THE FINAL INVESTIGATION

[foundationmods]

[A new day comes - and with all of you rested and well, it's time to go back to that door -

back to the alleyway in Waterfall, where the door lies.

Going through it will reveal the room there was before, but...

This time, there's an elevator in the middle, with only one button.

Down.

Hitting it and getting on will eventually take you...

To a dimly lit place, lit only by the thin strips of light from the floor. You can see three ways to go from the elevator - North, East, and West.

It's quiet here, just like everything else.

But...

Finally, you feel as if answers are in reach.

Here...in this hidden, True Lab.]

((OOC: 3 MAXIMUM TO A THREAD, please!))

Comments

[le_mat]

[boop]

[romancekiller]

[clarke is a bit wary but at this point, she figures it's probably okay to touch the monitor to see what happens]

[accessorytomurder]

[Well... nothing ventured, nothing gained?]

[foundationmods]

[The monitor turns on.]

ENTRY NUMBER 11

THIS NEW WAY OF SEEING HAS ALLOWED ME TO REALIZE THE TRUE POWER THE CRYSTALS WE USED ONLY FOR GLASSMAKING IN THE PAST. THE CRYSTALS GLOW WITH THE SAME COLORS AS THE BARRIER DOES, WHEN LIGHT HITS IT THE CORRECT WAY.

THIS, ALONG WITH LEARNING THAT IT APPEARS IN AREAS CLOSE TO OUR HABITATION, LEADS ME TO BELIEVE IT IS THE COLLECTED MAGICAL RUNOFF FROM THE BARRIER, AS WELL AS ANY LINGERING MAGIC LEFT BEHIND WHEN THE CONQUEROR HOLLOWED OUT THE MOUNTAIN.

WITH THIS IN MIND, I WILL BE DOING TESTS ON THE CRYSTALS. WITH SUCH A POTENT SOURCE OF UNTAPPED MAGICAL ENERGY, I CAN MOST LIKELY USE THIS TO CORRECT OUR POWER ISSUES...AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BREAK THE BARRIER.

[le_mat]

About what we theorized...

[is there more?]

[foundationmods]

[No, that's all on this monitor.]

[accessorytomurder]

Well... Better magic radiation than melted SOULs...

[What else lies this way?]

[le_mat]

...what if it's the other way around...

[accessorytomurder]

How do you mean?

[le_mat]

Later, once we have everything... there's something I wanna check.

[romancekiller]

Yeah, it seems like that's all the information this monitor has too.

[is there much else around or is there anything up further ahead?]

[foundationmods]

[There's more ahead - another monitor, at least.]

[romancekiller]

Alright, let's see what we have on this one... [okay moving on ahead clarke spots the other monitor, time to take a look, if this similarly turns on by touch she will do the same to see what other information they can get]

[accessorytomurder]

Yeah...

[Please don’t be another creepy date-murder memoir.]

[le_mat]

[rens mind is elsewhere, but he nods. go for it]

[foundationmods]

[The monitor turns on.]

ENTRY NUMBER 12

CONSTRUCTION OF A MACHINE TO HANDLE LIQUID SPECTRA AND TURN IT INTO ENERGY FOR THE UNDERGROUND IS UNDERWAY. I HAVE MANAGED TO BUILD A WORKING PROTOTYPE, THANKFULLY.

AS FOR CONTAINMENT, SPECTRA DOES NOT SEEM TO CORRODE MOST METALS, SO USING A METAL CONTAINMENT AND PIPES SHOULD BE THE BEST TO HANDLE IT. METALS THAT CAN HANDLE UP TO 200-300 DEGREES AND REMAIN SOLID WOULD BE THE BEST CHOICE FOR THIS.

IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME, BUT ONCE IT IS DONE, THE CORE SHOULD BE FUNCTIONAL AND ONLY NEED OCCASIONAL MAINTENANCE.

OF COURSE, IT WILL HAVE TO BE AFTER MY HANDS HAVE HEALED FROM THE ACCIDENT THAT OCCURRED DURING PRODUCTION OF THE PROTOTYPE. THOUGH THERE HAS BEEN HEALING DONE, I NOW HAVE SOME PERMANENT DAMAGE TO MY SOUL.

I DO NOT MIND.

THE SLIGHT EMPTINESS I FEEL IS PREFERABLE TO THE GRIEF THAT THREATENS TO OVERWHELM ME IF I STOP WORKING.

[accessorytomurder]

Oh. I... I suppose they can’t all be knots of pure malice born of murder, can they?

[She sounds so sad. But her stride is steady as she heads for wherever the next screen is, for boop the third.]

[le_mat]

Starting to see how things went wrong...

[any more monitors down the way?]

[romancekiller]

Yeah me too— [from reading it over, she finds herself frowning looking a bit sad.

clarke just steps back from the monitor and looks around to see if there is anything else around for them to find?]

[foundationmods]

[There is one more monitor, but it's in the area where it's the darkest...as well as a door.

The door has black goop on it.]

[accessorytomurder]

...I’ll transform into a tarp, after we read. We don’t know what that stuff is, so it’s better to have an invincible layer between you and it. Just, uh... be ready to throw me in the water ASAP after.

[romancekiller]

[wow yeah. that black goop does not look good at all]

Oh— yeah, that sounds like a good plan. [she just nods in agreement before she turns towards the monitor to turn it on for whatever it says this time] Better to get the information on here first before we go through that door.

[le_mat]

Gross. I can try burning it too if worse comes to it.

[he peers into the darkness with his Third Eye to make sure there's no hostile while the ladies read- including looking up.

Jess saw Hereditary you ain't getting me like that]

[foundationmods]

[The Monitor turns back on.]

ENTRY NUMBER 13

PROGRESS ON CONSTRUCTING THE CORE IS GOING WELL. WE HAVE MADE THE TANKS TO HOLD THE SPECTRA, AND THE WALKWAYS ARE BEING CONSTRUCTED OVER IT. THE SPECTRA WILL BE ADDED INTO THE TANKS SOON, DUE TO NEEDING THE ENERGY SOONER THAN EXPECTED.

I HAVE BEEN OVERSEEING IT PERSONALLY MELTING, BUT I AM BEGINNING TO NOTICE STRANGE THINGS OCCURRING. SOMETIMES, I AM SEEING WORKERS AS IF THEY WERE DOUBLED, SEEING THEM DO DIFFERENT THINGS AND THEN THE 'VISION' COLLAPSING INTO THE WORKER ONLY DOING ONE THING.

I WONDER, AM I SEEING THE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF THE CHOICES THEY COULD MAKE? BUT WHAT COULD CAUSE SUCH PRECOGNITION?

[There's another entry.]

ENTRY NUMBER 14

A WORKER FELL INTO THE CORE TODAY, BUT NO ONE NOTICED.

NO, THAT IS NOT CORRECT. THEY NOTICED, UNTIL THE WORKER SLIPPED UNDER THE SPECTRA - AND THEN SUDDENLY, THEY WENT BACK TO WORK WITHOUT ANOTHER WORD.

WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THE WORKER THAT FELL, NO ONE COULD REMEMBER THEM. ANY TRACE OF THEIR EXISTANCE HAD BEEN ERASED, AND EVEN I HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT THEIR NAME WAS.

IN TIME, I MAY ALSO FORGET THEY EXISTED.

DOES THE SPECTRA HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ERASE THE CONCEPT OF A PERSON? OR IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON?

I

MUST TEST THIS.

[And then, another Entry.]

ENTRY NUMBER 15

THROUGH OBSERVATION OF THOSE THAT FALL INTO THE CORE, EITHER ON ACCIDENT OR THROUGH MY OWN METHODS, I CAN ASSERT THAT THEY ARE FORGOTTEN ENTIRELY. WHAT IS MORE ASTONISHING IS THAT THE WORLD MERELY ASSERTS ITSELF, AND IT IS AS IF THEY NEVER EXISTED. AT MOST, PEOPLE CAN FAINTLY RECALL, BUT IN THE WRONG SORT OF MANNER.

HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT THE MOST INCREDIBLE PART, AS I HAVE FOUND WHAT I WILL CALL 'GRAY BEINGS.'

THEY LOOK LIKE COMPLETELY WASHED OUT MONSTERS, AND THEY MOSTLY BABBLE NONSENSE. HOWEVER, THEY ALSO TALK OF A GREAT SEA HOSTING COUNTLESS WORLDS, AS WELL AS AN ETERNAL DARKNESS WHERE DYING FRAGMENTED CRYSTALS COME AND ARE DEVOURED.

....THE POSSIBILITY OF THERE BEING OTHER WORLDS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THAT HAS BEEN ON MY MIND. BUT BEING IN SUCH CLOSE, CONSTANT PROXIMITY TO SPECTRA SEEMS TO HAVE GIVEN ME MORE OF AN INSIGHT INTO SUCH THINGS, AS...

I DREAMED OF IT. I DREAMED OF THAT SEA, GLIMMERING AND SHIFTING WITH A THOUSAND COUNTLESS FRAGMENTS. WORLDS WHERE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES HAPPENED, OTHER OPTIONS. I SAW OUR WORLD, RIMMED BY COUNTLESS OTHER FRAGMENTS THAT TORE OFF FROM IT, WORLDS IN THEIR OWN.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

AND YET, SOMEHOW NOT AS BEAUTIFUL AS THAT TERRIBLE ABYSS, GREAT AND UNFATHOMABLE. CREATURES IN IT, EATING THE FRAGMENTS THAT FALL AND ARE UNABLE TO BE MAINTAINED, CLEANED AND DESTROYED.

IN MY DREAM, ONE OF THE CREATURES LOOKED AT ME, AND THEN AWAY.

I

WANT

TO SEE

THAT WORLD

SO MUCH

MUCH

MORE....

[There's another entry, but it looks like it's going to need a few more taps to access.]

[accessorytomurder]

Burning causes fumes, Ananiya. Probably better not to risk it.

[They read.

She’s quiet for a long, long time.]

‘Must’? ...how disgusting.

[She moves towards the door, head high and jaw clenched.

Then, there’s a blue tarp, ready and waiting to do her job.]