Like Tears in Rain

[PointMaid]

...Oh, we didn't mention what we'll do if you don't identify someone by the time it's night tonight, did we?

We'll choose one of you at random! Hah!

[Kennifer]

"..."

"That really doesn't help at all. Wh... What happens to whoever we choose?"

Amy has a feeling she is going to wish she hadn't asked.

[PointMaid]

I will deal with them.

BOB-B's tone makes it clear you probably really don't want to actually know.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Olivia gulps nervously, her body shaking over hearing and thinking about what BOB-B has in store for whoever is to be executed tonight.

[Despair's Archon of Memes]

... So it goes...

Sakuya feels the suspense... but tries desperately to maintain her composure despite the very possible reality of death itself...

[Risdio51]

"To face death is nothing new to me. In some cases, I even welcome it. Nevertheless, I do hope that we can accurately deduce who is guilty."

[TenOfSwords13]

I want the primary accused, Gwyneth, Sakuya, and Missingno, to state their cases. We shall see who holds up under scrutiny, and who should be executed. I want to get to the bottom of this as rationally as possible, within the timeframe we have been given.

[PointMaid]

DAY FOUR CHALLENGE. You have 48 hours from now. As usual, you may continue investigation in the meantime.

BOB-B: You've now been here four days and gotten to know your comrades a bit. Today we're giving you a thought experiment where, instead of tweaking your own timeline, you can tweak someone else's.

MORI-RT': You see the possibilities? All the lovely possibilities. You must.

BOB-B: ...I would rather see it as an exercise in understanding why we are living in the best of all possible worlds. Surely all these tweaks will go wrong. You'll see.

MORI-RT: Best of all possible worlds? You're taking lines from Candide now? ...You do realize Candide, of all things, is not to be taken so literally? You take things so literally.

Please describe:

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI  up.

[Zanreo]

"Um... my story? Well, I didn't really do anything last night... just sleeping."

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Gwyneth, Sakuya? What about you two?

[TenOfSwords13]

Skelebob casually thinks over the challenge.

I have not been here long enough to ascertain whose timeline I would alter, and I would rather focus on solving the murder than gaining temporary immunity. However, if I think of something in the alloted timeframe, I may consider an attempt.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

Reasonable. Focus on the murder if you so desire.

[Kennifer]

After thinking on... a lot of things for some time, and realizing she's... really got nothing she can do about the investigation without Sakuya's and Gwyneth's stories in place, will focus on the challenge.

Amy's Plan

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.

"I'm going to tweak Olivia's; she's been really nice to me and I think I'd like to return the favor. Olivia, I'm... I'm sorry if I fuck this up. I just want you to have something happy."

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.

"That timeline where she had a husband and kids... she died on an expedition to Everest, right? I'll tweak it so she misses that trip somehow. Maybe there's a flight cancellation, maybe the sherpa gets sick and can't take anybody up that day, maybe one of her kids is getting some fancy award at school and she's got to attend that. Anything that'll keep her off that mountain."

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI  up.

"It'd create good outcomes for even more people maybe. Like if more people were going to disappear on the trip and it was cancelled, they'll be okay too. The worst that would happen is the trip is delayed to sometime safer, right? And Olivia... she'll have her husband and her kids, maybe grandkids someday, and she'll get to live and watch them all grow up... I mean, it'll be better for her either way. It might frustrate some people who have to miss a flight or whatever and if the sherpa gets sick hopefully it's just a cold or something that won't cause lasting damage but will just, you know, be something they won't want to climb a mountain with."

...yeah, both family and weird incidents with "disappearing during a mountain expedition" kind of hit really, REALLY close to home for Amy, so there you go.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Can one of you two at least say something? We're running out of time and I really don't want to make the wrong choice.

After feeling frustration over Gwyneth and Sakuya's silence on the matter, she sighs irritably as she focuses on the challenge.

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.

Amy has been one of the few people I could call a friend here. And I know my life hasn't exactly been easy. But just hearing about how traumatized she is after fading from existence, I need to help her out. Maybe if I can try and save her before it happens, it will spare her a lot of pain. I just feel bad for her.

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.

Well, I'd guess I'd have to kill her in those timelines. Ugh.... that sounds so terrible. I'm not some killer or anything! And I can't ever see myself taking a human life... Just need to remind myself that it will ultimately save her. So if I take her life in those moments, she'll be okay in the end and no longer has to deal with all that trauma. Feel bad for that woman, I really do.

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI up.

All I can do is hope for the best on this one. Amy will pull through in the end. And hopefully everyone will get rid of all the killers in the hut. Taking another life while they act on their own murders may be a little risky. But Amy will make it through and be a whole lot happier, laughing about Seinfeld and not having to deal with.... all that. Nothing really major other than changing the fate of one.

Olivia sighs. And while she hasn't had many friends in her life, she is determined to do what she can to make the lives of the ones she does meet better if she can. She does at least want to be the best friend she can.

[Risdio51]

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.

"Amy's. She may be quite nervous and anxious about things, but she still manages to bring kindness to others, despite her troubles. It reminds me of Shinji."

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.

"I would simply give her a guardian angel of sorts. Not my type of Angel, of course, but a metaphorical one. A friend, who's always there to support you, to show you love, completely unconditionally and who accepts you for who you are. Perhaps…even more than a friend."

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI up.


"I cannot guarantee how horribly this could mangle her timeline. All I know is that the best timelines of mine were always the ones where I was with Shinji. I was truly born to meet him. Everyone deserves something like that."

[TenOfSwords13]

Not to alarm anyone, but night is rapidly approaching. I feel as if we should make a choice instead of letting MORI-RT and BOB-B kill off someone... like one of our more active investigators.

[EeveeGirlChey]

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.

"Huh, I don't know... I don't think nobody here likes me because I'm trying to improve my wellness business. I guess my own timeline?"

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.

"I'd make myself come up with a candle that smells like my period instead of this Bababoowie Powder..."

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI up.

"Well, a candle would be better than what is essentially organic, free range, fair trade cocaine with organic essential oils and organic ground sage. It wouldn't get me in massive trouble with the authorities and with the Federal Trade Commission again. I need to go dispose of the powder, excuse me..."

Gwyneth then goes back to her room.

[Zanreo]

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.
"Think I'll go with... Amy. The way she once just... disappeared and the... fear it will happen again, it sounds awful..."

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.
"Probably.. um... make sure she does die during that trip... I could set up a trap somewhere, or... something like that... of course, in a way that goes unnoticed...
Missingno looks somewhat uncomfortable as they say this, they still don't like the idea of causing someone's death even in a situation like this.

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI up.
"Well, from what I... understand, she was... supposed to die? And then would... get revived and stay alive? I don't fully get it, but... it that was the case, it seems like just changing things for the better...  right?

[Despair's Archon of Memes]

1. Whose timeline you will tweak, and why.
Considering everyone... I must go with Amy. Poor girl's done through enough. Losing everything... simply awful.

2. What small tweak to their timeline will you do to make things BETTER? MORI-RT would like to see creativity here.
Considering how much she loves this "Seinfeld" so much... I'll find a way to delay its cancelation... to make sure that poor little Amy here has SOMETHING to look forward to after all of this... Anything to repay what she's done for Sericle and I...

3. Explain how it will NOT create unintended, bad consequences. ...Or will, despite your best efforts, but will hopefully still be better. BOB-B bets it will still be worse. Here's your chance to show the AI up.
I'm only delaying the cancelation of this "Seinfeld" to give Amy more episodes. I'm not actually making it uncancelled, only giving it more episodes. This makes sure that cable television, however it develops in this timeline... does so similarly to our timeline. And also... it's only one show. One show isn't much in the long run...

[PointMaid]

CHALLENGE OVER. WINNERS ARE...

Well, how heartwarming. Really.

And most of them wouldn't have screwed up the timeline. That much.

...Anyway. Our two winners for today are Gwyneth and Sakuya. Congratulations!

[Kennifer]

"Wow. I... Sorry, I don't know how to respond to all of this. I'm still thinking about the whole... case thing too, I promise."

"And congrats to the winners."

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Gwyneth and Sakuya won? The two biggest suspects? Congrats to winning and all, but if you all have something to say for yourselves, we are running out of time!

[Kennifer]

"I don't even know if we can vote for someone who's got immunity. Or is that just for being killed at night?"

[PointMaid]

You can vote for them. We're just giving them extra special protection at night.

[TenOfSwords13]

Thank you for that information. It doesn't narrow down our choices, but still it is valuable information going forwards.