Part 1: Laplace and His Demon

[BGM: Rat's Awakening]


Do you believe in destiny?

Huh? Where did that come from?

Just humor me. Do you believe in destiny?

Uh, I guess that depends on what you mean.

Perhaps I should ask in a less obtuse way. Do you believe that your future is fated, bound to happen no matter what?

Of course not! The only one in charge of my life is me and me alone!

Hm. Well, I for one disagree. The belief that we have any control over what will happen is simply the arrogance of humans.



I suppose you would call me a 'predeterminist.'

I'm not familiar with the term.

Basically, it's the belief that since everything in the past already exists, and everything in the world moves on a cause-and-effect basis, everything in the future has to happen. The world's deck is shuffled, as it were, and all that's left is to deal out the cards, one by one.



Any semblance of 'free will' that we have, well, it's more of a coping mechanism than anything else. Your genes and history were decided without your input, and like it or not, those two factors really make the decisions.

Damn. That's a bleak way of looking at things.

I actually think of it as a good thing. Whether or not I'm 'in control' of myself doesn't really matter to me. I'd easily trade that away for the benefits 'predetermination' provides.

Benefits?



Another question: have you ever heard of Laplace's Demon? Actually, seeing as you hadn't even heard of 'predestination', I suppose the answer is rather obvious.

Laplace's Demon is a hypothetical created by Pierre-Simon Laplace in 1814. This Demon of his is quite the clever creature: it knows the precise location and moment of every single atom in the whole wide universe. As if that wasn't enough, this demon's so clever that based on the information it has, it can predict where those atoms were and where they'll go.

If this Demon really existed, it could accurately recount every single historic event, regardless of location or time period. And, if it existed, it could predict every single thing that was yet to come with 100% accuracy.

I'm not seeing those benefits you were talking about.

Well, obviously this example is extreme. But in a more controlled setting, geniuses can function much like Laplace's Demon. Through careful analysis of the past, of cause and effect, probable futures can be gleaned.



Think... Think... Humans are no more than fleshy wind-up toys.

Think... Think... Peer into the coding, the innermost mechanics, the clockwork within their minds.

Think... Think... Become a demon. Play with toys. Control the future.

…

[BGM: Silence]


Ugh... Damn, my head aches. It's like I can hear a blaring noise, just ringing and ringing. Make it stop, shut it up. This noise, it's so real... it is real!

Opening my eyes, I find that I can actually see again. Moving my legs, I find that I can actually spread them apart again! The pain in my muscles as I start to stretch out is just a reminder that I'm no longer tied up, no longer blinded and gagged. The ringing stops, seemingly done its purpose of waking me up. I can see and yet.. My vision is still obscured.

What's that feeling on my face? In an instant, I realize that I'm wearing a mask. What the hell? Quickly, I start trying to pull it off. As I struggled with it, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to remove it, but after a strong yank that fear subsided.

[BGM: Bullfighter]


What on earth is this... is this a mouse mask? It was made of cheap plastic, something you'd find in the bargain bin of a costume shop. There was no hole for your mouth or ears or anything, just two small ones you can see through in its big, cartoonish eyes, and one in its neck so you can put it over your head. But wait, why was I struggling to yank it off?

It was attached to something on my neck.

Something's on my neck.

The next thing I noticed was the cold, metallic, heavy necklace that must have been wrapped around my neck. Again, my hands rushed to try to yank it off, but this time it was to no avail. I couldn't get a good look at it, but something metallic and heavy was strapped to my neck.



After the shock of these rapid-fire discoveries and the drowsiness of waking up from my sleep had both worn off, I decided to actually take a look around at my surroundings. I appeared to be in a high school classroom. A science classroom, if I had to guess. What on earth was I doing here?

Before I could start thinking about it too much, I realized there was another person in the room with me, awkwardly getting to his feet.

AAAH!

Our protagonist is “offscreen” for everything, so I'm simply going to be using this for her dialogue.



Whoa!

Who the hell are you?! What on earth are you doing here?

How the hell should I know?

Because you clearly brought me here!

What? No I didn't!

Oh really? Well, that's just what someone who did bring me here would say.



I have no idea what we're talking about right now.

Don't play games with me! I wake up with a mask over my head in a random classroom, and you expect me to believe that the guy already in the room with me has nothing to do with it?

I just woke up here too! In fact, I also woke up with a mask on my head, look!



He showed what looked to be the mask of an Ox. It looked to be much in the style of mine. Taking a few breaths to calm myself, I thought through the situation and realized I was being a little quick in judgment to start making accusations.

I-I see. So, you really don't have any idea what's going on right now?

None. Judging by the circumstances, I can only guess that currently, we're in the same boat.

Let me guess, you were randomly assaulted and kidnapped as well?

Yeah. Hurt like hell, too.

Last night, I was returning back to my apartment. It was late at night, and I was going up the steps when, before I knew what was going on, I felt a massive shock to my back, and my muscles started spasming out of control. In what felt like an instant, a blindfold was around my eyes and a gag was around my mouth. I had just started to recover from what I assume was a taser when my hands were tied around my back. From there, as much as I struggled, I was really just along for the ride.

I was dragged for a bit, then I assume I was put in a car or a truck or something. I was on the move for a while, then I wasn't. I was dragged a bit further. It's hard to tell. I was already tired, and the shock took a lot out of me. It's crazy to believe, given the circumstances, but... After a while, I fell asleep. It had been hours of nothing, anyway. I figured if my kidnapper wanted me awake, they'd wake me up.

I guess they did.



Damn it. Who's the bastard who did all this to me? What gives them the right!

Hey, hey, calm down. I get the outrage, but these are the sorts of situations where losing your temper can be deadly. For now, let's just try to figure out what is going on calmly.

Yeah, you're right. I've gotta focus.

Breathe in, breathe out.

There, that's better. Sorry about all of that, I really wasn't acting like myself for a moment there.

Totally understandable. Frankly, it's impressive that you managed to calm down at all.

It's a good thing you were here to cool me down, otherwise I probably wouldn't have. So, first things first, we should make introductions, right? I'm-

Hold on.

Huh?



Considering the circumstances, giving out names might not be the best idea.

Huh? Why?

Well, think about it: we know nothing about each other, we know nothing about where we are, and we know nothing about why we're here.

That didn't answer my question.

Look, I'm not saying I'm certain it's a bad idea or anything, I'm just saying that there's a chance that we're being monitored or something, and saying our names could backfire somehow.

What does that matter? If we're being monitored, it's probably by the people who kidnapped us. And in that case, they should already know our names.

Probably, but is there any reason to even risk it? I don't see the use in exchanging names.



The use is so we can actually call each other by name instead of just saying 'hey you'.

Well if that's the problem, let's just make up some surnames in the meantime.

Say, based on these masks we woke up in.

Fine. So I guess I'll call you Ox.

Sure. And I'll call you Rat.

Veto.

What?

I don't want to be called Rat.

Why not?

Why not? Because 'rat' is an insult, that's why not. Would you want to be called rat?

Fair point, I suppose. Mouse, then.

Hmph. I guess that'll have to do. Not what I would've gone with though.

[BGM: See No Evil]


So, Ox, what's our plan of attack here? What's the protocol?

I'm not sure if there's a 'protocol' for this sort of situation, but I think trying to figure out what's even going on would be a good starting point. Let's analyze the situation.



We have to exhaust all of these questions before we can continue.

Why were we taken?

I can't imagine we were kidnapped for no good reason. Do you have anyone who hates you, any reason to suspect you'd be targeted like this?

Was there any good reason that I'd be kidnapped? As much as I'd love to say I was the sort of adventurous girl to have made a dozen criminal enemies in my past, I couldn't think of a single thing even resembling a motive for my kidnapping. I don't know any secrets. I don't have any rich or powerful relatives, at least not to my knowledge. I haven't done anything that would leave someone cursing my name, again, at least not to my knowledge.

I was just a student almost out of law school. I was aiming to work as a defense attorney. Now, if I actually had become a defense attorney, well, then there might have been some motivation somewhere. But why target a student? No, no, there were no leads to be found down this line of thinking.

Sorry, but I can't really think of anyone who'd have it out for me. Unless we're putting disgruntled law students on the 'Suspect List'.

And we're not.

Then yeah, I'm fresh out of ideas. What about you, you make any dangerous enemies?

Unfortunately, yes. At this point, I've probably made dozens, and none stand out to me, so I can't really use that as a metric to pin anything down.

Dozens?



Yes, well, it comes with the occupation.

…

What, what's with the look?

Ox... are you a mob boss?

What? No! How on earth did you get that sort of impression of me?

Well how else would you make so many dangerous enemies at your age?

You know what, forget it. This is pointless to talk about : even if we could pin down which one would have it in for me, it doesn't explain why they'd also capture you. Unless... do you happen to know me?

Hmm...



Now that he mentioned it, he did look very vaguely familiar. But I couldn't place it well enough to say anything for certain.

Sorry, but I've got nothing. If there's some connection between us, I can't find it.

In that case, it's best to assume that the abductions were semi-arbitrary.

Are there any immediate dangers?

I'm not sure about that. Although, if I had to say something, this brings me some concern.

He gestured to his neck, which I now noticed boasted an incredibly dangerous looking metal contraption.

Whoa! What the hell is that?

I don't know, but whatever it is, it's around your neck as well. Presumably. I can't actually see what's around mine.

It is? Oh crap, you're probably right. Seriously, what the hell is that?



Well, it seems to connect to the bottoms of our masks, for one. See, there are these magnetic staps attached which seem to line up with these parts.

He tapped on my neck-brace.

So, what, these are just to help us wear masks? Seems excessive.

I would be surprised if that was their only purpose.

There's a variety of other uses they might have. For instance, they might have microphones or speakers installed. There's probably some sort of tracking device embedded which gives away our location. And if I were to wager a bet, there's probably some way of remotely killing us with these.

REMOTELY KILLING US?!

I started struggling with the necklace, seeing if I could pull it off.

Hey, calm down! I don't think whoever put those on would be so kind as to let them be pulled off by force like that.

Calm down?! You know, for someone who claims to be in the same position as me, you sure seem pretty chill about the possibility of your own death.



Obviously, death is the worst case scenario, but that has no bearing on how I should act right now. Really, I'm just being logical.

How's this for logic: my neck plus death device equals not a good time. That equation add up for you?

Look, if they really wanted to kill us, our kidnappers could have done it at any time.

So even if they can kill us, we should be safe for now.

Not the most reassuring reasoning there.

We're not in the most reassuring of situations.

Where are we?

This appears to be a school classroom of some sorts. Probably a science classroom, judging by the diagrams and textbooks lined up over there.

I got that much, genius. I'm asking what the hell that means.

I'm... not sure. Taking us to a school certainly is an odd choice.



And shouldn't there be kids here? It should be Tuesday, right? And I can't imagine this is an abandoned school, what with how well kept-together the whole place is.

What are you talking about? It's Thanksgiving Break. Of course there wouldn't be any kids here.

Thanksgiving...

Oh, right, yes. Completely slipped my mind, that.

I know Thanksgiving is no Christmas, but what sort of life are you living where you don't even remember it?

I remember Thanksgiving just fine, it just wasn't at the top of my mind right now. More to the point, I guess this means we're just in some school during the holiday. Which brings us back to the question of why the perpetrator would choose this sort of location.

Judging from the height, we've gotta be on the... third floor, is it? So we're not even close to the school's entrance.

Ooh, ooh, try opening the window.

Why?

Just do it!

Fine.



He tried to lift open the window, but the frame just wasn't budging.

Ugh. It looks like it should be able to open, but it's going nowhere. I guess it was glued shut or something.

Damn it. I was hoping we could climb on out of this mess.

If you wanted to get out of here, you do realize the door over there is wide open, right?

Oh, please. You and I both know that if we walk out that door there's no way things'll be easy. Do you think if you banged on the window and waved out someone would notice us?

There doesn't seem to be anyone around in this area. And even if there were, I doubt they'd notice us.

What are those on the table?

I... don't know.



They appear to be tablets of some sort, but I don't know if they're related to our situation.

Seriously? You think these are normally found in a classroom?

Schools are modernizing with the times. Who's to say they wouldn't employ tablets to help with their lesson plans?

But look, there's a Mouse and an Ox symbol drawn on them!

Well, that's certainly more compelling evidence.

I grabbed one and tried to turn it on, but there was no response.

Huh, it's not turning on. Maybe it needs batteries?

I would think it's been modified in some way, and will only light up when necessary. Perhaps the kidnappers will use this to contact us.

Are you sure? Wouldn't it be fine to let us turn it on to the home screen, and then text us the messages or pictures or whatever? I feel like hacking the tablet itself was unnecessary.



Functionally, I'm sure there could have been a workaround. Perhaps this was done for aesthetic purposes.

Seems like a lot of work just to make it look cooler.

I think we're getting off topic here- much of this debate is grounded in speculation anyways. What do we actually want to do with them?

I'm not sure. Uh, for now at least I'll hold onto the one with the mouse on the back of it, and you can hold onto the one with the ox on the back of it. Sound fair?

Fine. That makes sense to me.

Well, I don't know about you, but I've just about had it with standing around, acting as armchair detectives when we can just walk out the door. Who knows, maybe it'll be simple and we can just leave.

If only. Still, you're right, there doesn't seem to be much useful in here. Let's get going.

[BGM: Silence]


We prepared to leave the room, but before we could leave, an augmented, warped, demonic voice started speaking over the speakers.

[BGM: Lucky Foot]


???: Good morning, Rat. Good morning, Ox. How was your sleep?

Who is this?

A message from the kidnappers, no doubt.

???: I hope you got some rest. You'll need it for the upcoming race. Be prepared for the jury to face judgment.

The hell?

???: I suggest you listen to what I have to say very carefully. Failure to comply with what I tell you will result in an immediate disqualification, and trust me, that outcome would leave no one satisfied.

???: Now then, you should both promptly proceed to the starting line. In this case, that would be the cafeteria on the first floor. Right outside this room should be a staircase which will take you to the first floor, and from there it's a simple right turn to get there.

???: Before you leave, make sure each of you grabs the tablet with your respective animal printed on it. Take good care of these. They will be critically important.

???: That is all for now. Once again, do come quickly.



???: The Jade Emperor eagerly awaits your arrival.

And with that, the speakers cut off, leaving us just standing there, processing what we had just heard.

What on earth was that?

I-I'm not actually sure.

'Starting line?' 'Upcoming race?' 'Jade Emperor?' Seriously, what is this lunatic even talking about? It sounds as if we were on a really dumb reality TV show.

That would be unlikely. Still, this is certainly outside my expectations.

It appears that whoever captured us intends on indulging in some childish fantasy where they are this 'Jade Emperor' and we are his toys.

What a clown. I guess there's no real reason to fear them, though.

I wouldn't be so sure. That one line, 'Be prepared for the jury to face judgment', concerns me. Though it was difficult to tell with his voice-alterer, it seemed like he said that with an uncomfortable amount of seriousness.

It would be unwise to write this all off as just some dumb joke.



Speaking of, why bother with that voice-alterer? It was really annoying. It was hard to even make out what they were saying.

I wonder if that message was pre-recorded, or if that voice filter can be applied to live audio.

Hey, don't you think that the voice filter is actually a big hint?

What do you mean?

I mean, why bother with that thing if we don't know our perpetrator? Since they're taking the time to hide their voice, they've gotta be someone who we would recognize!

Not necessarily. It might just be a precaution. In case the perpetrator is later put under police suspicion, the voice filter prevents us from positively identifying them.

I guess that makes sense. But at the very least, it means that they don't plan on killing us, right?

True, it would be a rather illogical precaution if they were surely executing us.

Though that does not guarantee our safety.

Are you always like this?

Sorry, sorry. I'm just trying to help.



Let's move on to what he said about 'heading to the starting line.'

Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice in the matter, huh?

Not necessarily. We could try boycotting the orders and not go there. It might force the kidnapper to tip their hand.

Oh, you mean pissing off the scary voice who just threatened us? Great plan.

Or we could look around the school first, instead of just heading straight to the cafeteria.

Wandering around a creepy abandoned building while still managing to piss off the scary voice? An even better idea!

Look, I'm just throwing around some ideas.

You're fumbling around with some concepts at best.



Okay, okay, you're probably right.

As much as I hate to admit it, at the moment we don't have much of a choice. For now at least, we should shut up, do what the voice tells us, and pay close attention to everything that it says.

Agreed.

Then if we're in agreement, why don't we start making our way down?

Let's.

With that, we grabbed our stuff and exited the room.