BATW: The Convict Tour

The Convict Tour

The Convict Tour Street Map​

Introduction and Explanation.

The Skinny -- The bare essential facts, plus GSV maps, for each Tour Stop. Use again and again.

The Fluff -- The extended, full "dialogue" between the Tour Guide and the Convicts. Be sure to read:

Introduction​

This thread is the "Convict Tour", part of "Breakfast at the Whitney". If you want to know more and possibly join in, go here first.



Ever been on a "Movie Studio" or "See the Homes of the Stars" type bus tour? Same thing ... except that you are viewing The Arena, where odds are you will die this weekend.

The Fluff​

The Fluff is a dialogue between the Tour Guide, one Rutherford "Ruth" Barrows, and the Convicts.

The Skinny​

It is my intention to make The Skinny a quick reference with just the bare facts. Therefore:

Make sense? If it doesn't, please tell me. What makes sense in my thick little skull doesn't always make sense to others. (For instance, it makes sense for me to be Emperor of the World, so I can force this world toward a better place, but Homeland Security doesn't think too much of my ideas, so ... there we are.)

Tour Stop "A"

(Home, the Hospital, and the DSA)

(The Fluff for this Tour Stop is found here.)​

Description

GSV Link -- looking from southwest, on Selden Street.

LOCATION: 50 Selden Street (between Cass Avenue and Woodward Avenue)

NEIGHBORING STRUCTURES: Use the above GSV link to view the below structures.

Tour Stop "A"

Home, the Hospital, and the DSA

GSV Link

(Go here for The Skinny Version)​

(OOC -- I will explain the best way to use The Fluff here, since this is the first Tour Stop ("A"). Open the GSV Link at the top in another Tab and keep it open. Then, as this particular "Tour Stop" is discussed, you can "peek about" using the GSV and the Tour Guide's descriptions to understand the immediate surroundings. BTW, when the Tour Guide tells the convicts look to your left, that's actually me telling you to pan the GSV left. )


10 May 2028:

Although most of the Convicts had met most of the others at some point, this was the first time they'd all been assembled together in one place at the same time. The expressions, emotions, and exchanges -- of greetings, conversations, and ogles -- varied, as they would have with any group of strangers coming together for the first time.

The Convicts' Overseers directed them to the tour bus that they would ride for most of their tour of the Arena. Although a few of the Convicts had already been in the Arena for training, most hadn't been out here more than once or twice, and with the exception of a few personal excursions that had nothing to do with the battle phase, none of the Convicts had been more than a hundred yards from "Home".

The bus was nothing special -- it had been purchased from Universal Studios after The Big One destroyed the California location in 2016 -- but it did have one feature that had been added by the Technicians at Breakfast.

"Take a seat, please," Bruno Masterson, the Senior Overseer commanded. "Once you are in your seat, place your arms in the arm rest, fists balled, thumbs up."

As each Convict followed Bruno's instructions, the electro-mechanical locks of their Security Cuffs latched automatically, securing their arms; the arm rests were designed to give just enough movement to prevent the Convicts from being uncomfortable or getting cramps from a lack of movement. And, of course, the seats swiveled, allowing the Convicts to turn 270 degrees to view the Arena.

Each of the Overseers checked his or her Charge, acknowledged a secure fit to Bruno, then boarded one of the Referee Carts to proceed to where they would later meet up with the Tour for the Walking Portion.

For a long moment, the Convicts simply sat there in near silence -- there was some idle chit chat, some grumblings, and more -- staring east up Selden, with Home to their left and the DSA hotel on the right.

"Welcome, Combatants," a man's voice called out over the speakers in the bus's overhead. Foot steps sounded, and a man emerged from the building behind and to the left of the Convicts. He hurried up to the Tour Bus and climbed into the front next to the Driver, sitting to face back toward the convicts. Still using the remote microphone attached to an inconspicuous headset, he continued, "Good morning, and welcome to another exciting tour of the Breakfast at the Whitney Arena. Thank you, thank you, hold your applause."

He chuckled at his bad joke, continuing, "Yes, I know this isn't exactly the Universal Studios Tour, despite what it might say on the side of the tram, but I think you'll enjoy it none the less. My name is Rutherford Barrows, but around here -- believe it or not -- I am simply known as Ruth. I am one of the Assistant Directors for Breakfast at the Whitney, and it is always my honor to show the combatants around the Arena prior to the current episode's start."

He chatted quietly with the driver for a moment, then continued, "Before we get started, I'd like for you all to take a good look around you. I know that some of you have been out here already and know what you're looking at, but, for the benefit of all, I'm going to conduct this tour as if this is the first time here for all of you.

He gestured back to the building he'd exited, telling the Convicts to feel free to spin their seats to the left to view what he was describing to them. "We should probably start with this building, since -- at one point or another -- most of you may end up here with bumps or bruises--" He slammed his fist to his chest and grimaced, as if grasping the shaft of an arrow that had just penetrated him. "Or worse! But, we'll talk about that later."

"This is the Paul D Marsh Memorial Hospital," (GSV) he explained, "Once upon a time, it was the Annex Building of the Children's Center. This is where both you and your Enforcer counterparts will come should you suffer any injury during the Battle Phases to come. You can access the Hospital from right there--" He pointed to the door he'd exited, at the southwest corner of the building. "--or from the one on the opposite side of the building."

Ruth looked into the Arena, as if searching for something that just wasn't in view. "There is an additional Field Hospital closer to the north end of the Battle Zone. There is a Doctor there, as well as a couple of Nurses. And there are four unmanned First Aid Safe Houses. But most of the real fix'em up work happens here."

He pointed to the Convict's right, continuing the tour. "This is the DSA ... what used to be the Detroit School of Art, but which is a Hotel and Convention Center now. On Friday night, when you are introduced to the world, this building will have more than two thousand people in it. They're here to watch you, so ... make it a good show."

Ruth gestured to Bruno, who had made his way seemingly without purpose to a Security Force vehicle closer to the alley between the Hospital and Home. "How about a demonstration, Mister Masterson?" As Bruno stepped around to the far side of the vehicle, the tour guide activated a switch on the belt controller for his headset and said with a dramatic flare, "Fire in the hole!"

Suddenly without warning, Bruno stepped out from behind the Security Force vehicle and fired a shoulder mounted rocket launcher toward the glass wall separating the DSA from the Arena. The warhead covered the distance in an instance, exploding in a fire ball that lit up the early morning shadows of the DSA's north side with blinding light, then a cloud of thick, black smoke.

The reactions on the Tour Bus varied, from shock and fear to excitement and wonder. The Tour Guide's reaction was childlike, as he whooped and turned to face the Convicts, saying, "Now that's the way to begin a day, am I right?"

He turned back to view the damaged area ... only to find, once the wind had carried the smoke away, virtually no damage! There was a huge black stain on the glass and pavement directly below it, but other than that the rocket didn't seem to have had any effect.

When Ruth turned back, his expression was a bit less childlike and more like that of a father who'd just caught his child in a fib. "The moral of the story, children, is--" He pointed out into the Arena without taking his eyes of his captive audience. "--use what you got out there ... against those who are trying to end your life. You're not going to use anything we give you to hasten your exit from the Arena."

Then, he suddenly donned a friendly expression, patted the Driver and gestured ahead of them, and asked, "So ... shall we head out...?"

The Fluff​

The Convict Tour Map

Below you will find just the the full dialogue between the Tour Guide and the Convicts while on the "Convict Tour", organized in order of the letters in the above "Convict Tour Map". For just the bare facts, see The Skinny.

The Skinny​

The Convict Tour Map

Below you will find just the basic details of the Convict Tour, organized in order of the letters in the above "Convict Tour Map". For the full dialogue between the Tour Guide and the Convicts, see The Fluff.