[... Things, hmm? That's... ominous. Not like Robert can perceive this, of course, but...]

... A-Allow me to, er, p-preface this with a st-statement that... may be difficult to believe...

... [He always hates this part, but full disclosure is the best idea:]

... We are... n-not located on Selles, or... i-indeed, any planet you would be familiar with...

R-Rather, we are... in a place whose n-name is not known by us... The colony itself... o-only has "Luceti" as its name. Those who... k-keep us here are known as the Malnosso - cruel, inethical "scientists", a blight on the f-face of any respectable science - wh-who keep us, essentially, as... e-experimental fodder.

[Exhale. He's just going to let Syre digest that.]

[Robert's lips thin a little at that statement.]

... Well. It is, er, a m-matter of speaking, but... I have seen some... t-truly horrifyingly inethical "experimentation" performed... on s-some of the people here.

[He will never truly purge the mental image of Raphael with the hole in his plastron.]

... The e-experimentation is... highly variable, as well. Sometimes it is... p-purely physical, sometimes purely mental; sometimes a c-combination. Some seem almost for... the s-sake of amusement of theirs'. Others seem g-geared to explore... our limits, as organisms...

[And some are unfathomable.]

[Robert shudders bodily.]

... No... s-scrupulous scientist would... ever experiment in such h-horrific ways, I can assure you...

At least, I w-would not.

[Never. Gods, he hopes that remains true, at least.]

[Good decision.]

... Er... the m-most recent experiment that was... p-performed by the Malnosso was, essentially, a... personality modification...

... A-Afflicted individuals thought they were, er, various... archetypes, or... p-personalities. They... behaved in accordance to such, as well. The village was... a-also modified to account for it, with... a currency system in p-place and creatures appearing out of n-nowhere.

It was... one of the more o-odd ones...

... In c-comparison to some... yes, it w-was.

However, I... much prefer my body to be a-altered, rather than my mind...

... Y-Yes. At least.

[Robert nods nervously, a staccato sort of motion, and shifts away a little. Just a little.

He doesn't really know where this conversation is going, though he hopes he's helped Syre a little...]

[Part of Robert is curious to say more, but...]

... Before I d-do, would... you like to s-see how to operate the journals properly, or... d-do you think you are alright in that r-regard...?

In th-that case...

[Robert takes the little book carefully from Syre's hands and turns it, so that she can see the screen as well, before opening it.

As he speaks, he gestures to the corresponding sections.]

The... j-journals function as communication d-devices in Luceti. They are monitored by the M-Malnosso, and thus information that you do not wish to b-be disclosed to them should not be mentioned over them, but... messages can be f-filtered from other members of the compound...

... You may choose to input written t-text, record your own voice, or r-record a video using the small lens at the top of the j-journal. Responses are r-recorded, and can be played back at leisure, by a-anybody who has access to the channel...

[On the one hand, Robert trapped himself into this. On the other hand, this person speaks like an intellectual. He can appreciate that much.]

... I have... d-done it many times before... this c-colony receives new members every... two months, a-approximately. You may expect... to see them if you r-remain here that long...

[He gives a brief nod.] ... Please... f-feel free, though much of the v-village is likely to assist you if... n-necessary.