Operation story: DV-6

Operation

Story

Previous DV-5	Next DV-7, DV-S-2
Characters
Doctor Dorothy Elena Muelsyse Ptilopsis Saria Silence Ferdinand Mechanist Parvis Sonny Rhine Defense Member Colonel
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

Before operation

“

The group learns that the collective consciousness of the unconscious test subjects is what drives the mysterious creatures, revealing the terrifying true purpose of the experiments. Saria guesses at Ferdinand's ambitions, while multiple attempts are made to synchronize with Ptilopsis.

”

[Elena walks into the room, and...]
The massive machine sits silent in the darkness. The intertwining tubes are like sprawling rhizomes, shoots growing out at the ends. Each shoot is an electrode glowing faintly, absorbing nutrition from the lifeform underneath. The missing Pioneers lie side by side, electrodes on their heads. They breathe and their hearts beat, but they are oblivious to what is happening around them. A silvery liquid flows through the tubes, converging on the device at the center of the room. It seems more alive than the dozens of catatonic test subjects.
Elena	How could this be...? ...Helen? Why...?
<Background 1>
Sonny	Dirk! Gale! Sophia! They're all here... Let them go.
Dorothy	...... Please, keep your voice down. Don't startle them. Wait here a while, my friends... everything will be alright, once I take care of this little problem. I promise.
Silence	Are you talking to them? I doubt they can hear you. I've never seen symptoms like these... except on the unconscious Joyce. The electrodes and the silver liquid... they're connected to their central nervous systems, aren't they?
Elena	Dorothy... why is Helen here?
Dorothy	She was worried that she would fail Ferdinand's test. I made a suggestion.
Elena	A suggestion... to become a test subject? Helen was chatting with us just this morning. Now she lies here as conscious as a plank of wood.
Dorothy	I want to help her, Elena. I can feel her pain... just like I feel all of theirs. Helen's debts are weighing an entire family down. She lives in constant fear... she would take her own life if Ferdinand fired her. To stop now would be to deliver them into the hands of merciless fate. I can't do something so cruel.
Sonny	Stop. Stop with the self-righteousness already, or I can't promise I'll keep my finger off the trigger.
Dorothy	Your hatred of me stems from your lack of understanding of what you see, and of me. But I understand you.
Sonny	Like hell you do! You understand us so well you'll oh so benevolently give us a chance at a new life. Instead of dying in a Catastrophe or getting eaten by monsters... We get to be technically-alive half-corpses in the lab of a big corporation! Where do I line up to kiss your feet?!
Dorothy	Have you never thought about it, Sonny? Why is it that some people with Oripathy can keep working, while others are forced to leave their homes?
Sonny	Don't need you to tell me. The day after I got diagnosed, I found my insurance contract and pink slip waiting for me. The contract was five hundred and sixty-nine pages. The sheet telling me I was fired didn't fill half the paper. There aren't a lot of companies out there willing to hire an Infected. We gotta prove we're worth that outrageous insurance premium.
Silence	......
Elena	Sigh...
Dorothy	Don't you think it's unfair?
Sonny	Kinda goes without saying, doesn't it?
Dorothy	Then you should understand.
<Background 2>
Mechanist	I can't reach Silence or Greyy. The site must be entirely closed off.
Muelsyse	Fer...dinand...
Saria	Closing off the lab is just the means, not the end. Ferdinand is planning something at Site 359.
Mechanist	Doctor, Silence and the others are in danger. We're not getting anything from the site... should we move to assist?
Doctor	Ptilopsis... / ...Device #9.
Mechanist	True... data transmission from Device #9 is different from standard communication. We only need a moment's signal to see what Ptilopsis is seeing. I'll try to sync up with her.
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 3>
Are you sure you want to meet with him alone, Miss Franks? Yes, I have permission from the bureau. They say that man, Loken Williams, is a complete nutjob. He got a hundred years in prison for his cruel human experimentation. I know. I've sat in his lectures before. These scientists are out of their minds... oh, sorry, I forgot you were a scientist too. But you're such a gentle and elegant lady. Surely you're not like them! I understand. Thank you for being concerned about my safety. I'll be careful. How long do you expect you'll be in there? An hour. I can come back again same time next week, if necessary. You want to talk to him that badly? He doesn't usually care about other people... Maybe it's because of all the things people ask him for, I'm the only one asking for help.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 1>
Dorothy	Everyone deserves a chance, we should all have equal access to opportunity. Differences in talent should not determine one's destiny. When someone with talent becomes privileged because of that talent, they are infringing on someone else's interests, undermining fairness. I'm among the privileged. And I'm ashamed of my "luck." I wanted to pull you out of the bog before it swallowed you–Dirk, Helen, and you, Sonny. I have done all this in the hopes that one day, fortune will smile only upon those who work hard, rather than favor the so-called "talented".
Sonny	......
Dorothy	I've spent many years working towards this goal. Altering the individual to make it stronger does not solve the problem. Those who were born strong can be even stronger with the same alterations, widening the gap even further. In order to achieve true equality, I must...
Silence	You wanted to eliminate individual differences? The unconscious test subjects... Originium Arts constructs with emotional responses... a massive machine that links them together... Your experiments... they're... I've heard of something like them before, but I thought it was just a mad dream, one that failed a long time ago.
Dorothy	Mad dream? There's no such thing as "mad" science. It's just a means to an end. We can't ignore or forget the innate differences between individuals, but that doesn't mean we have to be burdened by them forever. My technology will allow people to stand before each other as equals, sharing equally the soil, the air, and the rain. No longer will their footsteps be stopped by mountains, nor their sight be obstructed by storms. They will look into the distance from a place of safety, without having to endure the toil of long journeys and separation from their loved ones. Don't you understand the beauty of such a future?
Elena	Did I never actually understand...? What exactly were we doing here?
Silence	We've been looking for the caster behind the silver constructs. We thought it was the individual Pioneers, but we were wrong. The caster was all of them.
Dorothy	You have sharp eyes, Dr. Silence.
Silence	Director Franks, the future you imagine is just that... your imagination. I see something different. A skilled Originium Arts caster can destroy a building. Three skilled casters can suppress an entire city block. What would happen if you joined the power of ten people, a hundred people, a thousand people? Nothing under the sun will escape its gaze. The strongest fortress will be little more than a toy that it could crush with a thought. As for the people you care about, the ones you call friends... they will never be more than test subjects in the eyes of those who want to harness the technology. Those who fail will be the lucky ones. They'll be ignored, allowed to live and die on their own. A worse fate befalls those who succeed. The day their experiment succeeds, they'll be doomed to live under the watchful eyes of corporations and governments.
Elena	Olivia... I've never seen you like this...
This angry. Silence can feel her own anger, like a humming in her mind. Scenes from the past flash across her eyes, as she feels her reason and calm disintegrate.
Silence	You may have changed their destiny, but at what price? They'll lose their freedom forever, their lives no longer their own.
Dorothy	...I'll protect them. If it costs my very life.
Sonny	Killing you, right here, right now just might be best for everyone.
Dorothy	If that's your consensus... Then I won't resist.
Elena	Don't lose your head, Sonny!
Sonny	Lose my head, Doc? I'm calmer than I've ever been. Dorothy Franks... I gotta admit, the picture of the future you're painting has some appeal. Same as how I almost walked into your lab... you don't know how many times I thought about taking your hand.
Dorothy	Why didn't you?
Sonny	Because my future... belongs to me. The things you say, not to mention the look of you there... the more welcoming the whole deal, the clearer I see it... You're controlling us.
Dorothy	I...
Sonny	It's harder to break out of a sweet dream than a nightmare. Maybe you're living that dream, Director Franks, but the rest of us are here facing reality. Doc Silence was right. An experiment like this should never have existed to begin with. The lands across our world have given birth to enough madness. This kinda madness oughta get buried deep, and never dug up again. Whatever it costs. We gotta put a stop to this.
Elena	Olivia! Make Sonny listen! Whatever came of it... Dorothy was only trying to help these people. Even if I thought she needed to be stopped, to be punished, it shouldn't end like this... not by the ones she truly loved...
Silence	......
Ptilopsis	Sonny...
Silence	Joyce? You... you're awake?
Ptilopsis	Don't hurt Director Franks.
<Background 2>
Mechanist	Synchronization failed. The situation at Site 359 may be worse than we thought.
[Muelsyse regained her composure.]
Muelsyse	Uhh...
Doctor	Are you alright?
Muelsyse	Thank you for the help, Dr. {nickname}. I can feel my legs now.
Doctor	Site 359 is about more than just Rhine Lab. / Ferdinand is working with more powerful forces.
Muelsyse	You know who Ferdinand is working with, don't you, Saria? The power armor you've been tracking just might end up in the hands of those who most need cutting-edge weaponry.
Saria	You've seen them. Evidence?
Muelsyse	You'll have it. That warmth I felt back there, that was a little wishful thinky on my part, huh? I put my life on the line to get the evidence you wanted.
Saria	– Our hypothesis was right. Ferdinand is no longer hiding his ambition.
Doctor	He's leveraging this experiment to garner support...
Muelsyse	...and he'll use it to seize control of Rhine Lab. We have to find Kristen. She is Ferdinand's prime target. Did you get my last message, Saria?
Saria	My contacts inside Rhine say everything is normal.
Muelsyse	That's because they're used to Control's absence. Ferdinand's been planning this for years, undermining Control's authority, little by little... this experiment is the last step. Or maybe not the last one... I hadn't been in contact with Kristen for a week before they got me.
Mechanist	What about the site?
Muelsyse	I wouldn't be too worried about Dr. Silence. I still remember that time she got the upper hand of me.
Saria	......
Muelsyse	This is no time for indecision, Saria. You have to make a choice.
Saria	This is no multiple choice question, Doctor. The key to resolving the situation at the site is Ferdinand, and the key to taking care of Ferdinand lies before us.
Doctor	Let's go see the Control of Rhine.

After operation

“

The situation appears to be resolving itself as the Pioneers reach an accord with Dorothy, who agrees to terminate her experiments. Ferdinand makes a bold play, sending his men to inject the Pioneer with Transmitter.

”

<Background 1>
Ptilopsis	...Sonny. We did this of our own volition.
Sonny	I don't get it, Doc Moore... who are you talking for here?
Ptilopsis	...... Message. I received a message, one that is different from that previous ones. Hngh...
Silence	Does your head hurt again, Joyce?
Ptilopsis	There is nothing wrong with me physically, Dr. Silence. Detecting unexpected data transmission. Processing.
Sonny	Data?
Ptilopsis	Yes... Sonny, we all know... This is... a gamble. The results are... unpredictable. But this was our choice. Data transmission terminated. Analysis indicates that Sonny is the intended recipient.
Sonny	Doc Moore, you're talking like one of our... no, one of the test subjects lying there.
Ptilopsis	Hypothesis cannot be confirmed. The source of the data is unknown. I simply sensed it.
Sonny	Doc Silence, is she right? Doc Moore can hear my friends?!
Silence	Joyce, was your use of the word "sense" intentional?
Ptilopsis	Yes, Dr. Silence. The content of the dream has changed.
Silence	What did you see?
Ptilopsis	Analysis failed.
Elena	Your eyes look different... are you feeling sad?
Ptilopsis	Detecting signal fluctuations in peripheral system. ...Della.
Silence	Dellareed? Are you thinking of her again? Does Device #9 have something to do with Director Franks's experiments?
Ptilopsis	Motive, emotion, not logical connections. Dr. Silence, I sense that this was our own choice.
Silence	Your own choice? ...... Sonny, if I guarantee that I will do all that can be done to correct the wrongs, will you let Dorothy Franks go?
Sonny	Listen, Doc Silence, we appreciate your help getting us here, and that you got us to the truth about the experiments. We can definitely believe you're on our side. But can you really be sure she won't start it all back up again?
Dorothy	......
Silence	No, I can't. But if she does, I will handle her for you.
<Background 3>
Elena	Whew... the experiments have been suspended, Dorothy is unharmed, and the test subjects are regaining consciousness. I still find all this hard to believe.
Ptilopsis	There is no cause for alarm. Emotional fluctuations are normal.
Elena	You woke up just in time, Joyce. I've never seen Olivia that angry... I thought she would just leave Dorothy to her own devices. But I still don't understand how you heard the voices of the test subjects. Their consciousnesses were linked by Dorothy's "Hub", but how did you get involved? Didn't you say Device #9 had nothing to do with the "Hub"?
Ptilopsis	Insufficient data available. But I heard the voice of Mr. Myers when I woke up from my dream.
Elena	When you woke up... The conflict in the corridor? Why would that wake you, when the battle before didn't? This is all so strange... Anyway, I guess all's well that ends well. Thanks to Olivia.
Ptilopsis	Dr. Silence has met expectations.
Elena	She's changed so much, come to think of it. When I first met her, she was just one of many students you'd see on a college campus, shy, introverted, unremarkable.
Ptilopsis	This description matches my memory.
Elena	I could hardly recognize her when she was pressing Dorothy for answers, only to step in to protect her. It was like I saw... a shadow of someone else.
Ptilopsis	That of Director Saria?
Elena	H-How did you know? Don't tell Olivia I said that!
Ptilopsis	Dr. Silence won't let this affect her friendship with you.
Elena	I know. But as her friend, I don't want to remind her of her unpleasant past.
Ptilopsis	Understood.
Elena	Let's go. I should finish my job too. Communications have yet to be restored... not good. The boss... And my sister... how many messages have I been getting?
<Background 1>
Silence	Please come with me, Director Franks. It's time to leave.
Dorothy	One moment, please. With the experiments halted, they will wipe this lab off the map. There's something I have to take with me.
Silence	It's... a photo?
Dorothy	Yes.
Silence	A photo of a group of Pioneers... Is this girl... you?
Dorothy	I meant every word I said to Sonny. My mother, my whole family... they were all Pioneers. From a young age I heard them talk about their dreams and saw their struggles with my own eyes. They gave me a chance to chase my own dreams. But most Pioneers will never know the luck that came to me.
Silence	What happened to your family?
Dorothy	Most of them have left me. When I was invited to attend Ironforge Polytechnic's summer camp for "talented students"... A Catastrophe destroyed my mother's camp. She never heard about my miraculous acceptance, or my scholarship.
Silence	I'm sorry...
Dorothy	Was it really the right choice to stop these experiments? Those Pioneers, those whose lives hang by a thread, they live each day not knowing if they'll see the next. I could have helped them... They didn't have to be swallowed up by the sand in despair, like my family was.
Silence	......
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 3>
Parvis	Why do you ask this, Silence? Without our experiments, the child would not have lasted more than a few days after leaving Haydn 1. We saved her life. She wants for nothing, and will contribute to scientific advancement. How lucky is she, compared to all those children who die of Oripathy in the barrenlands? I trusted you, put you in charge of her. Yet you make such petty accusations towards me, towards science itself?
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 1>
Silence	I don't know. This is not a question for me to answer. Joyce reminded me... I should not judge things by my own standards, even if I can never accept what you did. Did we not choose to be tormented by uncertainty and self-doubt? As researchers, it's our duty to seek the answer ourselves.
<Background 4>
Ferdinand	Is everything ready?
Rhine Defense Member	Our team has entered the site and is approaching the lab area.
Ferdinand	Good. Get ready.
[Ferdinand calls the "Colonel".]
Ferdinand	Colonel, I know there have been delays, but if you give me a little more time...
Colonel's Voice	You never told me there were other people at the site, Clooney.
Ferdinand	Do you mean the pharmaceutical company? There's nothing to worry about. They're partnered with Rhine Lab. I will...
Colonel's Voice	I don't need your promises. All I need here is results.
Ferdinand	I apologize. This is just a small hiccup...
Colonel's Voice	If you can't deliver results, then you have to at least stop making trouble for me. You'd do well to remember that.
[The "Colonel" hangs up.]
Ferdinand	......
Rhine Defense Member	Can we proceed, Director Clooney?
Ferdinand	We don't have a choice.
Rhine Defense Member	Understood.
Ferdinand	One more thing. Put me on spec com.
<Background 3>
Elena	Huh... communications have been restored?
[Elena received a call from Ferdinand.]
Ferdinand	Elena.
Elena	Director? I'm so glad it's you. I've been trying to reach you... did you get my message? I put everything that happened here in my report. Something's wrong with Dorothy... Director Franks's experiments. But Silence and I have things under control. We've settled things with the Pioneers. They're leaving the labs as we speak.
Ferdinand	I know.
Elena	You... you do? Oh wow...
Ferdinand	You did your job. The cleanup detail is on the way in.
Elena	Defense? They're finally here? Whew, that's a relief. I was worried about the Transmitter we've been storing here.
Ferdinand	They know what to do. You can leave now.
Elena	I should stay and help. Next to Dorothy, I'm the most familiar with these experiments.
Ferdinand	I'm at the observation station, Elena. Two directors are more than enough to handle the situation, don't you agree?
Elena	Er, that's not what I meant...
Ferdinand	Then listen to me and leave the site immediately.
Elena	May I ask why?
Ferdinand	No, you may not waste my time with meaningless questions. I want you in the control room, now.
Elena	Yes... sir.
[Ferdinand hangs up.]
Elena	......
Ptilopsis	Is there a problem, Researcher Urbica?
Elena	The director... Ferdinand wants me to leave immediately.
Ptilopsis	Leave?
Elena	Go and let Olivia know that the Defense Section is coming.
Ptilopsis	What about you? Are you leaving?
Elena	I... something's not right with the director. If... if he didn't know how far Dorothy went, why is he completely unconcerned about what happened to the experiments?
<Background 4>
Rhine Defense Member	Director Clooney, Miss Urbica is not leaving the labs.
Ferdinand	......
Rhine Defense Member	Should we adjust the plan?
Ferdinand	No. Proceed.
<Background 3>
Sonny	Is everybody out?
Pioneer Team Member	Yes, sir.
Rhine Defense Member	Next.
Sonny	What are they doing?
Pioneer Team Member	They say it's a "precautionary measure". Probably a sedative or something. I guess we made a little too much noise, huh?
Sonny	Don't forget what I said. If anyone asks, I was the one behind everything.
Pioneer Team Member	Don't worry, no one's letting you take all the credit.
Sonny	But...
Rhine Defense Member	Next.
Sonny	Sonny Romano.
Rhine Defense Member	Wasn't asking for your name.
Sonny	Tell your leader that I take sole responsibility for the kidnapping.
Rhine Defense Member	...... Right hand.
Sonny	Are you gonna get to it after the injection?
[Sonny unwraps his hand to take the injection, but suddenly Elena rushes toward him and pushes Sonny away.]
Sonny	What the...? Doc Urbica? Why'd you push me?
Elena	Don't take the shot!
Rhine Defense Member	You're interfering with our work, researcher.
Elena	I developed that stuff in that syringe. Need me to explain what it's for?
Sonny	Huh? Aren't they with you and Doc Silence?
Elena	Why do you always doubt the people you should trust, when you're so eager to trust people you should doubt? Take that band off, quick!
Sonny	The treatment wristband?
Elena	I remembered why Joyce woke up when I saw the syringes in their hands! It's this–the treatment bands! The ones you got have been modified. There's a sensor on them similar to the equipment in Dorothy's lab. If it comes into contact with Transmitter... I need to report to the director. Someone is behind all this, using... using...
[Elena tries to call Ferdinand, but the signals are jammed.]
Elena	Dammit, communications are down again?
Sonny	What's the matter?
Elena	...... I... I get it now. All this time...
Sonny	Doc Urbica, are you okay? Are you crying?
Elena	Crying? No, I just... It's not important. This isn't over, Sonny. Dorothy was never your enemy!