second trial

[stagemanagers]

[As the investigation ends, you'll hear Hester's voice inviting you to the auditorium. As this happens, the twin doors on either side of the concession stand, across from the gym, will click open. You can enter on either side; both go to the same place.

When you enter the auditorium, it's dark. There's only the small lights along the walkway behind all the seats, just enough to illuminate where you're going. There's a central path between the seats, down towards where you know the stage must be. That's where you must be going, right? As you pass each row of seats, the lights at their ends flick on, marking your procession and slowly making more and more of the room visible. Shortly, you can see your destination: a circle of podiums stationed in the orchestra pit, below the lip of the darkened, curtained stage. They're all identical, labeled with a cast member's name. Elisabeth and Connor have joined Mumble in having theirs draped in black crepe and with a framed monochrome photo of them on top.

When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. the Wizard is once again waiting for you. Beside it Hester is slowly lowers in on her bubble. Her dress this week is a purple monstrosity, more akin to a voluminous prom dress than the simple outfits she usually wears.

The mechanical head, with glowing green eyes, is installed above the stage and the still-closed curtain. Even if you were standing on the stage, it'd be well out of reach. It peers down at all of you, its motions fluid, and speaks with a booming, artificial-sounding voice:]

Welcome to your second trial, everyone. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Connor. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.

Comments

[voicerights]

What an idiotic program.

[disharmonizes]

You must feel such a kinship.

[violentenvies]

[snrk]

[voicerights]

Unlike a simple word processor, I can use reasoning.

[disharmonizes]

And I'm waiting patiently for the day when you will prove that, buuuuut in the meantime the adults are talking.

[voicerights]

[R U D E]

[sugarlumps]

[her level of dislike for Discord ticks downward a single notch]

[mayavericks]

One might have thought otherwise, chasing the useless threads you did last time.

[violentenvies]

[it's a bit callous to say out loud, so instead he'll just think about how much he would like a way to sit back and watch at least this part of the show]

[voicerights]

You act as though I actually considered her a suspect.

[mayavericks]

You "have yet to meet a human that cannot be manipulated." Was that not what you said? I believe you thought her the logical answer, considering the information.

Regardless, I wanted to speak to you of logic. It seems odd that you might shut down all attempts at investigation so quickly. Surely you, a "superior program" who believes that we might be manipulated, would acknowledge that this could be easily faked. In a place where we are being compelled to murder, "logic" would indicate that we are being called to investigate just that.

So. Where were you last evening?

[violentenvies]

And why call it such a thing? [he doesn't understand how computers work or wtf even they really are but]

By failing to shut down, is that not better that it preserved such evidence?

[voicerights]

We already had the letter. What need would there be for the unsaved file?

[comeandfindme]

'Cause someone— maybe someone unfamiliar with how the program works— didn't shut it down right. That's not Connor. Especially since Connor didn't write this.

[voicerights]

Your proof?

cw: suicide

[comeandfindme]

Because he didn't know Evan Hansen! If he— if he wrote a suicide letter, it...it wouldn't be to him.

[mcfife]

But this note was found in a locker. Someone was trying to hide this message from us. Why type it up and then place it underneath the pile of clothes?

[comeandfindme]

I don't know. I don't know why...why some fucking asshole would forge a suicide note! But Connor didn't write it. So someone else had to.

[violentenvies]

Well, that depends on what it could tell us about whomever was printing out that letter. One would assume that they were literate with such a machine. Surely they would know that such a problem could arise in shutting it down. Why, then, did they fail to catch such an issue?

[voicerights]

[...

A glance towards Discord and Farrah]

Did you think to view the unsaved file versions?

[violentenvies]

We did. I believe the letter was the same as the one Monsieur Angus has.

[samefacesyndrome]

They might have been in a hurry... or um...

Sometimes that feature catches people by surprise... most modern computers will still shut down after a while even if you don't respond... but these are really old.

[violentenvies]

So it might've been open for some time. Either way, they certainly didn't come back to close it.

[brokeforgood]

It’s easier to forget about than you think.

[disharmonizes]

They may have just tried to shut it down and not spared it another glance. If someone was in a hurry, well, they may not have thought of it.