Arknights story · Dissociative Recombination
15-7 Moment of Truth
The Doctor and Amiya complete their neural link, and with the help of the Black Crown, they prepare to cross over the boundary of Civilight Eterna. Amiya sees for herself the tale the Doctor once told her. The Cautus Infected spots a mysterious elf out in deep space.
2 scenes, 409 lines
1. Before Operation
199 lines
I've never tried to use the Black Crown to access your thoughts before, Doctor—
Don't worry, Amiya.
I've opened up my heart and mind for you.
...Thank you.
She looks to her side, at the beam of bright, warm light gently tugging at her hand.
She shuts her eyes, and slowly lets out a sigh of relief.
'We're in this together, Amiya.'
I don't know where this journey of ours will lead us, Doctor, but I'll protect you.
'I'll protect you too, Amiya.'
Under the watchful eye of Civilight Eterna, she gives your brow a light touch—
Your memories and emotions flow towards me.
...It's strange.
They billow so gently as they flow, and the memories' edge is close at hand...
What did Theresa see back then—
Amiya sees you, and Kal'tsit, and herself, and the many people aboard Rhodes Island.
As she walks deeper, the boundary of that one memory comes within reach. Curiosity and concern nearly cause her to forget her mission. She wants to reach out to touch it...
Touch upon the start of your memories. Chernobog, the Sarcophagus, and you, weakly stretching out your hand—
'Doctor... Take my hand!!'
'Amiya!'
You grab ahold of Amiya.
...Were you lost?
I-I don't know. This is the first time I've ever dived so deep into someone else's mind. It's a very... odd feeling.
Good thing you pulled it off.
Thankfully, yes. Now, I can sense even the faintest of your thoughts.
I can sense yours too.
Aha, you sure are relaxed right now!
I've got nothing to worry about with you around.
So, what should we do next?
Hold my hand tight, Doctor.
I'll protect you on the road ahead. Theresa taught me everything about the role of King that day.
'She' awaits us, at the start of that path.
......
I get what you're saying, but I cannot provide what you're asking for, as your request violates the underlying logic of DWDB-221E.
But I do have a way to circumvent its limits, Kal'tsit—
'Deep Dive'.
Unfortunately, not even Theresa was able to penetrate this deeply. The risk was far beyond what she could bear—
You're not here for answers? Then why are you so insistent I access this data that is useless to you?
'I have no way of knowing if there will come a day that Amiya asks you the same question. But I hope that, in the darkness, she will find the way I lit for her.'
That was Kal'tsit's answer to me, Amiya.
...Could I ask you to look through all of Dr. Kal'tsit's access records for us?
I would be happy to.
Her every doubt, her every insistence, each and every time she left in disappointment. I will show it all to you, unreserved.
You have dove into the Civilight Eterna before, Amiya, but this time, what you seek lies far beyond your limits.
It is a place where life on Terra cannot tread, for the time being, but perhaps you will find the chance to touch upon this knowledge that is not yours.
Because you have someone who walks alongside you. Dr. Doctor.
Of me?
'Civilization's Singularity'.
A great hallway of pure white circles around a central point that defies comprehension. The Singularity.
An unending stream of complex information flows from it, but the strands you manage to snatch hold of are still within your understanding.
Amiya cannot see the way you entered, but after an interminably long time walking down the corridor, she finds herself back where she started.
You noticed, Amiya.
The stagnation of civilization does not mean it stands still. It continues onwards on time's linear flow, unable to turn back.
But all that life discovers and creates is doomed to fall into an inextricable cycle.
Mathematics, physics, philosophy, theology... These theories and practicalities, among others, cannot inspire hope as they once did.
The ascending spiral has failed. Life squanders its future as it stumbles blindly in the dark.
So... this is as far as we can go?
Only as defined by Terra's current knowledge. It serves as a limit, yes, but it is also a safeguard.
A safeguard?
Some kind of cognitive barrier...
Cognitive?
Like how we can't make sandbeasts calculate wave dynamics.
Even if we gave them all the data and formulae...
All forcing it will do is hurt their brains.
As keen an intuition as ever, Doctor, but not entirely correct.
DWDB-221E enlightens life at a steady pace to bring it forward. It does not simply reveal fragments of the future to the seeker to create evolutionary leaps that violate the laws of nature and ethics.
Knowledge cannot be unlearned, Amiya. The dreamers who glimpsed the true sky are no longer happy to slumber in ignorance on the ground.
Information beyond civilization's cognitive limits will simply blind them to reality, a deadly poison luring them into annihilation's embrace, throwing their civilization into the abyss.
And so, this boundary was born.
But why does it... look so much like a prison made from some giant data server?
It appears in a form your mind can comprehend, like how DWDB-221E appears as a black crown in the material world when accompanying you.
To a minuscule ant, it is an ouroboric river, forever unable to flow to the sea.
But to a celestial body whose lifespan stretch to the trillions, it is a gravitational field that will stay with them their entire life, unfathomable, inescapable.
You walk towards a section but one step away from the void. The distant singularity at the core calls to you.
Information washes past you like gentle waves, showing you glimpses of many fascinating sights.
They are fleeting shadows of your past, a life you have lost and forgotten.
Stray visions of an 'unfamiliar' era.
......
Be careful, Doctor!
Amiya tugs on your hand.
...Our minds are as one...
...What I see, you see...
—'The Originium slug egg' 'went through the bridge between stars'—
...So all those stories really did happen.
'The Originium slug egg'?
'Went through the bridge between stars'?
......
When I was really, really young, I met someone who was incredibly caring.
That care was matched with a great weakness, but also a stubborn insistence in carrying me across a road laden with Originium shards.
When I was dizzy with fever, yet too scared of nightmares to sleep, a patient voice regaled me with stories I had never heard before.
In a dark and cramped cave, difficult-to-find ore samples were smashed without the slightest hesitation—
And the shining stones were scattered across the walls, and used to tell me tales of the stars, and the heavenly paradise above the clouds.
......
Would you like to hear one of those stories, Doctor?
......
I would be happy to.
There was once someone who drove a mysterious vehicle shaped like an Originium slug egg on their lonesome, who went through the bridge between stars.
On the most quiet of nights, guides would borrow glowing clouds from old stars and make round mirrors out of them to light the way.
On the other side of the bridge, spires faded in and out of the clouds, and the stars wore crowns of flowers.
When descending on that crown, you'll see that it's a really, really big playground, one where lovely little children gather to play.
But it was hard for the vehicle's driver to stop...
The driver changed over to the most miraculous vehicle on hand, and drove it for many, many years...
But the years came to an end, and nobody was left.
Nobody but the driver.
Do you mean... me?
Is the person in your story... me?
Amiya grips your hand tightly.
Yes.
Thanks to my infection, it's hard for me to remember much from that time, and there's a lot from those stories I don't understand.
But I will do everything I can to remember every single one of your stories.
Because they are my stories. Tales you told to me.
I don't want to forget them.
I never thought today would be the day I finally get to share your gift to me with you, Doctor.
This time, we witnessed it together, you and I. We got to know this past life of yours once more.
Thank you, Amiya...
Do you long for this kind of life, Doctor?
I do.
I don't.
I'm not surprised. I'm very much the same. When I first thought of such wonders, I longed for it too.
It's the kind of life I could never truly have for myself.
I couldn't help myself from sharing them with Theresa, and the two of us would add many wondrous details of our own imagining—
Until it changed beyond recognition, flying ever further out of reach...
But now that I've had a glimpse with my own eyes, I don't think I'm that far away from your past life.
Do you believe that one day, this great land will be just as beautiful, Dr. Doctor?
I believe.
That day will come.
Perhaps it will be even more beautiful...
It will, and we'll be there to greet it.
Rhodes Island will be there to see the light of dawn.
You don't? Strange, it was such a beautiful life.
One without the pain of Oripathy, without conflict or war, where children could live their lives in joy...
Maybe I didn't want to show you the crueler side of things.
There's always two sides to life, Amiya.
Maybe you're right. The cruelty behind the happiness, the joy behind the suffering. We've experienced it all ourselves.
I'll admit, I shared these wondrous stories with Theresa, and she was just as amazed as I was.
She always hoped that everyone in Kazdel... no, in all the lands would have the chance to experience such a life. She did her best to see it come true.
We can't let things slide back, Doctor.
There may come a day that Rhodes Island will be able to see this beauty flourish across the land.
......
So, what next?
'Deep Dive'.
The intact data stored within DWDB-221E is decoded by the singularity and exported in a moderated and suitable format as information.
However, Amiya on her own will not be able to break through the limits of the baseline logic.
...Am I a special case, then?
I am not certain, but the possibility is there.
But how are we supposed to get close to the information once it's exported?
Forgive me, Amiya, but I have no further information on this topic.
I will search through the clues Kal'tsit left behind, and sort anything that may be of use to you so that it is easier to find.
Perhaps we could build a bridge?
A bridge?
A bridge to the singularity.
A bridge to knowledge.
Hasn't Kal'tsit already pointed the way for us?
Has anyone done something like that before?
There is no precedent in the records.
...It's worth a try, either way.
Then you must be aware of the risks. The closer you get to the singularity, the denser the information will become. You may possibly experience it gaining mass.
Information with mass?
It is possible here, yes.
It is also possible that information not yet fully decoded will flood into your mind and destroy it.
And a destroyed mind means...
Death.
(Unknown language) Don't mind me, traveler. I'm simply watching yet another bout of destruction is all.
(Unknown language) Hierda. That's your name, right?
Did you just say my name?
I don't know whatever language you're speaking in at all. Also, how'd you know—
As the Cautus passes by the porthole, she sees the figure out in the darkness of space slowly approach the ship, then disappear from her sights.
Who is that, Raydistorter?
(Fervent singing) ♪—♪—♪—
—Is something wrong?!
There's not many of us who like her!
Sorry, traveler, I simply can't handle being in the same room as her.
If my friends saw this, they'd give me the cold shoulder because of it too.
When the bewildered Cautus snaps out of it, she finds herself the only person in the cabin. Upon foreseeing the arrival of an unwelcome soul, everyone else had made themselves scarce.
Then the Cautus sees her.
No need to look so amazed. I learned how to communicate using long-distance resonance a while ago.
At the very least, before destroying that odd race, I kept the unique language patterns they had evolved.
...D-Destroying?
(Sighs)
Do you detest destruction as well, our newly-come guest?
I... am not too sure what happened, to be honest.
It's nothing too complicated. My people once ate stars to live. Others may hate us for it, but it's simply our survival instinct at work.
But now, that past only exists in horror stories passed around the metaphorical campfire.
My people are on the brink of extinction. I fear I may be the last of my kind, in fact.
We destroy to live, but when true destruction finally bears down upon us, we are powerless in the face of it...
From that point onwards, I have become nothing more than a beggar. With the aid of some geniuses, I have changed the method I use to obtain the energy I need to live—
It sounds like... You've been trying to blend in with other lifeforms too.
So when you were out in space looking at that dead planet, were you reminiscing about the destruction you experienced?
Reminiscing?
Haha, nothing of the sort.
Everyone here has accepted the ruination chasing us with serenity and hope in their hearts.
—?!
2. After Operation
210 linesThe Cautus has never thought that oncoming doom, especially one pressing down on their neck, could be something to be accepted calmly.
I-I could never be so indifferent if I had to live through everyone and everything I love being destroyed.
I don't understand how you—
It's not indifference, but instead a belief in the absolute equality of the universe. It's a shame you arrived just a little bit late.
This ship had just encountered a star going supernova several thousand light-years away and made a smooth withdrawal.
If you see that sight with your own eyes, perhaps you will understand my meaning.
The instruments in the hall begin to spin rapidly, until they are moving too fast for the Cautus to see with the naked eye.
Then, she sees a multitude of lights and shadows appear and float through the air.
I see a giant sphere emitting a deep, dark red light, and a small indigo dot speeding across its surface.
But... it seems like it's the big sphere rotating around the blue dot?
The one you call the 'blue dot' is the pulsar that just went supernova I mentioned.
The red star which is gradually being torn apart is its partner, now doomed to die as well.
They once harbored many interesting primitive lifeforms. I have many fond memories of wandering through the planets of that star system.
It's a pity they were snuffed out before they could see the world beyond the sky.
...Why are you showing this to me?
Simply sharing the knowledge we have with you, traveler.
One-sided paranoia and ignorance are often barriers to effective information transfer. I have no knowledge of your history, either.
The Cautus has barely had the time to comprehend these words before suddenly, her newly-acquired knowledge begins to assault her mind.
The land... may see life be born twice? These stars fallen from the sky... can harbor life of their own?
Ruination's end... is not despair.
We're... not special, when it comes to the land?
A celestial body that can sustain life loves all that live upon it equally, no matter where they hail from. This is a law of nature.
Don't be too greedy in lapping up that knowledge you can't fully understand yet.
I saw you among all that information. You once had many of your people by your side, but suddenly—
'The Presence'. That's what a lot of people call you, right?
I am just a wandering presence, true. Like I said, when true destruction bore down on me and my fellows, I was powerless.
...What exactly is this destruction you keep talking about?
I've seen plenty of things here I can only describe as 'divine acts'. What could possibly threaten people like you?
I'm afraid that nobody on this ship can answer your question, traveler.
In your eyes, we possess knowledge that many lifeforms in this universe would consider 'divine acts'...
But in this boundless cosmos, even we have limits to what we can explore and investigate.
......
Are you disappointed?
So there's definitely no eternal kingdom, a paradise where everyone can experience endless joy and happiness?
Would you like such a place to exist?
The Cautus hesitates for a moment before nodding.
Nothing lives forever. Looking back through the history I know, I have come across legendary civilizations that have conquered countless star systems, spreading across the cosmos for millions of years.
But as far as the universe cares, what they left behind was, in the end, utterly insignificant.
We once blindly chased after non-existent principles and ideals... In the midst of that golden age beyond recollection, we believed our existences to have a sure purpose.
But in the end?
......
Any lifeform born with intelligence insists on declaring itself the center of its world, but whether or not it is right, in the universe's eyes—
From start to finish, we are nothing. This is the first thing you must learn before you can understand it.
Remember that brilliant supernova you just saw?
From that tomb, life will be born anew, and there will come a day when those beings will understand what we have carved on our grave.
That we once had lives of our own. That we existed.
...I don't understand anything that you're saying.
How were we born on this land?
Was there an even more glorious civilization here before us?
Are we going to be wiped out in the foreseeable future?
But what I really want to know is, all this pain and suffering that Originium brings with it... Can it be eliminated?
I beg you, show me the way to the answers I seek...
I can't answer any of your questions. Your first three have been asked in a myriad of languages in a myriad of ways across the universe. Only you can answer them yourself.
As for your final question... I'm terribly sorry, but I've never heard of this 'Originium', and I can't find anything related to it in our databases.
—?
However, I do know someone rather interesting, who also happens to be the master of this ship. Perhaps she will be able to solve your riddle.
The master of this ship?
She's a linguist of wide renown. Her name is—
'Priestess'.
—!
Did you see that, Amiya?
I can't break my focus right now. Weaving together a way to the singularity is incredibly difficult.
Even if Theresa were here to help...
Did you see something, Doctor?!
......
You see a familiar figure.
Go, 'Doctor'. Go solve your conundrums.
......
Keep focusing, Amiya.
Stick to the plan.
Keep building that 'bridge'!
I will! I'm doing everything I can right now to stabilize the connection points, Doctor.
Theresa has marked all the records Dr. Kal'tsit searched through earlier. I'm trying to link them all together.
But I still need an anchor point, one that can guide me back—
Pink, silken threads begin to gather.
The meandering threads interweave and spiral, gradually spreading out from the boundary into the distance.
Beyond its walls, the path to the singularity slowly takes shape.
It's working!
Originium Arts don't seem to work here, but applying the logic behind casting them to the information here does!
Can you build the 'bridge' using completely unknown information?
No, this place is full of information I can't analyze, not even with the help of Civilight Eterna. I wouldn't have been able to make this way forward alone.
But thankfully, Dr. Kal'tsit's access left records, and with Theresa's help, I can grasp onto her research data.
That's more than enough for me.
The pink threads continue to slowly spiral, linking together the many pieces of complex data that Kal'tsit left her mark on.
String by interwoven string, the path forward gradually forms.
'I can tell how you're feeling, Kal'tsit.'
'By analyzing the emotional matrix I constructed of you without your permission, I see your tenseness is not only because of my sharing an appearance with Theresa. You have something even heavier on your mind.'
'I will try to adjust. I don't want my personal emotional changes to interfere with the objectivity of those who come after me when they query these records.'
'Yet they are still changing, Kal'tsit. Are you afraid?'
It's not the most efficient way to build a bridge, but it should hold.
I'm going to try to get closer to the singularity.
I'll go with you.
'Yes, I'm afraid.'
'I'm afraid Amiya and the Doctor won't be able to find the information I leave behind, and I'm afraid...'
'That if the situation worsens to the point that they are forced to take such extreme measures, the trail I cleared for them would no longer be of use...'
'Or that I might mistakenly lead these seekers of knowledge towards a threat I dare not speak of.'
No, Doctor. I won't let you, not before I check its condition myself.
Amiya...
Sorry, I know I'm being stubborn about it, but this is my decision.
The bridge, formed from countless strands of entwined information, stretches out into the distance to touch upon the singularity.
Without the slightest hesitation, Amiya steps onto it, her first step outside the walls of the boundary—
A surge.
This is only the beginning, I'm afraid.
'The closer you get to the singularity, the denser the information will become.'
It really is like Theresa said. The information here has mass.
We'll most likely find greater resistance the deeper we go.
Come back for now, Amiya.
We need to come up with a better plan.
I can't maintain the stability of a bridge this weak. Going this deep has taken a greater toll than I expected.
I need to keep going forward. As long as I follow Dr. Kal'tsit's beacons...
The silver mountains the Teekaz had entered flit by her; the black shadow cast by the Feranmut plunging into icefield vanished momentarily.
She sees more scenes fly past her, as if she were fighting the current of the river of time.
More and more incomprehensible, indescribable sights assail her mind.
She does her best to block out the unending, chaotic stream of information.
Concentrate, Amiya, concentrate... Just keep focusing on Dr. Kal'tsit's beacons... Press onwards...
I just need to touch the singularity—
Silence.
Amiya cannot even hear her own breathing.
Looking at the shattered sphere makes her feel dizzy, but it is the bizarrely-shaped ship floating in the air that causes an even greater bout of lightheadedness.
As she is trapped in her spell of dizziness, a rotating boulder slowly but inexorably hurtles towards her.
—!
Its black shadow quickly fills Amiya's vision. She subconsciously tries to defend herself, but it is immediately followed by the feeling of freefall.
Did she fail...? Was it a surge of information?
'Amiya!'
...Doctor...?
I'm here.
Amiya senses a hand supporting her, keeping her thoughts steady by bracing her.
Try to block out the interfering information.
I've got you.
Hopefully I'm not too late.
Sorry, I couldn't sit back and do as I was told.
You do your best to support her shaking body as the information wave surging from the singularity continues its assault.
The information, so dense it has nearly taken true shape, washes over your thoughts, leaving behind jumbled afterimages in the void—
It is the past long gone, the present being recorded en masse, and what seems to be the future, foreseeing your next steps.
It's a shame that right now, you do not have energy to spare to pay it any heed.
The two of you have already made the long, long, long trek from the boundary to this point without even noticing, and now, the singularity...
The singularity is right in front of you.
Did you see that terrifying scene earlier, Doctor?
I did.
I don't know what it means, though.
I'm certain it's not something that took place on Terra...
But at least it means we're getting close to the singularity.
Even more information will show itself to us.
Can you still keep going, Amiya?
Y-Yes, yes I can.
......
You are well aware of the situation you are in right now. Despite knowing it will have minimal effect, you still subconsciously stretch out your arm to try and shield Amiya.
The attacks here are focused on our thoughts. I can handle it.
I'll be the vanguard.
I've got a lead on what we're here for.
I've run the calcs on Kal'tsit's access records.
You can read the key points from my mind.
Found them.
Using 'Slumber Bridge' as a filter, Dr. Kal'tsit conducted a total of 79,346 searches...
Although all the searches are related to 'Originium', according to your speculation, this data is not strongly related to its actual essential nature.
If the results are restricted and give us nothing, doesn't the trail run cold here?
No.
Kal'tsit retrieved the same entry over and over again.
This is, in itself, some information for us.
A repeated retrieval? Wait, can the infinitely-looping code made from the repeat query count be deciphered too?
...You already know the answer, Doctor.
Yes, it's a familiar name.
Perhaps it's a sign...
Perhaps it's a warning...
......
I've never heard of this name. Neither you nor Dr. Kal'tsit has ever said it before—
'Priestess'?
............
—Doctor, are you seeing what I'm seeing?
...I'm afraid... so...
'Priestess...'
You have never seen this scene before, much less seen—
(Unknown language) You're here, Doctor.
Is that...?
'Me'...?
(Unknown language) It took some time to refine your design for PRTS.
(Unknown language) I thought you had gone to take a rest.
(Unknown language) No, I've been thinking about your words this whole time.
(Unknown language) 'There is no language that can describe God, as the existence of God itself cannot be understood.'
(Unknown language) You know that was just mindless chatter.
(Unknown language) Suppose I take it as an axiom.
(Unknown language) With it as my starting point, would creating a language that can describe God mean we have the means to understand It?
(Unknown language) Does the prospect not excite you?
(Unknown language) Perhaps, in the pursuit of the answer to this question, we have been going down the wrong path—trying to understand the nature of the universe with its own laws.
(Unknown language) You want to use a language wholly created by us to interpret the universe. A far too audacious idea, Priestess.
(Unknown language) Haha, is it?
Without any further hesitation, she traces out a perfect rhombus in the air.
(Unknown language) Let's begin, shall we?
......
What are they discussing, Doctor?
You have seen this woman before in the Assimilated Universe. She once accompanied you—
But I have faith... Doctor...
That when you are truly confused by everything, you will remember: the answers you seek were here all along.
I will be here.
......
I'm afraid they're discussing...
Originium.