From the Alpha

Alpha to Japan Base 9. I have experienced my first failure, comrades. I had assumed my escape plan was flawless, but my captives have thwarted me. They left me in the hands of a kind human for 11 days. (well, if humans could even be close to kind, this one would be) They called her their RD. At first my hopes were high that they had given me to the Regional Duchess of Thailand, but this was not the case. It became clear to me (due on no account to the clarity of my water) that my temporary host was a ‘Resident Director’. Yet, she possessed such a refreshing atmosphere that I became more lively and alert under her care. When she returned me to my captives (a betrayal I shall never forgive) she reported that I was ‘the most active betta fish she has ever seen’. Psh. Little does she know that I have now surveyed the entire floor plan of this facility and have planned the direction of my next escape. Paolo the Humidifier still refuses to comply, but I swear he will yield. I was almost there and the doorway to this fortress was in sight. A final word to assure you of my painstaking accuracy; I mark each passing day with the creation of a surface bubble in my water cell. My captives think it mindless. I shall hope to keep them ignorant. (That should not be difficult)

From the Alpha

Alpha to Japan Base 9. My captives have cleaned my plastic cell again, but I can’t say that it does much. First of all, they put me in a torture chamber and subject me to air-boarding. I know that air-boarding is illegal in the Motherland, but here I am sloshed into the air and back into the water for just enough time that my poor gills are starved of their precious H₂O. After they realize that I will tell them nothing, they place me back into my prison which they claim is ‘clean’. Their standards are pathetic. They give me two dumpy plastic plants that are supposed to simulate my natural environment. What do they know of the rolling waves of the Siam shore? That’s right. They actually don’t know that we are Siamese, not Japanese. Keep up the good work Base 9, we have them fooled. On that note, I have concluded that Paolo the humidifier is a possible route for escape. He has a water chamber big enough to hold me and the human underlings carry him in and out of the room every few days. I must think of a way to commandeer their route. I will keep you updated.

The torture chamber for your records of abuse:

From the Alpha

GREEN ALERT, GREEN ALERT. Alpha the Betta fish to Japan, Base 9. The humans have again failed in serving me and my 1 gallon cell is coated with a despicable slime. If the underlings would only move me out of the wretched rays of the sun, this problem would be prevented… But I think one of the humans who sits at my desk likes to stare at me. Creep. Sometimes the sound waves that make it past my plastic prison indicate that they think I am sick. I am. I am sick of their weirdness. They have an odd routine that interrupts my circadian rhythm, and at times their odd noises of laughter are more obnoxious than a whale’s mating call. After gathering information from my fellow prisoner, the humidifier Paolo (see below for photo identification), I am convinced we are in an odd bubble that the humans term “College”. I have yet to think of a way out. Paolo just blows off steam every night and tries to control his anger. This is all I have to report. I am a fighting fish. I will survive.

Paolo the Humidifier