Part 51: Socratic Seminar

The thread voted that we shouldn't use the tablet and should try to tie with the other group, so let's see how that plays out...

[BGM: Metal Horse]


We should vote Pig. However, ethically, we can't use that second tablet.

What?!

Even if she might be the traitor, we don't know that! We can't risk killing an innocent. We'll give Pig four votes and tie it. And we'll figure out what to do from there.

Fine with me.

It is a more humane option.

I for one don't love this. But, if it's what you want.

[BGM: Silence]


More importantly, we should hurry up and do it. The cycle's going to end any minute now!

Bunny wasn't wrong. We quickly split up into separate rooms so we could use our tablets. I input my RUN action for the round. And for the prayer cycle, I voted against Pig. I hoped we were doing the right thing here. It wasn't half a minute after inputting my actions that Round 6 ended.

I heard an announcement on my tablet.

With a total of 5 prayers, the great Draconic Gods have heeded the group's wishes and strike down Mouse.

What? How the hell.. They only should've had four votes! Why were they voting me?! Those were the last thoughts I could form before my brain started fuzzing out. While the knives would indeed enter my throat, I was mercifully choked out before I could feel the metal grind through my vocal cords and fill my mouth with blood. Thank God for small miracles.



[Ending – 5 of Clubs]

The race with the Prayer Statue is completely different. It's a bloodthirsty game which won't tolerate a weak heart.

No one will be able to beat those with the VICTORIOUS and DEFEATED personalities unless they're willing to get their hands dirty.

Mouse's death here isn't without nobility. But better to be a killer than dead.

Who the traitors are has basically been known information since the start of this route, but unlike the previous route both traitors are active and actually trying to do things this time around. Therefore, actively rejecting the plan while both traitors are on our team does nothing to help us- it's a stalemate at best- but signals to the two that this side is not going to be helpful to their goals, and gives them more reason to jump ship... leaving Mouse as the better immediate target since she refused to get involved.

Unfortunately for Pig, in order to progress the route, we have to use the tablet...

[BGM: Metal Horse]


I really really hate the idea of killing someone potentially innocent. However, we have no choice. We can only hope she betrayed us first.

Kind of a funny thing to hope for, huh?

I hate this. I really, really hate this. But letting Pig keep forming these groups for her own safety will only lead to destruction. This way, we'll end it. And we'll trust Bunny is right with his suspicions.

His theory makes plenty of sense to me.

This is a plan I find morally questionable... but I suppose there must be times one puts their morals aside and focuses on the task at hand.

[BGM: Silence]


We're right to do this. We don't have a choice. Let's not forget the real monster is Brian for making us go through all this.

More importantly, we should hurry up and do it. The cycle's going to end any minute now!

Bunny wasn't wrong. We quickly split up into separate rooms so we could use our tablets. I input my RUN action for the round. And for the prayer cycle, I voted against Pig. I hoped we were doing the right thing here. It wasn't half a minute after inputting my actions that Round 6 ended.

I heard an announcement on my tablet.

With a total of 5 prayers, the great Draconic Gods have heeded the group's wishes and strike down Pig.



And so it was done.

It was Pig's fault for trying to kill me. She started these group-voting murders. I was right to do this, wasn't I?

...Wasn't I?

I struggled to answer that. But at this point, looking for those answers would do me no good. I had already sealed most of my emotions. Guilt would have to join the club. I'd deal with my fractured psyche when I was safe. More importantly, I should go and check on Pig to see if she really was a traitor. Checking her tablet should make that clear.

[BGM: Lucky Foot]


I went down to the cafeteria with Monkey, Bunny, and Dog. There, Dragon, Horse, and Sheep were mourning Pig. They were not pleased to see us.

What did you all do?! You killed her.

Surprised you'd show your ugly mug here Bunny, seeing as you totally sold us out.

Guess I can't expect more from a traitorous rat bastard.

I didn't mean...



Where do you get off saying something like that? You also switched sides to join the library group in the first place!

That's... fuck you!

Yeah, yeah, that's not the important part. Was she a traitor?

No. We already checked the personality on her tablet. She wasn't 'victorious' or 'defeated'.

No...

That means you killed her for nothing!



And I suppose there was a lot of meaning in killing Rooster? Don't think I forgot about that. Don't think I'll forgive that.

Mad about Rooster's death, huh? Funny, I didn't take you for a fangirl.

He was certainly a trying man at times to deal with. However, I feel like I knew him well enough to say he was a pure soul at heart.

Having him killed for no good reason greatly upsets me.

So what's the play now?

[BGM: Hear No Evil]


Everyone, listen up. Things have gotten real fucked. Obviously.

But there's no easy way of resolving this. There's just not going to be a safe play until the traitors are gone and dead. It's clear they're willing to do whatever to stay alive.

The only answer I see is a simple one, but it's one I don't think people'll like.

What is it?



Group debates on who to eliminate. Right here, we'll just talk about who's most suspicious. Argue it out.

Then we take turns entering the bathroom over there and casting our votes. After someone dies, we check their tablet and see whether or not they were the traitor. Repeat until we're done.

Are you serious?! That's crazy!

And your suggestion is?

Huh?

You've just coasted along for a while with no real opinion, haven't you? Well, now's your time to stand up. If you can think of a better way of handling things, speak up.

U-Um... I...



What exactly do you think you're doing?

I'm asking Sheep to explain herself. Got a problem with it?

Actually, I do. Why are you wasting time like that?

Seemed fun.

I think a Socratic Seminar seems like a fairly logical method of handling this dispute.

I don't hate the idea. It seems a little brutal, but that can hardly be helped.



The thread voted to not support this idea.

Are you telling us to debate who to murder? It's barbaric! I don't want any part of that. It's amoral, it's creepy, it's wrong, there's a thousand things I could say against it!

Alright, well, what's your idea?

Idea?

You don't have one, do you? In that case, we're going to go with this one. There's no way we can outplan the traitors, so instead we're just going to outvote them.

You don't like the arguing, you can stay silent. See how much good that does you for the votes.

…

[BGM: Silence]


And so, like it or not, this shitty 'praying' game had reached its final stage. Perhaps this was the inevitable conclusion based on the rules presented. The logical culmination of everyone's distrust and self-interest. It all led to a brutal popularity contest with deadly stakes. If there was ever a time to put on a game face, it was now.

[BGM: Steadfast Gallop]


For my sake and the group's, I had to put forwards the best arguments I could.

So, who's suspicious to start with?

I distrust everyone who went along with the 'library group voting' plan. It was ill-conceived and selfish.

But more importantly, it was the perfect cover for a traitor.

I thought we already talked about how one traitor was outside that group!

For one, Bunny already brought up how that was inconclusive proof. For another, even if one traitor was outside the group, that doesn't make things any less suspicious.



If we're going to bring up old suspicious stuff, then let's talk about the very first vote, the one that killed Ox! We know from that that at least one traitor has to come from Horse or Dog!

Is that so?

I know I'm not a traitor. If I wanted to kill you all, I'd do it without the stupid voting system.

Are we sure that the first vote really tells us anything? For all we know, someone like Tiger or Snake was a traitor, and it was their doing. We haven't had a chance to confirm their tablets, have we?

Besides, we don't know if that was even a result of the traitor. There could be some reason that a non-traitor didn't vote for Dragon.



Or hell, maybe Ox and Dragon met up and decided to not vote against each other, and then Dragon betrayed that agreement.

Now why the hell would I do something stupid like that? If we're talking about suspicious, have we forgot who said the stupid item number aloud in the first place? Bunny did! That's huge grounds for suspicion.

Like we already said, I didn't know what the item was then, how could that have been done out of evil?

Bunny's right. I don't think it's very likely that someone like him would use these methods if he wanted to kill us all.

Gee, thanks. You're a real Carl Leone, aren't you?

Carl Leone?

It's a reference for cultured people, trust me.

Should I add something to the conversation?



And lastly, the thread voted to vouch for Dragon over Dog and Monkey.

I think Dragon's probably innocent!

Now that's what I'm talking about.

Why do you think that?

Even if people inside the library could've used the tablets taken off the dead bodies, I don't think Dragon could've. She was walking outside of the library almost the whole time, right? So she was probably monitored almost all the time.

But Mouse, what if she's the other traitor?

That's possible. But she's 50% less likely to be the traitor, right?

I guess.



Well, for my money, I think it's Sheep.

Tch. You would.

Now why would you say that? Because I have such impeccable instincts?

The question is why you're accusing someone like Sheep. She hasn't done anything to anyone.

That's exactly my point. She's a floater, to put it in reality TV terms.

She's always in a group, good at convincing other people to do things, very meek. If she was a traitor, her only chance at getting away with it would be thanks to a voting system like this.



She just seems like the traitor type. Call it a hunch.

I'll call it bullshit.

Uh, guys, I think the cycle's almost up. We need to quickly put in some votes.

Bunny was absolutely right. Quickly we cycled in and out of the restroom, taking turns to make our votes. Personally, I decided to vote for Dog. Something didn't sit right with me about him, and I kept remembering the votes from the first cycle.



A couple moments after we had all voted, a familiar announcement played on our tablets.

With a total of 3 prayers, the great Draconic Gods have heeded the group's wishes and strike down Sheep.

NO!

Oh.

A simple word.

*thud*

Sheep said it, then she immediately passed out onto the ground. Not from the collar, but from shock.

[BGM: Constriction]


But this was a lucky break. It made her usually painful death rather painless. I averted my eyes. I had no urge to watch someone like her die. But in my head, I prayed that she was secretly a monster who would try and kill us. After a beat, Bunny walked over and picked up Sheep's tablet. A few seconds later, he sighed.

A weak personality. Not victorious. Not defeated.

Another pointless death.

Damn it! I was really sure about her.

Dog, you voted for Sheep?

I already said I suspected her, didn't I?

Who else voted for her?

I did.

As did I.



I voted for Bunny.

Me?

If you're looking for an apology, you're not getting one.

I voted for Dog.

As did I.

My oh my, I'm so unpopular.

People who make dumb accusations are suspicious.

Just because I was wrong doesn't make it dumb.



Sheep wasn't with us anymore, so we couldn't ask who she voted for. Instead, a silence took over the room. There was an uncomfortableness in the air. What was there to say? We had tried to debate it,and we had gotten it wrong. It was also notable that Dog, the person who accused Sheep, had gotten the second most votes. Accusations brought suspicion on the accuser. Because of that, no one wanted to speak first.

Time flew by. Eventually, we realized the cycle was getting close to being finished.

We should probably start voting. I'll go first.

Without much more conversation, Dog entered the bathroom. While he was gone, however, the conversation re-ignited.

That Dog just does whatever the fuck he wants too, huh? I can't trust someone like that.



I've been thinking about it, and I really think he might be the traitor. He was outside the library group when the dead people had their tablets taken away, and he was supposed to vote Dragon in the first cycle.

As Bunny started to say that, Dog exited the restroom, and Bunny entered. From there we cycled in and out fairly silently. And then the cycle ended. And once again, a dreaded tablet announcement played.

With a total of 3 prayers, the great Draconic Gods have heeded the group's wishes and strike down Dog.