vivarium | THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Sometime early in the morning (or at least what feels like it, considering that there aren’t any clocks around), Calhoun will scream into a megaphone to wake everyone up. He won’t explain what’s going on, but he will say that he has a surprise for everyone. What is it? Well, they won’t know until they get up! So, everyone line up by the hallway’s door!

He’ll be calling everyone into a “☆ SECRET ROOM ☆” one by one, and spending a few minutes with them. In this room, it’ll be nothing but a table, two chairs, a metal cabinet, and a lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Anyone who’s seen enough cop shows will notice that this is an interrogation room. Granted, there’s a sleeping pod in the corner of the room (rather similar to the same device that returns memories) and this room is a pretty fictional interrogation room as the real things aren't so hardboiled, but Calhoun is a fan of cop dramas and he only has so much power, so this is what he went for.

Anyway, in here, Calhoun will do one of two things:

1) Reveal an unpleasant secret about them. Of course, it might sound fictional at first, but then he’ll go into his little cabinet and pull out a folder to back up his claims. These reports don’t look fake, and well, just think of what the others might think if they heard of this. Sure, you can deny it all you want, but what about your fellow test subjects? How can they ever see you in the same light again? Even if you attempt to convince them otherwise, this will forever linger in the back of their minds. They might even start turning against you, and while Calhoun’s a pretty nice mouse, he can’t do anything to stop you silly test subjects from doing something dramatic.

2) Grant them the fragment of a memory. What a kind mouse Calhoun is being, giving you a freebie! They’ll be placed in a pod, as per the usual, and given part of a memory. The problem is this freebie cuts off at the worst possible time, and any begging, threats or inquiries into the matter are only going to be met by Calhoun’s snickers. It would be awful if something happened and you could never find out if your dear friend Timmy ever got out of that well, right? A real tragedy. Oh well, too bad for you, buddy.

Once Calhoun has called everyone one by one into this “☆ SECRET ROOM ☆” of his, he will gather all the test subjects up, stand on counter of Calhoun’s Corner and make an announcement.

“Listen up, test subjects! While yesterday’s round of Bingo was all fun and games, it’s time to spice things up around here! This is starting to get really bland, like oatmeal bland, and my Master has given me the go ahead to shake things up.”

“Some of you, I've told you a dark, spooky secret, while for the rest, I've shown you a little memory! Who got what, though, no one knows! But you know who you are and you know what you have to lose.”

“So what was the point of all this? Welllllll, like I've said, it’s so boring here, that I’m giving you the chance to redeem yourselves of this sinful dullness. How, you wonder?”

“Give me a show.”

“I think you all know me well by now, what entertains me and what I like to see. So, give me the performance of a lifetime by the end of the next AB Voting round! Of course sooner is better, because you never know if I’m gonna like these plans of yours, but go ahead, take your time! I mean it’s not like there’s much I can do, excepppppt…”

“I can just reveal those little secrets of yours to everyone! Don’t think you can just shrug it off as something I've made up too. I’ll spread out those reports and all the evidence for everyone to see, and we’ll see how long it takes for them to turn on you.”

“And those with a memory, don’t sigh in relief, because you’re not safe either! I’ll ensure that you will never get the rest of that memory I showed you. You can wonder for the rest of your lives what really happened. If you think it’ll be as simple as just asking around when you get out, think again. You’ll never know the whole truth unless you remember it yourself, since this mouse can get his paws in the outside world’s evidence.”

“What if one of you manages to entertain me? Well, not only will you get your full memory back, but everyone’s memories and secrets will be safe! They won’t be getting anything back, but maybe one day, and you’re the one who did all the work, those ungrateful cads!”

“Well, I think that’s about it. Toodles! You know where to find me if you have any questions or love letters for me.”

He winks at the crowd (looking at you, Zelos), then hops off the counter, back into the safety of his shop.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"If only." She shifts, crossing her arms and looking away. "Question is, what to do about it."

Heiji looked over at her, brow furrowed. "Hey, you ain't thinking of doing anything drastic, are ya? Hershel's worried someone's gonna break something or worse, and far as I know, we don't have any doctors in residence."

Of course, Hershel was always worried, but in this case Heiji felt he had more cause than usual.

"Concerned about little old me?" Doesn't matter they both know that's not how he means it, that's how she'll answer either way. "When have I ever done anything drastic?"

"Of course I'm worried about ya, dummy!" said Heiji, raising his voice a little. He seemed actually incensed by the question. "Look at ya, spacin' out like that! I know what that rat said to me; I can't imagine what he said to you!"

"Whatever it is, he even had Hershel thinkin' about what kind of stunts he could pull to get outta this mess. And Snake -- he was tryin' to pick a fight with the old man. Snake! I ain't ever seen that guy break a sweat before, not even when that elevator was filling up with icewater up to our ears. But he's sure hot under the collar now!"

Basically, the way this ultimatum had the people around him acting was just... really unsettling. Worse, Calhoun had convinced Hershel that he was some kind of murderer, and that was just wrong.

Ema turns to him, frowning as he speaks. "And what about you? You don't exactly seem cool as a cucumber about all this. What, found yourself plotting something?"

"Never got to that part," said Heiji. He looked away, practically staring a hole in the floor. "I was too busy thinkin' about what coulda happened."

She continues, slightly softer. "To everyone? Or just in what you learned?"

Heiji shook his head. "Either. Both. It's too late to change what happened back then. That's just how memories are. But we're all still here."

"For better or for worse..." She looks away again, wrapping her arms around her body.

"What do you want to do? --Not what do you think is right," she quickly adds. "Just...what's your id saying?" She doesn't especially expect Heiji to start spilling his guts to her of all people but it was worth a shot. If nothing else, talking was healing for some people.

"It's obvious, innit? Grab that damn mouse by the whiskers and punch him in the head!"

Heiji pretty much WAS his id, just saying, and it was actually kind of weird how quickly he switched from pissed off to subdued until one realized this. "I ain't gonna hurt anyone over this, either, which means I don't have a snowball's chance at winning."

"Ahh..." She's caught between wanting to be encouraging (if in the most curmudgeonly of ways) and thinking it's best he accepted his lot--pushing someone into hurting others was terrible, even for someone like her. However, there was an aspect of his comments she could offer useful commentary on...

"...Punching head-on won't work, the Soporil triggers pretty fast. Maybe with someone else acting as a distraction you could buy yourself enough time?"

"Don't even joke about that kind of thing," Heiji said, sighing. "Y'know what the penalties are for "violence against your captors", right? I know I'm kinda the hotblooded type, but even I know it's better to stay standing."

"...Plus, the guy doin' the distracting wouldn't get off easy, either, I bet."

"Maybe," she shrugs. "Haven't tried it yet. Sounds like a better show than a lot of options, at least."

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

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