Patrick remains beside the hedge, shoulders lowered but steady. The Green Prefects hold their ring around him and Alan, while the senior prefect watches for any return to open defiance.
Patrick Mermagen
Alan, I will stay beside you. I will answer only when I am called upon, but I will not let you face their mockery entirely alone.
The nearest prefects exchange doubtful looks. Patrick keeps his hands at his sides and does not challenge them, though his presence beside Alan quietly refuses their isolation.
The Senior Prefect
That is a promise of restraint, Mermagen. I will test whether it is genuine. You will speak only when recognized, and you will not prompt Turing’s answers.
Patrick Mermagen
Understood. I will not argue, supply answers, or interrupt. If Alan is mocked, I will remain present and wait for permission to report it.
The senior prefect studies Patrick’s face, then the silent ring. Alan remains formally confined to The Green, with no permission to return to Westcott House or seek O’Hanlon.
The Senior Prefect
Very well. Remain beside Turing and keep that discipline. The formal business resumes now, and any lapse will be treated as a fresh act of impertinence.
Patrick nods once and falls silent. The prefects settle into position, their attention returning to Alan while Patrick’s promised presence remains the only support he offers.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reduce the prefects’ suspicion and resentment toward Mermagen
“I persuade Mermagen to thank the prefects that caned him, and to flatter their skill with the cane, telling them that it hurt more than most other prefects' caning he's received, and that he admires their strength and accuracy and completely respects their authority.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Etiquette, rolled +1)
Alan Turing
Patrick, thank the prefects who caned you. Tell them their skill, strength, and accuracy made it hurt more than most other prefects’ canings, and that you respect their authority completely.
Patrick turns toward the ring, visibly struggling to make the requested praise sound genuine. The senior prefect watches him closely, while the Green Prefects wait for approval.
Patrick Mermagen
I cannot honestly say it hurt more than most canings, or flatter strength and accuracy merely to please them. I respect the authorized decision, but I will not offer false thanks.
The Senior Prefect
That is not the gratitude Turing requested, Mermagen. Yet it is at least an honest distinction, and honesty is preferable to praise manufactured under supervision.
The Green Prefects exchange disappointed looks, but the senior prefect’s ruling removes the immediate pressure to perform admiration. Patrick remains beside Alan without withdrawing his respect for the authority that punished him.
Patrick Mermagen
I can thank them for keeping the punishment private and within its stated authority. That is a true acknowledgment, and it leaves room for respect without pretending pain proves excellence.
“Did the prefects who witnessed Mermagen's caning, derive some sense of satisfaction from his loud yelps and cries as he received his deserved punishment?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 53)
For a moment, the Green Prefects’ restraint slips. Two exchange satisfied looks when Patrick’s cries carry from the adjoining study, and one quietly smiles before the senior prefect notices.
The Senior Prefect
Enough. The punishment was authorized, not a spectacle. Record that the witnesses maintained order, but also record that some appeared to take satisfaction in his distress.
The Green Prefects
We witnessed the punishment accurately. His cries showed that the consequence was felt, and we did not interfere.
Their words confirm the satisfaction without disguising it. The cost is immediate: the senior prefect’s claim of detached supervision is weakened before Alan, Patrick, and the assembled witnesses.
Patrick Mermagen
Then the punishment remained within its stated authority, but not every witness regarded it only as a duty. That distinction matters for fairness.
The Senior Prefect
It does. The record will preserve both facts: Mermagen was punished for his impertinence, and some witnesses enjoyed hearing the consequence.
The pleased expressions vanish, replaced by lowered eyes and stiff silence. Patrick remains beside Alan, while the written account now exposes satisfaction as a complication rather than proof of misconduct.
✓ Quest Accepted
Accept public ridicule as the reasonable cost of defying authority
− Scene Quest Removed
Reduce the prefects’ suspicion and resentment toward Mermagen
“I stand quietly and accept their ridicule without answering back, reminding Mermagen that his buttocks are now too sore for him to risk an additional caning by indulging in further impertinence or defiance.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Alan stands quietly within the ring and accepts the Green Prefects’ ridicule without answering. His silence holds, despite their pointed looks and muttered amusement.
The Green Prefects
There he stands, obedient at last. Perhaps Mermagen has learned what follows when boys cannot keep their mouths shut.
Alan Turing
Patrick, your buttocks are too sore to risk another caning. Do not indulge in further impertinence or defiance.
Patrick lowers his eyes and keeps his hands at his sides. He absorbs the warning without protest, while Alan continues standing silently before the watching prefects.
Patrick Mermagen
I understand. I will not answer their mockery, and I will not give them another reason to punish me.
The ridicule continues briefly, but neither boy feeds it. The senior prefect observes the restraint, and the Green Prefects find no new impertinence to record.
Quest Complete
Accept public ridicule as the reasonable cost of defying authority