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meadowlarklogs2020-01-04 07:02 pm
EVENT 007.1
WHERE: ?
WHEN: February 18th – February 20th
WHAT: After asking Cassius to remove their neural implants, Cassius makes good on his deal.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Body horror, psychological horror, physical trauma, mental trauma, surgery, loss of autonomy, coercion, and needles.
And uh, a fun brain ditties site we found.
Cassius sends out a location pin on the morning of February 18th, different for everyone who requested it. A black hover car with tinted windows pulls up to each, no driver at the helm, and sits expectedly until they let themselves in. In one car is Daisy, in another Caroline, Hope and Klaus, and lastly Gabriel and Jack. Any questions spoken aloud will not be answered, and the car will begin to hover before turning down the next available corner. The locks click, and suddenly it becomes difficult to stay awake. Limbs become heavy, and eyelids slowly begin to fall. For those that struggle to see their last waking moment before they drift off into slumber, they'll notice that the self-driving car has been circling the last mile over, and over, and over again.
When they awaken, there is an antiseptic smell in the air: fluorescent lights glare overhead in a facility that looks like it was made for an entirely different kind of experimental function. What the facility was used for previously isn't apparent, but its current purpose has been reimagined. If they look down at their arm, there is an IV feeding into it. They'll have the sense that they haven't been operated on, not yet. The source of the IV itself leads somewhere unknown. If they go to remove the IV, they'll hear a bark of caution from a speaker. "Tsk tsk! I wouldn't do that if I were you. Gassing you—it was so sloppy. But I'm prepared, oh yes I am, to do what must be done."
After a few more silent minutes, a projection pops up for all of the captive Displaced. "Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to my facility my fine patients. I'm Johann Grey, and you can call me Doctor Grey. First off, let's allow gratitude be given where it's due! Thank you for being so willing to invite my fine friend Cassius into your lives—and thus, me by association. The last specimen I had were … less experienced—less durable. Less familiar with what they've been given. But from what I understand, you have been around for a while. Let's see what we discover together, shall we?"
If there is room for alarm, Johann doesn't grant them much chance to respond to it. Whether they have the IV in their arm or they've removed it and have all but asked to be gassed once again, they'll slowly begin to feel the same wave of fatigue hit them.
As for anyone left behind or hopeful they may be able to trace the paths of the lost Displaced, they'll come up empty handed. El's unable to access the security feed once the hover limos set off for their final destinations, making zer blind to Cassius' actions. Any trackers (such as Daisy's engagement ring) can be traced to a location: a limo rental lot, where the limo has been parked and left for several hours.
DAISY
CAROLINE
HOPE & KLAUS
GABRIEL
JACK
Hello and welcome to the Brain Surgery Club! If anything from our write ups doesn't suit what you'd like, please contact us on your thread on the Permissions Post so that we can make any necessary revisions. We want this to be fun for you. Some of your requests will be worked into the thread later on, but if you would like to have it there from the start, let us know.
All characters will be told that due to the number of surgeries, there will be a three day period before they're allowed to go free. Some of the reasons cited will be "need for care and recovery" and "the number of people going under the needle in contrast to the number of personnel involved." If anyone does any research before they get drugged, this will check out!
If someone sends a message to their currently missing friend, it will just show up as an unread message during this time (if they have those notifications turned on). They'll be synced up with their usual network presence afterward (unless they request a different outcome, such as a new identity).
We're assuming that all characters will want to have a neural implant reimplanted at the end of this process as they will otherwise be disconnected from the world, and our hope is to have them released on time for the Arrival Log! If your character is happy to sit locked up in a room cut off from the world, they may be able to be rescued from their unfortunate situation once some of the others are released back into the "wild."
Anyone who has their characters try to chase this lead will find that Cassius and Doctor Grey prepared for such a likelihood. Any trackers placed on them will be left in the limo to be found, with no other signs or residue of their presence.
As a final note: we give blanket permission for harming or killing Doctor Grey! There will be opportunities for that within these threads.
no subject
Jack can't see Johann, but he can most certainly feel his presence in his space. Johann leans in a little, as if he were trying to test a theory before leaning back again.
"How about that offer? It'll only take a moment to collect the goods." There's the sound Johanna getting to his feet. "You can tell me just how much you like your implant removed after I get back."
no subject
It takes a few seconds, but he does manage to get upright. He's still woozy and his body sways for a few seconds as he braces his hands against the operating table. He blinks once, twice, three times, and even tilts his head around, but no light is coming through.
"Not gonna give me a choice, are you?" Jack grumbles, as he can hear the retreating footsteps. This pause will at least give him some time to get his thoughts in order.
no subject
"It's not for my satisfaction."
Johann's just here as the hands of the brain surgery, after all.
"Give it some time."
And he leaves with a little swoosh of the door. It's a while before he comes back, at least long enough for Jack to come too a little bit and poke his nose around if he decides that he wants to look through anything. Of course, the door doesn't respond to him if he tries to leave, the lack of the neural implant sees to that one.
After a couple hours, Johann's voice hits the intercom.
"Now that you've gotten a taste of what it may be like to be without a neural implant—how about two? I've got a perfect good UNA neural implant model that would go very well if I mean to reinstall your old one."
no subject
Despite the fact that Jack is still pretty sedated, he resists the urge to fall back to sleep, even as the time that Johann's gone becomes longer and longer. He tries the door and even makes attempts to force it open, but to no avail. Pacing around the small operating room isn't that simple when he can't see a thing.
He could ask himself what he was thinking, but it's not like he didn't have some idea of what he was getting into.
Finally Johann's voice cuts in, though the special offer isn't anything that Jack's interested in.
"Why the hell would I want to put more implants in my head? The UNA models have software that controls their thought processes, doesn't it? And the whole point of this was to get a different implant put in, not the same one you already pulled out of my head."
One that's possibly been tampered with.
no subject
Johann sounds sure of himself. "While your implant is removed, you'll hardly be able to open a door—though you're welcome to try—and you're stripped completely of identity recognizable by the current system set into place. The actuality of the situation is that you're afforded less freedom, not more."
There's a dramatic pause as Johann leans into the intercom.
"The specifics of the software doesn't work if they're overridden. Thanks to the whims of fate I have the ability to do just that, and leave you with the goodies, of course. That includes the switch between implants, more flexibility and less limits, including full UNA access. You see, Mr. Miller, the key here to more freedom is more technology, not less. It's to trick the system."
no subject
The guy has left him blind for what seems to be the fun of it, which doesn't give Jack any reason to trust him to make further modifications.
"The deal was that I'd get my current implant replaced with a clean one out of the box, so I have to worry less about potentially being tracked. If you give me a UNA one, I'll be right back where I started."
With some effort, Jack finds his way back to the exam table and leans himself against it. He's managing not to full-on panic at the thought of being at this nutjob's mercy; it's a skill earned from plenty of experience in stressful situations.
"Sorry, but I don't think the benefits are worth the possibility that you could hack into my brain at any moment."
no subject
"The deal is that I would remove it," he clarifies. "Not that you'd get a clean one. Now, your identification is connected to everything—so that makes the whole job a little harder, hmm? Besides, there's someone out there that wouldn't like me messing with it. Oh no no no, even if that does make it tempting."
There's a little eh that comes from across the intercom.
"What makes you think I can't hack your brain, otherwise? Come now, you haven't a clue what I can do. But I'll do you a solid, how's that? Why did you want a clean implant?"
no subject
The statement may as well be like a bucket of ice water poured down Jack's back. He sits up straight despite how groggy he's feeling, reacting not so unlike a shark that's caught the scent of blood.
He can already tell that he's going to get screwed over here, but at this point Jack thinks the best thing he can get out of this is information.
"Because I figured whoever put the original one in my head was using it to watch what I was doing. Wanted to sever that connection. Are you saying you know who that is?"
Because that seems to have been the implication.