07: [Action]

[truthsnomiracle]

March 26, 5:59 PM
Bay View Hotel
Room 212
NNNGGGHHHOOOOOOOH!

[That was probably audible throughout half the hotel.]


March 27, ??:03 ?M
Outside Bay View Hotel
[Anyone on their way in or out from fighting will probably find a prosecutor in a new-looking, stiff burgundy trenchcoat with a glaive across his back... hugging a black and white, collie-like dog while sobbing pitifully.]

[OOC: Please specify your prompt!]

Comments

2/2

[truthsnomiracle]

[...But the knock does get his attention. Say hello to an Edgeworth trying very badly to hide the fact that the dam's finally burst, Allen.]

...Mr. Ridgeley.

[want_a_vacation]

*He could be hiding it fairly well and Allen might still notice. It's like a neon sign here, and it's worrying.*

Are you...going to be okay?

[truthsnomiracle]

Am I going to be okay?! If things continue as they are, no one on the entire island will be "okay"!

[...Oh boy.]

[want_a_vacation]

Calm down, we'll find out who's behind the murders and stop them.

*He reaches to put a hand on Edgeworth's arm but pauses halfway. If this was one of his friends from work, he wouldn't have hesitated. But he doesn't really know this man that well yet, and he has noticed that he tends to be uncomfortable with expressions of familiarity.*

But it sounds like that's not the only thing bothering you. What happened?

[truthsnomiracle]

[Edgeworth manages not to snap again, though he's still clearly seething and his response is clipped.]

The evidence is in your contact list.

[want_a_vacation]

*Uh-oh...he gets out his phone, starts scrolling through the numbers...and his face falls when he gets to where Phoenix's listing should be.*

He's-ngh. Him too? I...I'm sorry. I don't know what kind of relationship you two had, but I could tell you at least respected him. I...we'll find something. Some way to get to the bottom of what's going on here and stop it. I know we will...we have to.

[truthsnomiracle]

Without him here, I fear that justice can't be done.

[He's shaking...]

[want_a_vacation]

So you're just going to give up? There's a way, I know there is. But if we think we're doomed to lose, we already have.

[truthsnomiracle]

HOLD IT!

I never claimed that I'd stop trying!

[want_a_vacation]

Then don't dwell on the possibility that it might be impossible! If you're thinking about that while you're looking for a solution, you might completely miss what you're looking for.

[truthsnomiracle]

While that might be the case, the fact remains that the path I was -- we were already laboring to follow has just unexpectedly grown far steeper! I am not only out of my element in this place, Mr. Ridgeley, but among many of us that element's introduction is seen as unnecessary! Without Wright here, we cannot simply demonstrate at a moment's notice; our approach must change, and must do so posthaste, and I cannot see how.

[want_a_vacation]

The answer might not be obvious, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Are you sure there's nobody else here who understands enough to help?

[truthsnomiracle]

There are a few others who understand, though I'm uncertain how best to apply their skills, and none are defense attornies. By contrast, Wright is a man whose capabilities I possess a solid understanding of and whose strengths complement my own.

[want_a_vacation]

What about someone who could learn enough to fill in for him? It might even be better for someone who isn't used to doing this in a universe that didn't have the Dark Hour to consider.

[truthsnomiracle]

People study for years to become lawyers, Allen. We have days, if that, and a narrow pool of candidates. We also have yet to appoint any judges, nor do we yet have any viable punishments to sentence a criminal to. This is all happening so quickly...

[want_a_vacation]

You might have to accept that we can't do everything by the book here. With the way people come and go here, we can't rely entirely on a few specific people. I've even been considering the possibility that I might vanish. We have to work with what we have, and...you might be surprised. A lot of the people here are unusual even without supernatural or high-tech abilities. Someone might know more than you realize or be able to learn things faster than most people.

[truthsnomiracle]

I'm aware that we must improvise, Mr. Ridgeley. To establish our own court at all is far from being "by the book", and one of the key laws of this country will have to be disregarded entirely due to its sheer impracticality at our community's scale. Furthermore, certain laws would need to differ to account for our situation to begin with. This isn't even my first time having to cope with the imperfection of law -- merely my first time dealing with such extremes, as well as with widespread questions as to how and why our own "book" needs to be written.

I'm neither a king nor a politician, Mr. Ridgeley, and given my experiences with the former since my arrival, the reasons why the age of kings came to an end, and the errors I've made in the past, I'm neither comfortable with nor suited to either role. I have met Gaignun Kukai and count him as a likely ally, however.

[want_a_vacation]

Gaignun's definitely an ally. He's from my world and a personal friend of mine, so I can tell you now that we can count on him for what help he can give.

As for the questions about how to write the book...maybe it would be a good idea to talk to some people from worlds where abnormal powers are common. Not all of the methods of dealing with powerful criminals will be available, like I'm pretty sure this world doesn't even have the technology for personality reconditioning, but we might find something that works.

[truthsnomiracle]

You brainwash criminals in your world?!

[want_a_vacation]

Some of them. I know, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, too. The idea is that instead of killing especially dangerous criminals, the legal system can forcibly reform them and release them back into society. There's some debate over whether it's really better than the death penalty, but it didn't look like it was going to be abolished any time soon.

[truthsnomiracle]

The potential for abuse is... has no one in your world attempted to use it to suppress political dissidents or the like?

[want_a_vacation]

I don't know. It does require some upkeep as far as I know, and I've heard there are some indications when the conditioning is struggling, though, so I don't think it can really be abused for something that needs subtlety.

[truthsnomiracle]

Even if one discounts subtle and widespread use, I can think of several other ways in which such technology could be abused to advance one's ideologies or punish the merely inconvenient.

I'm uncertain what frightens me more -- the potential for abuse, or its hypothetical viability in this situation compared to what I'm used to.

[want_a_vacation]

It would definitely be on the table if this was happening in my world. A lot of Federation laws and decisions are kind of amoral and I'm not going to deny some of them have been abused in the past. There's a reason the Species Preservation Act had to happen after Life Recycling.

[truthsnomiracle]

(I'm afraid to even ask.)

This discussion is far from heartening.