vivarium | CALHOUN HOUR

Early in the morning of Day 84, an announcement booms from the warehouse speakers:

"All test subjects report to the first floor lobby immediately for your next experiment."

Zero's unmistakable garbled voice goes silent afterwards. Once everyone gathers downstairs, they'll be treated to an unexpected sight: Zero standing in front of them in the flesh. Standing tall (at 5'4"...), they're donned in the same piece of clothing everyone remembers them in: a black raincoat (large and long enough that it covers their entire body, leaving no distinguishable features), a full facial gas mask, and matching black gloves. It seems as if Zero really dislikes showing skin...

"Today, you will be participating in a game of, what you may call, 'Bingo'. I believe most of you have participated in this before. The rules and explanations are on the back of the cards." An arm is raised to motion towards the paper cards scattered on the nearby table, then it falls again.

"Due to some... unfortunate events, I will monitor you in person. However, do not underestimate what will happen to you should you decide to cheat, escape, attack, or do anything that will break my rules. Your bracelets are still very functional and my cameras will continue to record every move you take, so I suggest that you refrain from doing anything foolish."

"Now begin."

BASIC INFO ✖ LET'S PLAY BINGO ✖ TURN-IN ✖ POST-EVENT

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, we could certainly do that. [he perked up a little at that. hurray non violence.] I could teach you some fencing, if you'd like. I'm not sure what else I'd know that you might not.

Fencing? As in with a foil and epee and not the art of selling ill gotten goods in the black market, correct? *Maybe Hershel is a master thief along with being a master shitlord. One never knew.*

Yes, I don't think I'm one for the black market. Here- [he rustles through his things before placing the handle to his foil near snake's hand.] Sasuke got this for me, from the shop. It's made practice much easier.

*Snake grabbed the handle with his right hand and turned the blade around, testing how it felt.*

So is there a certain way I should stand?

[enjoy the fact i know next to nothing about fencing.] Yes, move your back leg back a bit. May I move your arms?

[he's polite not just touching people without asking okay...]

*That makes two of us!* Yes, go right ahead, Hershel. Did you remember where you learned to fence?

[And he moves Snake's arms into position.] There we are, hold it like that- oh, not really but I do remember a fencing tournament at my school. I won a match and- [He hesitates a moment before hastily continuing.] - well, when I did my friend Randall came over to congratulate me.

That was actually the first time I remembered my father, he was in the stands. [Huh.] Well, that's sharing a memory, isn't it? Why don't you tell me one of yours?

*Snake noted the hesitation but chose not to make a big deal out of it.* Oh that's nice. Your father sounds like he's attentive if he's at your meets.

I haven't remembered anything about my father yet but I do have one other visual memory that's mine that I've recalled. I remember seeing my mother and Clover. I think she was maybe 5 or 6 months old. I wanted her to play soccer with me but my mother, being wise, said that she just wasn't old enough to play games like that. To which I though she was pretty much a waste of space if she couldn't play.

Then my mother suggested we try something we could both do. I thought about this for a good long time and I decided that maybe if I could make her do something other than cry, which she did a lot, that might be a vast improvement. So I tried to make her laugh by making fart noises.

He is, I remember both my parents and they're lovely people. [no shame in sharing that, his folks were rad.]

[he nods to the memory, smiling because clover seemed like a cute kid. the end of it surprised him enough he laughed a little.] I wasn't expecting that. Did she laugh?

To be fair, I think I must have been about six or seven at the time. *Snake chuckles.* She did and it was possibly one of the first times I'd ever heard her laugh. So I kept doing it until I tired her out. Then I kissed her on the cheek and said she was the best baby sister ever. One day I hope you can meet her now that she's an adult. I think you'd all get along.

*And speaking of teaching things...* So to be fair, I should teach you something as well. Do you know anything about physics?

I'd love to meet her, she sounds lovely. [and not an axe murderer, probably.] When we get out you should visit London sometime. I think you'd enjoy it, it has quite a bit of culture.

[oh right, he straightens.] A little, likely from schooling, but not much. That's something I could certainly learn more about.

*Hey, that only applied if someone messed with family or loved ones. It's possibly an Averly family trait. Lord only knows what their parents were like.* That would be a lovely visit, I'm sure. In exchange you could come to Seattle, if in fact that's where I live. *He hasn't had 100 percent proof of that but since he does know so much about the area, it's likely.*

Well, let me see...*What could he teach about the subject? If he was going to potentially be a teacher with genuine elbow patches and a tweed jacket, he'd need to start on his teaching skills.* Did you know that quantum physics has several tendencies that fly in the face of how macro physics work?

I'm fairly certain I've never been to America, it'd be an adventure. [like cowboy movies, probably, since clearly that's how america works. that or they'd just drink coffee all day that's also america right.]

I think I may have heard something like that, though no real details. What's an example? [he vaguely knew physics was just a weird contradictory barrel of fun.]

*Well, the coffee part would be right if they went to Seattle.*

Take entanglement, for example. It's the linkage of a pair of subatomic particles. The idea is that if you don't know what the measurement of a particular particle of the pair is, it remains unknown. The second you determine a measurement of a particle -- say, it's spin -- the other particle is immediately also measured at the opposite way. It doesn't matter where each of the particles -is- in relation to the other. Once you measure one, you've measured both.

*This is particularly thorny subject so he adds an example.* It's sort of like if you had two grandfather clocks. One in your house in England and one in my house in Seattle. Let's say these two clocks, even though they're thousands of miles apart, are connected. They make a pair. We don't know if the clock hands move clockwise or counterclockwise. It's up in the air.

Now, let's say that you decided to measure your clock and you discover that your clock moves clockwise. Immediately, because you've determined this information, the clock in my home will have the clock hands going the opposite way.

Basically, once you determine a measurement of a particle, its pair is also determined, despite how far the particles are from each other. It's instantaneous and faster than light.

[Hershel nods along, following well enough with what schooling he had in physics concepts. it made sense at least.]

I see- and there's something about this theory that doesn't stand in other circles?

Einstein wasn't a believer in quantum physics for this very reason. He called entanglement "spooky action at a distance" and said it wasn't possible, so the whole idea was trash. He got into a lot of academic spars with Niels Bohr about the idea.

It does sort of fly in the face of how macro physics works, but it has been tested and even though nothing -should- travel faster than light, measuring particles in this matter seems to.

With the properties of entanglement, there's been study to use it for communication and even cryptography. If they can make it practical.

CALHOUN HOUR - BINGO II

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Did you want to share a memory too?

Sure!

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