the garden

[vivariummods]

T H E  G A R D E N Early in the morning, yet again, the test subjects get to wake up to Calhoun’s dulcet tones. Through a megaphone. “Hey! Lazy test subjects, get your human rears up!” Once everyone is moderately awake and gathered, Calhoun will continue. “You all did such a great job last round, and everyone’s been so pathetic lately, that I, your glorious, merciful host, decided to open a room for you! Remember, rooms are a privilege, not a right! That means!” He takes a deep breath to scream out the next parts: “Don’t. Break. My. Stuff!!” He eyes at a few people in the crowd before leading everyone up to the second floor, where a new door will now be openable. Once inside there is a surprisingly refreshing breeze and bright light flooding from the ceiling. Welcome to the Garden! The roof of the garden is made up of what appears to be grids with screens depicting a blue sky during daylight hours and a starry night during the evening (they must be sunlamps because the light from the ceiling feels warm and, yes, finally some vitamin D for you sad test subjects). It appears to be more of a dome than anything else, but the grass is green, there’s a few trees around, some flowers, a bench here and there, and even a little waterfall that creates a small creek around the garden! Sure, there aren’t any edible plants, fruits, or vegetables around, the water is freezing, everything feels almost artificial, but this is a lot better than the cold, monochrome, and bleak look of the warehouse so far, so unless everyone else wanted to stay in the boring lobby instead of here, there wasn’t much to complain about. Well, have fun! Enjoy your new surroundings. basic info ✖ mingle

Comments

[puzzlinglad]

[It takes Hershel a moment to notice Snake, mostly because he's just staring off into the grid like a space cadet, but when he does he has the decency to sit up and smile.]

Ah Snake, you're up late too I see. Would you like to join me?

[blind_badass]

All right. I'm still getting used to this room. *He sits himself on the grass.* I feel like it's darker in here.

[puzzlinglad]

It is, the grid that displays the sky turned to night. [He glanced back up.] It's surprisingly lovely, for this place. I'm going to stay up to see if it will show a sunrise too.

[blind_badass]

Can you see the stars? *There may just be a touch of wistfulness in his tone.*

[puzzlinglad]

Yes, there's even a few constellations out. [Man, it sucked Snake couldn't enjoy the new room to it's fullest. At least the grass was far more comfortable.] Lyra, I think that's a spring and summer constellation for Britain, so maybe it's a spring sky.

[blind_badass]

Oh, the harp? *He knows what a harp is and tries to abstract that into a constellation in his head.* That was the one played by Orpheus, right?

[puzzlinglad]

Yes, that's the one. After Orpheus was killed his lyre was thrown in the river, and Zeus ordered it recovered and placed in the sky- at least that's how I remember it. It's hard to say when you can't seem to remember reading the book such a thing was in, yet the whole story is in your head.

[blind_badass]

True. He was so talented he made Hades weep. But he just couldn't resist looking behind him for his wife.

[puzzlinglad]

[Hershel perked a little, guess who's a big book nerd and loves this shit] Yes, Eurydice turning to salt... the Greeks weren't one for happy endings, I'm afraid. Still, what better way to honor someone than put their work in the stars?

[His tone goes a touch dry] A touch dramatic, I suppose, but still meaningful.

[blind_badass]

The constellation is next to Cygnus, isn't it? *Apparently someone else reads/is read to a whole lot to know that fact.* Either it was Zeus who turned himself into a swan or other people were turned into swans by the gods.

[puzzlinglad]

[book nerds over here. hershel still seems pretty pumped.] Yes, it could also be Orpheus, he was said to have been turned into a swan after his death and placed next his lyre. Not very musical of a bird though, what a strange choice.

[blind_badass]

I'm sure it was picked more for its neck to be part of the Northern Cross than it was for its musical aptitude.

I wonder if this is a clue that we're in the Northern Hemisphere somewhere or just because Zero felt like putting these particular stars in the sky.

[puzzlinglad]

Probably. [He's amused before asking:] Snake, do you have any idea where you're from? I don't think I've asked you before. [Then again maybe he has and forgot under murdergame drama and distraction]

[blind_badass]

I don't have a concrete name of a town, but I seem to know a lot about Seattle in Washington State. It's possible that I'm either from somewhere in the state or just in the general Pacific Northwest area of the country.

[puzzlinglad]

So you're American like Ema? [cool to british kid over here.] It's astounding the variety of places people are from here.

[blind_badass]

Ema is from America? *Interesting.* What about Jake, do you know?

[puzzlinglad]

Yes, I think she said it was near Los Angeles? [he furrows his brow a moment] As for Jake he's from the Ukraine, I believe. I'm still surprised, he sounds like an American more than most here. [troy baker does that]

[blind_badass]

Maybe he was born there and emigrated to America. *Everyone was from all over the place. It didn't make for any sort of pattern for Zero to kidnap them.*