The Velvet Key

What effect, if any, does the passage of time here have on us?

I don't necessarily mean what we do in the time that passes here. That's completely irrelevant. I'm talking about aging and other things of that nature. Normally, I wouldn't even entertain the idea that it would be different, but the fact that death isn't permanent here is making me consider it.

If we assume that there's some sort of conscious entity behind our presence here, then it's clear that it wants us alive. I wouldn't say that we're immortal, exactly, as people do die when they are killed, but they're resurrected without consequence a short time later.

What, then, will happen if we're stranded here for a significant length of time? We have no idea how long the investigation will take, nor do we know what will be required of us once we have more information. There is the possibility of being returned to where we came from, but it seems completely random as to when it happens, and it seems as though when we're returned it's as we were never gone-not only with regard to our position in time, but our physical and mental states, as well.

So, do we age normally? Or are we locked into the physical age that we were upon arrival? It would be a fascinating subject to research if I had the proper resources, but there are, of course, more pressing matters to attend to.

[THESE ARE SANE AND REASONABLE BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS]

Speaking of which, has there been any progress on the investigation into the Church of Three? I haven't heard a word about it since shortly after it was brought up. Weren't there people intent on investigating it?

[Well, now there's some angry rich douchebag on the network who appears to be standing in front of the hotel. Sure, he doesn't really look angry, but it's the kind of look where someone's really obviously trying not to look angry. It's almost possible to feel rage emanating from the screen.]

This is Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi speaking. It appears as though there's been some sort of mistake here-I have no memory of coming to America, nor did I have any plans to come to America. To be transported from Japan to America without knowing isn't exactly natural.

Does anyone know what happened here, or am I going to have to figure things out for myself?