ataraxion | CASE 006; TEXT

the list is couched in contexts that imply threat.
either to the ship, provided by the persons listed.
or to the persons listed, provided by the ship.

[ Then: ]

what if john watson was on the list?

Edited 2012-05-18 03:41 (UTC)

all of this is undoubtedly implied, yes.

but john watson is not on the list.

hypothetical, sherlock.

indulge me.

if john watson was on the list then john watson would be on the list. i don't know what the list is for, nor do i know what (if anything) is intended to be done with the people on said list.

say that they plan to take each person listed and put them into an incinerator; no mess, no fuss. then that would be what would happen.

my inserting myself into john's spot on that list would merely have my own body burned alive, as well as a number of others, rather than achieving anything new. i would have saved doctor watson while still allowing over a dozen others to march to the metaphorical noose. selfish. egotistical. perhaps i do owe you money.

the point therein is that a blind sacrifice would not be my intent, as there is nothing to gain from such an act other than the prolonging of john watson's life, which is utterly silly. there is absolutely nothing to stop anyone from, therefore, later, making a new list and putting his name on that one instead.

you don't seem concerned.

[ There's a reason she'll never regret sleeping with you, Sherlock. Or regret being friends with you. Or any of the nonsense you two get up to. ]

i am.
does that surprise you?

[ And the fact that she admits that to him? Well, maybe that's sentiment. ]

[ Oh. Well, would you look at that. That actually is news. He so easily assumes that she'll be as passive and as uncaring about what this list has revealed thus far that he hasn't even considered the possibility. ]

[ But he doesn't answer her question. That should give her more than enough of an affirmation. ]

and you reveal this to me why?

because your assumption was wrong.
and you don't like being incorrect.

[ Not the whole truth, but not a lie either. ]

yet i'm hardly seeing giddily smiling "emoticons" within your text, so clearly not the entire reasoning behind things.

hypothetical. indulge me. what do you think the list means for you?

it means i have the attention of someone or something
i can barely begin to comprehend.

we're inarguably brilliant.
but the data's not skewed in our favor.
there are too many hidden variables.
and the statistical likelihood that we will find answers
before the answers find us
are middling to low.

they've one large problem with whichever plan it is they're devising: they have grossly underestimated their competition.

[ He doesn't just mean you. Don't worry; he's not that flattering. But you're part of it. ]

i haven't.

[ And she's still worried. ]

even with so little evidence of what it is they're capable of.

[ And that you're worrying is, by proxy, worrying him. ]

[ Not that your name being on the list concerned him to begin with. ]

[ A long pause. ]

the ship did something to me.

elaborate.

[ Another pause. ]

something has hindered my ability to hear.

i know.

[ Or he's noticed. He doesn't know to what extent. He just knows it's enough to be more than a small inconvenience for her. ]

have not others had their abilities dampened by the effects of the ship, or someTHING on the ship?

[ This is a difficult scenario for him to analyze. Powers are still very new, and he doesn't have enough information. That being said, he also doesn't have his own powers to test the idea on. ] how much?

others have, to varying degrees.

[ She thinks of Oxford and his telepathy; she thinks of Cambridge and her techopathy. ]

aberdeen to washington, dc.
easily.

[ As in, that's how far she could hear without having to stretch. ]

[ Holmes hasn't tested the theory enough, though he'd certainly like to intend to. Now, with so much going on, is not the proper time. ]

[ Still, her previous hearing is remarkable, impressive. It shows in his pause before his response. ]

and now?

[ Her pause is also pointed. Reluctance, maybe. The unwillingness to admit weakness. ]

dependent on where i am on the ship.

testing extent necessary or already completed?

already completed.

[ A pause, then: ]

there are others.

then i shall want to hear the results of those findings at a later date.

"others"?

affected by the ship.
whose affect i've quantified.

ah. presumably. there are those with powers which, i'm sure, when unbridled, could punch holes straight through the ship walls themselves, and we would be in for a grand manner of fun. destructive powers would especially be dampened.

which leads to my wonder instead, is what is they don't want you to be hearing.

not destructive.
invasive.

[ Cambridge: a technopath unable to hack. Oxford: a telepath unable to think. Aberdeen: a clairaudient unable to hear. They'd all been hamstringed to different extents, though the end result was the same: less information. ]

my hearing is acute, accurate and analytic.

[ Meaning she can pinpoint the location of what she hears, can devise to almost granular clarity the details of it and, with previous exposure, be able to identify the source with surprising accuracy. ]

there are parts of this ship we don't have access to.
the sound was faint.
dampened, but there.

now it's gone.

text; ENCRYPTED 100%

saidhe - 2012-05-20 20:55 (UTC) - Expand

text; ENCRYPTED 100%

wiretap - 2012-05-21 03:20 (UTC) - Expand