[network/video] @309_W1C_2DZ; Day 205; Midday [open] cw: mention of suicide

[howdull]

[For once Sherlock is not on text only, he's on video in all his glory. Which is a very diminished glory today, considering he looks terrible. Too thin in the face, though his clothes hide the rest of him, and dishevelled as though he's spent a few months not really putting any care into his appearance. His hair is longer than the last time anyone has seen him, and he looks older.

He's moving frantically in short bursts of energy, jittery, as if he isn't quite sure whether he wants to stay still or keep moving.]

Data, yes, I should share that. [It's a mumble to himself as the tablet tilts, giving an askew feed of the detective.] Purposeful death does cause nearly guaranteed revival, this has now been tested several times with no known cases of permanent death.

[The tablet shifts again as Sherlock moves between morgue drawers, checking them one by one and then moving on.]

John. [It's a sudden shift in direction.] John Watson, has anyone seen him?

Comments

[howdull]

[Oh, that is interesting. He spares a glance down at the tablet.]

How long was the period before medical aid was revoked, and how frequent were the injuries before?

[silverfuller]

I know not how long into this...experiment it was when I arrived. But between my arrival and the time we lost medical assistance there were weeks, mayhap a moon or so. Mayhap more. Pray forgive me but time does blur here.

When we realized spiders and other devices came to our aid we became careless. Numerous people purposefully injured themselves specifically to try the system that heals them. I believe they got the answers they sought but surrendered the medical assistance system in the process.

Given how few resources we possess I often wonder if it was a worthy trade.

[howdull]

What good are your observations if you can't make them precise?

[He sounds irritated, looks irritated, mostly because he is irritated.]

What is wrong with everyone in this place that they can't seem to take detailed notes when it's important to do so?

[silverfuller]

We do not know the dates on which we arrived. Nor at the time was I certain that the sun here traveled as it does where I hail from. I am still not certain if the bells are the same as the nights are long and the days fleeting.

What should one expect?

[howdull]

People have been counting the days since they first arrived, calculating the date of arrival is not a difficult task and should be done by everyone as a matter of course.

[Seriously? He calculated his date of arrival before he even looked at the map. Because he has rubbish priorities.]

[silverfuller]

[Slightly amused.]

I was, mayhap, rather distracted by the knowledge that I had just died and was on another world entirely.

[howdull]

And what was your excuse the following day?

[He will allow one day for confusion and shock, which is more than he might have allowed in the past, but anything beyond that is just silly.]

[silverfuller]

Is death, not knowing the calendar, the movement of the sun, or how to use the local technology not adequate reason for confusion?

[howdull]

Confusion, perhaps, but not for wilfully giving in to that confusion and not seeking to rectify it with the requisite knowledge.

[silverfuller]

[He laughs.]

I did become less ignorant though not, perhaps, in the date as that information is often prone to leave my mind.

[howdull]

[It leaves his mind a lot at home as well.]

Keeping track of the amount of days you've been here is essential, you need to rectify this as soon as possible.

[silverfuller]

When you are dead time ceases to have much meaning. I leave the search for the date in the hands of those whose minds are more scholarly than my own.

My focus is on the continued survival of my comrades and in this I am quite knowledgeable.

[howdull]

Really? How many of them have died here?

[If it's truly zero, then he'll revise his opinion on Haurchefant.]

[silverfuller]

There are times a beast emerges from the snows directly above and below us affording us little time to react.

[He says this with the heaviness of a man who spends a lot of time reflecting on loss.]

But through my efforts lives are saved. So long as this is true, it shall be my devotion to protect. It is a knight's duty.

[howdull]

[That's almost noble in its own way. Stupid, but noble, and he doesn't immediately shoot it down.]

How have your specific efforts aided any lives in being saved?

[silverfuller]

Yes.

[He answers simply.]

[howdull]

How?

[Now that is interesting.]

@SceptredIsle; text

[keepscalm]

It was on the 105th day of this session that emergency medical response ceased in response to the experiment conducted. It may be worth noting that not everyone who participated in that experiment injured themselves; many distractions around town were caused. It's difficult to say how frequent injuries were before that happened, as I don't believe everyone who sustained injury reported it on the network or requested medical assistance.

I haven't got numbers of reported injuries off hand, but I'll tally up what I recorded if it will help.

[He figures being helpful will be a better welcome back to Sherlock than literally welcoming him back.]

[howdull]

[That is actually super helpful, and England goes up in his estimation a little bit.]

Then a concentrated effort was made to overtax the healing service, as well as other disruptions. It's unlikely that the revival service would be similarly revoked unless the same circumstances were applied.

[He doubts mass suicides are going to be happening any time soon.]

[keepscalm]

Correct. All of the disruptions were meant to make it easier to hack the system that everything runs on; it's possible that medical services were stopped so that those resources could be redirected for security purposes. All the administrator said about the reason was that the services were "no longer sustainable." And she sounded rather cross.

Nonetheless, the revival system is much slower than emergency medical treatment was. High death counts have not had any noticeable effect on what goes on here. So it stands to reason that to tax the revival service, a large number of people would need to coordinate revivals rather than deaths, and the uncertainty surrounding returns would make such coordination rather difficult.

[There's the relative uncertainty that people will even come back in the first place, and then the amount of time it takes to come back (which could be a few days or even weeks), plus the amount of morgues the town sustains, and whatever it is that causes people to sometimes experience strange losses upon revival. That's a lot of variables to account for.]

[howdull]

[That is very interesting and supports all his current data. He doubts there will be enough people willing to kill themselves over testing a theory, it's a significantly larger risk than simply injuring themselves.

He even manages a tiny smile of approval down at the camera, though he spoils it with his answer.]

Seems like there's hope for my country after all.

[keepscalm]

[Look, England will take even a backhanded compliment if it's coming from one of his citizens.]

Well, I do my best.

If there's any other way I can be of assistance, please let me know. I've been here since the beginning of this session, so I've got a fair amount of information along these lines.

[And Sherlock seems like an information man, so! Please find him useful, he is trying.]

[howdull]

[England gains quite a lot of points from this conversation, he's elevated himself to vaguely interesting.]

Very well. Contact me immediately if you have more pertinent information.