act25side

Fine then... I understand. For one who has walked with the civilizations born of this land, your opinion holds referential value.

Since you each have your own reasons for not wishing to budge, then let us test each other using the ancient ways.

Compared to pure rhetorical persuasion alone, I will need some more 'basal' behaviors to evaluate your quality and revise the plan.

––Provided you are qualified.

I accept.;......;Whatever you say.

(Unknown language) 'Debate.'

Allow me to explain in advance that the things you've brought up are not outside my knowledge. Through Columbia's databases, I have heard of this history.

But, I must re-assess whether the two of you have the qualifications... and the ability to warrant discussing larger plans together. Whether or not Terra can remain in the hands of people like you, whether you have the right to debate the future.

The time Kristen spent here with me goes beyond language. Hold on, you two. We are about to begin.

I'm being teleported?!;......;This place...

......Dr.{@nickname}.

You really don't remember me.

I...;......;Priest...ess...?

No... you're not...;......;But just now, I was...

Yes.

This is just her cognitive resonance. Originally, this technology was supposed to be used to check the vital signs of those sleeping in the sarcophagi, or to preserve their dignity.

Just like... entering your dreams, shaping your dreams. For you, I am that dream.

So you're really just an illusion created by that machine?;So, you are my dream...?

Close enough, but there's still a fundamental difference.

Just as the philosophers and interlocutors did in their palaces of old, when thoughts collide and words are exchanged, cognition intermingles and the boundary between self and non-self blurs.

You currently play the role of the 'Doctor' in your dialogue with 'me'. But in reality, I am the one who plays the 'Doctor,' whereas you are actually 'me.'

But... your consciousness is continuous. This is not equivalent to the illusion in front of you, or your own image changing.

The only word that can describe this sensation is, 'dreamlike.'

You will not see a cold, impassive machine calling itself 'Preserver,' and that will not see the helpless and dazed you. It is only in dreams that our subjective perspectives are no longer distinct.

Come. Don't forget that this manner of cognitive resonance has a humorous name: 'debate.' Oh, of course it is your subconscious mind that finds this word humorous.

Push open that door. There remains a question we must resolve.

A question?;......;Do you really have to test people in their dreams?

No, it's not that I'm trying to test you. By all means, this is not one of 'Preserver's' cryptic question-and-answer sessions, or one of Kal'tsit's rhetorical traps.

The one who will pose this question, is Dr. {@nickname}.

What's that supposed to mean? Myself? Hold on!;...... (Silently push the door open);But, I've drifted along, never making things hard for myself.

You, yourself.

After losing your memories, you quickly got accustomed to life at Rhodes Island. You've always known that Kal'tsit was hiding something from you, but over the years, you've both been overwhelmed by the challenges you face...

It has even caused you to lose your will to pursue the truth. In other words, your curiosity about the truth ended with Babel.

When did you start thinking to yourself, 'this is fine'? Do you really have that same obsession in the bottom of your heart to recover your memories?

As more trust was built, certain truths gradually came to light, which even led you to self-doubt. But, the two of you overcame these difficulties, which is why you're here today.

But, what about before that? Long before you took Amiya's hand in Chernobog, long before Babel.

Who are you? What are you? Where are you going?

Doctor, who are you?

I... I am Dr. {@nickname}...;......;I... don't know.

There's something I want to tell you, Doctor.

The Doctor I placed my trust in... is one and the same with the Doctor who woke up in Chernobog and has fought by our side ever since.

That's what I believe. That's what I've always believed.

But in reality? Dr. Kal'tsit... and Theresa... Do they really see the commander of Babel and the Doctor of Rhodes Island as the same person?

I don't know... I just don't know. All I remember is the Doctor who was so kind to me, the Doctor who saved me...

If the truth really is as Dr. Kal'tsit says...

Amiya.

Oh, Dr. Kal'tsit!

The Doctor is tired and needs rest. There is still much to think about and digest.

If there's anything else you'd like to ask, come back tomorrow. Rhodes Island still has a long future ahead of us, so there's no need to rush.

Okay... Sorry, Doctor. I'm sure I caught you off guard by asking this out of the blue.

Hardly.;......;Actually, I also want to know...

Don't dwell on it too much. There's not much time left before we reach the outskirts of Londinium.

Londinium?;But, this is...

The next thing on the itinerary is a meeting between of the elite operators, and we'll need you to sit in.

Hurry, come this way.

Why?

Chernobog has fallen into an atypical circumstance with regard to the Infected.

Rhodes Island, as we are now, cannot afford the risk of getting involved.

The Doctor will be our indispensable linchpin.

Is this one you're talking about worth a dozen or more Rhodes Island lives?

If it's worth it, then I'm on board. But if even a single operator raises a concern, then count me out.

What?!

Don't move, Rhodes Island commander!

Hah! Now... Now, there's nothing that white-haired Feline can do! Even if she could kill the captain... even if she could kill Patriot, she can't protect you!

Have you ever thought about our lives? Have you ever looked at this land from our point of view?

Of course not! You don't know a damned thing about the kind of bonds we share, or how we've said goodbye to our parents, or how we've painted our cheeks with the ashes of our best friends!

Killing a Reunion fighter, depriving someone of his life, is just like checking a box for you. Who the hell do you think you are?

Have you ever given a serious thought to what it means for us to live and die?!

I... Of course I have.;......;No... I haven't...

Watch out, Doctor!

Wait! Amiya!;Stop! Don't do it!

You're not always the main character of this world.

Just like your life, your past. Take a look outside the glass pane of PRTS. You can never understand everything, or be everywhere at once.

Only those who face the truth deserve to be called 'courageous.'

The ridiculous thing is, you don't have the slightest idea of what the truth is. You've been kept in the dark, you don't understand it, and you're frustrated, even angry, at your own ignorance.

In the end, what more are you than the projection of the pincerbeasts-in-a-bucket around you? They all want to use you for a measure of consolation, to use you for what they want to obtain.

The Reunion members already impaled by black arts point in the direction of those elite operators.

But when you follow their fingertips, you see only a few fowlbeasts flying by.

How many among them faced their own destiny? How many more stood behind Rhodes Island, eventually becoming arrogant overseers?

What about you? You think you can completely sever yourself from the past, just because you've been shaped by new memories? Even if you can, how will you reconcile yourself with the new you?

The onlookers know nothing about you, yet they want to become you, and achieve their vulgar desires through you.

You—

Are you truly worthy of trust? Do you need to be entrusted with such a heavy burden?

I don't plan on abandoning my forgotten past.;I've never tried to escape the responsibilities that came with my past.

But, if the past does not help me fight for Rhodes Island...;If the past has no way of influencing the present...

Then I can only see it as insignificant.

This is not a matter you can decide on so cavalierly, Doctor.

Can a criminal be exonerated of his sins just because he lost his memories? If a good person loses her memories, does that erase the good that she has done?

For you in particular... your lost memories are not so... simple.

Perhaps you yourself are not aware of what you have lost. What manner of answer, then, are you able to provide?

Doctor...

...hand!

Take my...

Take my hand!!

...I will find the meaning within it.;Then, as the 'Doctor,' I will make the correct choice.

It is not the memories of the past that guide me...;...or the events from then to now that have reshaped me.

I am me.

Just as I always have been.

...I understand your thought process.

Heehee. 'Just as you always have been,' choice words from someone who cannot even recall events from a few years ago.