One accidental video of an idea that worked so well last time [11/??? artefacts collected]
[[OOC INFO FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE: If you're actually about to read all of this (five points for dedication! ♥) but haven't played the games it might be helpful to know that Clarence stole some of Philip's memories at some point in the game. Good? Good.]]
[ Philip sits on his bed. In his hands he holds a print-out. It looks lovely and most colourful, yet he adamantly avoids looking down at the piece of paper.
Instead he stares at nothing with great concentration while mumbling to himself. ]
Okay, again. Hydrogen, helium, lithium--
{I'm offended, monkey! I take out the garbage and you drag it all right back in. Just like that! Honestly, why do I even bother? }
...lithium, boro-- no, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon--
{Guess it beats sittin' in front of that book, huh?
Yeah, don't beat yourself up about it. You know how it is with libraries and Ancient Alien Language Dictionaries... }
...sodium, magnesium, aluminium... silicon, phosphorus...
{ If you're stuck you could always ask Professor Clarence for a little hint. You see, that stuff isn't actually gone. I just sort of... kicked it into a corner where you can't get to it.
...I'll go looking for it if you ask nicely. Dust it off, put it right back! Little late Christmas present maybe? }
...phosphorus, potassi-- no... silicon, phosphorus... damn it!
{Sulfur, monkey! Just put sulfur in there!
Look, I know we got all the time in the world here, but is it your mission to make this as boring for me as possible? Go out! Do somethin'! Talk to me! }
[ Philip inhales sharply. ]
Hydrogen, helium, lithium, ber--
{Nonono! You are not tryin' that again!
You want your precious periodic table back? Take it! And-- and you know what else? Have a little extra, just to light up the mood. }
[ A sharp pain shoots through Philip's head.
He blinks. Blinks again. Looks away and... finds the words, finds that... the paper in front of him is no longer necessary. Once again he is able to recite by heart the chemical elements that were familiar to him before Clarence decided to do a little "spring cleaning" in his mind.
But that wasn't all.
The sharp pain persists, doesn't subside but instead turns throbbing, increases until suddenly...
...Until suddenly Philip doesn't just recall words, not just rhodium and palladium and silver, but images, voices and impressions so vivid that he doesn't just remember, but relive a series of moments he would rather have forgotten forever.
The crude, self-made radio. A voice. Red's voice. The tunnels. The spiders. The mining monster. Incoherent scribbles on the wall. The frozen lake. The explosives. The incinerator.
And then the screams.
If the mansion had chosen that point to supply the network with an accidental transmission other residents might wonder what it was about the periodic table of elements that caused this young man so much grief and despair.
Yet in something that may be an act of mercy or perhaps just a fortunate coincidence the camera won't pay attention to this particular resident for another three days.... ]
[ The hallway monitor on the fourth floor flickers on and shows Philip pacing the corridor nervously.
There is a practically endless number of reasons he doesn't want to be here. And yet there is a single more compelling one that seemingly outranks them all.
He eyes a golden sign on the wall with increased restlessness:
PSYCHIATRIC GROUP PRACTICE
EMMA PILLSBURY &
DR SOFIA LAMB
He reaches for the door next to it and almost immediately draws back. ]
You won't...
{ Hey, no worries. I don't mind a little psychoanalysis. 'Course whoever these broads are don't stand a chance against the kind of insight I'm givin', but psychobabble beats listening to your thoughts on nervous breakdown mode. So... knock yourself out. }
[ Philip swallows, puts his hand on the door and... stops dead in his tracks as he notices the camera recording him.
There is no shame in seeing a therapist. Suddenly being on 'Phil Sees a Therapist TV' however? That calls for an awkward and sheepish look.
But all in all? He has bigger problems than that and if he's got the mansion's attention he might as well make use of it. He taps the sign with his finger. ]
So, are... are they any good?
[ Philip sits on his bed. In his hands he holds a print-out. It looks lovely and most colourful, yet he adamantly avoids looking down at the piece of paper.
Instead he stares at nothing with great concentration while mumbling to himself. ]
Okay, again. Hydrogen, helium, lithium--
{I'm offended, monkey! I take out the garbage and you drag it all right back in. Just like that! Honestly, why do I even bother? }
...lithium, boro-- no, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon--
{Guess it beats sittin' in front of that book, huh?
Yeah, don't beat yourself up about it. You know how it is with libraries and Ancient Alien Language Dictionaries... }
...sodium, magnesium, aluminium... silicon, phosphorus...
{ If you're stuck you could always ask Professor Clarence for a little hint. You see, that stuff isn't actually gone. I just sort of... kicked it into a corner where you can't get to it.
...I'll go looking for it if you ask nicely. Dust it off, put it right back! Little late Christmas present maybe? }
...phosphorus, potassi-- no... silicon, phosphorus... damn it!
{Sulfur, monkey! Just put sulfur in there!
Look, I know we got all the time in the world here, but is it your mission to make this as boring for me as possible? Go out! Do somethin'! Talk to me! }
[ Philip inhales sharply. ]
Hydrogen, helium, lithium, ber--
{Nonono! You are not tryin' that again!
You want your precious periodic table back? Take it! And-- and you know what else? Have a little extra, just to light up the mood. }
[ A sharp pain shoots through Philip's head.
He blinks. Blinks again. Looks away and... finds the words, finds that... the paper in front of him is no longer necessary. Once again he is able to recite by heart the chemical elements that were familiar to him before Clarence decided to do a little "spring cleaning" in his mind.
But that wasn't all.
The sharp pain persists, doesn't subside but instead turns throbbing, increases until suddenly...
...Until suddenly Philip doesn't just recall words, not just rhodium and palladium and silver, but images, voices and impressions so vivid that he doesn't just remember, but relive a series of moments he would rather have forgotten forever.
The crude, self-made radio. A voice. Red's voice. The tunnels. The spiders. The mining monster. Incoherent scribbles on the wall. The frozen lake. The explosives. The incinerator.
And then the screams.
If the mansion had chosen that point to supply the network with an accidental transmission other residents might wonder what it was about the periodic table of elements that caused this young man so much grief and despair.
Yet in something that may be an act of mercy or perhaps just a fortunate coincidence the camera won't pay attention to this particular resident for another three days.... ]
[ The hallway monitor on the fourth floor flickers on and shows Philip pacing the corridor nervously.
There is a practically endless number of reasons he doesn't want to be here. And yet there is a single more compelling one that seemingly outranks them all.
He eyes a golden sign on the wall with increased restlessness:
PSYCHIATRIC GROUP PRACTICE
EMMA PILLSBURY &
DR SOFIA LAMB
He reaches for the door next to it and almost immediately draws back. ]
You won't...
{ Hey, no worries. I don't mind a little psychoanalysis. 'Course whoever these broads are don't stand a chance against the kind of insight I'm givin', but psychobabble beats listening to your thoughts on nervous breakdown mode. So... knock yourself out. }
[ Philip swallows, puts his hand on the door and... stops dead in his tracks as he notices the camera recording him.
There is no shame in seeing a therapist. Suddenly being on 'Phil Sees a Therapist TV' however? That calls for an awkward and sheepish look.
But all in all? He has bigger problems than that and if he's got the mansion's attention he might as well make use of it. He taps the sign with his finger. ]
So, are... are they any good?