The message comes by carrier pigeon actually, which is a pretty weird way to deliver a message but of course, it's thematic. A very pretty looking brown pigeon swoops down out of the sky to wherever Natalie just so happens to be that afternoon and holds out its leg. The message is short and simple:
Got a job for you. Meet me in front of the doctor's office at dusk. No show, no job. Keep it a secret, rewarded very well.
- Hal
P.S. Burn this.
And that's it. Of course, if Natalie chooses to listen to the message, she will find the Sheriff in front of the clinic at dusk. She'll be greeted with a tip of his hat and one word:
"Doctor."
And then he holds out a small notebook. Looks like Natalie's been chosen for one of those roles that were mentioned. Good luck.
So. I heard you mention during your little spiel that whoever was left at the end of all this would have the choice whether all of us come back or not. But, it says in the section about rewards that we shouldn't ask to leave, because "all participants will be leaving upon completion anyway". Direct quote, your bosses words, not mine.
[A pause, as she figures out the best way to phrase this.]
If it says in the rules that we all get to leave, but there's the possibility a situation is going to occur that prevents the majority of us from leaving... Doesn't that make this rule necessarily invalid? And if that rule is invalid, why are we expecting to uphold any of them?
[ The Sheriff just gives a shake of his head in return. ]
Just trying to be succinct there is all. They're more like guidelines anyway, so I suppose you could break 'em and I'll just punish ya as I see valid. Would appreciate if you didn't though.
[ And then he sighs and considers for a moment. ]
No, it's like this. Everyone, by default, is being sent home. Where you get sent is up to your participation in the game. There's no one exit for everyone. Where you go might be different than the person you're sharing your room with. You end up exactly where you want to end up the very most in the world if you play and you put enough effort into the game that I feel like ya deserve it. That might not exactly be where you arrived from. If you put no effort in, you might not get sent home at all -- as a kinda punishment.
[ tl;dr tailored endgames for each character. ]
Person who wins at the end, they get a bit more rigid a choice. They can choose to send everyone home -- this will be the way I just described. They also get to choose to just send themselves home and leave everyone stuck here in this half-life forever. They also can choose to restart the game entirely, with or without memories.
That's why it's listed differently. No point in writing an essay for the god damn notebook though. People'll figure it out as they play anyway.
So... Wait, let me get this straight, which of the two is it? If we work hard or whatever by your standards, we get sent home or somewhere better as long as the person who decides what happens to us isn't a huge asshole and decides to fuck all of us over?
Or, even if they are a huge asshole, the people who worked hard by your standards get to go somewhere cool, it's just the people who didn't do much who get stuck here if the last person standing chooses?
You think so? Figure it's everyone's responsibility to make sure the right person stands at the end. Would you let someone you knew might pick the other two options live to the end? I sure wouldn't.
So the other rounds all ended badly. Figures. But, the whole option about erasing everyone's memories and starting over - has anyone taken that before?
[A small pause, and then a question she's not sure she wants the answer to.]
...Is that why we couldn't remember how we got here?
[ He raises both eyebrows at that, Natalie's question even taking him off guard. ]
No. Lord, no. You're not a repeat round. Have had repeat rounds, they're not pretty. Usually end worse than usual. No.
[ A shake of his head there. ]
Nah, you don't remember anything 'cause there's nothing to remember. You've all been, y'know, plucked. From a moment. Whatever moment you were having. Then you were here. When you go back, you return to that moment. All happens in the space of a breath, nothing else to it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sheriffexe) wrote2017-01-13 11:13 am
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[ A shake of his head. ]
Just us at the moment. No one knows the back entrance. If they break down the door though, I'll set you up someplace else if you want.
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[Even so, she's slipping one of the scalpels into her trouser pocket. Small enough to hide, and it could come in handy.]
Got it. I had a few questions about the rules listed here, too, if that's cool.
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[A pause, as she figures out the best way to phrase this.]
If it says in the rules that we all get to leave, but there's the possibility a situation is going to occur that prevents the majority of us from leaving... Doesn't that make this rule necessarily invalid? And if that rule is invalid, why are we expecting to uphold any of them?
[She. She's trying so hard.]
no subject
Just trying to be succinct there is all. They're more like guidelines anyway, so I suppose you could break 'em and I'll just punish ya as I see valid. Would appreciate if you didn't though.
[ And then he sighs and considers for a moment. ]
No, it's like this. Everyone, by default, is being sent home. Where you get sent is up to your participation in the game. There's no one exit for everyone. Where you go might be different than the person you're sharing your room with. You end up exactly where you want to end up the very most in the world if you play and you put enough effort into the game that I feel like ya deserve it. That might not exactly be where you arrived from. If you put no effort in, you might not get sent home at all -- as a kinda punishment.
[ tl;dr tailored endgames for each character. ]
Person who wins at the end, they get a bit more rigid a choice. They can choose to send everyone home -- this will be the way I just described. They also get to choose to just send themselves home and leave everyone stuck here in this half-life forever. They also can choose to restart the game entirely, with or without memories.
That's why it's listed differently. No point in writing an essay for the god damn notebook though. People'll figure it out as they play anyway.
no subject
Or, even if they are a huge asshole, the people who worked hard by your standards get to go somewhere cool, it's just the people who didn't do much who get stuck here if the last person standing chooses?
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First one. Second one ain't very fair, is it?
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[A small pause, and then a question she's not sure she wants the answer to.]
...Is that why we couldn't remember how we got here?
no subject
No. Lord, no. You're not a repeat round. Have had repeat rounds, they're not pretty. Usually end worse than usual. No.
[ A shake of his head there. ]
Nah, you don't remember anything 'cause there's nothing to remember. You've all been, y'know, plucked. From a moment. Whatever moment you were having. Then you were here. When you go back, you return to that moment. All happens in the space of a breath, nothing else to it.