PRIVATE MEETINGS

[andexecutioner]

If you'd like to have a private meeting with the Adjudicator, this is where you should go! The Adjudicator is available at almost all hours of the day; just knock and he'll answer.

Comments are screened for privacy; no eavesdropping, that's rude.

Comments

[andexecutioner]

[When he answers, his words are definitely dampened by the closed door but not inaudible - seems this place isn't as...utterly soundproofed as the bedrooms are, at least.]

Go ahead, enter.

[Seems he's up; he sounds perfectly awake, anyway.

The room he's inviting Luca into is more of an office than anything, all done up in wood and leather and generally well-kept, with shelves lining the walls and a large desk at the center. The Adjudicator himself is sitting at the desk and...managing to look completely out of place in here, given everything. He's in the usual denim and black, and he's got a board from the game room in front of him; it looks like he's having a go at European solitaire today, though he seems a little bored by the game - looks like he's hitting an impasse.

So. What's going on tonight?]

[notaccurate]

[Wow, this place is pretty fancy. Much fancier than the room Luca got, at the very least. He might be a little jealous.

But when he sees the game, he can't help but make a comment.]

Is this what you do all day? Hide away in your room and play games?

[andexecutioner]

Not all day. Depends on what's going on, though. I'm a pretty busy guy sometimes, but not usually this late at night.

Why? Something going on?

[notaccurate]

Well...possibly.

I wanted to know something, if you can answer it. Specifically, I wanted to know if you had your own set of rules you had to follow, dictated to you by someone up the management chain from you.

[andexecutioner]

[Huh.]

That's an interesting question.

What sort of rules are you thinking I'm being held to?

[notaccurate]

[He'll tip a bit of his hand right now, but he's not going to show all of his cards yet.]

If I had to guess, some of our rules are probably the same. Such as the one about living here, when places are off-limits, that sort of thing. But I think you have special rules too, just for you. Perhaps something along the lines of defining what tasks you have to do here? How to carry out punishments, how to manage us, that sort of thing.

[andexecutioner]

[He'll lean back in his chair a bit, toying with one of those marbles between his fingers as he does so. Thinking, really.]

I don't know if I'd call them rules, but there's...procedure, I guess.

[All according to due process, in other words. By which we mean there is a process, and he sure as hell is doing it.]

[notaccurate]

But is it a procedure that was outlined ahead of time, one which you are expected to follow? Or is it a procedure that you have made on your own?

[andexecutioner]

A bit of both, maybe.

[notaccurate]

[Juri is getting A Look.]

Is giving non-answers a part of that procedure?

[andexecutioner]

Actually, sort of.

[Well, then.]

I usually don't give out any information at all, if I'm overseeing something.

[notaccurate]

['if he's overseeing.'

'if']

Is this the first one of these things you have overseen?

[andexecutioner]

First one like this. Not the first one overall.

[notaccurate]

[Well that sure is not what he was expecting to hear.]

What were the previous ones like? How were they different from now?

[andexecutioner]

They were shorter by a long shot. They also tended to be really boring, if you ask me.

[notaccurate]

[So this one isn't boring, then. Luca isn't sure if that is a good thing or not.]

Were they shorter because someone managed to commit a murder and get away with it?

[andexecutioner]

Sometimes.

[notaccurate]

What happened the other times?

[andexecutioner]

Why does it matter?

[notaccurate]

I'm curious to see if we're 'beating the curve', so to speak.

[andexecutioner]

Oh, you guys are taking forever. But it's surprisingly interesting this way. Or at least it's not a total waste of my time.

[notaccurate]

[Well that's encouraging.]

Speaking of wasting your time...I don't want to keep you up too late, so one last question: do you want to leave this place?

[andexecutioner]

[He's quiet for a moment at that. Considering again.]

There's not really anything out there for me, so I don't really see why I would.

[notaccurate]

If you can bring people from many worlds to this place, then surely you could send yourself somewhere else? Even if your world is boring, there are many out there which are not.

[andexecutioner]

[...]

It's kind of more complicated than that.