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

[ Normally, he would have snapped or told Hershel to get lost, especially if this was the very first day, but it's been over two weeks now. He's been in every puzzle room thus far with Hershel, and, well, he's gotten used to him, so this doesn't bother him as much as it might have a week ago. ]

Yeah, no shit.

[ He glances quickly at Hershel, to see how he's doing as well, then turns his head back. ]

You don't look like you're doing that well either.

I don't think anyone is. [He'd only spoken to a handful of people but even just passing by, everyone seemed so downtrodden.]

[He rubs his arm as he continues.] Are you thinking of trying something?

[ Jake doesn't answer for few seconds, opting to stay quiet, but he gives a small short answer. ]

... Maybe.

[Hershel frowns because yeah he's worried what you'll do now since you let yourself get stabbed for coins.]

You know Calhoun will probably only accept something violent or harmful... [Yeah, Jake probably knew they had been here long enough.] If you got hurt badly, I'm not sure we could do much.

Think I don't know that already?

[ He snaps, raising his voice for that moment. ]

That asshole's playing with us like some kind of puppets by dangling this stuff in front of our faces.

[For what it's worth Hershel doesn't shrink back or even start at all when Jake snaps, because honestly he really did trust Jake now enough to think as angry as Jake sounded he wouldn't actually hurt him or anything dramatic like that.]

[Yeah Jake... really wasn't taking that well.] He's either taking something away from us or putting our lives in danger. [He wasn't sure if he should feel lucky for having a secret or worse.] And if we don't do anything Zero will probably order him to escalate his tactics.

[ Letting out a silent huff before looking away again while crossing his arms. ]

Yeah, so any bright ideas?

The least offensive option that might work is betrayal during the AB rounds. The problem is it could be a real danger, especially for the newer people and Clive.

It'd also likely need to be done with no orchestration, which... won't be easy. [He glances away, rubbing his arm again nervously.] Someone getting injured is just as risky as starving people out, if not much more.

[Suddenly he looks at Jake, almost shakily.] Ema said... something about all we need is one 'sacrifice.' What if she tries something or someone else does and gets hurt or- [Right, calm down, calm down.] Sorry- I'm sorry, just, I'm worried about her, and Heiji, and Colette for that matter. One sacrifice... that's really what this is about in a way, isn't it?

[ He listens to Hershel's words carefully, considering them. He leans more on the wall. ]

Just one show and everything pans just fine out, right?

[ Which is probably what Ema means by a 'sacrifice'. ]

But if you ask me, betrayal is the lowest thing on this rat's list. If he wants that, he can continue to still tempt us with his shitty food and rewards. You don't exactly go from that to all this for a betrayal.

[Hershel says nothing for a long moment, staring at the ground.]

You think we'll only be able to please him through violence? [It's barely a question because yeah, Jake had a point. He didn't want to believe it and he keeps staring quietly at the ground, trying to think of any alternative.] And if we don't everyone-

[Either someone was getting hurt or Hershel was probably fucked for the rest of the game, along with a few other people unless the group at large decided to be very, very understanding. He tries not to feel sick about that.]

[ There's a heavy silence between them, as Jake's trying to figure out his next strategy, what to do. It's hard, because while he is totally up for a fight, there are a very few number of people here he would actually go against. It doesn't help that most of the people here were teenagers, girls, or, in Snake's case, blind... ]

[ There's another few seconds of nothing, before he talks again. ]

... Did you get a secret or memory?

[Hershel's quiet for that long moment too, considering their options and crossing out each thing he could think of as too dangerous or too much. When Jake asks him he doesn't react for a moment, staring at the ground. After a moment he does speak, softly.]

A secret. [He wasn't sure what Jake would think about it, Jake didn't seem to have the same care about human life that a lot of the other people did. It was troubling but in this case maybe it was something that made him less likely to turn his back on Hershel.] You got a memory, didn't you?

[Frankly he didn't think Jake cared enough about everyone else's opinions to react the way he did, he made that pretty clear so far.]

That obvious to figure out?

[ Well, Hershel has that right for sure. Jake doesn't give a shit about what people think, if that wasn't so painfully obvious with the way he behaved with everyone else. For his to be a secret, it would have to be something extremely weighing on his conscious, something even way beyond his standards, but since he doesn't exactly have it, a memory is the best way to get him to fidget around. ]

Well, it's just I really doubt you'd be this upset if it was. You never seemed to care what the group thought before. [He hesitates.] I guess that's assuming you're upset too.

[Still, he got it, yay him.] Please be careful, whatever you're planning on doing. It- you're human too, you know? [Aka you can't just brush off everything like you try to, Jake!!]

[ Hershel hit the nail on the head with that. Glad to see that this kid can actually use his brain. ]

What, getting worried about little old me?

[ Little joke to lighten it up a bit, HIDE THE FACT THAT HE'S SUPER PISSED ]

[his brain is all he can use and it's not always great, give him a break]

[and have a weak smile.] I get the feeling you don't worry about yourself nearly enough, so someone has to, right?

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

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