damned_institute | Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

Entry tags:

Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

When the shift changed, HK stayed put. Even after a long night of zombie killing, he had no interest in meatbag fuel, especially after all the discussion of chocolate with that rather strange meatbag. It was just making him crave the stuff even more than he had previously, if that was possible.

Oh, right. He was supposed to be looking for someone who was "VERY LARGE, WITH DARK HAIR." And also seemed to not know what lower-case letters were on the bulletin. As if that would help. He'd seen a likely candidate last shift, but talk of chocolate had distracted him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, you have to figure out what they did to everyone's powers before you can find out how to get them back, right?" he said. "That still involves being serious about all this."

It wasn't like he didn't have a stake in finding out how to get everyone's abilities back -- he just didn't like advertising it. To be honest, aside from his missing bracelet, he wasn't sure what sorts of limitations had been placed on his power to perceive, if any at all. He hadn't actively tried using it, and, as far as he knew, no one had even really been a position to try lying to him, much less feel under pressure for doing so. Sure, a lot of people said a lot of ludicrous stuff around here, but by this point, Apollo had come to accept that either it was true, or they just honestly believed it and were mistaken (or just plain nuts).

As far as Apollo was concerned, though, dimension-warping technology in anybody's hands was too dangerous. That was one Pandora's box that just shouldn't have been opened, and this place only served as proof of that. If anybody was going to use it, there needed to be laws set in place to make sure people weren't abused somehow.

"What would you even do if you took control of this place, though?" he asked with a frown. "Seems like if you were in that kind of position, there wouldn't be anything stopping you from using whatever it was to bring us here in order to send everyone back home."

It sounded synonymous with the grand prize, at any rate. The closest thing to a consolation prize Apollo could think of was getting out of the institute and being forced to live out the rest of his life in whatever "time" or "place" they'd been pulled into. Since he didn't know much about what life was like beyond Doyleton, Apollo had no way of knowing what that would involve, but he did know he wouldn't ever be 100 percent happy with that arrangement.

"Yeah, of course you have to do some dirty work - which is why I said you shouldn't be serious all of the time. You have to relax once in a while, right?" Sanae laughed. "It's a fine balance, I know.

"And I mean, if we get up to the head honcho's place, chances are we'll have access to whatever stuff they used to limit everyone, so there's that problem solved. Understanding, naturally, that it's a long way to the top - but that's just part of the fun." Man, it was really hard to get the point across without directly mentioning his involvement in the Game. Secrecy was a bitch.

"As for me, you got it right on the dot: basically what I'd do is restore everyone's powers, send 'em home, take or copy the tech, and then blow the whole thing up to kingdom come - in that order, if possible. Pretty fairy tale, huh? But it's what I'd do." Of course, this was assuming he'd be the one in charge. Joshua no doubt had his own plans. But Sanae would support him no matter what, because that was his job. And because they were friends.

He suddenly remembered formalities. "Oh and by the way, I'm Sanae Hanekoma - or Mr. H, if ya like. Not a lawyer obviously, but if you guessed barista, that'd be it!" Sanae extended a hand. "Kind of an abrupt introduction, I know, but it's now or never, right?"

"Yeah, but how can anyone possibly relax?" It sounded like good advice on the surface, except for the fact Landel's wasn't exactly some kind of resort, even without the bloodthirsty zombies and cruel experiments. True, they had stuff for the 'patients' here to enjoy. The problem was that Apollo honestly didn't think he could bring himself to relax with the knowledge that night would fall, and he'd either be forced to stay in his room, or venture out and risk getting involved with the weird creatures that came out.

At least someone here could describe some part of this mess as "fun", though. Apollo understood it was a figure of speech, but no one would ever catch him using it, that was for sure.

"And then what would you use the technology for?" Apollo asked. He personally wouldn't have the know-how to even use it, much less understand how it worked. He imagined the prospect of selling that sort of information for big bucks would be appealing to a lot of people, but Apollo wanted nothing to do with it if he could avoid it.

When the man gave an introduction and extended his hand, Apollo promptly took it and delivered a firm shake. "And I'm Apollo Justice -- you can call me either Apollo or Justice if you like, whichever you prefer." So long as it was one of the two, and not, say, Polly, or Forehead, or Spike. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

A barista, though? With all the robots and Gods of the Universe and grim reapers hanging around here, that was the last thing he would have expected this Mr. Hanekoma to be. Apollo wondered if there was any rhyme or reason behind who Landel's targeted.

"It must be weird for you, being stuck in a place like this," he added. A lot of people here sounded like they belonged in a nut house. Sure, Haruno had been nice and sane, but for someone who couldn't have been any older than Trucy, she seemed strangely comfortable with the idea of having to fight off zombies and monsters, and, quite frankly, Apollo still wasn't sure what to think of that.

Edited 2009-08-16 07:32 (UTC)

"Depends on the person. Me, I like coffee and company. So I drink joe when I can get it and go out of my way to meet as many people as I can, because really, if we're going to have all these worlds colliding, we might as well take the time to discover 'em all." It also gave him an excuse to avoid Minamimoto, who was probably the only thing (not person - thing) in the institute that Sanae would actually admit to avoiding. "Expanding our own little bubbles - sounds like good fun, right? Oh - and I guess night time's kind of cool. Like a video game, except that it's your own life you've got on the table. Ups the risk factor."

In a way, his life in Landel's mirrored his life in Shibuya: normal guy by day, Game Player by night. Funny how things worked out that way.

"And whaddya think I'd use the tech for? Traveling, of course! Zap myself into some other dimension - with a return device of course - and take a little vacation now or then. No, I'm kidding. It's top secret business. Classified." Because if this kid ever died and ended up in the Game, he'd have a leg up if he knew they were going inter-dimensional.

Sanae grinned. "Nice to meet you too, Nerves. Gotta say, I've never met a lawyer before - might be a good thing, actually!" He laughed. "Sorry, bad joke, bad joke..." Didn't want Nerves to get offended, after all: the kid seemed pretty touchy too.

He shrugged. "It's not that bad, being here. Asides from the cool world junction thing going on, I'm a big fan of the horror genre, so for me, this is kind of like a nerd dream come true." Utter lie through the teeth. Go, go, go.

...Come to think of it, Mr. Hanekoma kind of sounded like he belonged in a nut house, too.

Meeting new people, broadening one's horizons -- those things Apollo could understand, since it was probably best to see the good in an otherwise horrible situation if possible. But comparing nighttime to a video game? Yeah, sure, it was just like one of those awful first-person shooters, except you were stuck with something like a food tray for a weapon, and you died for real if something bit your face off.

Hanekoma explaining that he'd wind up using strange dimensional-warping technology for classified business didn't exactly make him look any less suspicious, either.

"You know, when you say things like that, you, um, don't really sound like your average barista," Apollo pointed out. Not that he was trying to be confrontational (the last thing he wanted to do was pick a fight with someone who ran around monster-infested corridors for kicks) -- it was just an observation.

All he could do was give an inward sigh at "Nerves" as he tried to muster a laugh at the man's joke. It came out a little more forced and strained than he would have liked, to be honest, because, wow, that wasn't all that reassuring when it came from someone like this.

When he mentioned liking this place because of his affection for horror movies, Apollo couldn't contain his surprise. He didn't care how much anyone liked horror movies -- that was taking "obsession" to a whole new level. After all, being trapped here wasn't at all like watching a movie or reading a book in the comfort of your own home.

Quite frankly, something about all that struck Apollo as a little...well, off, but, then again, there was a lot of other stuff that was blatantly off about him, too. Still, Apollo wished he had his bracelet with him so he could have at least something to help him muddle through his conversations with strange people. Even if he wasn't in cross-examining mode, the fact it was gone made him feel blind, and maybe a little bit naked, too. As it was, using his ability to perceive on anyone would just be a massive shot in the dark.

"...R-right," he said slowly after a moment, though there was a small frown on his face as he spoke.

Oh, yes, he'd just sent the kid a bunch of mixed information, and now Nerves was dutifully sifting through it all. This one was much sharper than he came off. The problem was that Sanae wasn't so sure how long he could keep this going before the lawyer just gave up and concluded that he was completely nuts. And that'd be a shame, because he did kind of like talking to this kid with his straight up manner.

"No, I don't, huh?" Sanae said, sounding as if he'd just realized it himself. A second later he was laughing - again. "You're pretty observant, although, I did make myself pretty obvious, didn't I? Sorry, no further confessions to make, unless you really want one. Some people just like to stay 'not average' and not have any other labels attached."

And now, he figured, it was about time to move on to something else - not that he minded talking about himself. But Sanae had his own questions which he'd politely set aside in the face of Nerves' interrogation, and he figured it was about time he asked them before the conversation solidified completely around him.

"So...mind if we take the spotlight off of me for just a moment? Unless you really want the truth - which I can understand, you being a man of justice and all, pun not intended. But anyway, you mind a really abrupt change in subject? Because it seems to me that you're pretty set on getting out of this place yourself. Got any great ideas about that? Or are we still in the research phase?" He glanced briefly toward Apollo's journal.

Apollo was a big fan of the truth, actually -- while it didn't always make life easier, it definitely made his job a lot simpler. After all, it wasn't like he was a trained detective. Everything he'd learned in school revolved around the cumbersome courtroom procedures and the countless laws, clauses and subclauses that came along along with them. Actually going out and getting his hands dirty was something else.

Maybe it went to show that book smarts and street smarts were entirely different things. Apollo had a feeling he was sorely lacking in the latter, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn.

He'd probably have to if he wanted to get by in Landel's. That wasn't exactly the most comforting thought, though, so he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand.

The somewhat nosy part of him was interested in hearing more about Hanekoma's background, but his more practical side was quick to remind him that this line of questioning wasn't necessarily relevant to their predicament. Pursuing the matter any further would not only be a waste of time, but it'd put them both in an even more awkward position.

Maybe some baggage was better off left undisturbed -- for now, anyway. That didn't mean he couldn't at least sort of keep an eye on the guy.

The abrupt change in subject was obvious, but at least Hanekoma openly admitted to it. Apollo sighed and flipped through the notes he'd been taking.

"Sort of," he admitted. "I've only been here a little more than 24 hours, so I've still got my work cut out for me. It sounds like there's a lot of history behind this place that spans even farther than anyone here can remember. If that's the case, I have a feeling that we won't be getting out of here even if the Head Doctor really is dead."

[mind a backthread?]

Oh good. He'd taken to the change in subject much better than Sanae had expected. Now they could start talking about some relevant things. After all, his background wasn't too interesting if you didn't know half the things he was talking about.

"Well, if the intercom's anything, I'd have to agree with that conclusion of yours. It's gonna be an interesting next couple of days; wonder if this 'iris' deal's gonna really shake things up or just kind of sneak in all quiet. Doesn't sound like they're changing much except for the automated play-by-play."

Really the intercom messages had seemed less for them and more for some unseen observers who apparently liked their tour guides metallic and boring. Personally he would have wanted a more human touch if he was checking out this place, but some people wanted the information minus the build-up.

[Yes pls!]

"Or changing anything at all," Apolo said with a small frown. His gaze briefly wandered to the nearest intercom in the sun room. "Not that I have a lot of personal experience with this place yet, but...well, the nurses don't seem to be acknowledging the I.R.I.S. system at all. Actually, they're just going along with it like it's business as usual."

If the messages were anything to go by, then the automated system was probably something left from before they started abducting people against their will. After all, why would they need to go through the effort of selling the idea of this place to people they could just kidnap anyway? At some point, something had possibly happened to make the institute deviate from its original purpose. Was it the rivalry that had supposedly existed between the Head Doctor and Alec Doyle? Or did that only make the consequences of the split even more drastic than they would have been otherwise?

"Either they're under orders from someone to act like nothing's wrong," which was just ridiculous, since it was obvious that something was, "or the brainwashing stuff is true, and the staff are, er, somehow being tricked to do their jobs no matter what happens." Which was just plain uncomfortable to think about.

Sanae shrugged. "Eh, what the nurses do, it's no big deal. I don't think they hire those guys for their brains anyway, because from the looks of some of them, the criteria's just muscle and the ability to be a mindless drone - you know, good skills for pinning people down when they're jabbing away with those syringes."

His observations were mostly reinforced by his own nurse, who seemed like she only had enough social skills to ask how he was and if the day was as nice as she thought it was. It got really boring after a while - just as boring as this place's interior decorating.

"But you know, this 'federal training' and patriotic stuff that they're spitting out, it definitely makes it sound to me like some wheel's gonna start turning real soon. Like we're gonna become some kind of military project." He grinned. "Can't see what they'd do to you - although if you think about it, a super team of deranged, expert lawyers is definitely secret weapon status."

"That might be partly true, but..." Apollo glanced toward a couple of the nurses who were supervising the patients currently relaxing in the sun room. "You'd think at least some of them would be put off by all this. If my boss suddenly disappeared, and it was obvious some outdated robot was taking his place? I'd be more than a little concerned, but that's just me."

They already knew patients could be controlled and forced into attacking others at night -- at least, if the primers were anything to go by. If that was the case, who was to say they couldn't use those sorts of means to brainwash the staff into behaving?

Yeah, this was starting to sound like a really bad sci-fi novel all right. Apollo could scarcely believe it himself. Maybe Mr. Hanekoma was right, and they really were trained to follow orders right down to the letter, no matter what.

Either way, it meant the same thing: they were far from finding a way out of this place.

He had a point about the federal training thing, which took Apollo right back to what he'd been thinking about before Mr. Hanekoma had shown up in the first place. What could that possibly mean? It was referring to some sort of military project, apparently, but for whose army?

Apollo hoped that last crack wasn't meant to be a joke, because it wasn't a very funny one. "I heard a lot of people have special powers or something," he said. "It seems like they'd be prime specimens for some weird military project, right?"

"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."

That was true -- with the kinds of resources Landel seemed to have, it wasn't a stretch to think that the people who served under him could have a decent amount of fear toward him. Especially if they were being coerced into all this somehow. But to act like the I.R.I.S. system wasn't even running? Talk about weird.

Then again, he couldn't even name a single thing about this place that wasn't weird, so maybe that was just par for the course. Still, Apollo couldn't help but frown at the speculations about brainwashing some kind of super-powered army into obedience -- because while it was definitely pretty out-there, it was downright scary to contemplate, cheesy or not.

"Well, whatever he's up to, it can't be any good," he said. "With some of the technology he's got, I wouldn't be surprised if he had world domination or something equally insane in mind." That seemed like the sort of thing a mad scientist would be aiming for.

"Sorry if this is a really personal question," Apollo added after a moment, "but do you have any special abilities, Mr. Hanekoma? I've met at least two healers since I've been here, and I've been curious about the percentage of patients with 'powers' ever since."

"Or he's got a really lucrative defense contract with the states," Sanae said, scratching his chin. "Money's always a factor." These mad scientist types were always easy to predict; he was looking forward to the day when one of them didn't go according to script. That'd be one scientist he'd be willing to meet.

Apollo's question hardly threw him for a loop; he was especially good with this one. Without missing a beat Sanae's eyebrow rose. "Me? A barista...with super powers?" He laughed genuinely. "Gotta be kidding me! If you're looking for a Japanese Superman, you're looking at the wrong guy. I'm a pretty good artist, though. My stuff seems to connect well with people; they get the message loud and clear."

Given how running a place like this couldn't be cheap (he'd discussed as much with Haruno in the cafeteria earlier), Apollo was certain they had to be making a profit somehow. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time before Landel ran out of resources, and this operation tanked. It wasn't something he liked to admit, because that could only mean there were more people in on this than they even realized. But Apollo knew he couldn't deny it was a very real possibility. That just would have been impractical.

"Hahah, yeah...a barista with super powers," he said feebly. It sounded ridiculous on the surface, but then, so did a lot of the things he'd heard lately. Really, a barista with powers would be almost normal. Heck, he was basically a defense attorney with weird powers, right?

He was about to ask more about Mr. Hanekoma's art when the intercom sounded, and, sure enough, the I.R.I.S. system was there to greet them.

Apollo turned back toward the man as the nurses began to round up patients. This "visitor" stuff sounded pretty creepy, and he just had to hope he wouldn't get called for anything like that today. "Well, it was nice meeting you." Sorta, anyway. "I'd like to talk again in the future, if you don't mind."

"Anytime, Nerves." Sanae waved goodbye and then sighed as a nurse stopped dead in front of him. Time to go; maybe he'd go find Joshua. The kid hadn't replied to his board message, but he knew his boss would want to talk as soon as possible. Or he could have some fun...

"Arts and crafs, I think," he said without thinking as he stood up. Without even bothering for any further conversation, Sanae had wandered out of the room.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject