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Days 8-11 - Test 1: Aptitude
Who: All Initiates
What: LACUNA begins her testing phases
When: Days 8-11
Where: Area 2 - Testing Grounds
Warnings: To be updated, but as this is a testing regimen, it will most likely contain language, violence, mentions of sensitive topics (up to and including pondering the murder of children)
At 06:00 hours on the morning of Day 8, every terminal, be it the one in the living quarters or one of the personal terminals within the rooms, begins broadcasting the sound of a klaxon. This sound, loud enough to reverberate, continues for 30 seconds before it ends as abruptly as it began. The lights raise and after they are fully illuminating whatever area your character may have been rudely awoken in, LACUNA's cold voice fills the silence.
As incredibly forthcoming as she's been previously, any attempts to question her further are met with cold silence.
(OOC: The Test will be divided by day and function, and for more information, check out the sweet prompts below, also organized by date! You're not required to use this post, but it may be easier if you haven't found a partner! Feel free to make your own posts, either as actions or network posts as well! Remember, it isn't 100% necessary to obey her commands...)
What: LACUNA begins her testing phases
When: Days 8-11
Where: Area 2 - Testing Grounds
Warnings: To be updated, but as this is a testing regimen, it will most likely contain language, violence, mentions of sensitive topics (up to and including pondering the murder of children)
At 06:00 hours on the morning of Day 8, every terminal, be it the one in the living quarters or one of the personal terminals within the rooms, begins broadcasting the sound of a klaxon. This sound, loud enough to reverberate, continues for 30 seconds before it ends as abruptly as it began. The lights raise and after they are fully illuminating whatever area your character may have been rudely awoken in, LACUNA's cold voice fills the silence.
"Good Morning, Initiates. Today will begin Testing. Our first Test Round will be for Aptitude measurement only. As such, blows that would otherwise be fatal will spare you. You have one hour to prepare. Afterwards, proceed to the cryopod chamber for further instruction. Thank you."
As incredibly forthcoming as she's been previously, any attempts to question her further are met with cold silence.
(OOC: The Test will be divided by day and function, and for more information, check out the sweet prompts below, also organized by date! You're not required to use this post, but it may be easier if you haven't found a partner! Feel free to make your own posts, either as actions or network posts as well! Remember, it isn't 100% necessary to obey her commands...)
OH PFFFFT. I thought it was intentional. You shouldn't have said anything, I'd never have known.
"I'm not certain it's unlimited, but-"
Actually, that led to another question.
"This may sound... odd..."
He pauses. Considers. Sighs. No. There's no way to ask this where he doesn't sound like a lunatic.
"You didn't happen to, erm. Die, right before you arrived here?"
Curses! My shame is now known.
Except there was Grace. He knew for a fact that she'd been perfectly safe. The hanger had been built perfectly to his specifications and there was no way that the potential nuclear fallout would be able to penetrate it. Neither she nor those with her should have felt as if their lives were in danger. In fact, he'd tried to make sure that they were at least slightly distracted from it.
"I can't say I did, you?" To be honest, now he was curious about this.
Alright, hold tight. I got a guy who can build a new life for you in Guatamala.
Apparently the thought of dying and then continuing on to other activities wasn't foreign to Darius, or at least not unthinkable to him. That, or he had one hell of a poker face.
"In point of fact, I did. Internal bleeding. And external bleeding. Knives aren't picky."
You are my hero!
Which meant, from his small knowledge pool, Wesley was an outlier. Creasing his brows he decided to get a bit personal. "When you arrived, did you still have the wounds?" He wasn't privy to the knowledge of the healing power of the cryo-pods. Not yet, at least.
Important question: What are your thoughts on chicken farming? There might be chicken farming.
Physically, anyway. The mental trauma was something only time and alcohol could fix, and he had access to neither at the moment.
"Interesting. I had assumed that they claimed me at the time of my death to avoid anybody noticing that I was missing, but if I'm the only one that was dead- or on the verge of dying, I suppose, I wasn't really in a position to be certain- then I suppose I've just got good luck."
As usual. He manages a grim smile.
Are we talking large scale chicken farming?
"Personally, I'm banking on time stopping when they bring us here. Otherwise, my entire planet is going to be suffering from a case nuclear fallout." If it wasn't the mutually assured destruction that they were fairly certain RESIST had caused, then it was going to be the Pentagon firing nukes at Samson that would cause the pieces to rip apart various parts of the planet.
No, just a little coop. Although you may be asked to hide drugs in your shed. It's fiiiiiiiine.
Wait. Hold on. Did he say nuclear fallout?
"... assuming we are even from the same Earth, about which I am now a bit dubious."
Parallel realities? He didn't think Wolfram and Hart's style of apocalyptic retribution would require nuclear weapons, so he has to assume this isn't related.
As long as they're yours I'm fine with it. I'll be indebted to you, after all.
"As for our being from the same reality, it's highly doubtful. There's only a few of us from the same one, and the running total is two." He and Grace, Obi-Wan and his 'friend'. Those were the only ones who shared realities as far as he knew.
They're not mine, they're for the guy in Guatamala. It's a long story.
Which meant that escape, resistance, or fighting back in any way was likely a futile gesture.
Not that futile gestures were new territory for Wesley, arguably he'd died for one, but he suspects that in this case it wouldn't be tremendously helpful.
"Still, even if escaping confinement isn't an option, I should still rather know why we're being experimented on."
But I only want to hide your drugs.
"I'm more than certain that this place is more advanced than anything found in my world. We haven't even gotten past the theoretical stage in multiple universe theory." Which made this all the more frustrating. It would be amazing and fascinating if he and Grace truly had come here by choice, but they hadn't and there wasn't time enough to learn about this world or it's culture. There's wasn't access to doing so either. As for the why, from what I could gather from my initial question and answer with LACUNA, we're here as test subjects for whatever sort of assessments she, or her programmers, fancy."
I don't smuggle drugs, I only smuggle people, chickens, and silly jokes that go on for too long
Which just brings him back to Fred again, though he manages not to let the frown touch his face this time. Even this, being abducted and experimented on by highly advanced and enigmatic captors, was a kinder fate than she had gotten.
Perspective is a wonderfully depressing thing.
"But I highly doubt we're merely here as playthings. If we're being experimented on, I would wager there's a purpose behind it. Some goal they're working toward, and we're just a step in that process."
Nor I, I just prapetuate bad jokes far longer than I ever should.
The idea of her working toward a goal wasn't one he hadn't thought of, but there was also the very real possibility that these people were simply doing this sort of thing for entertainment. It wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.
We're the worst fugitives
Wesley chuckles darkly.
"It wasn't done with technology. You've no doubt heard jokes about lawyers coming from hell? Wolfram and Hart are literally an ancient evil entity."
He's fairly certain the current situation is a step up from dealing with them, but that's not saying much.
We are
"Are you thinking it's possible that LACUNA is run by more magical means than technology?" He supposed it was a viable option, just one he hadn't thought of.
no subject
"Mm. I don't believe so. In my experience, magic and technology rarely mix, and when they do it tends to still bear certain characteristics of magical influence. This seems technological, just... far beyond anything I've ever seen."
no subject
no subject
If Fred were here-
Well. That was a line of thinking he'd been working very hard to avoid since he got here. She's not here, so it does no good to dwell on it.
He inhales heavily to calm himself, forces a neutral expression.
"Still, if you're more versed in the arena of sophisticated technology than myself, I will be a bit more optimistic about our odds."
no subject
"The AI, yes. The rest of it, I can't say I'm terribly used to. Especially this whole transversing universes situation."
no subject
"One gets used to it."
In his experience, the other universe wasn't the problem, it was whatever occupied it that tended to be upsetting.
Although Illyria mentioned a dimension comprised solely of shrimp, which he had to admit sounded rather disgusting even without face-devouring demons being involved.
"Though if we are in an entirely separate dimension, escaping this facility and LACUNA's control won't be the only obstacle. Holes in reality aren't easy to come by."
no subject
"The problem is that LACUNA's shut up tight. I can't get to her wiring."
I SWEAR I'M NOT DEAD
"I fear the only solution there may be to play the long game. Cooperate until we find an opening she's failed to consider. If she ever does."
Which sounds like it would be a long time coming.
Well. Still better than Wolfram and Hart's perpetuity clause.
no subject