Day 54: Lunch

[full_score]

All things considered, last shift had been pretty low key. After this morning's disaster, though, that was perfectly fine by Claude. Some fresh air and a chance to make sure Guy and Okita were all right weren't things to take for granted. It was also good to have a fairly normal, conversation with Guy that didn't slip off into awkward territory

Comments

[quarter_english]

She's businesslike, in spite of her age... professional. The tone of her messages on the board had also suggested it. What kind of life has she had, to have a military rank? A child soldier...?

L wasn't categorically opposed to the idea of children doing work for which they were, by most reckonings, too young--not as long as they had the aptitude, the interest, and the maturity. It was how he had achieved his own position. Real battle was another matter; the exploitation that was usually involved didn't sit well with him. On the other hand, a look around the room would show anyone that Landel had thrust a number of Tear's near contemporaries into dangerous situations for which they might not be prepared. Disapproving of the concept of child combatants was pointless when you were eating lunch among them. If he could achieve his goals, their freedom would be one of the results.

He speared a chunk of pineapple with the tines of his fork before speaking. "Yes. To be honest, your message earlier was interesting. You disapproved of the riot, and I agree--the best thing I can say about it is that it was ineffectual. You say you have medical knowledge, but you're also an intelligence officer. That should catch the attention of anyone who isn't happy with the current circumstances. Tell me... what do you make of this place?"

To punctuate the question, he ate the chunk of pineapple off of the fork, his gaze never leaving Tear's face.

[melodists]

While Daniel's acquaintance busied himself with his meal, Daniel appeared intent on Tear--or more specifically, the facts left in her note. A lesser mind might have been impressed with the observations, but the soldier remained unmoved. They were obvious, after all. Anyone who paid attention would say the same. The things that truly surprised her, however, were his final statement and subsequent question.

Is he gauging my aptitude? It seemed to be the case. As for the reasons, she had somewhat of a guess. Nothing that could be proven, however.

She watched the dark-haired man for a minute, her mind knitting together the most appropriate response. What came was an honest assessment. There would be no danger in relaying this to a stranger. "...I find Landel's to be very unorthodox," stated Tear calmly. "I am not from Earth, but even we have need for hospitals. And this place--" Here, she hesitated. Fault of nostalgia, for certain. "--reminds me more of a research facility."

[girlsandgadgets]

Continuing to show only passing interest in the conversation, Edgar listened to Ryuuzaki's question and Tear's response, recalling the aforementioned note from the board. Her answer followed along conclusions he'd reached as well: while potion shops and apothecaries were more common than clinics and hospitals in his world, they weren't entirely foreign to him. Landel's certainly did resemble an asylum during the day.

Her secondary observation caught his attention. Though Landel's was outwardly a far cry from the Empire's Magitek Research Facility, the experiments at night did create some similarities between the two. The Empire was using their prisoners for the development of Magitek weapons; however, Landel's intentions toward his captives, beyond the element of brainwashing, were unclear. The fact that so little was known- at least by the general populace, as far as Edgar could tell- made the Head Doctor even more dangerous.

Edgar remained quiet for now- it'd be rude to interrupt the conversation in its infancy, after all.

[quarter_english]

"Yes, that's very astute." It was obvious that the Institute's purported 'therapeutic mission' was only a veneer, and that experimentation was its ultimate purpose. Still, there were some people who would never notice it, whether out of innate stupidity or because something about their past had left them unequipped to do so.

He frowned at an element of her statement, remembering something she had written about "a fonon-based ability." Phonons? He wasn't aware of any technology that manipulated sound on a quantum level for the specific purpose of healing, nor could he tell whether or not the change in spelling meant anything. He could accept that some of the people at Landel's thought they were from distant, impossible places, but he couldn't absolutely prove or disprove it; all he could do was judge on the basis of the evidence in front of him. A strength or weakness might still be useful, regardless of whether or not the person possessing it was delusional about their point of origin. Nothing about Tear spoke of self-deception or unreliability. All he could do was continue to watch her, listen to her, form his own impressions of her personality. His impressions were usually accurate.

"If you're not from Earth, where are you from?" he asked, speaking around a bite of strawberry. "You said something about fonons earlier. I'm unfamiliar with the term--maybe Edgar is aware of it?"

[melodists]

Edgar? Her gaze briefly slid over the other gentleman's features before she turned back to Daniel, the pieces lined for processing. Edgar, or "Edward", was likely not from this world, especially if he was familiar with the concept of fonons. The possibility of a fellow dweller of Auldrant interested the young woman, and if the subject wasn't so serious, she might have probed for more details.

For now, she had to answer the presented question. "I am from the planet of Auldrant," Tear said. She shifted gears, pulling an age-old explanation, similar to one she had used on Luke some time ago and another most recently. "And that is correct. All matter in my world is made up of fonons, or basic particles of sound. There is more to it, of course--"

But.

"--but I would like to know why you are interested." Until that can be clarified, she couldn't afford to start rattling off basic principles.

[girlsandgadgets]

Though sorely tempted to return Tear's look with a wink, Edgar behaved himself for now, especially since Ryuuzaki turned a question toward him.

Now his curiosity was piqued: she'd mentioned Auldrant. What were the chances she knew Natalia? Auldrant wasn't likely to be small; however, seeing how he'd managed to meet two people from his own world already, he was still willing to take that bet. Even more interesting would be if she also had magical abilities- after all, magic may have been common in their world. He smiled to himself, thinking that she didn't need to share any more characteristics with Celes. Her stoic demeanor was quite enough.

"I'm not familiar with fonons," Edgar admitted with an upturned palm, shaking his head, "though I have heard of Auldrant since I arrived here. My arm would still be in a sling if not for the abilities of a woman named Natalia, who claimed she was from there. She was quite talented. Lovely, too."

[quarter_english]

Edgar's comment was helpful. It could best be seen as inconclusive evidence that Natalia possessed the abilities that Tear claimed to have, but even shaky proof that those abilities existed was a point in Tear's favor. Absolute certainty was a luxury in this situation, when L's need for allies was so great. Still, it wouldn't be prudent to depend on her skills until I've seen a demonstration of them, he thought.

It was the same with Tear's assertion that she came from another planet: questionable, but less likely to be a delusion when another person made the same claim. He had decided soon after his abduction that, as long as people inhabited the roles they were convinced were their own, it wouldn't matter if that conviction was an act of self-deception. They were most likely to do what they felt they should do to continue to perform the role they had adopted; the stability of their identities would depend on it. In L's opinion, Landel's attempts to supplant those identities with others would cause people to cling more stubbornly to the persona that felt most natural to them.

When it came to Tear's question, and how much to tell her, L felt the usual temptation to demur. He would have to set it aside, at least to some extent. He had elected not to give much away to Edgar at their first meeting, but in this case, it would be counterproductive to tell Tear that he was a university student.

He didn't want to be a visible leader, here, not when most others who had adopted a similar role had taken on a habit of vanishing, and especially not under the eyes of armed troops with an unknown agenda. He hadn't heard anything about the whereabouts of Homura or Lamperouge, and he had no plans to look into their disappearances, either: investigating the subject would be a waste of time, leading only to finer detail in what was, at best, a cautionary tale. Thinking of it that way might be according it too much meaning; people disappear from this place every day. Even if it was possible to be sure of where they had gone, it wasn't likely to be freedom, nor would the knowledge free any of Landel's current prisoners. It was like many of the other possible lines of inquiry: a distraction from those that are most germane to our liberation.

He realized that he was biting his lower lip, so he released it, then sighed. Neither of the people he was talking to would be satisfied with the vague explanation he would prefer to give. Furthermore, Tear seemed likely to respond to, or at least respect, some kind of authority.

"There are a number of things around the Institute that interest me. Greater knowledge of them could prove to be useful in the long term, but it's dangerous enough to move around at night that I haven't been able to learn as much as I would like; for that reason, among others, I don't think there's any profit in working alone here. My interest is in meeting other people who are curious, or who might be willing to help others satisfy their curiosity--for example, someone who could help if I ran into an--obstacle."

Since Sunday night, there had been too many obstacles, and almost no progress to speak of.