EVERYONE'S TRUTH - BEGINNING

[vivariummods]

Since the second group's first Calhoun Hour, the mouse in question hasn't appeared in the warehouse for longer than 30 minutes at a time. He only arrives during the early mornings to tape a random fruit of the day (apples, oranges, and pears so far) before scurrying off with his wagon. He refuses to provide any sort of medical relief for any of the test subjects, and does nothing more but providing the bare minimum to survive. So, when Day 9 rolls around, three days since that faithful finger breaking/eye blinding experience, it's no different; Calhoun comes in, tapes up some bananas, then promptly leaves afterwards, all without a word. An hour after he leaves, though... The screen in the Greenhouse, up against the wall besides the entrance, finally comes to life for the first time. It flickers on and on, flashing brightly. At first, there's nothing but static. Soon enough, though, it stays a consistent green tint. A blinking cursor hovers at the bottom and stays there for a few seconds, before it begins to type. DO NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELVES COME TO THE LOBBY AND GO THROUGH THE NEWLY OPENED DOOR I WILL MEET YOU THERE....... And it ends there...

Comments

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro step inside the room, moving his flashlight to see what's inside the room. A... large something? He looks at the robotic figure.]

You said it's a group effort, right? Exactly what do you mean by that?

[vivariummods]

You will see that there are four tanks in this room. The three on the side will have a simple valve you will turn. The main one will have a somewhat more difficult system that you must change, which I will explain to whoever will do it.

Once every valve in this room has been turned, then we will be done here.

[babel_hacker]

A somewhat more difficult system...

[He frowns, before looking at the others.]

If you guys don't mind, I'll take that one.

[elliexir]

Yeah, go for it. I'll take that one tank in the back. Shouldn't be too hard to turn.

[ She'll wait if Rio wants to tag along with her as usual, unless Rio wants to head somewhere else. It's all good either way. ]

[vivariummods]

[ When Ellie takes a look at the tank, she will find a simple valve. It only turns to the left, going counter-clockwise. It takes quite a bit of effort to turn it, but once she does, she will hear the sound of running water. The other two tanks on the western side of the room will be the same. ]

[ As for Atsuro, once he approaches the front (south) side of the main tank, he will see the following: ]



[ The robotic figure will tell him the instructions: ]

There are eight valves in total. You must be turn them either left, right, or down the middle. Change the direction of the levers to match the values at the bottom. Most of the numbers have faded away, but I trust that you will be able to solve this simple puzzle.

However, ensure that you position each valve. Leave none remaining upwards.

[ The valves (that are all pointing upwards) are the numbered blue tiles, and the water can only flow from the top to the bottom. Should Atsuro turn the valve to the left or right, the entire amount of water will flow in the direction. If he should turn it down the middle, the water will evenly split. He must touch each valve and put it in a position (left, right, or middle). Provide an answer for each number in a tag and see if you get it right or not. ]

[babel_hacker]

[So he basically have to make sure the values are all added up correctly? And he have to turn all the valves.]

Got it.

[First, he should turn them and see how they work in action. After looking at each values, he reaches out and start turning the valves.

1: Down | 2: Down | 3: Down | 4: Right
5: Left | 6: Left | 7: Left | 8: Left

All while mentally mapping it.]

[vivariummods]

[ With the handles properly turned, the sound of flowing and moving water could be heard from the tank. Nothing else seems to be happening however... ]

[babel_hacker]

[Nothing seems to be happening... Atsuro looks around, before turning his gaze towards the other tanks. How about their end?]

[vivariummods]

[ Asides from the top (from the map) tank, none of the valves have been turned. Ellie has gotten halfway through hers, but has abandoned it to speak to Rio. ]

[ Will you be the protag and finish the job? ]

[babel_hacker]

[Maybe he should walk over and see. After glancing at the tank in front of him, and deem it okay for him to leave alone, he walks over to check.

He went to the tank to see how it goe, and comes to Rio's by chance (or it's closer?). He looks at the valve and reach out to hold it, slightly wiggling it. So it's not done? Maybe he can finish it and hope he doesn't misread this situation.]

[vivariummods]

[ It's heavy, turning the valve is no easy work. It squeaks loudly with each turn and it feels like forever before it reaches the end, but with enough strength and patience, Atsuro will manage to fully turn it. The same sound of flowing water can be heard, going through the pipes and moving in the tank. ]

[ 2/4 tanks done. Are your arms feeling okay enough to tackle the other two valves? ]

[fushuuu]

[while Atsuro is protagging and the girls are avoiding work, kaidou is a good side character and twists open the final two valves; all the strength training he doesn't remember actually pays off and they turn pretty easily. The gurgle of water is obvious, but there is still no visible change.]

Something should be happening...

[babel_hacker]

[He never asks for this protag life in the first place, okay. He's stretching and massaging his hands after turning the valve, as he walks over to the other tanks and see Kaidou already twisted one.]

Something should be... Let's look around for something, like a sign.

[vivariummods]

[ Kaidou and Atsuro are absolutely right, because a few seconds after the last valve has been turned, a loud siren can be heard ringing through the room. While not as ear bursting as the previous one, it's enough to cause a sort of panic and sense that something has gone wrong. ]

[ Following right afterwards, the main tank's side opens up and water pours out at an extremely fast rate. It begins to flood the room and the water rises with each passing second... ]

[toybombs]

[OH GOD THIS IS WHY SHE WAS WORRIED.

She frantically looks to where Ellie was, splashing her way over to the area with the balcony. Did she manage to get the chest over there, at least-?]

[toybombs]

[Rio follows Ellie... at first. But then she spots the screen on the north side and looks at it curiously.]

What's this for...?

[elliexir]

[ Ellie gets about 1/10th of turning the valve (god, that shit is heavy and hard), before she turns to whatever Rio is looking at. She walks on over to check. ]

Weird. I thought we turned off the power. Why is this still on?

[toybombs]

D-Do you think that means it's dangerous? Maybe we shouldn't touch it...

[elliexir]

Maybe? That robot didn't tell us to do anything about it, and the screen is locked anyway. Unless...

[ Ellie goes right up to it and just... starts to smack the screen and the keycard reader. SMACK SMACK SMACK ]

[vivariummods]

[ The screen remains the same. Smacking it clearly doesn't do anything, but the moment she starts to pound on the keycard reader, a new message appears. ]

INCORRECT KEY

[toybombs]

Ellie--!

[And then she starts smacking it and Rio's back to huddling on the ground in a terrified mess because what if it explodes oh god they're all going to die.

Except, of course, they don't. But the sentiment remains even when the message appears.]

U-uuuuu... P-please don't scare me like that...!

[elliexir]

Oh shit--

[ YEAH MAYBE SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT RIGHT NEXT TO RIO good going ellie. she kneels down next to her. ]

Sorry. Yeah, uh, I thought that might help, but it just gave some weird message. I won't do it again.

[toybombs]

Thank you...

[Ughhh why this. She shakily gets to her feet again, throwing the screen another short, wary look before moving timidly beyond it. What else is in here...?]

--Huh? There's a second floor up there.

[elliexir]

Where?

[ She turns around, waving her flashlight, until she finally stops it up to the balcony. She takes a few steps closer to it, trying to get a better look. ]

What is that? Another door?

[toybombs]

I think so...

[She stands on her tip toes as if that would give her much of a better view, but nope. Oh well.]

...Do you think it's possible to go up there? The ladder looks rickety, but it's the only other exit we've seen in this room so far...