Yvonne

CODENAME: Yvonne

GENDER: Female

AUTHENTICATION: Endfield Industries

DOB: May 9

RACE: Vouivre

[ORIPATHY INFECTION STATUS]

Oripathy negative, based on medical examination reports.

[INTEGRATED PHYSICAL EXAMINATION]

PHYSIOLOGICAL STRENGTH: Standard

COMBAT SKILL: Normal

TACTICAL ACUMEN: Standard

ORIGINIUM ARTS ASSIMILATION: Excellent

Operator Yvonne was recommended by Crowe of UWST to Andre. She joined the Specialist Tech Division of Endfield Industries via the "Specialized Talent Recruitment" channel. Yvonne is now leading several research projects on the Æther, the Blight, and the Trans-Æther Tranquilizer-Automata associated with the previous two. Given her outstanding scientific research capabilities, she has received bonus grants and resources to support her independent research.

During background checks, many have described Yvonne as an engineer with an obvious streak of "rebellion". However, I cannot be more opposed to this evaluation. And no, this has nothing to do with the laser stickers she adhered upon my chassis.

In my opinion, the core issue rests in the inability of most individuals to keep up with her rapid train of thought. The end result would appear that she has teamwork issues. Also, she is rather confident in her personal style that she constructed for herself after years of scientific research... Her violations were never deliberate. Instead, they should be considered instinctive reactions when someone or something attempts to interfere with her way of thinking or self-expression.

Such personality quirks withstood the influences of the environment and many would often regard this as Yvonne's rebel spirit. However, her brightly colored outfits, carefree graffiti, and complex yet extremely practical chassis designs are modes of expression that she has consistently maintained — in a world filled with rules and boundaries, those who remain true to themselves would seem rather out of place. Fortunately, Endfield is not a place dictated by inflexible regulations. Our vision is to change this world, instead of sustaining its current existence by sticking to the law.

Moreover, when our people described Yvonne as a "rebel", they did so with a smile.

— Martin Marvin Malen, Assistant, HR Division, Endfield Industries

DOCUMENT: List of lost items

A laser jelly bag — printed with a big friendly smiley graffiti, with an inner pocket containing scented beads.

A bottle of nail varnish — containing an environment-sensitive pigment that changes color according to the concentrations of ambient Æther.

A children's toy — constructed from nuts, bolts, gears, axles, and other pieces of hardware. It resembles an oddly familiar hexagonal structure and is furnished with a brightly colored coating.

A set of memorial laser cards — this appears to be a special reward for the winners of the 1st Talos-II Bastion Defense. The back of the cards feature the portrait of a Vouivre.

A miniature Æther counter — this device has the shape of a necklace. It is furnished with not-yet-released algorithms that grant it far higher sensitivity than existing competition on the market.

Half a box of cream puffs (spicy buckflower flavor) — the most popular snack on the market with a rather peculiar taste (NOTE: Half a box of the same cream puffs was seen on Supervisor Perlica's desk).

A set of Good Engineer screwdrivers — special cherry pink edition. The user has kept it well-maintained and rust-free.

Monthly MARTHE — the latest issue was just being sold today. This fashion magazine introduces the latest and trendiest outfits of Talos-II (About two weeks ago, I think I saw Yvonne wearing the outfit featured on that magazine cover... If she's always ahead of the trend, can it be that she's the legendary Shadow Designer?)

MESSAGE: Yvonne, I know that testing the prototype is important, but please claim your lost items.

DOCUMENT: Investigation of an incident of fire

CASE SUMMARY: Last night, a fire broke out in the second floor library of a residence on the border between the suburbs and the central district. Most of the furniture and retro-style clothing were damaged in the blaze. The fire was contained within the house. No casualties were reported. The book collection of the library escaped unscathed.

1. Investigation of the site

The library windows were locked from the inside. The locks appear undamaged. Two sets of fingerprints were collected. Footprints of a gardener responsible for regular pruning of the plants were found next to the garden. The fire started at the carved armoire.

2. Investigation of surveillance records

At around 2000 hours, the homeowner and his daughter had an extensive dialogue at the living room. At 2100 hours, both headed to the library.

3. Witness testimonies

Homeowner: "Apologies for troubling you into making this journey... But things are under control. People must burn the library once every a few centuries or so."

Spouse of the homeowner: "My husband prepared that room before our girl was born. He wanted her to inherit that ancient culture, literature, and art, as well as to sow its seeds upon these new lands. I was hoping she could start a cultural restoration study group... The incident is a shame, really."

Daughter of the homeowner: "Erm... We actually applied precision controls and barely suffered any losses! So why are we being inspected?"

Governess: "I'm no longer giving meaningful instructions to the young mistress. Ballet and etiquette do not interest her. She is only willing to play the piano. The combined might of a hundred burdenbeasts could not force her to do something she doesn't like... What is she doing now? She's teaching me how to compose Neo-Talosian music and it's pretty interesting. Oh, I'm also learning electronic repairs from her. She has the engineer's knack, if you ask me."

4. Post-incident handling

After verifying various findings, we have ascertained that the incident was a private act of planned incineration. The responsible homeowner has been censured and fined. The incident does not need to be escalated to the community management department.

5. Additional testimonies from the homeowner

"'Fine,' I said, 'since you've chosen your path, we might as well burn the things.' She studied my face for quite a while. When we both realized neither of us was joking, she immediately started cheering. She said something about making a huge fireworks display and took out the contraptions she built... Maybe they're called drones. Anyway, these gadgets of hers could spew fire and ice."

"I watched the library burn with her. Bright orange flame flickered behind the gaps of the door. I heard the wooden shelves crackle, burst, and split as the fire licked and consumed it."

"I actually felt a certain degree of pain. The books in the house may not be antique relics, but I spent quite a tidy sum on acquiring this collection... I guess it can't be helped. It is the price I have to pay for spending years forcing her to go against her will. I have no choice but to demonstrate my stance."

"But those two flying gadgets came buzzing out with the books. She giggled and said that we simply had different "tastes" and questioned on the necessity of destruction. She went on by saying that her preference for New Talos-II Wave literature does not mean she dislikes stories from further back. She even said that she had memorized those older tales."

"So what was I saying again...? Apologies. I was too busy reminiscing about the smells given off by the fire. Oh, wait, I remember..."

"I said to her, 'We can make this into a proper workshop. And make a drone for me if you have the time. The one that can light my cigars.'"

"A group of merchants lived on the fourth planet visited by the Little Engineer. They gave every star a number, and locked the numbers in the safe..."

"Many academicians lived in the sixth planet visited by the Little Engineer... The Little Engineer saw their incredibly thick spectacles, and immediately ran away."

"The Little Engineer bid farewell to the Gargantuan Feranmut of Industry. He shouted into the mountain valley, 'Let's be friends! I'M LONELY!' But the mountains only responded with echoes of echoes of echoes..."

"And in the end, the Little Engineer collapsed in the sand... And uh, oh yeah! With a swoosh he got back to his feet and shook off the sand. He waved at his friends, grew a pair of sparkling wings, and flew toward the stars!"

"This story is probably written by an author from Ga ... just where my home used to be. Terran stories are interesting, as long as they're not history! Alright, my little rascals, that's it for today. For next time, we'll—"

"Miss Yvonne..."

"Awww. You look really down. What's wrong?"

"The Little Engineer is so sad... He could not find his home anywhere! And he made no friends. He's so lonely..."

"And why did he fly? Is it 'coz ... 'coz he got eaten up by the Aggeloi?! The grown-ups keep lying to me about this..."

Yvonne blinked a few times, then fished out of her pocket the toy that was cobbled together with hardware parts. The little thing resembled Tata, and glinted in the sunlight like specks of diamond dust.

"The Little Engineer just couldn't find fitting companions, but that doesn't mean he's lonely! Look at this! This is the first companion he built for himself. He also built other interesting teammates. One makes ice cream, the other creates fireworks... Everyone of them was a loyal friend! And then—"

Yvonne followed the light and raised her head. Clouds slowly rolled across a uniform sheen of azure blue. She could imagine Dijiang cruising along its carefree orbit high above the skies. Yvonne then lowered her gaze and looked upon the children of Valley IV, their faces glowing with hope for more stories. The silhouette of the vessel, the sparkling wings of the Little Engineer, starlight of half-a-billion bells, and a world of splendor and harmony flowed across her retina.

Yvonne felt free. The tempo of her storytelling became lighter and faster.

"And in the end, it wasn't the darkness you imagined! The Little Engineer left because he made new friends, received an invitation from the brightest stars, and got a new place to stay! Now, dry your tears and I'll reward you with a bonus story about the Endministrator! Yeah... So what do you want to hear? The one where the Endmin smashed the sun, or the one where the Endmin transformed a single Originium crystal into a million soldiers?"

"Smashed the sun ... and a million soldiers?! The Endmin is so awesome! Are these stories true?"

"Hmm. Are the stories true...? Well, I guess I'll ask the hero in question right after this!"

DOCUMENT: Yvonne's work diary

Day 3 after starting at that particular data section of the Æther rift. I can't see anything inside. All monitoring modules were knocked out. IR, EM, resonance responses — we got flatlined for everything. Not a single blip showed up. Sheesh.

I tried to "read" the changes of that particular area with a smart sign language interpreter! And all I got was a bunch of errors and a single line that reads: "Failed to interpret data."

We didn't just fail to monitor the stuff. The Æther rubbed it in our faces. We're completely blind to it. The only thing I'm certain of is this: It exists, and it's not very nice.

I HATE THINGS I CAN'T SEE!

Maybe I can change my approach. What would happen if I actively send data into it? Instead of just passively waiting for a response to come out of the output port, we should seize the initiative and interact with it instead.

I tried three signal packs with different frequencies: (1) a standard greetings protocol; (2) a set of greetings I wrote myself in pulse-based format; (3) a set of static noise (the first note from the Movement: Genesis of the Universe, the Ætherside might like it).

The results are just as predicted ... no responses. Fine. Be optimistic. Perhaps there was a response but receiving a radio wave transmission and emitting a response might take a while. If a single vibration takes at least 10 million years, then I have no choice but to keep Frost-e-Bytee on the receiving line.

Perhaps I can try optical wave signals with various color codes. If that thing can see things, perhaps it'll like glittering stuff, like me!

Plus light travels faster than sound!

How many times did I fail again? Can't remember. Signal modulation, model simulations, and feedback monitoring ... none of it worked. The noise I'm getting sounds like the Æther laughing at me — I really hope it was laughing at me, because that means I'll unleash Frost-e-Bytee and ram some icy cold down its throat!

I always believed that persistence will eventually identify a crack. But now I am beginning to wonder if this is a futile effort of exploration with no way out.

We can't even "observe" this thing. How are we supposed to "decipher" it?

The models I proposed and the devices I designed felt like childish gimmicks when compared to the Blight...

Maybe the only thing I can do right now is to spin around on my swivel chair. Perhaps I gotta wait 10 million years for a miracle to happen.

I might as well change my scientific approach. Time to build an invincible space armada. Let the ancient songs echo as I raise countless ... cities into the skies! Unfeasible? Maybe. But what can be more unfeasible than deciphering the Æther?

I looked at those images of the Æther rift. I gazed at them long and hard. It devoured both sound and light. Even I got trapped within it — it crushed me and smothered me with eternal darkness. There is no escape for me.

So why am I doing all this? To protect Talos-II...? To prove myself...? Because I got a grudge against Pa and Ma...? No. I think it all started on that day. I read about the Æther rift in the books and found it beautiful. So I snuck off to the Protection Band so I could observe it, like the giddy girl I was. The rift gave off a bright halo. Looking at it feels like staring straight into the sun. The piercing pain then gave way to a sense of indescribable horror and then it ... melted.

It was a terror that got me bawling and trembling under my blankets late that night. My eyes swelled like peaches in the following morning — I looked gross. And I don't ever want to look like that again. So that's it: I'm going to decipher it. It's as simple as that.

And I believe I can do it at Endfield.

So once again, I punched the [SEND] button. A resounding KABLAM of epic proportions and ZERO hesitation. Gone and dusted. The darkness will be no more, and I shall return to daytime.