People are crazy and times are strange [ open ]

[inequal]

WHO: Liam (Owen) [inequal] and ANYONE.
WHAT: Somebody else got struck by the memory rehab bug, thinks his name is something else. Now Liam's trying to deal with the idea that he might have his head screwed on wrong without being able to tell.
WHERE: All around the Cave, notably: the Bar; the Supply Depot; near the Living Quarters; a secluded corner.
WHEN: April 10th (Tuesday) through April 12th (Thursday).
NOTES: What the hell is consistent narrative name, do not even get me started on trying to figure out which one to use. IT'S JUST "HE" AND "HIM" OKAY.

His Tuesday started out simply enough, some murky memory (or was it a dream?) floating up to remind him of a white room and then... nothing, really. Probably just made it up. No, his day really started with a buzz in his head and a request for his husband to turn off the bloody overhead light, if you please, George.

That was his first sign that something was wrong. It didn't feel wrong, but the sheer comfort with which he identified as Owen Bates (not... Liam McNally or whatever name it was that George—Ken?—said it should be) gave him a shudder if he stopped to think about it for too long. Exactly why he immediately sought out Arthur Stieber at the Supply Depot and was told to swing by later that night after work.

Fine, whatever. He could wait another few hours. So he went with his spouse to the Bar and spent the next few hours ignoring the twitch in his foot and fingers. Scaring off the customers would not do, even if the only exchange he cared about tended to be the conversational sort and nothing to do with money.

He was out like a bolt by closing time and off to retrieve the pack of cigarettes as Arthur had promised. Horrible habit to get back into when he was still not physically addicted, but the psychological effects were already ingrained deeply enough. It wasn't until Wednesday that he had the chance to secret himself into an underdeveloped crevice on the west side of the Cave and finally light up. Hopefully the smoke would dissipate before anyone else caught wind of it, because despite popular belief, he did not try to bury himself in as much trouble as possible at all times. George Ken George would likely be worried and that kept him from lighting a second despite the urge.

The rest of Wednesday proceeded as normal... what accounted for normal in this place, anyway. Some exploration in the day and work in the afternoon, all the way to After Hours. Thursday found him escaping to the crevice once again, lighter and cigarette clutched in hand, then off to the Depot again with George to retrieve more rations.

It was perhaps the least exciting lifestyle he had indulged in for nearly sixty years. Nevertheless, Owen could not stop the dread coiling in his gut that the other shoe was primed just perfectly to drop any day now.

Comments

[whowillsaveyou]

One brow quirked, the Doctor gave the man an amused look as he took his drink. "Would I?" he asked. "Oh, thank you," he added, almost as an after thought. It wouldn't do to be impolite. He took a tentative sip of the water, smiled, and set the glass down. It was water, chilly with the ice, and there wasn't much to say about water.

"Ah, well." The Doctor paused to gaze around. "I'm sure things will pick up, hmm?" Perhaps. Maybe. "If not, well, that just makes your job easier, doesn't it? Or do you prefer having a lot to do?" Some did. The Doctor certainly didn't mind being busy.

[inequal]

"Oh, definitely," replied Owen. Which of the Doctor's many questions he was answering wasn't something he thought to elaborate on. Instead, he continued in another vein, "Nothing ever wrong with keeping active. Staying useful is one of the best things you can do in a situation like this, isn't it?" A short shrug. "'Easy' doesn't really factor."

[whowillsaveyou]

"Oh, quite right. quite right. And I agree entirely." He hadn't found a whole lot of ways to be useful, unfortunately. More to be bothersome. "Though I think some would rather just be shipped off to the city and be done with it." Even the Doctor had to admit he was curious about where this William Olsen worked. But if he were shuffled out of this place, and the TARDIS were somewhere within... Then again, the ship could be anywhere on the planet.

A frown creased his face at that thought, and he did his best to shove it aside, returning to the subject at hand. "Not much call for an old man such as myself, I'm afraid. Which leaves me to my studies, I suppose, but I would like to feel more useful."

[inequal]

That earned the Doctor a sardonic look from Owen. "You're joking, right? Studies are about as useful as we can get here." It wasn't like they could storm up to the man in charge and demand answers, nor would learning by doing be a viable option — not with the guard force slinking around to make sure they stayed in their niches or whatever it was they did. As if realizing he should probably explain that thought, the bartender continued, "Knowledge is power and all that."

He didn't voice the creeping doubt on the validity of any knowledge they would find. Warping the perception of a person's own name and that of his loved ones was quite a knock to his usual confidence, twisting his insides until he wasn't sure what to do about it without making it worse.

[whowillsaveyou]

"Mm, yes. It's mostly science, though." The Doctor chuckled. "You can learn a lot about a society from such studies, in fact. How advanced they are, but also how they think, hmm? What sort of advances they've made tell you something about what they find important." Still, knowing how advanced these people were didn't offer him much insight into why they'd need him. They seemed more than capable of advancing. Then again, if they'd lost most of their scientists, they could have simply been in need of replacements. An unpleasant thought, but it did more to explain his presence than any answers he'd been able to get from others.

"On the topic of knowledge and its usefulness, do you speak to many of your customers? I can only imagine that a simple barman would be able to learn much from asking the right questions."

[inequal]

"Funny, that's what I thought I was doing right now. You're right," Owen agreed simply, "but it's a group effort sort of thing. Working as many angles as possible to see what we can all come together and learn. I've never been one much for learning from books, though, which is why I've not really been down there yet."

Just because his forte wasn't in the written word didn't mean couldn't learn from the nerds in other ways. "If you find anything good, though, you should definitely share."

[whowillsaveyou]

"Yes, yes, I quite agree. Don't you worry about the books. I'm sure I can handle that side of things." Well, 'books', since it was all in files, and he doubted he could read through everything on his own, but he knew how to browse for useful information! "And if you come across anything useful, you'll do the same, won't you?"

[inequal]

"Absolutely." Unbidden, his fingers began to tap out some unknown rhythm. The conversation was nice, but Owen couldn't help the nervous energy still bubbling inside him. Hopefully the nice Doctor wouldn't point it out or make a deal of it. "We're supposed to be working together to—what was it, rebuild things? Wouldn't do if we didn't keep communication open."

[whowillsaveyou]

The only sign he gave that he even noticed was the brief glance of his eyes towards Owen's fingers before returning their focus on the man's face. "Rebuild, yes. An interesting thing. Taking... Putting everyone to sleep for a hundred and fifty years. I suppose it would make sense if the air were unbreathable. Likely they had something in place to test the air and wake up those essential to running the place when it became safe again." The alternative to 'setting up a place to recondition kidnapping victims', and it was perhaps a bit noticable that he didn't believe his own explanation, his lips showing the faintest of smirks. "I shall have to look into it," he mused thoughtfully.

[inequal]

"That's one idea," Owen agreed, falling into relatively calm thought. What bothered him the most was his own apparent resurrection and George's loss of physical age. Those two facts were enough to keep him off-kilter in the rest of their situation, making it difficult to consider his place in the Cave as reality no matter how much he actually wanted it. What was it supposed to mean when the impossible had happened not once, but twice, and coupled with all this other strangeness to boot? "It's a good one. Doesn't do much to explain what the bloody hell actually happened or our... current state of wakefulness, if you will."

[whowillsaveyou]

"Ah, well. I'm sure they have perfectly logical explanations for everything." Another smirk. Of course they would, if only to convince people not to keep trying to find the truth. "What happened? Now that's an excellent question. I haven't looked much into it, but there didn't seem to be much to look into. You'd think if something nearly wiped your planet to extinction you'd make good records of it in the hopes of preventing a repeat of the incident, wouldn't you?" The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. "Unless it was decided that whatever caused it should be forgotten. If people found something... and then removed all mention of its existance, then it would be difficult to find it again, wouldn't it?"

[inequal]

With a laugh, Owen shook his head. "Now it sounds like we're in a spy film. Not that I can deny the possibility, weird as it would be. There's no telling what happened yet and all things considered... feels like we're not supposed to ask at all. 'Course," he continued, head cocked to the side, "no one's said we shouldn't, but it could just be a matter of time."

[whowillsaveyou]

"It wouldn't surprise me if they placed more rules upon us as time went by, but I suspect 'don't ask what happened' would be the most suspicious of them that perhaps they're hoping to avoid making it an actual rule." It made sense, really. And it was also possible to simply say they didn't know, if they were asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "If nothing's been figured out before they let us leave, there are always tests that can be performed on the land and air." He really was curious about what had happened. And as a scientist, that would be right up William Olsen's ally. "Can't say for sure that they'd answer questions, but it would be a place to start."

[inequal]

"Or maybe they've got the rule hidden somewhere, like in lawyer-speak. Oh, didn't read section 87, paragraph blah-blah-blah, bullet point I don't give a shit? Too bad, look at that law you broke right there!" Owen rolled his eyes to emphasize what he thought of legalese.

Testing the surroundings outside? That was news to him. Although Owen was certainly curious what it would be like outside the Cave, he had figured they would be stuck with using their own senses and intelligence to piece things together — if even there was anything to work off of in the first place.

"What kind of tests?" With an archaeologist for a daughter, Owen knew that testing the soil was a viable means of determining a plethora of things about the land, but... "Wouldn't you need equipment for that?"

[whowillsaveyou]

The Doctor laughed and shook his head. "The language of lawyers is a tricky one, isn't it? I don't think we'll need to worry about that." Hopefully. The rules seemed pretty simple, if odd. "No, it's the repurcussions I'm more concerned with. They were rather vague on those, weren't they?" He'd wind up testing them eventually, he knew, and then he'd know more. Until then, aside from the warning, he wasn't really sure what to expect.

"Oh, you know. Testing for toxins or radiation, or whatever else might be unusual." He paused, pondering the second question. "I'm sure they have something. I'm supposed to be a scientist, after all, surely there'd be equipment available somewhere if they expect me to do scientific things, hmm? If not... well then I'll just have to see about making something."

[inequal]

"I wonder about those repercussions..." It was something Owen hadn't totally considered since the morning, but now that it was brought up—had he done something to break an invisible rule? He knew... something... must have happened. There was vague recollection there, even if the incident itself seemed to have escaped his memory. He frowned thoughtfully, then forced himself to move on.

Owen scratched at his cheek, head tilted far enough to make it clear he didn't understand how those tests would work even if he had no doubt that they would. He was educated in a lot of things, just not in formal education subjects themselves and, to be honest, he never really had the interest, anyway. "Maybe try that supply depot guy, Stieber. He seemed willing enough to talk the times I've seen him."

[whowillsaveyou]

"It's possible not being too specific was an attempt to keep people in line with threat of the unknown." The Doctor shrugged. It made sense, really - if you didn't know what they'd do to you, you might be less inclined to act out. Or you'd just be more cautious about how you went about it...

He smiled, not concerned with trying to explain specifics to someone uninclined towards the area. So long as they weren't asking, anyway. "Ah, yes, the supply depot. I think I shall at that." The Doctor nodded, contemplative. "Yes, I shall have to look into it. For now, I think I'll go do some more reading, hmm?" As he pushed himself upright, his brows quirked and he gave the man an amused look. "You know, I never caught your name," he said with a chuckle.

[inequal]

"Seems effective so far. Not that we've had a whole lot of chance to do much yet." Owen mirrored the Doctor's shrug, not inclined to explain his own suspicions just yet. This was far too personal to give out to just anyone even though he had just promised to pass along any information he found. Wild theories weren't exactly confirmed info.

Although Owen smiled, there wasn't much humour in the expression. "Right, my name. Owen Bates." Not according to his husband, but his memories still said otherwise. "You are?"

[whowillsaveyou]

"Ah, yes." Names, names. Things he never used but this place had given him. "Doctor Olsen. William Olsen, if you must. Though simply Doctor works, if you don't mind." He could get away with that, couldn't he? Well, only one way to find out - try it and see if anyone says anything. "It was a joy speaking with someone as inquisitive as yourself, Mister Bates." With someone who didn't mind listening to him ramble on about his theories. "I'm sure we'll speak again, hmm?"

[inequal]

Nodding, Owen held out a hand to shake. Thankfully his sleeve was long enough to hide the tattoo inside his wrist—the one he did not remember getting—because he felt more than a little bit silly that he had no idea what the symbol was even supposed to represent.

"Pleasure to meet you, Doctor. Don't be a stranger around here... even if you just end up ordering more water again," he teased lightly.

[whowillsaveyou]

A chuckle escaped the Doctor's lips as he shook the offered hand. "The most popular drink in the universe," he countered, grinning. "Good evening to you, my good man." His hand rose to immitate the tipping of a hat with his farewell, and then he turned to leave, pondering their conversation.