Third Deduction [Video; Alternate Discedo]

[modernholmes]

[Conan is seated at a table in a dimly lit location, with a pile of thick books by his side. Every one of them is heavy enough for the boy to need two hands to carry them. He shoves the last book back onto the table and speaks into the communicator in a whisper.]

Ne, has anyone noticed? There's something strange about the books in-

[He freezes as an adult's shadow falls over him.]

Boy? What are you doing? Don't you think those books are a little advanced?

[A hand can be seen reaching down and gathering up the books on the table as Conan pastes an innocent smile on his face.]

I'm playing! Don't high school students do homework just like this?

And where are your parents?

Comments

[video]

[waiting4niinii.livejournal.com]

Oh my, did you get caught already?

Re: [video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Don't be stupid. It was easy enough to convince them that I got lost on the way home from school.

[Satoko might be noticing by this time that he is acting rather different from their first meeting.]

Re: [video]

[waiting4niinii.livejournal.com]

[She's blond but not dumb. Then again, Rika does it all the time.]

That's a common card to use in a situation like that. What where you doing in there anyway?

Re: [video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Why mess with what works?

Research.

Re: [video]

[waiting4niinii.livejournal.com]

I have no argument against it.

Research?

Re: [video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I wanted to check something.

Re: [video]

[waiting4niinii.livejournal.com]

Me too, it's called 'Operation; Get out of here'.

Re: [video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

How hot-blooded of you.

Re: [video]

[waiting4niinii.livejournal.com]

I don't like the people I'm living with.

Re: [video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Another of these false families?

[fierybluebird]

What about them?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

[How to say this as a kid?]

Maybe its just because I started reading ahead in class. I noticed all of the textbooks were saying the same thing. That everyone who isn't in Discedo is bad. But I just looked in the library, and these books say the same thing. Even if it isn't as simple. And some of the other kids noticed that everyone in Discedo looks similar.

[fierybluebird]

[Sorry Conan, Marco's from a world where that isn't even remotely unusual. Well except for hair colors and skintones, that's all over the place.]

What's strange about that?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

[Conan is faced with the problem of trying to communicate something that no normal child would have noticed. Most kids didn't understand that books could lie until they were much older, after all.]

Its strange because of what it could mean.

[fierybluebird]

That humans are almost universally xenophobic? That's not news.

[And this is why Marco isn't allowed to babysit.]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

But the fact that they're trying to hide it in the books they give kids?

[fierybluebird]

[A small pause. Indoctrinating kids young is a bit suspicious.]

All right, good point. Didn't one of the other cities try to destroy Discedo once though?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

The books at school say that it always happens that way. And that there have been a lot of wars that Discedo won.

[fierybluebird]

Hm. So maybe the old Discedo didn't win the wars?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about the history of the other Discedo.

[fierybluebird]

Not many do.

All I know is it got invaded and the people drawn there had to defend it. From the sounds of it, all of Fortuna tends to try to kill each other. Seifer was talking about another expedition to check out one of the other cities before. He might know more than he lets on if you can get a hold of him.

[musicboxsoldier.livejournal.com]

I haven't checked the books yet. What's strange about them?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Maybe its just because I started reading the books in class. were written for kids, so they weren't trying very hard to hide it. But I just checked some of the books in the adult section, and they're the same. They keep talking about how Discedo is in the right and about all these wars.

[musicboxsoldier.livejournal.com]

[He's still a bit surprised that a kid would notice all this, but that's not the focus for right now.]

...Basically, they're writing themselves to be the "good guys," correct? It's not uncommon.

[Video]

[guardianjoker4.livejournal.com]

What's up with the books?

Re: [Video]

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

I wanted to check something!

[Video]

[guardianjoker4.livejournal.com]

So what's weird about them?

[isolatedpiece.livejournal.com]

Huh. Research might actually be a good idea.. What sort of thing did you notice?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Lots of things! I don't think the people who write the books like people who live outside of this city very much. Because they say a lot of mean things about other places.

[isolatedpiece.livejournal.com]

Mean things about other places..? You mean they're just badmouthing places outside this city in the books?

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

And all the people in the other places.

[isolatedpiece.livejournal.com]

Talk about some heavy subjective information. Perhaps you could even call it propaganda if it's applied in all those books.

[modernholmes.livejournal.com]

Propaganda?

[isolatedpiece.livejournal.com]

If they only badmouth places other than this one, it might be aimed at making people believe this place is better than the others or even perfect.