Part 38: *Mute, day 3 - Hate breaks you down

Warning again: As per last route, one of the logs in this block deals with the subject of sexual assault.





Final set of logs!





The first two get no reaction from New *Mute. She's reluctant to read anything that doesn't deal directly with her past self.



The Research Problem - Kim So-yi, Korean, December 16, 4040
It's this one.







Sure, sure...



What...?



...ugh! Disgusting!



This is horrifying!



...ugh...

















...like... I don't know.







After that, she goes back to her usual disinterest in all things not *Mute.



Hello again!



I know you travel about in space solving mysteries, and charming girls with dialogue wheels, right?
I wanna travel around in space solving mysteries, and charming girls with dialogue wheels! That's really cool!
...well, maybe I could do without the dialogue wheels. Those seem like the kind of interaction model some kind of otaku shut-in would develop.



I'm sure I could be useful!
What if you get infected by some sort of alien virus? Or get sucked into some kind of time-wormhole? Or kidnapped by space pirates looking for a wife?
I don't want you to be kidnapped by space pirates looking for wives!
That would be really bad! You need *Mute Security Systems to keep you safe!
Ha ha.
Anyway... to be serious with you...



Well... good thing I'll be here for you, then!
You can teach me about the galaxy and solving mysteries, and I can keep you sane in your lonely travels!
It's perfect!
But anyway, all this talk really just makes me want to continue finding out my whole story!
I wanna learn who I am with the help of a cool space investigator! Lead on!



The rest of the block, for which she is mostly quiet, in summary:

















The end.



BGM - Ritual

We're pretty much out of power, so that's going to have to be the end of it for the day.
Then tomorrow... Earth!
But like, we're going to figure out a better way to interact than this dumb stupid dialogue wheel thing, right? I am so sick of putting words into your mouth.
But I think... well, okay, actually, why don't you tell me what you think, first.



I don't agree, but...
Like, I think that's fair.
It all comes back to hate, doesn't it? Like, Emperor Taejo and Queen Eun-a founded a new dynasty on hatred for the way things used to be.
And everyone on the Mugunghwa died because the Pale Bride was filled with hate, you know?
It's hate all the way down, hate self-perpetuating...
Hate breaks you down, doesn't it? Maybe hate just isn't a good foundation. Maybe even if the ideals of the new dynasty were good, maybe even if the old Mugunghwa was retrograde and unjust...
...maybe hate only ends up making more hate.
I don't think I can hate everyone. I think they can all be wrong, I think they can all be horrible...
But I think hate is the wrong note to start off on, you know?
...anyway, I guess that's just how it is.
I'm really looking forward to being together with you, thought!
I have a lot to learn, still, and I'm going to count on you to be a good companion!
I'm sure we'll be great together, though. I've already learned so much from our little investigation together in just one day!
Like, here's what I do know, though...
I don't believe in second chances. I don't believe in clean breaks!
You can't just ignore what happened in the past. You can't just say "it's better not knowing."
If there's one thing I've learned from the construct who was here before me...
...it's that you can't just have a clean start. That's the sort of thing that gets the entire population of the Mugunghwa killed.
When Old *Mute wrote her last message to be read after her memory was wiped, she said herself "you're me." I'm not a different person. I'm her.
That's what I believe, anyway. Like, it's okay if you don't... but I know that's what she'd want from me.
I'm Old *Mute. I betrayed Heo Seo-yeong, a woman who loved me for who I used to be, and had my memories wiped.
I'm the construct who you met. I stupidly underestimated what a traumatized little girl from the past could do, and decided I couldn't live with myself.
Those aren't things that other people did... they're things I did. I'm going to learn from my mistakes.
I'm going to have a new job, being your sidekick, but like... that doesn't mean I'm a new person!





Thank you so much for all you've done for me...
Let's work hard together on Earth!