trustfelled | Welcome.

Welcome.

The last thing you remember hearing is static.

There were words in there, perhaps, quiet whispers like the rustling of leaves, like the crinkling of paper, like rust being scraped off a knife. The words aren't anything you'll remember, but they're there, and there are a lot of them washing over you, and it might be concerning if it weren't so warm where you're lying.

You wake feeling disoriented, like you've been asleep for a long time.

Of course, it's probably odd that you're waking up just now - perhaps you were in the middle of something important, perhaps you were waiting for something, or maybe you were just going about your day, but even before the whispering came you can clearly remember doing something back home. Can't you? Something else. Something that wasn't looking around the room you've found yourself in.

It's not your room, either. Not the one you're used to.

The room here is grey and white and tile; even if the bed is nice (and the bed is nice, it feels like it's been designed to cater just to you, maybe if you keep your eyes closed you can pretend it's a favor), the room itself is spartan and oppressing. The walls are cracked and the floors are in disrepair, but despite that there's not enough noise - it's silent, the quietness of it pressing in on you, and even if you can't see any cameras you get the distinct feeling that for good or ill, someone is watching over you as you get up.

That might be enough to make you move, to make you not want to stay there. But even if you stick around for a while to look around in there, the walls hold firm despite their decrepit state and the pervasive silence isn't going away - if anyone's in the rooms near you, you can't hear them. If you want answers, you're going to have to leave. Be sure you grab the key sitting on your desk on the way out.

Once you step out of the room into the hallway you'll most likely find yourself face-to-face with other confused people who feel as though they don't belong here either. Maybe you'll find something if you explore together; maybe it's safer in numbers.

Wherever you end up going - and there are several places to go - you might want to check the large room toward the center of the communal area of the building. A subdivided foyer is here; at first glance, it even seems to offer you a look at the outside. Of course, once you've gotten over that particular disappointment, you might want to check out the walls, where you'll find some very interesting information about yourselves hanging on the walls. There's some other framed information that you'll most likely want to get a look at as well, seeing as how it could be the key to escaping this place.

Although, speaking of keys... Despite your best efforts, you won't find any doors. The windows you find here and there are far more durable than they should be as well, and any attempts to break out won't work. It seems you're stuck here for the time being.

Maybe your fellow captives have some thoughts on all of this.

Welcome to Beacon General Hospital.

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...So you think so, too, then.

[ She was wondering if it was just her being pessimistic, but, the conditions seem poised for someone to make the attempt. To kill a stranger for a chance to survive...if someone wants to get out badly enough, if they have a reason to escape urgently, they'll act on their own. The life of someone they don't know is worth the risk. ]

With the way this is structured to be a stay with "no time limit," I do think it's only a matter of time before an attempt is made, if we don't take the proper precautions. That's not to say that it's impossible for the "exercise" to end without bloodshed...after all, the rules do say that rule 7 is a way to terminate the course early. But without any definitive knowledge of how long the exercise is set to run, someone is bound to react. That's what I believe, as sad as it is.

People are bound to act. Knowing that's a way of escaping, someone's going to attempt to murder someone else. I don't know who it will be. It could be you-- it could be me. Someone here may have a reason to get out that's worth killing someone over.

[There's a rare smile on his face like he finds this amusing. Then a derisive chortle.]

All I can say is be on your guard.

...Of course I will. I'm certainly not audacious enough to assume that my life is worth more than anyone else's here. I'm just a high school girl, after all, so there's no way that my freedom is more important than anyone else's here.

[ Not that she's being self-deprecating, here; just realistic.

But judging from this man's profile, he's seen quite a lot, and been through more. What a "latent criminal" is, she can only assume from the name, but...criminality is hardly something like a disease, right? She has enough knowledge of sociology to know that. ]

There must be a way to prevent it, though. To stay in pairs, or to keep inventory of anything that could be used as a weapon...

[If only 'criminality' wasn't a disease. Still, it doesn't bother him that people can surmise that he is a latent criminal based on his profile. It's who he is, and perhaps he's ashamed, but there's no use fighting it.]

Even if there's ways to prevent anything, nothing is foolproof. Given a pair, one decides they want to get out and murder their partner-- we're in danger no matter what.

[A simple truth stated so matter-of-factly.]

They couldn't do that unless they were incredibly slick about it. They'd have to kill in such a way that they wouldn't be discovered, right? If they were to kill their partner, and we all knew they were supposed to be together at the time of the murder, and they have no alibi...well, that wouldn't do anything to terminate the experiment, judging by these rules.

[ It's not a perfect plan, but, it would at least be safer. ]

Though, that said, I do think that these rules paint an incomplete picture of the scenario. Think of it this way: let's say a murder were to happen. I'd imagine that after someone dies, we as a collective need to determine who the guilty party is, correct? But if we're all trying to end the experiment early, why would we do that? I don't believe anyone wants to be here any longer than they have to, even if they wouldn't resort to murder. What's stopping us from collectively turning a blind eye to discovering the guilty party, other than, say, our personal sense of justice? Logically, there must be some sort of incentive for us to find the culprit and continue the exercise, versus letting the culprit get away with murder to end it.

I agree with you on that. Killing one person so the other 29 of us can escape sounds like it would be too easy. I'm guessing rule 9 has something to do with that. Taking responsibility for our actions. Usually, when you kill somebody without a proper reason, you're judged by a system and arrested-- [Or just plain killed where he's from.] --on the crime of murder. I doubt it would be any different here.

[Just his two cents for now. He's not sure how that would work, but then again, Sibyl was always watching at home.]

A jury of your peers...

[ And this Transmitter is meant to be the judge, of sorts. So, will there be an executioner, then? ]

So our options are, then, to ride it out and wait until the end of the exercise, or to end the life of a stranger and take your chances. It sort of reminds me of the prisoner's dilemma...

That's probably exactly what this is. Of course, the best result would be to wait it out, but there's going to be someone who will choose to 'betray' us. I can almost guarantee that.

[In a perfect world, people would ride out the course, but he doubts this is a place with perfect people.]

...When that happens, the entire game changes. The iterated prisoner's dilemma is significantly more difficult, after all. ...In a situation like that, the most optimal decision is to constantly defect.

[ This is bad...in other words, if one person murders, if they're unsuccessful in escaping, others will try, too. Like a domino effect...

Tsubasa can feel a headache starting, pounding at her temples. ]

There must be something we can do.

I doubt there's anything we can do unless we call a meeting and establish our own rules that are to not be broken. If they are, then we must force the responsible to take responsibility. In a sense, we must create our own justice system. But I'm not sure if that will be entirely possible considering it seems like none of us know each other.

[In a perfect world, it would work. But this is probably not a perfect world, and this is hardly a perfect situation. So Kogami just completely expects the worst.]

Even if none of us know each other, I do think that we have no choice but to cooperate as best we can in a situation like this. A meeting does seem like a good idea, though; perhaps we should rally each other up as best we can and make some sort of council for ourselves. We can take everyone's opinions into account and try to make the best system we can with all of the information given, and work from there.

Kogami-san, was it? You seem like an intelligent person, so I'll be counting on you to help make sure everyone acts in the group's best interest, if that's alright with you. ...Even if the odds that no one will take the chance are slim, I'd rather make sure we've done everything we can to ensure that no one dies here unnecessarily.

[Oh that's kind of cute, but he's thinking 'cute' in a rather offending way. Naive. She's naive. He can't believe she's taken to trusting him.

She reminds him of Tsunemori...]

Listen, I'm the last person you should trust. I may have a good head on my shoulders, but it's only good for hunting down criminals like me, do you understand? I'm no better than anyone else here nor do I plan on acting like I'm better than anyone else. Logical reasoning is just something I use in my daily job so I'm applying it here. That's all.

I never said that you were any better or any worse than anyone else here, Kogami-san.

[ Perhaps she is naive. Perhaps she is too trusting. But she just wants everyone to win the game, and to do it by the book. ]

But that logical reasoning of yours is a valuable asset, and we'll need it going forward. ...Besides, you aren't a criminal. You're a latent one, and I imagine that's an important distinction. Besides, even if you were a criminal, I don't believe that a person's sins are what defines them.

[ ... ]

Are you familiar with the idea of swift trust, Kogami-san?

I am familiar with the idea, however, I'm unsure if such a thing should even be tested here. As must as we want to form a team and trust one another and judge that trust for later, I'm still not so sure it's the best way to go about it.

[If anything it feels like they've been dealt a losing hand. It doesn't help that Kogami is pretty pessimistic either.]

And even if you believe that about criminals, know that because I've been defined a latent criminal, I don't quite have the same psychology as those with a sound mind. I think like a criminal, therefore I'm labeled a criminal.

It's definitely the sort of thing that will only work if all thirty of us are able to maintain an open communication with each other. But I also think that staying in a constant state of distrust and resistance is going to hinder us and promote an atmosphere where someone is more likely to try and go through with Rule 7.

[ In her eyes, she's just trying to remain rational. Composed, even in the face of a situation stacked against them. ]

...Of course, that's not to say that I'm going to blindly put my entire faith in a group of people I'm not familiar with. On that note, though, I think that I can put a certain level of trust in you. Even if you think like a criminal, that doesn't make you one. In fact, that may be of use, too, should you be willing to use that way of thinking to help make precautions.

[ And should he betray that trust, at least she didn't put all of her eggs in one basket. ]

Whether you promote that state of trust, there's always going to be someone among us. With 30 of us here, I'm just saying it's bound to happen. Someone's going to enact Rule 7.

[If they were all people with clear hues, then maybe it wouldn't happen. However, he smells people like himself here. He knows that's not going to be the case. Not a chance.]

I plan on using my way of thinking to make precautions. I have no plan to die here at all. If that's the one thing you can count on, it's definitely that.

Understood. I don't blame you for taking care of yourself, first and foremost. That should go without saying.

[ Though, there's a difference between saying that and putting it into practice. ]

I'll get back to you on that meeting, after we've all had a chance to get our bearings.

That sounds like a plan. At the very least we should have a meeting to at least establish with one another. Perhaps that will enact your swift trust theory that you want to happen.

[He wants to hope, he really wants to. But just... he gets the feeling things won't be that optimistic.]

We won't know unless we try it, but I'm sure that even if it doesn't, it'll bear fruit in some way. It's important to establish connections, after all.

If that's the way you want to go about it, then I suppose it's more power to you.

[He just cannot think that way...]

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