The security room is dim and dingy. Banks of flat-screen monitors line the far wall – unsurprisingly, they are dark. As with everywhere else, the computers do not seem to be working correctly. Mori is standing in front of the terminals with his broad back facing you, tapping away at a keyboard to no avail. If he gets it working, he may be able to catch a glimpse of Okuyama through the closed-circuit cameras installed throughout the hospital.
There are probably a few other uses for it too, you think. You enter the room, taking slow, nervous steps towards him.
Just before you reach Mori, he whirls around with startling speed. You are almost wrenched off your feet as he grabs the collar of your T-shirt in a vise-like grip. “Ah, it’s
you, Shinoseki. Don’t creep up on me like that. You spooked me,” he drawls a second later. You sense no camaraderie in his tone of voice. For a moment, you thought that he was going to hurl you over his head in a judo flip. Mori lets you go, patting your shoulders paternally. “What is it that you want?”
“A-ah… nothing, really. Sor… sorry,” you apologize, bowing for your transgressions.
“You apologize far too much. It can get annoying.”
“I’m sorry!” Your first instinct is to apologize again.
The grizzled, bear-like man stares at you intently and finally sighs before turning back to the terminal. “Well, since you are here… do you know anything about computers?”
You shake your head and say no. You don’t remember being especially good with them.
“No matter. I’m no good with them either. My son tried to teach me some stuff, but I could never get the hang of it,” he mutters, gently kicking the frame housing the electronics. The computer rocks on its edges slightly. “There’s power running to this thing alright, but why isn’t it starting up?”
You have no idea why, and say nothing. Walking over to the main terminal, you look at the keyboard. It’s black with white lettering. You reach out a finger and tap a random key – it gives you a satisfying, soft click.
The gentle hum of the electronics in the room – one that you had not noticed before this – changes its tune.
You are illuminated by the greenish glare from dozens of screens waking up before you. Like a spreading wave of light, the monitors switch on sequentially, each displaying a different part of the hospital.
“What did you do, Shinoseki?”
You are suddenly aware of Mori standing behind you. He is close enough to wring your neck if he wanted to.
“Nothing… I did nothing,” you protest faintly. You have no idea what you did either.
“Well, whatever it is… good job!” He laughs heartily and slaps you on the back hard. It stings. Wincing, you move away from the computer, letting Mori take the reins. “Ah, that’s right. Shinoseki, I found this before you came in. It was tucked away under the desk. Here, have a look and see if you can make any sense of it.”
He hands you a large note.
The director is at it again. Despite my protests at such irregularities, he continues to hand me these weird passcodes hidden by riddles. Here is his latest insanity:
In a cursed village, a thousand and six hundred villagers live in eternal pain. One day a witch comes to the village. Begging to be freed of their torment, the villagers petition the witch. She acquiesces and hands the chief a mystical dagger. “Starting from your good self, number every person in the village. Gouge out the heart of the number next to you, and hand the dagger to the one after. Repeat this until there is only one person left in the entire village. Then all of the villagers will resurrect, and you will all live happily ever after.”
Which number will be the last one alive?
I am seriously considering handing in that transfer request to HR…
What a strange way to convey the codes. Looking up, you find that Mori is scanning the screens intently, though from time to time he glances sideways as if to make sure you are still where you are.
***
01:50
A. You try to strike up a conversation with Mori.
1. “M-Mori-
san, you said that we had met before… why would you think that?”
2. “Ah, I… I was just curious, Mori-
san… what do you do for a living?”
3. “Uh, sorry to interrupt, Mori-
san… but I was just wondering… what is your opinion about this place?”
B. You shy away from the big man and leave the room. It’s probably best if you don’t talk to him more than you already have – he seems suspicious of you for some reason.