❧ I shot the sheriff! - Interlude

[luministimods]

[all CATs and vidscreens turn on suddenly and without ceremony. sitting in this room is Sheriff Iussus, his feet up on the desk while he regards the broadcasting CAT device.]

Attention all new residents of Luministi. None of you are in trouble, so don't think that, but I do have some questions for you. And I do mean all of you. Consider this an official summons from your sheriff. If you want the paperwork provided, I can send a deputy to your location, but let's see if we can save a tree today, huh? Lord knows we have enough paperwork to do lately.

Anyway, come down to the office as quick as you can. Might want to bring a book, though. Could be here a while.

[he turns the CAT off]

And now, we wait. [folds his hands over his stomach and relaxes until people arrive]

[ooc: Come one, come all! The sheriff has put out the call and he wants you! Feel free to knock, barge in, etc. to get the sheriff's attention.

EDIT: Also, please be sure that when the Sheriff dismisses you, that you reply back. It's important.]

Comments

[luministimods]

[he nods, smiling to himself] Perhaps. Nothing wrong with having standards.

Not until recently, actually. Though to be more specific, about a year ago. I'll pose you the same question, Mister Braxiatel.

[collector]

Actually, no. I'm generally very busy at home. Sometimes it seems I've hardly left my house in the past year. If I can anticipate the direction of your inquiry, my change of scenery to Luministi came as something of a surprise to me. Is there any particular reason you suddenly took to travelling?

[luministimods]

Did it really? Sounds like quite the change for a shut-in. Though, I can't say much more for myself. I left so I could see the sights around the world. Sounded like a good idea at the time, especially when one takes an early retirement.

[collector]

And what sights did you end up seeing? The Great Wall of China? The Grand Canyon? The Tomb of Izdal?

[luministimods]

[shakes his head] I'm afraid I didn't get much further than the city. My wife and I were very enamored with the way things were there, and we set down roots in a nice little apartment overlooking the park.

We only came back recently after we heard her mother was on death's door.

[collector]

[quietly] My condolences.

But which city do you mean? I'm not familiar with the area, so no name springs to mind.

[luministimods]

[nods] Much appreciated.

Well, I'm not all that surprised, to be honest. Most folk around here are content to leave the city well enough alone. It's called Centropolis, by the way.

[collector]

[He leans back in his chair, looking thoughtful and distant for a moment. One thumb taps slowly on the back of his other hand - he is searching his memory. And then he is back and he is leaning forwards and looking at the sheriff with a thorough curiosity.] Is this America? 2010, about? And Earth? Because I was sure the only Centropolis in America at that time is Centropolis Township in Kansas, with a population of under a thousand. Not what most would call a city.

[Then he leans back again.] Shoddy research, perhaps. Like the constellations? Or I'm jumping at shadows. 'Kansas City Shuffle' indeed.

[He returns his attention to Iussus and smiles.] I'm sorry, that was rude of me. But the question stands: where are we? Because if you keep asking questions of us 'new residents,' and if you keep getting honest answers, you're going to find quite a few people who haven't any real idea what the answer is.

[luministimods]

[his expression doesn't give anything away, except for a flash of something in his eyes that he covers up with a casual drink from his mug]

Far be it of me to tell how and why a city names itself as it does. [sets his mug down and resumes taking a few notes]

But where we are right now is in the middle of a murder investigation, Mister Braxiatel. Now, can I ask you where you were the night Sheriff Teger met his end?

[collector]

[Brax smiles] That's an interesting response, Sheriff Iussus.

But that was late Sunday evening, wasn't it? If you can give me a time of death, I can give you a better answer, but I was in the tea room prior to your discovery of the body. Don't worry, I returned the cup.

[luministimods]

Saturday evening, actually. [reaches for a file on the desk, flipping that open] Dr Resarci determined the time of death to be at 7:58 pm. And I never doubted you wouldn't return the cup.

[collector]

Then I was still in the tearoom. What did Dr Resarci determine to be the cause of death? You mentioned stab wounds and a gunshot wound, though not what was used for each. Or where he received his wounds.

[luministimods]

Cause of death was a bullet to the left frontal lobe, and if it hadn't been for that, Teger would have bled out from the seven stab wounds to his chest. The killer had been very careful not to strike him in the heart.

[collector]

Do you have any idea why? Finishing him off with a bullet would seem both unnecessary and stupid.

[luministimods]

Regret, perhaps. Or Teger wasn't dying fast enough for the killer's liking. Murder itself is unnecessary and stupid no matter what method is used, in my opinion.

[collector]

Destruction invariably is. But if the latter were the case, he could have just slit his throat. A gunshot just draws attention to the crime and reduces the chances of a clean getaway. And unless you've an ambidextrous murder or one with an accomplice, that would be extra time in putting away the knife and drawing the gun. Have you found the murder weapons?

[luministimods]

[nods] We have. Found the barest hint of a partial print on the knife used, and we found the gun stashed in a side of beef near poor Bruno yesterday.

But I think you might be a little off-base. Why stop at seven stab wounds when another one or few could do the job just as easily? Why follow it up with a shot to the head? My hunch is telling me there's more to this than we realize.

[collector]

Indeed so. But you, Sheriff, will have a better idea of what we're missing than I do. You know far more about this place and its people than we do.

[luministimods]

[sighs, leaning back in his chair] Actually, that might be the problem. I've lived here all my life, so I've gotten used to how things are. A fresh pair of eyes just might be what this case needs. Ones that are still objective and can see the oddities where old hands like myself wouldn't.

[collector]

It is a little one-sided to ask for our help when you're keeping things from us, Sheriff.

[luministimods]

[doesn't move from his reclined position] Like what exactly, Mister Braxiatel?

[collector]

[Braxiatel doesn't move either. He just looks at Iussus, watches him.] I asked not just where we are, but what planet we're on. What year we're in. If you thought Luministi to be what it is presenting itself as, you would have responded with shock. Surprise. Confusion. Twenty-first century Earth and I'm talking about other planets and time travel? You'd think I was mad, and I doubt you'd keep quiet about it. So you know Luministi is not what it seems.

But you also know that the 'new residents' don't know. That, whatever Cal's program is, the people in it are taken without their knowledge or consent. Because if you know that Luministi isn't what it looks like, and if you aren't somehow complicit in it, then why not tell me the truth when I reveal that we neither know nor agree to be here? If you weren't complicit in it, you would have responded directly to what I said, but you didn't. You stepped around the issue and moved on.

So. Whatever happens next, to us or to this town, because of the program - and I know you think that program has something to do with it, even if you aren't sure what - you're a part of it. You allow it to happen by playing to script.

[He clasps his hands together and shows half of a smile.] But you can ask me about the night of the second murder, if you'd rather talk about that.

[luministimods]

[while he's writing something down] I sidestepped the issue because what you said was ludicrous and I thought you'd like to save some face. [glances at Brax] I would have thought you knew all those things before coming here. That's why you signed up, right?

The program I spoke about was an outreach program to all the cities beyond Centropolis. To bring new blood into this town before the citizens around here grew too inbred for their own good. [laughs] Though I can't say much for myself, can I? Family's been here since sometime in the third century.

That's all the program is. An opportunity at a fresh start. Why do you think you've all been given brand new homes? When I left, the construction had just begun on those housing complexes, and never mind what the library used to look like. Caligin's done it all for you.

But if you're interested in silly details...[and he bets Brax is] Then we are in the year 700, and the planet we're on is known as Terra.

[collector]

[And his smile widens.] Thank you. But assume that I don't have any face to lose. Is Terra a colony planet? And why are the constellations in the sky from different points in history?

[luministimods]

[he sighs] I can't answer either of those, I'm afraid. The sky has always looked like that, and as far as I know, Terra isn't a colony.