Restless Souls/Fragments

Fragments and notes

Spoiler warning: a few sections go already beyond RS.

Kojiro takes out Sayomi

Sayomi stands face-back to Kojiro.

Kojiro: "Traton wants to take you out. You do you say to this?"

Sayomi: "How's he going to do this?"

Kojiro knocks her down and turn to the other Shinobi: "Take her and the boy to GOP. And don't forget greeting them in Traton's name."

Save the enemy of your enemy ... then wait for the right moment ...

Inspiring strawberries

Daya visited an outside area – according to a sign it was a field experiment [in Green Village]. At field’s side, there was an improvised desk, onto it strawberries in black baskets.

“Fascinating... Don’t you think?”

“Yes, Mr. Spock.”

“He rose an eyebrow.”

“Hahah, that's the expression!”

“Why do all people think scientists are trekkies?”

Daya shoulders were shrugging. “Stereotypes die hard?”

“Probably... -- All I wanted to say was that these strawberries are fascinating because of their second method of reproducing. In related jargon called layering but simplified: cloning. It may remind you to the umbilical cord between mammal mothers and their newborn - with the obvious difference that the plant's cloning is asexual reproduction. -- They are naturally able to do this. Nature provides us with wonderful ideas. -- We started working on cloning techniques 100 years ago but some day they became restricted and finally prohibited.”

“Why?”

“Because of ethics. You clone organisms for research and medical use which means to destroy them sooner or later. This was especially problematic with human embryonic stem cell. When do these live, when do they feel? With time an alternative appeared and ended the discussion in disadvantage of cloning. -- By chance, do you know the name Bertram Navarre?”

“I know... uhm … I'm not sure.”

“He discovered a method to change the type of cells.”

“Sounds like a important breakthrough. What happened?”

“Well, also this kind of research was seen with a critical eye by WCG. By the time they asked him to continue work in their 'special' facilities, he refused and became 'renegade'.”

“A scientist not under WCG's control is a dangerous scientist, huh?”

“Yea...”

“As far as a know there was a Syndicate attack before this village became bombed. Does it mean WCG wanted to sacrifices you to prevent the disclosing of research data...”

“I can't believe it myself but that's probably the reason.”

“Since Bertram was already at the Syndicate, what were they after?”

“[Who told you he went to the Syndicate?] You're asking a lot questions...”

“I lost my memories, remember?”

“The point is I don't know you.”

“Does it matter? We are in the same boat.”

“... How are you feeling?”

“I'm getting eaten. How good can I fell...”

“You must be one of the new DC test candidates.”

“DC?”

“The transformation takes time, your symbiont should be weaker than it is. But for a matter of fact, the bioc haven't much devoured of your or the DC's biomass yet. Why?”

“... Let's pick up some strawberries and go back to the others, okay?”

“Can't do that yet. Various Lepidoptera eats them.”

“Sorry?”

“... butterflies and moths alike. We need to cover the plants with these tarps for the night.”

“I haven't seen a single insect here since yesterday. I guess the chance is higher that an insane ninja sneaks by and steals them.”

“...”

“Bad joke tm... Come on.”

Saved for another death?

“Can you help me?”

“...”

“Come on.”

“In the past I was a way to selfless. -- It didn't really pay off.” Turn to side, turn face to face again.

'Strange but still...'

“Just give me a reason why I should help you.”

“I've my own problems to care about, you know.”

“No, I don't know. But if I hadn't save you there wouldn't be anymore problems for you.”

“So, you are owning my life now or what?”

“...”

“Am I now supposed to be grateful to someone who saved me for his own sake.”

“I could have used your bike without asking.”

“Are you sure? It starts only with my finger print. Biometrics...”

“Maybe I should cut it off then?”

“Okay, I guess we could continue this all day.”

“Gah...”

“You didn't know about the starter, so you really saved me for no bigger reason.”

“Is this also something bad?” 'Excuse me I did...'

“No, it's okay!”

“Heh. For now I'm glad you aren't one of those bigheaded girls.”

The two started to drive.

“Those really piss me off.”

“You don't know me...”

“Yes, actually not.” 'But I got an idea of you.'

“>Actually not< ...”
“Whatever... Shouldn't I be the one driving, you're hurt.”

“No way. It's my machine...”

“Boys and their bikes...”

“Hey! The point is, among us, I know this machine best, so I should be driving.”

“A hurt, unreasonable boy...”

“I prefer to call it stubbornness.”

“And because of this we will die both stuck in a tree.”

“Haha, don't make me laugh or we will really.”

“...”

“...”

“You didn't use that SMG for the first time, right?”

“How could you tell?”

“I'm a proud owner of two eyes ...”

“Yes, you are ...”

“...”

“So you are an opposing soldier, an agent?”

“Will you shot me when all we reached the coordinates?”

“If you don't run off at the mouth. Maybe.”

“Huh. That's twisted. You saved me to kill me later.” 'You won't do it.'

Pointing the SMG at his head.
“Well, do you have death wishes? If not stop it.”

“...”

After some more turns avoiding trees. “Back then, I had.”

“...”
“And now?”

“I think I will stay some longer and see how this is going to end.”

“You mean the poisoning atmosphere?” 'Right, he hasn't a Chrysalis.'

“You are not concerned about it?”

“...”
“I won't give up just because of a bit dirty air.”

'Was this really a joke?'

In an ambiguous tone: “Yeah, right.”

“You know what? I don't like people who hang their heads.”

“What?” He turned around.

“Man, keep your eyes on the track!” The bike was doing a slight turn to avoid a tree.

“Sorry. -- I guess it was some kind of reflex.”

“...”
“You were stunned because you thought I could mean you. So you had some more self-confident ... back then .. hm?”
“Maybe you are going back to normal.”

“Back to normal... At this time?”

“It might be the perfect time to start over. The world is going to change completely. Claim your place.”

“Before someone else does...”

“Is this really it?”

“What do you mean?”

“...”

“It's thought that every human has the right to live on once he comes into this world.”

“Saying >claiming your place now< looks like putting egoism on a level equal to >doing it whatever the consequence<. If everybody works together much more might be able to survive.”

“John F. Kennedy said once that they choose to fly to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was difficult.”

“That's too idealistic for the situation.”

“Maybe because you want to believe it?”

“I know it.”
“...”
“It's not the majority that matters or decides.”
“You wouldn't stand the people who want this.”

“Sick.”

“Actually I don't care much about this world, but it's still sick.”

“...”
“What where you doing in the forest.”

“...”

“Would you believe me if I say >geo caching<?”

“What that”

“An out-door adventure game. You search for caches, they can be hidden everywhere.”

“In the wilderness...”

“Before the >blow out< event in 2023, the majority of geo caches were hidden in the wilderness.”

“This doesn't explain why you were doing it ... at this time ... outside.”

“...”

"Guess, maybe you can find out."

“...”

“Not telling lies but hiding the truth is also a lie. Isn't it?”

“That's what politicians and wannabes does all the time.”

“Few days ago they still said: >don't panic<.”

“>Don't panic<, my ass.”

“...”

“Let's talk the truth. Here and now.”

“Deal?”

“Deal.”
“...”

“...”

“...”
“I'm a syndicate soldier as you suspected.”
“And I'm not really concerned about toxins or whatever because I received a genetic >upgrade< known as Chrysalis.”

“...”

“Is that's why your face look so weird?”

“...” “No, that's something else.”
“Because of this, I was told I would die soon.”

“I couldn't believe you were telling me some truth. But since you die, it won't matter anyway?”

“No!”

“...”

“I don't believe everything I'm told, that's why I'm here, that's why I'm still alive, and that's why I will survive. Even this state of my current self.“

“Wow. That sounds optimistic. Do you think they will let use an >assembler<?”

“A what?”

“Maybe you know it as >bioprinter<. It can restore biological tissue.”

“I don't think that...”

“...”

“Don't worry. That's my problem.”

“I'm sorry.”

“What?”

“My behavior from before.”

“Forget it.”
“Spare your good sides for later. This is an all out.”
“Talking of this, you can't be for Kennedy and at the same time not care about the world.”
“Make a decision.”

“Claimed...”

[to be continued]

An unexpected visitor

Muro swam on the river Phlegethon. He was stuck in molten stone up to the hip. Flames climbed up his body, eating his skin away. His blood was starting to boil. Panic and insane pain made him move every muscle to escape but the blazing stream hold him. He drifted into a bay where a man stood, in his hands a long iron paddle. He hand the end to him, Muro grabbed it and drew himself to land – still screaming, then rolling in the dust, bursting blisters releasing streams of blood. Red glowing rock spiked his flesh. He ripped it out crying, his face twisted by desperation and pain. The ferryman stood silently and waiting.

Muro was still on the ground, groaning. “You! I’m hurt. Help me!” “I’m not the one will or can recoup your losses,” responded the ferryman. “And now you let me die?” “... Nor I am the one who will judge over you. – But I wonder. I haven’t seen many coming down the Phlegethon. But you seem different ... or do you not? (Only monsters. But you seem human.) Did I do a mistake fishing you out? Tell me.”

“I don’t know ... who I am. How could I answer you?” “Ha, why do they always want to trade one pain for another pain.” “What?!“ “Go. Go and drink from Cocytus.” “Where?” The ferryman kept silent. Muro looked around, discovering another river. “Is it this?” asked Muro pointing to a boat. “No, but you can find it behind. This will take a while…” The Ferryman turned back heading for the boat. Muro followed in struggle placing feet by feet and dropped into the boat as the ferryman already pushed it into the black water. “Hey, I’ve already passengers, get out.” “I can’t. Please...” “You can! You already made it to this point.” Muro’s evil eyes met the ones of the passenger’s next to him. “Why don’t you wait here then?!” Muro grabbed him at the collar. Suddenly he flight trough the air and landed in the dust again. The ferryman had swung his paddle and smashed him out. “Don’t dare to break my rules!” Muro writhed, unable to respond anything. The ferryman threw a few words over his shoulder. “Meet me again when you realized yourself!” Then he swam away.

Some shadows reached the Cocytus and dived their heads into the waves, then started to wail. Muro looked at this strange scene. “Will this be the only effect? Does the old man try to trick me? Why should I drink when I will end like these?”

Muro drunk from Cocytus’ water. Pain filled his mind. “I died already, haven’t I?”

He roamed back in hope to meet the ferryman but he wasn’t there. He went on, reaching another river. The boat was coming and the ferryman stopped in front of him. He asked: “So, what do you do here?” “Obviously all here are dead...” “I don’t know. You still can feel physical pain. Did you forget the river of molten stone already?” “No. But my wounds aren’t closing either.” “Oh, is this your only concern?” “I’m special, you don’t know who-“ The ferryman cut him off. “I don’t know what’s up over there in the world of the living, but I hope they don’t send more of your sort to us. Maybe they threw you in the Phlegethon for very good reasons. Ha, you seem to be of vary bad character. Do you were such of those brats in the early days?” “I’m not … a brat.” Muro pause. “What’s up big mouth? “I can’t remember … the early days.” “The Cocytos should had done its purpose. It never fails. What a dumb claim. Even the ones who deny themselves … realize.” “So I fucking lost my brain somewhere or what?!” “Hey, nice thought…” “Cut the crap!” The ferryman was laughing “How do they say: Seek and you shall find. Hahahahaha.”

Shadows roamed slowly along the rivers, going for the Acheron. Suddenly one of them grabbed Muro by the arm. “You… I know you. Muro … Hasegawa!” His voice twisted in wailing and pain. “What have you done? What have you done TO ME?! TO US! Muro!” Muro pushed him back. “Barabas. Stop it. You couldn’t take her, you weakling. Don’t bother me. If you would have done better you wouldn’t be dead.” He went on. Barabas cried behind him. “You demon!” He fell into another shadow. “You cannot hide.” It was grabbing him at the leg. Suddenly more shadow crawled into his direction. “We are here... Yes, we are here. Dead. Because you you! All the people you belied, betrayed, tortured, left for dead. Killed.” Muro break away, running further.

The river seemed endless. He was running to … nowhere. He decided to sit down and taking a break. Kerr stepped to his left. “See how far you came … Was it worth?” Muro jumped up. “Old man, where do you come from?” “Sometimes I wonder where YOU come from.” Muro realized that a boy stood there with Kerr. “And he?” “It’s you!” “This weak figure? He doesn’t make a healthy impression nor anything else I would like to be. See his fears in his eyes.” Kerr looked at the boy. “Indeed … he is afraid of you. What he had become.” “Bah, I must come away from these.” Kerr watched him going back, but the boy looked at Kerr, who finally said: “His mind was formed in life. Of course death can’t cure it.” Then he and the boy broke apart as black smock and disappeared.

“You again?” “Yeah, I think I can stay without what’s missing... But I found obolus. I heard you carry people to the core when paid with an this.” The ferryman pointed to the right. A soul was hunting the boat. Muro waved with a hand. “You weakling again, disappear!” The ferryman turned towards Muro. “Just say you stole it from him?” “Of cause. I don’t want to wait hundred years.” “Get out of my boat!” “No way!” “Get lost, I should had let you in the Phlegethon!” Charon swung his iron paddle again and threw Muro into the Acheron. Muro cursed behind him. Charon stabbed his paddle into the river. A huge wave caught Muro and put him back to Lethe. He went under, swallowing up water. He tried to stand up but shadows hold him down. “Forget us, forget your sins, forget yourself. ” In the corner of his eye he saw a little boy standing at the river side. The boy also looked at him. Muro recognized it as his face in a split-second. The man’s eyes went black.

Suddenly he was set in the middle of a hall, gasping for air and covered with something that looked like mud. It dried and pearled off of him. He calmed down. His fears and memories faded away, nothing was left in his mind.

(Not sure whether I use this.)

Mukade vs. an Imago

Mukade: "Imagos. You are such a young kind. You don't even know yourself. How do you think you can win - just by a physical advantage? There's a reason why human became the dominant lifeform on earth. I'll show you the power of mind."

This fits even more because he's a Shinobi, knowing psychological warfare.

The genius of human is a double-edged sword. Good and evil can be presented in one person at same time.

Griffin about the past

Griffin: "We had no reason to trust the story. In fact, we thought it was a bad joke at the first moment. But after the investigation, we were worrying that there could be some truth. Hasegawa had disappeared without any trace and also his son was kidnapped from elementary school. Our scientists said that some remains from the lab had been indeed devices for genetic engineering. So, implanting the Daodan-Chrysalis into Mai wasn’t just an insurance against possible Daodan soldiers from their side, it was also the final prove for Kerr’s story."

The sabotage of Kali

Notes:

BGI and other forces tried to sabotage Syndicate's ability to use TITAN. Actually Traton didn’t need it any longer after the success of Operation Proteus, whereas he took also AVATARA under his control.

Green Village has its own link to Silver Village which provided a big enough Quantum server farm for a cyber attack on AVATARA.

That made Traton use TITAN to reroute Kali. But TITAN wasn’t forgotten, indeed it was secretly modified to serve Konoko’s fraction. Kali and Traton became tricked.

GATC and Syndicate have used TITAN in 2032 for similar reason: to sabotage WCG’s NCW.

Silver Village's AI took full control over its complex area. After cyber attack, military arrived and destroyed the AI. A massive data stream left the complex. There are rumors which interpreted this event as the AI fleeing into the "cloud". The AI wasn't designed to work in distributed parts. It seems lost in the chaos of internet. Much later that AI appeared again. Ter described Silver Dawn's unleashing, covering whole earth, as a reset to chaos, forming a silver egg which contains: Gaia, Nyx, and all the other Greek original gods.

---

"Why you name them after Greek legends?"

"We know almost nothing about them but these few similarities. So why not?"

"Because one day you could fall for their name, awaiting properties, behaviours same to their legends."

"Do you really think I'm that simple? The whole reason about Mind Seal is to prevent making old mistakes again, I believe history can be rewritten whatever name a person has. 'What does a name mean anyway' is a rhetoric question. People are defined by their doings and by nothing else."

Daya

Infected. "See! I'm a monster. It's war. And only for the time of war I will have a place in this world. Child of war..."

The occurring paradox of her mind. Kami-Daya: "You can’t go kill someone and then right next apologize to his friends. It’s pure provocation. They won’t have any compassion for your tragic mistake. You nihil my name’s very idea. This forces me to hate you."

Phönix

Wherever crime appears, resistance rises. Wherever justice is burnt, we will rise from the ashes.

Ter Hasegawa

Ter Hasegawa stood in a museum and looked at holograms of war history. A voice sounded through the room.

Hiroshima. 6 august 1945. Little Boy started to fall. 43 seconds, then it exploded. The nuclear chainreaction bursted into a white flash grilling every piece of unprotected skin from even 6 kilometer away. The fireball waved flames of 4000°C against obstacles and humans, burning their shadows into the ground. Everybody under the fireball of 300 meters was either vaporized or carbonized. The shockwave moved with speed of sound, ripping walls into shrapnel-like pieces. It even rolled over the near mountains. More than 90000 people died in matter of seconds. Some people were buried alive in burning ruins. Those who survived and got outside then roamed through the streets covered by dead bodies. Searching for water, they floated together at rivers and ponds. They crawled powerless and drowned because others came from behind and pressed them down with their weight. Suddenly black rain fell. It was smoke and ash sucked in the atmosphere from the nuclear mushroom cloud. It met cold wet air and create rain drops. What they didn't knew: it was highly radioactive and poised them.
A few days later after Hiroshima's destruction, doctors found that their patients were rotting alive. When they touched the head then hair fell out. It was "radiation sickness".

A memorial stands right to the hologram area.
Dear people, remember the end
The knowledge flees over the border
He and I, we stay behind.
Now guard science' light
Use and don't misuse it
Thus that it won't, a fireball
Consumes us all
Yes, us all.

Last cursive text refers to Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo (written 1937-1939). There's also said that doctors are bound to a codex: the Hippocratic Oath. They shall not use their knowledge to hurt any human whatever reason. He's sad about that scientists haven't such oath.

This scene is considered to be Ter's moment of enlightenment, the trigger of sealing world's knowledge. He sees his plan as duty because of what his father had done.

When Ter lost his power

Ter: "It appears to me that this 'plan' developed its own spirit with Daimon Program as super-ego, Silver Dawn as ego, and Deep Streams as Id, ...connecting everything to becoming together a greater entity. ... How should we call us now?"