Case 001: Surviving a Fall

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[When Sherlock Holmes hits the ground, he is in a great deal more pain than he expected, considering where he was supposed to land. He groans loudly.]

Ow! I think I missed...

[He slowly and carefully rolls himself over to his back and cautiously opens his eyes. No John to talk to and no skull either, talking to himself will have to do.]

Oh, oh... Is this death? Did I die? Oh, how disappointing. To make it that far and loose in the end. Perhaps Moriarty is right. Perhaps I am an angel.

[Then he realizes that the metallic smell and taste to the air wasn't blood. He sits up slowly, then checks himself over.]

Okay, not bleeding, that's a good start. Doesn't feel like anything's broken.

[He blinks a few times and looks around him again, he doesn't quite believe what he's seeing.  He looks around him completely bewildered, taking in the sight around him.]

John was right. I shouldn't have deleted all that information about the universe.

[He slowly and carefully gets to his feet, checking to ensure his legs will support his weight, when a memory stirs.]

Oh! That shop that had appeared in Bart's! Something about my being chosen...

[He shoves his hands in his coat pockets and winces as he realizes he doesn't have his mobile. He looks around again and calls out.]

Hello?! Anyone about?

Comments

[holmes_fanatic]

More interesting than surprising, I agree -- but it's still weird.

[Let's see -- lettuce, ham--]

Ne, do you like tomato in sandwiches, Holmes-sensei?

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sliced, not cubed.

[He looks around to get an idea of how this kitchen might function.]

One thing is guaranteed across the universe. Every living creature needs energy to sustain it. It wouldn't surprise me to find some alien motor-oil in here.

[holmes_fanatic]

Right, right. [Sliced tomato coming up! A little salt and pepper -- and why not, let's have some cheese and cucumber too. There.]

Try looking under the sink. The plumbing's all there and intact, but if you go outside and look down, there's no pipes.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[That was an unexpected revelation. He takes Conan up on the offer. Looks under the sink and then goes to look outside. May as well kill time while he's waiting on the sandwich. He returns a few minutes later.]

No cables for electricity either. And yet, clearly there is power inside. What a strange place.

[holmes_fanatic]

Ah. And you can always hear the machine if you're quiet enough, but never see it.

[In Sherlock's absence, Conan's cut the sandwiches into neat triangles and put them on two plates on the table. He's getting himself a drink of juice, having waited to see what Holmes prefers.]

Ne, do you want anything to drink?

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Tea, but I can manage that.

[Sherlock ready's the tea. He's not completely useless. When the kettle's boiled he brings it over to the table as well.]

So, everything that is here... is powered by the machine. And we cannot see the machine. Is it underground, then?

[holmes_fanatic]

I don't know. Someone told me that there is a black hole somewhere around here, and that they used to be able to access the machine through it -- but someone got in there and tried to mess it up and now the black hole is fenced off. I haven't found it yet.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Sherlock sips his tea before taking a triangle of sandwich.]

So plenty of mystery, then. I shouldn't be bored here, at least.

[holmes_fanatic]

I hope not! I'd like to hear what you make of this case.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[That earns a look.]

Is that why I've been brought here? To solve a case?

[holmes_fanatic]

I don't think that's why they chose you -- I mean, you're bound to solve this and if they'd realised it ... well, you wouldn't be here! But they must be feeling pretty safe ... or maybe you might have been brought in by someone who wants the machine to fail?

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Sherlock finally takes a bite of the sandwich. Obviously, he doesn't consider himself "working" or he wouldn't be eating.]

Perhaps. Or perhaps it doesn't mean anything at all and it is as random as they seemed to think. Either way, I think this is a case where trying to solve it won't lead to a solution at all. Like trying to grasp sand or water - holding it gently, you are able to hold more, than if you tried to squeeze it tightly.

[holmes_fanatic]

You might be right there -- I don't feel like I've made progress at all for how long I've known about this place.

((ooc: sorry! I've been slow and will probably continue to be slow -- Conan found a body in his other game and suddenly everyone with a detective-y background wants to know about it and my inbox is overflowing. Things are calming down a bit now, but I'm giving that priority!))

No worries. I'm in a bit of a RL crisis at the moment.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Sherlock speaks with a mouthful. Manners? Do they apply?]

And how long have you known about this place?

Sorry to hear that -- hope you get things under control!

[holmes_fanatic]

[Investigation > Social Mores -- everyone knows that!]

According to the people who calculate time here -- I think six months?

Working on it. But then there's Google crap I'm trying to get sorted too :/

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[He pulls his hand across his mouth to wipe it.]

Six months! You should know everything by now.

[Well, that's Sherlock's opinion.]

Good luck!

[holmes_fanatic]

I thought that too! It's -- pretty frustrating. You almost never see anyone involved in the machine. There's only been two cases since first arriving here for me.

I talked to Grey-san once after people vanished in my reality -- ah! That's right! There's a number of us who had people vanish in our realities, later to turn up dead, all killed the same way -- we're sure that it's something to do with the Plane, but we're still working out the exact relation.

Tnx. Got most of it changed over... still **Shakes fist, Google!**

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Killed? Killed how?

[A good death, that always peaks Sherlock's interest.]

[holmes_fanatic]

Blood loss -- their left hands were missing removed either by something with really big teeth or a weapon that approximated one. The interesting thing is that their bodies were all found at least a week after their disappearances, but there was no sign of stress or starvation or fatigue -- it was sort of like they were put on hold after they vanished, until they were killed.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Sherlock looks interested.]

Oh that is intriguing. Do any of those who've died have any connection to people here?

[holmes_fanatic]

All had connections. The three from my world -- the brother of the girl who works in the cafe that is the ground floor of the building the Detective Agency is in. We'd met him once when he was framed for a murder. Then there was a university friend of the Professor's, and a police officer that I don't think I ever met but did a stake out with Officer Takagi who is a really good friend of mine.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Neat.

[Excuse him.]

So, they all had connections to people here, but not directly related to people here, or are people we would necessarily care about. I wonder if I could arrange something for Sergeant Donovan or even Anderson....

[He wouldn't.... would he?]

[holmes_fanatic]

[That is clearly detective humour (or so Conan hopes).]

There was a second wave of disappearances -- so far their bodies haven't turned up so we believe that they're being kept somewhere out of time, in a place something like this one.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Sure it is... yeah.... But more importantly: More disappearances?]

If it's no one close to individuals here, what's the point? It's not like they can be used to coerce any specific person into an action.

[Well, not Sherlock, anyway. That doesn't work on him.]

[holmes_fanatic]

I think that maybe our presence in the Machine gives whatever's behind this access to our worlds, and to us. Maybe by targeting people on the periphery, they're hoping to escape detection.