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[LP CYOA] Spiral
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Sakimura flicks the light switch. On, then off, then on again. The fluorescent light bulbs embedded in the ceiling refuse to light up, leaving the office in a state of permanent gloom. “Is the power not working in this room?” he asks. You glance at the blinking multicoloured lights on the computers – the answer is rather obvious – but say nothing.
Maeda walks over to one of the sleek desktop machines and moves the mouse, jolting the computer from its hibernation. Her face is lit up with a pale blue glow. “The password is…” Her eyes dart to the sticky notes placed all around the monitor. “Let’s try that one.” The keyboard breaks the silence with a clicking noise as Maeda’s fingers dance across it. She taps the final key with a flourish. A revolving hour-glass appears on the screen for a brief second before the log-in screen fades away, granting her access to the computer.
“Wow, that was great, Nami-nee!” exclaims Sakimura.
“Call me that again and I will remove your testicles.” Maeda turns her attention back to the computer and begins searching through the folders.
“The files should be organized by keywords,” comments Mori quietly.
“Yes, yes, I know,” sighs Maeda, scrolling through a dozen windows quickly while the cursor darts around the screen with expert control. The Kaimei heiress is surprisingly good with computers – it is certainly unexpected to you, considering her appearance. “Here, this is what we should have on Shinichi’s project.” She opens up a database application detailing the multiple research projects carried out in the hospital, and searches for Taketatsu’s name. You draw in closer to take a look at it, pushing your spectacles up in anticipation.
You murmur the title of the project in a hushed voice. Does it sound familiar to you? You cannot remember. The soft, sweet breath of a girl blows by your ear, and you jump with a start. Uehara has snuck up behind you, peering closely at the screen over your shoulder.
“Sorry,” she smiles, “I just wanted to take a look too. It’s quite complicated, isn’t it?”
Maeda speaks, “That’s what Shinichi was working on. Of course, they called it the soul.”
“Soul?” asks Mori. “You mean… a person’s spirit?”
“Yes. If my memory is correct, Shinichi once implied that the American researcher, Cooper, brought over some data from his partners over at IAE indicating that observation of the human soul was possible via the brain. They had some crackpot theory that observation was necessary for existence, some bastardization of quantum physics that I can't believe ever got funding.”
“That sounds ludicrous. Can the soul even be measured like that?” asks Sakimura disbelievingly.
“Exactly. As far as I’m concerned, they’re just attempting to look at brain patterns and call it the soul. I never liked this project in the first place. It doesn’t even seem to have borne any fruit in the past five years,” sighs Maeda. “Which was why I wanted to inspect it more closely for any irregularities.”
You can understand her concerns; she probably does not want her family to throw the last of its fortunes into what might end up being some sort of complicated money-laundering operation. But still, there are some questions left to be answered. “I’m sorry, Maeda-san, but the summary seems quite brief compared to some of the other projects,” you point out.
“That’s… true,” frowns Maeda, scrolling through the list.
“There is also a name that seems out of place there… Dr. Usui Hiroki,” you continue.
“Why, what of him?”
“His staff card shows him as a doctor assigned to the general wards,” you explain. “I think you will remember him as the dead doctor who… attacked us earlier.” The memory of the event causes your wound to twinge – the hand has gone mostly numb by now, and your fingers are finding it hard to even move, but since you have disinfected it as well as you can, you will have to let your natural healing do the rest.
“Ah. Him,” scowls Maeda. “Thank you for reminding us, Shinoseki-san.”
“I suppose,” muses Mori, “it is strange that one of the project leaders would be doing daily rounds in the general wards. Well-spotted, Shinoseki.” He walks a short distance away, leaning against the doorframe. “Right. Well-spotted,” he mutters, staring into empty space.
“If we are pursuing this further, maybe we should investigate this particular room,” suggests Uehara suddenly. “There. Room B4-13. That’s in the basement, right?”
“They would probably keep the detailed records in the laboratories upstairs. I’ve been there once; they have their own offices in the laboratory area,” says Maeda. “I’m not sure the basement room will be of any help.”
Uehara giggles. “What is the basement room for, then?”
Maeda is stumped as she tries to think of a reason. “It’s… for their research, obviously.”
“Yes, but for what part of their research exactly? I think we should head there instead.”
“The keycard-“
“Dr. Usui was a project lead,” interrupts Uehara. “Shinoseki-san said that just now. Didn’t you? You do have the keycard, right?” She turns to you, a pleasant smile still on her face. “I’m sure you have that, at least.”
“Y-Yes, I do,” you nod quickly; you cannot help but back away under the force of her personality.
Uehara claps her hands together. “Perfect!”
“Oh, have it your way,” sighs Maeda. “I hardly care either way.” Throwing her hands up in the air, she turns back to the computer. Her finger stops a single button press away from shutting down the computer. “Wait… since I’m here…” she mutters, and begins typing. You glance at the screen: she is inputting a name.
Shinohara Seiji.
“Shinohara… Seiji…” you murmur under your breath.
“Hm? What did you say, Shinoseki-san?” Uehara asks. You weren’t aware that she was paying attention to your mumbling. And isn’t her hearing a bit too sharp? you think uncharitably.
“I… uh… I was just looking at what Maeda-san was typing,” you explain haltingly.
“You are a very nosy person.”
A short while later, the application has completed its search, detailing a single project that this friend of Maeda’s has worked on:
OMOIKANE. There are no details whatsoever; the page is even less informative than the previous one. The project itself seems to be titled after the god of wisdom, Omoikane. You recall its role in traditional religion: Omoikane is said to be the counsel of the deities, and a god with the ability to combine the thoughts or mental powers of myriad entities into one mind.
“Well, that isn’t helpful at all,” complains Maeda; despite her rough words, there is a slight smile on her face. She is probably pleased to have found any link at all to her childhood friend. Her smile is wiped out a second later by a startled frown. “Wha- hey!” With a loud, buzzing noise, the screen of the computer flickers wildly before shutting off.
Track: lullaby
An irritating, sharp hum begins to rise in the inside of your mind. Your shoulders shudder involuntarily. The temperature of the room seems to have dropped. There is a distant chime, and an echoing song.
Something is coming.
We should leave.
“Mori-san, are you okay?” Sakimura asks. “M-Mori-san?”
Mori, who had been standing at the doorway, has turned around so that his large frame now fully blocks the exit. He appears to be muttering something rapidly, his pale, dry lips moving quickly over and over again. In the fragments of his mumbling you catch a word… a name. And an apology. His eyes are wild, but focused – following his gaze, you catch the flicker of a silhouette in the center of the room. Don’t look at it. A small, short silhouette, fuzzy with static, like it just stepped out of an old television set. Don’t look at it. It almost looks like the form a little girl. Don't look at it.
“W-What is that?” cries Maeda, backing away from the shadow, hiding her face behind her palms.
Uehara maintains a cautious distance from it, though her eyes are focused on you rather than on the thing or on Mori. She shakes her head at you silently. Do not do anything rash – that seems to be the message she is giving you.
“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry-” Mori’s droning apology grows in volume as beads of cold sweat begin to drip down his face. His eyes are more sunken than before, the pallor of his face deathly. A dark, undulating shadow seems to grow in his irises, washing across the white sclera in a black wave.
“Hey, Mori-san! Snap out of it!” Sakimura shakes him by the shoulders, but Mori does not respond, his stare fixed on that particular spot, on the strange shade that is blinking in and out of existence.
I’m so sorry, Saki.
“I’m so sorry, Kana.”
You hear two voices simultaneously - one with your ears, and one inside your head. Both are apologizing, though the names... the subjects of the apology... are different. Reaching into his coat, Mori pulls out his gun and aims it at his temple. You can see a black swirl under the back of his hand, just under his skin, creeping as if it is something alive.
“H-Hey!” shouts Sakimura in a panic. “Mori-san!” He tries to grab at the pistol, but Mori pushes him away with a powerful, one-handed shove. As the schoolboy tumbles to the ground, Mori’s dark eyes move away from the shade and lock with yours. His gaze conveys a jumble of feelings, but one particular emotion pulses darkly beneath it all.
Despair.
***
04:00
A. You leap towards Mori and try to pry his gun away. If you consider the current angle of his elbow carefully, you might be able to apply more leverage and succeed where Sakimura had failed.
B. You attempt to knock Mori out with a single blow by aiming for his neck with a powerful chop. If you do it right, he will lose consciousness before he can even pull the trigger of the gun.
C. You hurl the bottle of alcohol at Mori, breaking it on his head – perhaps that will stop him. You recall that sake could drive away ghosts. Of course, that was consecrated sake, and what you are throwing isn’t even sake, but as long as it’s alcohol, maybe it’ll work.
D. Alcohol is flammable. You have a lighter. Ghosts are scared of fire... right? You light up the bottle and throw it at the shade at the center of the room. Fire is purifying.
E. You rush Mori and jam the finger of your injured hand into the barrel of his gun. All the other ways you can think of have the chance of failing, but this is fool-proof in terms of stopping the bullet. Of course, you can’t expect to do much with your hand afterwards.
F. You do nothing but stand and watch. There is nothing you can do. Uehara is right: you shouldn't do anything rash. It is terrible, but you would rather not risk drawing any attention to yourself. Besides, once Mori is gone, you can pick up his gun.
Maeda walks over to one of the sleek desktop machines and moves the mouse, jolting the computer from its hibernation. Her face is lit up with a pale blue glow. “The password is…” Her eyes dart to the sticky notes placed all around the monitor. “Let’s try that one.” The keyboard breaks the silence with a clicking noise as Maeda’s fingers dance across it. She taps the final key with a flourish. A revolving hour-glass appears on the screen for a brief second before the log-in screen fades away, granting her access to the computer.
“Wow, that was great, Nami-nee!” exclaims Sakimura.
“Call me that again and I will remove your testicles.” Maeda turns her attention back to the computer and begins searching through the folders.
“The files should be organized by keywords,” comments Mori quietly.
“Yes, yes, I know,” sighs Maeda, scrolling through a dozen windows quickly while the cursor darts around the screen with expert control. The Kaimei heiress is surprisingly good with computers – it is certainly unexpected to you, considering her appearance. “Here, this is what we should have on Shinichi’s project.” She opens up a database application detailing the multiple research projects carried out in the hospital, and searches for Taketatsu’s name. You draw in closer to take a look at it, pushing your spectacles up in anticipation.
You murmur the title of the project in a hushed voice. Does it sound familiar to you? You cannot remember. The soft, sweet breath of a girl blows by your ear, and you jump with a start. Uehara has snuck up behind you, peering closely at the screen over your shoulder.
“Sorry,” she smiles, “I just wanted to take a look too. It’s quite complicated, isn’t it?”
Maeda speaks, “That’s what Shinichi was working on. Of course, they called it the soul.”
“Soul?” asks Mori. “You mean… a person’s spirit?”
“Yes. If my memory is correct, Shinichi once implied that the American researcher, Cooper, brought over some data from his partners over at IAE indicating that observation of the human soul was possible via the brain. They had some crackpot theory that observation was necessary for existence, some bastardization of quantum physics that I can't believe ever got funding.”
“That sounds ludicrous. Can the soul even be measured like that?” asks Sakimura disbelievingly.
“Exactly. As far as I’m concerned, they’re just attempting to look at brain patterns and call it the soul. I never liked this project in the first place. It doesn’t even seem to have borne any fruit in the past five years,” sighs Maeda. “Which was why I wanted to inspect it more closely for any irregularities.”
You can understand her concerns; she probably does not want her family to throw the last of its fortunes into what might end up being some sort of complicated money-laundering operation. But still, there are some questions left to be answered. “I’m sorry, Maeda-san, but the summary seems quite brief compared to some of the other projects,” you point out.
“That’s… true,” frowns Maeda, scrolling through the list.
“There is also a name that seems out of place there… Dr. Usui Hiroki,” you continue.
“Why, what of him?”
“His staff card shows him as a doctor assigned to the general wards,” you explain. “I think you will remember him as the dead doctor who… attacked us earlier.” The memory of the event causes your wound to twinge – the hand has gone mostly numb by now, and your fingers are finding it hard to even move, but since you have disinfected it as well as you can, you will have to let your natural healing do the rest.
“Ah. Him,” scowls Maeda. “Thank you for reminding us, Shinoseki-san.”
“I suppose,” muses Mori, “it is strange that one of the project leaders would be doing daily rounds in the general wards. Well-spotted, Shinoseki.” He walks a short distance away, leaning against the doorframe. “Right. Well-spotted,” he mutters, staring into empty space.
“If we are pursuing this further, maybe we should investigate this particular room,” suggests Uehara suddenly. “There. Room B4-13. That’s in the basement, right?”
“They would probably keep the detailed records in the laboratories upstairs. I’ve been there once; they have their own offices in the laboratory area,” says Maeda. “I’m not sure the basement room will be of any help.”
Uehara giggles. “What is the basement room for, then?”
Maeda is stumped as she tries to think of a reason. “It’s… for their research, obviously.”
“Yes, but for what part of their research exactly? I think we should head there instead.”
“The keycard-“
“Dr. Usui was a project lead,” interrupts Uehara. “Shinoseki-san said that just now. Didn’t you? You do have the keycard, right?” She turns to you, a pleasant smile still on her face. “I’m sure you have that, at least.”
“Y-Yes, I do,” you nod quickly; you cannot help but back away under the force of her personality.
Uehara claps her hands together. “Perfect!”
“Oh, have it your way,” sighs Maeda. “I hardly care either way.” Throwing her hands up in the air, she turns back to the computer. Her finger stops a single button press away from shutting down the computer. “Wait… since I’m here…” she mutters, and begins typing. You glance at the screen: she is inputting a name.
Shinohara Seiji.
“Shinohara… Seiji…” you murmur under your breath.
“Hm? What did you say, Shinoseki-san?” Uehara asks. You weren’t aware that she was paying attention to your mumbling. And isn’t her hearing a bit too sharp? you think uncharitably.
“I… uh… I was just looking at what Maeda-san was typing,” you explain haltingly.
“You are a very nosy person.”
A short while later, the application has completed its search, detailing a single project that this friend of Maeda’s has worked on:
OMOIKANE. There are no details whatsoever; the page is even less informative than the previous one. The project itself seems to be titled after the god of wisdom, Omoikane. You recall its role in traditional religion: Omoikane is said to be the counsel of the deities, and a god with the ability to combine the thoughts or mental powers of myriad entities into one mind.
“Well, that isn’t helpful at all,” complains Maeda; despite her rough words, there is a slight smile on her face. She is probably pleased to have found any link at all to her childhood friend. Her smile is wiped out a second later by a startled frown. “Wha- hey!” With a loud, buzzing noise, the screen of the computer flickers wildly before shutting off.
Track: lullaby
An irritating, sharp hum begins to rise in the inside of your mind. Your shoulders shudder involuntarily. The temperature of the room seems to have dropped. There is a distant chime, and an echoing song.
Something is coming.
We should leave.
“Mori-san, are you okay?” Sakimura asks. “M-Mori-san?”
Mori, who had been standing at the doorway, has turned around so that his large frame now fully blocks the exit. He appears to be muttering something rapidly, his pale, dry lips moving quickly over and over again. In the fragments of his mumbling you catch a word… a name. And an apology. His eyes are wild, but focused – following his gaze, you catch the flicker of a silhouette in the center of the room. Don’t look at it. A small, short silhouette, fuzzy with static, like it just stepped out of an old television set. Don’t look at it. It almost looks like the form a little girl. Don't look at it.
“W-What is that?” cries Maeda, backing away from the shadow, hiding her face behind her palms.
Uehara maintains a cautious distance from it, though her eyes are focused on you rather than on the thing or on Mori. She shakes her head at you silently. Do not do anything rash – that seems to be the message she is giving you.
“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry-” Mori’s droning apology grows in volume as beads of cold sweat begin to drip down his face. His eyes are more sunken than before, the pallor of his face deathly. A dark, undulating shadow seems to grow in his irises, washing across the white sclera in a black wave.
“Hey, Mori-san! Snap out of it!” Sakimura shakes him by the shoulders, but Mori does not respond, his stare fixed on that particular spot, on the strange shade that is blinking in and out of existence.
I’m so sorry, Saki.
“I’m so sorry, Kana.”
You hear two voices simultaneously - one with your ears, and one inside your head. Both are apologizing, though the names... the subjects of the apology... are different. Reaching into his coat, Mori pulls out his gun and aims it at his temple. You can see a black swirl under the back of his hand, just under his skin, creeping as if it is something alive.
“H-Hey!” shouts Sakimura in a panic. “Mori-san!” He tries to grab at the pistol, but Mori pushes him away with a powerful, one-handed shove. As the schoolboy tumbles to the ground, Mori’s dark eyes move away from the shade and lock with yours. His gaze conveys a jumble of feelings, but one particular emotion pulses darkly beneath it all.
Despair.
***
04:00
A. You leap towards Mori and try to pry his gun away. If you consider the current angle of his elbow carefully, you might be able to apply more leverage and succeed where Sakimura had failed.
B. You attempt to knock Mori out with a single blow by aiming for his neck with a powerful chop. If you do it right, he will lose consciousness before he can even pull the trigger of the gun.
C. You hurl the bottle of alcohol at Mori, breaking it on his head – perhaps that will stop him. You recall that sake could drive away ghosts. Of course, that was consecrated sake, and what you are throwing isn’t even sake, but as long as it’s alcohol, maybe it’ll work.
D. Alcohol is flammable. You have a lighter. Ghosts are scared of fire... right? You light up the bottle and throw it at the shade at the center of the room. Fire is purifying.
E. You rush Mori and jam the finger of your injured hand into the barrel of his gun. All the other ways you can think of have the chance of failing, but this is fool-proof in terms of stopping the bullet. Of course, you can’t expect to do much with your hand afterwards.
F. You do nothing but stand and watch. There is nothing you can do. Uehara is right: you shouldn't do anything rash. It is terrible, but you would rather not risk drawing any attention to yourself. Besides, once Mori is gone, you can pick up his gun.
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Nevill
Arcane
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Very tempted to go with D on this one. I just don't know what else we can do, aside from sacrificing the hand. Who needs hands, anyway? Half of us wanted to cut it off first chance we've got.
Prying the gun will get someone shot, and trying karate on him is useless, as Sakimura proved just now.
C is highly questionable, but possible.
On the other hand, the arson that put an end to Kaimei did not purify the hospital one bit, nor did it scare off the ghosts.
Prying the gun will get someone shot, and trying karate on him is useless, as Sakimura proved just now.
Mori knows his stuff.
C is highly questionable, but possible.
On the other hand, the arson that put an end to Kaimei did not purify the hospital one bit, nor did it scare off the ghosts.
We may yet see a reenactment, not to mention it will trigger a fire alarm, which we wanted to avoid.
Is that a reference to EPIC? I had my suspicions since I saw his last name on the list in chapter 3.
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Nevill
Arcane
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So we are an amalgamation of Seiji and Juuzo. Probably a few (a lot?) of other people as well. That might be where our mad skillz are coming from.
What are the chances that the old man is the last unaccounted person on the list, Dr. Bryan Cooper? That would explain why Taketatsu was so quick to believe him, and his apparent mastery over this place, whatever it is.
What are the chances that the old man is the last unaccounted person on the list, Dr. Bryan Cooper? That would explain why Taketatsu was so quick to believe him, and his apparent mastery over this place, whatever it is.
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a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
C is unlikely, but better than the others. Nevill is right, Mori is fast and STRONG. A direct physical attack of any kind seems doomed to failure and puts us directly in the path of the ghost. C is probably our best bet. Either it will knock him out, or the alcohol will drive away the ghost, or it will fail, but at least we will have kept our distance either way.
I'm going with F>C on this one.
Mori may have been touched by the dead. He had the tendrils within his body and even his eyes have black stuff in them. He has also clearly been struggling with what I would guess is anxiety and depression this entire chapter. Which is unlike him, given his usual collected and investigatory attitude. He's pretty far gone at this point. It might be better to let him go, but since I know you bros want to play the hero as usual, I think the option with the most chances of success is C.
I'm going with F>C on this one.
Mori may have been touched by the dead. He had the tendrils within his body and even his eyes have black stuff in them. He has also clearly been struggling with what I would guess is anxiety and depression this entire chapter. Which is unlike him, given his usual collected and investigatory attitude. He's pretty far gone at this point. It might be better to let him go, but since I know you bros want to play the hero as usual, I think the option with the most chances of success is C.
Nevill
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It is different from what happened to Taketatsu and us. The black tendrils or the bruise caused us immense pain, but never did they force us to do anything.
It is also unlikely that Mori was attacked by the dead, since he was with us practically the whole time. If Usui could do that to him, we should have been in a far worse shape.
If I had to guess, this is how a possession looks like, and the black shadow is an actual ghost driving him to despair and guiding his hand.
I think that the bottle may knock him out, yes, and it is a question of what the ghost will do. I do not think it will exorcise the ghost completely, as we are aware of that it lacks needed properties... but it might interfere with its plans. Who knows how it will react?
It is a long shot, and we will lose our improvised weapon, but I can't think of anything else. C.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Well, that is the problem with all of these options: the ghost. What will it do? How will it react? In the physical options, Mori could grab us and hold us down while the ghost comes up and kills us. Or maybe knocking Mori out could cause it to turn its attention to us instead. Maybe we could be possessed if Mori gets released. Remember, we just heard something in our mind apologize to the thing. Maybe that's why Uehara is warning us. Maybe this thing will attack until it is either driven off or satisfied. Maybe we will be next.
Uehara's warning is unusual for her. I know you had wanted an alliance between us. Maybe this could be the start of it. Show her we can work with her and be reasonable, even in a chaotic situation like this.
Plus, we haven't gotten this far before. Bros, we have the keycard into the very heart of what is going on here. Have we ever had this chance before? Will we ever have it again? Maybe if we had talked to Mori earlier, there'd be a better option to take him down, but at this point, I think the best course of action is to let him go.
We can't afford to lose the progress we have made tonight. I'd like to keep him alive, but I'm not sure it's worth the risk. He will come back to life tomorrow night anyway.
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Nevill
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Hey, I know, ok? No need to make me afraid. Easier still, since the ghost controls Mori, it can make him shoot us just out of spite.
But I don't think it works that way.
It is very unusual. You can sense a certain hostility radiating from her since we denied her what she wanted to hear. I don't really know what to make out of it, and I don't know how good it would be to follow her advice from now on.
I don't know. I don't think a cooperation that starts with throwing a man to the wolves will lead to anything worthwhile.
That is not a good trail of thought to follow.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
You don' think so? But aren't you adopting the same mentality towards our own person just by taking these risks? "We'll just come back tomorrow night anyway." Why is it that we are taking risk after risk, treating our own life and limbs as if they were expendable because we will come back perfectly healthy the next night, but treating everyone else as if they are vulnerable little flowers that must be preserved at all costs when they'll just come back the next night too?
You want to help people? Fine. Solve the mystery of the hospital and end the ritual. It would TRULY save them - body and soul. But we won't be able to do that if we keep dying and forgetting everything because we are trying to save people who aren't really going to die - yet.
I'm not saying we should let others "die" in every situation, but if the risk is too great and we have made a lot of progress like tonight, I don't think we should do it. We are these people's best and perhaps only chance to get out of here. We can't just throw ourselves away because we want to play the hero every time.
Nevill
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No. I am well aware that each failure is diminishing our opportunities. Our life and limbs are not expendable, as we lose something that is needed to escape this place, little by little. We just don't know what it is yet.
But I also think there is a border after which escaping isn't worth it. There is a price I am not willing to pay for living through this. If you want to see what happens where is no such line, you should only take a look at Taketatsu.
I am not going to stand and watch Mitsuki get raped by a corpse to get myself another hour, thank you.
We are doing it. Bit by bit we come closer to the solution.
But if you start to discard people as expendables, not as real people, you are not going to save anybody. Why would you? They are not real.
We may know there will be just another night, but our character does not. I feel that each time we leave someone to die we lose something. There is a thin line between a hero and a monster one needs to be walking to find a way out that would work for all of us.
Do you even know which iteration is going to be our last one, so that you would start treating it seriously? Maybe it's 12th. Maybe not.
Kayerts
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I think our "core" personality is Seiji:
the fourth update said:
Cooper seems likely to be the man in the place that does not exist, just due to the number of Epic references here. Beyond that, the old man is probably not a Westerner; there's no mention of his ethnicity in his description (so he's probably what our character considers the default, i.e. Japanese), and he's wearing a yukata.
The above line is from just after he killed Amanozaki. "Something" about him makes us want to punch him, after he just killed our friend. Why is it "something?" Seems like Shinoseki has a very clear reason to be angry at him. Unless one of the other passengers in our consciousness has a grudge against this man, and that's what we were feeling.
My guess would be that the events we experience are part of some simulated consciousness experiment; Cooper's observing it, which is why we see him when we die. It also provides a mechanic for restarts. My branching guess would be that the experiment's picked up some elements of consciousness that weren't anticipated, which are deforming the experiment: hence the existence of the old hospital beneath the structure of this one; hence, also, the girl (a particularly strong lingering consciousness?) forcing her way into the experiment and being extremely powerful here.
Nevill
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All valid points. 
I would still attribute it to Juuzo.
A creation of an artificial, synthesized soul, perhaps? Would go well with the theme of resurrection of the dead.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Oh, so it's not worth everyone surviving and living happily ever after, grateful to the guy who saved them and having no memory of ever dying (as their memories are wiped each night), if we alone have to witness their deaths (and then forget them too)?
We don't know what happened to Taketatsu. For all we know, he was corrupted before this all began.
Bro, remember in Epic when we had the choice of dismembering a fake Kyrie that wasn't real? Remember how we chose not to and that ended up kiling the real Kyrie? We failed to face the reality that it was just a fake and it cost us dearly. We have to be practical. They are going to come back to life. Our knowledge isn't. Now, that isn't to say we watch them die every time. Without them, we'll learn nothing. But we've learned a lot this time and I just don't want it discarded.
Well, given the red thing that splatted on the floor and the fact that Mitsuki let out a groan of pain when the pool ghost appeared, I think you already watched it.
I could ask you the same question. Say, this were our last one. Say everyone else in the room is depending on US solving this thing during THIS night - still worth risking our life for Mori, even if it means damning everyone else if we die?
What if tonight, we could find the information that would save Mori's life and soul next time? What if we could end the ritual and save everyone and all that has to happen is us letting Mori die and come back to life tomorrow? If you were to ask Mori what he would want, to become a sacrifice in the ritual in order to save Shinoseki's conscience or to die once and then live, what do you think he would chose?
It's not about us escaping bro. I honestly want everyone to get out alive. But I just don't see that happening unless we start treating this like what it is and not our personal hero fantasy.
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Kayerts
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 883
Juuzo was my own prime suspect for the identity of the old man. It'd explain some of the malice lurking in our (shared) consciousness, as well as the fact that we both seem to be "special" (i.e., overly flexible) with regard to our skillset and the things we know how to do. I.e., we're both hubs of the mess of consciousnesses in the experiment. But this is just speculation; you could easily be right.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Yes. I wasn't playing by then, and I raged hard at this C&C decision. It was just wrong to face such a choice. I knew I wouldn't do it.
Still, I think I know where treave was coming from with that. That Kirie clearly was a fake, an artificial construct devoid of emotions and life. She was not 'human'.
Kind of different from what we are seeing here. They guys look alive, they feel alive. If they aren't human in a strict sense, they aren't that much different from one.
It is an old question about how real is a virtual reality. How true are the emotions you feel by reading a book as opposed to the one you are feeling yourself. The better the book, the harder it is to make a distinction.
I am afraid you will have to clarify that for me.
I don't know. It is a loaded question. I am weighting my chances to live, and if I am comfortable with them, I am going to make an attempt.
Else I will just concede everything and everyone that is worth fighting for, one by one, because I am unwilling to take the risk.
We don't know that. Which is why I choose the path that allows me to save my own soul.
Look, what you say makes sense, but this can't be our guideline on the way out of here.
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Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
I don't think anyone's saying these guys aren't real who cares if they die. These guys are real people, but they are also facing not only immediate death but a more permanent kind of destruction as well. If we want to be a good guy we need to try and secure at least the latter for everybody, hopefully the former too. But in that order. This isn't one of those anime where the hero says NO I WONT LET ANYBODY DIE and the power of friendship gives them a maximum power boost +9 million to have their cake and eat it too.
I am not sure we have enough reasons to not do anything in this case, though. If it was, say, the Old Man, who has proven himself able and willing to screw all of us, maybe. But the ghostly apparitions have tended to work on individual targets and not AOE so far. I suspect that Mori's current condition is actually more to do with his own past baggage and his dawning suspciions about why he may be here vis-a-vis past events, and not necessarily just being fucked by the ghost. In that sense, I think E will really fuck us over, but has a high chance of snapping Mori back to his senses. Whether that will save us from the ghost is another matter, of course.
I am not sure we have enough reasons to not do anything in this case, though. If it was, say, the Old Man, who has proven himself able and willing to screw all of us, maybe. But the ghostly apparitions have tended to work on individual targets and not AOE so far. I suspect that Mori's current condition is actually more to do with his own past baggage and his dawning suspciions about why he may be here vis-a-vis past events, and not necessarily just being fucked by the ghost. In that sense, I think E will really fuck us over, but has a high chance of snapping Mori back to his senses. Whether that will save us from the ghost is another matter, of course.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Nevill, if you'd rather lose than have our character experience some emotional truama, there's nothing I can do. Which was the crux of the concern back with Kyrie. We were worried that killing even a fake Kyrie would make us lose sanity points or some such. Well, i'll just have to hope the story changes your mind because I'm clearly not up to the task.
It had clearly touched her or she wouldn't have experienced pain when the pool ghost appeared, and since ghosts don't bleed, that red thing was probably her...
Maybe not though. It's not entirely clear what is going on in the toilet scene, though I suspect that was by design. I was honestly surprised treave went as far as to have the situation occur, but this is a japanese horror setting...
It had clearly touched her or she wouldn't have experienced pain when the pool ghost appeared, and since ghosts don't bleed, that red thing was probably her...
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