Day After Doomsday, Thursday, Per 2

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Class began with something unexpected. Rather than an introduction from Hardison, a voice was heard from Cecil's radio.

"Hello?" It was a man's voice. He sounded tense, maybe even scared. "Hello, I don't know if anyone is still out there, if anyone's listening, if anyone's alive still to listen. This is Jeremy, at First National Bank of Fandom Town, over on Unicorn Street. We've been hiding in the vault since those--those things arrived. There are six of us. We're--we're awful hungry. It's been a few days since we've had anything to eat. If you're out there...if you can hear us...please help? Again, we're at First National Bank of Fandom Town, on Unicorn. I hope you can hear us. My name is Jeremy and there are six people here in the vault. We're weak and we're hungry and we're scared. If anyone is still alive out there, please help. Hello, my name is Jeremy, we're in--"

There was a loud squelching noise and the broadcast stopped.

"Well," Hardison said, stepping into the sudden silence. "There's that. Your radio's still working fine, so the problem's likely on their end. But there you have it. The first definitive proof that there's intelligent life still on the island. The question is, what do you make of it? More important, what are you gonna do about it? You got plenty of options, but each options is gonna have an affect on the group as a whole. This seems like the kinda thing you might wanna discuss."

"Now, as for last week, some folks realized that the noises comin' from the bathrooms was the water pipes. They were able to learn that the water's shut off to the dorms. This could be somethin' as simple as a watermain broke or somethin' or it could mean that someone's turned off water here deliberately. You don't know. Elsa's keepin' you supplied with fresh water for drinkin', bathin', an' for the garden. No one's presented me with a plan to turn the water in the pool into somethin' drinkable, but it's enough to keep the toilets flushin' manually an' to keep the dorms clean if you're so inclined. Raven found some cleanin' supplies, but..." He looked around at the dorms which were definitely a bit worse for wear, so no one had mentioned doing any actual cleaning. "Y'all might wanna start puttin' 'em to use, just sayin'. Or not! Maybe you're looking to Oregon Trail it up in here an' see who dies of dysentery first."

In which case, keep on keepin' on.

"One thing. Food's gettin' tight. Most of the scouts are on food detail, but gardens can only grow so fast an' you got some pretty heavy competition in the top predator category. You got a greenhouse goin' an' that's cool, even some seeds an' things to plant in there, an' Hanna's been able to smoke an' salt a lot of what you do catch to make it last. Congrats, the food you have right now is gonna last till Week Six if you keep tight rationing, but huntin' is pretty much gonna take up most of your time if you wanna add enough to get to Week Seven, leavin' you no time for other scoutin' pursuits. Looks like y'all have got some choices to make."

Comments

Sign In

[geniuswithasmartphone]

First Contact!

Re: Sign In

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

Hanna Heller

Re: Sign In

[tigerundercover]

Raven Darkholme

Listen to the Lecture

[geniuswithasmartphone]

There's a lot going on today, it seems!

The Radio Broadcast

[geniuswithasmartphone]

After it's over, no amount of hailing will get anyone back to talk to you. So, with just the information you were given, you have to make a decision.

What are you going to do about Jeremy and his five friends?

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

"I want to at least try to get to the bank, and those people, and help them," Hanna said quietly, looking around at the other students. "But I do not know if it is possible to do so. If we can come up with a plan, that would allow us to get there and back to the dorms, then yes."

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[tigerundercover]

"We don't even have enough food for ourselves, here," Raven pointed out. "Much less six extra people. Who are too weak to hunt and add to the food supply."

She didn't necessarily not want to help the people in the bank, but someone had to be practical about it.

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Jasper found himself standing stiffly, arms crossed and lips thinned into a sharp line. He hadn't expected this kind of decision to be tossed into the mix.

Couple thousand go missing every year...

The words were out of context but they were still ringing loud in Jasper's head. "That's a lot of risk to take on that little of information," he finally said. "Not that I know a ton about bank vaults but I have to wonder where their water is coming from where that's not a concern. If there are people out there, who's to say they aren't being coerced into saying this to get everyone into one central area?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't send anyone. Too many question marks, not enough information. We'd be better served routing our scouting resources to food so we can survive. Maybe they can hold out till later. A bank vault's pretty secure."

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[tigerundercover]

"I think it could be worth checking out," Raven said. "They might have more information than we do, and if it is a trap, we can learn from that, too. We'll learn these things are smart enough to lay traps like this, or that there's some other threat out there we need to worry about, too."

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[goforthe_optics]

"Do we know if the broadcast is real?" Tali asked immediately. "Or is someone faking it somehow? I'd try to trace the signal, but we don't really have the equipment."

It was kind of sad that she was immediately suspicious, but SOMEONE, AND WE'RE NOT NAMING NAMES, SHEPARD, HAD A HABIT OF RESPONDING TO FAKED DISTRESS SIGNALS.

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"My first thought was faked," Jasper admitted, "but I don't know how to figure that out. A radio signal happens out of the blue and then dies very dramatically. Just seems a little too perfect for me."

But, he had no bleeding heart and he had a lot of paranoia.

Re: The Radio Broadcast

[sciclone]

Cosima had gotten quieter as everyone else spoke.

"Okay, I think I'm the only one here who'd still at least try to go help them," she admitted. "Maybe don't put a ton of resources into it, but go out and see if we can meet face-to-face. I admit we don't have the resources to cover six more people, but that seems like something we could worry about after we make sure they won't suffocate in a vault."

She paused there, shifting her braids around. "Also, just saying, the things we know about out there aren't nearly smart enough to fake something like this. If it is a fake, that means there's something worse than monsters that has it in for us. We should know that right away, you know?"

Broadcast: The Final Decision

[geniuswithasmartphone]

If you want to take any action at all in regards to the broadcast, someone has to tell Hardison what to do. How you decide who and what is your own business, but Hardison needs instructions in this thread if you want to do anything at all about the people in the bank.

Re: Broadcast: The Final Decision

[tigerundercover]

"Alright," Raven said. "So we can't trust that the people on the other end of the broadcast are on the level, but we also can't just leave them without at least checking on things. We've barely got the food for ourselves here, so we can't really share, but Hannah and I are going to go check the situation out. I'll go in as a mouse to see if I can find out what's going on without springing any trap that might be laid, and Hannah will be there as backup. If it's on the level, we'll talk to them, see if they know anything we don't. Explain that we can't help with the food, but we might be able to give them tips on how to move around town, advice for them to use to fend for themselves better."

Plan Ahead

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Even without the broadcast, there's a lot to talk about. Unless you want all your scouts to focus on nothing else but food for the rest of the class due to diminishing returns, you're gonna run out of food on Week Six and that's assuming you keep strict rationing. The dorms could use cleaning. More and better weapons could be found or made. More information could be gathered. Over the last week, Raven found a map of the sewer system under Fandom. It's not the tunnels, but it's something! Does that affect what you decide to do?

Basically, you have a LOT of things to do. What do you want to do, that's the real plan.

Figure it out. Talk to one another.

Re: Plan Ahead

[tigerundercover]

"I think it's time we start thinking seriously about how to get rid of those things out there. We're obviously not going to be able to just hole up here forever, and we've got some good information now about what they do and how they behave. Picking them off one by one isn't going to help us. Is there --" She looked around for Cosima and Tali if they were there. "Is there someway we could make a bomb?"

Then she looked for Elsa.

"Or freeze them out."

Re: Plan Ahead

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Jasper hadn't really been helpful last week (bad weeks happened) but he was trying to be more focused this time around. He'd been doing demonstrations of weapons here and there, focusing on knives and other blunt objects, to those who wanted it.

But cleaning was one thing Jasper knew and knew well. He'd cleaned his father's crime scenes for years. Blood and other fluids that no child should have to clean so he grabbed a few of the cleaning supplies and went to work on that.

"If we're gonna stay healthy, we should clean this place up a bit," he stated, looking around. "Make this place nice and cozy."

That was a joke.

Make Your Choices

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Remember, the more information you give Hardison, the better the odds you'll be able to accomplish what you're looking to do! Also, Hardison will not program anything that involves other people, unless those other people are present and agree! Nobody can 'send scouts or volunteers' to do something; if you want a scout to take care of something for you--ask one. You can't tell Hardison you'll be sparring with another student unless that student also comes up and says so. Basically, if your plans involve other people at all, Hardison will refuse to add it to the program until he knows everyone is onboard.

This is, of course, not true for things that involve other people that no one else knows about. That will be resolved on a case by case basis, depending on the amount of detail in the plan and any steps other people are taking to thwart such behavior.

Not to make anyone paranoid or anything!

Re: Make Your Choices

[tigerundercover]

"Well, first will be investigating the broadcast," Raven said. "I'll also spend some time gathering supplies for molotov cocktails for when we decide we're ready to go on the offensive. Any alcohol we can find, plus Cosima and I are going to do small controlled experiments to find anything else that'll burn properly for it. Perfumes or mouthwash or whathaveyou. Any other time will be devoted to getting food."

Re: Make Your Choices

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

"I'm going with Raven to investigate the broadcast, but staying in the wings. I'm mostly just there in case it's a trap or she needs back-up," Hanna explained. "And Jasper and I agreed that moving up a few floors was a good idea, in case of emergency. I'll make some rope ladders for escape purposes, in case going out a window is necessary." She took a breath. "We don't really need the fire so much for warmth now, and we've got food to last for a while; we can stick to only having it in a dire emergency. Or to make the weapons we were talking about."

"I'm also going to help clean up the mess we made downstairs, at least two mornings out of the week, and try to conceal any trails we left with chemicals-- if they break in, no reason for them to figure out where we went immediately. Ammonia and vinegar should throw them off, if they have any kind of scent-trail sensing."

"I know how to make molotov cocktails, so. I'll be helping with that, if they need it, too."

Talk to the TA

[geniuswithasmartphone]

In all her blue glory!

Re: Talk to the TA

[tigerundercover]

It was a glorious blue, wasn't it?

Raven was here and pondering that radio broadcast. Maybe it was a trap. She was maybe hoping just a little that it was a trap.

Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

In all his...hacker?...glory.

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"So we have a question," Raven said. "And I think it's one I might've found out over the last couple weeks, going out. I've said I've been looking for weaknesses. Have we figured out whether they're vulnerable to fire?"

OOC

[geniuswithasmartphone]

This is the class I was most excited about since I app'd the class.

WHAT DO YOU DOOOOOOOOOOOO?