That afternoon, it was time for their regular communication with the prison again.
Calista put on the headset while Danny adjusted the frequency beside her, trying to catch the prison's signal.
After a burst of hoarse static, Rick's voice came through in fragments. "Rock Fortress... this is the prison... respond if you can hear me..."
"Prison, this is Rock Fortress. Signal is clear, Rick."
"Calista, things over here have been... rough lately.
Griffin just went through a blizzard, and the prison lost some of its outer crops.
When the temperature dropped, everyone was caught off guard. One sheep froze to death, so we ended up having roasted lamb."
Rick gave a bitter little laugh and continued, "Carl and Sophia secretly said it'd be nice if one of the pigs froze to death too.
Glenn quietly agreed a few times, but Maggie heard him and chewed him out. She didn't speak to Glenn for days. Hahaha.
After that, Hershel moved all the livestock indoors and gave them a charcoal brazier too.
This year is much colder than usual. Lori and Sophia caught colds from the freezing weather. Luckily, Hershel was there, and we still had medicine from the farm, so nothing serious happened.
Everyone's crowded indoors, getting by on the firewood we stocked up before.
Sigh. All we can do is endure it.
Without the prison and the supplies we brought from the farm, I don't even know where we'd be now."
He paused, and his voice seemed to relax a little. "Fortunately, before the weather got completely bad, we ran into a small group of survivors, about seven or eight people, and took them in. The prison's population is getting close to thirty now."
"More people is a good thing, but it also means more pressure on management and greater resource consumption," Calista said objectively.
"Yeah," Rick said, his voice clearly troubled. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask you about, Calista. When Rock Fortress takes in newcomers, do you have any... standards or procedures?
Up to now, we've mostly acted according to the situation. If they didn't seem like an obvious threat, we let them stay. But now there are more people, and things are getting complicated. I'm worried unstable elements might slip in."
He voiced his worries honestly, clearly treating Rock Fortress as someone he could exchange experience with.
Calista raised her brows slightly. This happened to line up with the original plot's development.
She thought for a moment, as if choosing her words, then said clearly, "We do have a simple evaluation method. It mainly comes down to three questions."
"Three questions?" Rick sounded curious.
"Yes." Calista spoke slowly, with a sharp understanding of human nature in her voice. "The first question: How many walkers have you killed?"
The other end of the radio fell silent for a few seconds, as if Rick were thinking about the purpose of the question.
Calista continued explaining. "This question evaluates their survival ability and their mental state when facing walkers.
Anyone who has survived this long in the apocalypse cannot have avoided killing walkers.
The answer itself isn't what matters. What matters is their attitude when they answer. Fear, numbness, boasting, calmness.
That tells you whether they've adapted to the cruel rules of this world."
Rick's voice came through again, carrying a trace of understanding. "I get it... That really can filter out people who can't adapt at all, or people who might freeze up and drag the group down at a critical moment."
"The second question," Calista continued, "How many people have you killed?"
This question was clearly much sharper. Even Rick drew in a breath.
After a brief silence, Calista broke the quiet. "This question touches on the line they keep inside themselves under extreme conditions.
Was it self-defense? Was it to seize resources? Or was it pure malice?
We need to know whether they have innocent blood on their hands, and whether they might be a potential raider who could threaten their companions.
They may very well lie, but a person's instinctive reaction won't.
A moment of silence, avoidance, or an answer that sounds too casual are all worth watching out for."
"Jesus," Rick murmured, his voice low. "That question is... direct."
He could imagine the complicated expressions that might appear on the newcomers' faces. Pain, struggle, or hidden cruelty.
It was indeed a key question for screening out dangerous people.
"Then what's the third question?" Rick pressed, eager to hear more.
Calista gave the final question, the one she believed best revealed a person's true nature.
"Why?"
She paused, letting Rick absorb it, then explained in detail. "The first two questions are about ability and the past. The third is about motive and the future.
It forces the other person to look back at their darkest actions and give a reason.
Was it to protect family or friends?
Was it to fight for one thin chance of survival in a desperate situation?
Or was it simply because they could?
That answer helps determine whether they still have humanity, whether they can coexist under our rules, and whether they're worth trusting."
A long silence fell over the radio.
Calista could imagine the shock and deep thought on Rick's face at that moment.
These three questions were simple and direct, meant to cut through the layers survivors wrapped around themselves and reach what was really inside.
Behind them was a deep understanding of human nature and a precise grasp of the logic of survival in the apocalypse.
After quite a while, Rick's deeply impressed voice finally came through again. "Calista, those three questions really get to the heart of it!
They, they almost cover every situation we might run into.
Thank you. Really. This solves a huge problem for us."
"No need to thank me, Rick. Survivors should learn from each other," Calista replied calmly, though a faint, strange feeling passed through her mind.
This set of standards had originally been summed up by Rick himself in the original plot. Now she was "teaching" them to the current Rick. It felt rather strange.
With a weight lifted from his mind, Rick's tone became lighter. "Also, Calista, I need to thank you for the warning you gave us before. About livestock disease prevention, and... that virus."
His voice lowered, carrying a trace of pain. "We dealt with an 'accident.'
An elderly man we recently took in had serious heart disease. He didn't make it through the cold snap.
We laid him to rest the traditional way, but...
Fortunately, your warning came in time. We were prepared, and when he 'woke up,' we did what had to be done."
"My condolences, Rick. Only by facing reality can you better protect the living." Calista's tone did not fluctuate much.
"Yeah." Rick sighed, then changed the subject.
Calista also shared some of Rock Fortress's methods for dealing with the severe cold, such as strict fuel rationing, centralized heating, and making fuel the search teams' top priority.
The two sides exchanged their hardships and survival experience. There was not much warmth or sentimentality in it, but this kind of information sharing, built on their shared need to survive, quietly brought the two survivor groups closer.
They could not warm each other, but they could at least give each other the support of knowing they were not fighting alone.
The call ended after they agreed on the next time to contact each other.
Calista took off the headset, stood, and walked to the map. Her gaze fell on the marker representing the prison.
Rick's team was facing difficulties, but they were developing steadily and taking in more people.
For now, the two sides were still independent allies, exchanging what they could through the radio.
But if they faced stronger outside threats in the future, such as the Saviors, or farther off, the Commonwealth and CRM, could Rock Fortress and the prison form a closer alliance?
Or even... take a step further and integrate?
But all of that would have to wait until next year.
For now, getting through the winter came first.