Part 25: Maintenance Logs

Now, back to business.

*Mute has, in order to give us an idea of what Hyun-ae was like in life, unlocked a single log file.

I'll kill them all! - Mar 3rd, Year 322, The Pale Bride











In her own words, no less. That bitch is just... insane. Completely insane.
So you see, that's why I hate her. She killed everyone.
She killed my master... her husband... the emperor himself! She killed her own father, and she killed thousands of perfect strangers! She might seem pretty, but listen: she's crazy, and she's a monster. The last person to love her, suffocated to death because of her!
Well, you know what? That's sociopathic. That's appalling. It's damned unforgivable!



Hmm...

Are you serious? What is wrong with you, you stupid woman?!
You'd feel pity for her, over her victims?!
You don't feel bad for her husband?
You don't feel bad for her father?
You don't feel bad for her brother?
You don't feel bad for So-jin?
You don't feel bad for the Smith family's little daughter?
You don't feel bad for thousands of hapless peasants?



Well, when you put it that way...

Nice of you to finally come to your senses.
Well...
I guess you've almost got the whole story, then. There's just one more thing that I think you should look at, then that's pretty much it. I'm going to go ahead and add some of my last logs. They're kinda dry, but... I think you should read them. Trust me here.
So come talk to me when you're done with those. After that, well, we've got some things to discuss.
No hurry or anything... just lemme know!



Hey, look. It's a new block.



Block 8 is smaller than the others, with only three log files.

Last midday report - April 4th, Year 322, *Mute



Come talk to me when you've read the others.

Maintenance logs - April 5th, Year 322, *Mute



















Yeah...
And that's the whole story. She killed everyone, made a copy of my code, shoved her own memories into it, then tried to leave me disabled forever!
If you hadn't come along...
...well, I might as well have died with them.
So no, the thing you talked to? She's not a human. The real Hyun-ae - the Pale Bride - suffocated to death at the same time that all the victims did.
The one you know... it's just a horrible perversion of me, with all her memories...



Let me put it to you this way.



Well, there you go, then.
As far as I'm concerned, they might not really be the same person... but she's still just as bad!
I hate that awful bitch exactly as much as I hate the real thing, I assure you!
It just makes me feel so violated...
Fuck her!

Camera footage - Date unknown, *Mute







Alright, so...



BGM: Mute (Feelings)

Yeah, okay... I kinda figured as much.
So here we are, I guess. You've got everything you wanted. So... what now?
You're just about ready to go, I expect.



Well, that is nice! But see, here's the thing... I'm bound to the ship. I can't exactly just leave.
My programming doesn't say 'it is your most important duty to ensure the security of the Mugunghwa, unless everyone's dead, in which case just do whatever!' No, it's just...
...well, I can't.
So like, the rational part of me knows that it's going to be terrible and lonely once you go. All alone in space, forever.
It's just... you know...
Whenever I think about it, I'm just overwhelmed by my feelings of duty, of how it's so important to stay around for the ship!
Sure, I know rationally that it's stupid, but that doesn't matter!
You want to know why, despite not being human, I'm identified as a woman?
...because I'm fundamentally irrational like one. Call it emotional, call it hard-coded directives... the difference doesn't really matter, does it?
When it really matters, I can't just push aside my feelings and do the rational thing.
...well...
...say.
When you said that you'd be willing to take me with you... did you mean that?



Well, you know... if it was possible, I'm sure I could probably live with that.
Sure, you're not a real man, but... well, I'd rather be valued by even you than just left alone forever!
What I'm saying is... I can't willingly go with you. I can't ask you to take me. Every time I try, I just get overwhelmed by the feeling that I need to stay.
...but, well... I think I should probably decompile myself and run a full diagnostic. Wouldn't you say that sounds like a good idea, after all these years?
That'd leave me completely vulnerable, of course!
If, say, you were to kidnap me while I was offline, I couldn't do anything to stop you!
I'd have no choice but to just accept you as my new master...
Look, I'm not saying I want to be yours or anything. I don't, my duty is ensuring the ship's safety.
But if you were to kidnap me, force me to travel all across space in your little ship, with you to keep my company...
I think I could probably learn to be okay with that.
But don't do that.
Definitely don't do that.
I'm going to shut myself off now, run that diagnostic, and I'm going to trust you to not kidnap me, okay?
Take all the records you want, by typing download at the console. But I definitely wouldn't want you to take me, too. Well... I'll talk to you when that diagnostic's done.













Endings achieved: 6/7