(3) Experiments I

[cramschoolgod]

[Having mostly settled in by now, Sasaki has started to examine some of the many intriguing lines of experimentation, research, and general knowledge that she may only be able to pursue here. Today, she's planning out some experiments.]

A.) [Action: At the high school, after the day is over, Sasaki is still at her desk writing notes. She may also

Comments

[flameyedhunter]

[Shana, who also stays after school quite often, will stop by and peer over at Sasaki]

"Hm, what are you doing here after school? Normally we'll get in trouble if we're here after-hours without adult supervision."

[cramschoolgod]

[Sasaki looks up from her paper.]

I'm just finishing up my experimental design. I'll be done fairly soon, I suppose.

[flameyedhunter]

"Interesting, what do you intend to build with it?"

[Shana looks a little young to be in high school, physically maybe 13-14, though some have mistaken her for an 11 year old.]

[cramschoolgod]

Ah... it's not a schematic. It's a plan. I'm going to test the resurrection capability of Mayfield on its insects.

[Sasaki notes her youthful appearance but doesn't change her attitude in any way because of it.]

[flameyedhunter]

"I've seen the results firsthand once too many to want to mess about with it myself. It breaks too many metaphysical rules for me to consider at great length without getting fairly angry. All that power of existence has to come from somewhere. I think Mayfield is somehow killing more people than it brings back."

[cramschoolgod]

[Sasaki tilts her head to the side curiously.]

I'm not looking for experiential anecdotes, but ideally a controlled experiment, so it's slightly different. As for metaphysical rules... when they're broken, we have to establish new ones.

[Not that she has any idea what a 'power of existence' is, but...] That's an interesting hypothesis, though. Where do you think they're being killed?

[flameyedhunter]

"If I knew where, I'd have put a stop to it already. I have a few ideas, but I'd have to ask one of the people who has been here longer first before making any moves, one way or another."

[cramschoolgod]

[She frowns.] What are your ideas, then, if I may ask? People are killed in the 'real world', such as it may be?

[flameyedhunter]

"There are several buildings that are fairly hard to get into within this town. At least without permission. You could warehouse spare humans or torches in there and use them as a power source. This is of course assuming they're using an unrestricted method to maintain this place."

[she pauses.]

"Well, it would be how I would do it, if I was a monster. I'm not, though. I just want to put a stop to this."

[she looks at Sasaki.]

"Learning how the mechanism works may be a valid idea, because once you know how something works, you can break it."

[she smiles, a grim, humorless little thing.]

[cramschoolgod]

[Sasaki nods.]

Given the processing power that seems necessary to maintain this location as it is and reconstruct data, I assumed they had some high-efficiency way to generate energy... on this scale, it might even require direct conversation of rest mass energy into kinetic energy.

But yes. That is precisely the idea behind learning how the mechanism works.

[flameyedhunter]

"I've found that restoring someone to life requires an entire city's worth of energy, if it is to be done at all. Reconstructing buildings or wounded people can be done with less than a single life... but putting someone back together who has been destroyed is something else entirely. And that is the disturbing riddle of this place, as far as I'm concerned."

[she thinks about the energy generation and puts it to practical thought.]

"Have you seen any power generation stations or an actual power plant within this town? We've got electricity but..."

[cramschoolgod]

[Sasaki blinks. More bizarre units of measurement, to say the least. It's hard to know where to start.]

No, I've seen no evidence of any such thing. It seems likely that it's powered from outside.

[flameyedhunter]

"Given that there are at least some small indications that the outside world is a devastated mess, I find that disturbing as well."

[she sighs.]

"Hirai Yukari."

[They haven't met before, have they?]

[cramschoolgod]

Yes, but there have also been stories of people who have returned home and then come back here. It's possible it's powered from a 'real world' in that way.

Ah, your name is Hirai Yukari? I am Sasaki.

[flameyedhunter]

"Interesting speculation."

[she frowns.]

"Once again, this is metaphysical, but is there any way to test the reality of this world?"

[cramschoolgod]

There are some indications. Simply such evidence as the town's ability to control the weather precisely--which in any reality obeying even the most basic laws of physics would be essentially impossible to do--indicates that this is a simulation of some kind.