04: Run it up the flagpole and see [video]
[The PCD turns on and appears to be propped up and rested on an empty table, set up against a poorly lit corner. The only light in the room s coming from an off screen lamp. After a moment, a pair of freaky blue eyes and matted blondish brown hair slowly pop up from under the table. In fact right now Topher closely resembles a cat, either about to strike or have a spaz. Without bothering to pop all the way out, he begins to ramble.]
"I've figured it out now. The secret to Adstringendum. I've been working for two days, two nights now, haven't slept even because I've tried to figure it out. Probabilities, equations, doing the math--how is time travel possible, how is inter-dimensional travel possible, how can you just slam multiple worlds together, worlds that follow completely different laws of physics and even places from different times together in one space, one space, one tiny world! That's like--ha--ordering all the toppings mankind ever created: pepperoni, bell peppers, anchovies, mayonnaise, Canadian bacon, M&Ms, sausage, extra cheese, jalapenos, tacos whatever--and putting them on one pizza pie! It doesn't' add up! PI cannot solve this equation. It's impossible!"
[He dips a little and suddenly half a dozen pieces of salvaged paper are flung at the PCD.]
"I've done the math! FOURTEEN TIMES! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! ...Although maybe I should do it again--what if I made a mistake, did I make a mistake? What if I--"
[He stops, shakes his head and then leans forward so his whole face and upper body are finally visible. He slams his hands on the table and the PCD wobbles.]
"Doesn't matter! I'll check again later when I'm not being watched, I know it's right. I know what I know, so that's the secret! Adstringendum is impossible, thereby it doesn't exist! Ergo--nobody exists. YOU ALL DON'T EXIST! THE CAKE IS A LIE! You're all just figments of my imagination or data nodes in the mainframe. Maybe both!"
[Those words seem to depress Topher because he pauses and then deflates so that he ends up sliding under the table and out of sight. His remaining words are harder to hear.]
"Dead people don't come back to life. Not when it's a bullet to the brain--I can't fix that, nobody can fix that. You don't bother to save the OS when you're wiping the harddrive for a newer version. They're both gone. Gone gone gone. ...Why?
...Cause they're watching--can't hide--nobody ever really leaves the Dollhouse."
"I've figured it out now. The secret to Adstringendum. I've been working for two days, two nights now, haven't slept even because I've tried to figure it out. Probabilities, equations, doing the math--how is time travel possible, how is inter-dimensional travel possible, how can you just slam multiple worlds together, worlds that follow completely different laws of physics and even places from different times together in one space, one space, one tiny world! That's like--ha--ordering all the toppings mankind ever created: pepperoni, bell peppers, anchovies, mayonnaise, Canadian bacon, M&Ms, sausage, extra cheese, jalapenos, tacos whatever--and putting them on one pizza pie! It doesn't' add up! PI cannot solve this equation. It's impossible!"
[He dips a little and suddenly half a dozen pieces of salvaged paper are flung at the PCD.]
"I've done the math! FOURTEEN TIMES! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! ...Although maybe I should do it again--what if I made a mistake, did I make a mistake? What if I--"
[He stops, shakes his head and then leans forward so his whole face and upper body are finally visible. He slams his hands on the table and the PCD wobbles.]
"Doesn't matter! I'll check again later when I'm not being watched, I know it's right. I know what I know, so that's the secret! Adstringendum is impossible, thereby it doesn't exist! Ergo--nobody exists. YOU ALL DON'T EXIST! THE CAKE IS A LIE! You're all just figments of my imagination or data nodes in the mainframe. Maybe both!"
[Those words seem to depress Topher because he pauses and then deflates so that he ends up sliding under the table and out of sight. His remaining words are harder to hear.]
"Dead people don't come back to life. Not when it's a bullet to the brain--I can't fix that, nobody can fix that. You don't bother to save the OS when you're wiping the harddrive for a newer version. They're both gone. Gone gone gone. ...Why?
...Cause they're watching--can't hide--nobody ever really leaves the Dollhouse."