Experiment 10 - Iota

[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

[backwardscompatible]

Yes. And this... complicates things. Read the rules.

[in_the_blood]

[Wanders over to where ever the rules are to read them with a feeling of trepidation]

...

[backwardscompatible]

I've been talking to GLaDOS too. Defending ourselves will only save us from the initial attack, not any subsequent ones.

[in_the_blood]

... Nobody's going to attack us.

[backwardscompatible]

They might. It's tempting to defend yourself, and then they'll have to attack someone. She told us to go talk to each other before the test began, and I was the only one there from Iota. If people assume that I'm still the only one here...

[in_the_blood]

Normally I'm all for protecting myself, but I'm sure people here are smart enough to figure out that doing so is only going to mean unnecessary extra violence...

[backwardscompatible]

It depends if they're willing to sacrifice half of their team or not. Not every team is going to be defended, we would need to have worked out something beforehand to achieve that.

[in_the_blood]

[Sighs and runs a hand through her hair...]

[backwardscompatible]

I don't think anyone's going to protect us. I wouldn't protect a team with only one person present when I could save more lives by protecting a team that I'd seen had more people.

I also think Loki might kill me if I let you die.

[in_the_blood]

[yeah jesus he actually might :x]

... But if we defend ourselves, not only do we leave another team undefended, but we also contribute to-- whatever's going to happen. We become part of the problem.

[backwardscompatible]

I know. Before you arrived the decision was simple.

[in_the_blood]

[Bites her bottom lip]

... Sorry. Guess I should've stayed in bed a little longer, huh.

[backwardscompatible]

It's not your fault. I wonder if we can't make a deal with her to direct the attack at me, if it's only the one.

[in_the_blood]

River! I'm not going to agree to that.

[backwardscompatible]

It's better than wondering which one of us it's going to be.

[in_the_blood]

I don't care! I'm not some-- some delicate princess you have to keep locked up in a tower safe from harm! I can make my own decisions!

[backwardscompatible]

[sighs] You can deal with the fallout then.

Which team should we protect? Delta, Zeta, Eta and Theta had the most people present in the break room earlier, but it's hard to say now that we know new people can arrive part way through.

[in_the_blood]

... Eta and Theta are fairly well known and popular, right?

[backwardscompatible]

I think so. I was planning on protecting Zeta, myself.

[in_the_blood]

[... Nods] They have a lot of new people, right?

I'm okay with that decision.

[backwardscompatible]

Okay.

... and now we wait.

[in_the_blood]

... Yeah.

[Time to sit on the floor and twiddle our thumbs]

[backwardscompatible]

So, I may have appointed Loki as our team leader last night.

[in_the_blood]

... You did what.

[backwardscompatible]

Captain Rogers held a meeting, and suggested that teams work out a person to represent and keep track of them. I told Loki he should do it, and he eventually agreed.