questionauthority: (Are you pondering what I'm pondering?)
Edward Nigma | The Riddler ([personal profile] questionauthority) wrote2011-05-06 04:55 pm

Riddle 026: Raining on Prom Night

[A: 726 Anderson Lane - BACKDATED TO THE DAY AFTER PROM.

Riddle me this: Who's as green as his suit and just woke up with the worst hangover ever? Answer: Edward Nigma, of course. Family members and unexpected visitors will find the Riddler downstairs at the breakfast table, dressed in a green bathrobe, half-heartedly fumbling with his daily crossword while he picks at a plate of eggs. He looks incredibly groggy, tired, and somewhat foul-tempered.]


[B: Mayfield High School - TODAY. It appears as though your favorite Ethics teacher is looking a little bit better after a long weekend and some time to recover. On the chalkboard, there appears to be a hastily drawn picture of a man with a long face and a garish smile.]

A dangerous criminal has been apprehended. Caught red-handed. He's responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. Question: How do you proceed? Do you take an eye for an eye and serve him a death penalty? It only makes sense, doesn't it? Especially if you consider the possibility that he may escape from his prison. And it's true. He could certainly escape and kill again. And again.

For the safety of these innocents, and for the good of the people, it may be worthwhile to consider a utilitarian approach. That is to say, you would subscribe to a system of ethics in which you would seek to increase the safety, happiness, and well-being of all mankind to maximum levels. But...

[He draws up another picture on the chalkboard of a cloaked figure, shrouded in a long, flowing cape.]

...there are those who might disagree with you. Those self-righteous radicals who feel as though they should follow the rules. Whose rules, exactly? Their rules. Their morals are absolute. They simply can't be compromised. Even if executing a murderer and a madman will maximize our well-being, murder is still murder to them. Nothing changes that. This is a deontological approach, class. And the ends never justify the means to them.

...so riddle me this. What would you do, if you had a say in this criminal's fate?

[Around Town:

There's a good chance that, after school, you'll find the Riddler on an investigation. He'll be found in one of three locations---

C: Sniffing around the Zemekis Corps Office Building, trying to get a grasp on what exactly it is that people do here.

D: In the Downtown area, glancing into windows and occasionally taking notes on a small notepad.

E: At the Mayfield Hospital, to answer some questions. A hospital in Mayfield seems rather arbitrary, doesn't it? Especially considering that death isn't even permanent. Why would one even be here, then, if that's the case?]

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
[He shoots her a glare, but he doesn't argue against her. Then, slowly...]

...did he tell you where to find me?

[identity profile] deaths-heritor.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
He did. Slugger came by to tattle on you as well.

What, exactly, happened to spur this on?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
It's a long story, Susan. I wouldn't want to bore you with the details.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm. Makes sense.

I suppose the doctors would have to have their hands full, considering the nonsense we have to go through every couple of weeks.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
Think of it as a visual aid.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
...I did.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
Notes on the town, as of late. So far, nothing's particularly caught my attention.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
...you may, actually.

Where do you work?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
Heh. I can relate.

I take it you haven't worked here long?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
It is so.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
Suppose, then, that they try to argue for the execution of this criminal as an act of self-defense. Neutralizing a threat before it has the potential to strike again.

[identity profile] riastrad-ridire.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
I have to give this place some credit. It pulls off faking normal pretty damn well, all things considered.

Nothing worth mentioning at all? Some crack in the 'ordinary town' bullshit?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
It wasn't---

[It wasn't me, he wants to say. He's never been that out of control before. But he doesn't continue. Topic change, go.]

I ran into that brother of yours outside. Was he here with you?

[identity profile] perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
No one can predict the future. There's probably many other ways to keep that threat "neutralized" that doesn't involve killing someone.

[Crowe feels pretty strongly about this, after seeing so much violence and death in Mayfield (not to mention being a victim many times).]

[identity profile] buildstherobots.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, the Major was doing the same. Is there reason to think there would be something different?

[identity profile] notsaul.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Nuh-uh, you're making it up.

[identity profile] greatestmanll40.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
Of course.

And I don' suppose you'd be willing to share your findings so far?
spellbent: (◾️073)

[personal profile] spellbent 2011-05-07 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
A week? Maybe two. I don't know. It all tends to run together.

E /fashionably late to de party, of course *puts on sunglasses*

[identity profile] beyondthecowl.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Bruce is making his usual rounds, clipboard in hand. He's scrawling something with a fountain pen, when he just so happens to look up.

Oh. And now his eyebrow is trying to meet his hairline.]

Nigma?

. . . Is there something you need?

B

[identity profile] crimson-flashed.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Coolly, without batting an eyelash.] Kill that person without being seen.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
[That's a voice that the Riddler isn't expecting to hear. He gives Batman an appraising look. A bit of confusion.]

...you work here?

[identity profile] beyondthecowl.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Bruce shrugs.]

Don't be so alarmed. My father was a surgeon. Now, is there a particular reason for your visit? Few people come here for the breathtaking scenery . . .

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
...didn't miss a beat, did you?

[identity profile] crimson-flashed.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
If the problem is that pressing, that's quickest and most efficient. The law's reach isn't absolute, and hired swords also exist for such purposes.

B

[identity profile] have-your-lives.livejournal.com 2011-05-07 11:03 am (UTC)(link)
[After Edward's last class has let out - after the students have left the room, but before Edward's had the chance to do the same - a certain telepath stalks into the room. And it's clear from a single look at his face that this is no social call.

He didn't even contact Edward after the man murdered him, but judging by his expression now, the man's having talked to Keane last night was enough to turn Schuldig borderline homicidal.

He crosses the room in a few strides, resting his hands on Edward's desk and leaning over it. If he feels any deja vu or trepidation, standing in the place where he died a week or so before, he's not showing it.]
We need to talk. [The words will ring in Edward's ears and his brain simultaneously, presumably for emphasis - either that or Schuldig's so angry he's broadcasting without even realizing it, which is probably much worse.]

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