Episode 90 - Tests

## Tests

A black background with a broken white line boarder, each corner possessing a letter A, B, C, or D in a circle. Within the border two glasses of water, a pair of full-moon glasses are depicted in white, with a half-obscured card reading "Downing Hill Public Library" is depicted in red. Below these images but within the border the words "90.TESTS" are written in white.

### Author

William A Wellman

Nolan does some housecleaning, Clara confronts her past and future, and Brooklyn starts a new career. The theme of tonight's episode is Tests.

> ***Content warnings**: Abuse, Violence, Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood, Mental Illness, Birds, Emotional Manipulation, Bugs (lakeworms), Chronic Illness*
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## Intro - Still Shadows

Nikignik narrates to the Dreamers Harrow Blackletter, afraid of the dark, which makes them afraid of themself. People said Harrow were afraid of nothing, and this was a comfort, knowing that they were spared from staring into shadows, seeing the things that lived in the nothingness. And yet they could not leave the lights on, as C. S. Blackletter was a greater shadow, and she demanded them to excel. They would wish sometimes that they could plumet through those pits in reality, into darkness and freedom.

Nikignik sits in the half-submerged remains of Zelda Duckworth's house, now Nolan Thair's house as he sets about cleaning (see Episode 77 - Rebels). He is lost in thought thinking of Ricou Chapman and if he may come once he was finished, so much so that he does not notice the sound of The Omen outside (see Episode 81 - Fears).

## Story 1 - You Can't Make Home Again

Nolan Thair finishes fixing up the no longer abandoned house of Zelda Duckworth and contemplates adopting children with Ricou Chapman. He goes to mop up boot prints from the kitchen floor but stops when someone knocks at the door. He assumes it to be Ricou, come to apologise (see Episode 53 - Rivers), as Alice never knocked, but instead opens the door to find The Omen. Nolan screams and falls backwards as Omen goes for him, exclaiming that they'd found him and ordering for him to surrender. Nolan throws off the apron he was wearing, but Omen already had him surrounded. Omen tells Nolan that there was no running, and that he was coming with them so that they could give him to Ricou.

Nolan knows that he should stay quiet, his invisibility his only defence, but he becomes emotional at this news and confronts the Omen about Ricou sending them, sent them to drag him back to the shuddering peaks. The Omen tells him that they did not drag, if Nolan cooperated, they would walk, if not they would carry him. This news breaks Nolan's heart, that Ricou wanted him shut away from the world, and he tells Omen that he wasn't going with them, and that they could tell Ricou he was breaking up with him. The Omen tells him that he would return and goes to attack him setting the house alight in the process, but he finds and opening and runs out the front door. The Omen follows him, screaming for him to reveal himself as retrieving the books had been their mission (see Episode 57 - Edges), they'd already lost one (see Episode 82 - Failures) to lose another would be their doom. Nolan ignores them and keeps running, knowing that nobody in the world would ever see him cry.

### Interlude 1 - Educational Opportunities

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that if they were a child and looking for an education in modern times, their best bet would be to join a Dreaming Box, as teachers were among the first to join the Prime Dream and many still had the knowledge to share. If they'd like a less horrendous option, they could seek out a mentor, as there were many who did not sleep who were skilled in many subjects. If one possessed books they could teach themself, though literature was a luxury. There were some educational institutes still in exitance, Scoutpost Two had one such that focused on utility and survival. While places like Fort Freedom believes it was the parent's duty to educate a child. There was of course one school still in exitance, Downing Hill Public Library, though their selection process was stringent, and their curriculum punishing.

## Story 2 - The Five Stages of Decomposition

Booker Martin tests Clara Martin on the five stages of decomposition, and notices how close Clara had her face to the paper. He asks her why, and she tells him that she couldn't make out the words, but it was fine. He tells her it wasn't fine; reading was the only thing she did in the Rathbone House, she should be able to do it comfortably, that they were going to visit her mother. He leads her to his and Zora Martin's bedroom, where Zora lays bedridden. He talks to her [Zora], presumably about her giving Clara her glasses. Zoar gestures for Clara to come over to her, and tells her that she was proud of her, she had her spirit and her father's brains. She gives her the glasses, and Clara finds them to work. Books stands up and walks to the door while Zora tells Clara that the glasses looked good on her. Clara asks if she was feeling okay, and her mother tells her she was "just the usual" (see Zora Martin), sending her out and telling her to close the door on her way out, which Clara obliges by. She meets Booker outside, and he tells her they were going to go back to working on her test.

It is revealed all of the previous events were a flashback Clara is having as she sits in C. S. Blackletter's office (see Episode 88 - Broomsticks). Winona Carline and the Director tell her that she'd passed the test that was the summer training program. Clara attempts to explain to them hat sever of her friends were missing and she'd promised to be back before nightfall, but the Director tells her that it'd been to see how they'd handle a crisis situation. Clara accuses them of having waited to see who died, but she is reassured that if anyone was at any real risk of fatality Winona would have gotten them out of it. Clara reminds them of what had happened to Arnold Eggers (see Episode 82 - Failures), and the Director tells her that “*You dissect a few frogs in every school.*” but Clara should calm herself as to not out a damper on what should be a proud moment for her, as she was the winner of that year's summer program. Clara asks if they knew where Friday Rescher was, and it is quickly revealed that Winona didn't (see Winona Carline). The Director tells Clara that they'd bring everyone else home, and when the next semester began Clara was going to be getting sent on missions for Downing Hill.

### Marketing - Testing, Testing

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her marketing segment. Instead of the usual marketing segment however, it's a one-sided conversation Ethel's having with Anderson Faust. She tells him that the Stonemaid issue was still on going, and she was considering releasing another announcement from Valerie and Riot Maidstone, with her betting on it being ruined so she could work up her crescendo. Anderson asks about funding for his projects, but Ethel tells him he was overstepping. Till then she was going to be having some projects for him, they were coming up on a new era and she wanted to have the technology to match.

### Story 2, Continued - The Five Stages of Decomposition

The Director tells Clara that she seemed confused, but Clara rebukes that she wasn't, summarising that the Director had hurt them as part of an experiment. Winona announces that she was leaving to retrieve the other summer campers, handing Clara her library card on her way past and tells her that she'd known Clara would be fine, she was sorry about what had happened to Armold, that maybe Clara could stop by for tea sometime and Winona could explain to her what was happening. Clara asks the Director how she could treat Harrow Blackletter the way she'd treated the rest of them, but she tells her that that Harrow only had higher expectations of them. Clara asks what had happened to the Director to make her so heartless and is informed that bleeding hearts were dying hearts. It was required for them to put their emotions aside on behalf of the mission, if the Downing Hill's mission failed, there would be no one else left to care for.

Clara asks her if this was all really worth it, hurting so many people, what they were doing wasn't teaching, it was cruelty. The Director promises her that once Dowing Hill had guaranteed the further survival of the human race, Clara would look back on this conversation and understand. She asks Clara about her parents (see Episode 2 - Dogs), and tells her of Joshua Fishell (see Episode 9 - Birds and The Overdue Cabin), that Clara might be able to continue his research in reversing the effect of the black water. Clara tells her that she needed to bet some air and leaves on her broom.

### Interlude 2 - The First To Listen

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that their current broadcast was the longest story they'd ever told, but it was not the first. When he'd still guarded the gates to the council of heaven, he would wonder sometimes, observer worlds rising and falling as one might observe ants. He remembered them all fondly, although he could no recount them, as to the Dreamers he would be recounting nonsense, their ways of live and communication so different. Heartbreaks in dimensions born of living fractals (see The Diamond Rider), and great loves doomed on asteroid worlds where life crept between cold stones. Later, when he was with Marolmar, he'd tell him these stories that he saw in the universe. Marolmar had been the first to listen, the first who cared to hear.

## Story 3 - An Unscheduled Life

Brooklyn Williams is approached by Cindy Lockheart (see Episode 81 - Frears). Brooklyn asks if there was any news of Marco Torres, and she is told that there was news, but not from Box Cassiopia, they'd found a way that Brooklyn could help with recovering Marco. Cindy leads Brooklyn out into the hall, along the way Brooklyn asks if the Botulus Corporation was hunting the Stonemaids, and is informed that it they weren't hunting them already they would be. Cindy leads her into a room where Danielle O'Hara is waiting for them (see Episode 89 - Terminations), along with a collection of salvaged Botco equipment.

Cindy introduces Brooklyn to Danielle but not the other way around and explains that they had six people who they needed to rescue form Botco. She asks Danielle to remind them of her ability set. Danielle tells them that if their friends were hooked into Dreaming Boxes then Danielle could send them messages. Brooklyn asks if she meant with a Dreaming Visor, but Daniele corrects that she could do this by herself (see Covenants). Brooklyn asks for an example, and Danielle confesses that she was the one who opened all the doors in Episode 72 - Errors and gotten herself out of her Dreaming pod. Danielle calls herself "*security risk numero uno*". Cindy tells her that they were going to hook her up to the Prime Dream so she could aid in their rescue.

## Outro - Tests

Nikignik waxes poetics about tests, asking the Dreamers if they felt free from them. There had used to be so many, tests for language and algebra and history, an evaluation of their quality in so many metrics, capturing their worth with a few numbers and letters. But the world of tests was gone, lay beneath water, and the test-takers dream of a red sun and the end of days. There was no one now who could tell them how well their life had been lived, no one who could put a grade on their existence. They would still face challenges, more than ever before, but they would rise to overcome them, and when the tectonic plates of time finished crashing, they would walk on new ground. There was no requirement to pass, no standard which they had to achieve in order have been worthwhile. They always were, as much as any living thing.