Day 59: Sun Room (4th Shift)

[contentincloset]

After an intercom broadcast like that, Kurogane felt somewhat better about the little information he'd gotten from Harrington the previous night. The man only sounded competent when he needed to but was an idiot otherwise. Unfortunately that was furthered proof of the General not employing the brightest of staff members, making another option for

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[yin_yang_fox]

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Nothing could be done without some kind of toll, and nothing could simply just be done. Landel had to be some manner of being, and the Digimon suddenly wanted to be in the same room as him once more. She hadn't picked up much last time, just a distorted impression of not human... But even that could be doubted with the mass amounts of individuals in the sun room that day. She would have to meet with him with less people involved to be certain. And even then.... There were so maybe that Landel could be.

It raised the question, though. If they were gathering those with abilities or potential, why was Landel the one heading it? Could it have been that he was originally a captive, and rose to become in charge of something like this?

It was a disturbing thought. "We can't know without further evaluation. Landel could be any number of things, and the abilities he has could be vast. Without meeting him one on one, or seeing him in combat, there's no way to ascertain what he is or how he does things." All truth, and still discouraging. She had a brief urge to share her prior thoughts with the man, even as they were just an idea. "It's a possibility... That Landel was originally a captive like us, taken from somewhere, and instead rose through the ranks to gain control of this."

And why wouldn't he instead help? That was the obvious. "If he was one who craved power or couldn't gain it in his world, this would be the perfect outlet for that urge. And fits the personality that he's shown," she added dryly.

[corvus_veritas]

To Byrne, Landel had been the biggest threat to the patients in the beginning, and was still considered a decent threat even after the military kicked him out. (It was called Landel's Institute for a reason, wasn't it?) Landel was a tyrant, a guy with a shady agenda who must have built this place for some dark scheme of his. Must have. The military, in Byrne's eyes, just took over the Institute for, well, whatever reason they wanted it for. But was all started by Landel.

And yet, Renamon's theory of Landel being a prisoner here before taking over as 'ruler' of the Institute was entirely plausible, a theory Byrne hadn't considered until now. Landel? As one of--one of them? The thought was more than just a little disturbing. Of course, the prosecutor's mind had to take it a step further to make it even worse - what if Landel used to be an honest-to-god sort of man who became corrupted by this place? It broke him like it was trying to break everyone else, made him stop caring about fighting back? Made him into a monster?

...Damn you, Faraday, stop that line of thought right now before you make yourself sicker than you already are. "So you're saying the military could have been the original 'leaders', so to speak, the head honchos of this place? And that Landel took over somehow until they were able to overthrow him for whatever reason?" The wide-eyed expression on Byrne's face was evidence enough that he was not liking this theory. At all. Not for being 'impossible', because it could definitely be true. It was...the theory was...

...humanizing Landel, the guy Byrne had his mind set upon punishing to the fullest extent of the law, further if need be. Turning him into something he could sympathize with, which Byrne, honestly, was terrified of doing right now. Especially after that speech Badd gave him, and just everything that had happened in the past week...

[yin_yang_fox]

In essence, Byrne's musings lined up with Renamon's own. Landel was by far the larger threat, if only for the unknown that he was, and the charismatic methods he had of shifting things. He was not a well-liked persona, but he was well-known, and spoken of warily, even with the way he used to present himself over the intercom. He was certainly one who you did not take without caution.

Her words seemed to have created a few misimpressions. The Digimon shook her head. "Let me clarify. As stated by Marc, the reason the military are the larger threat is because they provide the resources behind this place. I don't believe they themselves are the leaders of any sort--I still hold to believing there are those above Landel and Aquilar, especially as the former referenced his 'bosses' a few times--but the military does hold the cards in the way research is carried out when viewing the situation. Likely, when they aren't here, Landel is more than willing to shift focus from their goals."

Which brought her to another point. "One I spoke with earlier in the day also reiterated the fact that this is Landel's Institute. He was likely the main designer and architect--the shaper, if you will--behind the concept of the place. In the end, both Landel and the military work together, more or less. Just different branches of the same faction."

She was not unaware of the assumption Byrne could have reached from her previous words--and yet still made no effort to change them. Yes, Landel was the worst threat. Yes, he was unspeakable. But it was indeed possible he had once been in their situation. She wasn't as kind as to think he was corrupted--too well did she know the inherent natures of humans and men--but she would give him that. That he saw an opportunity, and took it, with open arms. Here endth the lesson.

[corvus_veritas]

Byrne frowned even more as Renamon went on with her explanation. So, while Landel had actually designed this place (which made it less likely that he used to be a patient too, right?), the military forces were the people 'funding the project', so to speak, and Landel and Aguilar had to cater to their wishes plus whoever else was above them. People with more power than Landel and Aguilar? Another disturbing thought, but it made perfect sense for a man-behind-the-man situation to be going on here. It would fit one of Byrne's earlier theories that this place was government-run, meaning chances of getting outside help were nil.

Now, if the military were the ones 'holding the cards' concerning experiments, as Renamon put it, then did that mean they were also responsible for the nightly torture sessions? That his and Badd's experiences really did have some darker meaning to them beyond 'doing it because we like to screw with people'? Byrne wasn't sure if he liked the thought of that.

"I see. So there really must be an ulterior motive behind the torture and brainwashing sessions if all of these people are involved with this place." But why? Now the question would bother him even more, because it mattered. But rather than asking an unanswerable question, it would be better to toss in his personal theory to keep discussion going. "You think the ones over Aguilar and Landel could be some governmental power?"

[yin_yang_fox]

She nodded briskly to his musing. "One would think. If they're military based, it would make sense to-" There was the briefest of pauses, and then the Digimon continued in her level tones. "Test and experiment on the subjects given to try to create or enhance a weapon already there. To try to adjust for more abilities or tear apart one to find out how to duplicate it. It's a pattern that seems to hold in these kinds of situations." Something she would prefer not to think further on.

As to his actual question, that was far easier. "That seems to be the case, especially with the military here. In my experience, there is no military branch that isn't backed by a part of government, even if that part is hidden from the rest." She paused for a moment, then continued. "As well, it seems doubtful that something of this magnitude isn't known by those in power. If it's to defend what they see as theirs or to gain power, man will do a great many things in the name of what they label as right."

The Digimon was bias and she was aware. It did not change that she had a right to be.

[m-u effects]

[corvus_veritas]

This whole 'men are power-hungry' thing Renamon kept saying sounded an awful lot like something Badd would say. And he and his cynical speeches were things Byrne did not want to be thinking about right now. He'd had enough worrying about that guy, the fight they'd had, if he would be showing up later, things like that...

Although, in terms of cynical speeches, von Karma was the best at them, wasn't he. And rightfully so, old cranky bastard, if only he were still here when all of this was going on-! Speak of the devil, Renamon sure sounded a lot like him. What did she just say, now? The military will uh, the military is under some governmental power. Right, yes, that is what they are talking about, he's got this. He knows the truth. It has to be the United States government, there's no doubt about it. Only THEY would do something so sinister and so terrible and so and so

So Renamon knew after all! She wasn't blind to the system and she was better for it. She was in --what was it now, was she a lawyer? Didn't she say that before? uhh

Oh right right! He should answer her question first. (She did ask a question, right?) "Of course, because the government's always auh, it's always done stuff like that," Byrne mused, "Being all secretive and--and doing all kinds of shady things. Like the needle." His eyes were distant and dreamy, as if he were somewhere else. Which was true, really. The Run Room never looked cozier. And more lethal, too. Damn this place and its lethality, he should SUE.

THAT NEEDLE.

...... Wait, huh.

[yin_yang_fox]

The stuttering was noted but taken.... Though the more he continued to speak, the more she questioned. His speech was taken on that of those either paranoid or sedated, and she wondered if he had been previously, and it had just been taking a while to set in. The last part... She wondered if it referred to what she thought or something else. That look was a bit... Strange.

"That's true. However." She looked at him carefully, then continued slowly. "...Byrne. Are you feeling all right?" Had something happened that she had missed, other than the wear she had noted around him?

[corvus_veritas]

... What just happened?

Byrne blinked, slowly at first, then rapidly, as if trying to force himself to wake up. Which was a pretty good description of how he felt at the moment. Did he really just fall asleep in the middle of talking to Renamon? Weird. He wasn't even tired or anything.

But better apologize first before he seemed like a complete jerk, especially since Renamon noticed. "I'm--wow, haha, I'm sorry! Did I just doze off? How rude of me." He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

And heavily confused. Seriously, that was really weird. Maybe he was just pushing himself too hard today? Oh, actually, you know what? It was probably from going all day without eating. That made sense.

"A-anyway, yeah. I agree with you," he commented, eager to get any conversation away from what he'd just done, "But not everyone seems to have some sort of 'ability', from what it looks like to me. Is the government - assuming they're the ones on top, anyway - just picking people at random, you think?"