[video]

[quarter_english]

[The man is young. His dark hair hangs around and in his pale face, forming a cap, brushing his shoulders, dripping fluid from its ends. The hospital gown he wears is just as wet; it clings to his thin frame. He's shivering, and his eyes, when he shows them, look wide and shocked

Comments

[Text]

[smug_silence]

Hello.

You are on a spaceship.

[video]

[quarter_english]

[He's not surprised at the claim, given the general nature of his current surroundings, but he'll be at least a little bit surprised if it has much veracity. He doesn't know who he's talking to: his captor, some kind of computer program meant to respond to basic queries... or what? Someone in the same predicament? His first response is to repeat the words, deadpan.]

A spaceship.

[He sounds weary, and manages not to stutter, although he's still shivering. When there are so many questions, it's hard to prioritize them and choose what will be next. Where? is one he'll leave until later; he thinks he may get a better answer from other remarks in context than from a direct response to that particular question, if that response is, "I said it's a spaceship."]

Why? How many other people are here?

[If I was going to create an illusion of space travel, he realizes, I would make it cold. He doesn't appreciate his current circumstances at all, but in the smallest way, he's impressed with the attention to detail.]

[Video/text]

[smug_silence]

[She knows that mysterious floating text is probably a little frustrating to someone who wants answers, so she starts a video feed, giving L a view of the jumpsuited, stern-looking young woman currently typing to him. Chell nods to acknowledge, then goes right back to the keyboard.]

Yes. I am not sure how many of us there are, or why we are here. The ship is in disrepair. That's why it's so cold.

[Video]

[quarter_english]

[He nods back at her to acknowledge that he's seen her, understanding that she won't talk... possibly can't talk. It's hard to tell, but why else would she send a video feed of herself, then proceed to type? The only thing that comes to mind is that she has a specific reason to hide her voice, but if that's the case, evidence will show it in time.

For the moment, she's a source of information, which makes her fascinating... even if the information she's giving him is mostly delineation of what's unknown.]

Is the ship in space? How do we know for sure--how long have you been here, Miss--?

[Maybe she was abducted too, or maybe this is all a performance... but he can't yet formulate a good reason why she would lie about not knowing why she's there. The story is too bizarre, and if his captors wanted to set a task for him, they could be more explicit about it. It's possible that not telling him the nature of any given task is part of the hoops he might be expected to jump through, if there are any... if there aren't, why put him in

Video

[forthetwinkies]

[He squints into the camera.]

Shouldn't you get changed first? 'Cause that gown ain't flatterin'.

[Video]

[quarter_english]

[He sighs, and in an instant, he goes from looking damp and pathetic to looking damp, pathetic, and put-upon. He doesn't know whether he's talking to the person responsible for his current predicament, someone who shares it, or a pre-recorded response.]

Yes. Neither f-flattering nor warm.

I don't s-s-suppose you know where my pants are.

[The effect of what might have been a slightly sharp, bitter retort is ruined by the shivering. He crosses his arms and rubs them with his hands, which are too cold to provide much warmth. These people could at least have provided blankets after dropping their wet abductees into chilly rooms, but he thinks discomfort is probably part of their aim. The room he came from... its door is labeled "Cryo-sleep," it's true, but as far as he knows, that technology is still far away.]

[Video]

[forthetwinkies]

[He shrugs. This kid looks like he wouldn't last a day outside of a well-fortified building--just look at those shadows underneath his eyes.]

Hell if I know. I found my stuff in my room, so that's probably where'd they'd be. In your room.

[Video]

[quarter_english]

I don't know where t-that is.

How long have you been here, Mr--? I've just been t-told we're on a spaceship. That's true?

[Video] I see this right after taking a break from my Netflix Death Note marathon. Epic win.

[italia_di_pasta]

[Feli gets the feeling being his usual self might scare Ryuuga. So behold the rare miracle of calm!Feli.]

Hi, Ryuuga. My name's Italy, or you can call me Feliciano. If you tell me where you are, I can come help you. And if you're hungry, I think there's still some pasta left, so...

[Video] (AMAZING COINCIDENCE. I hope you're having fun with it! :)

[quarter_english]

[He doesn't question why someone would be named both Italy and Feliciano; the former is probably a nickname, and anyway, he has more aliases of his own than he can count.

Anyone responsible for his current situation already knows exactly where he is. That means that, for the most part, there's probably little specific danger in telling someone his location, unless the person is otherwise inherently dangerous. If his captors had wanted to kill him in his sleep, they already would have done it. At the moment, the worst Italy is likely to be is a person intended to lull him into a false sense of security, to gain as much of his trust as he's willing to give under the circumstances. As long as L remains aware of that, he can accept assistance that's offered to him.]

I'm-m in a room with a h-hub of computers and elec-tron-n-nic equipment--arranged in a circle. It's n-next to the room marked "Cryo-sleep."

Is there any c-coffee? Tea? Something warm.

[Video] Near needs to GTFO. No one replaces L. :U

[italia_di_pasta]

[Little does he know "Feliciano" is the alias.]

Oh, I know where that is! I heard those computers have maps on them, but I never figured out how to use them!

In the canteen, that's the kitchen-kinda-place, there's water and a firepit, and I could make pasta with that! And I can help you find your room, I bet your clothes are there! But I'd watch out for ghosts, they're really scary!

[Video]

[quarter_english]

Am I anywhere near the canteen? Someone told me there are rooms on the floor above this one. I would appreciate the assistance.

[Wait, did Italy say--]

"Ghosts"?

[video]

[oncewasroman]

[answering is a young man, late 20s, wearing what appears to be a red cloak and some sort of armor. You can't see much of the armor though so it might be hard to place as "roman"]

There's a lot of information to cover Ryuuga. It would probably be better if you got dried off and into more clothes. We haven't exactly fixed the heating yet.

[He pauses]

If you go a floor up you should find a hallway with names on them. One of them should have yours and it'll have clothes there for you. Showers are on that hall as well.

[video]

[quarter_english]

[He pauses, processing that information. The sluggishness of his intellectual responses feels unusual--alarming--but they're already faster than they were a few minutes earlier, and he can only assume that they'll normalize. It's the kind of assumption that's based half in hope, half in experience. He wonders how long he was unconscious and what was used to get him there, but more than anything, he wonders why. Why this kind of abduction, why now? If it is what they're telling him it is, why him? The answers they're giving him help with the immediate situation, with survival and orientation, but in the larger sense, they also lead to more questions.

But at least this young man, around his own age, seems benign--for the moment.]

Th-thank you. How many other people's names are on this hallway, Mr...?

[video]

[oncewasroman]

[nearly slips and says 'Pond' whoops] Williams...er...you can just call me Rory though. And I counted 30 rooms with two people to a room which would make 60.

[video]

[quarter_english]

Sixty.

[It's a soft, falling echo, and his eyebrows draw together as he thinks over the implications. Sixty people is too many for most kinds of conspiracy. It doesn't mean that everyone is in the same predicament... no. Some may be planted.]

What's the longest anyone has said they've been here?

[The silent woman wrote four days. He's not sure that the answer to his question will mean anything, but it will be good information to put away for later, at least.]

[voice]

[lovecrafty]

That's quite the open-ended question.

[video]

[quarter_english]

H-humor me, please.

[The voice sounds young, but that doesn't mean anything. In return, his tone is weary.]

Do you know who's responsible for this, or what the purpose is?

[still audio]

[lovecrafty]

Ok.

In a word, no.

There's a computer program that has been threatening and insinuating all manner of challenges, but so far its bark outstrips its bite.

Nor has it claimed responsibility for initiating this fiasco.