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]

... 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.)]

[i_speak_softly]

[... He didn't mention the name of the city.]

You're confused, Professor.

[semper_cogitans]

[It's a good thing Robert doesn't have to lie, right?]

Confused about... what? [He's the one trying to explain things to you. He doesn't have the leeway to be confused.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Damn it, cornered.]

Let's say I believe you. What have I been doing here for the past three years?

[semper_cogitans]

What you generally could not do at h-home. [A small smile.] Researching as much as the l-library here allows... building your engineered inventions both l-large and small with what is available... sh-sharing your intelligence with others. At one point you attended Luceti's school... [His voice trails off, cracks a little, and the man visibly has to compose himself.]

... Sometimes there have been... d-drafts, involuntary taking of the population for wars the M-Malnosso wage. You have fought in those. And... so have I.

... And always the e-experiments. Approximately once a m-month. Those... are often interesting. [He says it in an irritable sort of way.]

[i_speak_softly]

[He could go to the library? And school? Don's excitement at this news might be evident even in the dim lighting, but it's replaced by a dark anger at the next part.]

What kind of experiments?

[semper_cogitans]

Ones just like this. The Malnosso... e-edit us, edit the compound; their methodology is such that I cannot explain it, and neither can a-any of the brightest minds here... they tell us l-little, I suppose to prevent us from manipulating it to our advantage...

... I have had my b-body and mind altered in various ways many times over the c-course of my stay here. Sometimes the changes are s-subtle... but sometimes they are quite... striking. [A pause.] The Malnosso... made me a Trachemys scripta elegans, mutatens once.

[He lets that idea hang, for a moment.]

[i_speak_softly]

... What?

[Not "what does that mean" but "what did you just say".]

[semper_cogitans]

A Trachemys scripta elegans, mutatens. [He repeats it, a little flatly but not unkindly.] To this day, I am entirely uncertain how it was m-managed so efficiently and so effectively...

... And it is not even the only time my s-species has been altered. [Though not usually so dramatically.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don comes forward, just a little, so that the light shows the color of his skin and shell.]

Do the letters 'TCRI' mean anything to you?

[semper_cogitans]

[What a sight for sore eyes. Robert tries to restrain his overt feelings, but the relief on his face is palpable anyway.]

Yes. I have been... t-told about this aspect of your life before. [But not by you-you, Past Don.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don is just baffled at that reaction. This is not at all what he expected his first conversation with a human to be like.]

[He inches another step into the light.]

You're not afraid of me.

[semper_cogitans]

I could never be afraid of you. [Oh, that he could hold Don's hands and tell him everything was alright... but realistically that gesture would just be confusing right now.]