AUDIENCE FOR: Hope Estheim

[guestservices]

Comments

[highestheim]

I understand. [ a pause as he mirrors their headtilt ] I would think you'd have gotten more pushback from other guests... and not necessarily as cordial.

[guestservices]

I believe everyone else is too busy yelling about the existence of the murder hotel to really care how I address them, actually. Understandably so.

[highestheim]

...At the very least, you acknowledge the self-awareness of the situation.

[ a small laugh, not really humorous so much as just. to fill the dry air ]

I realized I hadn't really touched base with any of you, besides my attempt to speak with Cetus over the typewriters, so... well. Hello. [ again. ] How would you like us to collectively refer to the eight of you?

[guestservices]

I'm nothing if not self-aware, Hope. [equally dryly. but they pause and there's a nod.]

Hello then. You may refer to us as the staff is that is easiest, given our job titles. It seems to be what many of you have latched onto already.

[highestheim]

Fair enough. Do you have different specific tasks or responsibilities, or are you all sort of expected to handle whatever is needed at the moment?

[guestservices]

A little of both. Have you reviewed our profiles? We tend to specialize in certain areas, but our jobs do require us to step in as needed. We are all expected to be able to attend to every need of every guest, and if we cannot then we will know who to direct you to.

[highestheim]

I see... if you'll allow me to be upfront, I want to learn a little more about you than what the profiles allow. We're being encouraged to foster new relationships among ourselves, yes, but the eight of you are also here. Staff, hosts, or otherwise, you're also people.

[ beat ]

Or individuals, if you're more comfortable with that. [ do yall count as people... ]

[guestservices]

Be as upfront as you'd like. [they say this and hope keeps going, so they listen for a bit.]

If I may. How did you get to know your dormheads whilst you were on campus initially?

[highestheim]

...I admit, I didn't get to know them until after they'd remembered their true identities. But early on, others had done things like invite them to parties, and sometimes they'd come check on us in the dorms, whether it was curfew or not.

[guestservices]

If they were playing the part of regular students, I imagine that's what felt most normal to them. Socializing and ensuring their residents were comfortable on campus. [they think about this...] How long did it take for them to remember?

[highestheim]

A couple of weeks, I think. They lapsed a few times... but they were also led to believe they had alternate identities. That seemed to be one of the more unique circumstances among facilitators.

[guestservices]

So it seems. From what I've read, most of these experiences have hosts or individuals or what-have-you that were themselves through and through but were integrated into the setting. Which, I imagine giving them alternate identities was Wiwaldi's version of that.

Was it permanent then? Once they remembered for good.

[highestheim]

I believe so.

[ ...he goes quiet for a moment. ]

I...admit I'm not sure what's happened in the time since. I lost contact with everyone from Wiwaldi about a year after our "graduation."

[guestservices]

[they seem to look at him again.]

Something changed then?

[highestheim]

I haven't been able to confirm it, but I suspect it has something to do with the paradoxes that have affected my world. [ a beat, then he smiles a little ] It's why I went off on a tangent when I had asked you those questions, during the first trial.

[guestservices]

Paradoxes...[interesting.] We aren't in a trial now if you would like to elaborate on that a little.

[highestheim]

Where would you like me to begin?

[ ...! ]

Can you read things that we're not able to? Like—the unintelligible writing found in some of the books here.

[guestservices]

[there's a blink. not that hope can see it.]

It would depend on what texts you're referring to, I think. Do you have an example?

[highestheim]

I have excerpts of my research on the desk in my room. Even I can't read them as they currently are, but I know it's my work—reports, theses, studies I've authored.

[ he...actually looks a little enthusiastic about the idea of sharing his knowledge...! `nerd` ]

Would you like to take a look? You might find it easier to understand if you can read it, as opposed to hearing me trying to explain.

[guestservices]

[hope...you nerd. it's fine because it would be lying to say if gemini wasn't vaguely curious. so there's a nod.]

I suppose we can try. I'd like to see if I can see them myself and obtain a better understanding of these paradoxes. Though do be prepared to explain if this isn't the case.

[lead the way!]

[highestheim]

Of course.

[ and off they go! hope leads gemini to the elevator and stabs them. (no.) a short walk over and he lets them into his room, leading them to the papers in question. ]

Can you read them?

[guestservices]

[gemini would simply agree it was deserved. anyway, so the room! and they peer at hope's papers, looking at them intensely for a few minutes.]

...it seems as though these papers may simply be for aesthetic purposes, Hope. I can't read these.

[highestheim]

Ah... that's unfortunate. It's fine, though—I can still explain even without supplemental reading.

[ he's about to start talking, but he stops himself and gestures to a chair that i've just now decided this room has ]

Feel free to take a seat. Please don't feel like you need to stand because of your position.

[guestservices]

[i can't believe hope didn't even have a chair. but there's a nod and they will have a seat! in the smart chair.]

Likewise, don't feel you need to stand because you're presenting. Whenever you're ready then.

[highestheim]

[ you know this just made me realize that i don't think there's no fuckin moment in xiii-2 where hope is sitting? his leggies... but yea, he goes ahead and sits on the edge of his bed. we are just bros here, gemini. ]

Right. You're probably familiar with the concept of time paradoxes, where conflicting iterations of history exist as the result of time traveling or some other type of temporal manipulation.

Paradoxes, as they're understood in my world, are similar in nature. However, where almost all depictions of temporal manipulation involve changing the past to reflect an idealized future, paradoxes can also work in reverse. That is to say, by manipulating the future, you can stabilize the past, allowing the flow of time to correct itself and revert to the "proper" timeline.

[ i hate this so much but hope is, again, legitimately jazzed to talk about time travel so i die ]