Sixty-Fifth Theory [Video]

[i_speak_softly]

[The video feed clicks on, and Don looks thoughtfully at the camera for a moment before speaking.]

Another Christmas in Luceti.

[His tone is direct, just stating a fact, but somewhere behind it is a note of melancholy.]

This is my third. All of them have been in this house. All of them have been with different people.

[He slides back from the journal, revealing a corner of his winter room. He's been gradually moving into it over the past week, and has more or less taken up residence now.]

I've seen a lot of people come and go. There probably aren't many left who remember when Luceti didn't have electricity.

[He picks up some small bit of tech and squints at it.]

When I arrived here, the drafts were just starting. There were no missions. The Battle Dome didn't exist. We didn't have a farm and there was a desert where the ocean is now.

[He carefully threads a length of wire through a hole in the tech part.]

The buildings were shorter. Some of the stores and restaurants weren't open. [A pause.] I think I'm forgetting things...

[The wire slides through, and he knots the loose ends to form a loop.]

Does anyone remember other things that have changed? Or, does anyone want a history lesson? I'll be here all day.

Comments

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

As long as I'm just doing it on my own, yeah.

[It's showing it to friends, or even worse as a school assignment, that she gets caught in horrible writer's block and uncertainty instead.

Should have seen the one where her best friend ran off to marry the school quarterback...]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Be careful with it. Things have a way of getting unintentionally shared around here.

Re: [Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

I've noticed that sometimes. So I think I'll take your advice about the written journal instead. All I have to worry about then is keeping it hidden from prying eyes.

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

No, I mean everything. You never know when an experiment might compel you to share things you normally wouldn't.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

[She... hadn't thought of that.]

So how do we avoid that? [Not that she has a shot of earning a barcode patch even if someone tells her about them. She has no skills or experience that would help on most missions.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Locks and good hiding places are sometimes effective.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

Wouldn't I just unlock anything I locked away if I was in some sort of fugue state?

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Possibly, but at least you would make it more difficult for yourself. Intelligence and memory often suffer in experiments.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

Those are two of the few things I have around here. [The second she even starts accepting Luceti's weirdness, she has to accept that she's normal. Powerless. Insignificant. In danger. She doesn't want to consider that.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Tell me about it.

[Seriously. He's been living it for almost three years.]

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

I don't think your 'malnosso' are all that sharp, though. Between me here, and bringing Quinn.

[No, really. There's nothing remarkable about them - two teenage girls from everywhere, USA.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

[He doesn't immediately follow Daria's train of thought.]

What do you mean?

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

If this is about experiments, there's nothing out of the ordinary about us. And if it's about fighting some war or whatever, we're not soldiers, either.

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

[Ah.]

The going theory is that the Malnosso aren't responsible for this, and don't choose who comes here. The world itself does that.

Re: [Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

I've heard some of that. There's some evidence for it, too. But they're still the ones doing everything else, right? [So she's still not fully convinced this doesn't fit right into their plans.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

So it seems.

[Your theory is as good as anyone else's.]

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

So it doesn't get us any further. We need a new train of thought.

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

I would be delighted to hear one.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

Just as soon as I find some immigrants to lay out the tracks, I'll be right with you on that.

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

[That's a new idiom for him, and it takes a minute to figure out.]

Right. Anyway, you really should come to the science club meetings. This is exactly what we talk about.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

[Yeah. That will erase the 'brain' stigma. On the other hand, they still sound like the sort of club she'd actually have something in common with. Not bad.]

I'll still be there. Are there a lot of members?

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Some. It's hard to keep a consistent group around here.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

I can imagine. I see a lot about people leaving lately. [Wish they'd take everyone else home, too.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

To be fair, the meetings themselves haven't been very consistent either.

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

Well... I can see why, somewhere like this. But if it bothers you, why not call a few more, more often?