asquiet | oo1 | voice.

[Nezumi has already figured out the basics of everything going on and he‘s surveyed the area. He's still curious how all of this works and so it's time to use the journal he received. Important questions and all of that.]

Free food, free shelter, and free everything. Isn’t that just impressive? Much like that library we have is. It has a lot of things I haven’t even heard of and I am very eager to get my hands on them. The Malnosso they’re called right? They really supply you with everything. How very hospitable. [Too hospitable.]

Is the food actually safe? Are the places we live in bugged with cameras? Read the guide and I guess nobody thought of those questions. Did anybody even think to ask? Let’s take the handouts from the people who captured us. Who want us for experiments. Let’s just trust what they give us and assume it‘s all safe. [A bark of laughter.] I’ll ask then: has anybody bothered to check if the food is safe? I simply cannot be stuffing just anything into my body now. Only the best, of course.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Correct, but they could do other things with the food than getting you sick or killing you. More subtle things.

More subtle things? I'd like an example if you please.

Drugs to change your behavior. Maybe make you more sleepy or paranoid. Or perhaps aphrodisiacs. I mean things like that.

That's what the experiments are for, sir. So putting it in our food subtly is not something they'd do when they can use that for experiments.

[He laughs.] You're thinking too simply here and trusting too easily. Just because things always happen when an experiment is obvious doesn't mean it's always going to be that way. Don't rely on those things.

Ever heard of a placebo?

No, I'm not thinking simply or trusting very easily. Besides, there are some of us who can use magic to make the food safe if we wished.

And for the record, no I haven't.

[Oh right. Magic can be used here. He'd forgotten about that detail because he still isn't sure about that one. But he won't be letting anybody know he's unsure about something like that.] Ever use it on your food?

A placebo is a fake, but if you're told it's the real thing? Your mind tricks you into believing it is and so it works as if it wasn't artificial.

[He sighs then takes a long pause to think before he answers him.] I have, at times. Of course, I don't use it that often.

And I see, I've never heard of that before. I don't think we have those in my era.

Your era?

Yes, I'm from earth during the nineteenth century. Where do you hale from, if I am allowed to ask?

[He laughs and shakes his head.] My, my. They really did pick an interesting bunch. I come about 200 years later than that.

So you are from earth as well and are from my future. Can you tell me about your era?

[He thinks about how to answer that.]

It's really not too different. People stayed the same. No big breakthroughs.

I hear that in the future, people drive around in automobiles and use electricity. There's also crafts called airplanes, that sounds like a great improvements over my era.

Technology changes, sure. It has been since the beginning. It doesn't really mean much.

Wouldn't you agree that technological advancements help the world to become better?

Not at all.

May I ask why you think that?

It's the people who are supposed to make a difference.

And with each passing era, humans create things that do make a difference.

And create more things that destroy.

Not all devices man creates are destroyers.

Of course not. Carnivores don't always eat their babies, but does it make a difference to the animals they do eat?

We created guns for protection, but look how well that served us.