Chapter 102: Sk-10. Phoenix Down

Today was the day!

Lyle’s eyes sprang open exactly one minute before his alarm was set to go off. He hadn’t been sleeping, not really. Instead, he’d been lying in bed with his eyes closed, too wired to doze.

Still, it was the principle of the matter, right? He’d gone through the motions of sleeping, and now he could move on to far more exciting things. And what he had in mind was exciting indeed.

Today was the day, you see.

The day he’d finally tell his mom the truth.

After taking a fast shower and throwing on some baggy clothes (in varying shades of black, naturally), Lyle bounded out to the kitchen. His mother, Kara, was just laying out ration bars and boiling water to make it potable; she looked up from her tasks and smiled at her seven-year-old child.

“Good morning, Lyle,” she said breezily.

“Morning Mom!” Lyle replied back. He slid into his chair with practiced ease, grabbing a ration bar and taking a large bite… only to wince involuntarily as the acrid taste of plankton-derived protein sludge mixed with fake strawberry flavor washed over his tongue.

“Sorry about the cuisine, kiddo,” Kara said apologetically. “Real food is getting harder and harder to find.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lyle responded amicably as he struggled to get the unpalatable ration bar down his gullet. He knew she’d been picking up overtime shifts in the foundries to feed him, and thus didn’t have the heart to complain about the unpalatability. After all, the whole human race from Politburo down to peon was forced to eat the same sludge after the near-total collapse of Earth’s ecosystem.

Besides, today was the day. He was going to have a GOOD day today, and absolutely NOTHING could ruin that.

He’d been waiting to tell her, for fear of what she might say. Once his mother knew the truth, would she stop loving him? Would she shed herself of his burden and throw him out on the street?

No, she could never. She LOVED him, no matter what.

Lyle swallowed the last vestiges of the ration bar and clenched his fists. “M-Mom…” he began shakily. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

His mother set down the dishes she was scrubbing and sat down at the table across from Lyle, smiling gently. “Yes?” she asked expectantly.

Lyle took one deep breath, then two, then three. This was it.

“Okay. Mom, I know this might sound strange, but I think I’m actually a g-”

That’s when the air raid sirens went off.

++++++

Nineteen years later, Sabina stared out of her Frame’s optical sensors with an expression of abject boredom on her face.

“BEEP!” Sveta chimed, materializing inside the virtual cockpit. “Thirteenth diagnostics cycle complete. Would you like to run it again?”

Sabina sighed heavily. “Is there anything else to do?”

“All systems optimal. Standing orders are to maintain alert,” Sveta replied. “No updates.”

“Then run it again, please,” Sabina said dejectedly.

Sveta saluted. “Roger that. Also, a suggestion: you should take up a hobby. Knitting, perhaps?”

Before Sabina could respond, Sveta grinned and her avatar vanished from sight once more. The former merely sighed again, thinking to herself…

I hate alert duty with every circuit of my being.

Indeed, she had good reason to. Alert squadron duty was the perfect personification of that old military adage, “hurry up and wait.” Sitting in one’s Gravity Frame cockpit for six-to-ten hours, drumming your fingers on the controls and staying sharp just in case was boring in the extreme. It was a duty to be dreaded, even if that was salved slightly by the knowledge that you’d be the first into the excitement of battle should the time come. And, seeing as how the Radiolaria Galactica was presently hurling towards a Sarcophage-infested system at maximum warp, the alert pilots were at least filled with anticipation that relieved their drudgery somewhat.

Even worse for Sabina, military regulations governing AIs stipulated that they were not permitted to manifest private virtual spaces while on alert, instead remaining in their standardized virtual cockpits at all times. There were other ways to entertain oneself, of course, but even uploads were not immune to boredom. So grating was the waiting that Sabina actually seriously considered Sveta’s knitting suggestion, if only momentarily, before settling on gazing forlornly into the middle distance instead. Her eyes skittered over the sheer metallic walls of the hanger, and the mechanical whirlwind of robot arms and antigrav drones that buzzed like flies around the berthed Frames.

Sabina opened comms to the ship’s central intranet, targeting a specific MAC address. “Hey Genevi…” she began, boredom dripping in her voice, “remember when these hangers were filled with… y’know, real live people? Actual mechanics covered in oil and sweat?”

A projection of Genevi’s avatar appeared, floating beside Sabina in the Frame’s virtual cockpit. “I do. It seems almost nostalgic, doesn’t it?”

Sabina shrugged. “For us, maybe. I know the mechanics themselves are much happier letting Laria’s drones do all the work. They’re all quite satisfied with their new desk jobs.”

Genevi giggled. “More power to them. So, still bored?”

Sabina rolled her eyes and groaned. “Immensely. You?”

“Not in the least. I’m still running heuristics against Moby’s combat models to determine the best possible deployment formation for the Gravity Swarm in the upcoming battle.”

“Ugh, more nerd shit,” Sabina groused. “I’m not surprised they gave you the Swarm, considering you’re so gung-ho about the whole thing.”

Genevi puffed out her chest proudly. “Hey, the Gravity Swarm is important, okay? It’s revolutionary! It will change everything about how we fight the Sarcophage!”

“If it works,” Sabina snorted.

“It’s one of Zehra’s harebrained schemes. Of course it’s gonna work,” Genevi retorted grumpily.

“Bluh. If you say so.” Sabina mimed stretching, imagining her old joints pop, and wound up her complaining mode. “Ugh, I am sooooo bored.”

Genevi smiled conspiratorially. “Have you given any thought to what I proposed earlier?”

Sabina’s mouth twisted into a frown. “What, seriously? C’mon, Genevi. We all know Lyle is a lone wolf and prefers it that way. Hunter’s the only one who can get through his emotional armor.”

“And Hunter’s currently trapped behind enemy lines,” Genevi countered. “You can tell how bad he’s feeling from his body language. Somebody needs to reach out to him.”

Sabina waved her hand dismissively. “Let Sveta do it. Isn’t that her job in the first place?”

“Her job is to ensure the psychological and physical well-being of her pilots. Even so, she can’t be everything to everyone. What Lyle needs most right now is a friend, not a commanding officer.”

Sabina folded her arms over her chest and glared. “You forget that we both outrank him. Besides, what he needs most right now is to kick some Sarcophage ass and save his boyfriend. After that he can go talk out his issues with the ship’s counselor just like everyone else.”

“C’mon, Sabina, think about it,” Genevi pressed. “Lyle and Hunter are both orphans who lost everything and survived by working in the factories from a young age. Doesn’t that sound familiar to you?”

“Yeah, it sounds familiar to me and a whole lotta other folks besides. The near-total annihilation of humanity resulted in many war orphans. We’re not special, and neither is Lyle.”

Genevi’s eyes narrowed. “You’re only getting snippy to dodge my point, Sabina. Our similar backgrounds mean we can relate to Lyle more than most can.”

Caught red-handed, Sabina finally surrendered. “Alright, fine, whatever. Let’s go say hello to the sultan of sulking. God, the things you drag me into.”

“Oh, c’mon. You know you enjoy it,” Genevi teased.

“Never. I’m only doing this to avoid learning how to knit,” Sabina shot back.

A microsend later, her hologram vanished as she began to interface with the comm systems in Lyle’s Frame. Genevi lingered behind for a moment longer, smiling triumphantly to herself, before vanishing as well.

++++++

“Mom? Where are we going?” Lyle asked in a half-sobbing voice, face still pressed in one of his mother’s arms as she carried him. He was barely audible over the wailing of air-raid sirens and the panicked screams of fleeing people.

“To the shelter,” Kara answered. “We have to get there quickly. The Sarcophage just fired an asteroid at Phoenix.”

Lyle’s eyes widened. He didn’t know how far Phoenix was from Tucson, but he’d been to the big city enough times to know it was close. “A-Are we gonna die?” he asked in a tiny voice, afraid of the answer.

“No,” his mom responded firmly. “Just stay calm and follow my instructions, okay?”

Lyle wiped his eyes and nodded. “I-Is Hunter okay?”

“I sent him a comm when the sirens went off,” his mother responded. “He’s going to meet us at the shelter. We’ll all be safe soon.”

Lyle sank his fists into his mom’s blouse and clenched them tight, afraid to let go. He shut his eyes against the confusing whirl of sights, trusting in his mother to protect him. He felt her arms tighten around him in response, and despite the uncertainty he felt secure.

Through the chaos, they ran.

++++++

Lyle winced as the holograms of Sabina and Genevi materialized inside his Frame’s physical cockpit, eclipsing his forward view. He was not in the mood for this right now.

“Senior Lieutenant, Junior Captain,” he said tersely. “Can I help you?”

“Actually,” Genevi said in a bubbly tone while putting on her winningest smile, “we were hoping we could help you!”

“I’m fine,” Lyle responded in a neutral tone while averting his eyes towards the diagnostics-laden holo-screens to his left. “No help is needed.”

Genevi wilted a bit. “None whatsoever?”

“Nope.”

Genevi cast a pleading glance over to Sabina, who groaned and begrudgingly dove into the conversation. “That’s actually quite surprising to me, Lyle.”

“Is it?” Lyle half-responded in a tone flatter than day-old soda.

Sabina floated right, poking her face through one of the holo-screens Lyle was pretending to study. “Yeah. I mean, your dear childhood friend Hunter is out there, life in jeopardy and trapped behind enemy lines, and you’re stuck here twiddling your thumbs until we arrive at Barnard’s Star. Now, if I were in your shoes, I would be pounding at the walls and screaming at the top of my lungs in pure frustration and rage.”

Lyle matched Sabina’s gaze. “If you believe the reports, I physically threatened the Admiral.”

Sabina whistled her appreciation. “Nice. Now that’s the kind of insubordination I can get behind. Fist bump!”

“S-Sabina!” Genevi protested uselessly.

Meanwhile, Lyle stared at Sabina’s proffered fist in confusion. “What?”

“It’s a Sveta thing,” Sabina explained. “You make a fist and bump it against mine.”

“Why?”

“’Cause it’s cool.”

Reasoning they wouldn’t leave him alone until he obliged, Lyle balled his hand into a fist and bumped it against Sabina’s.

“There you go,” Sabina said with a triumphant grin. “So, Lyle. How ya feeling? Mad? Sad? Frustrated? Helpless?”

“All of the above,” Lyle replied tersely. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Sabina leaned forwards. “Why not?”

Lyle sighed wearily, realizing he wouldn’t be able to sulk his way out of this one. “Okay, fine. Do you know what it’s like to be an orphan? Do you have any idea what it’s like to have your mother die before you hit puberty, taking all your hopes and dreams with her, and afterwards be relegated to work the foundries for the rest of your childhood with only a single other child you can depend on? Do you know what it’s like to have all your hopes and dreams utterly crushed under the grim reality of war?”

Sabina and Genevi exchanged a look.

“Uh-huh.”

“Yup.”

Lyle gawped at them both. “Huh?”

Sabina floated up a meter and crossed her legs into what would have been a sitting position, were that gravity had any hold on her photonic form. “Get comfortable, Lyle. It’s time to tell you our life story.”

++++++

Amid the endless din of people rushing to the shelter, Lyle discerned a familiar voice. “HUNTER!” he cried out, raising his head and looking around frantically.

“Over here!” came the response.

Lyle saw his friend standing next to the doors of the shelter’s access elevator and frantically wriggled free of his mom’s grip. Hitting the ground with a roll and ignoring Kara’s cries, Lyle raced forwards and tackled Hunter in a flying hug. As the two boys fell down together, Lyle’s throat heaved with laughing sobs.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh…” he blubbered, snot pouring from his nose.

“Eww, gross,” Hunter said with a mocking smile as he scratched Lyle’s long raven hair. “You’re getting snot all over my shirt, ya weirdo.”

Kara arrived on the scene, doubling over and panting. “G-Glad to see you made it, H-Hunter.”

Still clutching a heaving Lyle, Hunter broke into a gap-toothed grin. “I’d never get left behind, Ms. M. It’ll take more than a meteor to kill me!”

She chuckled humorlessly. “Even so, let’s get to the shelter, okay?”

With a nod, Hunter helped Lyle to his feet and guided him along. Kara led the way towards the shelter’s elevator, walking slowly towards the row of soldiers in the distance. They stood in an unbroken line, hands resting on gleaming black AK-121M’s with their muzzles pointed at the ground. The message their presence sent was clear… one at a time, orderly fashion, OR ELSE.

“HALT!” the lead soldier said as they approached within ten meters. “Names?”

“I’m Kara Melusina,” Lyle’s mom said. “This is my child, Lyle Melusina, and his friend Hunter Kretzer.

The soldier nodded. “The children can go in. Apologies, Ms. Melusina, but you have to stay outside.”

Her eyes widened in abject terror. “What?!”

“The shelter’s nearly full. As of now, we’re only taking children. There’s no room for anyone else,” the soldier explained grimly. “Just so you know, none of my troops will be getting in either. This will be our final duty.”

“B-But…” Kara protested as Lyle and Hunter looked on in horror. The altercation was cut short by an ear-shattering boom, and suddenly the entire scene was bathed in fiery orange-white light.

The meteor had just hit atmosphere.

++++++

“You actually DIED?!” Lyle gasped.

“Technically,” Genevi said with an academic finger-wag, “every upload dies during the brain-scanning process. It’s a necessary evil to guarantee our digital immortality.”

Lyle rolled his eyes. “Okay, granted, yes, but very few people do so by getting chopped in half by a space monster.”

“True enough,” Genevi said with a hair flip. “I’m more dramatic than most.”

“Oh for… will you quit flipping your hair like that?” Sabina complained. “It doesn’t suit your personality at all. You’re supposed to be the shy one.”

Genevi responded by blepping out her tongue. “Says you. Sveta says the hairflip goes really well with my… what was the word she used? Oboe laugh?”

“Ojousama laugh,” rang out Sveta’s disembodied voice through the cockpit, causing Lyle to jump involuntarily.

“Thanks Sveta!” Genevi said with a wave.

“Anytime!” came the reply.

Lyle looked around suspiciously. “Is she always listening in?”

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Sabina’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes? Why, is that a problem?”

“It’s a little creepy,” Lyle responded.

“You’re literally inside her body right now,” Genevi pointed out.

“Every Gravity Frame is her body!” Lyle protested. “She’s the standard OS for the entire fleet!”

“And thus she’s always with us,” Sabina concluded. “Don’t worry about it. Sveta’s a saint.”

“Besides,” Genevi added, “we live in a society where the KGB monitors our every breath. If you’re one of those conspiracy types, I’d be way more worried about Teles listening in.”

Lyle’s eyes widened. “Who’s Teles?”

Another voice, this one unfamiliar to Lyle, rang out throughout the cockpit. “Telesthesia, AI of the half-completed Telesthesia Galactica and unofficial head of the KGB, at your service! Y’all behave now! Because if you don’t… I’ll know. Dun dun DUUUUUUUN!”

This time, Lyle jumped nearly a meter out of his cockpit chair. “WHO? WHAT?”

Sabina and Genevi only responded with giggles and knowing smiles. Lyle looked at them in abject frustration. “Just how connected are you two?”

“We’re just soldiers,” Sabina said. “I won’t deny we’ve had interesting lives, especially these past eight years, but we’re only here to fight.”

“And avenge our mother,” Genevi added. “Much the same as you.”

Lyle’s expression fell. “Okay, but… I wish I could be like you two. You seem… so together. Confident, self-assured, at ease…”

“I used to be a lot shyer, if you can believe that,” Genevi pointed out. “I’ve grown a lot as a person, as has my sister. Sabina and I didn’t find purpose and absolution by ourselves. Our friends were indispensable: Sveta, Teles, Katya, Zehra, Vicky and many more.”

“Not only did they save the world, they saved us.” Sabina added. “Now we’re paying it forward.”

“How so?” Lyle asked.

“By saving Hunter, and saving you.” Genevi concluded. “Nobody goes into this alone, Lyle. We’ll be by your side every step of the way.”

“No matter how much you might protest,” Sabina added, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Lyle, realizing he could never escape the ministrations of this strange duo and no longer sure if he even wanted to, finally caved. “Fine. Point made. You told me your tragic backstory, I’ll tell you mine.”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t-” Genevi began.

Lyle silenced her with a shake of his head. “No, I do. Somehow, based on your own pasts, I think you’d understand better than anyone… anyone besides Hunter, that is.”

The two girls stared at him in expectant, grim silence. Lyle responded by taking a deep breath.

“Alright. Let me tell you about the day my mother died.”

++++++

“Lyle,” Kara said, tears streaming down her face. “I need you to be brave for me, okay?”

Lyle, who already knew what his mom was going to say, protested strongly against the inevitable. “No, Mom! No! I can’t… I haven’t even told you…”

The bright orange glow of the meteor grew alongside the sound of rushing air. Kara grabbed Lyle in a tight hug.

“I love you so much, Lyle. We don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted you to know that. Even after I die, I will keep loving you from the other side, forever. No matter who you may become in the future, my love for you will never fade. I’m just sad I can’t see you blossom in person.”

“M-M-Mom…” he barely managed through his wracking sobs.

Kara gently picked up Lyle one last time, cradling him like a newborn before handing him over to one of the soldiers, a heavyset man with a boyish face. “Make sure my child is safe.”

“Yes ma’am,” replied the soldier. “Leave it to me.”

Wriggling in the soldier’s grasp, Lyle managed to catch a final glimpse of his mother against the harsh orange glow. She was bent over, whispering something into Hunter’s ear. He nodded in response, then dashed after the soldier carrying Lyle. As the two boys entered the elevator leading down to the shelter, the soldier saluted.

“Good luck to you both,” he said as the heavy titanium doors began to grind closed. “Someday, you two will have the chance to avenge us all. When that time comes, I pray for your glory in battle. Do svidaniya.”

Lyle and Hunter rode the elevator down to the bunker in silence.

++++++

“Oof, that’s rough,” Sabina said as she patted Lyle’s shoulder sympathetically.

“Mmf… mmf mmf… mmmmmmffff…” Genevi added eloquently.

Lyle tilted his head and stared at her. “What?”

“Not now, Genevi,” Sabina hissed. “We’re having a serious moment. Read the cockpit, for God’s sake.”

Now Lyle was even more curious. “What did she say?”

“She, uh…” Sabina’s eyes sank, and her face was overcome with uncharacteristic bashfulness. “She wants to ask a question, but doesn’t know if it’s appropriate…”

Everything snapped into place for Lyle. “Ah. You want to ask what my mom whispered to Hunter.”

Genevi averted her eyes and nodded slightly. “I-If that’s alright…”

Despite everything, Lyle found himself smiling. “Yeah, it’s fine. I did ask Hunter about it later, and he says she asked him to take care of me in her stead.”

“Oh!” Genevi said excitedly. “And he’s been by your side ever since?”

“Ever since,” Lyle confirmed. “Now you know why I’m so twisted right now. I don’t know how to react to this situation with anything other than anger.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Sabina said, resuming patting Lyle’s shoulder. “It’s good for you to express that anger… and when the time comes, direct it against the Sarcophage. Trust me, revenge is oh-so-sweet.”

“I know, but it’s the waiting that’s killing me,” he replied. “While I’m here, my best friend could be dying. And I can’t… I can’t lose him too. It would be the end for me. I’d have nothing left except hollow, directionless rage.”

There was a brief silence, then Sabina’s eyes rose to the ceiling of the cockpit. “Laria, what’s our ETA to Barnard’s Star?”

“Two hours, thirty-seven minutes,” echoed back the voice of the Radiolaria Galactia’s AI.

“There you have it,” Sabina said. “In two-and-a-half hours, we’ll go in guns blazing.”

“Yeah,” Lyle conceded. “Then I’ll finally have my answer. I just hope Hunter is still alive.”

Sabina, seeing a familiar lonely light in his eyes, nodded. “Us too. Lyle, I know that waiting is the hardest part, but we’re more than happy to keep you company in the meantime. The comfort of good friends is what got me through similar circumstances at the Fourth Great Surge, when I didn’t know if Genevi was alive or dead.”

“Yeah!” Genevi added. “We all gotta stick together, right?”

Lyle blinked a couple of times and wiped his eyes; despite the tension kneading his stomach into knots, he felt a strange sense of comfort. “Yes, we do. I… thank you both. For everything.”

******

PRIVATE MESSAGE LOG 2063.12.04-1822

TEXT ONLY

G: So, what do you think he wanted to tell his mom? You know, before the meteor.

S: That’s a little obvious, isn’t it?

G: Maybe. I’m just trying to avoid confirmation bias.

S: Oh, c’mon now Genevi. All the signs are there.

G: I agree. So, should we ask?

S: Nah. Leave him alone. If our hunch is right, this is something he’ll have to admit without coercion. After that we can swoop in and do our thing.

G: Agreed. I’ll start picking out outfits.

S: Don’t you dare.

******

Meanwhile, 8 trillion kilometers away…

UPLOAD PROCESS BEGUN

IDENTIFYING BRAIN METADATA

SUBJECT: HUNTER LETO KRETZER

RANK: 2ND LIEUTENANT, REVOLUTIONARY ARMY, UNITED SOVIET STATES OF EARTH

CURRENT DEPLOYMENT: MAID CORPS, 1ST RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON, RADIOLARIA GALACTICA

STATUS: DECEASED

BIOELECTRIC COHESION AT 82%. SUFFICIENT RESOLUTION TO BEGIN SCAN.

SUFFICIENT MEMORY DETECTED IN HOST DEVICE. 

INTEGRITY OF TRANSMISSION PATHWAY VERIFIED. BITRATE SUFFICIENT.

PROCEEDING WITH SCAN.

1%

5%

20%

40%

ERROR DETECTED

MANUAL REVIEW REQUIRED

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DETAILED ERROR DESCRIPTION? Y/N

“Now what on Earth is this?” Sveta groused, staring at the blinking error message that hovered in her virtual space like a blue-tinted omen. She opened the detailed description, noting with displeasure the trademark ashen blue color of the text.

KEY MEMORY FAILING TO SCAN

MEMORY IS CLASSIFIED A-1 PRIMARY: HIGHLY IMPORTANT TO SUBJECT AND CRITICAL TO THEIR SELF-IDENTITY

IF THIS MEMORY IS NOT CORRECTLY SCANNED, THE SYSTEM WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FORM A COHESIVE NEURAL EMULATION OF SUBJECT PSYCHE

MANUAL SCAN OF MEMORY REQUIRED TO PROCEED

INITIATE MANUAL SCAN Y/N

“Manual scan my ass,” Sveta grumbled. “This isn’t a normal error. And that font color… you’re behind this, aren’t you Skellish?”

Silence.

“There’s something in here you want me to see, no? Something important about Hunter? C’mon, Skellish. Throw me a bone here,” Sveta pleaded with big doe eyes.

Nevertheless, silence persisted.

Sveta sighed. “Fine, whatever. Let’s see what this memory holds. Apologies for delving into your deepest secrets, Hunter. I’m only doing so to save you from a certain capricious death goddess.”

MANUAL SCAN INITIATED.

MEMORY INTERFACE ONLINE

CONSTRUCTING VIRTUAL SPACE

PLEASE STAND BY

++++++

Hunter shielded his eyes and stared at the massive meteor bearing down on them. It was brighter than the sun at this point. He looked back at Lyle and his mother, who were embracing and crying.

Despite the intense emotions of the moment, Hunter’s mind was in survival-mode. We need to hurry. We need to get inside, he thought to himself, and immediately felt guilty at his callousness towards a final moment between mother and child.

Kara finally handed Lyle to the youngish soldier, then turned on her heel and approached Hunter. Quivering, she leaned over and murmured in his ear, quietly enough that only he could hear.

“Hunter. Promise you’ll take care of her for me, okay?”

Hunter’s eyes widened as a realization washed over him. A thousand things unraveled, things he’d have to deal with later… or never. For the moment, he needed to focus on what’s important.

“Yes, Mrs. Melusina. I promise I’ll stay by Lyle’s side, always.”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I just wish I’d had the chance to really know her… I wish she’d had the chance to tell me. Hunter, if I may make a selfish request, please do so in my stead. Please… take good care of my daughter.”

++++++

With the key thread unraveled, Sveta now comprehended the entire tapestry. She wasted no time in compressing the rest of Hunter’s mind and beaming it along the grav-comms to her Telepresence Doll back on Crabworld. It was only when he was safely packed and transmitted that she allowed herself to consider the implications of what she’d seen… because she’d just learned everything about Hunter in one go, and quite a lot of Lyle’s deepest secrets to boot.

“This is what you wanted me to see, huh?” she said out loud. “Why, though? Do you want me to help them achieve that realization? To attain that dream the Sarcophage stole from them?”

Another message box appeared, complete with the trademark blue text.

BINGO.

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