The Name's Oliver - Ben Oliver. Ch. 159: Duty vs Ethics, Pt. II

[Schipperke]

I made a logo for the Top-Hush, Button-Lip Team! (I have a lot of free time right now)


Hope you all enjoy this. 

Oh, I like that a lot!  How can we use it?

Oh, I've already made a t-shirt pattern on my thread. And it's fully recolorable.

Yes, and it's beautiful!  If Ben ever gets out of the Blood Island Pen, he's definitely going to be wanting something different to wear.  I foresee a new t-shirt in his future.

Thank you both for sharing your creativity with us!  You are very talented people. 

[Danielle Haydis]

I just made the logo but if you like, I could make it into a t-shirt pattern.

[Schipperke]

I just made the logo but if you like, I could make it into a t-shirt pattern.

If it's not too much trouble, that would be lovely.  Thanks again.

[RaiaDraconis]

Don't let this break you, Ben! You can pull through this! Don't revert back to the evil not so happy you.

The evidence is starting to pile up. I'm still admittedly stumped, but there are several things I have noticed. It's just a point of putting it all together.

And Danielle--I love that logo!

[Blayzen]

I have also noticed a few things but am not quite sure how they go together yet...I just love how Schip gets us so invested in her stories. It's so much better than just being a "reader"

Danielle, I love your button! If my signature wasn't so crowded with Tenshin love, I'd add it right now! Awesome creativity 

[Schipperke]

Thanks very much for the comments, Raia and Blayzen! 

I have to agree with you, Blayzen - I also love how people get involved in the story!  I really think the involvement of the readers makes this a collaborative effort.  Readers have contributed characters, buildings, ideas, and now such wonderful patterns from Swirl-Girl and Danielle!  By the way, if you haven't seen Swirl-Girl's patterns (yes, two of them!) be sure to check them out in the Swap Shop.  There are definitely going to be new clothes in my game soon!  Truly, I am convinced that this forum has the most creative members.

I know how hard it is to maintain your top-hush, button-lip silence when you really want to say "I noticed this ..." or "I think that means ...".  So as a reward for everyone's self-discipline, tomorrow you are going to start getting answers.  Well, one answer, anyway.  Of course, there may also be more questions ... 

[Wiry]

*Cane Twirl*
I've kept silence for too long;
It's the questions I really love;
When I get an answer right my heart soars like a dove;
I applaud the work you've done;
Your mysteries are quite fun;
But my favorite part is being right when all is said and done.
Who am I?

You keep me guessing on occasion Schip, it's quite fun 

[Schipperke]

And now, in addition to characters, buildings, patterns and story ideas, we also have poetry - and a riddle?  Very nice, Wiry! 

[Dextra2]

I think I know your riddle Wiry. If so, then the answer is quite clear.

[RainBeau]

I have yet to see a Wiry riddle with a different answer, but I'm sure he's full of those as well

Yay answers coming soon!

[Wiry]

I have yet to see a Wiry riddle with a different answer, but I'm sure he's full of those as well

Yay answers coming soon!

Well, egotism and riddling combined is great 
I'm full of all kinds of riddles though 

[Schipperke]

Blood Island, Part VII

Diary Entry

I had expected all the other inmates to attack me after I trounced Conrad.  But to my amazement, they were grinning, pointing at Conrad, and cheering - cheering me?  I realized I really didn't understand these men at all.



Conrad came up to me and said, "Look, I'm sorry for ragging on you.  I know I've been giving you a hard time.  You're ok, Ben Oliver."



I was stunned.  I managed to stammer, "That's all right."  A loud buzzer sounded.  Someone said, "Rec time!" and they all dashed for the back door.  I followed the others to the courtyard.  Conrad was kicking his hacky sack.  Brian and Arnie were debating whether to play frisbee or kick the soccer ball around.  I saw Darren standing alone and walked over to him.



"Would you mind telling me what just happened in there?" I asked him.  "I thought all you guys hated me.  I was sure you'd all attack me for beating up on Conrad.  What's going on here?"



He laughed.  "Well, first of all, you stood up to Conrad and proved you're not some limp-wristed 'Lady Jane' like he kept calling you.  The boys respect a guy who stands up for himself."

"But you all seemed glad when I beat him," I said.  "That's what I don't understand.  Don't you like Conrad?"



"Oh, Conrad's all right," he said.  "It's not his fault he's the way he is.  They did it to him," he said darkly, and I wondered what he meant.  "We thought you'd been planted in the cells to spy on us.  Look at you - it's obvious you're not one of us.  You probably don't have any orange blood in you at all.  We had to be sure of you.  You just proved you're not a rat."

How - by beating up on Conrad?

He laughed again.  "You should have seen the look in your eyes when you and Conrad were squaring off!" he said.  "You were scared to death we were all going to come after you.



"You were scared, but you didn't back down," he nodded.  "And the guards didn't come rushing in to help you either.  They just let you and Conrad fight.  They didn't come to help you, and you weren't expecting them to.  That's how we knew you weren't a rat."

I pointed out that the guards never seemed to be around, so how would they know if Conrad and I were fighting?

"Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they can't see you," Darren said.  "They have surveillance devices all over the prison.  Haven't you noticed how the eyes on those cat clocks keep moving around?"

 



So that was what the cat clocks were for!  Darren grinned as he saw comprehension dawning on my face.  "Surely you didn't think the kitty clocks were just some cozy little decor item, did you?  As Conrad says, this ain't exactly the Shang Simla Hilton."

But if the guards knew we were fighting, why hadn't they stepped in to stop it?  Surely that was part of their job.  And they certainly reacted quickly enough when I was hammering on the cell door the night before.

"My guess is they were probably hoping he'd kill you," said Darren matter-of-factly.  "Or that the rest of us would finish you off if Conrad couldn't manage it.  Which makes me wonder - what did you do to get locked up in this place?  I don't know who you are or why you're here, but it's obvious you don't belong.  And it's pretty clear that someone in charge really doesn't like you."

Precisely what I had been thinking, but I didn't seem to be getting any closer to finding an answer.  If I was ever going to find a way out of this place, I needed information.  I asked Darren about the ghost I had seen.



"Oh yeah - that was probably Yorick," he said.  "Poor Yorick- I knew him, Ben.  He was an alright guy."

I asked him what had happened to Yorick.

Darren replied sadly, "He died in the shoe."

"Died in the shoe??"  What madness was this?  I had noticed that none of the inmates wore shoes and mine had been taken from me.  Did the old man have some sort of strange delusion regarding shoes?  And that business about having orange blood.  Then it hit me - maybe I had just discovered the true nature of this prison.  Not just an ordinary prison, but an institution for the criminally insane.

Diary Entry Ends.

Dear Readers:  Yes, you were correct in observing that kitty clocks aren't exactly standard issue for a prison.  So who guessed that they were surveillance devices?  Everyone? 

Now that the secret of the kitty clocks has been revealed, I'll leave you to ponder the curious case of poor Yorick who died in a shoe.  Oh, and a hint - the colour of the ghost has nothing to do with it, in case you were wondering.

[ladybug53]

I knew it ! There were way too many kitty clocks . I need to figure some other stuff out . Great mystery and chapter . 

[Swirl-Girl]

Okay then. I need to go in a different direction with my pondering.

[RaiaDraconis]

The clocks were one thing, but what really has me confuzzled is <whisper whisper>. You know?

My current theory still stands unchanged...for the moment, anyway.

Alas, poor Yorick...