SWITCHBOARD

[transmittable]

If you'd like to ask the Transmitter something over the phone, go right ahead! The Transmitter will answer the phone as soon as she's available. Leaving messages is impossible, given how old these phones are, but you should be able to reach her at almost all hours.

Comments are screened for privacy; all Patients are offered confidentiality, didn't you know?

Comments

[transmittable]

[ The feedback grows louder. If Rin listens close, she might just be able to make out the Transmitter cursing, or...murmuring to herself. No words discernable. Just murmuring. ]

It will be...Sunday. You will have access Sunday.

[heritrix]

[That's peculiar. Rin frowns, holding the receiver closer to her ear as if it's a seashell; if she closes her eyes she can hear the ocean. But there's nothing to be found in the waves.]

Sunday. [She did say a week. That's cutting it so close it's not funny.] I'll hold you to that, Transmitter, but only because I don't have a choice.

[She should hang up here, but she doesn't. That strange feedback from before makes her hesitate.]

Are you upset with yourself over this? Frankly, I thought you'd perhaps found it more interesting to dangle this over me, like a mouse looking for cheese in a labyrinth.

[transmittable]

[ In the unending noise, there's a sharp intake of breath. ]

I... We.

[ And the feedback slowly sinks back to a more normal amount for this place. ]

We're still growing...used to the way this place works. What is, isn't...possible. You find us cruel, presume us cruel, for good reason, but this sort of scenario isn't our preferred outcome.

[heritrix]

[She doubts she'll tell her what the preferred outcome is even if she asks; not until Rin learns more on her own to corner them with.]

How long have you been here?

[transmittable]

...Not very long. Longer than you, but... There's a system, to how things work. Some of the things we can and can't provide are literally, we CAN and we CAN'T. This one's trickier than anticipated.

[heritrix]

[Not very long... It's strange. The way the Transmitter talks makes it sound like she isn't talking about this hospital. And she gets the feeling she's gotten back on the subject of how tricky this is because she doesn't want Rin to keep pursuing that line of thought.]

For future reference, may I have examples of things that fall into the category of "can't"?

[transmittable]

[ She sounds a little annoyed. Not at Rin, mind you, but just in general. ]

That we're figuring out. Things that could be considered..."frivolous" by some means. Not to say that your request was frivolous, we don't consider it to be so- but...yeah.

[heritrix]

[She can actually see how this could have come about then. This isn't a medicine they could acquire whole like Nachetanya's painkillers; it needs to be made. From ingredients that, on their own and to an outsider, would sound absurd.]

I see. [...] W-Would a mortar and pestle also be considered frivolous?

[Because she neglected to remember earlier she'd need that. Though she could be dumb and there's one in the kitchen, on a really high shelf or something. She's short.]

[transmittable]

It would, since you already have one. ...You'll need to ask someone for some assistance there.

[heritrix]

What, there's one already here? I thought I searched everywhere.

[transmittable]

Kitchen.

[ There indeed is one in the kitchen! ]

Kind of inopportune placement, but it's there. The kitchen's...a pretty nice room, around here.

1/2

[heritrix]

[...this is a faint sound that might not get picked up by the static, like a palm hitting a forehead.]

Oh. ...Geez, of course. What was I thinking? You can use it to make pesto and the like...

[heritrix]

[Rin's so glad for once this isn't a face-to-face conversation, she's so red. She puts the mouthpiece back to her mouth and quickly tries to gloss over that.]

I-I've noticed, naturally. It's state of the art. So far I can say using the kitchen is the only thing I like about being here.

[transmittable]

S'okay. ...I can overlook things too.

[ ...The Transmitter sounds a little more relaxed now, in contrast to whatever the hell was going on with her earlier. ]

Unexpected, isn't it? But, you all have to eat, so...

[heritrix]

Yes, but you didn't have to focus on quality. Only necessity. There's one vending machine here already; it would have been easy to set up a few like the kind found in Japanese high schools.

[transmittable]

It felt right. It was already...nice, so. Why not? We want you to stay here for...awhile, and vending machines are inconvenient for that.

[heritrix]

It was already that way? [Her brow wrinkles.] Was this building abandoned in the process of renovation, and you found it as is?

[transmittable]

We changed a few things. Modified some. But this place was already here.

[heritrix]

Interesting. I assume the modifications include the "no exits" business. That really is a fire hazard, you know.

[Who approved this construction, they should have their license revoked.]

[transmittable]

It is. But there won't be any fires here.

[ No answer on the exists. Of course. ]

[heritrix]

[Of course.]

You have a fail safe planned in the event of that?

[transmittable]

There really WON'T be one but...yeah, we suppose.

[heritrix]

Mm.

[That's quite the guarantee. Luckily, Rin is just enough of a sane person that she's not quite willing to put this to the test.]

You're more personable than I would have expected, Transmitter.

[She's not sure what to think of that yet.]

[transmittable]

...Hm. Is that...so?

[ Sounds like she's not sure what to think of that. ]

Thank you.

[heritrix]

Don't thank me, that's strange. It was only an observation.

[She touches the inside of her elbow. At this point, she's mostly talking just to distract herself; she should call it a night soon.]

I might change my mind in the days to come, depending.