[005 ♟ The plot thickens...]

[justareverie]

[Video]

[ It's apparent the communicator has switched on by itself again... Anybody looking will see a simple, empty room, the only visible furniture being a swivel chair with a khaki safari vest on it, a single bed and nighstand, with an unlit lamp, his inmate's file, and an empty bottle on it. John comes into view in the process of putting a

Comments

[frickinbaretta]

It ain't. A sick joke, I mean. Not so sure what it is, exactly, but. Whatever it is, it's no fucking joke.

Jokes don't go on this long without a fucking punchline, you know? Cons do, but not jokes.

...What is this, Wild Kingdom? [Have some levity, Locke. Freddy's amused, even if you aren't.]

[justareverie]

[ Still on sound, he makes a "huff" noise. But he has smiled a little - calmer now that it isn't just him seeing magical plants around. ]

It's certainly as pointless. A punchline would also imply the joke is over.

...Maybe a malfunction. That's the feeling it gives me.

[frickinbaretta]

Yeah, but. Malfunction of what? You say that like it's some kinda mechanical breakdown or somethin'. No matter how you look at it when machines break you don't get spontaneous plants or faceless guys.

Private

[justareverie]

Of the Barge itself. Its security systems, however they work. Of... whatever has kept this from happening before.

There's already been break-ins in the past. And I don't think the Admiral would do this.

Private

[frickinbaretta]

Well I'd fuckin' hope not, but guys in charge ain't always the most reliable. But...you're right, it doesn't really seem like somethin' that'd be in his best interests, you don't make your guests panic for no reason 'less you're some kinda psychopath.

I heard somethin' about maybe the old staff comin' back?

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[justareverie]

Apparently they look like helper automats which used to be here. Just makes the whole thing a bit trickier to figure out.

Private

[frickinbaretta]

...Automats. That's robots, right? [Maybe? The fuck does he know.]

Sounds like Autobots. Which...I'm really hopin' that ain't it, 'cause as cool as that'd be it would also be a major pain in the ass. Not to mention we'd all be fuckin' screwed.

Private

[justareverie]

[ Somehow, Freddy has a way of making him chuckle. ] Not as destructive or giant. Not that I have ever seen them, not before they started appearing as... ghosts.

But they were... a kind of puppets. Apparently, someone made them disappear... and the Admiral decided to keep it that way.

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[frickinbaretta]

[It's a talent. And the chuckle seems to make him relax somewhat; he's got an in with the guy, so now he doesn't have to try quite so hard. He smirks.]

Wouldn't have thought robots could come back as ghosts though. ...Puppets either, for that matter. Sounds like some kinda...bad B-movie concept.

...Was that in the handbook or somethin'? 'Cause if it was I think I missed that chapter somehow.

Private

[justareverie]

[ Same as he thought, although a little less eloquently put. ]

That's why it's complicated. How could puppets or robots be bitter? Or are they just some kind of illusion to mess up with our minds? Maybe a red herring to distact us from the real thing at hand.

[ He smiles again at the handbook remark. ] No, CIA man over there went on a ghost hunt and happened to snap a few stills of them. Putting together two pieces of the whole jigsaw for us. [ A shrug. ] Your idea is as good as mine.

Private

[frickinbaretta]

You ever seen 2001? That robot was about as bitter as it gets. Terminator, too; whole fuckin' human race almost wiped out 'cause the robots in charge got pissed off at the shitstorms people make without trying. Not to mention Chucky, if you wanna talk about puppets. Bitter ain't the problem.

And yeah, I know, they're movies, they don't count, but fuck. This ain't even close to normal so why discount anything. I ended up a knight of the fuckin' realm for a few days, I'm guessing usual rules need not apply.

[A few deep drags on his cigarette; he's been smoking more than normal thanks to the Barge and its weirdness of late, and he might ordinarily be worried about that but fuck, he figures the chances of getting cancer from this extended acid trip are virtually nil, so why worry.]

CIA...oh, the Man in Black. The suit. Yeah, that don't surprise me. He reminds me of a boss I had once. [Back before the clusterfuck that got him here, but he's not sharing.] So we got the old staff bleedin' over from wherever the hell they've

Private

[justareverie]

Don't forget Hitchiker's, if you ever read them.

But-- here's the thing, what if these-- robots, puppets, how you want, were once people? That's a possibility too, more plausible than the ghosts of bitter robots, I'd say. [ He smiles slightly, empathizing at his stress. ] Gets crazy when everything seems possible, but... the one thing I'm sure about is, this isn't random. There has to be a reason.

Personally? I wouldn't say it's above my pay grade. [ Well... if he ever gets to properly graduate his inmate, anyway. ] The one thing we want and is impossible to get, that is one high price.

Private

[frickinbaretta]

So you're sayin' they started out as people and turned into...whatever? Not sure that makes more sense, even if it does explain them bein' pissed off. But then we got dead guys walkin' around like nothin' happened to begin with, so. Why the fuck not.

You got a theory? I mean, aside from the people-robots.

Guess you got a point there. Just...seems a lot to ask for, yanno? Wasn't expecting to hafta deal with this shit on top of everything else.