Night 50: Stairwell by Waiting Room/Lobby 1
[from here]As they started up the stairs, Anise went on to ask one of the several questions she had on her mind. "But, um... are you really okay with being called what the staff came up with? I mean, a number is weird, but isn't having a fake name forced on you just as bad?" She had to admit, 'Temuera' sounded a lot better than 'TK-622' as far as
( Read more... )
Comments 26
"And Temuera or Tem is fine. It might not be my designation, but I know the topic bothers some people, and I'd rather keep it a non-issue. My clone status shouldn't be something that gets in the way of interactions with others." That was probably just about the most awkward way he could have phrased it, but he really had no idea how otherwise to say it. Even non-clone recruits were usually referred to by designations, for ease of communication and to create a more cohesive force that understood their place. The fact that he didn't have a name had never been an issue before now.
Reply
Anise looked back to the man, her expression having softened considerably. "Clone? You mean... like a replica?" Anise had been wondering why a person would be named with a number, and that would probably explain it. Someone creating humans artificially would probably find it easiest to number them rather than name them, especially if they were making a lot of them.
Mass-produced humans... it was a creepy thought, but it was something that was happening on Anise's world too. For a moment, a sympathetic expression crossed the girl's face. She wasn't sure what it had been like for this man, but where she was from, there were plenty of people who didn't think of replicas as people. Even some of the replicas themselves didn't think so.
But he just said he didn't want to make an issue out of it, so Anise quickly switched back to being her usual, bubbly self. "Okay... Tem, then! I'll call you that from now on."
Reply
He gave Anise a slight smile, unsure whether the expression would even be noticeable in the gloom. "Works for me." He had to be tolerant of the fact that almost no one here seemed to come from the same sort of background, apart from Taura. It was probably as difficult for them to understand where he came from as it was for him to understand them.
Reply
But they were dropping that subject, so she decided she'd keep those questions to herself for a little longer. It didn't sound like Tem wanted to talk about it at length, even though Anise was far more curious than she was bothered by it. She'd try to respect that - at least, until her curiosity got the better of her.
Keeping a steady pace, the girl made her way up the stairs, pausing every once in a while to listen for danger. It sounded like there were patients coming up below them, but it didn't sound like anyone - or anything - was ahead of them. It was probably safe to go ahead into the next hall, then!
[to here]
Reply
The Scarecrow stopped at the base of the stairs, looking upward through the darkness. Turning on his flashlight, he flipped to the map he'd copied into his journal. He'd only had a few seconds to look over the drawing before the beam of his light dimmed, flickering again. It startled him for a second before he remembered that it was probably just running out of power- the Mangled Witch lived in the Horrible Hallway, after all.
Still, the fact was that his light wasn't working. Horrible Hallway or not, being stuck in the dark without a light didn't sound like a good idea at all.
"On second thought," he said, turning toward Sangamon as he switched his light off, "maybe you oughta lead us. I'm pretty sure my light is dying, and I don't know where I can find more batteries for it."
Reply
"Not sure where they keep the office supplies. I couldn't find baggies last night, despite the plurality of pantries in last night's misadventures." First thing tomorrow he was adding rechargeable batteries to the suggestions list. Even if they didn't put one up. This place was in the Stone Ages when it came to the Three R's. (Those being Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Not the old-fashioned menace to spelling purists.) Still-in-the-shrinkwrap new millenium notwithstanding.
He started climbing, keeping the light just ahead of him so the Scarecrow could follow without falling back into the shadows.
[to here]
Reply
"I don't suppose anything much of interest has befallen you since brunch, has it?" Hime asked as they started climbing the stairs. While she'd met with Aidou in the library, that had mostly been an exchange of opinions - actual facts had mostly gone in a one-way flow from her to the noble. Probably not a conservative use of information, but she figured Marc would want as many people as possible to know to have their radios.
Reply
Anyway, there was something else he wanted to ask about Hime's evening instead that didn't involve bending the laws of reality any more than they'd already been bended. He waited until they were at the top of the stairs before turning to her to ask; nothing worse than being distracted while they entered new territory.
[To here]
Reply
Now the question was, if Marc chimed in on the radio again, would they be able to understand him? Her best guess was that the man spoke English, which she only knew a little of and Depth Charge likely knew none of. If that was the case, then Landel had indeed made a swift and sharp counter to the rebel's attempts to help the patient population.
Reply
Following her down the corridor, he had to wonder what the cause of all this was. Something to do with what the Head Doctor had been doing, maybe? Tch. Well, wasn't that nice of him? Now they had the pleasure of miming out banter instead of speaking it aloud. At least the stairs were clear enough; Depth Charge had almost been expecting a monster thrown in for good measure, just for that personal touch.
[To here]
Reply
Klavier. Calm yourself. I need you to focus. Focus. His elder brother's words popped into his mind so clearly, almost as though he were actually hearing them. It was almost enough to startle him, though he did nothing but momentarily pause before continuing up the stairs.
That's right. The last time he had gone upstairs was when he and Kristoph were hunting for "weapons." Calm. Focus. That was all his brother had wanted and that was all he had to do now. But it was so difficult. Especially when it was all he could do to keep himself from despairing at the thought of his brother trapped as a hostage somewhere. How horrible it was to feel so absolutely helpless.
And... And it was so quiet. Always quiet here. It was stifling. Maddening. He would have taken anything, really. Even if it was just the distant sounds of traffic. But no, he couldn't even be granted something as simple as that here. At night, it was like nothing was real, like nothing existed. No noise. In this kind of immense quiet, the darkness just kind of ( ... )
Reply
"-- Hopefully we'll find someone up here," Elena whispered, mostly to keep herself from thinking more about all the possible reasons why someone would erase her memories. Or where Stefan could be. Or why they were even here, honestly, it was like some kind of trap that-
No! Again, with the thinking.
"And if we don't, should we just... find some kind of room to hang out in?" By 'hang' she meant 'hide', but who cared about details like that. "Oh! Maybe there's a phone somewhere, so we can call Stefan. ... Or the police, yeah."
[to here]
Reply
Leave a comment