissed the idea as the fraudulent workings of an unstable mind, but Nigredo was interested. What was it like living in a world without human cloning? They must have had no need for it. The only reason man had to use artificial children was because natural offspring could not hold the specific wavelength. The only reason to ever use artificiality was to fulfill what nature could not.

Did that mean wherever this 'America' was, they had no dangerous phenomena such as U-DO? Interest peaked, and the urge to question grew stronger, to the point Nigredo almost cut into Klavier's line of questioning with some of his own. Instead, he leaned back into the couch and pursed his lips. It would have to wait.

"Yes. I am the youngest of 669." He shrugged. "I wouldn't describe it as having a large family, per se. Six hundred and sixty-five of my siblings had no wills of their own. Furthermore, they shared a single consciousness. Being around them was no different than being with simple machines." Though the comment probably came off as condescending, Nigredo held no subjective view toward the standards. It was an observation, a fact. Nothing more.

"That's expected, though," the boy continued. "It is dangerous to have too many individualized bioweapons." One simply had to look at the troubles four alone caused to know why. "Home isn't much different from this place. In fact, a lot of the activity here reminds me of it. Except there's no afternoon drills." For that, he was eternally grateful.

Whoa, wait. Hold on there. There were several things that required more than a little elaboration. Okay, he understood that cloning was commonplace in this Zavarov. So being part of a mass of over six hundred was maybe to be expected. Maybe it made more sense to clone en masse than on an as needed basis. Klavier couldn't say he agreed with such things, but it could be understandable.

But to have almost every single one of those clones lacking a will of their own?! To the point where they were like machines?! Could people do such a thing?! It sounded positively monstrous! He couldn't even imagine what kind of inhumane mindset could even justify it.

And here Nigredo was saying such a thing was expected? Individualized bioweapons... "Hold on," he said sternly, now somewhere between horrified, confused, and angry. "When you say 'individualized bioweapons... are you referring to... yourself? And Rubedo?"

Bioweapons?! If he was interpreting that phrase correctly in this context, wouldn't that mean they were some kind of cultivated soldiers? The comment about drills certainly seemed to imply such. That was how people were using cloning?! For soldiers?! These were people... No, worse. These two specifically were children. Were they actually training children as 'weapons?!' No. He certainly hoped he was misinterpreting this child's words.

He didn't mean to sound stern, especially for what was meant to be a casual conversation, but this was a bit too disturbing for pretenses. "Please, Nigredo. This is important. I think I'm misunderstanding. What specifically do you mean by that? Bioweapons." He wanted an answer, but he didn't want to make the child wary of the conversation, so he was suppressing any kind of strong reaction to the subject.

What previous questions Nigredo had hoped to ask died down at Klavier's reaction. That tone of voice alone probably answered most of them. What Zavarov had, America did not and in fact, saw it to be horrific. The man did not need to elaborate for the boy to tell just how he felt about the explanation.

"...Yes," he answered after some difficulty. "Rubedo, my other brother, and I maintain our own will and personality. We're no different from any other human in this case." Really. Honestly.

But the growing apprehension from Klavier's end brought doubt to that view. Suddenly, Nigredo found it harder-than-usual to swallow. "Bio...weapons," the child began. "We have been genetically modified to maintain a specific waveform. To...destroy a dangerous phenomenon." The anti-existence as the scientists put it, but again, names did not matter.

The former curiosity gave way to fear, causing Nigredo to pale slightly. "I'm...sorry." His fingers curled into fists.

Genetically modified to hold... a waveform? What did that even mean? Whatever it meant, they were created for the sole purpose of facing a 'dangerous phenomenon' of some sort. And that was simply unacceptable. This Zavarov certainly had a unique concept of human rights, didn't it? Or did they think it was okay because they were clones? Either way, there was no doubt that this was cruelty.

Unfortunately, it looked like Klavier had been a bit more forceful than he'd intended. Nigredo was staring up at him looking... well, nervous or even scared. Klavier's own expression changed to complete surprise by the response. He immediately softened the look into something far gentler. In fact, he now put every effort into putting up an amiable face to reassure the boy.

"Ah. No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound angry or upset. I suppose it's a bit much to take in at once. That's all." He laughed a little as though to brush his own reaction off as over the top. It had been upsetting but showing such a thing to Nigredo or his brothers wasn't right. It wasn't directed at them, after all. "Please don't worry. You've done nothing wrong."

It was a bit too 'professional' an assurance, but there was really no helping that at this point. Klavier leaned back on the couch in a very casual... almost slouch. He wasn't much a fan of sitting in such a way, but it was important he give the impression of a relaxed atmosphere. Carefree, as it were. "So... you're able to... maintain a specific waveform, ja? Seems interesting. I'm a little familiar with the concept of waveforms." No not really. Sound waves and somewhat similar functions from basic science didn't quite cut it. But let's establish some sense of familiarity here... Lessen the alienation. "What specific one is it you're talking about?"

The returned apology served its purpose. Nigredo relaxed somewhat, though a careful observer might note his skin was a shade whiter than usual. As disorienting as it was to witness the reaction, he had to focus on answering the questions and possibly finding out why it happened in the first place.

"...Waveforms of consciousness," the variant said. He dropped his gaze to his lap. "Someone once told me to consider them as physical manifestations of people's souls. I don't know what to believe myself, but..." A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. "Everyone with conscious thought has one. Ours simply have the capacity to disintegrate our opposing waveform and perform certain tasks."

Klavier wasn't sure if his assurance had failed or if Nigredo was simply upset discussing the subject. Neither would surprise him much. But, man, this kid was smart. Certainly smarter than some others here. It was actually amazing he could explain such an over the top concept in terms Klavier could easily wrap his head around. He'd been nice simply because this was a child, but this alone at least demanded some level of respect.

"So, every sentient being has this 'consciousness waveform,'" he repeated simply for the sake of clarity, "and this is the waveform you can 'maintain' and control for... certain tasks?" One of which seemed to be to disintegrate an opposing waveform. What could possibly be the opposing waveform to consciousness? It sounded like a philosophical question. Actually the whole thing reeked of a science fiction novel.

He was still trying to conceive of what the point of all that was. Some people had gone through the trouble of cloning several hundred people and genetically modifying them for... this. Even going as far as taking away free will for most. These 'tasks' had better be something catestrophicly important.

"That doesn't sound so simple to me," he admitted, still obviously mulling the statement over. He was actually more thinking out loud than anything else. "...What could one possibly do with that..."

Nigredo nodded slowly. It seemed wherever Klavier was from, they were unfamiliar with the concept. That was fine, he supposed. Who else but scientists and weapons would care about such matters? "The first 665 units aren't very flexible in this regard," he continued in the explanation. "My brothers and I, on the other hand, are more unique and thus, carry more responsibility."

Truthfully, he didn't want to start listing off just what that responsibility entailed. At the same time, this man required some kind of example. Maybe if he mentioned something inconsequential? Nigredo mulled over it for a bit.

"Well, erm, my specific waveform structure allows me to make people do anything on vocal command," he answered. "Though, I'm not sure how well it works here."

This was getting to be a little bit too much. Again, Klavier had absolutely no reason to believe Nigredo was lying. That was the only reason he'd listened to him thus far. But Klavier was a logical man, and he wasn't one to just swallow any story fed to him.

Alternate realities: Fine. Silly as it was to consider, there were too many supporting factors, even if none were tangible just yet. If one were to believe that, and believe that Nigredo were from a place Klavier had never heard of, then perhaps they had different technological capabilities. That was certainly... possible. Theoretically, of course. But this claim was a bit ridiculous.

Was he actually proposing mind control? No, he'd said vocal command. So... what was that? Hypnosis? Supreme charisma? Invoking fear and obedience? There were countless ways to interpret that, none of which he really bought. This stupid idea of powers was one he had heard several times while here. There were only so many outlandish ideas he was willing to accept at once. At least the rest of it seemed theoretically possible.

"Really?" he said, a large smile playing across his face. "So you can just tell someone to do something and they'll just do it? Anything? Without a question?" Or big puppy eyes on your part? He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. "...If you're saying that has to do with wavelengths or something, then it shouldn't matter where you are. Correct?"

Unlike most children, Nigredo could tell an incredulous tone from a mile away. And although he could put up with personally damning questions, this sort of condescension he would not tolerate. "You don't believe me," he stated, absolutely deadpan.

The boy sighed, now somewhat irritated. "Yes, although there are some limitations. As of now, there has been only one person to resist my hypnosis. I'd imagine the number would grow if I used it in this place." If Albedo's current powers were of any indication... "And that depends. As long as there is a way for my voice to reach the person, I should be fine."

"Why?" He tilted a head. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Ha ha! As he thought. The kid wasn't stupid. He was certainly sharp enough to pick up on his tone. So why did Nigredo actually attribute this as a mental wavelength power or whatever it was he wanted to call it? There were 'limitations.' If you ask someone to do something --sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't-- that would hardly constitute as a power.

Ha. He wasn't expecting much out this, and maybe he should have been a little nicer considering this was just a little kid. But this was far too amusing a scenario to pass up.

"A demonstration?" His hand ran through his hair again like he was really thinking about it. "Why, yes. I'd love one. If you think you can here, that is." It was solely because this was a child that he was going along with this. And it was solely for that fact that he warned himself against laughing. He didn't want to hurt the kid's feelings, after all.

Oh, goodness. Barring any barriers, this could get a little messy. Nigredo straightened in his seat, frowning slightly at the swishing in his ears. After this, he should request some sort of swab.

There was an intake of breath. The U.R.T.V. needed to think of a suggestion which Klavier wouldn't take up easily. Something odd, maybe even embarrassing. The man appeared to be confident in all nuances of the word. A bout of humiliation would probably do him some good. It would certainly help tone down the level in that voice of his.

The answer came to him a moment later, thanks to an old article he once found on the U.M.N. He exhaled slowly and smiled carefully. "You know what a rooster is?" he asked, almost too casually. "It produces a certain crow at dawn to announce the morning."

And then: "That sound. I want you to make it for everyone to hear."

The voice was low, almost a whisper, but unusually firm. Unlike the usual expectations of a controlling element, there was no song. No obvious entry. It came as a thief in the night, stealing what hopes of control Klavier might have wanted in this situation. It urged him to do as Nigredo said, in a voice that belonged not to the child but another. Someone familiar, someone the boy shouldn't be able to mimic.

A flash of blond hair and spectacles should take the man's vision and leave Klavier with the implications and no room to argue the semantics. The source did not approve of disobedience, did he not? A straight out 'no' would lead to condemnation. Disapproval.

But how could Nigredo ever know? He was only using his power.

Klavier blinked as though only registering the words just now. Though in reality, he didn't even hear them as words... or rather, he hadn't heard them, period. It was a concept suddenly made manifest, too quickly to consider where it came from or to consider much of anything at all.

But that command was barely even noticeable. Not compared to the tightening in his chest, that feeling in his stomach, the heavy weight of stress and apprehension he only ever really felt around one particular individual.

Before he could so much as consider what it was he was doing, he sat up in his seat, inhaled, opened his mouth.

"Cock-a-doodle-DOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

As a singer, he had plenty of the vocal strength needed to make the caw echo throughout the otherwise quiet Sun Room. A few nurses along the wall literally jumped, startled. Strangely enough... the sound was actually extremely accurate.

A stretch of silence came from Nigredo's side of the couch. The boy blinked once, then twice, before his lips tightened into a single thin line. The water in his ear as well as the former conversation vanished from his mind as he realized that, yes, this particular power worked. Almost too perfectly.

Something like a choke finally escaped from the child's lips, only to have it be accompanied by a sound appropriate for this situation: laughter. A good deal of laughter, in fact. The kind that had him leaning back and grabbing his stomach in mock pain.

It was well after that echo faded in the room and Nigredo's laughter started that Klavier seemed to realize what it was he had just done. He immediately clapped a hand to his mouth (as if that would somehow take that back) and turned his back toward the rest of the room's staring inhabitants, as best he could while still sitting in any case. Here was hoping his hand was also covering a tinge of pink spreading across his face as well.

What just happened? Did he just...? Klavier didn't have the courage to look back over those in the room to see if anyone familiar had born witness to that. Particularly his brother. If Kristoph had seen that, he might have just resigned himself to his room and never come out ever again.

Was that... Had that been... It kind of wasn't very clear. It didn't seem like a hypnosis. It felt like something he'd done on his own. Only he'd never have done something like that. He was at such a loss, he he couldn't think of a single thing to say.

The howl eventually subsided into a snicker, though a part of Nigredo was still shaking from the effects. It also didn't help that Klavier looked absolutely mortified at his 'actions'. The expression was nearly enough to send the variant into another burst of laughter. Nearly.

He straightened in his seat, a sly smile stretching across his features. "So," he began, voice hitching from silent giggles, "convinced now?" Or was another demonstration in store?

He pulled his hand from his mouth, the completely bewildered look remaining exactly in place. Again, he still wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't think of many times in which he was at such a loss for words.

"Y-You... You really did that?" he asked incredulously. How was that even possible? He hadn't... well, he hadn't seen him DO anything. He expected a wiggle of the fingers or a magic spell being uttered or something glowing or something. What the heck...?

"I did." What had he expected? A grand exhibition of his powers? Hypnosis was, first and foremost, a subtle ability. And yet, people were generally surprised at its subdued nature. He should really explain the entire process next time.

"Although--" Nigredo snickered, suddenly noting the onlookers. "--everyone else might believe otherwise."

Klavier froze at that moment. He still wasn't looking, but he could practically feel all those eyes looking at him. He bowed his head down, hoping his hair would cover up his face. It didn't help though.

He hadn't taken note of who was in there, but now... all those people had seen him do that. And heard him! Oh, god. They were all going to think he was some kind of weirdo. Or psycho. Nigredo was right. It LOOKED like it was all him. How was he supposed to know that... that...

He suddenly stood up, still trying to keep his face out of view. He was so freaking ashamed. "I... I'm not staying here anymore," he blurted out, all composure completely gone. He was almost sounded like a five year old about to throw a fit. Right then he wanted to be anywhere but there. Anywhere. Though... No. Not yet. He needed answers from this kid. Straight answers. And...

"David?" Klavier was so unguarded, he actually jumped when the nurse approached and spoke up. She looked genuinely concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

It took everything in his power not to snap back that he was perfectly fine, thank you. Maybe if she hadn't been a woman or a nurse, he might have broken his composure. Instead, he simply pursed his lips together. "...No. Actually, I'm not okay." He said it as calmly as possible. The staff thought they were all crazy anyway, right? Why not use this? "I think I need some fresh air. ...Actually, we both do."

He turned to Nigredo, hoping he wouldn't disagree or make a fuss. "Come on, let's... get out of here."

[to here]

Edited 2009-05-18 05:28 (UTC)

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