Arknights story · Operator Records
Overwrite Record
Young Ksenia once received a special gift, one that could record all the precious moments in her life. But many years hence, only as she sifts through the past does she realize her hands hold nothing.
1 scenes, 234 lines
1. Interlude
234 linesNot here, not here... Not here either.
No blank videotapes. Not this one, that one's been used before... No matter how much she rummages through the cupboard, a brand-new tape eludes her.
She should have noticed earlier.
Unfortunately for her, there is currently nowhere for miles around that sells non-essential things like this, things that can't be eaten or immediately put to use.
But time waits for nobody, and they will soon arrive.
Wait, maybe...
She looks at the pile of haphazardly-stacked videotapes, each of them labeled with a number and a date, reminding her of when they were recorded.
But some of their contents might not be important. She can erase whatever is on them, and use them to record new material.
Yes, that should work.
The tape labeled '1' is conveniently right next to her hand. She inserts it into her video camera, and presses play.
Let me see... Is this how you use it? These modern toys are just so unintuitive... Oh! It's started.
*cough* Today is a day worth commemorating, even though, regretfully, the baron could not attend in person. However, he did send Warrant Officer Belyakov to attend the awards ceremony—Look, the officer's here!
The staticy, aged recording shakes as the lens turns towards a small award podium built in a nearby sports field.
As the cold wind blows, the red-nosed children in winter coats are sniffling, watching a man dressed in a thick military uniform walk up onto the stage.
For years, the baron has proactively answered His Imperial Majesty's call, providing support for gifted students who suffered in poverty, making it his duty to nurture the future pillars of the motherland.
By the grace of the tsar, we are proud to announce that Ksenia Markovna Nelidova has been accepted to the most prestigious educational institution in our nation, the Imperial College of Science and Engineering!
Out of the dozens of young geniuses the baron has helped, she has proved herself the most outstanding of them all. Tell me, what are your plans for the future?
I'll join the most cutting-edge research institute, and discover things that will benefit all of Ursus, so that our great motherland can become even greater!
The girl's young but firm voice draws in thunderous applause. She proudly sticks out her chest.
Well said, well said! Mr. Lagunov has prepared a gift for you on behalf of us all, and we'd like to invite him to the stage now.
At the headmaster's prompting, the lens moves forward, until a ruddy cheek enters into view.
Here, take this. Something us teachers bought for you. We are honored to have been your teachers. It might be the greatest thing I have done in my entire life.
Ksenia, you have unlimited potential, and you will surely have many more important moments like this one. Use this to record them.
Do you know how to use it? Press here to start recording, press there to—Ah, no! That's the stop—
The video cuts out, leaving only the ear-piercing sound of static echoing around the desolate room.
Who... is that?
Ah, yes, yes... It seems I was right.
This older model of camera does not possess the ability to wipe tapes clean, but there must be a way to resolve the issue.
She presses down on the rewind button until the whir of the motor and the rasp of the tape die away, then she presses record.
The original recording has been completely overwritten. Once the flickering 'REC' disappears, she has a blank videotape.
This works.
She looks at the mountain of tapes through the corner of her eye.
...There might be more like this one.
The contents of the tapes are meaningless, simply useless wastes of space.
She reaches out for another tape.
Can you stop playing around with that weird machine, Ksenia? Don't come crying to me if you drop it and it breaks!
Relax, I've got a firm grip on it. You're the one who should be careful you don't fall on your back like during that gymnastics festival, or you'll get your new clothes dirty. The ones you worked so hard to buy.
A snow-covered village appears in the shaky video, the camera focused on a red-faced girl, her back laden with a tall pile of firewood as she sends a snowball straight towards the filmer.
Yeah, yeah, making fun of me about that again! I grew a lot this year, I won't lose to you the next time we race!
Says who? Want to put it to the test?
Bring it on! Look at your noodly arms and legs... Does that Science and Engineering place not feed you properly?
No! There's white bread and piping-hot meat solyanka at the cafeteria every day! I just... sometimes get too busy to eat.
The other students there are all from the cities, right? Do they... exclude you from anything?
Doesn't matter, I don't like dealing with them anyway. It means more time saved to read books.
Always such a bookworm. Be careful or you'll hurt your eyes, then you'll have to wear bottle-bottom glasses like the headmaster.
But I have to read. There's a lot of amazing people at the college.
They smarter than you? Does that mean you're not number one at school anymore?
I'm... not sure, we haven't done a ranking yet this year... but I did manage to get a place in a professor's extra-curricular research team, the only one in the school!
So I won't be coming back next holiday—Oh, we've arrived at your place.
The camera suddenly shudders, as if it has been shoved into the filmer's pocket. The lens points up, capturing the clear winter sky.
Here, take my firewood inside too.
What's this all about?
Your firewood store is empty, just take it. When your dedushka was... still around, he always took care of us.
Will you have enough, though?
Why all the worrying? I'm studying energy, you know. I'm never going to freeze to death.
Just wait a few years, and my research will give us a safer and cheaper stove. You won't need to go to the mountains for firewood, and your house will always be nice and warm. Nobody will ever have to freeze ever again.
...I thought you only said that stuff to make the nobles happy.
Er, well, some of it is. The entire reason why they spent money to help poor children like us is to hear us say things like that, then take the credit when they're reporting to their boss...
But it's not all lies to fool them. I mean, you've seen how amazing I am. It'll be really easy to do things like that in the future, heheh.
As I thought. This tape is the same.
Stop, rewind, record.
Soon, the internal motor halts. One more tape wiped clean.
...
The north wind howls outside the window. She takes yet another tape.
I have seen the data, and there really are discrepancies with our original predictions. I suggest adjusting this variable—Hmm?
The woman in the distance talking with other researchers seems to have noticed something, turning to look straight at the camera.
...Eep!
The camera guiltily jerks away, running past all sorts of instruments, jumping over a tangle of wires. It finally settles down in some distant corner of the room.
Oh... Ksenia.
A girl, shrinking into the shadows of the corner, appears in the frame.
A Liberi, rather similar to the girl on the podium in the first tape, though she has grown quite a bit taller, and now wears a pair of black-framed spectacles.
Lyuda? What is it? Why have you taken that thing out again? Put it down, quick! There's no recording allowed here, so if the director sees us, we'll get a scolding!
The camera obediently points towards the ground. The girl's bloodshot eyes flash past as it arcs downwards.
Did they get mad at you again? I heard Papa say your... 'access was revoked'?
It was because I was chasing after quick results... and I did something wrong.
Listen, I need to go to the school to fetch a document for Professor Ilia. You need to be good while I'm away. Once I'm back, we can play together, okay?
Are you running an errand?
...Everyone else here is much more amazing than I, and they have more important things to do.
But they're all grownups! Way more grown up than us! Doesn't this count as bullying?
The young videographer indignantly waves the camera about, capturing the girl's forced smile as the lens shakes wildly.
No, it's a little different... and age doesn't matter.
Where I came from, everyone told me I was a genius, that I was the smartest child they had ever seen, and I believed them.
But Ursus is large, and full of other geniuses much smarter than I am. I... never even made the list.
A moment later, the off-camera girl lets out a long sigh.
—However, if I need to run errands, then I'll run errands!
I don't mind how big or small the task is, as long as it helps.
Hah... Ridiculous.
Stop, rewind, record. Her movements are getting more fluid.
The empty tape is unceremoniously thrown to the side, and the next tape is inserted.
Today... I won't be filming myself. I haven't taken care of myself properly these past few days, so I'm really not presentable right now.
I'm afraid I might miss some news, so I'm still in the same hotel as last time. But I don't have much money left, so I'll have to move out tomorrow.
I still can't get in touch with anybody, and none of my requests for more information are going anywhere. Always the same old excuse... that this is classified.
I'm not allowed to go back, and not allowed to know what really happened. Just me.
I was never their equal. But I thought that even though all I did was the mundane and back-breaking work, it was fine, because I was helping out. So long as I kept at it, there would come a day...
It seems my opinion of myself was still too high.
...
Maybe this is a good thing. I should take a good hard look at myself, and plan out what to do next. I'll disappoint Lyuda, though... I don't know when we'll be able to meet again.
The girl takes a deep breath, letting the sunlight filtering through the window light up her eyes once again.
I've made up my mind. Tomorrow, I'll pack my bags, then go to that laboratory Artyom Chaadayev introduced to me.
I've seen what they have, and while they can't compare to Director Kal'tsit's... It's still a good place to go.
...!
Vague signs of activity make their way through the door, carried by the wailing wind to be drilled into the ear.
Once more. Stop, rewind, record.
Another round of this mind-numbing, mechanized action. Another blank tape thrown aside.
...
Her fingers tremble slightly.
After a short burst of noise, the screen shows a frail woman in a dark room.
Her gaze drifts, her countenance pale, though her cheeks are faintly tinged with tipsy red. The empty bottles in the corners of the room might hint at the cause.
I know it's been a long time since I last filmed... But there's been nothing that can even be filmed these past few years.
I reckon... this is already the fifth research institute I've wandered to. I've been here six months.
When my research topic was finally approved after all that work I did, I thought this place would be different... But nothing has changed in the slightest.
My research was put on hold yesterday. They said there wasn't enough funding, that they needed it for more important projects. We've done so much, but now...
She hangs her head in silence, only speaking again after gulping down some of the liquid in her cup.
More important projects... The ones that have military use, and the ones that probably have military use... That's the only difference.
Zinaida's gone. She said she was worried she wasn't up for the task... I know she didn't want her work to be used to kill people.
I'm the same... but are we really? Mama and Papa are getting old, and they're waiting for me to send home some of my salary.
Ever since they turned that patch of woods into the baron's private land, gathering firewood has become a crime. And charcoal is so expensive right now... I need this money.
She takes another gulp.
Tomorrow, I need to report to my new research team, to work on the research... that could get funding.
I don't think I can record again for a while.
Nobody... Not a single one! Those bastards all ran away!
No need to rush after them. Let's split up and see if there's any supplies left.
There's food here! Plenty of it!
I'll look for medicine upstairs!
At first, she assumed it was simply her old problem flaring up again. But as the voices get clearer, she realizes they are no hallucinations.
They're here.
No time... Never any time.
She breaks free of her reverie. There are now many blank tapes, more than enough for leaving behind a few words in the last moments of her life.
But... what should I say?
...
Just as she is about to insert a tape into the camera, the strength is sapped out of her arm. She places it back down.
She has no idea where to start. It is time to face up to this fact. This is why she has been constantly delaying, dawdling, and watching these old tapes.
When she first got this camera, they were inseparable. Even the most trivial of things were recorded. At times, she only put it down to eat dinner at her mother and father's urging.
But now, her fear of looking into the lens is palpable.
When was the last time... I filmed something?
She begins rummaging through the pile. Somewhere in the ocean of the past, she finds a tape with a more recent date on it.
The last of her recordings.
Ah, it still works. With my luggage in the cargo hold the entire trip, I was worried it might freeze and break... Lucky me.
This is the Central Far North Mining District Laboratory, under Bresk's administration. It's the furthest north I've ever been. I've actually already been here a month, it's just that I... was in no mood to record.
Nobody wants to go to places like this, but the Grand Duchess contacted all the research institutes and proposed a talent exchange, and then... Hah, I guess they took all their unwelcome souls like me, packed them up and sent them here.
There is nothing here. No amusement to speak of. Supplies are sent over at regular intervals, but always the same kinds. Even letters home take several months to arrive.
At least, that's what I heard from other people making conversation here... Now that Mama and Papa have passed, I don't need to write letters to anyone.
No major research projects are based here. The funding is pitiful, and most of the time, it doesn't even make it to our hands. I had prepared for the worst.
Until I realized... this might be a blessing in disguise.
She forces an exceedingly shallow smile, the creases on her face proof of the passage of time.
Rather than calling it a research institute, it would be more fitting to call it the mining district's hospital and funeral home in one.
There are a few things I can do, as long as they can still be saved when they arrive here. This is the first time I am grateful for being forced to learn the basics about all sorts of subjects.
As for those we are powerless to save... We have to neutralize their remains. Hardly a pleasant task, but better than being an accessory to murder.
She pauses for a moment.
The researchers here don't care who taught you, who your family is, or if you're an Ursus or not... They only care if they get paid on time.
Out here, on this desolate island on dry land, so lacking in freedom, I somehow managed to obtain the most freedom I ever had.
At least I don't have to worry about Originium this close to the mine. I can subsidize my funding with my salary... I can start up my research again.
After so much wandering, I think... this is the place.
Though I am no longer sure what I can accomplish, I will still try. Maybe I can get some results here, do something with meaning—
Enough... Enough! ENOUGH!
The tape does not manage to finish.
Like a madwoman, she pries the tape out and cracks the plastic case violently.
The sharp edges leave a cut across her frostbitten fingers, but she feels no pain.
Look what we have done! These... these things... It's the work of monsters!
I thought this place was different—but how? Everywhere is the same! EVERYWHERE!
Cassette after cassette is smashed to pieces, the magnetic tape is yanked out, bloodstained, like black entrails spilling out of a body.
She sobs, hot tears burning her cheeks, until—
Bam!
A tremor strikes her heart.
Hey! This door's still locked!
Think there's someone in there? Are there still some of those ubljudki here?
Bam bam bam!
Open the door! Get out of here!
We've got tools downstairs! I'll go get them and smash the door down!
Ah...
She collapses to the floor, dead inside.
Look. How stupid of her. There's not enough time left. She could not even do something as trivial as recording her last words. Those angry Infected miners have found her.
But at the same time, a ghostly thought rises in her mind.
...Fine. This is fine too.
An end like this is fine.
But not even this comes to pass as she wishes. She waits for a moment, then hears some muffled shouts from beyond the door.
Hey! We need more hands downstairs! Get over here and help!
What about this room?
Rankin says to forget it, those cowards ran away already! It's more important to move the supplies back!
...Fine, coming!
She listens as the person outside the door leaves. Another moment later, and all the noise has faded away.
Ksenia hesitantly opens the door. The research institute is deathly silent.
Hah... Haha...
It seems nothing ever goes the way I want it to.
It seems she must bring things to a close herself.
The dust-covered camera is started up once again. The lens sweeps past the complex of wires on the floor.
...Everything's ready. They didn't find the explosives in the depot... Once I light these, all the mistakes that were born here will disappear.
Along with my own life, piled high with mistakes over all these decades. Everything will come to an end.
...
This camera was a gift from Mr. Lagunov. He wanted me to record the 'important moments', believing I would find some success...
But all it witnessed was a life that amounted to nothing.
I don't know who to blame. Maybe myself... Yes, there is only myself to blame, because I was the only one who could have changed all of this.
I should have done more, I could have tried harder, but I didn't... No, that's not right! That's not right at all!
She suddenly starts trembling, crying out in shock and anger.
You keep having the same problems! You keep making the same mistakes, again and again and again!
The end is in sight, everything lies in ruins, but you always look for some vain glimmer of hope, some excuse to keep on struggling!
There is no 'if'! Nothing can change this! Meaningless, it's all... meaningless.
All that should have been said has already been written. What is she still doing here, rambling on like this?
It is time to put an end to this insignificant life.
The camera falls from her hand, falling into the graveyard of memories.
The voice picked up by the microphone becomes distant and wavering. The camera, 'REC' still flashing on its screen, captures a blurry wisp of flame.
It is the candle flame, setting alight the suicide note she never intended anyone to read. The note will serve as a fuse, putting a full stop to it all.
However, at that very moment, a bright voice intrudes on her solitude.
Ksenia! —You're Ksenia, right?
Here. This is your room.
Alright. Spasibo.
...
...
Er... Would you like to sit down for a moment? I know I haven't tidied up anything yet, but... it's been so long since we last saw each other. Maybe we can talk a bit.
Next time. I've got more work to do, so I can't stay long. I'll put your luggage here—Hmm?
An old camera quietly lies in the corner of a cardboard box full of documents and knick-knacks.
I remember this... I played with it as a kid. Didn't think you'd still have it.
I had planned on throwing it away, but when I left the Far North... I still took it with me.
Speaking of, I heard someone from Logistics say you filled out some procurement forms for old-fashioned tapes. Guessing those are for this guy?
What're you planning on filming?
Was only asking. It's fine if you can't really answer.
Just nostalgia talking after seeing you pick up an old hobby again.
...I never thought I'd turn this thing on again.
A few days ago, Mon3tr and the Doctor finally told me what happened back in the day. All this time... The professor and the others really are no longer with us.
When I was younger, I had some despicable theories. I wondered if everyone was actually safe and sound, simply finding an excuse to kick dead weight like me out.
After that, I caught wind of the rumors, and I began to live my days in fear, afraid that I would be implicated somehow. I had mistaken my great fortune for some relentless misfortune, and every time I hit a wall, I began to complain about everything...
The last time I picked up this camera, I wanted to die.
But since I am the only one left from those days, I thought... I am no longer the sole owner of this life. I must live, even if it is only to complete the professor's research. Everyone's research.
...
I know how shameless it is. I am an abject failure, so how could I talk about inheriting the will of such great people?
I also know how ridiculous it is. Just another excuse for me to keep living my ignoble life.
But since I am still alive... It is what it is.
Director Kal'tsit left behind some research, and I've been lucky enough to be permitted to take over some incomplete work.
A Columbian journal holds the most authority in this area, so once my paper is done, I plan to send it to them, and see if it gets published.
I don't know if they will respond, or if any of this even makes sense. So when Lyuda asked me what I wanted to film earlier, I couldn't come up with an answer.
I just think that, no matter what happens...
I should keep filming.