day three - aftermath

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day three 33 players remaining. As the voting period comes to an end, a bell goes off from the ticket machine, and the metal bars blocking the tunnel at the end of the Hall of Mirrors lifts. A voice speaks over the loudspeaker: "Attention, guests! Please make your way onto the ride! For your safety, keep your hands and arms inside and do not attempt to leave your seat!" Through the tunnel, single cars on a track stop and wait for each remaining player to step on. Don't dawdle, or your bracelet will begin to beep a warning. Once in a car, the safety bar locks you tightly inside, unable to move. The car trundles along a dark, twisting track, nearly veering into cartoonish obstacles, but veering away at the last moment. Music and cackling laughter echoes loudly through the ride as you drive faster and faster. Suddenly, your car veers off to the left, through a courtroom, where a towering cartoon judge threatens to bang a gavel. Your car jerks and evades, but somewhere, before one car can pass, the gavel comes down and the car spins off to the side, through a dark doorway. Each car comes to the end of the ride, but doesn't stop, and instead jerks into motion and, even faster, veers through the ride a second time. This time, your car does not enter the courtroom, but the doors to your left nonetheless open, showing instead of a courtroom a red room burning with cartoon flames. Above the flames hangs a corpse in a noose. The body of Edea Lee hangs from a red rope noose, as a cackling voices pronounces: Guilty! The ride turns away once more, and comes to a stop. A list of votes has been posted on the wall. You now have the rest of the evening to explore the park, before night comes again. One more thing: because of the successful execution of a VIP today, you now have a chance to vote for a MVP. MVP vote character statuses private conversations graveyard This is a general post-vote mingle encompassing the time from the end of the trial (about 5 PM until the fireworks at 11 PM). You are encouraged and welcome to backtag discussions in this post until the next day post, or to have afternoon private conversations.

Comments

[jingler]

I'm inclined to say the former. Though I've only known her for a few days, I feel as though Edea was a very honest person. Not truthful, but forthright and open. I do not think she was lying when she said she didn't believe she was killing people.

[The way she always spoke about protecting others and her honor as a knight...he can't believe someone like Edea would willingly murder unless she didn't think what she was doing is murder.]

[eventhandler]

What was she believing she was doing, then...? After all, shooting someone, or bludgeoning them...that isn't very easy to wave off as something that is, ah, not killing.

[jingler]

Hm. Yes, that is where the question lies. Perhaps something was done to alter their perception of reality, so that they genuinely believe themselves to not be killing people. Like a consensus reality experiment.

[eventhandler]

...Can such a modification be possible, though? It is one thing to hallucinate, but...for this long?

[jingler]

I don't think it is a hallucination...simply something has been done to alter the worldview of the VIPs. They no longer believe they are killers, yet still murder nevertheless.

[eventhandler]

The brain is a very delicate, extremely delicate organ. To simply go in there, do something that will simply flick on a switch without even damaging any other components...

If you are right...then our kidnappers are quite serious, quite serious indeed...

[jingler]

Yes. This is all speculation mind you, but it seems the VIPs are less willing to kill as we believed earlier today.

[eventhandler]

...

The detonator, though. That is still...an unresolved question. Do they understand what they are doing, as well?

[jingler]

I haven't the slightest clue. Whatever they are doing, they don't seem to be on our side given what happened to Yuya and M'gann.

[eventhandler]

Indeed. And the one that, ah, hand belonged to. If he is truly dead...

...

What do you think of this extra role? The one that...that was revealed today on the bulletin? The question marks. Who are...they?

[fanbase]

So she just... forgot? If the rest of them are like that too, then...

[ She finds it hard to finish the rest of that sentence, it makes her stomach churn. ]

[jingler]

Either she forgot or she simply never saw what she was doing as committing a murder. No matter which way you go however, the fact is Edea truly thought she had done nothing wrong.

[fanbase]

It's just like Legion said, they could have easily messed with his programming to make him a VIP. But to do that to humans too? It just makes it sound like the VIPs have no choice but to do it and they might not remember that they even did.

[jingler]

All of us have the same surgical head wound. We thought it was just to tamper with our memories, but what if it's also what causes VIPs to have a misinformed view on reality?

[fanbase]

I'd ask if that's even possible, but we're here. There's no way to deny that they did something to us now.

That just means any of us are capable of killing and we wouldn't even know. Whoever has those keys might not even know they're doing it either.

[royalizing]

Near the end, I believe she knew she was going to die. Yet she never wavered in maintaining her innocence.

[ What would be the point...? ]

But even so, the choices they made and the way they carried out the murders... Is it possible they tampered with more than just their memories? I find it difficult to believe Edea could be capable of such cold-hearted brutality.

[jingler]

Yes, I think that may be the conclusion to make here. Something has certainly been done to the minds of the VIPs to make them act in a way contrary to their true nature.

[royalizing]

Then if they don't even remember their actions at night, how are we meant to find them during the day?

[ She sounds frustrated at the idea of being helpless but for waiting for results from the detective and cops. ]

[siggey]

I don't think Edea's directly killed.

...

At least, not for last night and the night before. She said she never used a gun before, doing the water gun with you was her first time.

[royalizing]

Yes... When we played the water guns game, she squirted herself in the face when she first picked it up. [ It's accompanied by a slightly sad smile at the memory. ]

But if her memories and mind were being manipulated, perhaps... she wasn't herself at night.

[siggey]

Do you think they can insert knowledge of weapon use into the VIPs, too? We'd be getting on a pretty grim slippery slope, there. That they can somehow brainwash them into believing they're not killing already sounds like a horrific alien conspiracy. But if the ones responsible can literally reprogram every aspect of the VIP's character at night, then...

[ I gesture vaguely in the air, knowing it probably looks like nonsense. Then again, that's just what we're talking about now sounds like, so... ]

[royalizing]

Nonetheless, though perhaps only two members had a direct hand in the murder, if all of them made the decision as a team, then they are all equally responsible for it.

At least, that's what I thought. But if they were being influenced or manipulated somehow, then... [ It all just becomes a mess. ] Then the blame rests not with them, but with the power that brought us all here.