Viewing Party 2 - R3: THE RE-CRY-ENING

[misanthropicprinciple]

We got castmates. We got clues. We got crap to bitch about. They get a library? And a LAUNDRY MACHINE?

Welcome, murderfam... TO THE R3 LIVEWATCH.

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[cyan_maid]

[A nod. Of course.] There really is so much about this situation that we don't understand.

[thesciencemind]

...yes. All of us.

[He folds his hands over his mouth with a sigh, and is quiet for a second.]

I don't understand how it came to this. Everything was...it was a normal television network. We got public funding.

[cyan_maid]

[Quietly, Jane wipes her hands on her skirt to make sure they're not salty or whatever before placing one comfortingly on Yl'lb's shoulder.]

Something had to of changed. Between when things were fine and when Nina...did what she did. Something changed. Is...was she going through an ordeal at the time? Trouble with sponsors? Anything?

[thesciencemind]

She...was always ambitious. She wanted to expand, past what we could be on public funding. It was a point of difference between us, though not...something we ever really fought over, exactly. I might have known it was all coming if we'd ever fought.

I know that she was trying to move in that direction after she cancelled my show. There were... [He thinks for a second, then waves a hand dismissively.] ...soap operas, for a while. Some genre shows. I've looked them up again since I met you, and they all had real actors in them, they've had other work since. None of it ever really took off, until this.

[cyan_maid]

[Ambition is something Jane can understand. She nods once, solemnly - public television is a wonderful thing, there wouldn't be nearly as many children of all species being edutained if it wasn't around, but if you're a business woman and you want more, usually you go for more. Just like Betty Crocker had done, twice now, so long ago.

And just like her wishes to change the fork back to a spoon, Jane wishes she could go in and make things how they were. Public television sounds much more beneficial than bloodsports.]

So she must have gotten some sort of...inspiration, to turn things in such a direction. Or she was desperate to get something that would really launch the network into notoriety, and...she found an opportunity, and took it. The technology to bring us all here, maybe? Or that there were all these other worlds and realities to begin with? [A pause.] Mister Ein, if you happen to know off the top of your head, how long have memory altering to this degree and the ability to reconstruct organic bodies...how long has that been a thing that's possible? Roughly speaking.

[thesciencemind]

The ability to build bodies like that is older than I am. Which is older than Nina, at least as far as I could tell. Access to it isn't equal, of course, just like anything else...but species have been using the technology for medical purposes for a long time.

As for the memories...well, again, it depends on the species. There's similarities, but even my brain - [He gestures at his temple.] - doesn't have the exact same makeup as yours. I think they must be tailoring it for everyone who isn't an ordinary human, and that...that is a shocking amount of time and effort.

...unless, of course, she's found something advanced enough to be called magic. Then, who knows.

[cyan_maid]

Were advancements of that level something she was interested in?

[thesciencemind]

Not to my knowledge. We never talked much about the best way to wipe out people's memories.

[He folds his arms.]

She was interested in science, but we mostly discussed it in the context of the show. [Which, being for children, was not that advanced.]

[cyan_maid]

Did you cover all sorts of scientific topics?

[Even if it was just basic, there is a LOT of science that can be taught to kids and then expanded upon as you get older. Building a foundation of knowledge, and all that.]

[thesciencemind]

Well, yes. I remember we did do an episode on brains once. Nothing on memory in particular...dreams, once, but that's only slightly relevant.

[cyan_maid]

Hm...

[You know, it would be a good idea to ask Yl'lb Ein about science. To learn, mostly, because Jane does enjoy learning, but also because she needs something of a distraction.]

How was it relevant? I'm curious.

[thesciencemind]

You experience the returning memories as dreams, don't you?

[cyan_maid]

Oh - yes, that's right! Like incredibly vivid, coherent dreams, but you can tell by their coherence that they're not! Even if they were out of order, they felt...startlingly real to the others.

[Jane's, oddly enough, had all been strangely chronological.]

[thesciencemind]

That makes sense on some level. Dreams are the brain's way of processing things - I think it's probably weird that they were so clear and coherent, given the circumstances, but it seems like whatever they did, your brains only needed time to re-process and integrate the memories.

...doesn't really explain why it seemed to be on a consistent schedule, of course.

[cyan_maid]

Perhaps it could have been on a controlled release? Whatever was influencing the memories to re-integrate, that is. I know some people think it was drugs, or the nanites...it seems a little too polished to just be random. After all, from what it seems like, the folks from last time didn't remember anything until after they'd survived a trial, and no one in this go-around has remembered anything yet.

[thesciencemind]

It could be drug-related. That would make the most sense, if you were all the same species - but you're not. They would have had to test the drugs on the non-humans beforehand, I imagine, to figure out the correct dosages...

[He wonders how long they might have had you all.]

[cyan_maid]

...There would have to be a lot of trial and error testing, I'm guessing.

[Yeah she's. Picking up on that idea. She doesn't LIKE it, but still.]

[thesciencemind]

Dangerous. They could have done a lot of damage with that. Nanobots like they have still can't repair brain damage.

[cyan_maid]

...I mean. Necessarily speaking, if they were just trying to get an idea of the species they were working on, not an individual person...

[They could have been planning this out and developing the means for a very, VERY long time.]

[thesciencemind]

...well.

[This conversation isn't helping anything.]

However it happened. There's a lot to be done before we can do anything about that. I've looked into it - their corporate headquarters aren't where they used to be. Of course, they're such a big network now. [He shrugs.] Their public mailing address isn't the actual location, either. I've called some people I know, I'll see what more I can find. Though...

[cyan_maid]

Though...?

[thesciencemind]

...what are you going to do if you find the place?

I know how these offices work. Lots of interns, staffers, technical people. They don't all deserve to suffer for something they probably don't even know about.

[cyan_maid]

No, I agree - we've all gotten mad and irrational in the face of people we only thought knew what was going on, but we can't just go in armed to the teeth and beat the snot out of innocent folks. Getting to the root of the problem, the primary person in charge, and...and getting them to set things right, and seeing them punished for it the right way, outed to the public and tried and thrown in jail - that's what I want. And if that's Nina or someone beyond her, then that's who needs to get the brunt of it. John Smith the intern who makes everyone coffee doesn't need to be harassed for something he didn't do.

[John Smith the intern who makes everyone coffee being the hypothetical innocent in this situation.]

[thesciencemind]

[He nods, clearly working out how to phrase what he means to say.]

Of course, I'm not saying you all don't have reason to be angry. You've got damn good reasons to be angry, and I will do what I can to find you this place. There just needs to be a plan other than storming it. Getting a meeting with an executive like that isn't easy, but security there probably doesn't really know what's happening either.

[cyan_maid]

That's true, but...what do we do when we get to an executive? Just...tell them what's happened? What...unless we're dealing with the source, how do we know what we do will make a difference?