Nautila

She always seems to be circling that motorcycle of hers, the "Phantom", a screw tightened here, a line adjusted there. The work has no end to it. Plenty of people tell her the repairs could not possibly be better, and still she buries herself in it, day after day.

The reason is a feeling she cannot account for: that something is still missing.

Unlocks at: Awakener Level 1

A.F. 3@2, a D-phenomenon occurred in coastal towns of the Agló Republic, spreading outward in a spiral from the port, affecting an area hundreds of meters wide and causing @1 deaths.

Investigations traced the phenomenon back to a fishing boat that set out on A.F. 3@2 @1 @1@1, catching a silver-patterned cod-like creature.

The creature's soft body ruptured when cut by a sharp tool, releasing fluid laden with shell fragments and other residues. Upon reaching the port, shell-like growths had appeared among the catch but were ignored until a fisherman perceived himself as a shell, twisting his body and ending up hospitalized. Only then was the event reported.

Mythag personnel later located the source of the phenomenon at @4 cannery, removed it, and secured Silver O-36.

<Italic:"Awakening System Silver Acquisition Report: O-36">

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 3

Three months after she was Awakened, the Investigators and the Keeper threw Nautila a party, not to celebrate her arrival, but to celebrate her finally remembering the name of Mythag University.

She forgot it again the next day, but a party can always be held twice. Who knows, give her another three months and it may actually stick.

Nobody can say whether Nautila's goldfish memory is an aftereffect of Dissolution or the result of a damaged Silvercore. Short-term memory isn't all bad, though. For a mechanic who takes her work seriously, forgetting which screw she has already tightened means tightening every screw again, and again, and again. Machines that pass through Nautila's hands tend to come out sturdier than the rest, and to last far longer.

Doll adores her for it. Not everyone can do a repair job that holds for ten years.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 5

When night fell, Nautila and her mother would slip into the storeroom, take up their tools, and work on the monowheel they were piecing together from saved-up parts: the Phantom.

"Why don't we just buy one?" she asked as a child, looking up at her mother and her tools. "Then we could leave on our adventure right now."

Her mother took her hand and, while teaching her how to lay down a fast, clean weld, said:

"Machines are like people. Every one of them has its own temper, its own character. Only the ones that truly understand us will stay with us for the long road."

"Like friends?"

"Apart from the part where we build them, yes. Like friends."

The great wheel had to be strong and the engine had to last, because once they set out, they would not turn back easily. They were going to cross the whole world together, on one enormous adventure.

Illness took her mother and left behind a repair shop full of tools and empty of everything else. Nautila held the unfinished Phantasm and swore she would finish her mother's dream and her own, with this cold friend at her side.

Until the last voyage.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 7

A.F. 315, January, @2

Dr. Sylvia suggested that I jot down my thoughts in a notebook to help train my memory. Everyone says doctors know a lot and can surely help me. So I'm counting on it; tomorrow, I mustn't forget the purpose of this notebook!

Today, I completed the production and assembly of the exhaust pipe. Now it can exhaust air without interfering with the auxiliary hose's movement. This should be the last step, right? At least I haven't found any issues so far, but I can't rule out forgetting a screw somewhere... That's right, I must have forgotten something, either a screw or a pipe, or maybe bearing lubrication? Engine oil? Honestly, I've always had this nagging feeling that something's off with the Phantom. It's always... lacking? Is that the word? It misses a crucial component, even more critical than the engine. Without it, I can't set off, can't embark on that journey into the unknown, because that is ours. @2

Why am I saying ours? Who am I with? Did I... have someone? I remember, it seems like... @2 @4 @3

Uh, my head hurts so much.

But this notebook feels quite useful; that way, I can continue recalling from here tomorrow, and who knows, maybe I really will remember?

The only entry in Nautila's diary.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 9