Agent Harvest and Agent Jenkins shared a look. Then Harvest turned back to Honor with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to get in trouble for speaking up, Miss Kingsley," she said briskly. "You're in trouble because, whether knowingly or not, you endangered people through your actions. Generally, when someone has a problem with an organization, they file a public complaint—perhaps as a petition or even a lawsuit. You could still do that if you like, while you're here. But we can't allow you to continue on as you were, which was essentially road-tripping with a ticking time bomb."
Rashawn Jenkins straightened and cleared his throat. "Ma'am? Could I make a suggestion?"
"What is it?"
"Well….I was just thinking, it might help Miss Kingsley see that we're doing good here if we give her the tour of this facility. She's probably heard all sorts of things about it, and maybe showing her around would clear up some of her concerns."
Agent Harvest tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully. "Well, Miss Kingsley? We can't permit guests to enter certain wings for safety reasons, but I don't see how a quick tour could hurt. What do you think?"
Honor thought for a minute, feeling out her frustration towards what she was saying. It was frustrating to hear her talk about Oscar in such a way, but she could understand where she was coming from. Still, she took a minute of silence, thinking over her options. "I suppose a tour wouldn't hurt, but I don't think it'll change my view of what's happening." She shrugged, glancing between Rashawn and Agent Harvest. Being in her situation, there wasn't much she could do, and taking a walk seemed to be an alright option.
The senior agent's mouth twitched in amusement at Honor's reply. "You are refreshingly honest, Miss Kingsley. Honest and strong-willed, but not a criminal I think. I do hope we can come through this on good terms." Standing, she collected her papers and waved to Jenkins. "Show her around and tell her all about us. After that you can show her where she'll be staying until we get this situation sorted out. If you need anything, ask the security chief—I'm pretty sure he's made it back by now. Honor, it was a pleasure to meet you, and with luck we'll talk again soon." With that, she was out the door and gone.
Jenkins coughed. "All right. Ready to go, Miss Kingsley? I can take you to the room overlooking the labs first if you want. Something tells me you want to know how we treat Erased Ones around here."
Honor didn't mind Agent Harvest, but she wasn't sure if she would look forward to their next meeting. She knew it would probably be on less calm grounds. She didn't have time to even respond to the agent before she was out the door. "That sounds like a good place to start," She agreed, standing from her seat. Honor looked to the door, then to Agent Jenkins, pausing as she realized he said it was a lab. That alone was enough to make her a little bit uneasy, but she decided to give it a shot.
Jenkins nodded and led Honor into the hall, then back the way they'd come. They followed a different series of corridors all the way to what felt like the far side of the building. There, they took an elevator to the second floor and entered a wing that smelled of air freshener and boasted wall-to-wall grey carpets. It seemed to be a nicer, more public area of the facility. Jenkins walked past tall potted plants, doorways leading to empty lecture halls, and a long row of windows looking out over the prairie. Here, he came to a halt.
"Look down below us," he invited.
The sunset wasn't the only thing to see through these windows. Sitting much closer was an extension of the first floor that resembled a grid pattern of large rooms, all with reinforced glass instead of roofs. Some were furnished like small playgrounds or gyms, a few had bookshelves and computer terminals, but most were empty. At the moment, it seemed that only one or two of them were being used.
"This," Agent Jenkins explained, "Is where we study the behavior and psychology of Erased Ones. The setup was actually Agent Harvest's idea. Can you guess our strategy here with these rooms?"
In all senses of the word, Honor decided the building felt lifeless. As she followed Jenkins through the building, nothing around her felt used, not in the way she was used to. It was a nice-looking building though. She came to a stop next to her guide. Looking out the window, she hid her slight confusion and interest. "To keep the Erased Ones separated and easy to study from a safe distance? Other than that, I'm not sure," She admitted. Looking over the rooms, she wondered if Oscar would end up in one. If he did, she hoped he would at least have one of the ones with a bookshelf and a computer.
"That's right," Jenkins said. "But there's more to it than that. These lab rooms are built specifically this way for a reason. We found out early on that Erased Ones are almost impossible to manage when they're scared or angry. So the obvious solution was to keep them calm at all times. We designed these rooms to be safe and engaging—more like classrooms than laboratories." He pointed to the far right side of the grid, where a woman in a white coat sat playing cards with a teenage girl. "Each Erased One has one or two caretakers to keep it entertained during study sessions. They might run specific tests or puzzles, or they might just play games and talk. Meanwhile, the real researchers can observe from a distance so they don't interfere." Jenkins's hand moved up to indicate a row of windows above the labs, similar to the windows they looked through now. Sitting in a metal chair overlooking the occupied lab was a man in his twenties, watching and occasionally jotting down notes.
"That's Agent Abbot," Jenkins said, "of the Field Research department. We were in training together. Right now I suspect he's studying how Erased Ones learn to play and solve creative problems. He'll have a mic tuned into their conversation as well, most likely. All the data he gathers will be used to help develop safer and more efficient ways of interacting with Erased Ones outside the facility. Make sense?"
(Merry late holidays!)
Honor listened silently, nodding as he finished. It did mad sense, even if she didn’t like it. “So…you’re watching them all the time? Do they see anyone other than the researchers? That seems like a horrible way to deal with them, to just study them all in hopes of finding a way to more effectively deal with them.” She finally spoke, watching the rooms with veiled scowl. Honor was being a little harsh on her criticisms, but she only saw it fair. If Oscar was going to live here for ever after, she could rightfully be as picky as she wanted to be with what she found. “It seems like a circle that will never bring them the comfort of going home, or even the comfort of not being trapped in a box forever.”
(oooooof well hello, you still there? I've been completely absent from this place for way longer than I intended. I'm really sorry fam, I have moods where I mute literally everything and just lurk for ages and it's honestly a terrible habit. I hope you're doing well these days)
"It's not a perfect system," Agent Jenkins conceded. "I understand your concerns completely. But the fact is that Erased Ones are just too unpredictable to give them free range of the country. And for the record, there is a point to these studies. We are trying to find out how to send them back where they belong, I promise. Nobody who's in charge wants them to stick around." He smiled ruefully. "The damage they're doing just by scaring consumers into hiding is costly enough for our economy. We don't need them causing any more panic and discord. Fair enough?"
(I'm doing pretty good, it's nice to see you back :) How are you doing? Also, will get a reply up soon…just need some time with trimester finals kicking my butt)
(No worries, take your time!! I'm doing all right, just got done with a busy weekend+monday lol. Been trying to do some animation stuff but it's verrrry tedious TvT How about you?)
(It's been…interesting lol, I have sports starting up next week and finals being shoved down my throat this week, but other than that it's been a little less chaotic than usual)
She was silent for a long minute, then softly said, "Fair." Honor looked over the setup again, watching the researcher and the teenage girl with an unreadable expression. "Has the research given any hints on how to get them home?" It was pretty obvious that it most likely wasn't giving them answers, but again, she had to ask. She wasn't sure she could ever see goldenrod as a nice organization dedicated to the good of all, but she could at least learn more about them. "Will Oscar be out there soon? Can I talk to him?" Glancing over at Agent Jenkins, she could pretty much tell what his response would be. It was unlikely that the Agent would let her anywhere near Oscar again, though she had to ask again.
(Less chaos sounds good ^^ Best of luck with finals and sports!)
Surprisingly, Jenkins had a quick and easy response. "With any luck, you'll be able to visit Oscar some time tomorrow. If you've befriended him and have figured out ways to keep him calm, then I don't see any reason why the agency would forbid it. And as for your first question," he added, "Well, we've made a little headway towards sending Erased Ones back home, but to be honest, I don't know the details. It's not really my department—that's a job for the internal researchers like my friend Abbot over there. I suggest you ask him for more details if you get the chance. He's kind of stiff with strangers but he's a good guy. Now, any other questions before I take you to your rooms? It's getting close to closing time."
Her eyes widened at the idea of being able to actually see Oscar again but she quickly took it in stride. She wanted to see her friend again, and if Jenkins said it could possibly happen tomorrow, she held onto that hope. "Could I speak to Abbot some time?" She asked, then after a moment added on, "Is there any chance I could get something to eat? And maybe some place to wash off?" Honor doubted that wherever she was going to stay was going to be nice, considering she had been accused of crimes and would probably soon have to deal with the consequences of them. They were damn stupid crimes, though she had time later to mull over her future.
"Yes and yes," Jenkins replied promptly, beginning to lead Honor further down the hall. "You'll have a bathroom, don't worry. And someone's probably already brought food to the rooms. Tomorrow morning I'll check in with Abbot and see if he has time to answer your questions."
They'd almost reached the end of the hall when someone came around the corner and stopped to let them pass. It was in fact Abbot himself, his clipboard tucked loosely under one arm. He looked like he'd been awake for many hours and was ready to go home, but there was a glint of curiosity in his expression as he glanced at Honor.
Jenkins brightened. "Oh! Well here's Abbot now. Hey Abbot, this is Honor Kingsley—she's a guest for the moment. Would you have any free time to talk to her tomorrow about some of the stuff you do here? I'm trying to convince her we're not evil scientists, haha."
Abbot blinked, as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to and wasn't prepared for Jenkins's energy. "Um….I think I'll have time?" His voice had none of the easy politeness that Jenkins radiated. He sounded like a much more average human being, or maybe a disgruntled cat that had been dressed up as an office worker and told to act like one. He straightened, attempted a smile, and gave Honor a vague, quizzical look. "I'm….sorry, do I know you? The name's not familiar, but I swear I've seen you somewhere before."
Honor followed after Jenkins hurriedly, her hope rising with every moment they walked down the halls. Soon, she was going to be able to see Oscar, as well as have food and a room, even if she had nothing else of her own.
She slowed to a stop when Agent Jenkins did, offering a light smile to the man he introduced as Abbot. While Jenkins was easygoing and energetic, Abbot seemed to be calm, if a little surprised to be spoken to. And while she couldn't recognise him by his face, she swore she knew him from something. She shook her head politely, "I'm not sure. I think I know you…but I don't really know." Honor glanced at Jenkins again, then towards Abbot, continuing, "Anyway, if you're able to fit it in tomorrow, it would be nice to talk to you about your research."
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