damned_bulletin | [usual anon, still a little uneven]

[usual anon, still a little uneven]

Thanks, everyone who showed up at my room last night. If you didn't get a chance to make it and you're still interested in helping, that's fine. Just let me know by leaving a note here or stopping me at some point today.

Those of you who are interested in learning about our false lives: the best way to do so quickly is to find your files in the first floor file room or head up to patient possession storage. Quite a few of you expressed interest in that, so if you'd like to do so and don't have obligations to a club, post here and we can assemble a group.

Those of you who are interested in how patients are chosen: The best way to find these answers is to get our hands on the discharged patients files from the room on the second floor. Presumably, Landel discharges us when we're no longer of use to him. Answers to the questions below may also prove of use. I fall into this group, so if anyone would like to try to make it to the second floor file area with me tonight, leave a note. [added] I may not be able to do so this evening. I'll post later with a definite answer. If not, we can try the following night.

Those of you who are interested in the science of how the institute works: Aside from collecting data from other patients, I can't think of any way to further investigation. If you have one, I'd be interested to hear it.

Questions:

1. If you know someone who disappeared and you don't mind answering questions, let me know.

2. I've been told that this is the second incarnation of Landel's Institute. If you have any information about the first one, I'd like to talk to you in person or on this bulletin.

3. If you remember the answers to any of these questions, please post with the information.

An estimate of how much time passed between nightfall and when you lost consciousness
How many people you traveled with, if you left your room
Where you traveled
Any monsters you encountered

4. If you are a new patient, a detailed explanation of the institute should be posted shortly if past experience holds true.

5. If anyone has any other questions or concerns, leave a comment and I'll try to help.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's the conclusion I've come to based on the evidence available.

I know that some visitors claimed to be patients that had been "cured," but I believe the visitors are constructs based upon a combination of our memories and Landel's imagination.

I see.

They're not. And I don't say that due to a 'conclusion I've come to'.

But as you seem so very set in what you've come to believe....

As I said, I can only conclude based on evidence, and it's quite possible there's evidence I haven't found yet that would contradict and change my findings. I'm open to other possibilities. Why do you believe they're not?

I don't 'believe', I know.

I've been here longer than any other patient left in this place. I was here before even the doctors they parade us in front of, and before we even knew the name of our little-seen captor. I've gathered a great deal of information about this place in that time.

But I don't give it away for free.

How do I know that your information's reliable?

Tell me something that can be substantiated by more than just your word, and maybe we can work something out.

Because a great deal of it came from the doctors themselves. Before they...disappeared and idiots were brought in to replace them. Oddly enough, that happened the very day after that one fool broke his silence. I doubt that was a coincidence.

It was simple enough to validate what I had learned after that.

Work what out? That's not how bartering works. You know what I have to trade. What do you have?

Alright. I'm intrigued.

As for trade, I'd need to know what you're interested in. Most of what I possess is chemical or medical supplies.

I'm not interested in any of those things. I have more than enough of my own supplies - with plenty left over to spare.

What are you interested in, then?

[An arrow is drawn pointing to the last line]

That is an interesting conclusion. How did you come to it, exactly?

My theory differs, you see.

I'm sure it does.

Do you believe there's an entire world beyond these walls that Landel has control over? Why would he micromanage our own lives, if that were the case?

I don't think it's impossible. Considering all that has been accomplished, I'm curious as to why you do. Unless I have gotten the wrong impression.

~~You actually~~

What led you to believe that the visitors are real?

We discussed my reasons for drawing conclusions on the bulletin yesterday. Is this going to become a daily routine?

There is no compelling reason to think that they aren't real. We have evidence every other night of Landel's ability to brainwash people. We know they are attempting to do the same to us. We also know that patients who vanish return as visitors.

Anything presented as fact, or the most reasonable assumption that future action should be based on, should be able to withstand continual judgment. Moreover, we hadn't discussed the topics of the visitors specifically. I'm interested in hearing your opinions on the matter.

1. Time outside of the institute moves at a different rate. We can tell this by seasons and by the medical journals on the second floor. Given the time discrepancies in the institute, that's the most reasonable conclusion. If you're still disputing that, we'll have to agree to disagree. Because, from our perspective, time moves at an accelerated rate for those not in the institute, returning visitors would be substantially older than they were the last time they visited. Hair would be longer or cut differently. The appearance of young visitors would have changed dramatically. This isn't the case. Visitors appear exactly as patients remember them, down to the smallest detail.

2. We don't know that patients who vanish return as visitors. We know that they claim to be patients who were here before, but obviously, such a thing could be built on a patient's own memories.

[The bottom edge of this paper is ragged, as if something else has been written and torn off. The following is tacked in its place.]

I've made my opinions and the reasoning behind my theories abundantly clear. If you have contradictory evidence I'd love to consider it and alter my ideas accordingly, but as it stands, these conversations seem to be little more than a source of entertainment for you. I'd prefer to spend my time helping those who are legitimately curious.

1. I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree. It is proven that Landel can manipulate the time from which we are taken. There is no proof to say that he cannot also manipulate how we perceive the passage of time. No one has proven how long the periods of unconsciousness last, and the accelerated healing rate would suggest that either time manipulation that can be achieved even on a cellular level, or that we are simply not awake for longer periods than it seems you are assuming. If I had to guess at this present time, the likelihood of a combination of both is highest. Of course, this is in terms of the patient body as we understand it. However, you have presented no reason to assume that this cannot be applied to the visitors save for those based on these two assumptions:

A) That the visitors are part of a world that exists outside of the Institute, and
B) That the world outside of the Institute is not able to be manipulated as the world within the Institute can be.

2. Or it could be that the vanished patients are the ones who return. There is no conclusive evidence one way or the other, beyond testimony of assorted patients. The matter might ultimately be proven by questioning the patient body, as it is likely there are some able to detect through use of their powers whether a person real or a construct. You used a similar method when attempting to determine the truth behind time manipulation, as I'm certain you remember.

While I will admit that I do enjoy our discussions, entertainment is hardly the purpose of them. Those who are legitimately curious should be made aware of all possibilities, as distasteful or disheartening as they might turn out to be. I'm concerned about what you choose to include as possible, and exclude as impossible. Without being able to logically prove why your assumptions should be acted on, it might be perceived that your tactics are an attempt to manipulate the patients, instead of being done out of an intent to assist them.

[The top edge of this paper is torn away]

What do you suggest as an alternative to drawing conclusions and acting upon them?

I understand your concerns about manipulation, but you're underestimating the intelligence of everyone here. I haven't forced my opinions and conclusions on anyone, and had I attempted, the effort would have failed. I'm sure you've noticed that nearly everyone who arrives at the institute is highly talented in their own world. The people that you claim to be trying to protect are quite capable of protecting themselves. What do I stand to gain from any of this, aside from what all of us are working towards?

Based on the way you presume to care for your underlings it seems that you were considered an authority in your world, and I understand how hard it is to accept that isn't the case here. The only way to solve the mysteries of this place is to work together, and baseless paranoia holds everyone back. We're all frustrated. That's the situation Landel has put us in. So, let's worry about Landel instead of arguing with each other.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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