damned_institute | Day 52: Game Room

Lunch had taken his mind from his worries, if only for a few minutes. But after the intercom sounded and the nurses began leading patients onto the next activity, one look at the bulletin board brought everything back in full force. No replies from Ashton, Dias or Dad. By now Claude felt like he was practically counting down until the end of the day, when he was going to have to finally grapple with the real possibility that most of his friends from before Landel's, as well as his own father, had fallen victim to the institute.

And now he was going to have to deal with his mother being here on top of that. It didn't seem like a coincidence that she'd show up right when his father's whereabouts were so up in the air. But what did it mean? Why couldn't Landel leave his family out of this?

Normally, the announcement about new video games would have made him perk up, but his eyebrows only knit together with concern as his nurse led him into the game room. That didn't seem to stop her from trying to get him to unwind, though.

"Oh, come now, Thomas, you've worn that expression for most of the day!" she told him with a frown. "Why don't you have a bit of fun now that your eyes are all better? I'm sure you could use it."

The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his "sleep studies", he darkly thought to himself. But before he could protest, his nurse had sat him down in front of one of the television screens. There was an old gaming console, one Claude had never seen before, and he glanced at her with a confused expression. "Go on," she encouraged as she placed one of the controllers in his hands. "I know how much you enjoy these kinds of things. Someone will come play with you soon, too, I'm sure. Doesn't that sound nice?"

He didn't have time to answer her, because she'd soon bustled off to tend to some of the other patients. Claude watched her leave with a sigh. He realized the daytime staff meant well, which made knowing what they turned into at night even worse to think about. But now he was just being negative for the sake of it, wasn't he?

Taking in a small breath, he reached over to the console and turned it on. As long as he was waiting for some kind of answer from the bulletin, there probably wasn't much he could do except pass the time. Claude watched the title screen appear on the television, his expression growing more curious in spite of himself. Super Mario Bros....

[For Prussia!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yes, it was. Russia, China, and most of the Asian continent--the Human Reform League. They formed years ago, back when construction on the orbital elevators began. Those were designed to produce inexpensive, efficient solar power to the planet."

They had also been the cause of the Solar Wars, but it probably wasn't prudent to mention that at this point in time. Although Ludwig's interest in politics meant he'd probably be able to work it out himself. Solar power was a threat, especially to countries who had grown wealthy by producing oil.

Ludwig's next questions gave her pause. "I..." she hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to explain her situation.

"I'm not sure," she admitted at last. "I suppose I'm a special case. I was raised in a separate lab, kept isolated from the rest of the colony. I'm a designer baby, engineered and built for the purpose of serving as a soldier. I suppose a civilian who actually lived in the space colony where I grew up could answer your questions better...I really don't know." She paused, a little embarrassed despite herself. "I'm sorry."

"Orbital elevators... there's quite a bit of theory about the untapped power of solar energy, but costs are still prohibitive. Nonrenewable energy still provides for most of the power." And that was the problem. Soma didn't need to say anything else- if there was such a device in place which would render all fossil fuels obsolete, there was a risk of violence. This could come from individuals whose lives were ruined as a result of the new technology, from governments who were seeing their entire nation decimated by it... or from rival countries who would want control over such a strategic resource. Humanity wouldn't have changed so much in just a few hundred years, although Ludwig had hoped for otherwise.

But then he heard her story, and his face softened. He couldn't really identify with her case specifically, but... there were some similarities. Especially on the matter of not knowing what a normal life was like. So, after an awkward pause, he managed, "I... also was born to serve in wars. So there's no need to apologize." It wasn't the whole story, it was infinitely more complicated than that, but Soma didn't need to know all of those details. Nor was he going to express his true disappointment... even after leaving the cradle of Earth and having such an endless source of energy, humans still felt the need to construct more weapons. Though he'd never have imagined that they'd create one quite like Soma.

"The costs have been accounted for by my time. The two orbital elevators currently extant--the HRL's and the Union's--supply energy to the better part of the planet. The AEU elevator is still currently under construction, though." She paused, curious. "What year are you from?"

But that was a question that could wait. Ludwig's words instantly intrigued her, and she straightened slightly, letting her own tiles drop forgotten to the table. She'd thought she had pegged him for the military, but she couldn't have imagined that he might be similar to her. She wasn't going to let him off with such a cryptic statement. "What do you mean? Were you genetically engineered as well?"

She wasn't sure how she'd feel if it turned out he had been. Once, she would have been proud, even glad. Now that she knew the price paid for her creation, she wasn't sure if it was worth it after all. But she had decided that she liked Ludwig, with his calm, almost stoic demeanor and quiet interest in politics, and she was sure his answer wouldn't change her opinion of him, whatever it was.

"It's a shame the AEU is behind... I come from 2010. So this talk is quite surprising to me." He can see it, of course, the technology isn't so very far away. Just a question of proper implementation, not utter impossibility. And the energy of the world provided in such a cheap and economical manner... it's something to dream for. More than that, it's something to work toward.

As for the question... he shook his head. Genetic engineering, he had been worried about that. America had made some advances in that area, and many other nations were starting to do their own research in the field. But creating soldiers was still beyond them, for the moment. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, save only that he hated the idea of any of his people being made for war.

But how could he explain it? Ludwig didn't want to bring up the fact that he was a country, that would damage his credibility and possibly alienate Soma. But at the same time, he didn't want to clam up either. So he thought about it carefully, playing with a follower figure in his hand as he considered how to proceed. Finally, cautiously, he spoke. "I... suppose it would be more accurate to say I was made. Regardless, at home I'm nearly invulnerable and I've been in service of my country for over a century. Often for wars or other conflicts."

2010? "I'm sure the advancement will come soon for you." It was difficult to sound confident, but she tried. Optimism was hard to come by here. "You probably know a great deal about current events, anyway. Talk around the Institute is that it's probably the late 20th to early 21st century here, though it's probably hard to tell for sure." Not that she was in the habit of subscribing to rumor, but the talk in question generally tended to come from patients who had been here longer, and it would be foolish to discount it without some thought.

Ludwig's response to her question was just as cryptic as the last. Made but not engineered, and invulnerable? And for over a century? It was impossible. It didn't make any sense. Soma frowned in confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. You're over a century old? But--you don't look it, and I feel as if I would have heard if an invulnerable supersoldier had been created by Germany four hundred years ago." Unless this was another 'alternate worlds' thing, where the creation of supersoldiers had occurred sooner rather than later. But that still didn't explain his comment about being 'made.'

"Interesting... I hadn't heard anything like that, but I appreciate this new information. And everything else you've said. I hope that it will be soon." Though 'soon' for Ludwig was a bit different than that for most other people. It just came with the fact that he was now used to having immortality, or as close to it as anyone ever got. A century or two was still a daunting period of time, but nothing he couldn't handle. And he would see all of this happening.

The only problem was that he couldn't really explain it. Not right now. So, instead, he offered an awkward look. He couldn't say much of what he was allowed to, and even less because Soma would clearly think him insane. And this period had gone on long enough that he couldn't get it all out anyway. "It's... a complicated situation. And it would take longer than we have to explain it. But... perhaps if we have another shift to talk, I'll explain. ...I must apologize for this, as well. I'm not sure exactly how much I should say."

Day 52: Game Room

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