ataraxion | 001 ➺ Video

[ When she flicks the device on, she's pulling away, like she very obviously set it onto something so she could look slightly down at it. When she pulls away, the camera gives a sight of a woman who looks like she's in her mid-thirties. She's dressed in, well, something close to a black catsuit, and she folds her arms over her chest while she looks at the item. If anything, she looks a touch annoyed, but that's the last of the emotion on her face, and when she speaks, her voice is painfully level. The most important thing to note is that at her hip, there's a flash of metal that could just be a rather sophisticated, cylyndrical weapon. ]

I've done my research, so I don't need the basics. I'm looking for details, or specs, if you have them. I've figured out that whoever took me has to be an idiot for giving me an opportunity to talk over these things, and leave me with my weapons.

[ A quirk of an eyebrow. ]

It's messy.

So, has anyone met them? Has anyone said why, or are they just idiots? If not, then I guess there's at least some mystery to whatever it is I've stepped into this time. I don't suppose it's too much to ask about who's on here, is it? Getting a scope of the field will help out more than anything else.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And asking questions isn't a way to take it to the next level?

No, it is. [a shrug] You're just the one who said you'd already figured out the basics, and it seems pretty basic to me that whoever is in charge isn't really talking. [There's a ghost of a smirk, now.] And that they're idiots.

Maybe because you're already here?

I can read plenty, but without confirming from other people, there's no other way to get that information quickly and efficiently.

Well, I'm guessing you know now. [A pause, said purposefully lightly.] And I showed up the same time that you did. I guess I just met more helpful people before I used this thing to talk to everybody else.

Apparently. [ A light beat, with a slight twitch of her lips. ] Good thing you're passing it along.

[A small, ghost of a smile crosses her face that is hardly the innocent grin of a young girl. There's a slight edge to it, a hardness that is hard to miss. She'd normally hide it better but, well, not sleeping means very little control. Yay.]

They kidnap us, they trap us, and they toy with us. But they don't make themselves known. It's pathetic.

Good thing I know how to deal with hidden threats. [ She doesn't say anything, but she's watching that. She certainly looks a little tired, but she's used to long stretches of not sleeping. Especially when in trouble, like right now. ]

They have to fear us, if they won't even come out of the shadows.

They should fear us. [Or, at least, they should fear her. She doesn't know who this woman is or what she's capable of doing but Abby has several ideas of things she'd like to do to whoever is responsible.]

And I don't think they're really here. [No, it's not a theory that necessarily makes complete sense - blame the lack of sleep - but it's the only one she can think of that's going to let her rest easy... whenever she's capable of actually resting again, of course.]

It's possible, but why would people like me show up here, then? There has to be a cause, and I doubt nobody would have found a way to stop it, if there was nobody trying to keep them from finding things out.

Unless this place is literally filled with idiots.

Why are any of us here? [One shoulder lifts in a partial shrug.]

I just think, whoever is responsible, is monitoring us from somewhere else. Like an experiment.

It's possible.

[ A pause. ] I normally know when I'm being watched.

So do I. [a pause; she frowns a little] Figuring things out would be a lot easier if I could get some sleep.

Mmm. [ A pause. ]

Agreed. I thought it was stress.

I remember, during the last world war [a pause; she almost slipped up there and tries to salvage it] I mean, I remember reading about how, during the last world war, political prisoners would be tortured by being kept awake. They would be watched for how they would react, waiting until their minds broke and they would give up information freely.

[Another slight shrug.]

Maybe this is something like that.

That's common enough of a technique. [ So clinical, the way she says it. ]

You keep them awake, as long as possible, or even worse, you let them sleep or eat by your hands, they'll eventually give up what you need.

Standard enough, I guess it doesn't matter where you come from.