FG: Vampire - The Apolyton University

[Ljube]

First off all, I'm glad to see our students using italic script appropriately. I would hate to be forced to give them lower marks for not doing so. In fact, since they have improved significantly, I'll advise my good friend professor Theben to be lenient with them. After all, what does anyone learn in school about real life?

Second, I'd like to inform everybody about the latest study I have conducted. Inspired by works of Dr. Frankenstein, I have done a series of experiments on corpses and have proven that a well balanced cocktail of hormones can bring the deceased people back to life. I have only had about 9% success in doing so and the life functions had not been entirely restored and the restoration was only temporary, but I am sure I will be able to improve my results in time. When my study is finished I'm sure to get Nobel Prize for medicine.

Third, I'd like to be allowed to examine the body of late Dr. Vovan and possibly experiment on it. I think we can gain much knowledge from this, both about how he died and about the matters of life and death in general.

[vovan]

OOC: Well, the way I envisioned it was more like people would sort of post how they don't like this professor or that student, and then the suspect's execution would be staged more like a sort of an accident, however, I guess I should have given more indication of that idea somewhere, as if you only look at the story, and forget you are playing Vampire, then you are right, there is really nothing much to suggest there was any foul play. Any way, I shall elaborate on the death, and for that reason shall extend the deadline by another 24 hours, so everybody gets a chance to catch this and voice their suspicions.

***

The room was well lit. It had a rather artificial feel to it. Unnatural fluorescent lights; grey walls; silvery metallic tables; blue plastic body bags. Thirty students stood, in groups of two or three, each in front of their own table, eyeing the bags wearily. The instructor was speaking in a confident, soothing voice:

Today, boys and girls, is the day when you become real medical students. You walked into this room as mere outsiders, who may have sat through a lecture or two, or read a couple books; you will walk out transformed. After the lab today, you will have made your first step as a member of a vital part of our society - the medical specialist.

In front of you, you will find a plastic bag containing a human body. This is the cadaver that you, and your lab partners, will be working for the next few weeks, delving into the depths of the knowledge that will one day help you save lives.

Before we begin please note that for the duration of the lab, everyone must be wearing proper attire. You will find aprons in the closet in the corner, and there is a box of gloves next to the sink. It would probably be a good idea to put those on now.

...

Next, please acquaint yourselves with the contents of the drawers of your lab tables. These are the tools you will be using in the dissection of your cadavers. When you leave the lab, the contents of the drawers must be exactly as they were when you entered, that is: the tools should be cleaned, and put neatly into their proper places.

Everybody should have two bone saws, a chisel and a mallet, as well as assorted scalpels and clamps. Please check that everything is in place now. If something is not there, tell me, and I will supply the missing tool.

Now you can start. Please follow the lab instruction colsely, which you can see on the projector.

***

The instructor finished his speach and was walking around the lab, as the students slowly unzipped the body bags and extracted the cadavers for further inspection. He helped one group unzip the bad and turn the body on its back, as they seemed to be struggling, and moved on to the next table, where the students had trouble figuring out just which scalpel should be used to cut the body open.

Then, the man turned around and saw one of the students with has right hand drawn high above his head. In the fist, he was clenching a scalpel with the thumb on the end of the handle, and the balde pointing down, as if he was just going to deal the final deadly blow in the deadly struggle with the body.

- No, no, no - cried the instructor - That is no way to fool around with the dead body.
- We are sorry, sir, we didn't quite know how to cut this body open.
- Now look here - said the man almost pushing the student away and forcing the scalpel out of his hand - You must first make an incision like ...
- ... Like what, Doctor?

The scalpel fell out of the man's hand and hit the floor with a clink. Before him lay the body of none other than Dr. Vovan, one of the more prominent faculty of Apolyton Universty's Medical School. His body was the sort of grayish color that the cadavers get when they have been dead for a while, and his skin was bloated and dribbling as if the body had been soaking in the preservative alcohols. Any way, it couldn't be him. The instructor could swear he had talked to the Doctor just yesterday, and plus, how could a man be so drained of blood? Preposterous. The instructor, however decided to check something out. He peered over the cadaver at his side.

When the bodies are prepared for the students, among other things, colored liquid is injected into the largest blood vessels of the heart - red into the aorta and other arteries, and blue into the venae cavae. The liquid later silodofies into rubbery mass, and so the students can more easily identify the blood vessels of the heart. The injection leaves a characteristic mark on the skin. The mark was conspicuosly missing from the body in question. The instructor did discover, however, two marks on the neck of the cadaver, and thought that they must have been a consequence of some new, probably experimental, body preparation procedure he was not aware of, and thus, having instructed the students on how to make proper incisions, the man departed to help other groups.

***

Later that day, all of the participants of the experiment received an email from Dr. Smith, which told them that the body of Dr. Vovan had gone missing, and thus he was unable to provide further information as to the precise cause of his death, but that there was nothing to suggest violent death despite the misterious disappearance.

***

OOC: As I was writing this, I realized why I didn't give any indications of anything suspicious in Dr. Vovan's death. And that is because I want to delay the arrival of the police as much as I can, for once they come onto the scene, it seems that the experiment cannot last much longer, especially as new bodies turn up, as they are bound to. Hence, in the spirit of role-playing, I would suggest that maybe people become suspicious of the disappearance of the body, and start gossiping that maybe such-and-such was responsible, as he kinda look all suspicious and gloomy, or maybe such-and-such could be at fault, as he never liked Dr. Vovan, etc. Be creative. Then, I can arrange the death of the suspect as something more of an accident, than conscious attempt for vigilante justice. At least for now, when there is really not so much reason for that.

Edit: Eeek. That's what I get for writing the story half-way, then leaving for several hours, then coming back, finishing it, and hitting submit post without ever looking at the replies the thread might have got by now. Well, fortunately, the story doesn't really contradict self biased's, as now you have even more to go on: somebody smelled something fishy in Dr. Vovan's death, and somebody stole the body. Suspicious?

Vovan

[Nikolai]

OOC: Will some of us be sent clues as last time, vovan?

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"DrSpike?"
The man turned around.
"Yes, Father? May I be of any help?"
Father Nikolai looked at the doctor a second, as if not sure on whether it would be safe or not to tell what he was to say. Then he sighed, and slowly told the doctor about what he had experienced earlier that day. When finished, DrSpike looked thoughtful on Nikolai.
"This surely sounds weird." he said.
"But I have experienced a lot of weird things in my life. Do you know anything more specific on who it could have been?"
Nikolai looked right into him.
"I don't know. It might have been anyone. Infact, for all I know it might be you..."
The doctor looked shocked.
At the same time, before Father Nikolai could say anything more, self biased came by. He snapped up some of the conversation, and came by and told them of what roumours he had heard.
"The last roumour I heard, was that right after they found these marks, he disappeared!"
"Disappeared!?" Nikolai and Spike said amazed.
"This reminds me of something my brother wrote to me about a few years ago, when he was in Romania. He was an occultist." he added with a thoughtful expression.
"I never thought it was anything into those monster stories about werewolves and vampires and such. Well, at lleast not before..."
He stopped. A moment it looked like he was about to cry, before he breathed heavily and looked away.
"Wha......What happened?" the others said.
"H...he.....was never found."
A tear slid down on the Father's cheek.
"He went to a castle to check out some rumours, and was never seen again. Not he, nor his colleague was ever found. The only thing is... I got a letter a month later, and..... No, it's too fantastic. It can't be true..."
For a moment, the priest looked like he was far, far away.
"What can't be true?" self said carefully.
Nikolai looked right at him.
"That my brother has become a vampire." he said.
"I got a letter from a friend I have, who workes down there. He claimed that he had seen my brother two weeks after he disappeared. He claimed he had become a vampire..."
Slowly Nikolai looked at each of the persons who had come to him and the other two, it seemed like everyone was there.
"We must get rid of these beasts." he said silently.
"We must find out who can be the Vampire. If there is not more of them, that is..."
He moved unpleasantly.
"Well, somebody must start I'm afraid... Noone? Oh, how I hate this...! Well, I..."
The Father took out a piece of paper.
"I suggest we write down who we think it is on some post-its or something like that."
Carefully he began to write, halting a little bit, before he wrote down "GeneralTacticus".

[vovan]

Originally posted by Nikolai
OOC: Will some of us be sent clues as last time, vovan?

People were sent clues last time? You mean like by PM or something?

Vovan

[Snowflake]

OOC: Yes I've sent some clues to people in the first game. In the second game I only gave clues in the posts. I don't see the involvement of the police should be a problem. The only issue you have to deal with is to confine the ten people in a closed space, which I would think the police is useful for. For example investigation may conclude that Dr Vovan is last seen at the lab before his mysterious death and all of the experiment participants are suspects, thus are ordered not to leave the building. This way you give them a confined space to interact.

[Theben]

OOC: No, it's best for the police to stay out of this as long as possible. Confining the participants will limit storytelling. Once the killing gets in full swing it might be necessary for the cops to show. Best to rely on the players to supply their own reasons to stick around.

----------------------------------

Theben sighed.

It had already been a long day, and it was only 2 pm. He had prepared another pot of coffee. He took a swig of the foul brew, which warmed his aging bones. "Definitely an acquired taste. God knows how I grew to love this stuff."

"Yes, but it's the only way to stay awake when reading some of those god-awful papers the students turn in," chuckled Ljube-ljcvetko.

Theben smiled back. "At least your students are following a hard science. Some of the interpretations of history I get are real winners."

"Reconsidering your career path at your age? Don't you think it's a little late for that?" Ljube grinned. He had that devilish look on his face again, the one that meant he was in a sardonic mood. Theben had learned long ago to watch out for that telltale sign.

"And give up tenure? Nah." Theben stretched, and ran his fingers thru his greying hairs. At least he still had most of them on his head. The experiment was only in it's 1st few days and the time scheduling was putting great strain on him. Having to be at a certain location and being asleep for a prescribed length of time was never easy for him; he usually just caught a few hours a sleep here and there. The doctors told him that was why he was aging so quickly, and that he might have narcolepsy. At least, that's what they did tell him, since he had not been to a doctor in years, not since that incident occurred.
"I don't know how you talked me into this experiment, old friend."

"You tell me," Ljube replied.

Both knew that Theben was lying; of course he knew why he was in the experiment. And now with the death of poor Dr. Vovan, it was likely to ground to a halt. Dr. Smith seemed like a capable fellow, but Theben felt as though he didn't know everything Dr. Vovan had in mind.

"Have you heard the rumors passing around campus, regarding the late Dr.Vovan's passing?" asked Ljube, changing the subject.

"Rumor mill running already? We were told he had a heart attack. What's so conspicuous about that?"

"Apparently his body was completely drained of blood. Some students are saying he was killed by a vampire. Even some of the leveler heads in the faculty are shaken by the news. DrSpike approached me earlier, saying father Nikolai had even suggested the possibility."

Theben's eyes rolled back into his head. "A... vampire? Don't tell me they're serious. Some of the students, I can understand, but DrSpike?"

"He didn't say he believed him, only that Nikolai and a young student named self-biased had approached them with the possibility. One of them went so far as to suspect another student was responsible!"

"Absolute rubbish. Nikolai should know better than that, than to give into such nonsense."

"Father Nikolai has always been very superstitious, but he works well with the students and the surrounding community. He is held in quite high regard."

"All the more reason to shut up and just listen then. This is why religion has always bothered me, Ljube; even the monotheists are no more than simple mystics. Thruout history, religion has been used in the most irrational manners."

"And how about those experiments of yours, Ljube?" cried Dr.Kassiopeia, as he wandered into the lounge. "How 'rational' are they?"

"My experiments are being done in the name of science." He responded curtly. "And they have shown promise."

"I doubt some of the relatives of the deceased would have approved of how you use their loved ones bodies," Kassi replied.

"They signed the waiver. Everything he does is perfectly legal. Some may question the morality, but some people might like the idea of talking to a loved one one last time. If there's anything in history that's a constant, it's that morality is subjective. Who are you to decide for them!?"

Both Ljube and Kassiopeia were taken aback by Theben's sudden outburst. "Sorry, I meant no disrespect." muttered Kassi.

"No... no, I'm sorry. It's been a long day, and Dr.Vovan's death and the gossip going around has only made it worse. I am the one who should apologize."

"Well, all right then! Pour me a cup of coffee and we'll all be good friends again, eh?" Kassiopeia's face had broken out with a wide grin; he was one of those annoying people who were almost constantly cheerful. But both Theben and Ljube enjoyed his company for that reason, as he had a knack for cheering up gloomy gusses such as themselves.

"By the way, have you met my student?" remarked Kassi as Theben handed him a cup. "Snowflake, come on in. I introduce you to Doctors Theben and Ljube-ljcvetko."

A small, shy-looking girl poked her head into the room. "Hello." She said quietly.

"A pleasure to meet you." Remarked Ljube. Theben said nothing.

"Snowflake is one of my best students. She'll be helping me with my research in Finnish culture." she looked positively embarassed now, her face was flushed. Nonetheless, she was able to summon up a reply.

"Kass- Dr. Kassiopeia has spoken highly of both of your researches." This comment drew a raised eyebrow from both parties.
"Did he really now?" commented Ljube. "What's the occassion, Dr. Kassiopeia? Not feeling well?"

"I just felt she should have an idea what she was getting into, meeting you two sourpusses," smirked Kassi. "Well, I'm off to show her around the rest of the facility. Talk to you later!"

Ljube watched them depart. "You didn't say anything. Was it that girl?"

Theben held a look of surprise for a moment, then nodded. "You saw that too?"

"Yes, she does look remarkably a lot like your ex-wife. I saw it in your face when you saw her.

"Well, I figure I'd best be on my way as well. See you later tonight."

"Later tonight then." Theben picked himself up, drained the last of the coffee from the mug and set it in the sink. He then wandered back to his office, thinking the while. The body was drained of blood. One of Dr. Ljube-ljcvetko's requirements is that his experiments are drained of fluids. Could it...?

He shook himself out of thought as he sat down in his chair. "Theben, you old fool, still wrapping yourself up in 'what-ifs' and 'could-have-beens'. What ridiculous notions your idle mind comes up with."

He picked up a photo that was sitting on desk. He stared at it for long moments, it's image conjuring up memories long past.

Nena...

[self biased]

Spoiler:

fantastic. i get another day to spin some yarn

Self went back to his apartment. he shared it with five other people, three guys, and two girls. it was actually an old firehouse that used to be an old frathouse. currently everyone was out and about on errands except him. he emptied his pockets onto the kitchen counter, and stared in disbelief at his receipt.

it had a phone number written on it, and the name "Lola." he cursed. damn her. he shrugged, grabbed a ham sandwich that he'd made the evening before from the fridge, and skirted off to the sleep lab. i'll have to call her in the morning. he thought.

[Snowflake]

OOC: Omg we are on a roll of creative writings. That was great writing Theben! I wish I have more time at this. Darn this GMAT thing.

Snowflake slowly walked back to the sleep lab. Everything happened during the day tangled together in her mind. She didn't expect college life to be of this much excitement ... First the death of a prominent professor, then the rumors of vampires ... She reflected on her meeting with the two professors. That history professor seemed so gloomy. I wonder if he has too much pressure from his work ... Can't blame him though. Who wouldn't be depressed dealing with dead people in the past everyday. She chuckled to herself. The other one, on the other hand, seemed a bit strange. Sharp, but strange. Studies hormone disorders and the likes, she believed. "Bring the deceased people back to life," indeed. She wondered if her greataunt could be brought back to life and tell them what had happened, if and when they finally found her. Her thought drifted to Father Nikolai and his interest in her greataunt. She couldn't help feeling that the good father was hidding something.

Sighed quietly, snowflake walked into the building. It was getting dark now. Out of the blue a sudden quiver of fear slid through her mind. She suddenly didn't want to enter the lab now. Snowflake knew that her senses sometimes were too sensible for her own good. She shruged off the feeling, and pushed the door open.

[Nikolai]

OOC: So far only I have voted, and we only have ca 1,5 hour left of the time limit. Just a friendly reminder... /me feels like having great power.

(I wonder if we should have taken more than one person, it's 2 Vampires after all. Well, I have voted, it's up to you.)

[Snowflake]

This place was so deserted. For a second snowflake thought that she was the only one who had come back. Then she realized a small group of people were already sitting in a corner. Strangely, they had been very quiet.

Seeing snowflake, Father Nikolai stood up and gave her a piece of paper. "We were doing a little exercise. Erm, trying to figure out who is likely to be a vampire, if there IS one among us."

"Am I supposed to write a name on this?" Snowflake was quite surprised. She looked at Father Nikolai's uncertained face for a minute, before she put the piece of paper on a desk next to her and quickly scribbled down a name: Nikolai.

[Nikolai]

Father Nikolai looked surprised at Snowflake. For some reason he got the impression she was afraid of him. No, he must have misunderstood, she was probably just tired. After all he felt they had got good contact earlier the day. He looked down at the paper piece he had in his hand, a piece of paper that could prove fatal to a innocent man if he was wrong.
"God never meant us to kill..." he mumbled.
He looked up. Snowflake had finished writing, and looked at him. Why did he get the feeling she didn't like him? It was a rare feeling, most people liked him very well, probably he had some kind of natural charm.

Suddenly he felt cold. What if she voted on him? Then there would be a tie, if noone else voted! He hadn'æt thought of the possiblility of a tie. No, she couldn't have voted on him. Why should she think he was a vampire? Because he had a vampire brother? No, that was too far off... He forced himself to smile.
"Anyone else who want to vote?"

[Hercules]

Medical students, yeh love them an' hate them. I know we all need more but I reckon General Tacticus is hiding something.

[Snowflake]

OOC: If half of us do not vote that would mean nobody dies.

[Nikolai]

OOC: That would not be wise. Oh well...

[Gamecube64]

Might as well vote

Gamecube was cleaning the bathrooms as he did everyday. Today someone had puked on the mirror."Stupid brats, this is a bathroom for gods sake! There are toilets over there and a sink right here! Why did they puke on the MIRROR!?!?!", Gamecube angrily thought as he cleaned off the mirror. When he was finished cleaning the mirror he turned on the faucet to wash his hands, but there was no water. There was blood. Gamecube was shaken and began backing away, watching the blood as he did. He was nearly to the door when the blood began swirling into the air in a horrible red torrent. The blood hit the mirror, leaving
Gen
eral
Tact
icus
clearly readable on the mirror.