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Dammit, what's going on?! This blasted thing's spinning?

If I had to guess, this would be the 'altitude adjustment' mentioned in the technical manual, which is the step right before secondary excitation.

Sir, do you need my help?

Why are these doors in the corridor shut? Where's Ferdinand?

He slipped away just now–

Go after him!

Are there no defense systems here other than the partition doors in the corridor?

If I had any say in it, this place would be stuffed full of power armor.

Freeze, Ferdinand.

Got you.

I need you to leave me alone, Colonel. Every minute here is precious.

And dealing with you would waste all my energy.

I thought we were peas in a pod, Ferdinand. Sober rationalists who would weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.

Looks like I had the wrong read on you.

Come with us.

The beam excitation reading is 1.22. A constant should be introduced here to renormalize the entire formula...

What the hell are you talking about?

I'm laughing at you, Blake.

I'm laughing at how pathetic you are. Your power, your medals, your rank in the DOD... You never lost sight of those.

But now, we're standing at an altitude that few have ever touched, surrounded on all sides by scientific miracles. Just by reaching our hands out, we're on the cusp of plucking new formulae from these instruments.

Take a good look. Here, all the honors and accolades you've clung to are so small, so insignificant.

And what about your Rhine Lab, Ferdinand?

Haven't you been fixated on that?

Let me make a correction. I've been fixated on what Rhine Lab represents.

Rhine Lab is my toolbox. My ladder, my arm. But it is not my purpose.

In case you've forgotten, I can proudly proclaim that I am one of the finest high energy physicists in the land... No, in both the land and the skies.

What I've been fixated on has always been science itself.

Kristen, Kristen...

She created all of this, and let it go to waste. A truly prodigal genius she is.

And I envy her––

But I also have to admit, it's been an incredible ride.

And so, each and every second of my time is insanely valuable, and I can't afford to waste a moment on you.

Listen to me, Ferdinand. Don't forget who you take orders from, and who gave you your new lease on life!

Colonel, do you know how to stop a curious scientist?

You either satisfy him, or you kill him.

Alright.

Get it over with. Don't waste time.

One last thing I'd like to remind you of, soldiers.

The H.A.M.H.R.R. will crash after reactivation, taking all of us with it.

All this data might mean nothing to you, but... your lives, I trust, are very important.

If you want to know where the escape pods are, you shouldn't be in such a hurry.

As for you, Blake, I'd save an extra bolt... Either for yourself, or the one you answer to. Doesn't matter to me.

Just, don't break my instruments.

You...

I... I've been memorizing the basic structure of the central nervous system lately, over and over again, from top to bottom.

Isn't that one of the assignments they give you in an intro biology course?

Yes, it's one of the absolute fundamentals. If I were to ask this question to any of my students, should they be stumped for even a second, I would drop their grade down to a C.

But... these days, I haven't been able to recite it from memory, not even a single time.

I keep stopping partway, I keep forgetting. I keep starting from the top, going around in circles.

Every morning, I sit from five to seven at the breakfast restaurant across from Rhine Headquarters, and I give it my best shot.

My nerves are deteriorating. Everything I've studied my whole life is now abandoning me in this moment.

Maybe in five, or even three years' time, I'll become a demented old man who can only bask in the sun, having forgotten all the pride and fulfillment I've enjoyed over the past fifty-eight years.

Silence, I refuse to go out like this.

...Professor...

My fate is already sealed.

Now, get out of my lab! Don't you dare touch it!

No.

You speak of 'Übermenschen' and 'strong souls'... People like that might actually exist; people capable of transcending time, limitations, and this very land itself. But, Professor, you are no such man.

Your words are of the weak, 'mediocre masses' you so ridicule.

They are the desires of a 'human.'

Transcending time, limitations, and this land itself?

I...

In the myths of Minos and Kjerag, gods are the bestowers, masters, and deciders of all things in creation.

But science is by no means a god. It is just a path for people to traverse. It needs to be examined from time to time, repaired from time to time, and reined in from time to time.

The fruits it bears should not be the grandiose vision of megalomaniacs, but precisely the 'mediocre expectations of the masses.'

No... No! Get away from it, Silence!

It's over, Professor.

What you need is rest and recovery. After this, I'll take you to the hospital.

The Transmitter hub has been destroyed.

Be it your experiment or Kristen's plans, without the Transmitter, there shouldn't be–

...Haha.

Hah, transcending this very land...

Yes, perhaps... I made another tremendous achievement that even I did not notice.

I just happened upon it, without investing much time into it. As a matter of fact, it didn't even arise from one of my own projects.

But, that doesn't matter, does it?

Of course, of course. Why hadn't I noticed?

We've all been drawn in by her... From the very beginning, we've always walked the same path.

The old man stares blankly at the display panel. On the monitoring screen, the giant manmade ring suspended atop the sky's zenith is illuminated by the beam of energy, gathering within it a majestic platinum.

Perhaps because the Transmitter hub was destroyed, or perhaps because the scouring of the beam was too intense, the H.A.M.H.R.R. starts to shake slightly.

Urgh...

Why... has the Transmitter signal not stopped?

Let me ask you, Silence, if you have no way of becoming a leader, then what shame is there in being a follower?

If I admit my weakness and indecisiveness, then, it is a perfectly valid option for me to follow a truly strong soul, is it not?

This was meant to be my backup plan, but now...

What... are you doing...?

I've suffered mediocrity for too long. I must...

I can still catch up to her. She, too, must shine.

All my hard work, all of my pursuits... must have meaning.

At least, this is much better... than becoming a vegetative old man.

The energy density is already sufficient, as long as...

Professor! Professor! Parvis, what are you doing?!

Silence feels the Transmitter's influence on her fading; at the same time, the consciousness of the elderly Caprinae in front of her is rapidly dissipating.

When the transcendent one sets out on her journey, I do hope... that on her long, long path, she won't mind being followed... by a timid hitchhiker.

At least, I can become a part...

Silence, look–

Are you merging your consciousness with the Transmitter? To make up for the hub's destruction? No––!

Drat, these data... What's going to happen if the phases are thrown completely out of order?

How do I stop these responses?! Professor! Parvis!

This is completely futile! Your consciousness can't be preserved within the Transmitter!

This transmission will only destroy your nervous system–