Dorothy: Where is the Friend's House?

Operator Record Where is the Friend's House?	Dorothy
Dorothy Franks, I suggest you cooperate. This conversation will be recorded in its entirety.

Unlock conditions

• Raise Dorothy to Elite 2 Level 1.
• Have at least 50% Trust with Dorothy.

Characters

Dorothy Silence Curbside Vulpo/Mr. "Aslan" Golosse Investigator (Otti) Veggie

Backgrounds

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

“

An investigator confirms what happened at Site 359 with Dorothy–while she accompanies her friends back to their homes in her dreams, and also tries to find which way to go herself.

”

<Background black>
[Sounds of people entering, followed by someone tied put into a chair is heard.]
<Background 1>
[Someone sits in front of Dorothy.]
???	Name?
Dorothy	Dorothy.
???	Please provide your full name. I suggest you cooperate. This conversation will be recorded in its entirety. Our next course of action hinges on the results of our investigation, in conjunction with the findings of our interrogation. This will affect the fates of both you and those involved with Site 359.
Dorothy	... Alright, I understand. My full name is Dorothy Franks.
<Background 2>
[A girl runs toward Dorothy.]
Basket-holding Girl	Dorothy! Dorothy! Come take a look, hurry! There's a giant meadow just up ahead! You can see everything from there, so let's try to find your home! Um...a silver house...
[An autonomous powersuit walks toward the the girl.]
Golosse	GO... GO-LOS-SEE!
Basket-holding Girl	Hey, Golosse! Move your balloon outta the way a little! You're blocking the view!
Dorothy	... I already took a good look, Veggie. No silver house here... I guess my home is someplace else.
Veggie	Oh...that's fine, my home isn't here either. It's beautiful out here, but still not as nice as the wheat field back home!
Golosse	G...
Dorothy	Hm? Golosse... what's wrong? Trying to get me to look at something? Ah... I think there's someone over there.
???	...... Good day to you all.
Dorothy	G-Good day, Mr. Vulpo! You look like you're in some sort of trouble?
Curbside Vulpo	I can't find my home. I was arguing with my brother, and it got so bad we almost brought the house down. I ran away and vowed never to return. So I ended up here... It's so scary outside and I want to go home, but I can't.
Veggie	Why not? Are you lost?
Dorothy	If you can't find your way home, you can join us to look for it.
Curbside Vulpo	Alright, I'll tag along with you kind ladies and this... balloon-carrying robot. But I'm telling you, when you see my home, you'll understand why I said I could never go back. By the way, I'm not a Vulpo. I'm a proud Aslan.
<Background 1>
Investigator	So, your goal was to find your "home?" And at the same time, help those Pioneers find their own "homes?"
Dorothy	Exactly.
Investigator	... I came to Site 359 to find out what happened here. So I'll ask you politely not to stall my investigation with vague wording.
Dorothy	I'm not trying to do anything like that. I really was looking for home. If you don't mind, could I confirm one more time– All other the personnel from Site 359, as well as the Pioneers, they've all been relocated?
Investigator	... I'm under no obligation to answer your questions. Why is it you're so concerned with those Pioneers? Your mother was a Pioneer as well, is that correct?
Dorothy	Yes.
Investigator	You spent your childhood with her and her fellow Pioneers, is that correct?
Dorothy	Yes.
Investigator	And your mother died in a Catastrophe out in the wilderness, is that correct?
Dorothy	... I rather not talk about that, sir. I'm sure you know my background well enough... But what does that have to do with your investigation?
Investigator	Right. I apologize if my phrasing has upset you. My working theory goes like this: Those people must have been very important to you.
Dorothy	The Pioneers... they wander the wilderness until they can go no further. They migrate from one end to another, like a storm with nowhere to go. They may be called Pioneers, but they have no land to call their own. I wanted to give them a better life. As for my loved ones... I will carry on for them, to return to their "homes," the ones they've visited so many times in their dreams.
<Background 3>
[Golosse behaves erratically as Dorothy and the others enter a workshop.]
Golosse	GO-LOS-SEE.
Dorothy	Here? Golosse... This is your home?
Golosse	GO. GO......
Mr. "Aslan"	Seems like its trying to tell us something... look at its hands. Do you think it's asking us to open that drawer for it?
Veggie	Drawer? What could be inside...? Let me see!
[Veggie opens the drawer.]
Veggie	It's... a recorder?
[Golosse behaves erratically again.]
Golosse	Home... home...
Veggie	Hey! Did... did Golosse just say a word?!
The robot begins to disassemble itself. The balloon that it has been holding floats to the ceiling. The robot opens its chest to reveal its "core," and places its "heart" into the recorder. The recorder gives off a voice... an elderly voice.
Old Voice	*Cough*... I am Golosse, a robot craftsman. I can't walk anymore, and I'm still a long way from home. I recorded my voice and implanted it into this body. I hope this robot can bring it back home for me. Dear stranger... If anyone hears this... please go and see for me, find out what's become of my home... Go on, robot, carry my voice back home!
The elderly voice stops.
Golosse	LOSE...
The robot makes one final sound before reverting to a heap of cold steel.
Dorothy	... Golosse... I know that's not your name, but I still think I should call you that... you did it. But what you've accomplished, is more than just acting as a proxy to carry your master's voice to a long lost home. This place... is your home too. Mr. Lupo.
Mr. "Aslan"	What is it? And I'm not a Lupo, I'm an Aslan.
Dorothy	Alright, Mr. Aslan... could you help me fetch Golosse's balloon? I want to bring its balloon with us, and carry on.
<Background 4>
[Dorothy, now freed, walks with the investigator.]
Investigator	Let's get back on track. In regards to your cooperation with the military, I see Ferdinand was your liaison, and your experiments appear to have been fully compliant with the law, so far. Let me clarify your personal relationship, which appears to have been very close? Were you really unaware of what he was planning?
Dorothy	I'm sorry, but I never knew him that well.
Investigator	Fair enough. We have no evidence that you knew what he was up to. Records show a pattern of accessing internal Rhine Lab documents typical for a researcher.
Dorothy	I'm always pressed for time. I just wish my experiments could be faster and better... I don't have the luxury of exploring unrelated materials.
Investigator	You say that, but what you've accomplished is still pretty incredible. No ordinary person would avoid obtaining information like that, let alone a Rhine Lab Director. We have reason to suspect you prepared these records to clear yourself of suspicion.
Dorothy	Preparing false records for a post-event investigation wouldn't help me complete my experiments faster, nor would it help the Pioneers. So why would I do that?
Investigator	Wouldn't you be curious about your role in his plans? Wouldn't you want to know if he saw you as a partner or a pawn?
Dorothy	... No, that really wouldn't make a difference to me at all. My research, my vision... that's what matters to me. And it could be extraordinarily valuable to someone else. If that someone else wants to make use of my research and vision, I'm willing to make a trade.
Investigator	So you're saying you don't mind being a pawn. You're not afraid of being used, of suffering damages?
Dorothy	By suffering damages... do you mean getting put behind bars?
Investigator	That could very well happen...
Dorothy	Yes, I'm aware. It happened to Loken Williams... I've seen my share of scientists who've made enough mistakes for the government to abandon them. However, I do know there are quite a few people who get themselves thrown in prison just to look for Loken, to ask for his advice and assistance on their research, as I once did.
Investigator	... Ahem. That is to say, you've made your own terrible decisions.
Dorothy	That road I've walked... is how I managed to get a leg up on the competition. It's essentially how Columbia functions. How else could the daughter of a Pioneer become a Director of Rhine Lab?
Investigator	... Who would've thought... you've even thought through these things? But... you may not care if you're being used, sure. How about the Pioneers?
Dorothy	...
Investigator	Ferdinand and the others may see you as an equal, but when it comes to the Pioneers, they might as well be plastic bags littered out in the wilderness after they're no longer useful, huh?
Dorothy	Well... they will eventually pay their dues. Even if I can't see things through now, I will eventually. It's my responsibility, after my mistakes. That was... the biggest mistake I've ever made.
<Background 5>
Dorothy	Mr. Feline! Mr. Feline? What are you standing there for? We need to go!
Mr. "Aslan"	I'm not a Vulpo or a Feline. I'm an Aslan. Miss, this is the last time I'll correct you. If it happens again, you'll see the back of my sharp molars instead.
Dorothy	Alright, Mr. Aslan. Come along with us now.
Mr. "Aslan"	You go on ahead, I've already found my home.
Dorothy	Your home? Where is it...?
Mr. "Aslan"	Look up.
An upside-down house hangs above Dorothy's head, floating in the vast sky. Dorothy finally realizes why Mr. "Aslan" said he could never return home.
Mr. "Aslan"	I made an irreversible mistake, with only my own pride to blame, and now I have left my home for good.
Dorothy	... Mr. "Aslan," there must be a way to get you back. We just have to put our heads together!
Mr. "Aslan"	You go ahead, I'll stay here. This is the punishment I deserve.
Dorothy	Floating... in the sky... I've got it! Mr. "Aslan!" We still have Golosse's balloon!
Mr. "Aslan"	Balloon...? You're going to float me up with that? I'll try... I think it's working, my feet are off the ground! I just need to lose some more weight!
Veggie	Oh my! Mr. "Aslan," what are you doing...? Is this... water? There's so much... Why is it coming out of your ears?
Mr. "Aslan"	Heheh... I gulped down all that water just to make myself look stronger. It's like my brain has been bobbing up and down in my head this whole time... Look at me! I'm flying!
The "Aslan" rises slowly up into the air with the balloon–he is screaming, but it is unclear if from panic or excitement. For just a moment, Dorothy gets a look at his back molars–they aren't sharp at all. In fact, they're round and cute. For some unknown reason, Dorothy sheds a tear.
<Background 6>
[As Dorothy and the investigator walks while the latter write down the former's answers...]
Investigator	What do you know about Kristen Wright's plans?
Dorothy	Nothing at all. You may not believe it, but it's the truth. I'm sorry to say, I'm probably the most out-of-touch person in all of Rhine Lab.
Investigator	Do you know where she might be right now?
Dorothy	I'm very sorry, but I really don't. All I know is that she's an idealist. And a very ambitious one. When she invited me to join Rhine, I saw the same kind of idealistic "lightning bolt" that I have in her.
Investigator	Lightning bolt?
An unusual figure appears in the skies above Trimounts. A pillar of light pierces the sky, and at the moment the truth behind the azure blue pours out for only a moment.
Investigator	What... is that...? What's happening in the sky over Trimounts?! Is... is that Kristen's "ambitious target?!"
Dorothy	...
Investigator	Director Franks. Director? Are... are you crying?
Dorothy	... So that's the truth behind the sky... It's beautiful. I'm sorry, I just can't hold back my tears. I expected nothing less from Kristen... She really did it.
Investigator	Director, you just said you didn't know what Kristen's plans were?
Dorothy	This definitely looks like something she would do. And... I'm feeling something genuine.
Investigator	What are you talking about?
Dorothy	It's my "Transmitter." I can feel it through the "Transmitter"... They've gone to the other side of the sky– The river of stars does not hide from its impulse to rush into my mind...
Investigator	... "Transmitter", huh? That sounds like the product of the experiments at Site 359. I am curious... since you're so closely linked with this creation, did exposure to it result in any negative effects?
Dorothy	Like a side effect?
Investigator	You could put it that way.
Dorothy	I haven't experienced any particularly noticeable symptoms so far. If you really press me on it, I do seem to dream a lot more. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm awake or asleep... or I suddenly feel...
Investigator	Feel what?
Dorothy	...
Investigator	Director Franks. Director Franks?
Dorothy	... Oh... Sorry about that, the feeling just came by again. Like I'm in a hot, arid, deserted wasteland.
<Background 7>
Dorothy	Hot... So hot... Veggie... slow down a little...
Veggie	Dorothy, I've reached my stop. This place here's my home.
Dorothy	Huh? Here...? But it's so hot... too hot for anything to ever grow. Where's the wheat field you talked about? The beautiful new brick house... and your friend who's been waiting for you in the fields?
Veggie	Uh... my friend, isn't he right next to us?
Dorothy	Here? Oh...are you talking about this raggedy scarecrow?
Veggie	Yeah, hehe, it's been so long. I didn't expect him to change this much... And my home too... it's much bigger.
Dorothy	Veggie... Why don't you come with me? You can live with me!
Veggie	... Dorothy, you've come such a long way with us. Golosse, Mr. "Aslan," and me... we all appreciate you keeping us company on our journey. But now is the time to say goodbye.
Dorothy	B-But, I'm just worried...
Veggie	It's alright, Dorothy. I've decided to stay here. Even if it has changed a lot... this place is still my home. My friend... he's been here the whole time. I'll stay with him and rebuild our home together.
A breeze blows, and the scarecrow sways with the wind. Dorothy bids farewell to her last remaining friend. The desert spans far and wide, but where lies the silver house from her memories?
<Background 6>
Investigator	Kristen has lost her goddamned mind... Just what kind of monsters has she gathered in Rhine Lab...?
Dorothy	... Kristen... is this what she wanted to find? The answer to the question of "home?" I'm going to have to congratulate Control, the next time I see her. And Parvis... It looks like he's modified my creation. Hmm, now that's interesting. But "Transmitter" is just a "Transmitter", so if it's not used to sustain life, then what does it do? Wait... I suddenly thought of a possibility. Life can't survive outside starpods, but that might not be the case for a "Transmitter." So maybe–they could take the place of humans in harsher environments, be it in the center of a Catastrophe, or... This is wonderful, Sir, please give me a little time. I need to imprint this scene in my head, and note down everything I'm thinking right now. There is still so much more room for improvement in my experiments with endless possibilities for what the Transmitters could become, the equality I want, the future I want, the... home I long for...
Investigator	What exactly is this "home" you keep bringing up? You don't mean it's... in the sky?
<Background black>
Home? What I call home... my futurescape... What does it look like?
<Background 8>
Dorothy	This... This is... Is this my house? This silver house...
Motherly Voice	Dorothy, over here...
Dorothy	... That's Mama's voice... Mama... where are you? I can't find you...?
Motherly Voice	Dorothy, over here...
Dorothy, this shouldn't be your futurescape...
<Background 5>
Dorothy	... Futurescape... Then where should it be?
Investigator	Director Franks, I'd like you to stop talking to yourself. And answer my question.
Dorothy	Alright. I was just recalling my inspiration there. The "home" I'm talking about is not the one you're thinking of. What I seek is a more egalitarian, idealistic society, and it might just be right under our feet. Or it could be much farther away, as far away as Kristen is looking. Now that I'm thinking about it again, Kristen, Parvis, Ferdinand, and me, we Rhine Lab scientists all have our separate goals. If I'm looking for what we have it common... I might say... the brilliant 'lightning bolt' I see blazing in all of us.
Investigator	...
Dorothy notices the investigator hitting the pause button on the recorder.
Investigator	Director Franks, I think I need to remind you of something. Suppose you pursue your ideals in a manner similar to that of Kristen, Ferdinand, or any of the others– What you just said might have unfortunate consequences for you.
Dorothy	...
A wind blows from an unknown direction. ...The scent of the wilderness.
Dorothy	Otti.
Investigator	...
Otti	How... do you know my name?
Dorothy	Why not hear my story first? I once helped a Pioneer by the name of Linda. She was forcibly separated from her family at a young age and abandoned in the wilderness due to her Oripathy. The time she spent with her family in the countryside was her most precious memory. When autumn came, that field of golden wheat... with the scarecrow swaying amidst the crops... And the brother who always tagged along behind her, running endlessly through the wheat fields...
Otti	... You... know my sister? How... is she now...? How has her life been?
Dorothy	So it really is you. Linda showed me a photo of her family... The first time I saw you, I guessed that you were her brother. She got married, and even invited me to her wedding. It was a simple event, out in the wastes, but she married a decent man. They even have a child now. He's adorable, pestering his mother every day to hear the story of the scarecrow. She always said that her brother was her pride and joy... She was sure that the remarkable and responsible Otti would take care of the family for her.
Otti	... I'm sorry... I don't even know what to say. Should I be thanking you, Director Franks?
Dorothy	There's no need for that, Otti. I'm telling you this story not because I want something in return. I feel... duty-bound to help the Pioneers. I expect to keep pursuing my ideals, in the same way I have. So, my conscience can be clear. Please put everything I've said on the record. The only thing that should not be traded is the love and goodwill of man.
Otti	... I understand, Director Franks.
He switches the recorder on.
<Background 1>
The next day...
[Someone walks into the room.]
Dorothy	... You're here.
Mysterious Visitor	... You knew I would be?
Dorothy	You are an excellent partner. I knew you would come find me, if you wanted even more responsibility. Looking closer, I think you've grown again.
[The visitor reveals herself as Silence.]
Silence	... The "transmitter" was indeed utilized as you expected. I should thank you for the tip. I've agreed to cooperate with the government, so I came here to retrieve the "transmitter."
Dorothy	I see... Why don't we make a "trade", my good doctor?
Silence	... What do you want?
Dorothy	Where is Kristen right now? And where is Rhine Lab headed?
Silence	... I don't know. At least, that was the only answer I had for a long time, for anything about Rhine Lab personnel, or any of the others.
Dorothy	...
Silence	What are you planning, to be asking such questions?
Dorothy	I want to remain at Rhine Lab, and continue my research. Of course, it would be nice to travel around to meet other like-minded individuals, so my research could benefit even more people. I think I remember, you're working with a company called Rhodes Island these days?
Silence	I am.
Dorothy	Do you think maybe... Rhodes Island would be willing to collaborate with me?
Silence	...
Dorothy	Everyone deserves the truth of science–I know, Olivia, this is our common dream. With you helping to keep the results of my work in the right hands– I believe that our dream will eventually be realized.

Trivia

• This Operator Record has several allusions to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.