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Questions/Question 177

Okay so, a couple questions-

1. When investigating Patho-Gen's raditation wards, how willing would the (still mentally together) patients be to talk? This wouldn't be a threatening conversation, just Ciel playing up being a curious youth trying to be be helpful? Alternatively do they have any of their belongings that Ciel could pilfer to venture in further (Or save for later), like key cards, employee numbers, passcodes, a disembodied finger? He's not picky.

2. Riddle's signature spell is kind of a weird cheese in that it can essentially lock down an individuals magic from being used. It's also basically a collar, and he can maintain it for days at a time. Should he use it in one of those rooms that allow native magic back, would it cause any sort of interference with the collars they're given? Or could he potentially cause Patho Gen some annoying inconveniences by locking down their subject's magic?

1. These patients are willing to talk. They are... very average people. To get an idea of what they might have to say, feel free to sample from this answer regarding the Ways Ciel Can Be Helpful to them. These individuals are bereft of the hope that they might be cured, and aren't... content with living their days dying in here. But them's the breaks. They're here willingly. Some of them offer that there isn't even a charge to their families to be here for this end-of-life care, and that studying their condition may someday help someone else. Maybe.

   
   
   

   Those who are too far gone to react may have some belongings, but they're much sadder things. No keys, ID cards, or the like. Just things like a small, dingy figurine from a loved one, a part-finished crossword book that gradually looks as though their ability to do the crosswords have faded, or a stack of the Karterian equivalent of the magazine Cook's Illustrated.




2. If Riddle used his own magic in a room intended to test native powers... The collars aren't ever explained to characters, but no doubt they are disconcerting to wear. As soon as Riddle attempts to null the collar, it will work—at least, while in the room. What precisely that did is impossible to tell... unless Patho-Gen attempted to, in this particular room, force Riddle to obey them by force-imprinting him. This feels just like an imprint should, but it manifests like an affection for... the entity of Patho-Gen, rather than another person??

   
   
   

   So. Largely, that collar's magical purpose, aside from things like tracking or acting as a quick IV or other practical purposes, is to enact this newly-developed Patho-Gen Patented "Force-Imprint," which somehow mollifies subjects into a state of contentment and obedience by encouraging that same magic that can be found in imprints, usually shared between two individuals. Weird. A situation where this could show up might be a replicated experiment as seen under the Carnivora-Reptilia-etc specialized test, but with the modification of using native powers as well! In such a case, Patho-Gen would find that their attempt to "force" an imprinted response on Riddle flat-out doesn't work.

   
   
   

   Of course, there is one difficulty. If Riddle attempts to tamper with the magic of his Augmenter, he will immediately pass out... and the presence of the Augmenter is all Patho-Gen needs to force him unconscious as well. Either way, they can, and will, try to shut him down once they figure out that his power is able to magically jam anything they try.

   
   
   

   Otherwise, the kinds of magic Patho-Gen can wield is standard issue Karterian stuff: Calling, which is a sort of persuasive, animalistic mind control usually used on just animals. Simple commands, like "fight," "heel," "come," etc won't work on Riddle if he's interfering with their magical abilities.