estoria | the interrogation

Entry tags:

the interrogation

Who: Hak, Athena, Simon, Celty, Vietnam, Tieria + NPC.
When: 2/24
Where: idk some npc's house
What: shit happens: the gang finds the npc responsible for all the weird codenames and corner him basically. also they're pretty screwed afterwards
Rating/Warning: Violence + Torture

[ It's time.

They'd discussed this for days before the flood happened; and even that couldn't deter them from going forth with their plans. Nothing could. Not anymore. CERES has taken everything from Hak, and for as strong as he is, he's reached his breaking point, and something's going to give. He's not going to let it be him. He will find out what happened to Yona and his friends, he will find a way to uncover the truth about their worlds, and quite frankly, he's tired of how relaxed many of the other captives here are being when they've got so much at stake. So many things thrown at them, threatening their lives.

It's why the six of them head over to one of the CERES native's apartments, as per Athena's instruction--the same house she'd broken in to--and using her same methods as before, she carefully sneaks in through the window and goes to unlock the front door. Make way for the entourage. ]

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[ Having moved the native to one discreet empty building he found while mapping the colony, Tieria leaves the actual interrogation to those who are actually trained for it, the lawyers in the group. He himself is trained for such purpose too, albeit from the opposite spectrum of legality but nobody needs to know that, at least not now.

Securing their captive on the chair, he steps back once he made sure the flexi cuff is properly tied before setting Haro to record on top of it's alert mode. ]

Alright, go ahead and start. Haro is recording.

[ athena's never played the interrogation game before, so she's pretty psyched! still, she looks serious because she wants to play the bad cop in this unspoken good cop-bad cop scenario.

she bangs on the desk with a palm. ]

Tell us what you know about the QUEEN file, or else you won't have dinner tonight!

[ this is how they do it, right? ]

[Athena, please stop. Fortunately one of these lawyers is experienced in interrogation, even if his methods are... way beyond bad cop.]

What this dimwitted girl means to say is that if you don't talk, you'll never have dinner again.

[Blackquill emerges from the shadows of the room, one hand going to the katana at his hip.]

...Because I shall remove your stomach from your body, and in your stead, I will glut myself on your screams!

[She can't even ask anything right now because she's just staring at Simon like "Seriously???"

Well, playing along because otherwise they can't get anything, so she cracks her knuckles for now. Don't overwhelm the victim just yet.]

[ The robot doesn't quite seem to understand what's happening, but he has enough empathy to know that this is a Bad Situation.

Still, the threats don't do much, as far as physical violence is concerned. Robots can always be put back together, after all. ]

This is against the law. You should not do this. CERES will be forced to arrest you and take preventative measures to keep Cerealia a safe place.

You expect us to think of Cerealia as a safe place after all the bullshit that's happened?

[ Hak doesn't even bother to hold back his scoffing. This is ridiculous. He's fine with rebelling against the law if it means that they can get something out of this...thing. ]

[ SIMON IS THE WORST NOT BOYFRIEND... calling her dimwitted in public. GOSH!! GOSH!!!!!!

athena laughs mockingly alongside hak. ]

Heh! Heh heh! Yeah, you think we'll believe you and your lies? This was never a safe place! So stop giving us your usual spiel and tell us what you truly know.

[ a pause. ]

Remember. No dinner. Forever.

[ What kind of lawyer conducts interrogation like this? Really? No dinner? ]

How about you guys skip the entree and go straight to the main course?

[ He made a dinner pun... ~~Don't acknowledge this, please.~~ He does however finds the lack of reaction to the thread interesting and will be watching the native closer. ]

[Blackquill has to resist rolling his eyes. Really, dinner puns are killing the dark mood!! Maybe he should have requested to do the interrogation one-on-one instead of with all this chiming in... but he'll work with what he has.

He strolls around, like a predator circling his prey, to stand behind the captive.]

I don't think our friend understands his present predicament.

[He suddenly grabs his shoulder, and learns in to put his face very close to the robot's. He's pushing to see if he can illicit any kind of emotional reaction at all -- surprise, even just vague discomfort?]

Do you depend on CERES to keep you safe? To keep the city safe? Because as my companions here have stated so plainly, we care not a fig for the protection CERES has to offer. In fact, we could skip a meaningless trifle like yourself and go straight to the top in our quest for answers.

But we've chosen to be merciful, and spare both CERES and the city. And if you help us, we will continue to show such restraint.

Won't that be the best outcome for all involved?

[...Maybe he's exaggerating the extent to how much they can do, but at this point, knowing what kind of reactions he can get will be a useful tool going forwards.]

[Dinner puns, being told that one will not get food? It's not like it could eat. Then again she's not quite human either and she eats. Hmm.

She continues to watch for now, especially when Simon starts to get a bit handsy.]

If you help us, we will help you, of course. [There's enough bad cops in this kitchen. She'll go with "diplomacy". For now.]

[ There's no emotional reaction from the robot; if anything, he seems more confused than anything by the close proximity and by everything that is being said. Repeated, almost as if it's something programmed in: ]

Cerealia is a safe place. Cerealia is intended to be a sage haven for those without homes. Cerealia must be kept safe. You should not break the law.

[ Vietnam gets a puzzled glance. ]

You should not help me. I am here to serve you, as all of us at CERES are.

[ These fucking robots.

Hak's had enough of this shit. It was one thing, to lose her, to lose his friends too and be the only one left here with the possibility that everything they've came to know and love is gone. But it's an entirely different thing to actually see her and Yoon lifeless in front of him, their bodies intangible, like some sort of code that's ceased to exist. ]

Don't give me that crap.

[ He's not even amused anymore. ]

If everyone at CERES is here to help us, then why are we always under attack by your people? Furthermore, [ Hak opens up his CereVice and pulls out the photos from the information he'd stolen from the Research Center. ] you're all hiding things from us.

Give me one good reason why we should trust you.

[ the bad cop act is over. athena starts crying, pounding both her fists on the table, her tears falling to the table. ]

Hak's right! We used to be friends, you know! [ especially since she'd pass by the employee's house every day during her morning jogs. ] And now look at what you've done... because you won't tell the truth!

[ sob. SOB... look at how pitiful she looks!!!! ]

[ So their captive just regurgitated the same thing every CERES robots churn out every single day all over again. This is quite obviously getting nowhere if the their captive isn't capable of responding to non-programmed situation. With a huff, Tieria crosses his arms in mild irritation. ]

Look, we're not here to listen to your programmed speech. Start answering question or I will pull it out of you.

[ Literally, in the robotic sense. ]

Hacking into CERES-issued robots is a crime. [ It's said in the same tone as before -- polite and calm.

Athena, on the other hand, gets a baffled look. ]

Have I done something? I don't recall doing anything.

[ Hak, on the other hand, gets ignored despite being the one closest to said robot; the information he pulls out seems to have no effect whatsoever on it. ]

[ she's still crying. look what you've done, robot, look what you've done!!! though at the same time, she's listening in subtly if the employee is experiencing any emotions, just in case they can play with it later on. ]

You did! You— You wouldn't tell me anything, so tell me know!

What's this QUEEN file, and why do some people have titles?!

[ said all bratty-like. who invited this kid?! ]

[Blackquill has backed off for now, arms crossed. Threats and psychological manipulation on his part hasn't worked, and he really doubts Athena's pitiful attempts at emotional blackmail will work. Outright demanding information on Hak's part hasn't worked, either.

Is there anything that will get this robot to talk?]

Stop blubbering, Athena. It's plain to see we're dealing with a machine more than a man. [And approaching this as if felt emotion like Ponco or Clonco was evidently a mistake. He looks over at Tiera.] I believe we have no alternative to your proposal. Pull the answers out of this thing with whatever method you think is best.

[ There is no recognition from the robot in relation to the QUEEN file, but the titles changes things.

There's a pause. ]

Your Title is a necessary part of your code, naturally. If you have further questions, I can direct you to resources. Might I suggest the book "Your Title and You: A Guide to Harmful Names"?

[ He steps forward at Simon's suggestion, looking around for any sign of objection. ]

That's fine with me. Haro, full body scan, get me his input outlet.

[ The Haro's eyes blinks as it bounces once before activating it's scan, just right as the CERES employee starts speaking again. ]

What purpose does those title serve then? Keywords?

[ Athena stops crying and immediately straightens up, as if no drama just happened. Instead of saying anything, she'll just watch what happens next. ]

[ The scan will reveal an input outlet at the base of the employee's neck.

As for the question, that just gets a bemused look. ]

They are your ViViD Titles. They are what connect you to ViViD. Every code object must have a name.

That's all? Why not use our actual name then? It wouldn't make much difference code wise.

[ Once Haro showed him the results of the scan, Tieria grabs the cable and connects it to his own portable workstation before approaching the android to plug the other end of the cable in. ]

Your last chance, tell us what's the QUEEN file is and it's content.

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the interrogation

INTERROGATION

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PUNISHMENT