Detail to Esme the fruits of our search, and show her the documents we nabbed.
+1
+1
+1. Also, don't make her sad
We ought to tell her we apparently have fleeting access to Alexander's memories, and be like so hey, why? Also sorry, we saw enough to understand what's going on there, and also we're especially sorry since we don't mean to have things happen like what happened in the doorway.
This is only going to worse, judging by the progression of these events, and it's only going to be worse if we just ignore it.
Now you mention it, we absolutely should address this somehow. +1
+1 she should probably know this
+1
You give her the documents you've taken and then go over them together with her, filling in any details you found that aren't listed in the papers. After about two hours of this she sets the papers next to her on the cot and holds her head in her hands, thinking.
"The attraction of large Phantoms, the reinforcement of undead and living bodies, and the removal of a soul. Three projects that are useful on their own, and even more so when combined. The size of a phantom determines the intelligence and capacities of an undead, so if you could also physically reinforce the body -like we did with your friend there -you could make something quite terrifyingly capable. And if you could force a soul into it instead of a phantom...then you have pseudo immortal super soldiers."
She closes her eyes and shakes her head.
"There's something more going on here though...Those hand written notes are Alexander's, I'm certain of it. They're attempting to duplicate his work, the work he was doing shortly before they turned on him. Maybe they turned on him because of this work. But if so, why? Super soldiers are great and all but...it doesn't fit. The State is about survival of the fittest, a meritocracy based on power. Undead super soldiers doesn't fit with their ideals; they'd be cannon fodder and nothing more, with the glory going to their 'worthy champions'. They don't want power spread around in proxies, they want it in their own hands. Maybe his work was heretical because of that? No...He would have had to have discovered something that proved them wrong, that undermined their entire philosophy of divine right to power."
She picks up the papers and flips to a page in them.
"And then there's that." She points at the text, "The one successful subject for that soul removal thing. I'm going to bet that was Alexander's success and they're just trying to duplicate it but what was it? Why was he doing it? What happened to it?"
She looks at you for a long moment, as through trying to decipher some truth that lay within the shape of you face.
"It might be you. But that was years ago. If it was you, where have you been this whole time? And whose soul are you?"
You take this moment to tell her that you have memories that you believe are Alexander's. Memories, it seems, mostly of their time together. They're nothing but fragments that come up now and again but they're there. Like the memories of the men you ate. As you tell her this she betrays no emotion on her face, but you see her hands tightly grip her knees and her breath comes a little slower and less steady. After you finish, she waits a moment before speaking.
"You look like him. You have bits of his memories. You were given instructions to come see me. If I were more suspicious I think I'd assume you were some sort of spy construct here to worm your way into our organization. It would be effective, considering my...our time together." She sighs. "But you're beyond what they could do. I have to assume you're Alexander's work, and that he sent you here for a reason. I don't know why you look like him, or why you remember what only he should know. Maybe you are him. Maybe you're part of some grand scheme of his." She almost laughs, a bittersweet ghost of a chuckle, "Maybe you're his revenge, a contingency he made for if he should...Well, who knows."
She rests her head against the wall, staring at the ceiling.
"I've been chasing him for years. I joined the army to find him. Came here to find him. But he was always gone, always somewhere ahead. A shadow against the sunset; I run but I can't catch up."
Her head turns slightly, just enough that you can't see her face.
"You're the only clue I have now. So I won't be letting you go until I find out exactly whats going on here."
She sniffs once and then gets up, yawning in an almost exaggerated way.
"Its late. I'm going to bed. You stay down here. If you want, you can just sleep for a few days. We should know soon enough if they followed you. I'm going to copy these papers and burn the originals, so they can't follow these either." She takes the folders from the bed and walks to the door. She doesn't look at you, but she does stop in the doorway.
"I'll check on you tomorrow morning. Goodnight." She lingers a moment more and then walks away.
Author
Topic: The Left-Hand Path (Read 119168 times)