8 December 1888
Night
The Woman Theory
🔔 You chose The Woman Theory.
💭 The idea sounds absurd at first. It always does. A killer so brutal… so precise… so confident… being a woman? Victorian London would laugh at that. Which is exactly why Kim isn’t.
📞 Kim to you
I’m in a pub. Again. I am so done with it. It’s loud smells like gin and old wood. I am surrounded by dock workers and a few women. No one paying attention to anyone.
📞 You
Good. Stay unnoticed.
📞 Kim to you
That’s the thing… I’m not here to hide.
📞 You
Then what are you doing?
📞 Kim to you
Listening.
I’ve been going over witness statements all day. And something is wrong.
📞 You
Wrong how?
📞 Kim to you
They all describe a man. But not the same man. Not even close.
📞 You
That’s already known.
📞 Kim to you
No… it’s worse than that. Some say he’s well-dressed. Others say shabby. Some say foreign. Others local. Tall. Short. Clean. Rough. The witnesses might be unreliable.
📞 You
You think they’re all wrong?
📞 Kim to you
I think they’re seeing what they expect to see. Victorian London has a script. A violent killer must be a man. A gentleman, a butcher, a foreigner, anything, but always a man. So if someone didn’t fit that expectation… They wouldn’t even register as suspicious.
Think about it. A woman walking through Whitechapel at night wouldn’t stand out. Especially near prostitutes. She’d blend in. And more importantly… she could get close. Without raising alarm. Without fear.
📞 You
Kim?
📞 Kim to you
Kim?!
📞 You
Kim!
🔔 You chose The Woman Theory.
💭 Time passes. Too much time.
📞 Kim to you
…okay.
📞 You
KIM?!
📞 Kim to you
I’m here.
📞 You
What happened?!
📞 Kim to you
I was taken. Someone grabbed me from behind. I’m… somewhere indoors now. I don’t know where. The curtains are drawn but it smells clean. Not like a cellar.
📞 Unknown Woman
You can stop pretending to be frightened. I know you are not.
📞 Kim
…who are you?
📞 Unknown Woman
That depends. Who are you?
📞 Kim
Someone asking questions.
📞 Unknown Woman
Dangerous ones. Why are you investigating the women of Whitechapel?
📞 Kim
Because they were murdered.
📞 Unknown Woman
You are suggesting that women are secretly monsters?
📞 Kim
No. I’m suggesting the truth doesn’t care about comfort.
📞 Unknown Woman
Do you know who I am?
📞 Kim
Wait. Yes. I actually do. You are Josephine Butler.
📞 Josephine
Good. Then you understand why I brought you here.
📞 Kim
You mentioned that yourself. You think I’m dangerous to women.
📞 Josephine
You are digging into the lives of prostitutes. Asking questions that men use to justify cruelty. And now you question whether the killer could be a woman.
📞 Kim
I question everything.
📞 Josephine
That is not always a virtue.
📞 Kim
Neither is blind protection.
📞 Josephine
Then explain yourself.
📞 Kim
Witnesses are inconsistent. That’s fact. Some saw a “gentleman.” But that description often came after newspapers started using that word.
📞 Josephine
So you believe they were influenced?
📞 Kim
Yes. Memory is fragile. Especially in chaotic situations. People reconstruct what they saw.
📞 Josephine
That is true.
📞 Kim
And no witness actually saw the murders happen. Only moments before or after.
📞 Josephine
Also true.
📞 Kim
So we’re building the identity of a killer based on brief, uncertain glimpses… filtered through expectation.
📞 Josephine
And expectation says “man.”
📞 Kim
Exactly.
📞 Josephine
But the violence… these killings were brutal. Physical.
📞 Kim
So were many crimes committed by women throughout history. They are just less reported. Less believed.
📞 Josephine
Society does not train women for such acts.
📞 Kim
No. But it also doesn’t suspect them. A woman could approach another woman easily. Especially in that district. No alarm. No hesitation.
📞 Josephine
That is… difficult to dismiss.
📞 Kim
And the precision suggests knowledge, not necessarily strength.
📞 Josephine
Medical knowledge?
📞 Kim
Possibly. Or experience with bodies. Midwives. Caretakers. Even slaughterhouse workers’ families.
📞 Josephine
You are not claiming certainty.
📞 Kim
No. I’m saying the possibility has been ignored.
📞 Josephine
Because it is uncomfortable.
📞 Kim
Because it challenges the narrative.
📞 Josephine
I have spent my life protecting women from being blamed… from being misunderstood… from being reduced to something they are not.
📞 Kim
And I respect that.
📞 Josephine
Then understand why I feared you.
📞 Kim
You thought I was turning victims into suspects.
📞 Josephine
Yes.
📞 Kim
I’m trying to understand what really happened to them.
📞 Josephine
You speak with conviction. But not malice.
📞 Kim
Because this isn’t theory to me. It’s… them.
📞 Josephine
The women.
📞 Kim
They deserve the truth. Even if it’s uncomfortable.
📞 Josephine
Then I misjudged you.
📞 You
…is she going to let you go?
📞 Kim
Are you going to let me go?
📞 Josephine
Yes.
But be careful. London does not forgive those who ask the wrong questions.
📞 Kim
Good thing I’m not here for forgiveness.
📞 Josephine
No… I suppose you are not.
📞 Kim to you
I’m outside.
📞 You
Are you okay?
📞 Kim to you
Yeah.
📞 You
So… what did we learn?
📞 Kim to you
That the witnesses might not be lying.
📞 You
Then what?
📞 Kim to you
They might just be… wrong.
📞 You
And the woman theory?
📞 Kim to you
Not proven. But no longer impossible.
📞 You
What now?
📞 Kim to you
Now I’m going to finish it
💭 What a weird ending. It’s certain that Kim has lost all thinking capacity and is on full survival mode at this point. You wonder when she will call again. If she calls again. She might not. That thought haunts you. What did she mean with ‘Now I’m going to finish it’? What is she going to do? You must go to Secrets Hall to communicate with Mr. Sterces.
📞 Call Disconnects
