PONID-21 Day 4 · 10:21pm Mar 31st, 2020
—private-message—
Sally 1/09/2021 8:32 AM
I saw someone sneak out of your room ten minutes ago.
Lisa 1/09/2021 8:36 AM
Whatever you're imagining, it's wrong.
Sally 1/09/2021 8:37 AM
Really? He looked pretty happy.
Lisa 1/09/2021 8:40 AM
How old are you? Seriously…
Sally 1/09/2021 8:41 AM
Jeeze, sorry.
#general
Lisa 1/09/2021 8:50 AM
Good morning everypony.
Devon 1/09/2021 8:51 AM
Morning Lisa. How're your feet?
Lisa 1/09/2021 8:55 AM
Huh?
Devon 1/09/2021 8:55 AM
Stand up and look down.
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:01 AM
Holy crap. What happened? I can barely move my toes now, my fingers are stiffer still, and I can't believe that I'm walking on my toes!
Bob 1/09/2021 9:03 AM
Hey everyone. How awesome were those dreams last night?
Penny 1/09/2021 9:04 AM
I wouldn't say awesome, but wow are my toes looking strange. One side's all stiff and almost locked up, the other has my big toe and next two kinda moving fine and the last two grouped together.
And my hands!
I can move all my fingers fine, but my little fingers seem locked to my next finger.
Wait, my right hand seems a little odd. This is crazy!
Bob 1/09/2021 9:05 AM
You know, now that you mention it, I feel about the same, but my fingers and toes are all like your fingers.
Wait, my toes are moving more than normal. There's no pattern to this!
—private-message—
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:05 AM
Sally saw you leaving my room, tried to make some big deal of it or something.
Bob 1/09/2021 9:07 AM
But we didn't…
I'm sorry if this is a problem.
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:09 AM
I invited you, remember? It's not your problem, or mine.
It's Sally's problem. Why do people have to bring this high school crap in here?
Bob 1/09/2021 9:10 AM
She's not all that much younger than you. I don't think it has to do with age.
Maturity is a better word for it.
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:14 AM
Ugh. Typing sucks. Want to go down and have breakfast?
Bob 1/09/2021 9:15 AM
Together?
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:18 AM
Of course together.
Thanks for last night. I really needed that.
Bob 1/09/2021 9:19 AM
You're welcome.
#day-4
Bob 1/09/2021 9:21 AM
Little fingers and little toes seem to move together. Back ache is better with the meds, but it's still there. Vision in my left eye is sharper than ever, but there's this odd redness to some things. Dreams were back again. I was flying and fighting and… It was pretty awesome.
Penny 1/09/2021 9:24 AM
My hands and feet are all kinds of messed up.
Left hand fingers mostly normal, little finger seems to move with my next finger (lol, don't remember the name of it)
Right hand fingers are a little stiff, little finger locked with next finger.
Left foot toes completely stiff and I can't stop walking on them.
Right foot kinda like my right hand.
Back's really sore (I didn't take any painkillers) but I can handle it.
My left eye is kinda nutso. I keep closing it because I can't believe what I'm seeing. Like, everything kinda normal, but there's more… depth to everything. Like everything is kinda twisted a little but not in normal ways. Maybe if I was a clever nerd like Lisa I'd be able to explain it, but nope.
#general
Bob 1/09/2021 9:25 AM
How'd you do all those lines at once? Whenever I hit enter, it sends everything.
Penny 1/09/2021 9:25 AM
Control + enter
Bob 1/09/2021 9:26 AM
Good to know. Thanks.
Penny 1/09/2021 9:26 AM
No probs. I guess all the others are taking so long to type because their fingers are stiff?
Bob 1/09/2021 9:26 AM
Guess so.
It says they're typing in #day-4
#day-4
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:29 AM
Fingers and toes are really stiff and hard to move. My legs seem different and I keep walking on my toes. Back feels better because of meds, but my eye is still annoying. Flying dreams are awesome.
Mike 1/09/2021 9:33 AM
Hands and feet stiff, back sore, mild headache that won't quit, and really relaxing dreams. Can't remember much of them.
G-man 1/09/2021 9:41 AM
Okay, got this thing working. Hands and feet like the others and a bit of soreness in my back. Light headache and a bit of a mouthache.
#general
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:45 AM
Hi, @G-man. Thanks for taking the time to jump on. When'd you sign up?
G-man 1/09/2021 9:51 AM
Last night. Was up late playing WoW on my laptop and the email from the docs finally came through. Can't believe they screwed up your website's address. Anyway, surprised me it was a chat.
Lisa 1/09/2021 9:55 AM
You're typing way faster than I think I can now. How're you doing it? Also, come down to the caf for breakfast so we can chat easier.
G-man 1/09/2021 9:57 AM
I've always been a hunt and peck kinda guy. This kinda makes that work about the same speed as touchtyping I guess.
OMW
—private-message—
Sally 1/09/2021 10:01 AM
Wow, just get with all the guys why don't you?
Lisa 1/09/2021 10:14 AM
The heck? Sally, just chill out, okay? This isn't high school.
Sally 1/09/2021 10:19 AM
Don't call me a kid!
Lisa 1/09/2021 10:28 AM
I didn't. Just cut it out and stop Dming me this crap.
Sally 1/09/2021 10:35 AM
Look. I might have overreacted. I'm sorry, okay?
This is just…
I didn't get much sleep last night and I think I might have been hangry.
Lisa 1/09/2021 10:42 AM
Then come over this side of the caf and socialize.
George keeps looking at you.
Subject: Day 4 morning exam results
1/9/21
2:19 P.M.
Subject: 113823102021Subject continues to be an anomaly, though at least one other has shown similar traits with their fingers.
Has grown taller still, 2cm above the previous day. Again, an anomaly is that we were able to measure him at all. All other subjects are experiencing height adjustment from their legs and feet changing.
Vision is an odder thing. Subject reports a red haze and other hallucinations. I'll recommend something to help him remain grounded.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Day 4 morning exam results
1/9/21
2:35 P.M.
Subject: 113823532021To look at their file, this subject shouldn't be getting special treatment, but that's before I looked at how his eye had changed.
The others all have major ocular adjustment, but this is something else. His entire eye has turned purple and, where the pupil should be, there's a slight lighter shade. I've never seen anything like this. If this testing wasn't about to ruin my career, I could write a dozen papers on each subject.
—Doctor Howards
Subject: Observation of Dr. Howards
1/9/21I'm not sending these until this mess is over.
I can't believe this mess. It's going to destroy careers and lives, and yet the researcher in me looks at this amazing work and…
Maybe I should be writing this in my journal? I think I'm going to start interviewing the patients one by one to get a gauge on their wellbeing. There's some things the chat can't tell me.
—Doctor Simpson
Interview with Lisa Trent
female
age 23
ID: 113822402021Transcript of conversation with notes added from my clipboard.
KS (Dr. Karen Simpson): I hope you're comfortable, Miss Trent?
LT (Lisa Trent): Just call me Lisa.
Notes: She seems relaxed and calm, though I can't help but watch her right eye looking around the room. It's going to distract me a little, but I have to focus on this.
KS: Thank you, Lisa. You can call me Karen if you like?
LT: Gunnar?
Notes: Alright, she's smarter and has a better poker face than Doc Holiday.
KS: I assure you, I only used that name to track your health and wellbeing. If you'd like I'll leave the server.
LT: Nah. Like you said, it's all for our good. I was going to ask if any doctors would like me to invite them in, but when I realized you were already there, I just took it as read that everything in there was being shared.
KS: It's not, actually. Not precisely. For my research, I anonymize all the data. The information I pass on to Dr. Howards and his team is only that which I think they need to know. Your frown tells me you think I'm lying.
LT: We mention height in chat, suddenly they're measuring our height. Devon said his back was sore, and next thing he's getting x-rays and ultrasounds. Tests that came back negative. I guess you passed on the info about me and Bob?
Notes: She was running hot and cold with giving me information. Her face slipped now and then, but I was suspecting she was letting it slip. What is she, psych major?
Notes: Check if Lisa Trent is trained in psychology.
KS: Your personal lives are your own.
Notes: She stared at me for a good five minutes. At least I think she stared at me. Her human eye was focused on mine, but that other one roamed around the room almost as if she were studying everything about me.
KS: Did you have any other questions?
LT: Okay, let's lay things on the table. You say you're here for our good, right?
KS: I am not part of the team undertaking research into this medication. I am independent.
LT: Right. How bucked are we?
KS: Bucked?
LT: You know what I meant.
Notes: I did, but I wanted to see if she knew she'd said it.
KS: The drug has been administered and only outcomes can be observed. Symptoms will be studied and medication offered, but there's no treatment to abort. I believe you know what that means.
Notes: She let me see past her mask. She looked relieved.
LT: Thanks, doc. All I wanted was the truth. Now, why don't you change your name on the chat and I'll introduce you to everyone?
Notes: How was it I felt like I owed her this? Because the way she'd been mistreated, I did.
KS: Very well. I'd like to interview everyone.
LT: Everypony.
Notes: Lisa Trent winked at me with her non-human eye, stood up, and walked out of my office without another word. I'd given her far more information than she'd given me, but nonetheless I had some deeper insights into Lisa.
I wanted to do several of these a day, so I could get through the entire group, but I don't think I'll continue that today. After all, I have to work out what I'm going to say to all of them as a group. Hopefully I'd appeased Lisa enough that she'd help cushion that.
—Doctor Simpson
#general
Lisa 1/09/2021 3:55 PM
You ready?
Gunnar 1/09/2021 3:56 PM
I believe so. I guess I'll start by changing my name.
Dr. Simpson 1/09/2021 3:58 PM
Hello everyone, I'm sorry if I was a little untruthful about who I was, but I saw an opportunity to help you and I may have been a bit too eager to lurk, as it were.
Lisa 1/09/2021 4:02 PM
Doc, just use your first name. I'll put a tag on you to let people know you're a doctor.
Karen 1/09/2021 4:04 PM
Better?
Lisa 1/09/2021 4:07 PM
Yup. Now to make your name blue… there. Okay, Karen, tell us about yourself.
Karen 1/09/2021 4:10 PM
You weren't kidding about being open, huh? Very well. I'm a research scientist, psychiatrist, and data analyst. Lots of words but it boils down to I study people's frame of mind, usually at a large scale, and draw conclusions from it.
My normal task here was to ensure no one was losing their mental balance during this high-profile drug test. A task I am dedicating all my attention to given the.. changes going on here.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:21 PM
So, doc, am I crazy?
Karen 1/09/2021 4:21 PM
Yes, but everyone is a little.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:22 PM
I might hold you to that. Okay, so what's the deal here? You're here to help us if we need it?
Karen 1/09/2021 4:22 PM
If you ask for it, yes.
Lisa 1/09/2021 4:24 PM
If she thinks you need it.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:25 PM
Figured. Okay, doc, I need help…
Karen 1/09/2021 4:26 PM
Why don't I think you're serious?
Penny 1/09/2021 4:27 PM
What if I told you I can see you right now?
Karen 1/09/2021 4:31 PM
I'd be skeptical.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:35 PM
You're sitting on the end of your bed in a bedroom that's the same dimensions as… okay, yeah, it's the same dimensions as ours. Your laptop is sitting on one crossed leg and your coffee is sitting on the bedside table. Beside you, your notepad has my name written on it along with a whole bunch of notes I can't read because you have the worst handwriting ever.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:49 PM
Did I get it right?
Lisa, did the doc go offline?
Lisa 1/09/2021 4:53 PM
Yeah. How did you know all that?
Penny 1/09/2021 4:51 PM
You know how I said I don't like looking out my left eye? Turns out I needed practice.
Lisa 1/09/2021 4:55 PM
Wish you could teach me how to use mine. All I can get it to do is wander around the room and upset doctors.
Penny 1/09/2021 4:56 PM
Ha! Practically the same things mine does!
You wanna cut for early dinner?
There will be hugs…
Lisa 1/09/2021 5:03 PM
Alright. No need to bribe me.
To: Dr. Peter Howards
Subject: Penny DeSantoI don't know what the deal is with her, but either she's hacked security cameras you don't have or something really crazy is going on. I can't believe I'm even entertaining this notion.
[INCLUDED CHAT LOG]
What do you make of this? Her information was accurate.
—Doctor Simpson
To: Dr. Karen Simpson
Subject: Subject 113823902021 (Penny DeSanto)You can't honestly believe this? She must have had someone spying on you or she's planted a camera in your room. There's no other logical explanation for it, Karen.
—Doctor Howards
To: Dr. Peter Howards
Subject: Penny DeSantoYou have to start thinking of them as people first, Peter.
You're probably right. As I'm finding out, these individuals are all extremely smart and tech savvy. Lisa Trent, I discovered, was a child genius. Attended college at 15, studied computer science, psychology, and fine arts. It was almost like she didn't know what she wanted to do, but now we have her here and keeping an eye on us while we watch her.
Keep on your toes, Peter. I'm moving to a different wing.
—Doctor Simpson
—private-message—
Bob 1/09/2021 7:12 PM
You there, Lisa?
Lisa 1/09/2021 7:14 PM
Yeah. What's up?
Bob 1/09/2021 7:13 PM
Think I have to cash in that favor. I'm feeling pretty lonely.
Lisa 1/09/2021 7:16 PM
Come on over. I warn you, I have company and we're watching bad movies.
Bob 1/09/2021 7:17 PM
Thanks.
So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.
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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch
And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab
Curious. A shift in what wavelengths he can see?
i started paying more attention to the timestamps after this. Very nice touch.
Oh my. Just wait until the carapace starts forming...
I'm imagining a partially pony Mad-Eye Moody.
And things are starting to get truly spooky. It's only goiing to get stranger from here, and I'm eagerly looking forward to it.
5232813
Side-channels of data. You can kinda use the reply times to see who is having trouble with their fingers.
*chirp*!
Lisa used her talents to good effect.
Quite enjoying writing this, so there will definitely be more to come!
I don't recall any ponies with clairvoyance ability.
Excited to see how things progress further...We definitely have a draconequis in Penny (hope they're wearing a red polo ;) , Lisa seems like a Twilight, Bob is an RD type... Excited to see how each of them come out.
Someone has a mouthache. Something none of the others have mentioned. Hmm... Could just be a muzzle or beak forming. But I know that there is a split jaw tatzlpony in the drawings. Off hand I can't think of anything else unique enough that others aren't complaining.