Suspects' Holding Cell

[etcircenses]

The vans drive for what seems like an hour before they come to a stop, and Peacekeepers blindfold and forcefully drag even the most cooperative suspects into a building.

The suspects are all held in one cell, a large, metal room with a thick door and a single ledge that serves as a bench. Bright fluorescent lights beam from overhead. There are no windows and no clocks, no sign of where they might be.

The Peacekeepers take off the blindfolds, though without much care for whether they come off all the way or chafe or stay slung around the suspects' necks. The suspects' hands are left cuffed behind their backs, and even the most ingenious of them won't be able to pick the lock on their restraints, but they're otherwise left to roam freely through the space.

Suspects are removed, one at a time, at unpredictable intervals, by Peacekeepers armed with tasers. Some take three hours to return, while others are back within only a minute. Each of them comes back having been clearly roughed up and pressed for information that they may or may not hold; some are bleeding or sporting the beginnings of black eyes.

They'll be sleeping here tonight.

Comments

[arosewiththorns]

"Has the concept of electricity been explain to you?" she says for a start, shifting a little as if she's trying to get more comfortable. "As far as I can tell it's all still powered by similar ways. Batteries that will hold onto electricity, or energy if you prefer and use it to power what it needs to. Over time the battery decreases and you either need to replace it entirely or recharge it. Recharging provides it with more energy, and it's usually done by plugging the device into a fixed source of energy."

She smiles faintly, studying him. "Do you understand so far?"

[hiccup1puberty0]

"Yeah, I've learned that much. It's basically controlled lightning, right? And people use it to make machines work."

All machines. So they either had independent sources of it or some fixed source.

"What are the fixed sources? Where does the energy come from in the first place so that there's a place to plug things in?"

[arosewiththorns]

"It's a simple comparison, yes." But Rose will leave it at that, because really, simple is better. Especially when she doesn't know all the technicalities herself. Someone else can do something more in depth with him regarding that.

"It depends on the time and the resources. I'm not sure what here does, but they still mine coal so it must be used in some way. Coal can be burned and the destruction of it in turn creates energy that can be used. So they burn it in a power plant and it travels via wiring to those fixed points to be used. Other sources in wind, where they wind moves turbines and that movement creates energy, or water which does much the same. There can also be solar, when panels absorb the heat and energy from the sun which is converted into electricity."

She pauses, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry I'm not completely sure on the details, I was never particularly focused in science classes."