"This isn't the first time I've had to be in a situation like this.
To be put into a place where people were taken against their will, and forced to make decisions, either selfishly or otherwise, that could result in the death of one or more people.
This isn't the first time I've had to watch someone die, and do nothing about it."
...
Akira. The last time I was awake, before arriving here, ten participants had been trapped in a building together. They were forced to solve puzzles and then vote against one another in an attempt to escape their circumstances.
By the end... only two had escaped, and only one of them was conscious. One participant had been left behind.
No. I wasn't. I suppose I could have been, if things had been different, but...
[She shakes her head before finishing that statement. That was getting a little off topic.]
When some of the participants started dying, a handful of people had done investigations on their own. By the end of the game, there was a large amount of evidence to conclude that six of the ten people had been murdered... not by the game, but by another person. The people who came to that conclusion were the conscious escapee and the one participant who was left behind.
[Time for math with Luna, because figuring things out for yourself is important.]
There were ten participants. By the end of the game, seven of them died, two escaped, and one was left behind.
Per evidence found before the escape, six of the dead participants were dead due to murder. The seventh participant was the unconscious escapee. The eighth was the conscious escapee. The ninth was the participant who was left behind.
What happened to the tenth participant, according to the information I have given you?
[something is missing. it takes him a while to figure it out, a few moments of silence where he goes over the numbers again. ten participants, seven dead, six murdered, two escaped, one left behind--]
[-- it comes to him in a flash of lightning, but even so, thinking it doesn't feel right. not when compared to the Luna he knows. he opens his mouth. . . shuts it again. takes a moment to search for his words]
[. . .]
Are. . . are you trying to tell me that you were responsible for the deaths of those six?
According to all of the evidence... I was the guilty party, yes.
Whether that was true or not wasn't debated. It was the only option they had, and I wasn't in a position where I could deny my guilt. So I was abandoned in the facility with the one remaining participant... and shortly afterwards, I was killed by the facilitator as a result of my decisions.
[. . . he still doesn't pull away from her, his fingers tightening around her shoulders. not painfully so, but it's absolutely a slightly uncomfortable grip]
"According to all of the evidence" doesn't mean it was true.
[There's a quiet tone, a touched but broken flutter in what had otherwise turned into a mechanical rambling.
...]
I knew about the game.
I wasn't the orchestrator, of course. But I worked alongside them. I was specific given orders to participate. I was to pretend to be one of the players, to help them choose the correct path of decison making, and to do or act a specific way, should... different circumstances arise.
I... I just sat and... watched all six people die. And the worst thing is... I could have stopped them. All of them. But I...
[he's gone from grasping her shoulders to holding her hand now, his grip just as tight, though he's doing his best not to hurt her in the process. as she tells him about what happened, no part of him is judgmental about her story. and when he finally speaks. . . he's more curious than upset or angry or disappointed]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I do.
. . . it was a story. A story about a boy and a bird.
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What else did it say?
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I mentioned you were a medical professional. . . a caretaker, a participant, a guilty party.
[MAKES A FACE]
It said you were good with numbers, and that you told jokes that people didn't hear.
Why. . .?
[why is any of this important]
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There is a reason it said I was a guilty party, Akira.
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[but rather, a truth that is given out of context. but even so. . . he'll keep listening]
Why did it call you a guilty party?
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Do you remember when we spoke last week in writing, underneath the doors?
"This isn't the first time I've had to be in a situation like this." That's what I had told you, correct?
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[despite the implications of that question, Akira doesn't draw back]
Yes. That's what you told me.
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[As she recites, verbatim:]
"This isn't the first time I've had to be in a situation like this.
To be put into a place where people were taken against their will, and forced to make decisions, either selfishly or otherwise, that could result in the death of one or more people.
This isn't the first time I've had to watch someone die, and do nothing about it."
...
Akira. The last time I was awake, before arriving here, ten participants had been trapped in a building together. They were forced to solve puzzles and then vote against one another in an attempt to escape their circumstances.
By the end... only two had escaped, and only one of them was conscious. One participant had been left behind.
The rest had all died.
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. . . you were one of the people who escaped, then. Right. . .?
[because if she had been one to die, there's no way she would have known the ultimate outcome]
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[She shakes her head before finishing that statement. That was getting a little off topic.]
When some of the participants started dying, a handful of people had done investigations on their own. By the end of the game, there was a large amount of evidence to conclude that six of the ten people had been murdered... not by the game, but by another person. The people who came to that conclusion were the conscious escapee and the one participant who was left behind.
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[well. now he looks confused. he's taking in what she's saying, of course, but if she wasn't an escapee, then. . .?]
If you didn't escape, then how do you know--?
[how many people were killed. murdered. how many managed to leave, and the conclusions they drew as they did so]
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[Time for math with Luna, because figuring things out for yourself is important.]
There were ten participants. By the end of the game, seven of them died, two escaped, and one was left behind.
Per evidence found before the escape, six of the dead participants were dead due to murder. The seventh participant was the unconscious escapee. The eighth was the conscious escapee. The ninth was the participant who was left behind.
What happened to the tenth participant, according to the information I have given you?
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[oh. he gets it now. he had been operating that the only two survivors were the ones who escaped, but. . .]
So you. . . were the one left behind?
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[Do your math again, Akira. Something is missing.]
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[something is missing. it takes him a while to figure it out, a few moments of silence where he goes over the numbers again. ten participants, seven dead, six murdered, two escaped, one left behind--]
[-- it comes to him in a flash of lightning, but even so, thinking it doesn't feel right. not when compared to the Luna he knows. he opens his mouth. . . shuts it again. takes a moment to search for his words]
[. . .]
Are. . . are you trying to tell me that you were responsible for the deaths of those six?
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Whether that was true or not wasn't debated. It was the only option they had, and I wasn't in a position where I could deny my guilt. So I was abandoned in the facility with the one remaining participant... and shortly afterwards, I was killed by the facilitator as a result of my decisions.
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"According to all of the evidence" doesn't mean it was true.
[he meets her gaze firmly]
Did you? Did you kill them?
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No.
But... I was an accomplice.
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[quietly, with no judgment in his tone]
How. . .?
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There's a ragged sigh, her eyes drifting to where Akira has a vicegrip on her arms.]
Do you truly want an answer to that, Akira?
Or are you determined to tell me that what I know is a lie?
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[he says, chin lifted firmly]
However ugly or awful it may be. I want to understand-- I want to know.
Because you're still my friend, no matter what.
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[There's a quiet tone, a touched but broken flutter in what had otherwise turned into a mechanical rambling.
...]
I knew about the game.
I wasn't the orchestrator, of course. But I worked alongside them. I was specific given orders to participate. I was to pretend to be one of the players, to help them choose the correct path of decison making, and to do or act a specific way, should... different circumstances arise.
I... I just sat and... watched all six people die. And the worst thing is... I could have stopped them. All of them. But I...
I didn't.
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Why. . .? Why didn't you?
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And I...
...
[She takes in another slow breath, placing her free hand on top of where Akira grips her as though she might vanish.]
Akira... are you familiar at all with the Three Laws of Robotics?
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I'm. . . not, no.
[he looks a bit confused and bewildered]
What are they?
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YOU BETTER NOT JINX THIS BC IF HE DIES NOW WOW BOY BAD BAD BAD BAD
B)