"And if I were the admin of this place, I'd make sure to definitely weed out the independent thinkers from the very get-go," Sanae pointed out. "Less fuss down the line. I mean, sure, maybe a few of them could have an inkling that something's up, but really...are they going to say anything? Probably got a lot of fear in them - way more than their sympathy reserves."

And besides, not that he had anything against legitimate crazies, but who in their right, sane minds would want to side with the mental patients? Minded, sanity's definition could get kind of subjective, but seeing as most people didn't believe in alien abductions let alone Earth abductions of aliens, it was probably right to believe that no guy off the street would consider anyone spouting tales of being from another planet sane.

And Nerves apparently didn't like his joke or something, because he hadn't even managed one of those fake laughs out of the guy. Well, his humor wasn't for everyone.

Sanae nodded. "Of course, because if you toss in the brainwashing, you've got the makings of your very own completely obedient army with epic powers to boot and then boom! It's off to conquer the world." Or if you were named Megumi Kitaniji, it was off to reform Shibuya.

The barista paused and considered what he'd just concluded. "Wow, that sounds cheesy."