[REDACTED]:
As you can see, this month’s trial run was successful overall. Each participant displayed behavior trending away from their criminal activity, albeit with some relapses, and their reflections by the end of the session indicated positive growth in the underlying areas that drove them to break the law in the first place. While I cannot in good conscience recommend that these three be released immediately, I will heartily advocate for shortened sentences for each of them. I suspect, based on conversations with other technicians who have run trials this year, that most cases will fall into this category: not quite suitable for a full pardon, but eligible for a shortened sentence or an earlier/shorter parole at their case manager and technician’s discretion. While it isn’t quite the budget-crusher we anticipated, the program will still reduce expenses generally, and it will certainly contribute toward a higher quality of life after release.
I have a meeting on the books for Monday to discuss the proper protocol for RRP “graduates” moving forward, but in the meantime, we’re gradually introducing this month’s participants to the wider community of post-simulation inmates, who we are housing in a separate wing of the building. These three seem to be adjusting well enough, although they have had short episodes of intense confusion about whether their time in the simulator was “real life”. (I am attaching their first journal entries post-simulator below, for reference.) They aren’t the first to exhibit this side effect, and I suspect they won’t be the last. Additionally, there is the usual litany of nausea, headaches, and irritability, although these typically decline over time.
I constructed a fantasy-esque setting for this group, leaning heavily on tropes or expectations from popular films and tabletop games, because scans of their memories revealed that each one had meaningful experiences with certain common elements (as alluded to in their notes). It seemed an obvious choice to build on that shared “symbolic language”. Furthermore, I anticipated that the obviously fictional elements would help them distinguish between simulation and reality after the completion of the program; however, the effect has not been quite as pronounced as I’d expected, so further research will be necessary before I recommend this as a standard protocol.
It was fascinating to watch them uncover each other’s secrets, especially given the interrelated nature of their crimes. I know that having a violent offender transferred to a lower-security facility was a risk, but I hope you agree that it paid off in the long run. I think the impact of the program will be stronger and longer-lasting in light of the closer relationship that existed between the participants. It just goes to show that reform never happens in a vacuum.
On a personal note, sir, I wanted to thank you for putting me on this project. The last few months have been challenging for me, and I’ve appreciated the chance to make a meaningful impact, not just on the project or the Institute overall, but in the lives of these three inmates in particular. I’ve become quite fond of them over the last weeks and months as I prepared this scenario for them, and I’m walking away from the project with real hope that the trajectory of their lives will be changed for the better after this experience.
If I may be quite honest, I doubted the value of the program when it was first pitched and introduced at the prison, and with what little I know of research ethics, I’m still astounded that the IRB approved it. When I first received the assignment to design a simulation, I was frustrated and quite skeptical, but I’m coming to see the benefit in bringing the simulator to this facility, and I think there’s potential for this technology to do a lot of good on a wide scale.
I believe that covers the most important of my notes from the last three weeks, so I’ll leave it here. If there are any questions I’ve left unanswered, or if you’d like additional details about any part of the trial run, please don’t hesitate to reach out. In the meantime, I’m going to take a few days off to shower, sleep, and spend some time with my brother Peter. I know he’ll be excited to hear how it went.
Sincerely,
{REDACTED]
Ariel Irene
So apparently everything was fake. There are no such things as dragons in “real life”. We were all resting after the attack, taking some time to regroup before trying to find a way out, when a crack of light appeared in the wall of the cave and the world started falling apart. A man appeared in the crack, which I guess was a door, and told us that we were finished and we could wait for our evaluation. He led us down a hallway and got us settled in. Lilo and I are in the same cell, which is surprisingly comforting, given the fight we were in just a few days ago. Thaddeus is in the men’s section. We’re going to go looking for him shortly.
I feel queasy thinking about the whole ordeal. This is not the ending to all of this that I was expecting. I guess I figured there would be an exit directly into the real world, or at least a “real” door back into the prison. This feels somehow anti-climactic and vaguely threatening at the same time. I hope they let us out soon. Lilo and I want to help Thaddeus find his family again, and I’m long overdue for a visit to Esther’s grave.
Lilo Talei
I don’t even really know what to write here? The red-head told us to please write down anything we thought now that Ravenswing was over, but I’m still so confused by how we got out of the cave at all in the first place? It felt like we walked straight through a wall? I’m not going to think about it too much because it’ll break my brain. I assume we’re back in the prison—it does look familiar, and more memories of the time before Ravenswing are starting to come back to me. Funny what you forget when it’s not part of your daily life.
It’s hard to believe that the whole thing is over, honestly. Somehow, being in this very tan building is starting to make the whole thing feel like a dream. In spite of all the danger, and the infighting, and the almost-dying, I’ll remember it fondly. I was so relieved when Ariel agreed to help me track down Elena and the kids. We haven’t told Thaddeus yet, of course, but I don’t know what I’d do if we left prison and never saw one another again.
But for now, I’m going to look for some painkillers and a bed to take a nap on. I don’t know if it’s just the fatigue of the last few weeks catching up with me or what, but I feel awful.
Thaddeus Diggory
We have been informed by a man named Andy that our trial run is complete, whatever that means. He acted quite familiar with us, although I don’t recall having met him before. He answered all of our questions—were we ever truly in mortal danger? were the ravens significant? how much of what we saw was real and how much was some sort of dream?—and told us that we could expect the side effects to wear off in a few days. By side effects, I suppose he means the general feeling of malaise that appears to have overcome each of us. The transition back to prison life has felt jarring, even more so because Ariel and Lilo are no longer close at hand. I’m shocked to discover that I miss them.
I still have some unanswered questions, and there’s no way to know what the future holds.But all things considered, I am grateful for the experience, and I think the girls would say the same.
You’re reading The Ravenswing Report, a rapid-fire, limited-run serial from Sara Dietz at Blinking Blue Line. To learn more and access the Table of Contents, click here.
I KNEW IT
I forgot who Peter's sibling is though; I need to go back and reread.
THIS WAS EXCELLENT
I AM FURIOUS AT THIS TWIST