Event Log - Level One

[lucetimods]

Who: Everybody
What: Lucetians reverted back to level one!
When: Well. Now. Right away. It ends on the 25th, so chop chop.
Where: In Luceti. You think you guys are getting out of here after that stunt you just pulled?
Summary: Well. So sometimes the Malnosso actually do legitimate experiments that aren't heaped in heavy plot. This is one of those times. Look, just go read the mod post, would you?
Rating: P for Prologue-licious.

Remember to tag with your character like so: [canon] character name

ALSO, all the journals will be completely wiped clean for the duration of this event. Nothing prior to this log will appear on the journals until after the 25th. So good luck figuring things out!

Comments

[semper_cogitans]

[It's only long after Don has left that Robert can bring himself to move again. He realizes, almost dully, that he's been crying.

Why? Why did Don seem to not recognize him, or - worse - not want to be around him? Why did he act so differently from usual? If the Malnosso are responsible - and he hopes against hope that they are - then what have they done to his memory?

The scientist tries to check his journal - only to discover that it's empty. Completely and totally empty.

There's nothing. No evidence he could use to back up any of his claims in it. No... anything.

He doesn't even know what to think.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don has been in the tunnels a few days. He's established a lair, but hasn't been able to locate his family. His Shell Cell is nowhere to be found and his sewer-sign has gone unanswered.]

[He did find a neat little bundle of food, and took it with him: not to eat, but to see what would happen. Another bundle appeared and he took that too.]

[Now, he's staking out the tunnel intersection where the packages were left. He has his suspicions about who's behind this, and he can't deny he's curious about the strangely-submissive human from the other morning. Maybe, it wouldn't hurt just to watch...]

[semper_cogitans]

[Let's give Robert some credit - it took him only a few hours to analyze the situation enough to make a declaration. Experiment. Empty journals, random amnesia - and the clincher was noticing children (including Helios) who had not been.

He's still not exactly certain of what the experiment entails, but he has deduced by now that it involves a sort of "rewinding" of people, and he has been (thankfully) spared the trauma of regressing to a time before Luceti. However, it's even more apparent by now that Don hasn't.

And Don, he knows all-too-well, is a ninja at his core. He is doing what he does best: blending seamlessly into the shadows. Robert may be aware of some of what Don has learned, but he's not nearly gifted enough to trace the Turtle.

So he did something else.

Robert arrives at precisely nine fifty-two a.m., and approaches the third tunnel intersection. He has a strange, almost-ominous feeling as he deposits the carefully-organized-and-bound container of donburi at the same spot he left it before, close to the wall. He's about to step back and leave the tunnels again, but something compels him to hesitate a moment...]

[i_speak_softly]

[At last, Don's vigil is rewarded, and he freezes in fear: partly of the human, partly that Master Splinter will find him at exactly this moment and he will be in so much trouble. His heart races, but he forces himself to stay completely still, hidden in the shadows.]

[semper_cogitans]

[The scientist, observant as he is, is vaguely aware of... something. He doesn't know what, but something.

Not certain what to do, he hesitates, drawing back a few paces but not leaving... waiting for the something to materialize itself.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don doesn't like this. All his instincts are telling him to stay silent until the human goes away. On the other hand, his instincts don't seem to count for much in this strange place he's suddenly wound up in.]

[He turns his head, so his voice will echo off the walls and disguise his true location.]

Hey, you.

[semper_cogitans]

[Don's voice. Robert goes stock-still, and the smallest of strained smiles flickers across his face.]

Ah... hello.

[He picks his words carefully to placate Don, oblivious to just how strange it seems to have the reaction he's currently having.]

[i_speak_softly]

["Hello"? That's it?]

Who are you?

[Since you didn't answer that one the first time.]

[semper_cogitans]

... My name is... Professor Robert Hastings. [Robert tugs at the lapel of his lab coat almost self-consciously.] I come from a... a variant, of your planet in its f-future... termed "multiversions" in my culture...

[He stops, waiting for Don to process this information and not certain of how the Turtle will react to it. He has precious little to convince him with...]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don noticed the lab coat, and he doesn't like it.]

My planet? I'm not an alien, pal.

[semper_cogitans]

I know. [Robert ticks his gaze slightly to the side, searching for those familiar eyes.] I am... simply unused to referring to my planet as... anything else, I s-suppose... even after so long spent here in Luceti...

[A pause. He's not really sure how to sum up the years of time he's spent with the Hamato family in any way that's convincing.]

... Luceti is... the name of this compound. All of those here are... impounded by callous "scientists" [- still bitter, and clearly forced when he says this -] who modify the conditions of the enclosure to... s-suit their needs, generally without our consent. This... is an example of such a modification...

... I can... p-provide evidence to you. [Hopefully.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don shifts backwards, taking care not to show himself.]

You don't make a lot of sense, do you know that?

[semper_cogitans]

... I a-apologize. As a scientist, it... is in my n-nature to attempt to provide accurate information, but... the information itself is... d-difficult to frame without the proper reference...

[He trails off helplessly, and then adds in a quieter voice:]

... I... I was c-concerned for you. Presumably, you... were aware of my leaving food for your sake... [Else he probably wouldn't be talking to Don right now.]

[i_speak_softly]

[That sounds way too much like what Don says to his brothers when they tell him to slow down and speak English. He's pretty sure this human just called him stupid.]

I noticed. Why are you doing that?

[semper_cogitans]

[More like "doesn't remember anything" than stupid, but the effect is sadly similar in this case.]

Because I... [Robert hesitates, looking pained, before trying to broach the topic in a way that isn't quite so... uncomfortable.] I... have a v-vested interest in your safety... we are very c-close.

Or... well... w-were, until... you were made to forget...

[i_speak_softly]

[That's mildly creepy.]

I know what you're up to.

[He has no idea but lying is always a good strategy.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Tiredly:] And what do you s-suspect? That I will... injure you? [Or worse? The thought that Don is actively analyzing him as a threat makes his skin crawl.]

[i_speak_softly]

[In an equally resigned tone:]

Why wouldn't you?

[semper_cogitans]

I have nothing to gain. Even if... I were not an a-astrobiologist, unaccustomed to non-humans, and t-the sort to be violent for... no l-logical reason, that behaviour is thoroughly condemned here. I would... be o-ostracized from a community I could not leave.

And furthermore, as I... a-already explained - I have a vested interest in your s-safety. I... realize how strange that must s-sound to you... and I cannot ask you to trust me in good conscience yet... b-but I would like to have an opportunity to... corroborate my statements...

[i_speak_softly]

[A very long pause, as Donatello tries to piece together all the context implied by these statements. He's having a very hard time coming up with anything that's coherent and fits with what he knows about humans.]

[Finally, in a small voice:]

What do you... want, with me?

[semper_cogitans]

[I want you to come home.]

Nothing beyond... a ch-chance to explain. ... You... you must be a-afraid... like many of the others here s-suffering the effects of the experiment...

[i_speak_softly]

[Don is unbearably torn. What is this professor's so-called "interest" in him? Has he already been subjected to some sort of experiment? On the other hand, with no one else to turn to, can he really pass up a chance at getting some of his questions answered?]

[He jumps silently down from his hiding place, letting just his outline be seen in the dim light.]

I'm listening.

[semper_cogitans]

[Even that outline alone stabs at Robert's chest. It's easy to see how thin Don is now - so small, so undernourished...

... And so short. Though the Turtle's muscles are as obvious as ever (are they moreso? He can't tell...) he's so shortened that he's actually shorter than the man himself. That is definitely a strange feeling.

Robert brushes it off and begins his explanation.]

... This compound, Luceti, is... one of many s-similar compounds run by the M-Malnosso. Individuals like ourselves... are d-drawn into the greater world surrounding these compounds by poorly-understood f-forces. Experiments on us are... an a-attempt to control and reverse these forces; the Malnosso themselves were taken from their homes by the s-same process, and wish to reverse it...

We have both been here... s-several years; I, on the twenty-first of January t-two years ago... you, on the twelfth of F-February three years prior. By the time I arrived, you... h-had already settled into Luceti, and... what I know of that time stems from what I have been told by y-yourself and others...

... Normally, I... would be able to give you the journals - c-communication devices of Luceti - as r-reference for my statements. However... [He places his journal on the floor slowly, in full view of the Turtle, and turns the pages. They're all blank.] ... It seems that the Malnosso p-pre-empted us. So I must... r-resort to other measures...

[i_speak_softly]

[A whole book full of blank pages? That's a rare and valuable find.]

[But more to the point.]

I think you've got a few things wrong. This island is inhabited by the Manhattanites, who are drawn here by delusions of wild success in the big city. Poor transportation infrastructure makes escape nearly impossible.

I've lived here my whole life; you've just arrived. The lights and noise can be disorienting that way, but you'll get used to it. [He points to the journal.] Do you want me to draw you a map?

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert blinks slowly, uncertain how to respond, before frowning over at Don.]

Er... have you not r-realized that this area contains nothing like your N-New York City...? The closest that Luceti possesses is a simulation... one you b-built yourself...

[Look, Don, Robert really understands that this is kind of a lot to take in, but blatantly denying reality doesn't help anyone. (Not that he honestly has a lot of evidence as to explaining this reality properly. But nobody does.)]