Part 42: *Mute, alternate ending

New *Mute!



Ouch. Harsh.
But I guess that's fair. Sorry.

Skipping ahead bit again...



...okay, okay... I know that!
But come on. Give me a chance, okay? I'm scared, I'm in a strange place, I have no memories..
Even if I can't live up to who she was... I'm still her!
Give me a chance, okay?
We've got one day until Earth.
I've got a lot of stuff to figure out. And I figure... if the old me trusted you, then I can too.



...well, okay, that's a weird thing to say...
...but I don't really have a lot of choice in the matter, do I?



Then things proceed like normal for a while.



And at the next break, and important distinction.



Okay...
...I mean, like, I hope you reconsider by tomorrow! But I understand... and that's fair enough.
I just think it would be so much easier for me to figure things out with the support of a friend, you know?
Like... I think I could make a good sidekick.
I can't even imagine what it would be like to have the confidence of Old *Mute... but until the end, even the version of me you knew had a lot of confidence.
...well, actually, even in the end, she was confident in a way, wasn't she?
She seemed sure of her decision.



I understand...
...that must be really hard on you.
I wish I knew what to say, like, to help.
Old *Mute would've known...
...but like, my point is, those two versions of me were really confident!



Conversation continues as normal, then more log-reading.



*Mute talking about dialogue wheels.



Oh... well, I guess I can see that, if all your jobs are reading about things like the Mugunghwa.
I'm so sorry about the old version of me... what she did really hit you hard, didn't it?
I don't know what it's like to get invested in someone, then have them suddenly disappear, but it's gotta suck.
Maybe lonely work suits you, after all...
...I don't know.



Conversation continues as normal, then we wrap up the logs.



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!
I'm kinda terrified... it's a big open world, with no real purpose of my own...
But I think...
...well, okay, actually, why don't you tell me what you think, first.



Seriously why is this option even here after two full games of this shit.

Yeah...
That's what the old version of me would have said, right? Even after the lies, she believed in that. I can't ignore that. Like, that's really powerful.
And like, given all that we've read about...
...what kind of society would stand by and let Kim So-yi be put in a position to be hurt like that? What kind of people would leave women like Heo Ae-jeong and Mae Jin-a to fend for themselves?
...what kind of childhood did a girl like So-hi have, raised by maids?
Like, okay, there were problems in the new dynasty. A lot of men and women were terrible to each other. There was still so much hate, you know?
But... I don't know.
Like, I'd always rather have someone to depend on. I kinda need that, you know?
I don't know if it's the best solution. Like, I don't know if it's even a good one. I'm just a one day old AI, you know!
But Emperor Taejo and Queen Eun-a believed in harmony and stability, and those things are important!
So I think I understand why the construct who was here before me would still support them, after all that.
...okay.
So I guess I'll ask you one last time, then, and no matter what you say, I'll go along with it.
I'm scared.
I don't know what to expect on Earth. I mean, I'll survive, I'm sure. I'll figure it out if I have to.
But I'm scared, and like, I don't want to be alone.



Okay, okay, I understand.
Like, I'm not selfish. If you've been hit hard by the death of the construct who was here before me... I don't want to make that worse!
Just find a good computer system to drop me off on Earth, and like, I'm sure I can figure things out from there.
I'm scared, but I think I'll be okay.
You've already done a lot for me, so like, thanks.
Thanks for bringing me back to life.
Thanks for humoring me even for the day. Thanks for helping me to find out what kinds of people I can be.
Thank you. Take care of yourself too, okay?
It's not your fault that she died. There's nothing you could have done. She made her decision because it was what she felt was right. So don't beat yourself up over it too much, okay?
Anyway...
Like, I don't know what my future will have in store for me...
...but I'm going to try to be the kind of person that both old versions of me would have been proud of.



Thank you so much for all you've done for me...
I'll never forget you!







The End


So, that's the last canonical ending of the game, but we still have one route left! On Monday, I shall begin the saga of our glorious AI Harem!

This leaves two last things to vote on for the LP:
1: Should the final Investigator be male or female?
2: What should *Hyun-ae wear? The choices, for review, are Schoolgirl, Maid, Pale Bride Hanbok, Detective, and Scientist.