vivarium | DOUBLE BLIND

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DOUBLE BLIND

Shortly after the conversation with Zero ends, Zero opens the doors of the Garden and allows everyone to leave. However, the rest of the warehouse isn't better than the Garden:

The lights are still off, leaving everyone surrounded in darkness. The temperature just keeps on dropping, reaching near freezing point. The air feels more and more polluted, making it difficult to breathe without coughing, and nothing seems to be working as they should be. The electronic doors refuse to open without any power source, cutting off access to the cafeteria and dorms. At the very least, Zero has managed to open all the doors leading to puzzle rooms and has informed the group that new areas are now accessible to them, but they're on their own should they want to enter any other rooms.

Before the screens in the Garden turn off, Zero finally informs them that a new feature has been unlocked on their bracelets: any test subject wearing a bracelet may communicate with one another with the bracelet acting as a communication device. Holding onto the left button will enable the line to open just like a walkie-talkie. As long as test subjects are in the warehouse, they will have no troubles speaking with one another. What if they wish to talk to Zero? Zero's time is not be riffled, but they were generous enough to appear whenever anyone found a screen and pressed the on button a total of three quick successions.

And with that, Zero disappears from the grids and finally leaves everyone in complete darkness, leaving only one last piece:

"Best of luck, Test Subjects."

BASIC INFO ✖ MISSIONS ✖ MINGLE

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*A lot of boxes, since they didn't get to eat anything as awesome as cereal.*

I'm on the first floor lobby. I'm considering going for Zero's mission, but I can't do it all by myself. Are you busy?

No...

[ugh doing things for zero ugh ugh

...it isn't long until this internal monologue becomes audible, followed by the click of her heels on the flooring as ema approaches snake]

Why? Why would you want to help that kidnapping jerk?

Number one, curiosity. Number two, if we actually help Zero for the purposes of this mission, there is the tiniest percentage that we might get rewarded. Number three...*And here was the kicker.* He or she might be physically there instead of behind a screen. Aren't you interested to see Zero in person?

...

...

...You know me too well. Come on, then. We have to go where, downstairs?

First floor. There's something new in the lobby, I think. I'll feel around and you let me know when you spot anything. *That is, if Snake listened to the directions carefully enough.*

Alright. If we step over to the wall, you can head clockwise, I'll go counterclockwise, and one of us should find something before we meet in the middle.

[simply looking around doesn't do any more for her than it does for him, so she heads to the wall in front of them, which ought to be the stairwell. Except that there's no wall after all, and maybe they've found this thing already.]

Um, was this hallway always here? 'Cause otherwise I think this 'new' thing in the lobby is right in front of our noses.

I don't believe this hallway was here. It certainly makes finding where we have to go easier. *He gestures toward the hallway.* Scientifically minded first.

Now that's manners.

[she starts off down the long hallway, not feeling any doors or other exits until they make it to the end]

Looks like there's an elevator? Wonder where this one goes... It has a screen next to it, but it doesn't look like it's working.

[At least, touching it doesn't seem to do anything?]

What now?

If I understand the instructions correctly, we need to barricade this hallway and protect the elevator. Maybe once Zero is working on whatever he needs to work on, the elevator will work. *Snake starts to feel around the room, to see if there's anything that can be used to block the hallway. Because at some point, robots are going to be heading over here.*

Barricade it from what? Something coming out of the elevator?

[she really doesn't like the obvious answer to this question]

I would assume from something going into the elevator and for what, I can only take a guess and assume robots. *Snake already had scabbed over cut on his forehead above his left eye, thanks to unwisely headbutting a robot.* Unless it's something worse. There's always that.

[please don't headbutt robots]

Wow, you really know how to sell something. Why the hell should Zero get to be safe from those things if we have to be terrorized by them? I say we take any robots we find and lure them straight here! Then we can trap 'em inside.

[surely that's a great solution with absolutely no way to fail spectacularly

upon further examination, there's the remains of something--perhaps a previous barricade? pushed to the sides of the small room. It's not enough to actually construct anything that would hold the robots for long, but with a few other things might be enough to block the hallway, or at least the elevator door. they'll need to get some more stuff]

Inside where exactly? The elevator we can't get to open? *Snake feels their materials at hand.* I think I can make something serviceable, but we'll need more. Since time is probably of the essence, if you'd be so kind as to get more material, I'd appreciate it. *Meanwhile he is going to use the power of math and puzzle solving to make a barricade.*

Apparently the robots can, otherwise Zero wouldn't be worrying about them. If we can trap a couple in this area, that should be enough. Then we can just follow along later to see where the chips fell.

I'll see what I can find.

[which might be difficult, since everything heavy enough to be an obvious choice is, well, heavy, but you know there's something to be said for positive thinking. after a while--a decent while--there's an awful screech of metal on metal, followed by periodic silence. the sound grows closer, and it's audible that the silences are often peppered with somewhat breathless curses.]

A little help?

[somehow ema has found some bedframes from the confinement room to bring back, but really they were a lot lighter back then than now after dragging them through the warehouse and the longest hallway in the world. hopefully the aforementioned robots really weren't on patrol because they'll be in trouble if so.]

Oh, right. *Snake ran over to help her lift the frame off the floor and stop alerting to all and sundry where they were. However, Snake is no Jake and his muscles are shaking while helping to haul the bed frame down the hallway.*

I would think Zero wants us to protect the elevator more than anything. Perhaps the robots can find a way to make it function.

If those things can figure out how to turn on the power, we should let them. This standing around in cold darkness thing is the pits.

[finally they make it to the elevator and can put down the bed, in ema's case with a sigh.]

How much more do you think we'll need?

I could do without the cold. *Since he can't do a lot about the dark.* But I doubt the robots are going to be so kind as to turn on the power for us. Let's try mashing the frame against the doorway along with everything else and see if that would be enough.

Alright.

[with some effort, mashing happens? It seems to balance precariously on the rest of the stuff, but doesn't seem like it wants to fall off (yet), so...nothing to worry about??]

Might not stand up to much if you're too industrious, but it's not like there's anything back there that'd lure anyone in. Should be good enough.

[she hopes. it's too cold to get sweaty doing all this stuff...]

One would hope but per the mission, we have to man the barricade. *Snake canted his head toward Ema.* If you're getting colder, you can borrow my jacket for a moment.

I'm fine--

Wait. We have to man it? What is this, 18th century France? What're we supposed to do if anything comes? Frown sternly?

Really, Ema. Why else would we have a barricade if we aren't going to watch over it. And as for what we can do...I know you have a knife and so do I. *All the way back from their puzzle going in the infirmary.*

You can't stab a robot, that's kind of the point of them being made out of metal. And sitting here like a pigs for the slaughter is a bit beyond what I'd do for a friend, much less some lowlife like Zero!

[she's obviously annoyed by the situation, but there's a tense almost pleading note to her voice hinting that it's more than just irritation that makes her so desperately against robot battle take three...]

Look, let's just get out of here, we can check back later, okay? Shouldn't you be checking on your husband or Clive or the electricity or something?

I guess congratulations to myself are in order. I didn't realize I was married. *She did have a point though. If a robot did get through, what could they do realistically? If they made the barrier the best they could, it would have to do. They could also try to lead the robots away, if it came to that.*

*Snake shored up the barricade with a few more items and kicked something small and metallic, that skittered across the ground. He knelt down and picked it up, trying to figure out what it was. To Ema it would be easier to determine: it was one of Calhoun's metallic feet.*

We can hold the reception once the power gets back on. Let Jake be the flower girl, he's really looking forward to it.

[she was babbling but mostly just hoping snake wouldn't make them wait in the dark to be eaten by a robot. not because she was afraid or anything but spoilers: she was scared of all of that]

What'd you find?

[she leaned in to peer at the metal in his hand, squinting hard in the low light]

...Is that part of the rat?

Maybe...it feels metallic and sort of...like a foot, now that I think about it. *Snake put it in his pocket.* We'll probably need it later on. Let's go.

*He did chuckle a little.* Where will we find a dress big enough to fit Jake?

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skyentificmethod - 2015-02-24 21:55 (UTC) - Expand

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