Part 106: In The Negative

[BGM: Silence]


Monkey was Brian's therapist. Surely her input on this would be insightful. I went to ask her about that.

[BGM: See No Evil]


It's something of a breach of patient-client confidentiality, but at this point, I suppose that's a bit of a moot point. Anyways, I don't think you'll get much out of me.

I tried to approach Brian on his own terms, but that appears to have backfired somewhat. I should have stomped out his delusions at the root.

You entertained his delusions?

I let him talk out his ideas. It's often a useful tool to help people come to their senses on their own. But, for some reason... my guidance wasn't working.

It was almost like he was somehow getting worse with every session.

Worse?

And it's more than just that. It was as though...



His theories, his delusions, about what happened with his father and how corrupt the system and society was, they'd become more elaborate. ...No, elaborate is not the right word.

Detailed. It was though he was becoming more and more knowledgeable on the topic. And as he was becoming more knowledgeable, he was becoming more convinced in his world view.

Monkey sighed.

At some point, I definitely should have shifted tactics. I knew I was dealing with a larger scale sort of case. But... I thought that just meant I had to take my time with him.

Not that it would lead to this...

Anyways, I don't know if any of that was helpful to you.

Oh, I think it was.

Good to hear.

Well, I'm gonna keep investigating things on my end.

You do that. But Mouse?



No. Mary?

My heart stopped for a second. It had been... a while, since somebody had referred to me by my real name.

...Yes?

Please don't overextend yourself. I know all of this is doing a number on you. I just... don't want you to break.

Ha, yeah, well... I get the feeling I'll need a lot more sessions after this.

Indeed. Perhaps we should try hypnotherapy again.

Oh God, please, no. Three long and boring sessions were enough for me, thank you.

What can I say? I was very curious if it would work.

Well, you got your answer.

That I did.

I smiled. It was nice, through all of the chaos and tragedy, that I at least had Monkey to fall back on.

Mouse...

BGM: Silence]


In all seriousness, are you doing okay?

… I'm actually in a pretty bad state.

Heh, well. That is to be expected, no?

I'd say.

Remember to take things easy. Obviously, desperate times and desperate measures and all that. But don't underestimate the power of a clear mind.

I won't.

And with that, our conversation came to an end. And I left the classroom with an interesting fact under my belt.

…

Pig was a journalist at the time. Not just that, she was perhaps the only totally unbiased perspective in all of this. Surely asking her about the incident could be useful.

[BGM: Final Squeal]


Ah, sorry, I don't know if I'm really going to be useful about all that.

Shit.

I thought you reported on it at the time?

I did!

But that was a while ago, and I do a lot of reporting about a lot of things on top of my other couple of jobs. The details I know are fuzzy, probably a lot fuzzier than yours are. I don't think I could be of any help at all. Sorry.

I sighed.

I get if I just asked you about a case from thin air how it'd be difficult for you. But after all this happened, and you got free, surely you'd go back and re-look at the case, right?

I've been way too busy for that! After all, this new case is way more mysterious!

Alright, is there anything to know about the Zodiac Trial then?

Damn straight there is! There's a ton of weird details about this thing that don't make a lick of sense!



Like, take Rooster and Sheep's kidnappings. The investigation surrounding it shows that they happened at different locations miles apart, but they happened a couple of minutes within each other.

I mean, the timeline's rough and all, but with generous assumptions on all regards, it doesn't make sense that a single teenager could handle everything.

That is concerning.

And that's not all! Did you know pretty much every aspect of the Zodiac Race that wasn't automated could be controlled via a custom app Brian created?

Really?

Yeah, and he installed that app on two separate burner phones. Why two? In fact, why put them on phones at all? He could also control it from the laptop that was found burned at his base!

That is all strange.

So, uh, yeah, maybe think twice before calling me 'useless'.

You were the one who called yourself useless.



I've been busy looking into stuff like this. ...I don't know how useful looking into it is, though.

It's, uh, super useful!

At this, Pig just looked at me blankly. It seemed like she didn't believe me. Then, after a pause, Pig spoke in a quiet voice.

But there is something useful I can do.

...I think.

What are you talking about?

Look, this whole game thing – it's an obvious sloppy job. Don't get me wrong, it's functional, you know, it works. But there wasn't nearly the time and care put into this that was put into the Zodiac Race. Looking at the computers, I could tell all the coding was done by an amateur.



And so, I think I can take advantage of that.

Take advantage? How would you do that?

The programs running on the computers, they're happening atop the computer's usual functions. I can tell that the programs were made using a very cookie-cutter application. ...And that application has some exploits.

It's possible I can get to the screen behind the program – that is to say, access the actual computer. And with that, I could contact the authorities, I could get help! ...Or, if that fails, I could look into the programming of these programs, see if I could uncover anything.

I don't know exactly, I just know that I can do something. And I feel obligated to do something.

I don't know, Pig, I'm not sure this is a good idea.

Huh?

I mean, what if the mastermind thought something like this might happen? If something pops up on their screen, saying that your computer is acting wacky... They might just immediately blow you up!

...



That's, uh, a good point.

I just think it's a risky plan.

True, true. This might be a bad idea. Still...

I don't want to be complacent anymore. No, I can't be passive anymore. This is my life, you know, and my life on the line. I'm not just going to roll over and die.

That's for certain.

And with those oddly determined words, Pig walked away.

Huh. It seemed to me that something had changed in Pig, compared to the woman I met when I first woke up in that crappy high school. Good for her.

...That was pretty much everybody.

*BWAAAAAAAAAAM!!*

And as if on cue, I heard the two minute alarm ring out. I suppose this was the moment of truth, wasn't it? Time to find out exactly what we were dealing with.

[BGM: Silence]


I made my way over to the computer, and watched it come to life. Then, I nervously read the card list.

-Mouse of Clubs
-Ox of Clubs
-Ox of Diamonds
-Bunny of Clubs
-Bunny of Diamonds
-Dragon of Clubs
-Snake of Hearts
-Rooster of Hearts
-Rooster of Clubs

...Well, there you had it. We were dealing with an enemy.

I can't say I didn't expect it. In theory, that enemy would be cut off at the pass now, as we'd find out their identity. But something about that felt unbelievable to me. I just didn't think it was particularly likely. Still, it's not like we could give up hope. Time to stick with the plan. I gave my Mouse of Hearts to Tiger. I prayed, hoping that was the right move. And then, as the computer shut down, I left the classroom and started making my way to the library. Time to check the carnage.



In the library, everybody just started looking at what was projected on the screen. Everybody's current scores were shown.

Mouse has 0 points.
Ox has 0 points.
Tiger has 6 points.
Bunny has 0 points.
Dragon has 0 points.
Snake has 0 points.
Horse has 0 points.
Sheep has 0 points.
Rooster has 0 points.
Monkey has 0 points.
Dog has -1 points.
Pig has 0 points.

… ...Dog has negative one points?

[BGM: Mousetrap]


So, uh, this means...

Snake was right! There's a traitor! We're doomed!

Okay, everybody, let's keep calm and think about this. What could this mean?

It means that Dog has a Tiger card. Right?

I mean, math isn't my strong suit or anything, but if I understand the whole 'wheel' thing right, a Tiger card should be worth negative one point to him. So, clearly he has a Tiger card!

H-How did that happen though? I looked at him, he was...

No one's disputing the fact that he was dead.



Most likely, someone gave him the Tiger card.

But, but, but what's the fuckin' point of that? Isn't that dooming us all?!

Perhaps that is the point. Or, it's to simply sew discord.

Well, maybe this situation can be salvaged, right? If I could get that card from Dog–

It can't be done. Didn't you hear the rules? Last time around, if someone operated your tablet, you'd be executed. But this time, operating someone else's computer gets you executed.

In other words, there's no way to access his computer. And there's no way to force someone to give up a card.

Well, that's not necessarily true, now is it?

Rooster?

You've got an idea for us, don't you buddy?

[BGM: Silence]


Just because you'll be executed for using someone else's computer doesn't mean that you can't do it. And if you're quick enough, you could surely make at least one move.

We just need someone expendable to sacrifice themselves for the group! So come on now, one of you volunteer! Surely, there must be at least one among you who wishes to die a martyr!

Rooster, I don't know if that's–

Enough. What's more important is the investigation results. What did everyone who checked somebody find? Did anyone have more cards than they should have?

Ox looked around the room, only to be met with a wave of shaking heads.

...What? Surely one of you saw something.

[BGM: Stampede of Truth]


Unfortunately, Ox, these results appear to indicate that the 'Check' gives you the number of cards the person you looked at had at the end of the turn. Meaning somebody could have handed off their Tiger card to Dog and we'd be none the wiser.

It appeared the search was fruitless.

Well then... First things first, a Tiger win is off the table. Tiger, you should try and unload those points. Give your most valuable cards to the people who get the least amount of points from them. The rest of us will...

...I don't know. Keep checking the amount of cards each other has. I need to think.

With an absent look in his eyes, Ox wandered off. And like that, the group began to scatter. But now, we were directionless. We didn't have a plan. People were beginning to panic. Panic was beginning to spread.

And that was The Cat's true goal, wasn't it?

Still... Something about the results being shown seemed wrong to me. I decided to try pacing on the first floor. That always helped me focus. I walked around the whole area, focused on the results. What was wrong with them?

What was rubbing me the wrong way?