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You aren't talking... The room is quiet.

I don't really wanna talk... Are you bored?

Not really. I'm just not used to it.

Ifrit has been frowning from the moment they got back to their room, or more accurately, from the moment they left Saria.

There are several intricate geometric shapes scattered on the table. It's a scale model of cities like Trimounts, given to guests by the hotel for free.

Rosmontis and Ifrit sit on opposite corners of the sofa, chatting on and off sporadically.

You look at the children but do not interrupt.

You wanna try building 'Trimounts' again? It's really tough. It took me so long last time.

I've done it twice already.

Oh... so fast?

I remember... I wrote it down. There are a few really hard steps, and there are a few city blocks packed with buildings. They all look alike, so it's easy to get them mixed up, but I have it written down.

Do you always write things down?

Yep. I could forget them if I don't.

What did you write down? Mind telling me?

Doctor, Amiya, Dr. Kal'tsit, Blaze, Weedy...

And some people and things farther away...

A long corridor... I got lost.

My brothers aren't much older than me, but I can always count on them. They come to look for me in no time, and they pat my head and tell me I have nothing to be afraid of.

They have scars that look alike on the back of their heads, too. Like the marks I made to group flowers together last night...

...Brothers?

You don't look so good... Relax. Don't think no more.

I'm in a little better shape than you, but not by much... If only we could choose what we remember.

I keep on remembering the noisy, buzzing machines, the room all painted white. Layer after layer, it's like they built them like that to mess with me. Just thinking about it pisses me off.

But I wanna remember what Silence and Saria told me, and what they did, too!

So you're all sulky because of what just happened. Because Saria...

Maybe she's worried you'd get hurt? Dr. Kal'tsit didn't let the Doctor go with her to look for the 'Arc-01,' either.

Silence won't let me see Saria, and Saria won't let me follow her and help her out.

Maybe they aren't worried I'd muck things up. Maybe they think they didn't protect me well enough before, or maybe they think I'm still a kid who only knows how to throw a fit.

They have a point.

But I super hate this feeling.

I think... I get it.

You do?

Yep. When I left Rhodes Island, Blaze and Weedy kept trying to talk me out of it. Blaze almost burned the letter.

Amiya and Dr. Kal'tsit let me go in the end, but I could tell they didn't actually want me to come back to Columbia... They were really worried, maybe just like Saria?

Adults are all like that.

But I want to remember the things that I've forgotten, even if I'll lose even more...

I'm right to come back... It's the one thing I'm sure of.

You have a better memory than I do. That must mean you know what you have to do more than I do.

That's exactly what I mean!

You and I, the two of us came back to Columbia, to Trimounts of our own choosing, and we both have things we have to do.

Phew, now I feel much better. Rosmontis, once this is all over, let's do some touring with the Doctor. We'll go out and have a look around town. What do you think?

The sky over Trimounts is usually pretty gloomy. It's really special that it's so clear. I could be your tour guide...! Oh, wait, you already built 'Trimounts' twice. You know this place better than I do.

Mm, okay.

Is Kal'tsit back? I'll go get the door.

It's you...

You're the Tin Man who ate four big-ass hot dogs in one go!

Finally made it out of District 13.

I'll have to thank Director Jara for the new equipment. The drone's rotor is probably made of some kind of high-performance optical material, its camouflage ability has increased greatly, and the surveillance range has doubled...

Now what next?

This is my only clue... it doesn't matter where it leads me, as long as it brings me closer to the truth.

The Transmitter's response has been growing stronger ever since I approached District 9...

If I remember correctly, the park right here should be closed due to some government planning issues.

Irregular geometric shapes of silver float slowly in the air, accompanied by the buzz of a high-frequency hum.

It is another Transmitter, but it seems to be slightly different than the one in her hand, and Silence could not make out what the specific differences were.

An aged Caprinae in the middle of the room nods slightly, as if he had heard someone call him. The Transmitter draws a huge arc in the air as it lands on his shoulder.

Long time no see, Silence. You look well.

Silence pulls the excited Transmitter back into her arms, and slowly walks towards the other party.

...Professor.

Made it all the way here from Site 359? You're so much braver than you were before.

But... I never thought... the man I found... would be you.

I heard you helped Dorothy. Very good.

Ferdinand is too hungry for success, and Dorothy is an extremely obstinate woman. Things might not have ended as they did without you.

You...

I know you have many questions you want to ask.

But first, pass me that crystalline unit over there.

Silence picks up the experimental instrument next to her, walks over to Parvis and puts it down where his finger is pointing.

She connects the unit to the operating terminal's port, and Parvis is already seated in front of the monitor without even glancing at her as a slew of complex equations frantically calculate themselves on the display,

Only when Silence stands up does she realize that he had given the order as naturally as she had executed it.

I'm a busy man, but you've done very well to find me here. So I'll tell you whatever you want to know.

Are you all using Transmitter?

Indeed.

What exactly... is it being used for?

The Transmitter is extremely sensitive to micro-vibrations.

It can receive and encode nerve signals, and Dorothy hoped it would replace traditional Arts Units, becoming a brand-new medium that would allow everyone connected to it to be completely equal individuals.

And Ferdinand intends to use its 'superorganism' characteristics to manufacture super-equipment that can accurately deliver weapons across vast distances.

So you know everything that happened at Site 359?

Parvis does not answer.

Silence carefully observes her professor's expression. It is not as if he is not trying to avoid it or is bored by the question, but rather, it is not even worth answering at all.

So if you knew about their research all along, then... on whose side are you on? Dorothy's, Ferdinand's, or Control's?

Or is it as my colleagues in the break room once said, the Director of Structural is an old goat with a permanent smile on his face who always chooses whatever is most convenient for him?

I'm not on any particular side, Silence.

I helped them because both Ferdinand and Dorothy are hard workers, youths full of ideals and enthusiasm. The same goes for you.

Whoever I don't support, is due to their mediocre capacity as scientists. Me included.

We are unable to transcend this mediocre and feeble era.

What about you? What do you intend to do with the Transmitter?

That's enough, Silence. It's that I'm unwilling to answer you, but this question exceeds your level of understanding. I have much to do, and lack the luxury of time to tell you everything from the very beginning.

Though you may stay, you are one of my best students after all.

Soon, we shall have the most ideal environment for our experiment, one that meets all our material requirements and catalytic conditions... so now, we must prepare ourselves for it.

It will be the most disruptive experiment in history, and you will bear witness to the birth of true greatness.

It is neither short-sighted nor feeble, it will transcend every limit there is, and save us all from mediocre progress.

This is the real and rightful promise of science itself.

The Pioneers at Site 359, the workers at the Triton Factory... Professor, your research has hurt many innocent people.

Will it harm even more?

This is science, Silence. As scientists, we need only consider one thing and one thing alone.

And that is how to accomplish it.

That alone is more than enough to exhaust us.

Parvis is speaking very calmly. More precisely, he even sounds a little distracted.

The equation on the screen seems to have to do with the Transmitter. Parvis never turns to look at Silence. His eyes are fixated only on the equation.

Silence can tell very clearly what it is that she is feeling right this moment: Anger. She clenches her fist.

I see. No wonder I couldn't get in touch with Saria or Kal'tsit.