Daycycle 18 [ JAN 26-30]

[computerized]

DAYCYCLE 18

[ JAN 26-30]

MORNING

Matt Farrell will be woken up at 0400 when a squad of Internal Security Gray Ops come to arrest Jason Wilcox for treason.  He is led away at gunpoint and any requests for information will be denied by higher level officers, claiming it’s classified.  Any digging done outside of sanctioned channels will reveal that he was believed to have been stealing medical equipment and supplies.

There is a new briefing officer in place this morning.  She speaks in a sugary sweet voice and smiles often.  Rumor has it she was on the execution squad that finished of the worst traitors in Death Leopard.

Troubleshooter Team: Parker and R. Lynch

Mission:  These fine recruits need practice in small unit tactics.  You will each have a team of three recruits and will lead them as they are pitted against each other in small unit tactical skirmishes.  You’re units are to engage in three to five armed skirmishes against each other.  You will take note of each recruit’s accuracy, obedience and courage under fire.  Fill out these forms indicating each recruit’s performance and turn them in, along with surviving recruits, at the nearest Vulture Squadron barracks.  The Troubleshooter with the most survivors will be awarded a credit reward.

All other Troubleshooters:  You are to report to your Service Firm positions for the day, until called on for Troubleshooter duty.

Specials will remain in their temporary quarters until repairs are completed on their RED quarters.

1202 - S. Rogers - G. Maecenas

1203 - A. Hardison  - Parker

1204 - R.Palmer - B. Allen

1205 - D.Grayson - T. Stark

1206 - M. Farrell

1207 - S.Groves - L. Martin

1208 - P. Carter - A. Patterson

1209 - R. Lynch

Intel: Free Enterprise has begun manufacturing weapons for sale to the highest secret society bidders.  Any information about these weapons should be reported immediately.

AFTERNOON

There is a high-level game of PowerGolf being held this afternoon in the Tech Services sub-sector Delta with many BLUE and VIOLET clearance citizens.  The game will be broadcast across the Complex.  Rumor has it that Free Enterprise will offer any citizen the ability to place bets on the outcome.  Increased security is apparent and all RED Troubleshooters will be pulled to work crowd control and police the game.

EVENING

The Alpha City Library is hosting a special reading of it’s high-clearance level novels this evening in a desperate attempt to attract interest and sponsorship from the Alpha Complex masses.  The book chosen is so notoriously racy that it has been forbidden to most clearance levels for nearly a decade.  There is a small fee to attend, but drinks and food will be provided.

Sleep aid gas will be expelled into the barracks this evening at 2100.

Comments

adam parrish | ota

[adamparrish]

A boy in the standard issued red jumpsuit and boots has spent the day trying to process the entirety of what's happened here. He's unassuming and quiet. If one isn't really looking and noticing, he almost blends in with the background, whatever that background might be. Adam Parrish is an expert at going unnoticed. He's gone through his entire day in what looks like a haze for anyone who does notice him. But he hasn't really been in a haze. He's been watching, listening, learning what he can about his surroundings and the people inhabiting them.

He follows instruction easily, trying to fit in and not draw any attention to himself. He looks at everything electrical and mechanical along the way with some curious interest, but only in passing. He's still in shock at his being here, so much so that he barely has any energy for anything that isn't a question.

In the afternoon Adam sits alone at a corner table in the commissary eating a late lunch. He's still watching, still trying to make sense of what all of this is, of why he's here. It has a prison feel to it to him. Not that he's ever been to prison. And this is certainly more high-tech than anything he's ever known. Is this a prison? When the golf(?) game is broadcast in the commissary, he decides perhaps it's not a prison. It's something else.

He considers going to the library that night. But when there's mention of an entry fee, he decides it would be wise to save his money for now and walks the complex to try to get a better grasp of his surroundings. Knowledge is power. He needs to know everything there is to know about where he is. There is a distinct lack of Cabeswater here, leaving a gaping hole inside of him that makes him uncomfortable.

When he sees people who look open to conversation Adam might stand there a moment to try to work up the courage to speak with them. He might accomplish that. He might not. If he does approach, it's with an obvious amount of hesitance and he greets a person with a simple 'Hi, I'm new. Uhm...'. He has no idea where to start after that.

In the end, he heads back to his assigned room with some woman named Peggy Carter who he's yet to meet. Sharing a room with a woman? This is so weird. He might end up sleeping out in the hallway to give her privacy.

[fictor]

It's afternoon by the time Ronan finds Adam in the commissary. He looks vaguely pissed off as he approaches Adam with more speed and force than necessary. He's got a lunch tray as well. He's unzipped the top part of his jumpsuit and has it hanging around his waist. Underneath the jumpsuit, he's still wearing his black wife beater.

"Where the fucking hell have you been?" Because that's an appropriate greeting. Ronan sits down next to Adam, on the same side of the table as him. He looks him over, eyes narrowed. "So what the hell is this place?" Because if anyone has figured it out, he thinks Adam has. He's incredibly relieved to have found Adam, to have someone from home, but more than that: Adam is a piece of Cabeswater and it makes Ronan feel more whole to have Adam close.

[adamparrish]

Adam might look like he's in his own little world, but he's noticing everything around him right now. That means that he sees Ronan first, almost a handful of seconds before Ronan spots him. He's been alone all day. At this point, he's sure he's the only one here. When he spots Ronan, it's the first overt show of emotion he's had since waking up here. His eyes grow wide, his skin prickles with hope and an excess of feeling. He no longer looks like a sleep-walking thing rather than a thing that's alert - living and breathing and very much awake.

From his perspective, Ronan's approach is like a canon ball out of a canon, like the strike of a snake that's been very still, very quiet, and then all of a sudden fangs pierce your skin. It's very Ronan. Adam looks the snake in the eyes and doesn't back down. He only looks away once Ronan is close, sitting next to him and looking him over.

"I thought it was just me." But he's glad, more so than he would admit aloud, that Ronan is here. A familiar face. A friend. Specifically, Ronan.

Yes, if anyone has figured this place out, it would be astute, invisible, Adam. His gaze skirts the room. "We're in the earth... I can feel that much. Not our Earth. There's no Cabeswater that I can feel." The last is said with a wince and a shake of his head. "I don't know if there's ley lines. I'm trying to reach out, but..." Again, he shakes his head. It almost hurts right now to reach out with Cabeswater, as if that vacant place inside of him is somehow hollowed out even more when he does. He feels like only half of himself got here... wherever here is.

"Advanced tech." He adds after a moment to swallow that discomfort down. "From what I've heard, there's a computer in charge."

[fictor]

Ronan would have been there early if it hadn't been for the training he'd gotten thrown into first thing. It had turned out to be kind of fun, but he was still deeply confused about this place and what the hell was going on. He's incredibly grateful to see Adam and it's clear (to anyone who knows Adam) that Adam is grateful to see him.

It is very Ronan. It's all forward movement and aggression, which is very like the boy now sitting next to Adam.

"Me too," he says in a quiet, gruff voice. "What room are you in?" So he can check up on Adam, of course. Possibly so he can sleep on the floor in Adam's room the way he had in the room above St Agnes.

Ronan glances above him and around him then nods in agreement. Yeah, that makes sense given what he's seen of the place. However...not our Earth? That gets some more confusion out of him. "I haven't tried dreaming." And when he tries to feel Cabeswater, Adam is enough Cabeswater to count for Ronan. As for the lack of ley lines...that could be very problematic for the both of them. "You can't find them." It's a statement, a finishing of Adam's sentence. He'll have to muse over what that means for him and for Adam.

"Yeah. These bracelet things," he raises his wrist so that Adam can see it. His leather bracelets are still there, but so is the digital one that this place put on him. "I thought maybe they were just trackers, but I think people use them to text and shit. They're like big ass Apple watches." He tilts his head. "That is seriously fucking Asimov." As in I, Robot. Ronan actually does read sometimes. "They know that didn't work out so well for him."

[adamparrish]

"Twelve-oh-eight." Adam answers the question, looking slightly uncomfortable even as he says it. The question of what room he's in might seem simple enough, but to Adam, it's anything but. He should be rooming with Ronan. Maybe he could sleep in the floor in Ronan's room. He knows Ronan will ask what his discomfort is so he quickly adds, "With some woman named Peggy."

As if the fact that she's a woman isn't an obvious enough discomfort, there's other more personal reasons Adam has problems with this. He's always had a hard time around people he doesn't know. He doesn't trust people as far as he could throw them, which isn't far. He doesn't trust them even less than he can throw them. Adam is probably not going to get much sleep for awhile.

"You?" He asks, hoping Ronan will be nearby.

The 'not our earth' bit is an assumption based on the simple fact that he can't feel Cabeswater yet. He knows how strange it sounds even as he says it. And yet, that makes it no less true to him. Cabeswater is too big to completely destroy. It spans the whole world. It never even occurs to him that his 'powers' have been dampened somewhat. If he can't feel Cabeswater then it isn't there, by his way of thinking. So he nods when Ronan says he can't find the ley lines. That's exactly right.

Adam has no idea what Asimov is. He's seen very few movies in his time unless his dad was watching something on the old TV in their trailer or the lot of them sat down and watched a movie. The lot of them being Gansey, Ronan, Noah and himself. Usually Adam had to work when those things happened though. Adam just pretends to know what that means with a nod and a shrug of his shoulders.

"So we're stuck here. And I guess we have jobs." Adam isn't sure how Ronan will do with a job. He's never had to have one before. "I've heard there are pretty serious repercussions for pissing off the AI in charge. I don't know what those repercussions are, but... be careful, okay?"

[fictor]

Yeah, he definitely notices how uncomfortable Adam is with the whole room thing, but he's also really busy being relieved. "Twelve-oh-nine. Right next door. I'm in there alone, so you can come crash if you want." It would probably be more comfortable for both of them simply because Ronan could keep an eye on Adam and Adam would be rooming with someone he knows. His brow furrows a little. "She nice?" The lady he's rooming with he means.

Yeah, it's a decent assumption based on what they do know. Ronan doesn't like it in any case, but most people probably don't.

Asimov is the author that wrote the book of short stories I, Robot that the movie was based off. Ronan had had to read it in one of his Lit classes at Aglionby a few years ago. The whole AI thing had made Ronan think about it as well as the way things hadn't turned out well for that society. However, Ronan doesn't explain any of this because Adam acts as if he knows and Ronan isn't going to fact check him. In the end, it matters very little because Adam gets the point Ronan was trying to make.

"Yeah. I'm something called crowd control," he snorts at that. Ronan isn't sure how he'll handle a job either. He's absolutely never had to have one. He's used to doing whatever the hell he wants. "I spent the morning playing war with some fucktards." Actually, Parker had been okay. In any case, he was reserving honest judgement on her for the moment. Authority? That's going to be the real issue here for Ronan. "Who'd you hear that from?"

[adamparrish]

"I haven't met her yet." Adam answers with a shrug, still planning to sleep in his own room, or maybe to split his time between the two. Adam Parrish is not one for breaking rules so much in his own world. Here, where he isn't sure what the consequences would be should he do something he shouldn't, he isn't sure. He wants to stay with Ronan, but he isn't sure it won't get them in trouble.

Crowd control? "Like police?" Adam asks, following it up with a smirk and a hint of amusement in his eyes that's there and gone again. Imagining Ronan in a cops uniform upholding the law is probably the best visual he's had in awhile.

He also doesn't understand how you play war, so he arches a brow that gives Ronan the silent question he hopes he doesn't have to ask out loud. Explain, Ronan. Explain how you play war. "Did you win?" He might be looking Ronan over for any injuries now, gaze sweeping up and down for any sign that he was hurt.

"I've just heard people talking about it." Adam can be somewhere and people don't notice he's there. People talk. This works in Adam's favor sometimes. Like right now. "And those pills you got with your stuff? They're supposed to make you happy and complacent. Don't do drugs."

[fictor]

Ronan won't push it. He's close enough to Adam's room that he can check on him if he needs to. Ronan doesn't mind getting into trouble, but he wants to know what the consequences are first, particularly if he's going to drag Adam into trouble with him.

Ronan smirks as well. Yeah, like police. "Apparently they didn't get the damn memo that I'm usually in the back of the police car." He's dangerously close to laughing at the idea of it.

"Nah," he shakes his head. "The chick that was training me was crazy good. We played laser tag though." And that had been awesome. He's not hurt at all. It had been relatively harmless.

Ronan frowns at that idea, brows pulling together, lips twisting in a scowl. "You're fucking kidding me? They're drugging us?" That's just shitty.

[adamparrish]

Adam is thankful that Ronan doesn't push it. Ronan might push boundaries with a certain amount of ease, but that's not Adam's way without knowing a little of what he's getting into first. Probably, the longer they're here, the more Adam will push those boundaries with Ronan. Right now he's just in too deep in unfamiliar territory.

"Stay out of the back of the police car, okay?" Adam says. "At least for a little while until we know what there is to know." Of course, he's speaking metaphorically. But he has no idea how to get Ronan out of the back of the police car in this place just yet. Eventually, hopefully, he'll know the ins and outs of getting Ronan out of trouble here.

It doesn't surprise him that Ronan didn't win. Neither of them are all that athletic and have never been to war. But the fact that it happened begs the question. "Did they give you a reason why you had to play war?" Were they expecting war? With who?

"They're trying to." He answers of the drugging. "Just don't take the pills. I'm not sure... if they'll ever try to force us to take them or not. But..." He shrugs. The idea of people drugged, of not being in his right mind and being unable to just go fix a ley line to make it better, disturbs him on so many levels. Adam Parrish is a boy who likes to be in control of himself.

[fictor]

The last thing that Ronan wants is to make this harder on Adam. He knows that his friend has to be reeling because Ronan is practically reeling as well, and his life back home isn't as scheduled and regimented as Adam's is (of course, it doesn't have to be). Ronan accepts the unfamiliar easier than Adam, and he knows this so no pushing, not for the moment.

Ronan smirks at Adam's phrasing. He knows that it's a metaphor and he appreciates it. "I'm not half good at that, but yeah...I'll see what I can do." Believe it or not, Ronan wants to know what the consequences for screwing up are here as well. He wants to make sure it's something he can squirm out of because he's got no desire to end up in a jail cell, or worse.

"Training drills," Ronan responds. "We played laser tag. I had recruits to look after. It was weird." Because no one in their right mind puts Ronan in charge of anything. He'll always figure out a way to screw it up. "I think maybe it's a military thing."

Ronan nods. "If anyone tries to force you to do anything, come to my room." He'll protect Adam as best he can. Of course, he doesn't know for sure that he can fight his way out of being forced to do anything here, but he wants to at least have that chance. Ronan doesn't mind being out of control, but he doesn't like being forced to do anything.

[shrinkage]

It's easy to spot new Specials. The haze Adam's in is clearly not that of a drugged-up native. There's a latent curiosity that Specials just can't seem to cover upon waking up in a brand new world. Being told you're a clone and that your memories aren't yours? Well, it's not helped by the fact that you get to experience some major culture shock in this place.

The Specials-haters aren't fun, either.

"Hi, I'm Ray." His large frame plops at the table Adam's procured for himself, and Ray flashes the newcomer a warm smile. "Sometimes the natives get brave when Specials go solo. You're new, but you'll catch on quick."

His head nods to the side, at the not-so-subtle collective glare coming from a few tables down. He also seems to have no trouble shoveling the soylent that's supposed to be breakfast into his mouth. The quicker the better...

[adamparrish]

Adam has yet to try his food when the man approaches and sits at his table. The explanation for the heated looks from another table is welcome. Not that Adam Parrish is used to being liked or popular, but usually there's a reason going into whatever someone feels about him. He's had to wonder if, even here, in these new clothes, they could tell that he's from the wrong side of town.

"They'd probably hate us less if we weren't called 'specials'." It makes it seem like they're better in some way, right? Which, they're not... right? "Like we're being set up for failure in the interpersonal relations department."

He makes himself look away from the other table, still wondering why the animosity is there in the first place. It's not like he had a choice in being here, in being (supposedly) cloned. Adam still isn't sure what he believes in what he was told and what he doesn't believe.

His fingers, dirt under the nails as always, curl around the handle of his spoon. "I'm Adam." His gaze gradually lifts to meet Ray's eyes, briefly, before he looks back to whatever this food is in front of him. "I don't really understand why we're here."

[shrinkage]

Ray figures he'll set the philosophical debate aside for now. His spoon clunks to the side of his tray as he pauses to try and remember what it was like for him over two weeks ago. Waking up, being disoriented. Missing home. Being told home wasn't actually home.

It had sucked beyond belief. Ray's tone turns less glib, now, as he attempts to persuade Adam to at least be cautious.

"Well, for starters, make sure you're careful who to talk to like that. Unless you want to get slapped with nonsense treasonous accusations and spend a day watching made-up history videos. I mean it could happen anyway but try not making it easy for them." Yeesh. Those videos were not fun. His voice lowers just above a whisper.

"Secondly, and more importantly? We're all still not sure. We're not even sure the clones are actually real."

[adamparrish]

What he said was treasonous? That's a surprise to Adam. He supposes, thinking back on it, that it sounds like he's speaking against the AI in charge who has dubbed them 'specials'. But that's just an opinion, a logical deduction for why those natives might not like them without even knowing them. Still, he hadn't intended to be treasonous by it.

Adam glances around warily with the warning before looking back to Ray. He seems like he knows all about the price of saying the wrong thing in front of the wrong people.

When he speaks more quietly, Adam leans in. "I've heard a rumor that we're all clones. How can that even be possible?" Adam shakes his head, sitting upright again. "Have you been accused of treason before?"

[shrinkage]

"No. And nobody's really sure what's possible."

That's totally a great answer, right? Very helpful.

"I don't want to say too much out in the open, here, but I wanted to warn you to be careful. You have to make the Computer believe you're following its directives but not well enough to piss off the people who can make your life hell." Which is hard in and of itself, not to mention being a Special on top of it.

"The technology here is incredibly advanced, and the Computer is pretty much ... insane."

[adamparrish]

Insane computers. Adam is mentally making a list of all the ways in which this could be so much worse than it is. It makes him feel better, and thankfully he has enough of an imagination to make the list considerably longer than most people probably could.

He lowers his voice, leaning in just a bit before he speaks again. He's going to take that advice to heart, that he should be careful what he says and around who.

"What are the pills?" He asks. The pills that had come with the jumpsuit and various other items when he arrived.

[shrinkage]

"The HappiTime, yeah. Pretty much drugs to keep the populace calm and malleable. Might want to pretend to be taking them." Don't be like Ray and actually take them for a week because of confusion and peer pressure.

It's a tough call, deciding how to act in Alpha. There's so little knowledge among them and so much paranoia that any knowledge obtained isn't necessarily trustworthy. In Ray's opinion though? It's worth the risk of getting burned. If it means sparing someone else hardship.

"There's a secure network where the Specials can talk privately. Do you have your PDC on you? It's really simple to enable the encryption and access the other posts."

[adamparrish]

"Oh I haven't... I haven't taken any. Just trying to understand." Pills to make people calm and malleable? That's terrifying. Which is saying something since Adam has seen a few terrifying things along the way. He's going to have to remember to tell Ronan not to take the pills no matter what. They both need to be in their right mind if they're going to get out of here.

Yes, Adam is still new enough to think they can find a way out.

"Yeah, I..." He hands over his PDC after only a moment's hesitation. He has to trust right now that Ray isn't playing him in some way, even just in this small thing. "How did we get a secure network? Did someone hack the system?" Still, his voice is low and quiet so as not to be overheard.

[shrinkage]

"Yeah, but-- they like to know that you're toeing the line. It's not too hard to pop one in public and spit it out in private, at least."

One of the many stupid hoops they had to jump through just to keep from being too conspicuous (you know, aside from also being a Special).

Ray reaches over the table, oblivious to any uncertainty on Adam's part. His demeanor, while irritatingly upbeat, is also impossibly genuine. He doesn't really anticipate other people not operating in the same manner.

"A Special set it up, and he adds new Specials as soon as you arrive-- see you just access the network here, and you can put in different encryptions. See, there. He already sent you the instructions for our network, as well as how to encrypt messages to a single person if you want." Hardison's work is extremely thorough; Ray thinks he might be as good a hacker as his favorite blonde back home, even.

[geekage]

Hardison beats him to the punch, approaching him early in the morning at the briefing. He's gotten good at spotting the new specials, not that it's that difficult. The reds coming from the INFRARED barracks all look comfortable and complacent in their outfits, the specials usually don't. That and most of the natives have the same terrible hair cuts.

He waits until the briefing is over before making his way to the newbie. "Hey, you're new, huh? Let me guess, you just woke up in this twilight zone yesterday?" He doesn't give him time to respond. "Welcome to the opposite of paradise."

[adamparrish]

Adam isn't all that used to being noticed. But, he acknowledges, that here he must step out like a sore thumb compared to most. It doesn't look like very many other people have that wide-eyed, deer caught in headlights look that Adam is certain he's sporting at the moment. Adam's hair is a mess too, just long enough to stick out every which way. It isn't often he gets time or makes time for a haircut, at least not back in Henrietta.

The man who approaches him has a very relaxed, with an air of 'cool' about him, which makes Adam feel just a little bit awkward. He's that poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks that people like this guy usually don't talk to or even notice. He's the kind of guy that Adam wishes he could be but knows he never will be.

Such an apt description: 'opposite of paradise', maybe a bit foreboding. It makes Adam smirk and look down to the floor. "I keep waiting to wake up." He says, which is ironic since he keeps waiting to wake up at home too. Wake up, Adam. Wake up. "I'm Adam."

[geekage]

If Hardison thought that he was coming across as 'cool' he'd probably break out into a large smile. He likes to think of himself as so, but strictly in his inner geek circles. Still, he's always had the gift of gab. It's part of the reason why he works so well as a conman. Or did, before he went semi-straight.

"I'm Hardison," he says, offering his hand and a small nod. "I've been here for a few weeks." Even if it feels like it's been years. He'd like nothing more than to wake up in his own bed and in his own life again. Instead, he's stuck here.

"If you've got a second, I'll give you the rundown on the Specials. That's what they call those of us who get to skip the worst of the indentured servitude."

[adamparrish]

After only a slight hesitation, Adam takes Hardison's hand and shakes it. It's an intentionally firm handshake that isn't really Adam's. He'd stolen it from Gansey, his friend back home who always seems to have everything together, who knows how to make a good impression on people. This is Gansey's handshake. Adam, who is a little more shy and nothing of the caliber of Gansey, is just borrowing it.

"A few weeks means you know a lot more than me." In which case, Adam has all the seconds to give because he needs to know everything Hardison knows. Adam is a truth seeker. He wants to know everything he can, his surroundings, how things work, etc. Right now he feels very lucky that someone with knowledge has spoken to him and is willing to impart that knowledge. Adam isn't used to being lucky.

He nods quickly. "So they think I'm special too?" He asks. "Is that what we are here? Servants?"

[geekage]

"Might as well be," Hardison said, though he lowered his voice as an ORANGE jumpsuit walked by. He took a breath and glanced around. "Where did they assign you?"

He hasn't quite been able to make the emergency services gig work for him, but he's waiting for the right moment. At least he gets access to the things that are happening in real time. If the Specials can pool their resources and their talents, who knows what they can do.

"They call us specials because they think we get special treatment. It's not a compliment. In fact, there's a group that has made it known they have no problem attacking us. So watch your back and don't go places alone if you can help it."

[adamparrish]

Oh. Well that doesn't sound very good. Adam has been working himself to the bone for so long, but that was out of sheer survival and wanting to get out of where he is. This is something entirely different. "Consolidated Motorized Transport" He answers quietly. "I'm... good at fixing things, making things work."

He looks back up to Hardison, wondering if that could help their situation here at all but unwilling to actually ask just in case the answer was a big, fat, resounding 'no'. Adam can't abide being useless. It just isn't in his DNA.

This place is sounding more and more dangerous, the more he learns. He's suddenly very thankful that Ronan is here. Ronan is a fighter, has protected Adam several times before. Adam, well, he has his reasons for being slower to fight back, for being more vulnerable. Adam is more of a survivor than a fighter. There's a difference.

"I'll be careful." He says with a quick glance around. "They just attack for no reason? Have you been attacked?"