Day 41: Lunch

[perfectrecord]

Just as von Karma started to enter the doorway leading to the Courtyard to look around for anyone remotely resembling his daughter, that pretentious lunatic's voice rang out over the Intercom, heralding the approach of lunch time. Right away, the damned nurse practically dragged him back into the cafeteria and towards the serving tables, telling

Comments

[perfectrecord]

At the sound of the familiar, accented voice, von Karma looked up from his salad (at which he had finally begun to nibble now that the nurse was no longer scrutinizing him) to see the distinguished countenance of his former roommate from directly across him. Almost instantly, the deep scowl on his face disappeared, replaced by a fleeting smile -- a rare genuine smile, rather than his usual cynical, sardonic one -- as he nodded to the man in greeting.

"Mr. Javert. Thank you for meeting me so promptly. And likewise. I apologize for the vagueness of the note. As you can surely understand, I do not wish to risk divulging too much information for everyone else to see -- especially the blasted staff." He frowned momentarily as he spoke those last few words.

He peered around himself to ensure that no one was deliberately eavesdropping, then leaned in closer. "So the nurses told you that I had been ill. That is exactly what they told me, also, upon my awakening this morning. They claim that I had suffered from a stroke a week ago. However...." He narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "As I am not suffering from any of the symptoms typical of a stroke, I have reason to believe that that story was nothing more than a cover-up for what may have truly happened. It is my hope that you will assist me in determining what that may have been."

"For instance, they claim that the stroke occurred only a week ago. Such a miraculously quick recovery, were that true! Most stroke patients require much longer than that to regain the level of function that I am able to exhibit right now." Skeptically, he shook his head. "Mr. Javert, by your count, how many days have actually passed since we last spoke?"

[unmocked_lawr]

A stroke! One of the more ridiculous excuses he'd heard from the nurses so far. Javert didn't know of many people who'd survived them, and those who had had certainly taken more than a week to recover. Even men like him, unacquainted with the medical world as he was, knew that.

"My assistance is yours, M. Fuchs. There's no doubt in my mind that what the nurses told you is deeply suspicious. If we can determine what actually transpired, we may be one step closer to finding out how this place works."

He fell silent for a moment, counting back in his head to the night he had last seen the other man, and shook his head slightly. "However, on the subject of how much time has gone by - it has been exactly six days since I saw you last. In that respect, at least, the nurse was telling the truth."

[perfectrecord]

von Karma nodded in a tacit "thank you" to both Javert's agreement to help and to his answer, then took a moment to reflect on what was said as he ate more of his salad. So, not everything the nurse said was a ludicrous falsehood after all. Though it was possible that Mr. Javert was lying to him, too, all of the information that his former roommate had given him had proved true thus far -- including what he had learned about his former student.

"Indeed. That is why I wanted confirmation of the actual time elapsed from someone far more trustworthy than this staff. Especially since due to my having been unconscious for most of that time, it feels as though more than six months have passed since then."

He paused again, his arms folded and his eyes closed. "However... if only six days truly have passed, then why would that blasted nurse try to insult my intelligence with such a preposterous story?" Irritably, he shook his head. "I know the staff treat us all like children, but this is ridiculous!"

"At any rate," he said as he opened his eyes again, "you recall what we discussed the last time we spoke, yes? The experiments?" He took a deep breath before continuing, the volume of his voice dropping to a near whisper. "Mr. Javert... I suspect that I may have actually been the subject of an experiment... that the doctors bungled." His eyes flashed indignantly. "The nurse said that they had replaced your roommate because they were uncertain that I would survive my 'condition.' Furthermore, I discovered evidence that I had undergone a procedure. Ergo, what other explanation is there but an experiment?"

[unmocked_lawr]

"Perhaps she assumes that since you're mentally ill to begin with, you wouldn't dare question her otherwise." Javert was unable to keep the dry note out of his voice. Still, it warranted a great deal of suspicion, and his curiosity was certainly piqued. "However, I have never heard of any other patient who has disappeared and then reappeared with his memory completely intact - you are the first I have met in all my weeks here. That alone interests me enough to investigate further."

Fuchs's hypothesis was intriguing, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to subscribe to it quite yet. "From what I saw - and I have seen quite a lot of the experimental rooms lately - the doctors seem highly professional, and my more up-to-date associates have said much the same. While I would not reject your theory outright, I doubt any mistakes they made would prove as grievous as you said they would. Still, it's certainly something to keep in mind."

He began to cut up his chicken. "M. Fuchs, you mentioned evidence that you had undergone a procedure. Might I inquire what this evidence was?"

[perfectrecord]

"Hmph," von Karma grumbled as he speared a carrot a bit forcefully. "She would assume incorrectly, then. I have no mental illness. Unlike most of the other people here, my mind is perfectly sound. At times, I think you and I are the only ones trapped in this entire building who have a modicum of sense."

He listened to what Javert had to say about the mystery that his own sudden reappearance had posed, and then to the nearly complete refutation of his theory that he had undergone an experiment. His eyes closed, he furrowed his brow in concentration as he took this all in. "Intriguing, indeed. From what you say, it sounds as though I had completely disappeared from this hellhole, only to reemerge one week later."

"However...." He opened his eyes again, a realization occurring to him. "The nurse claimed that I had been comatose in the infirmary the entire time. She said that you had been assigned a new roommate because they weren't sure that I would survive. Apparently, a high number of other patients had died during the past week, and I was at risk of becoming yet another statistic." Though his expression remained stoic, his voice took on an edge of indignation. "Mr. Javert, if these doctors are as 'highly professional' as you say, explain how they could allow so many casualties in such a short period of time. This is outrageous of them!"

"As for the evidence of the procedure," he continued, his voice returning to its neutral gruff tone, "I discovered an incision scar where none had ever existed before. The damned nurse claimed that it was related to my 'condition,' but she said nothing more than that." Remembering Javert's claim of clairvoyance, von Karma subtly averted his narrowed eyes from the other man's gaze, making the pretense of appearing thoughtful. He was quite thankful for the unlikelihood that he would have to show it right here in the cafeteria, for doing so would require removing his shirt.

[OOC: Sorry for the lateness... and for the tl;dr. XD; ]

[unmocked_lawr]

Javert raised an amused eyebrow. "I wouldn't presume to go quite that far, M. Fuchs, though I know the feeling." Surprising as it was to admit it, he had made quite a few allies here, some of whom he was beginning to trust despite himself, and a select few of whom he might not even have minded having on the force back in Paris. That Edgeworth boy, for one; lawyer or not, he had a good eye for details.

Fuchs's description of his own disappearance was not entirely inaccurate, and Javert nodded slightly. "That's precisely how your arrival has appeared to me. Not a word or sign you were even in the area, and as you can imagine, I believed my nurse not at all when it came to answers regarding your condition. As for the patient deaths, I can say with some measure of certainty that none of them occurred as a result of any experimental treatments. There were other patients present with all or most of the victims when they were killed, and the causes of death were largely attributed to the monsters that roam the institute at night."

He paused to take a bite of his own meal. "Furthermore, I was present in the experimental treatments hallway for one of those nights, at least, and observed nothing out of the ordinary as far as patient condition was concerned." A wry, mirthless smile. "Aside from the usual supernatural effects, of course."

Another bite; good God, his nurse was watching him like a hawk today. He looked up again: Fuchs had turned his gaze away, at the same time that his voice had gone back to its usual tone. Curious, considering his previous indignation and the surprisingly vague comment about the evidence. Javert would have expected more emotion from the man, at that; he seemed like the type to care about minor details. And he had, he recalled, told Fuchs about the result of his own experimental treatment session.

He decided to point nothing out for now - perhaps it was merely something embarrassing, and in any case Javert had as of yet no reason to doubt the other man. Granted, he didn't usually need a reason to doubt anyone, but Fuchs had yet to prove himself anything other than a potentially useful ally. Javert filed the incident away in his mind nonetheless.

"Did the location and nature of the incision correlate to the usual treatment for a stroke in your time period?" he asked, keeping his own voice noncommittal. He was, admittedly, at something at a disadvantage in this case; he doubted he would know the difference if the other man lied.

[tl;dr right back at you! 8D]