[It takes Oswald a little while to get to the message, not because he's actively ignoring it, just because he's still trying to see through the groggy curtain of the morning which has arrived all too soon.
And then there's Ed all up in his face. A digital version this time, granted, but it is still Ed. Checking in on him. Being Ed.
The message sits on read for a while then before Oswald finally manages to put his brain sludge into something solid.]
While I appreciate the offer, that won't be necessary. I won't be making an appearance at any of the communal events in that cesspit of public housing any time soon.
[Does he have a solid plan yet? No, not quite, but when has that ever stopped him?]
[ Ed... does not like this. It means Oswald has had a run in of some kind (possibly perfectly benign, but frustrating) and has decided he's going his own way. Which could be fine, but Oswald's luck tends to only be extremely good or extremely terrible and terrible here is not what they're used to at home. ]
All right. The offer is open, to come here for a meal, or just a break from the city.
Be careful. Earlier today, I was spot checked for the right papers to be shopping. They threw out a marked individual who had permission, but was not in a contract.
[It's never too early or too late to plan, but somehow it feels like it to Oswald, like his head is all full of sand and it's coming out of his eyes or something.
Perhaps a good practical upshot now though is that Ed comparatively feels like a much, much lower level threat. It fluctuates though. Ed will continue to be a difficult matter to deal with for Oswald.]
No. Usually, if you have signed papers from anyone unmarked that you may shop, you can shop. John signed my papers within a few days.
There's some crack down happening. At a guess, it's in retaliation for the law case brought by some of the program participants against the city. The case was won, but they seemed to think there wouldn't be any comeuppance for it.
[If Ed can't virtually hear the eyeroll Oswald gives upon reading that text then something is very wrong.]
What kind of moron would think that trying to *reason* with a corrupt experimentation system isn't going to have some kind negative ramifications ahead of time? As if the lab rats are always able to appeal to their scientists' better nature merely by presenting formally worded requests. Absurd.
[He hasn't even been here a week and it's already clear as day to him. Ugh! People.]
But that suggests that the powers that be here go through periods of comparative leniency when it comes to the social rules.
[ Ed can hear the eye roll. He can picture it perfectly. ]
They keep fighting the system by petitioning for changes and then thinking that the side with all the power will just let it happen. It's ridiculous.
And they do. In the Down especially, it tends to be more lax. But ultimately, they're trying to force you into these contracts and dependence on the 'mercy' of the unmarked.
Amateurs. There's no appealing to a system like that, there's only finding ways to work within it or destroying it.
In any case, the question may well be whether or not this is the response in its entirety, or the start of something greater, a string of even tighter restrictions.
Not that I have a basis for comparison, but this place already seems to have quite the authoritarian approach already.
It's a totalitarian dictatorship enforced through means that I am yet to discern. Certainly chemical and physical, but the monitoring goes well beyond my current understanding.
[ He's distracted. It's because he's messaging Vrenille as well. ]
[And if Ed has yet to figure out what's going on then it must be a highly advanced system indeed. Not impossible, surely, but outside of Ed's scope of expertise for now. He'll get there, even without being conscious of it, Oswald is sure of that much.]
And no doubt whether indiscernible methods they are using is how they have been able to carry on in this fashion for so long.
There must be indications of how its done. Where the information relating to it is held. How long these experiments have been going on. Are we the first set of test subjects for this? This has been going on for over a year now, after all, but what is the furthest date back someone in the LIES programme remembers? There have to be indicators of how this came to be.
I am not going to discuss too much of it here. Someone has been reading my private correspondence and while they wouldn't get the authorities involved, I'm not entirely comfortable being too open.
The iteration has been going on for around sixteen months. I believe Vrenille and Tim were among the first 'volunteers'. The current autocrat, C R Eator or whatever name he uses, claims to have created the program.
[Despite what he might tell himself, Oswald finds himself hanging quite closely on Ed's every reply, waiting for it to arrive impatiently and feeling a little annoyed each time Ed takes longer to respond than he does. And that it's relatively minimal at that. It's an utterly unreasonable feeling to have.]
Perhaps he's not entirely incompetent after all then.
Arkham is doing *exactly* what it was always meant to. The institution you're thinking of is something else entirely and Arkham is using that to do what it does. But what it does is what it always set out to do.
I just think it's more efficient and effective to actually treat these people rather than just put them all in a big room together to learn from one another, drive each other crazy in new ways and cause bigger problems when they inevitably escape or get let out.
[ These people. Because clearly, he is not insane. He has a certificate. ]
I fear some may argue that the most extreme cases of the criminally insane are simply untreatable or simply deserve the torment they are subjected to in Arkham's walls. Out of sight, out of mind; the latter in more ways than one, I might add.
Gotham would need to be motivated toward actualizing the efficient and effective approach to treatment for those deemed criminally insane. And you and I both know that Gotham has other priorities than those it would consider the pitifully dregs of its society, even those it has birthed.
Oh, it's never going to happen. Arkham will remain Arkham. In different forms, under different management, but like some lovecraftian horror, it will, in its essence, remain unchanged.
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text | un: mister_e (Shortly after Oswald's Big Night)
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And then there's Ed all up in his face. A digital version this time, granted, but it is still Ed. Checking in on him. Being Ed.
The message sits on read for a while then before Oswald finally manages to put his brain sludge into something solid.]
While I appreciate the offer, that won't be necessary. I won't be making an appearance at any of the communal events in that cesspit of public housing any time soon.
[Does he have a solid plan yet? No, not quite, but when has that ever stopped him?]
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All right. The offer is open, to come here for a meal, or just a break from the city.
Be careful. Earlier today, I was spot checked for the right papers to be shopping. They threw out a marked individual who had permission, but was not in a contract.
no subject
Perhaps a good practical upshot now though is that Ed comparatively feels like a much, much lower level threat. It fluctuates though. Ed will continue to be a difficult matter to deal with for Oswald.]
And is that not par the course for this place?
[private]
There's some crack down happening. At a guess, it's in retaliation for the law case brought by some of the program participants against the city. The case was won, but they seemed to think there wouldn't be any comeuppance for it.
[perma private]
What kind of moron would think that trying to *reason* with a corrupt experimentation system isn't going to have some kind negative ramifications ahead of time? As if the lab rats are always able to appeal to their scientists' better nature merely by presenting formally worded requests. Absurd.
[He hasn't even been here a week and it's already clear as day to him. Ugh! People.]
But that suggests that the powers that be here go through periods of comparative leniency when it comes to the social rules.
no subject
They keep fighting the system by petitioning for changes and then thinking that the side with all the power will just let it happen. It's ridiculous.
And they do. In the Down especially, it tends to be more lax. But ultimately, they're trying to force you into these contracts and dependence on the 'mercy' of the unmarked.
no subject
In any case, the question may well be whether or not this is the response in its entirety, or the start of something greater, a string of even tighter restrictions.
Not that I have a basis for comparison, but this place already seems to have quite the authoritarian approach already.
no subject
[ He's distracted. It's because he's messaging Vrenille as well. ]
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And no doubt whether indiscernible methods they are using is how they have been able to carry on in this fashion for so long.
There must be indications of how its done. Where the information relating to it is held. How long these experiments have been going on. Are we the first set of test subjects for this? This has been going on for over a year now, after all, but what is the furthest date back someone in the LIES programme remembers? There have to be indicators of how this came to be.
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The iteration has been going on for around sixteen months. I believe Vrenille and Tim were among the first 'volunteers'. The current autocrat, C R Eator or whatever name he uses, claims to have created the program.
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But the official lines of this place seem about as trustworthy as Detective Bullock claiming that he's not drinking on the job, if you ask me.
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I don't think he ever made that claim. Not while I was working there.
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Perhaps he's not entirely incompetent after all then.
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A pity one of them isn't doing what it's meant to.
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Arkham is doing *exactly* what it was always meant to. The institution you're thinking of is something else entirely and Arkham is using that to do what it does. But what it does is what it always set out to do.
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But you know what I meant.
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Admirable as ever.no subject
[ These people. Because clearly, he is not insane. He has a certificate. ]
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Gotham would need to be motivated toward actualizing the efficient and effective approach to treatment for those deemed criminally insane. And you and I both know that Gotham has other priorities than those it would consider the pitifully dregs of its society, even those it has birthed.
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