I13: Test 00002 - MAJORITY RULES

[Calvin Strong]

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Oh, I'm up for negotiations.  I just don't know what to offer you.  Tell me something you want.

[Haley Crusek]

Cal walked over to Haley, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, babe," he whispered. "It's going to be okay. Don't listen when they're trying to piss you off."

Meanwhile, Cal tried to push his way into the teleport systems he'd detected, trying to reverse the last operation it'd done.

Haley was in an angry place right now, and it didn't look like much would calm her down. Simply being near her was enough to make even someone with a partly computerized brain feel a little bit uneasy. Pissed off telepaths are scary, man.

But maybe---just maybe--Cal's words seemed to help a little bit, and the aura of "oh fuck, she's mad" got toned down ever so slightly.

[Narrator]

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Look at it from our perspective--we have two people to do whatever we want with.  Opening up a firewall isn't exactly a fair trade.

We'd take the girl there, though, if you'd prefer.  Two for one deal.

[Calvin Strong]

He leaned down next to her ear and whispered, quiet enough that he couldn't even hear himself to keep it out of his logs.

"Just trust me. I love you, and I'm not going to lie to you. We'll get through this."

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Hey, you think I'm going to trade interesting people for those two bores?  Nope.

[Haley Crusek]

Now that seemed to at least distract her a bit, and for the time being, scary, Galadriel-coveting-the-One-Ring-looking Haley disappeared. She deflated, exhaling sharply and leaning against Cal.

[Calvin Strong]

"That's my girl. Now let's see what we can do to get out of here."

In a much more normal voice, Cal spoke up to everyone else. "So, looks like we have one more hall to pick if we want to get on with this."

[Narrator]

As if to back Cal's point up, the rear wall, with a groan of clanking machinery, began to slowly move forward. Eventually, anyone left in the room would be compacted between the two walls.

[Steve Jones]

"Well the psychic whatzitz was through there," Steve said, pointing, "So how about the other door?"

[Haley Crusek]

"Sounds right to me," she said quietly.

[Calvin Strong]

"We still have time left, assholes!" he called at the room. "The other two are rigged with teleporters. Hence the robots instead of classmates. Dont' know about you guys, but I don't like the whole 'can make us disappear and end up somewhere else' thing."

[Mariuset]

"I would welcome any alternate suggestions"

[Calvin Strong]

"Well, the one that just has a burned-out telepathic beacon in it looks a lot less threatening."

[Steve Jones]

"You weren't the one who it tried to ream the brain out of."

[Calvin Strong]

"Well let's make this simple," Cal said. He pointed to the halls that Alex and Sidney had gone through. "Rigged with stuff that will let them make us disappear and reappear, probably not together, wherever they want." He pointed at the middle door. "Not rigged with stuff to make us disappear and reappear, probably not together, wherever they want. It's not going to be fun, but nothing is going to be fun here." To make his point, he went and made himself the first to stand in the little 'selection area' in front of the door.

[Steve Jones]

"Fine, but if any of our brains drain out our ears it's your fault," Steve answered, following Cal for lack of a better idea.

[Mariuset]

"I hope that your assessment is correct."

[Brigid Plunder]

Brigid looked wistfully back at the other two doors, then finally nodded and went to follow Calvin.

[Narrator]

That did, in fact, lead them to a new antechamber.

Congratulations. I see you're all incapable of making a choice without Subject 0000's input. This validates and confirms our initial hypothesis. Congratulations for living down to our expectations.

You are down two members, Subjects 0002 and 0005. That's a new record!

[Narrator]

"So quiet. Exemplary test subjects.

As such, you have two options. You may continue on as normal, or take a penalty to restore your original complement, if not your original numbers."

[Steve Jones]

"That sound like a contradiction to anyone else?" Steve asked.

"Also, fuck you too creepy voice."

[Haley Crusek]

...does that mean they'll give us back Sidney and Alex? she mindspoke to her fellow captors.

[Narrator]

"That sound like a contradiction to anyone else?" Steve asked.

"Also, fuck you too creepy voice."

"That action is not required for another seventeen test rooms."

[Steve Jones]

"So you're a pedo too? Figures," he said, recklessly taunting their captor.

[Narrator]

"The word your under-developed brain is desperately searching for is Ephebophile.

And the next seventeen rooms may take you some time."

[Calvin Strong]

"What kind of penalty?" Cal asked, ignoring the banter.

[Narrator]

"A penalizing one,to account for the stupidity of the to-be-disposed of subjects. Taking their punishment and diffusing it among remaining subjects, chosen at random."

[Mariuset]

"I believe that will be acceptable." Mariuset said, trying to be brave.

[Haley Crusek]

"...I think we should do it." she said hesitantly to her comrades.

[Steve Jones]

"And the 'if not your original numbers' part?"

[Narrator]

"Subjects 0008 and 0011 have volunteered. Thank you for your cooperation

This will not hurt at this juncture"

With that, what looked like giant, flying metal boomerangs shot themselves out of the wall, homing in on Mariuset and Haley!

[Haley Crusek]

Haley tried to yank both objects out of the air with her TK--or barring that, at least the one flying towards her.

[Mariuset]

Mariuset attempted to duck

[Calvin Strong]

Cal wasn't sure what it would do, not knowing what the things were made out of, but he cut loose with his electricity (ignoring how much it should bug him that he was doing that this much now), trying to push himself in front of the girls. "Get back! Against the door!"

[Narrator]

Haley pushed one out of the way, it scattering to the floor. Calvin was successful in shooting the other one down, too, forcing Haley and Mariuset behind him against the door. Score one for Team XI!

However, with a clunk, panels on the door the two girls were pressed up again slid open, and some sort of leg-based manacles emerged, clamping around their right ankles, knees, and thighs.

There were three red lights on each of the parts attaching it to their legs, which began blinking rapidly...

[Brigid Plunder]

"Damn it! Hold still..."

Brigid picked up the one boomerang on the floor and started trying to pry the manacle off of Haley.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley growled and would have stamped her foot in frustration if her leg wasn't strapped to the wall. She settled for hammering the her hand against the metal with a bit of telekinetic oomph and dented the panel ineffectually.

"God fucking damnit!"

Haley tried to remain still as her roommate started to work the manacles.

[Steve Jones]

Steve followed Brigid's example and retrieved the other boomerang to pry at Mariuset's shackles.

[Narrator]

The lights on the two manacles started blinking faster, and slowly, but surely, Brigid and Steve would be able to pull the two away from the wall...

As they were pulled away, however, something became clear. The manacles were connected to a second set, which were emerging from the wall. Attached to Haley's set (and therefore, attached to Haley, as if they were preparing for a three-legged race) was Sid, slowly being pulled out of the wall. Mariuset's was bound leg-to-leg, then, with Alex.

[Sidney Young]

As Sid's being extracted from the wall so is a burst of expletives until she realizes where she is, which stops it for a couple seconds at least.

"The bloody hell is this now?"

[Mariuset]

"It would seem that we have freed you."