Experiment 10 - Eta

[testingphase]

[ The elevators do not take you up to your living area. Rather, they take you DOWN, to a small room with three white walls, and one that is a thick, translucent plastic. There appears to be a chute of some sort behind the plastic wall. ]

Now, in order to determine how well you know each other, we're going to see which teams are the most popular. The rules are simple:

* At the end of the test, each team will suffer an attack. Each attack will kill about half of everyone present.
* You may choose one team (other than your own) to defend from this attack. A team that is defended will not be harmed.
* If you wish to defend yourself instead of another team, you must choose a team to attack.
* You may not refuse to choose.

Comments

[withabowontop]

Morse code a plan of attack?

[proto_hero]

Yeah. But it's not reverberating.

[withabowontop]

[checks for the usual cameras as he paces the length of the room to look for any weak points]

[proto_hero]

[falling back, letting you do that while he thinks]

Alphabetical order. If we can't talk, that's our only chance of getting everyone.

[withabowontop]

That's saying everyone else picks in the same order and Gamma doesn't decide to skip Iota.

[proto_hero]

I thought Delta came after Gamma.

[withabowontop]

Am I missing a few letters of the alphabet?

[proto_hero]

Greek letters. That's what our teams are named.

[withabowontop]

[raises an eyebrow] Right.

[totally makes things easier]

[proto_hero]

It's an order we can use. The alternative is choosing someone to protect and risking someone else falling through the cracks.

[withabowontop]

If we get hit by two attacks in a row, we won't have to worry about an alphabet to follow.

[proto_hero]

That only happens if anyone defends themselves. If nobody does, there's only one set of attacks going around.

[withabowontop]

Faith that moves mountains.

[proto_hero]

Think about it. If everyone defends, we're back at square one. They've got to see that.

[withabowontop]

If.

[proto_hero]

[firmly]

They'll realize it.

[withabowontop]

We could take a calculated risk, attack a team that would mean the least amount of collateral damage.

[proto_hero]

They're all collateral damage.

[withabowontop]

Given the odds, someone's going to die. It's all a matter of how many someones. If you're wrong, and any other team attacks us, it's 50/50 that the two of us won't be standing here.

[proto_hero]

Adding more attacks into the pool ensures more people die. Period.

[withabowontop]

So you want to defend Theta, then?

[proto_hero]

[nods]

They're after us alphabetically. And I saw four of their teammates during introductions.

[withabowontop]

[not going to argue but moves on, pointing with his chin to the chute]

If the attack comes, it'll be with turrets through that. Stay in the back.

[proto_hero]

[straightens up]

I'm not a civilian.

[withabowontop]

No, you're not but you're also the one everyone knows, thus the least expendable.

[plus, you'd be wasting all that working out you've been doing]

How strong are their weapons here?