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

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"Hey Sasuke, you got a memory back, didn't ya?" Better hide that hand fast, buddy, or somehow Hershel would telepathically know about it.

"Was it anything good?"

To be fair, he wasn't really injured or anything.

"It was... so-so, I guess?" It wasn't traumatizing, at least.

"Yeah? Mine was kinda the same way. So what happened?" So-so from Sasuke could mean anything, maybe he'd broken up another date. Maybe it had been another memory about that cute girl Sasuke had apparently been meddling in the love life of.

There were so many possibilities...

"It was a memory from when I was little. I must have had a cold or a flu... Either way, I had a bad fever." Which explains why it was somewhat disorienting now that he was back to the present.

"...But while I was sick, my mother kept watch over me, so even though I felt terrible, I thought for sure I'd be alright."

Heiji smiled warmly. "Yeah? That sounds nice. Not bein' sick, but havin' someone look after ya like that. Your mom sounds like a real nice lady."

Which... sort of begged the question of what had happened to her, because would a woman like that just stand by and not notice when one of her kids was getting choked by the other?

Proooobably not.

Edited 2015-04-08 04:49 (UTC)

It's probably better not to bring it up though, because for once Sasuke isn't actually thinking worst-case scenario. He's still reasonably distracted by the memory itself.

"...Yeah. I think she must be." Which is... definitely a relief, in a way. Especially after what he remembers of his father, and what Heiji remembered about Yuusuke.

Maybe there was someone out there worth returning to after all...

"What about yours?"

Was that... actually... kind of a smile?

"Well, I ain't remember anything about my folks, but I did figure out who one of the people in my other memories is! We were at the scene of a murder case together, confrontin' the culprit." Sorry Sasuke, he never had normal memories apparently.

He isn't completely incapable of smiling, ok. Though it's quickly gone anyway, so Heiji can at least feel at ease with the world once again.

"What did the culprit do this time?"

"She was a gal named Hyuuga Miyuki. Her parents'd died in a fire at the family lodge when she was still a student. She would've joined them, too, only this fella Hideomi was passing by with a friend of his and pulled her out of the fire. He got burned pretty bad in the process -- 'specially his face. But after they got to know each other, they ended up gettin' engaged.

"A little before the announcement, though, he killed himself. Miyuki killed his friend, Mitsuaki, and framed her fiance for the job. Set it up so it'd look like he killed Mitsuaki and then died."

He tries so hard not to be surprised, but...

"Why kill the friend?"

SURPRISE. "There was more than one reason, but it turned out Hideomi and his friend had been the one who started that fire all those years back. And they kept that secret for years. She only found out about it 'cause it was in Hideomi's suicide note. Said he couldn't deal with it any more, that he ain't deserve to live.

"When the truth came out, she was desperate. Took out this container she'd prepared beforehand with gasoline, and threatened to set herself on fire with it."

He will never be prepared for storytime with Heiji.

"What happened after that?"

"Well, me and a friend of mine had gone ahead and replaced the gasoline with water, so I told her it was no use. Once she saw that, she just started cryin' and carryin' on.

"She said she couldn't forgive her fiance, but she loved him so, so much." Heiji looked away a little. "Without him, and knowin' what she did, she ain't feel she had any reason to live."

...What an awful memory...

"...Do you remember what they were planning to do with her?"

Detective Conan: A show for kids!!

"The police, you mean? They had to take her in, I'm sure." He paused for a moment or two. "I remember wonderin' if we really did the right thing. I mean, we couldn't really know what she was feelin', but I feel like I understand a little better now."

Nothing says kid show like copious amounts of murder.

"...It's... out of your hands though, isn't it? And besides, it's probably better for the authorities to decide."

Heiji crossed his arms and shook his head. "That's one way of lookin' at it. But that just feels like duckin' out on it to me. We made a call, and what we did affected that lady's life. I don't think we can just sit back and tell ourselves that it's not our problem any more.

"Besides, we might end up in a similar situation before this "experiment"'s over."

"It's still better than dying." Isn't it?

Though really, it's the last part that seems to cause him the most concern. "...What do you mean by that?" Is he expecting to have to mercy kill, or...?

Heiji laughed and reached over to ruffle Sasuke's hair, better look out buddy. "Yeah, I guess so."

But on to more weighty matters. "I think a bunch of the things we've been asked to do is about makin' decisions. Like voting who to punish, or answering questions about what we'd do in certain situations. Or playing that prisoner's dilemma game. So it's worth thinkin' about these kinds of things."

At least he stands still enough for the hair ruffle, even if he doesn't look particularly impressed.

"That's just to force us against each other though, isn't it?"

He considered this. "I don't think it is. Zero coulda just given us a a pipe, a revolver, and so on and turned out the lights.

"But even if it was, it doesn't change that we'll probably be faced with some uncomfortable choices in the future, just like we already been. That's why I think it's worth workin' this kind of thing out."

Edited 2015-04-14 05:00 (UTC)

CALHOUN HOUR - BINGO II

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