“The bloodstains look ... new."
“Let’s move on,” the Tour Guide said, breaking its cheery tone. It sounded nervous.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Where did it come from?” Daniel asked.
“It is …” The Tour Guide said and then stopped.
“Tell me,” Daniel said, in what he hoped was his sternest voice.
“The blood belonged to the most recent patient treated at this award-winning center.”
“Jeska?” Daniel said.
“No.”
“Wait, you said the last patient hadn’t needed light to see," ” Daniel said, confused.
“At first,” the tour Guide said.
“But the blood looks human.”
“It does look human.”
“Just tell me whose blood it is!”
“Visitor Rachel-7,” the Tour Guide said reluctantly.
“What?”
“Please hold all questions –”
“No, you’re not hiding behind that. How could that be Rachel’s blood?”
“It is merely the result of a small accident. You don’t have to worry. Visitor Rachel-7 made it through the conversion process in perfect health. Now, I must ask that we—”
“’Conversion?’” Daniel said.
“Please hold all questions until the end of the tour.”
Daniel glared at the ceiling, even though the Tour Guide’s voice came from everywhere.
“Who cares if you answer my questions?!” Daniel said.
“I could be fired for breaking the rules.”
“I won’t report you,” Daniel said through gritted teeth. “Just tell me what happened to her.”
“If the boss considers your friend’s minor – very minor – injury my fault, I could be fired.
“I won’t report you!”
“I can't know that for sure.”
Daniel let out a scream of frustration.
For someone who works with machines, Daniel sure doesn't know how to exploit loopholes. Methinks he's been relying on his augmem too much!
If you can't ask questions, make statements! Make demands! Ideally, make a demand that your statements should be corrected if they're false. It's not "answering a question", it's "correcting a false statement". It's a Tour Guide's duty to provide visitors with information, after all :P
oooh. i like that for a future bit ... hmmm
Somewhere in the higher-dimentional planes, Universe 27048B and Universe 7C collide momentarily... :D
I would watch CSI: Alternate Dimensions.