Chapter Text
The girl blinked her eyes open.
She was short, slightly plump, with pink doozy eyes and matching flippy hair. She yawned, her eyes scanning her surroundings with sleepy confusion. She didn't know where she was. Didn't know who she was, either. In fact, the girl could remember nothing.
There was a bunny in front of her.
“Hello!” It smiled at her with pink, pink, pink. All things cute, all things sparkly, half white and half pink, black button eye and stark red one, all done up in a frilly magical girl outfit. Adorable, sure. But completely nonsensical. “Good morning, Es! I'm pleased to see you awake.” It giggled.
“Where… am I?” The girl — Es, she supposed her name was — stifled a yawn. “Who are you?”
“I'm Monomi, your squeezably soft partner! We're in Milgram, Es. Gosh, you really don't remember? I suppose that makes sense. Your memories must be confused. But don't worry! I'll just have to explain everything, in that case.” Monomi patted her hand gently. “We're both wardens of a prison named Milgram. Since I'm your senior, feel free to think of me like a caretaker. I'll make sure you get all the meals and rest you need, so just leave it to me!”
“Warden…?” Es echoed. “What does that… mean?”
“Hmm.” Monomi smiled at her. “Good question! As warden, your job is to judge criminals. It's your job to keep an eye on them! There's currently 15 incarcerated here.” She went serious, for a moment, smile falling into a frown. “They may seem harmless, Es, but I assure you they are all guilty of murder, whether directly or indirectly.”
Es shivered at that. Murder… all of them? And she was supposed to look after them?
“However, what happened, what they were thinking, and how they took someone's life… it's all unknown. We don't know why. That… will be your job to find out.” Monomi informs solemnly. “To find the motives and truths behind their crimes. Once you do, you need to choose whether to forgive them or not forgive them. Whether you find their crime understandable, or… whether what they did was unforgivable.”
“But… How am I even supposed to figure out their crimes?” Es asked, worried as she tilted her head. “I mean… I'm not a detective, right?”
Monomi smiled once more at her. “No, but as warden, you have some special skills. First, you can learn more from talking with them, but… second — we have technology at Milgram that will give you a peek into their heads. It's not an exact science, of course, so you may not learn everything at once, but… Isn't that convenient?” She smiled sunnily, before she frowned once more, “The downside is that it takes a bit between each interrogation, and not every mental image can be extracted at once… Which is why we have to do this multiple times. That's why Milgram works on a three trial system, though it may be a bit different than what you're used to. You have to vote whether you think you should forgive or not forgive everyone after each extraction round — which we do three times, hence the three trial system. We're on the first trial now. I warn you to be careful how you vote, because it will change how things go each trial. For example, if you say you forgive someone, you could make them see their crime as acceptable — reinforcing whatever led them to that crime. That will obviously affect their behavior going forward. Your decisions may change or reinforce how they see their crime, so it may also affect the mental images you extract in the second and third trials. And your judgment may change once you experience those extractions, too… And depending on the prisoner, you may not even know their crime at first.”
“Then how can I judge them…?” Es murmured, worried.
“Just do your best, Es. It will all become apparent in time. That's why Milgram is set up like this — with three trials instead of just the one. Trust your instincts. Whatever you base your choices on, it will be up to you. Do they feel guilty? Do they recognize their wrong? Do you like or dislike them? Do you think their reasons justifiable? It's all up to you, however you want to judge them. Just… be wary of the consequences of such things. I can't help you shoulder them myself.” Her voice was oddly despondent then, dark and sad. “Well, that's about it. I'm sure you'll get used to everything in time, so please come to me if you need anything. We're partners, after all.”
“But…” Es frowned. “But what is Milgram? Who am I? Who are you? Who are the prisoners? And what happens after the third trial?”
Monomi giggles. “Some of that is for you to find out, silly. Don't sweat the specifics, if you wonder about stuff like that you'll go insane. You're Milgram's prison guard, and they're the prisoners, and that's all you need to know. You're justice and mercy in this world, and that's not such a bad thing, right? That's what it means to be the prison guard. Understand?”
Hesitantly, Es nodded.
“Good.” Monomi beamed. “Because Milgram's first trial… starts now.”