.009 | Voice.

[paradoxlol]

[Warden Filter]As I understand it, the recent attack on [There's a SLIGHT pause, and Arthur's voice goes completely deadpan.] Victor Frankenstein [And back to normal!] was perpetrated through the use of a... "burning machine," as the victim called it

Comments

Private

[ourlastbesthope]

I'm ready. Bring it to the lab, if you don't mind. Since you requested attendance, it might be better to do it in that neutral location.

Private - spam or assume EXCITING SCIENCE?

[paradoxlol]

I agree; the lab's best. I'll be there in five minutes.

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[And so Capa was there, waiting. When he was given the sample, he inspected it as best he could, but he could find nothing out of the ordinary. It was certainly effective, but it wouldn't kill her.]

It looks fine to me. [He turned on the water of the sink.]

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

[And he's watching doop doop, then, when it's all finished:]

Good. I'm glad it passed the inspection. [He pockets the now-empty vial that had contained the small sample of Somnacin.] Is there anything else, Dr. Capa? Any questions?

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

Capa's fine. You don't have to put the Dr. in front of it. [He really didn't like it. It didn't make him feel important. It just made him feel like he was living up to something he didn't deserve.]

But yes. I have plenty of questions. First...why are you doing this for her? You don't strike me as the type for any kind of "guided meditation."

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

[He shrugs.] Sorry, some people prefer it.

[He arches an eyebrow.] Why don't I seem the type? [He moves over to some equipment and looks at it, curiously. He hadn't spent much time in the lab before.] I know how important memories are to people. [And what happens when they become obsessed with them.] Hayley asked me for advice, and I pointed her to every book I could before offering this solution. It may sound a little new age, but it's an effective method.

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[The physicist highly doubted that. He sat back at his desk, leaning back against it so he could watch Arthur.]

Would you mind walking me through the process?

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

It's simple. [And Arthur's not going to tell you the whole truth unless he trusts you.] She's administered the sedative and enters into a state of dreaming. I guide her through a scenario that's been designed to help trigger the memories. [He turns to look at Capa, his expression betraying nothing.] You know, "you see a building, go into it," that kind of thing. Her subconscious supplies the rest. The drug should help her achieve greater recall upon waking up.

[This is pretty much the truth-- the only thing Arthur's leaving out is "and I go into the dream with her," because he doesn't know if he can trust Capa not to tell her, and the second Hayley knows, this thing's pretty much blown. She would be too guarded if she knew the reality of extraction.]

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[Capa nodded. It still sounded new age, but he wasn't going to judge. The man genuinely believed that what he was going to do was going to work. And it didn't sound malicious in any way.]

That makes sense. So...what is my role in all of this?

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

I need somebody to monitor the process-- particularly, the sedative doses-- and to keep an eye on things once we get started. I'll be too busy working through the dream with her to be of much use. So, any potential setbacks will need to be handled by a third party.

[He pauses, then goes for a question of his own.]

And speaking of potential setbacks... What's Hayley's relationship with Crane? [He's not 100% sure what it is yet, and he wants to make sure that whatever happens, none of the "mad scientists" on the Barge hears about it.]

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[Capa nodded. He could handle that much. He was just about to turn around again when Arthur asked that question.]

Crane? I never understood it. She doesn't trust him, I know that. Most of the time they met, she wanted me present. [He tilted his head to the side.]

Why do you ask? [People are so weird.]

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

Because I don't trust him. And if they're close, then I want to be sure that he doesn't find out about this. [He fixes Capa with a serious look.] I haven't had any personal dealings with him, but I've read about his, shall we say... inventiveness, when it comes to chemicals.

Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[Oh Capa could understand that.] Well, I'm his temporary warden now. I've already taken a vial of...something off of him. And you can be sure that I'll be keeping a close eye on him. I don't trust him, either.

[He hesitated for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair.]

But I trust Hayley to know when and how to keep secrets.

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

[Arthur nods.] Good. [After a slight pause, he decides to follow up with another question. He knows he'll have to explain to Capa that he'll be entering the dream with Hayley, eventually (and he'd rather do it sooner rather than the day of the extraction), and he wants to get a better feel for the man before he does.] What do you really think about all of this? The... memory work she's doing. The guided meditation. [It takes some willpower not to say that last part sardonically. Shared dreaming is so far from meditation.]

Re: Spam!

[ourlastbesthope]

[Capa spreads his arms out a bit.]

I'm a physicist. I work with numbers, with stars and hard facts. I'm not exactly the right guy to be asking about that. [He wasn't going to lie to him, after all.]

I didn't believe that Crane could do anything and I don't believe you can. But I also believe you're less harmful.

Spam!

[paradoxlol]

I appreciate the honesty. [And it's true; he does. Had Capa lied to him with niceties, Arthur would feel less inclined to open up to him with the true details of the extraction process later.] So why don't you try to talk her out of it?