Part 60: Day 28 - Story

Day 28: Story

Music: 13 sins


Nobody is perfect. If we realized that in forgiving others, your enemy didn’t deserve forgiveness but rather that you needed peace, would things be better?



Michelle, let me cut to the chase; we are performing experiments that go directly against the Head’s ideals. If your beloved parents, or your precious friends try to coax you, are you confident that you’d be able to refuse them?



She wasn’t able to say anything to my browbeating. Carmen broke the silence instead.



Just like everyone else, Michelle liked Carmen. That was not trickery or a show. She wasn’t the manipulative sort of person who’d keep up such a facade, either. I should’ve made her give the answer she avoided speaking no matter what.



I don’t know. Did she accomplish her purpose by trampling on us, and Carmen? I’ll never know.



The answer was “no”. I was no different from her. To be honest, I never wanted you to die in misery, like that nasty tabloid article gossiped.

Music: Strange Dream


When I awoke to find myself here, I thought this could be my second chance. I thought I could redeem myself and liberate myself from my mistakes. What I did can never be undone. A sunken pebble can never float to the surface again. I wanted to be a kind person. I wanted to show everyone that I might be okay here, somehow.



I was a hypocrite, all those “nice” acts were for myself. I’ll keep trying to be a better person, even now.



*static*









In summary: It turns out Michelle was a kid when she joined the company! There's mention of a woman named Carmen who Michelle seemed to adore, and A mentions that she's not the sort who can deceive people so the entire situation was probably more complicated than we knew about. Regardless, Hod acknowledges that she was being a hypocrite about the whole helping people thing-but decides not to stop trying to help people because as long as she might be able to save someone, it's worth it. The perception filter over Hod stops, letting us see her true form from now on. And so, with the Hope to be a Better Person acquired, the Seed grows to 20%.

But wait. Who's Carmen?

Music: Romantic


“Hey, are you listening to me?”



“….......?”

“No, becoming a Wing is not my goal.”

“….......”

“Well, everyone says that. But let me put it this way: What use are Wings if you can’t fly?”



“….......”

“What I mean is, if we grow the stalk straight up like a tree, we could reach the sky for sure. Even if it would be a slow climb.”





When we select the option, the screen fades to black and waits for a moment.

In summary: Based on the silhouette, that was probably Carmen. Either way, X remembers a conversation between A and her, but he can't remember what A said, exactly. She talks about finding a way to the sky without Wings.



-ger… Um… Manager? Are you there?

Oh, sorry. Just… had a moment. Memory Sync stuff. You know how it is.

I do not, sir. Anyways, one more thing? Um… and if we can, keep it private?

Yeah, sure. What's up?

I had been considering continuing the counseling program without Angela's knowledge… But it's okay, I'll put a stop to it.

Right. Then the enkephalin?

I'd requisitioned a very large amount, but Netzach offered to help dispose of it so I let him take care of it.

…

...Um… I just realized why that was a bad idea.

I'm… going to go check on him.

Yes. P-please do.

_{(Netzach previous story: 1, 2, 3, 4)}

Music: Beyond the Waves


Aren’t you sick and tired of this? You’ll do something great tomorrow yet again, though it won’t be anything all that “great”, and Miss Angela and the other Sephirot will shower you with compliments. We’ll have another accident in my department, a couple will fall down and die, some will go nuts, and a pile of ‘em will get injuries they’ll never recover from.



Nobody will say to my face that it’s my fault, but it’ll be clear as day that I’m responsible for all of it, surely. My day always repeats like that. Starts with death. Ends with death.



It helps them become desensitized to everything. Just think about it. If your good ol’ lunchmate is found dead, torn into thousands of pieces, who in the world would be able to clean up his dead body without a single drop of emotion?



Everyone’s just trying to escape from this reality in their own ways. They might look and pretend to be okay, but nobody really is.



I know, it’s like a metaphor. Death for us is a hypothetical concept. I heard injecting substances like Enkephalin into machines will slowly but surely rust them. Then, maybe I could chug a whole bottle into my body. Give myself irreversible damage.



Yet my mind is clearer than ever. Hell, I feel completely lucid right now. If I were to open my eyes again, maybe it’ll be somewhere without you, those other Sephirot, or that Angela.





I tried to persuade people. I told them we have to proceed with the experiment in order to save Carmen and the others. Everyone fell silent when I asked for volunteers. Then, one man quietly raised his hand. It was Giovanni, who had kept to himself for most of his time here. Giovanni was one of the patients from Carmen’s company. I heard they had known each other since childhood.



My statement that this experiment could bring back Carmen must have been the strongest motivation that drove him to volunteer. An experiment to find the proper dosage of a drug is not something that can be done in just a trial or two. I never talked with him much. We had nothing in common, other than our acquaintance with Carmen.

Cogito emaciates the boundary of a human.



Music: Boss Warning


In Summary: Netzach is tired of dealing with this place, and tries to overdose himself on Enkephalin rather than face another day, causing him to suffer a meltdown. We remember Netzach's past self, Giovanni, one of the first people to volunteer for Cogito dosage experiments. Also, Carmen is apparently dead.

Angela!

I shall prepare for what is to come immediately. In the meanwhile, Chesed is on the line.

Right now? Well, alright.

Hi~

We've got to stop meeting like this.

Aww. I'm getting back to you on that task I asked you to do.

Town - VIP Lounge


Try not to overdo it though, ok?



What you’ve already gotten through will have lengthened the lives of our employees by at least some degree. So… you should hopefully be satisfied now.



You came to Lobotomy Corporation, and you probably want to put forth your best effort to mould this place into something better. But this place is just like a cup of coffee gone cold ages ago.



It’d be better off for all of us in the end if I were to at least feign our noble and benevolent posture, now wouldn’t it? The same goes for you, manager.



This is another one where the selection doesn't matter.



I will say that I’m curious how long that fire in your heart will last. I’ll get going now, I’m actually quite busy, even though I seem relaxed.

Music: Dungeon - Psych Ward




Just look who’s talking.

In summary: Chesed makes it abundantly clear that he's easygoing because he doesn't feel like this place is worth caring about. Apparently this wasn't always the case, though.



Same requirement as last time, shorter time limit. The target number for tomorrow is 9 minutes.

You know, Chesed, it'd be really nice if you could just give me a freebie on this research stuff. I'm trying to help your colleagues.

You know I can't do that, boss. You do something for me, I get you some cool toys. That's the little give-and-take Lady Angela's asked for.

Really..?

The company requires that you show your prowess in order to gain access to additional resources. It hasn't been any trouble thus far, for a manager of your caliber.

Doesn't mean I like trying to handle these Suppression things on a timer.

Just do your best. The trial will always be there another day should you need more time.

Nah, let's just do it now. I might tear my hair out, but what's it done for me lately anyways?

Presumably it keeps your head warm, X.

...Yes, thank you Angela. I would have had no idea.

It is no trouble.



Hod, I'm here to pass the notes from yesterday's-oh, what're you up to?

I wanted to make things up to everyone for the trouble yesterday, so I'm busy video editing right now. Do you think I could get your help?

Sure! I don't have a clue how to use any of that fancy software, but I'll do what I can!

I was hoping you could share some of your best practices-those things you make your agents do to make sure they can produce energy without causing complications.

Really?!

Really. While you're a bit overbearing sometimes, I think you have great ideas sometimes too.

...I won't let you down! Let's brainstorm all night if we have to!

That shouldn't be-



...Alright. Let's make something really great, okay?

O-kay!

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Netzach tries to kill Netzach because he's an AI and this is a video game.

...wait.

Bonus

Michelle sprite


Hod robot sprite








...so that's the story.

Wow. Okay, so. How's Hod?

She's doing fine. We got lucky.

Thank goodness… But, An Arbiter? One of the Head's enforcers came here..? _{That's a bit overkill…}

I thought you might have an idea-you've been here longer than anyone.

No, clue. It was even before my time.

Oh! There you two are! Ahh, splendid, splendid! Keep smiling! We've got a situation to deal with!

Mr.Black? Oh no, don't tell me-

That's right! It's my turn! I can't wait to make a measure of the man behind the can! HAHAHAHA!

...you think they'll be okay together?

Probably not. Ugh… I'm going to get back to work and try and forget about all of… this.

Yeah, it's not like you to get this angry about anything.

...Hod's a good person, Talow. She didn't deserve to be dressed down like that.

I did tell you he was a jackass.

Yeah, well… I guess I believe it now. I just want this week to end already.

Well, nothing we can do but push through it. Everything has to end eventually, right?

Mm. See you around.

Don't die.