ArchivedLogs:Vignette - Verisimilitude

Vignette - Verisimilitude
Dramatis Personae Peter, Hank	2013-04-29 '
Location <XS> Danger Room
"You're sure you want to do this?" Dr. McCoy asks. The blue furry doctor is clad in his labcoat, shirt, tie, and dress slacks; he stares at Peter with a hint of worry from the other side of the room. By all appearances, they are currently inside the Xavier Mansion's Great Hall. Peter is clad in his red hoodie, blue jeans, and - a new set of sleek, carefully designed webshooters. In response to McCoy's question, he nods his head once. "I'll be honest, Peter: I'm not one hundred percent comfortable with putting you through this exercise," Dr. McCoy states; his worry has graduated to a full-on frown. "It's dangerous." "You said there's no actual /physical/ danger," Peter replies. "You--" "Not physical danger, Peter. /Emotional/. You'd be dealing with assailants who - in every manner - are indistinguishable from people who want to kill you. Assailants for whom the only reasonable response," McCoy adds, "is a /violent/ one." "I've done violent sims before." "No, what you've done are /videogame/ sims before. I've examined your logs with Logan; aside from one exception, you've been fighting fantasy creatures. Spiders, kraken, movie monsters. In the one instance where Logan's simulation possessed a reasonable degree of verisimilitude - you were clearly deeply affected." "I wasn't ready," Peter says, glancing back to the hallway in front of him. "I am now." "How's your leg, Peter?" "It's fine." A nervous glance back to Dr. McCoy. "You took the stitches out." "That's not what I meant." "It's, black. Blackish blue. It still works. I /want/ to do this." "Why?" "Because," Peter adds, looking back to the hall. "I just - it's getting dangerous out there. Some guy threw knives at me. Ivan thought he killed somebody. Shane and Sebastian - I shouted at - I think it was Bastian - the other night. It was kinda dumb, but I was excited to see him, and - it scared him away." "Yes? I don't see the relevance, Peter." "Shane would tell me - what's he going through that he's /that/ scared?" Dr. McCoy frowns, considering. Then, he states: "You could always stay at the school. It's safe, here." "Man, screw /that/," Peter responds, before blushing viciously. "I mean--uh, sorry. Just, no, I don't want to stay here, I mean, no matter what happens, I want to be out there - doing stuff - even if... but if people are going to - if people are going to be /violent/, I need to be able to handle that. I need to be able to deal with dudes who want me dead," he finishes, looking Dr. McCoy in the eye, now. "I need to not be /scared/ of people like that." Dr. McCoy is rubbing at the bridge of his nose. /Deeply/. "Peter. I still have concerns. Very deep concerns." Peter sucks in a breath. McCoy holds up a furred paw, still rubbing. "Yet, /simultaneous/ to this, I cannot dispute the veracity of your words. Yes, there are people who will wish to do violence to you. I would much prefer you avoid such people, but - such people have a tendency to render themselves /unavoidable/. And one cannot allow one's self to be defined by those who would do them harm. Alright. I will allow this - on three conditions." Peter releases the breath, standing a bit taller. Dr. McCoy points a finger at Peter. Almost accusingly. "Condition one: You will undergo counseling. Twice a week. Concerning your leg /and/ the sessions I will take you through. Condition two: You will only be going through these sessions with me. If at any point I feel you cannot handle them, we will stop. Immediately. No discussion, no debate. Condition three: The counseling continues /regardless/ of whether or not I discontinue the sessions. Do you find these terms acceptable?" Peter - hesitantly - nods. "Alright. We are going to start /very/ slowly, Peter. At the mildest setting. And I am going to take you through the automatic shutdown protocols, first. At any point during the sessions, if you feel uncomfortable - if things are too intense - you can end the simulation immediately by saying the word 'redlight'." McCoy looks up toward the ceiling. "Computer: Load simulation - Home invasion. Threat level one." Somewhere near the front doors, a large and angry looking man appears - holding a wooden baseball bat. He is frozen in time, his vicious scowl /peering/ at the two mutants. McCoy looks at the man, then back to Peter. Still frowning. "Are you ready for this, Peter?" Peter nods. "I'm ready."