Chapter 10: Greenill Section ID Day?

[nanocerancowboy]

[ACTION - A (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, Anywhere in Mayfield, Morning to Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[See that six-foot android covered head to toe in some sort of armor, going about his business?]

[He's not wearing green. At all.]

[Try to pinch him. Go on, try it.]

[ACTION - B (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, John Doe Park, Afternoon, OPEN TO ALL)]

[That same android now seems to have a couple of drones following him, even hanging on to him, desperately trying to pinch him—on the hard, armored parts of his body. Suffice to say, they're not having much luck—and the android looks a little annoyed as he tries to brush some of the drones off of him.]

What in th' hell are ya'll on about?

[ACTION - C (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, Olney's Tavern, Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Gat's noticed the sizable amount of patrons heading toward the tavern, both droned and undroned alike. Curious, he's come to the tavern himself, though judging from the way he carries himself and rubs the back of his helmeted head as he scans the tavern in a manner not unlike the Terminator, he's a little perplexed.]

Comments

[nanocerancowboy]

Come to think of it, I recall hearin' one phone call where that Jack Smith fella was assurin' th' Mayor th' lines were secure.

I see what you mean, now. Either they're pretendin' they don't know we can hear 'em and are usin' th' phone calls as misdirection, or ...

... Well, I wonder who among 'em would let us folks listen in on what they're sayin'.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas blinks.]

Oh! ...I'd never thought about that!

...If it's going to be anyone, it would be the Librarian. But I don't know if she'd really helps us out like that... It could be the Mailman, too, but only if it worked with his own plans.

[nanocerancowboy]

So there's two possible suspects who'd be doin' it ... An' th' Postman's got his own agenda.

I wonder if it'd be possible to try an' talk to either of 'em. I know what people've said about th' Post Office, but maybe he'll be up for jus' jawin' for a lil' while.

[a_gentle_boy]

...I haven't talked to him since... that one time.

[Lucas's eyes flicker to the ground momentarily.]

Um. The Librarian, though - I know people have tried to find and talk to her before.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat rubs his chin in thought.]

Have any of 'em had any luck with that?

[a_gentle_boy]

Hmm...

I think, maybe. We overheard a conversation between her and Billy once. She definitely didn't want to be here.

[nanocerancowboy]

Huh ... so then it is true. Not all th' civil servants're united in keepin' us imprisoned here.

[Valuable information to be sure, but ...]

Th' Librarian's still around, right? They ain't done nothin' to her?

[a_gentle_boy]

She... should be. The only people I know of who are gone are... Jane and Officer Grady.

[nanocerancowboy]

Jane bein' ... th' special drone you mentioned a while back? Jane Smith?

[And he recalls the other name Lucas gave for her—Samantha Achewood.]

Then th' former chief of police was Officer Grady?

[a_gentle_boy]

That's right. Samantha. Grady killed her, then... the town killed Grady.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat nods, recalling the rest of Lucas' conversation from that time.]

An' that was th' first proof ya'll had that folks can selectively die for good in this town, I reckon, since he ain't been back, an' neither has Samantha.

[From his body language, Gat looks especially contemplative. He's pondering possible meanings behind the two killings, and the revival machine in the Dairy ...]

[a_gentle_boy]

It wasn't the first time it happened, but it was the first time we got to see the bodies.

...I buried them in the park.

[nanocerancowboy]

[It's truly a mark of how horrible this town can be, that finding and burying the corpses of the few who have permanently died is one of the less traumatic things one can experience—but Gat sets aside that indignation to consider what Lucas first said.]

It ain't th' first time?

[a_gentle_boy]

There was the Russian man. Sergei. ...Or. Boris.

They hunted him down and killed him.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Beat.]

I ain't heard of 'em before.

[a_gentle_boy]

It's a long story... That was when we first found proof that Mayfield was probably just an emulation, too.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat considers this for a moment.]

Y'mean somethin' was off about 'em? Behavin' erratically or causin' disruptions in th' town environment, like a computer glitch?

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas looks surprised again.]

...Yes! Actually... I'd forgotten all about that. Mr. Boris wasn't stable in Mayfield. He kept... disappearing and reappearing in other places. Sometimes, things would go right through him.

But the real proof was in a pamphlet he gave someone.

Um. Let's start a little earlier.

We'd all been invited to a party at the Smiths' place. Everyone took it as a chance to find out more about the Smiths, but it was actually just a distraction so that Grady could go out and... Oh. No, I might have to go even earlier than that.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat listens, nodding once or twice. Coffee would perfectly suit this conversation.]

You can start as far back as y'need.

[Gat does look like he's already got some questions, but ... maybe Lucas will be able to answer theme with the full story.]

[a_gentle_boy]

OK.

There was this one summer where we were all kidnapped by a different town - Not Mayfield. It was supposed to be a Russian town, and it was a lot worse in every way. They made us do factory work for them, and we actually had to wait to be saved by Officer Grady.

[nanocerancowboy]

I'm guessin' by th' whole Russian thing that this other town's based on a different country.

[A beat.]

An' if they kidnapped you an' treated you worse than this town does ... Then them Russians must be hostile to th' country this town's s'posed to be a part of.

That about right?

[a_gentle_boy]

Well. Not exactly. The Russians didn't really consider us from the United States; they just treated everyone who lived there that way.

But you're right; Mayfield and the Russian town didn't get along at all. That's why... During that party I mentioned. It was a distraction for Grady to go and kill everyone in the other town.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat rubs his chin as Lucas speaks.]

I wonder if them Russians got anything to do with th' USSR ...

Was Boris appearin' in Mayfield before they held that there party? Or after?

[a_gentle_boy]

The USSR...?

[Lucas blinks a little.]

Hm. I was always a little confused about that. But the textbooks say the same things about the USSR that people say about 'Russia', so maybe they're the same.

Boris appeared a little while after the party. He was the only survivor.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat nods.]

There was a neighbor livin' on my street who's from this country. Back when they subjected us to nuclear weapons after Thanksgivin', she told me th' most likely culprit woulda been th' USSR if this was takin' place durin' th' time th' town's takin' after.

[A beat passes while Gat considers what Lucas said about Boris.]

An' he was showin' up in random places here in Mayfield ... Normally I'd chalk that up to teleportin' powers, like that Viki girl.