16-19 Oath of the Mad

...This is my report on the Far North Incident. I will submit my written report within one week.

Thank you, Lieutenant. But I still have questions.

What you've mentioned—getting into the mining district, investigating the miners, evacuating them under the Armies' gunfire... those are merely the process.

An event must have cause, process, and result, just like how crops grow from seeds, and yield fruits.

I apologize for my poor presentation, Your High Excellency, but I have mentioned both the cause of the event and how we handled the aftermath.

All scattered information. You have described the details, but you have not seen the big picture. How can the reader understand what the writer fails to perceive?

Have you forgotten how to write a report in the five years since you graduated from the military academy? Or do you want me to submit a fragmented, incomplete report to His Imperial Majesty?

I can forgive your youthful errors, but Ursus cannot afford to wait.

I apologize. I will fill in the gaps in the written report—

We do not have the time to address the consequences of your omissions. The price of trial and error is too high.

I need you to tell me, right here, right now. What role do you think Grand Duchess Elisabeth played? Were there signs of her association with the Armies? As for the Infected that we rescued...

Can they truly be of help to us?

I'm not sure I have sufficient information to talk about it in an informed manner...

You experienced the events first-hand. No one is more informed than you.

Speak, child. I will listen.

...I believe that the Grand Duchess was simply going with the flow.

She had learned about the Royal Guard's death and the miners' escape before we even planned to enter the mining district.

All she needed to do was to let a little information out, and the Fourth Army would have an excuse to 'clean up', and proceed towards the Central Governorate under the pretext of quelling the rebellion.

This way, the Grand Duchess could cover up the death of a Royal Guard on her watch, and the Army can deploy on the borders of the Central Governorate... as it does now.

As for why the Army is doing this... I believe you know better than anyone.

They mistake the Tsar's benevolence for weakness. They will pay the price.

I concur with most of your speculation, Elotta. But there is one thing you are missing—the Yurodstvo.

It disappeared. I could not confirm whether it was real or not, and I do not even feel the need to dig any deeper. After all... we witnessed the burning of the last Yurodstvo with our own eyes.

You do not believe it was the Yurodstvo who appeared in the Far North?

I simply believe you know more than I do.

The troubling madman... a poisonous relic of an older era. I will get to the bottom of it. Ursus does not need a Yurodstvo anymore.

Now, let us get back to the topic at hand. Were their goals accomplished, Lieutenant?

They failed to hush up news of the ore vein exhaustion. Which leads us to your other question—

Can the Infected that we rescued truly be of help to us? In fact, they've already helped.

The belt of torches on the ice awakened all the outposts around Lake Neva on the Grypherburg side. Every household in Ursus has heard their message.

'Ursus abandoned them! Who will be next?' Everyone asks the same question: the newspapers, intercity comms, late-night radio...

The miners in the mines ask, the workers in the city ask; wealthy citizens ask, poor vagabonds ask; soldiers ask, students ask.

The Grand Duchess expected the miners to die in the Far North. But they survived, testifying to the exhaustion of the ore veins, and exposing the inadequacy of the reforms—

Slow, gradual improvement is not enough for the pressing needs of Ursus's development.

We must act, before even more people are fed into the hungry machine of the Empire.

You said yourself that Ursus can no longer afford to wait...

You're digressing, Lieutenant.

You said Rhodes Island helped the Infected miners send the message.

Yes. Right now, however, we should focus on—

What do you think of Rhodes Island?

...We should be vigilant.

They demonstrated military-level coordination during the tracking and evacuation process, and they possess a natural advantage in their understanding of the Infected. There are plenty of reasons to be vigilant.

Or perhaps, their strength is something that we can leverage.

As far as I am aware, Rhodes Island has no permanent presence in Ursus. Perhaps we can invite them to set up a branch office in Grypherburg or a nearby city...

Perhaps.

The Grand Duchess might strike first.

She's not one to be rash. Did you mention the name 'Kal'tsit' to the Rhodes Islanders?

Yes. They said that Kal'tsit previously served as a physician at Rhodes Island, but had died in an accident.

Are you certain?

I've dispatched a unit to the scene of the incident to ascertain. From what we know so far, there is no reason to think otherwise.

So... Kal'tsit is dead.

The name that Chairman Witte extracted from the Chernobog lab files is no longer of use.

......

......

Because of the Sarcophagus, of course. Ursus needs its energy.

I don't know the specifics, unfortunately.

Of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me alone—

...Sent me to the Far North alone.

Yes, he trusts me. It's the duty of a soldier to follow orders, and it's not my place to complain, even if I should die in the Far North.

But it shouldn't be this way. Miners and civilians were massacred, but the Grand Duchess gets out unscathed, and the Army is able to deploy a stone's throw from Grypherburg with no consequences.

This isn't how things should be! How can I go back like this...?

What?

Are you joking? How is that possible? Is this Kal'tsit like the fae of legend, able to return to life whenever she wants?

Wait a moment. The Chairman did say that the secret police once believed Director Kal'tsit to have died in that incident...

But...

You just tell me like that? Did you think I would trust you the same way in return? You're not even Ursine—

What if some of us used to be?

You...

Even if you really do know nothing, we won't forget that you once stood with us there, helping evacuate the Infected.

We appreciate what you did, Lieutenant Gorchekova, even if you don't need our thanks. Am I right?

......

Tell me, and I'll listen, once again as a child of Ursus.

Alright, I knew I couldn't resist the chance to awaken a straying Ursine's identity.

......

What I know about the Sarcophagus is very limited...

—Lieutenant?

I'm sorry. I think I got distracted.

It's alright. Bad habits of the elderly. I can't stop myself when I start talking about the motherland and our future with the youth...

Perhaps you really do need rest. I've taken up too much of your time.

No, Your High Excellency, I was simply thinking about what you said—

Get some rest, Lieutenant.

Unlike the Far North, Grypherburg still sees some daylight this time of year. Do not forget to finish your report, once you've rested.

That's all you see in the papers these days. I've got a cousin going to school in the Central Governorate. Haven't heard from her in a while.

Did you hear? Uchitelnitsa Koshelna didn't go to Deity Grypherburg Imperial University. She went to the mines to teach the miners how to read!

That's so brave and selfless of her. I want to follow in her footsteps when I graduate...

I hope we'll see her again.

Don't listen to everything you read in the papers! It's all bad news to make us anxious and demoralize us.

The student council is holding a protest in Igor Memorial Park. Are you going?

Of course!

M-Me too!

There's a lot of movement in the military. Student and worker strikes are taking place all across the country, but they're being suppressed even swifter and more harshly than before...

Also, the Grypherburg police recently arrested a student from the Literature Department attempting to graffiti the grand hall of the State Council. I heard the Petrachevsky Group is soliciting donations and trying to get him released.

It's true, I checked with them. Every underground tabloid is spreading the news about him, and the words he wrote on the walls of the council hall.

The underground tabloids are printing far quicker than the censors can keep up.

Let's put that in the next letter to Sonya.

They should be on their way back to Grypherburg, come to think of it...

Write anyway. There are curfews everywhere. There's no guarantee they'll make it back on schedule.

Yes... I hope things go smoothly on their side.

They will.

Getting in wasn't that hard.

Just because I hacked the monitors doesn't mean you can let your guard down. They say the session has been suspended indefinitely, but they could also resume at any time.

The corridor leading to the meeting hall is still being patrolled four times an hour. Not counting the time it takes to get out, you have eight minutes to leave your mark.

Pee? Break something and take a piece?

...Can you do something that doesn't make so much noise and actually means something?

Well... I'll think about it.

Why do I have to dress like this, anyway? It's not like my normal clothes are all that conspicuous.

You're wearing a Grypherburg plumber's uniform. They don't have a seat on the council, but they have access to the council hall, and they're responsible for maintenance work throughout the building.

While there's no way for students like us—complete non-producers—to gain access to the council, much less gain any real influence.

Bah, why am I even explaining all this to you? I'm hanging up. You have six minutes.

Botani out.

Lokh.

What should I do? Six minutes...

Gosudar-batyushka—