VIDEO

[consulting]

[ Sherlock is adjusting the video. He's squatting on a chair. The floor, which is sort of in view, is covered in papers. All scrawled over in haphazard notes. He rubs his hands together, eyes intense and focused but there's a ghost of a smirk threatening to break free. His words are precise, perhaps said far too quickly. ]

- Alright. First disappearances, Eight people attacked, an unknown number lost in hallways and now skeletons. Oh this is Christmas.

There's a mute button for those of you that don't care for it or are too slow to comprehend, but I think best when I think out loud. Inputs, provided they aren't dull would be most helpful.

[ Fingers press against the tips of his nose. ]

Now, let's dissect this, shall we? Examine what is factual. One, every jump cycle leads to the disappearances of more people. Two, something on this ship is attacking people. Three, reports of people getting stuck in corridors and finding a door, a door that says open me. Followed by: "Don't believe everything they tell you" and "why don’t you sit down and rest a while? sorry about the mess. best i could do on short notice. you’re welcome." all of these signed with smiley faces. End of obvious facts.

Let's do this backwards start with the fourth point. The smiley face, signatures are important. Take a peek at the way it was worded, first with Hello. Greeting, familial, informal. - Those of us in the first batch [ He'll put air quotes on the first batch. ] had seen it in an abandoned elevator if my sources are right. The second being, the message on the door - open me. lower case, smiley, red paint. Because of it's position we can also rule out child, or anyone too short. The strokes get confident in p, e, n and me. O is faded, thinner. Then you enter the room, suddenly - all capitals. What do all capitals suggest? Urgency, look at me. PAY ATTENTION. The strokes are bolder, more confident. We can deduce paint from the texture, left over smudges and brush marks. The writer was not in a hurry - words suggest no hint of emergency; but it's still a point the writer had to get across. Don't believe everything they tell you. Emoticon, again. Now WHO are THEY?

Now, the bones. Cut, scorned and in Tranquility uniforms. The cuts are precise. A more accurate detail in forensics would have been done had the unsettling Jack NOT CHEWED ON THE FEMUR. But we can note that some of the bones are broken. Yet despite the presence of red in the room, none of this is blood. The food can be taken as a gesture of kindness, like the smiley face. Now if the bones had been here a while, they would have collected dirt. Yet, there is no indication of bone decay or dust. How long the skeletons had been there draws a blank. If I had my riding crop, perhaps an examination of the brittleness would have occurred.

We've been dealing with missing people, perhaps they're turning up? We all go through the stasis tubes during jumps, perhaps a few people in the first batch weren't being entirely truthful about just arriving? A cycle of new people every month is guaranteed, and if there were little left. Pretending would have been easy enough to manage with a small group of people. Perhaps, 'they' is a reference to that? It's clearly not a single person we're being warned about. Look at the pronouns! Now, why would people go missing at all? Consider the possibility that the attacks may be a first stage of disappearances and whomever is writing is giving out a warning?

Oh, so many ideas to explore. Give me facts, give me conspiracies, every theory you've drummed up because -

[ Oh he's outright grinning now. ]

The game is on.

Comments

[madmaninabox]

...Corridor. It was an abandoned corridor at the end of a supposedly broken lift.

[consulting]

I was part of the Tansei group, Doctor. Care to share?

Video

[walksonrooftops]

Theories...

[He thinks for a moment before continuing, more quietly.]

I think the corridors and strange room were in different worlds.

[Is this helpful? He hopes this is helpful. The whole thing has him extremely worried, so he wouldn't want to withhold anything.]

Re: Video

[consulting]

[ Oh Sherlock likes you Asato, he really does. Sometimes he worries about you-]

Dull. Don't be stup-

[ Oh revelation. ]

Expound on that theory. What lead you to think that?

[audio]

[testgasm]

[That's right, Sherlock. You think real hard and solve this puzzle. POST YOUR PROCESS FOR US CREEPY VOYEURS]

I have a list of suspects! For you.

Well. It's just one suspect, and mostly for the disappearances, and the people getting attacked issue, but hey, that's better than nothing, right?

[Wheatley...]

[consulting]

One suspect does not make a list but - Tell me everything, John's Robot Pawn.

[ He's forgotten Wheatley's name; and he's mentally abbreviated you to JRP - man with shit handwriting. ]

audio

[barkstabbark]

You can't fucking prove that was me!!

[consulting]

Wrong.

[ Come at me bro. ]

text | locked to team | encryption 100%

[firstofficer]

Detective?

text | locked to the team | 100%

[consulting]

Inputs?

SH

[andblockbuster]

[...Topher can't even go with brain theories right now, because, dude, if the answer is to solve the puzzle, then clearly this guy has the right idea, so no matter whose theory is right... It's a win/win.]

People have been saying say there's two people left from the original crew, right? So when the first group arrived, those two were obviously were the ones with all the answers. And... How many people have talked to them exactly?

[consulting]

Not a big number. The first batch wasn't a lot. A briefing of the situation.

For whatever is happening they've certainly kept mum; but there's been a lot of incidents where they should have spoken. Like Capa's hostage situation. They've yet to reappear after their first broadcast.

[ video ]

[constructum]

I'm missing two of my friends now. [ she is stressing two also. knowing that there was two bodies discovered and that clearly has her looking more scared then anything. ]

And I'm having a hard time trying to understand how this is even reality.

ITP: Sherlock is a dick to Ariadne. Again.

[consulting]

What a coincidence, there were two skeletons. Describe your friends, let's see if they match.

[text] because sherlock loves troll text RIGHT? RIGHT?

[uncodlyawwesome]

wwhat you dont realize that the they in the wwriting wwas the captain an his first mate
i thought that wwas fuckin obvvious

wwait
wwhy does it havve to be someone from the first jump wwho did all this wweird elaborate look at howw fuckin spooky this ship is bullshark
i mean couldnt there be some stowwawways around or somethin maybe from tansei station or from before wwe all got here this is a big ship after all wwe dont evven havve access to evvery part of it
an also the thing attackin people is probably completely unrelated

Re: [text] because sherlock loves troll text RIGHT? RIGHT?

[consulting]

See, something on the ship. The obvious theory.
Now if there was something else that brings up a whole line
of new questions. The most important being, why have Ward and Resnik
not warned us?

Then there's the employ of pronouns - think about it. THEY.
They had enough paint to write us a number of messages, perhaps a direct
approach would have been a better alternative for our message sender?
Ward and Resnik are suspects, yes, just don't limit them to being the only ones.


How is it unrelated?

SH



------------- ATTACHED FILE --------------------

> eridanmsg581.txt - 15KB

What you don't realize that they in the writing was the captain and his first mate.
I thought that was fucking obvious.

Wait!
Why does it have to be someone from the first jump who did all this weird, elaborate, "look at how fucking spooky this ship is" - bullshark.
I mean couldn't there be some stowaways around or something? Maybe from Tansei Station or from before we all got here? This is a big ship after all, we don't even have access to every part of it.
And, also the thing attacking people is probably completely unrelated.

text;

[awakenings]

Are you really going to use this as an opportunity to stir up conspiracy theories? All you're going to do is rile people up.

text

[consulting]

Riling people up calls for dramatic actions.
Dramatic actions lead to attention.

Preferably Ward and Resnik's.

Your in possession of pictures, Re-L? Of the first door. I took pictures of the writing, mind if I compare?

SH

audio;

[laufeysons]

Is it really wise to be basing so much on these mysterious messages?

AUDIO

[consulting]

[ Oh he'll grin ]

Hardly much and give me something else to base it on.

voice;

[jilt]

I do enjoy watching you work, you know.

[ similarities between him and her holmes? all carefully categorized. ]

[consulting]

[ Oh yes, catching him off guard. ]

- Why is that, Irene?

[ The, if that is your real name is implied. ]

[statsraaden]

Strange. I would have said 'them' is the remaining crew.

[Stats is still shaken by what he found in the room, and it shows when he tries to mention it.]

Er... have you managed to figure out how... er... what happened? Also, do you know if anyone ate the food? I'm sending mine to Medbay for analysis. I'm not eating it.

[consulting]

Them could be anyone. That's the trouble with pronouns.

I've had numerous accounts. What did they leave you?

[text → audio]

[alwaysagit]

>> perhaps a few people in the first batch weren't being entirely truthful about just arriving?

An interesting thought. Did you, yourself arrive in that first batch and can you point to anyone who may have given you that impression?

/LATE IF YOU'RE STILL UP FOR THIS.

[consulting]

There were a number of people that had stricken me as inherently suspicious but given the cir-

[ Oh Lordy. He had to stop. It was like talking to himself. He sounded so familiar. The distinctness of the voice. The similar baritone. John was right. John was bloody right. ]

A-ALAN RICKMAN?

text;

[cutsofftheirlimbs]

Should we mention if we expected something like this to show up eventually?

Also, ate the food. Nothing bad's happened yet. Know people were wondering about that.

[Detective work isn't exactly his field of precision, but hell if he hasn't learned how this shit works after his two-tour space horror duty.]

text ; /late tag is late.

[consulting]

Yes. Exactly, what were you expecting? The vandalism?
The calling out on the lying? The skeletons?

Why? What possessed you to partake in it?

SH

[video]

[profligates]

[Ah, his friend with the smokes.]

What I'd like to know is, how did they know who would be showing up at these corridors and doors, so that they could give out the right amount of food to a particular taste?

[To make his point, he'll be taking a bite of his tomato now.]

VIDEO /LATE LATE LATE

[consulting]

We have to consider the ability that we're constantly being watched by our writer. I think we'd best put on a good show.

[ Why is he eating it? ]

How's the tomato?

Video;

[bottlearum]

Perhaps we're all in under some cures, aye?

/LATE AS FUCCCCK

[consulting]

[ Oh he'll grin at that. That was an interesting conclusion - a curse. The fact that Jack had come to it first bewildered him a bit. He shifts in tone, scared almost. ]

Do you think we're cursed?

[ A beat ]

Did you cause it? Did you bring a curse with you? Is that why we've only seen the skeletons now?

[ Oh he'll play up all the emotions. ]

video;

[saidhe]

It's afoot, the game is -- afoot, goodness, you'd expect you of all people to know your Shakespeare at the very least.

[ Someone's still looking much worse for wear, but he's better at least, recovered more or less. Still a bit weak between the withdrawal and the attack, but, well. Still speaking adamantly, even if there's still that bit of a drained edge to his voice, the sound of someone who's been taking very poor care of himself. ]

You and I have notes to compare, it seems, good man.

text; late as fuck /o\

[edle_gestalt]

I admit I almost hit mute early on, but I am glad I did not. You said the bones were scored? I feel a little silly for not having noticed, but I was in a bit of a panic.

You may also like to know that I approached the room together with someone else, but they disappeared upon entering, which left me alone. I was with Asato. Have you made contact with him? I admit I haven't left my room much since then.

Did they leave you boiled beef as well? I thought it was strange, it's a national dish of mine and I thought it would be rather obscure considering our setting. I can't help but think I'm a target.

SORRY THIS IS SO LATE STEPH. YES. YES. LETS PLAY OUT AUSTRIANGST

[consulting]

Interesting. You probably are a target. That's because most only bother to see when they should observe.

Asato and I have been in contact and he pointed out that fact as well. The partner I usually have to investigate this sort of matters found himself a tad tied up with the medbay. It is interesting you've brought it up though. There isn't a concrete reason as to why the person you're with would suddenly vanish.


[ He's going to play with Austria's fear a bit. Capitalize it to try to deduce as much as he can from the situation. ]

[longaevus]

That's a theory I hadn't given too much thought to, that there were others still here in our arrivals.

I'd be interested in taking a look at those bodies. Have they been left in the rooms or removed?

[consulting]

I wish there were remains. I haven't been acquainted with a corpse in months.

I, along with numerous others have apparently tried to remove them from their position within the room but they vanished. Is it within your capacities to preform a post-mortem?