Quoted By:
>D-W0, O, Observe Sense
Watching TV on the job, eh? You would almost be jealous of these guys if they weren't dealing with an anomaly. The two are busy chattering about what notes they've taken on other anomalies as they enter.
The TV sits there, ready to be tuned in to a new show.
D-W0: You know, wouldn't it be cool if we could fiddle through the channels to get more direct communication? Play it like Fortune, as it were.
O: Perhaps. Might work. Might just end up seeing patterns that aren't there.
The D-Class kneels down to fiddle around with the dials while Employee O opens up her notepad.
O: What a weird form for an anomaly to take. Why such a simple TV?
D-W0: It's always the simplest ones you should worry about. Looks deceive.
The screen flickers to life. A man with a fake smile and a fake hairdo stands before a TV studio audience.
ANOMALY: "WELCOME! TONIGHT, WE HAVE A VERY, VERY SPECIAL GUEST TO TALK TO."
The camera pans over to a man sitting in a chair. He's coated head to toe in <span class="mu-r">blood and gore.</span>
O: Eugh.
ANOMALY: "WE HEARD THAT YOU'VE BEEN GOING FOR A NEW RECORD THESE DAYS. MIND TELLING THE AUDIENCE ABOUT YOURSELF?"
ANOMALY: "Heads will roll. As a salesman robot would say, I'll surpass those damn clowns around town."
Cheap, pre-recorded laughter blares from the TV. It keeps going long after the man moved on to something else.
ANOMALY: "It was either violence or sex that would get me the show. I just did what was natural."
ANOMALY: "OF COURSE! NOTHING'S BETTER THAN SEEING SOME BLOAT BEING TRIMMED AND HEADS BEGINNING TO ROLL."
ANOMALY: "Indeed. Say, mind helping me break the record? It'll be painless, I swear."
ANOMALY: "OF COURSE!"
The man covered in gore walks over to the man in the suit. The gore-covered man pulls out a hammer.
O: Oh no.
D-W0: Oh hell yeah. Let's see some heads spill.
ANOMALY: "TONIGHT, I'LL BE MORE FAMOUS THAN ANY OTHER TALKSHOW IN THE CITY! WATCH ME FLY, MAMA! WATCH ME FLY!"
<span class="mu-i">There's nothing worse than the sound of forced laughter and sloppy clapping.</span>
Right as the hammer was about to smash into the suit's head, the signal cuts. Leaving behind only static.
D-W0: Damnit! It was about to get to the good part.
O: That was sickening. I'm glad we didn't get to see it.
D-W0: Oh well. Guess we're not getting more out of it.
D-W0: Done with your notes?
O: Correct.
D-W0: Right. Let's get out.
The two leave the containment cell behind. You expected that to be it but...
<span class="mu-b">Canned laughter echoes throughout the cell.</span>
The room goes silent after that small outburst.
