Three Stunned Strangers

A small, anonymous trio who step into a gaudy hotel lobby and freeze: standing on the scarlet carpet, eyes tracking slot machines and a piano player, mouths open in incredulous silence. They register the lobby’s sensory overload, attempt a failed hail to the outside world, and thereby convert curiosity into claustrophobic urgency. Their passive bewilderment functions narratively as a civilian bystander presence that highlights the construct’s isolation and propels the away team toward internal problem‑solving.