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SACNICTE''S MURDER
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very brief window - if I had to put a number on it, I''d have to say Zeno appeared in the main hall somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute after the trio left with Mehit. That gave her literal moments to quickly incapacitate and inject Sacnicte. Though not strictly impossible, that felt like something that only made sense in bridge drama logic; when you tried to imagine a real person taking the risk of trying to pull it off, well... It just didn''t seem sensible. Likewise, the notion that Zeno, for all her presumed expertise in the science of the mind, being able to time a slower-acting neurotoxin to kill someone within a window of a few minutes when they''d just happen to have an alibi?
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No, you idiot. Turn the situation around, the logical part of my brain said. Once things started happening, didn''t it seem like Zeno was suddenly looking for any excuse to leave the security center? She came out twice, both before and after you went looking for Mehit, and ignored the logic bridge going off in the room she was already in to come out and pester everyone, and couldn''t even really justify why. Who''s to say she wasn''t trying to manufacture an alibi as soon as the rough window for the poison came into effect?
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unreasonable idea, but still felt like sort of a stretch. It still required too many variables going perfectly.
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Tch. No. It was like Theodoros said. There was no sense in calling something stupid when it had already happened.
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<The spotlight snaps back to the PLAYWRIGHT.>
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PLAYWRIGHT: Bzzt! Wrong! I don''t think so, doofus! A secret gas pump? What is this now, a spy thriller? Should we be on the lookout for poison darts that fire out of people''s watches, too?
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PLAYWRIGHT: I mean, come now. This is tiresome. What''s the point of even bothering to speculate if you''re just going to end up fixating on contrived, desperate nonsense? It''s like trying to watch a sport where they change the rules every few minutes. There''s no structure-- You might as well just pick an answer you like first then work backwards. Oh, don''t like Balthazar? He has a sorta murdery energy to you? Maybe he secretly trained a pet rat to carry out assassinations from the other side of the facility!
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PLAYWRIGHT: <hands on her hips> I''m not the type to restrict my storytelling talents to a particular flavor of narrative, but let me tell you, the last note I''m interested in hitting is camp.
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<The PLAYWRIGHT sticks her tongue out, making a ''blech'' noise.>
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PLAYWRIGHT: So bugger that. Even if the characters can''t be stopped from saying stupid things, we can at least make matters somewhat less frustrating on our end.
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PLAYWRIGHT: You remember rule 3? The one about how systems introduced cannot break their own rules, yadda yadda? Let''s get a little bit more specific with that, shall we?
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3a) A MURDER CANNOT BE COMMITTED USING A DEVICE NOT ESTABLISHED BEFOREHAND
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PLAYWRIGHT: There we are. I feel as though this one doesn''t need that much in the way of clarification, but just to make sure, a "murder" is defined as someone killing someone else in a manner that is, or is presumed to be, against their will... While the "device" is the method or weapon used for that selfsame task.
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PLAYWRIGHT: In this instance, that would be the poison gas. Is there poison gas? Of course not!
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<The DIRECTOR enters from Offstage Right, unlit. He walks over to the PLAYWRIGHT and passes her a card, which she examines.>
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PLAYWRIGHT: <irritated> ...what, in chapter 40?
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PLAYWRIGHT: <quietly> Fucking useless-- <loudly> ALRIGHT. To be clear. By "established beforehand", it refers to it being established as plausibly existing upon the stage itself. It is not enough to merely say that poison gas is a concept! It, or the specific mechanism for producing it, must be confirmed to be physically present!
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DIRECTOR: Technically speaking, since it was established shortly after Neferuaten''s murder that the Sanctuary is extensively trapped--
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PLAYWRIGHT: <clapping her hands rapidly, speaking with urgency> Okay we''re done! IT''S NOT POISON GAS!
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obscenely low number."
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that in a few minutes." She swept a little aquamarine hair out of her eyes. "No-- I''m talking about her."
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facts concerning my personal life, people still often picked up on the fact that I was a closed book and had terrible self-esteem-- Well, so long as they cared enough to pay attention.
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so contrary to her outward self. I could easily picture her hiding some deep-seated trauma, or even a smoldering bitterness under her kind and reserved affect. But the kind of cold-blooded intent you''d need to stab someone in the throat with a syringe, and then step out to lie to your friends about it a moment later?
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You''re being naive, my inner skeptic said. Do you think actors don''t exist? Con artists?
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YANTHO''S MURDER
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how the boy was killed, we know when he died, and who was in a position to enact the crime. Ergo, since people are not in the habit of dying spontaneously, we can make a reasonable judgement without understanding the specifics." She pointed to Ophelia, Kamrusepa, Ran, and me. "These four were the only ones near him at the time of death - who, if I understand their account correctly, were literally touching him at said time - and their group happens to include the most likely suspect for having murdered the other one, so..."
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Wow, this is the first time I''ve ever been incorrectly accused of murder. Well, other than when she''d already accused us a few minutes ago.
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around when he died isn''t proof of shit."
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serious candidates other than you. My point is: It alone is a liability."
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All of this is being looked at backwards, a quiet voice in my mind spoke. When something which appears to be impossible happens, that means there''s something you don''t know, but haven''t noticed. An assumption, a misunderstanding...
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THE CULPRIT''S PLAN
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executed.
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couldn''t have done was kill Sacnicte and Yantho.
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