Part 65: Day 30 - Story

Day 30: Story

Music: All Hallows' Eve


I guess now everyone should know that there are consequences to forcefully entering a laboratory with restricted access. Also, you were very careless not to put the supply room key back in its proper place.



We should set up a time for when keys must be returned to prevent people like you from causing this again.



I wore this to prevent chemicals from splashing on my body. Don’t worry, I’m just a little tired. No need to show concern. I’ll go prepare for the upcoming experiment.



For Gabriel, it was the change in his clothes. Maybe it was easier on his mind to conclude that Elijah’s death was caused by a violation of the rules. He tried harder to stick to his principles. He tried to maintain his objectivity. But perhaps his excessive rationality is what destroyed him.



No, there is no point in lying anymore. I pretended that I didn’t hear his desperate cry.

Music: Strange Dream


I moved off this line while it was mid-fadein. Whoops.



I heard about what you and I did yesterday. I felt like it was the first time I lost myself. It was not quite pleasant, but it was not as terrible as I expected it to be, either. Rather, I feel relieved. Not to say that all the hatred that surrounds me has completely washed away.



However, if there is one aspect that has changed… It’s that I can be in as much despair as I want to now. Someday, a hope will painfully grow out of the rotten wound.

*static*




It’s always the beginning that’s difficult. And your outfit still isn’t up to the company standard. I suppose I should seriously consider having penalty points apply even to the manager.



In summary: Yesod, as Gabriel, refused to allow himself to despair over Elijah's death, and instead doubled down on making sure all procedures were properly enforced. This led to him going crazy. In the present, Yesod embraces sadness, and the catharsis that expressing it can bring. The manager still can't dress himself, and with The Rationality to Maintain Discretion acquired, the Seed of Light grows still-further to 40% completion.

Brutal as always, Yesod. I'm glad that Violet Noon didn't knock you out of commission.

It'd take more than that to even keep me out of the office for a day.

That's impressive. And here I was so worried that I even tried dressing properly for you today.

Did you, now? Your tie is crooked, your shirt is unbuttoned, and I'm reasonably sure you're still wearing sweatpants.

That was supposed to be off camera.

So you are, then?

...erk.

Music: Romantic


Maybe I was a tree in a past life. Hmmm… Think of a former life as the life my soul lived before being born into the current form you see now. Isn’t this fun to just think about? Ahaha.



I would want to be a person with a beautiful voice, like the wisest person in the world. Then everyone would pay more attention to what I say. No, maybe that’s too much to ask? Especially with all the abilities I already have, haha. Hmm, and what about you? Who or what would you want to become?

"….. …… ……."

What kind of thought is that? Hahaha.



A form made from a formless concept, isn’t it fascinating? You see, this will become a seed of sorts. Since we’ve discovered an incurable disease, it would only be fair to discover a cure for it, don’t you think?

In summary: After some talking about who they were and who they want to be in their previous/next lives, Carmen shows off a medicine made from the human subconscious. Using this, she plans to somehow cure the disease that's killing humanity's soul.


Now it's time for a side note. By completing the upper layer Sephirot's suppressions, we've been given Tiphereth's core suppression cutscene as well. However, it is as long as the entire rest of this update combined. As a result, I will be breaking it up over the next several days-since we can't even do the Core Suppression until day 37 at minimum, this won't actually affect anything important.

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

Music: Alone


Sister, we probably aren’t going to go back to our old house anymore. Try to think of this place as your new home.

How can you even call this place home? It’s too different from our real home, and there’s no mom…



No…. This isn’t the same at all…. Let me go home, please….

The scene fades to black here.

In summary: Lisa and Enoch, the Tiphereths past selves, talk about having left their home. Lisa wants to go back, and Enoch says that they should try and think of this place as their home. Since their new mom would be Carmen… that new home is probably the predecessor to Lobotomy Corporation.

…

Hey, Tiphereth. Are you doing alright?

Of course I am! I'm always doing just fine.

Oh… I just thought you seemed a little nostalgic for a minute.

Don't you worry about me, Tiphereth. I have work to do! You just focus on your own duties.

Okay. Sure!


Music: never frozen bottom flows


Today wasn’t the best day. Incidents happened one after another, and I’m a bit tuckered out from it. It’s a good thing that everyone has such clear-cut assigned roles. It makes it easy for them to be faithful to their task with no unnecessary contemplation or distraction.



Anytime someone tries to rid themselves of their assigned role… Well, she becomes completely merciless. I myself have learned well that I have a predetermined role to play.



Given that, I’ve made up my mind to simply wait. Wait for what, you may ask? All things must come to an end. So I’ll be waiting for her plan to finally come to a close.

Music: Frozen Moon


This record shows that the Containment Unit’s lock failure was what allowed the Abnormality to escape…

….

Yet to my knowledge, that door was fine for the entire day, nor was there any sign of malfunction.

….

And the one with authority over the locking mechanisms of the Containment Unit doors is you, Lady Angela.

…

Angela, please tell me. Why did you do it? You have to know how many employees under my department died that day.



What do you mean by that?

Thanks to your “excellent” effort, your department’s escape ratio has been very low these days. You’re a capable Sephirah, I will give you that. I’ve never said this to anyone, and I don’t need to either, but… Abnormalities create more energy through killing people.

How could that be…

You have written several reports and papers about importing machinery to replace the human workforce that must handle dangerous tasks, no? If soulless, cheap machines were to replace those employees, then yes, the casualty rate would drop sharply. However, that would also drastically reduce our rate of energy production.



We refine energy via the most efficient method available and make a profit. That is the only thing we need to take into account.

That’s just… How could you be so cruel…

Chesed, any employee who works here is extremely lucky to be hired into one of the Wings. Many people fight for a job here everyday. There will always be someone to take the place of the dead.



….

I understand that you’re a smart one, Chesed. However, why won’t you use that intelligence for something more meaningful?

…

It seems you’ve taken quite a shock to this. But I warned you before, nothing will change from how it is now. Did you think I was joking around denying you?

…

How about you try drinking a warm cup of coffee instead of wasting your time like this. You should savour your relatively high position, better than what the employees go through. Do not forget that we have one singular objective. Oh, and Chesed?



So, did you enjoy your little detective game?

Music: Forgotten Entrance of Memories


I wonder how I look from your point of view. I bet it’s something distasteful and incapable. Something I would have hated in the past.

In summary: Chesed mentions that Angela is absolutely merciless on anyone who steps out of their assigned role in the corporation, and he reminisces about a time she released Abnormalities to murder his employees because . Chesed seems to hate what he's become, but all he can do is wait for her play to end.



Predictably, we get another time limit mission. Seven minutes is the time limit on this one, if done today.

...Mm.

You seem down, Manager. It can't be that the time limit's too short~

Oh, no. Just thinking. It's been a busy week, and I haven't had the time to consider any of it yet. Now that it's setting in… Mm.. It's nothing.

Well, just get that work to me when you can~

Right. I'm just going to go breathe for a minute.



Manager, what is the meaning of this?!

Medea, please don't just start up a call like that..!

...um… oh, sorry. Thinking. Hi. What's up?

We have had four Abnormalities show up in as many days, and I've gotten information on one one of them! I checked with the Information Team this morning as well, and it's not an oversight in the delivery-the work hasn't been done!

Yeah, we've been... busy.

With all due respect, how do you expect us on the Training Team to do our jobs if you don't give us at least the bare minimum of information about the Abnormalities we're supposed to manage? Abnormalities are creatures with wants and needs, and understanding them is the key to working them and getting along in this place.

Like I said, we've been busy.

In that case, Manager, are we expecting any more of those unusual events today?

We are not. But Chesed's got a research that means-

Then I look forward to receiving the relevant information by the end of the day. All of it.

You're not letting me off the hook on this one, huh?

Correct, sir. Think of it as one of the assignments the Sephirot give you.

You know, they give me cool upgrades I can use in exchange.

Then think of it as doing the basic fundamentals of your job as Manager.

Okay, one: ouch. And two: I'll do it, but only because I was already going to do it anyways.

As long as we get results, that's fine. Have a pleasant day, sir!

Um… see you at work today, Manager!

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Absolutely no one tries to kill us, for a change.

Bonus

Gabriel sprite


Yesod robot sprite









Wait, so… one of those things is in this big crate? Then why are we throwing it in storage?

Don't they teach you anything in the Upper layer? It came today and the room isn't ready for it yet, so we're storing it until we can place it!

And that must be why we're back here, right ma'am?

Very good! You pass.

And, hypothetically, just to say, what would happen were someone to open such a crate? Would it be absolute chaos, death and misery, or more… amusing japery?

It'd be a minor annoyance, at best. We'd have to reseal the crate, of course, but the storage area is always kept under the maximum possible deterrence at all times.

So we'd just see a sleeping thing in there…

You pass too. As expected of my team!

Muahahahahaha… I see!

Do you always laugh all ominously like that?

Of course! It's the only way to laugh.

Sir! Ma'am! Please help me push, this is incredibly heavy!

Right! Be right there!