A Red Letter Day [Pre-Experiment Free RP]
Mar 11, 2012 21:00:04 GMT -5
Post by nasrid on Mar 11, 2012 21:00:04 GMT -5
OOC: For several days anyone that wants to can chill in this thread and RP with the other participants. Once I announce the beginning of Day One, this Thread will end.
Doctor Frederick Arocratus -- The Great Experiment
Perfection is an important virtue of the intellectual mind. If something is not perfect, then it is imperfect, and why be satisfied with imperfection? Imperfection is the stuff of failure, of mistakes and of error. Thus when one is planning one of the most important experiments in the history of important experiments, perfection Is not some silly flaw, but truly the most important thing that one can think of.[/size]
These were the thoughts that went through the powerful mind of the Good Doctor Arocratus on that fateful morning before the beginning of the Great Experiment. All his usual apparel was there; he was adjusting his spectacles like a manic obsessive, his beard had the evidence of being combed several hundred times, and there was not a crease in his suit. Surely he was prepared for what was to come, this titan of psychology. Looking once more in the mirror, a faint grin grew on his face, and he opened the door to the hallway, beyond his office that had been converted to his permanent abode.
As he stepped into the hallway, all froze like deer in headlights. The scientists, the workers, and the peacekeepers. For a second they stood, until his thundering voice tore through the silence like a volcano.
“Well? What’s the holdup? A second more and we could lose precision! Faster you fool, we need to make it all excellent!” He was on the edge, and could not afford anyone making a mess of his experiment. They all scuttled away like fearful crabs sighting a seagull, and he continued down the now empty hallway with the determination of a hungry cheetah. Turning the corner, more of the invertebrates that were scared of him ran away, and he was once again left alone.
All the better, he thought. For in this sort of environment I can work. At exactly 12 PM the trains with the participants will arrive. It is now 11:30 PM. I need to move quickly, and good heavens, My shoes have a stain on them. Ah, there’s a young worker fool. I’ll call him over.
“You there! Come over here! I need just a touch of shoeshine.” The shivering worker could barely contain his cries of fear, but nodded and came back quickly with the shoeshine, cleaning his shoes. He overdid it, beckoning a hit from the always oppressive Doctor Arocratus.
“That’s too much! You did well, though, boy. Here’s something for your troubles.” He gave the boy a bit of money, and then continued down the hall, finally opening the doors to the outside. There stood two peacekeepers at both sides, and a large platform with a microphone in the middle. It was rather like a district square in miniature form, and he hated it. Nevertheless, the good doctor allowed it to exist, in all his benign-ness and calm nature.
Just beyond the large clearing were the trains. And it was good that they had come, for another second and the Good doctor would have ordered the killing of every single incompetent bastard in the entire institution. There were sixteen of the Participants, dapper young lads and ladies ready to participate in the wondrous world of science.
For once in the day the Doctor was genuinely happy. He loved one thing more than anything, and that was energy and interest into science, and psychology in particular. He had never dreamed such a large amount of contestants had signed up for his experiment, and this made him quite energetic. It almost made him feel sad that there was a high likelihood at least one of them would die in the following days. Almost.
Yet he was no Capitolite, and he did not relish killing. Killing was an unfortunate by-product of the forward advance of science. Some would die, yes, but not in the horrible, brutal way in which the hunger games were conducted. A psychological scar here, a little bit of murder there, but nothing too dramatic. They were still human beings after all, and it was a win-win for him either way.
Not that there is such thing as a win-win in a psychological experiment. The human mind has an infinite amount of variables which it can bring to bear when under stress, and even the most powerful computer could not make a flowchart outlining the flowchart of the human mind. Even with hundreds of years of research into it, both in Panem and in the past, long before this nation was even suggested; the human mind has eluded the harnessing of its true abilities. Hopefully today could change that, or turn the tide in our favor.
The next few days would be most glorious, indeed, for the world of science. When he had dreamed of it all those years ago as he lay staring at the deformed cake his wife had destroyed as she left him, he could not have believed that the mad plan could have come to fruition. However, the celestial being works in mysterious ways, and his dreams have been realized. Now he can watch the various children and adults die for science.
Where did that thought come from? Another example of the mind’s great unpredictability. Even in times when one is ecstatic, doubt invades and attempts to silence euphoria. Not today! Today is the day when all of life and all the beasts of the land look up at the Doctor, who has managed to wield their brains into something more than simply biological or mystical.
These illusions of grandeur have come up time to time, but not quite like this. Today the Doctor is on top of the world, where yesterday he controlled but one institute in all of Panem. He is god, and all others are beneath him. Yes, this is true euphoria, the stimulation of the mind by a great pleasure inside of one. Why ask for such petty physical pleasures when you have something much, much greater? The entire human psyche is at the disposal of a single man, and he will be damned if the Capitol, or indeed anyone, tells him what to do. It is a chess game, and the doctor has plans within plans.
He breaks off from this daydream of beliefs and fairy tales, once again looking into the crowd. The participants have gotten off of their trains, and they are obviously waiting for him to do something. Straightening his tie for a final time, and clearing his throat, he begins the methodically memorized speech which he had prepared over a year before. Every emphasis, every piece of literature in it, all of it had been planned down to the letter. It was his time to shine.
“Welcome to the Great Experiment. Before I begin, I must comment on the great number of you and how warm it makes an old man feel in his heart to see so many interested in the sciences as a whole, let alone Psychology. I am Doctor Frederick Arocratus of the Panem Institute of Psychology, Sociology, and Brain Patterns.
Of course, you probably knew that. This is not exactly an unknown enterprise; the great turnout at the signups for this has made me add extra spots to the experiment. Truly, you all are wonderful, and I’m sure that your contributions to science will all be quite fruitful. Now, the first order of business is the cell assignments. Doubtless you’ve all been given a briefing of what the Great Experiment entails exactly, and its various dangers and shortfalls, as well as its methodology and most obviously, the layout of it.” After reading out the cell assignments, he continues.
“Now, you have several hours to converse among yourselves. Make these hours count, because when the speakers announce that it is time for the experiment to begin, you will be moved into the testing area. Please do not try to resist and flee; regardless of the way you have signed up for this, fleeing is pointless, and you will be pushed back into the Testing area. Once inside the testing area, you cannot leave, and you must go to your cells immediately. Ah yes, and all of your belongings except the clothes on your back are confiscated. You can have them back at the end of the experiment.
Now that we’ve got all of that cleared up, make the most of the time that you have. With that, I bid you all ado, and may you have an enjoyable time during these two weeks!” After ending the speech, he turns away from stage, opening the doors to the main hallway, and walking swiftly down the corridor.
“An enjoyable time indeed.” As he closes the door that goes into the observation deck, he can hardly suppress a chuckle.
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