Bolton's Office Hours

[theoverseers]

[Want to chat with Bolton privately? Here is where you do it! Bolton's office hours will be held in conference room B in the library for approximately four hours in the morning several days a week. During that time the blinds will be drawn and that room will be off-limits unless you're there to talk to Bolton, though the other three study rooms will still be available for use.


Comments are screened for privacy.]

Comments

[theoverseers]

She's not.

The Benefactors would've checked for that sort of thing - a variable like that could throw off this whole experiment.

[Hopefully that's a reasonable enough excuse... He's not in the business of spoilers, here.]

[cyan_maid]

[...Just saying it like that is enough to set off suspicion in Jane's mind. How could the Batterwitch not be looking for her? Whether to induct her back under her control or kill her for somehow escaping, or...there's no way. She's a ruthless alien woman who doesn't stop until she gets exactly what she wants, and has the lifespan to wait if necessary. But Jane does believe Bolton - about the Benefactors, at least. Obviously this slow, gruesome slaughter of champions was too important to be uprooted by a dictatorfish.

Jane looks into the cup of coffee as she considers her options. One - the memories to come will show her that she and her friends were triumphant, and they made it to the new world and the Condesce is dead. Two - The Benefactors and the Condesce are one and the same, and this is all her own project, conspicuously scrubbed clean of red, to lead to some ridiculous end. Three - she just doesn't know Jane is here, and alive, which means that at some point, she was released from control. But how...]

...Can I ask you something else, too? Just...while I'm thinking about it. Can the PIPs do what the Tiaratop did to me? Can C.E.C.E. do that to us?

[theoverseers]

[Bolton touches his PIP with his left hand.]

No. [He realizes that might've been a little forceful.] ...The experiment is made to see how much they can break you, not... control you.

[cyan_maid]

[What the fUCK]

...They want us...to break. [Her eyes go hard, piercing. Not hard to do, with that bright a blue.] Is this entertainment for the Benefactors?

[theoverseers]

Not...

It's an experiment, Jane. They've taken the best of the best and they want to see how far they can bend them before... you know.

[Before murder happens.]

It's about trying to produce the Ultimate Champion.

[cyan_maid]

But why? What does that come to, in the end? What will they do once they have their "Ultimate Champion"?

[Why tip people from their lives, a good portion of them innocents?]

[theoverseers]

I don't know.

[He sounds almost defeated. He really doesn't.]

[cyan_maid]

[...That's not good.]

You and Mister Jamie were really left with only the bare minimum of information when you signed onto this thing, weren't you?

[theoverseers]

You could say that.

[cyan_maid]

And you could say that's correct, because it definitely sounds like it is.

[Sips her coffee. Did she even put anything in it? Bitch she don't curr.]

[theoverseers]

[He sips his own coffee in silence.]

[cyan_maid]

[Is this a coffee-off. Is he waiting to see her flinch. Because she's not, Jane will slowly and genteel-ly drain a cup of strong black coffee if she needs to. Ectobiology or not, she's still her father's daughter.]

[theoverseers]

[Do it. Show your mangrit.

He's not really competing, he's just waiting for you to say something else.]

[cyan_maid]

[Showing it, it's here, and it's not backing down until the cup is drained.]

Alright...so...hm. I think that's all I wanted to make absolutely sure was okay. The last thing any one of us needs, no matter what we want out of this place, is the Batterwitch getting her prongs all mixed up in this business.

[theoverseers]

Definitely. And- I doubt it will, but if anything changes we'll let you know so we can prepare.

[cyan_maid]

...Alright. That's really the best that can be done, considering.

[She's quiet for a moment, looking at the bottom of her cup, and them makes a little face, sticking her tongue out like a cat that licked something nasty.]

Bluh...could I please have another cup of coffee? If you don't mind. I didn't sleep well last night.

[theoverseers]

Sure thing.

[He pours her another cup of coffee, consciously leaving room for her to add cream and sugar.]

I know the feeling.

[cyan_maid]

[She's making sure to put that in this time. Oh God, get this taste out of her mouth, please.]

...Please don't...take this the wrong way, alright? But...I'm glad Light was right about you on...things. [A beat.] Mostly the coffee. It's good.

[theoverseers]

[Hey, it could be worse, it could be actually shitty coffee.

He looks surprised for a moment, but then his expression softens.]

Well, if I'm good for anything it's a damn good cup of coffee.

[cyan_maid]

W-Well it wasn't just that. It was. That you're honest and up front about things, too.

[theoverseers]

Yeah?

[cyan_maid]

Yes, she...she made sure to tell me so.

[A quiet sip.]

I suppose she talked with you a lot.

[theoverseers]

Just once, actually.

[A matching sip]

But she must've liked what I told her.

[cyan_maid]

...I know it's probably rude to ask, but. What did you tell her?

[theoverseers]

Unfortunately, that's classified. Not quite as ironclad as doctor-patient confidentiality, but something like it