September 18th, OE 102
21:32 local time equivalent?
Something was calling to her. An echo on the wind at first, a whisper echoing directed at nobody in particular - but something she couldn’t take her eyes from. She'd come here for a vantage point, but the hill itself stood out more than anything she could see from it. Nothing about it was interesting, but it just seemed... too perfect. No rocks, no craters, no blemishes. A perfect hill, so ordinary that it bordered on irrational.
It took thirty minutes of confused searching before Liana finally accepted that it was just a hill, and by then it was perfect no longer. Furrows had been scratched into the earth with her mobile weapons legs, and there was even a smoking crater from a single frustrated weapon discharge. Thankfully nobody had seen that. Certain individuals would never let her live it down if they had. But despite her vandalism it was still the best place to watch the capital, and so the wolf saw no reason to move. Setting her machine down at the peak, and disabling as many systems as she dared before starting to wait - maybe it was pointless, but the unnatural sunset was beautiful in its own way.
Minutes stretched out, and she started to become drowsy. Sleep came to her quickly, with an almost unnatural haste to it.
An endless plain. Something about the landscape felt oddly familiar to Liana.. Repressed memories of a time long gone. Deep enough that they were almost alien to the woman. But she wasn’t alone.
A metre or so away stood.. Another wolf. A mirror of herself, perfectly matching her gaze. When she advanced, so did the other Liana- a bizarre dance of stopping and starting that ended when they were just inches apart. Something felt off.. A feeling only reinforced when the other wolf began to speak with her voice.
”Why are we still fighting?”
Liana simply stared back at first, crossing her arms - a gesture that was immediately mirrored. It took another moment of suspicious glaring before she finally broke the silence, deciding to humour her.. Subconscious? Double?
”To save lives. You know that. I know that.”
“Then why do we keep killing people?”
The question gave her pause. Having her own doubts thrown in her face was rather troubling, but she’d dealt with them before. She could handle them now.
”To prolong the conflict while the second stage is put in place, and establish our own power base. Selling weapons won’t work if nobody needs them, and it keeps the focus off our own activities.”
Her answer was almost rehearsed, following a script she’d had beaten into her long ago. A plan she still believed in, even if the cracks had begun to show. She began to elaborate, her tone more.. guarded as it brought about a contradiction.
”But.. We should have started the second phase already. There’s enough conflict. It’s why I.. wait. If you’re part of me, you’d already know.”
“Yes. But can we do it ourselves?”
“Probably. We need time. Resources. For Heidel to pay what I’m worth. But it’s possible.”
“Doesn’t that mean Prometheus made the wrong decision?”
Liana opens her mouth to respond… but that last question was too much. Too obvious. It crossed a line the woman herself was so far unable to, and thus tipped its hand. She frowned, taking a quick step back - which was immediately copied.
“...You’re not me. Who are you? What are you?”
Her hand reached for a blade that wasn’t there, and this time the mirror didn’t bother replicating her movements. It just stood there, shaking its head and looking almost.. Disappointed. When it spoke it wasn’t using her voice any more - it was far deeper, words echoing from behind her as it spoke without moving her lips.
”Interested in your worldview. I had hoped to simply provide a pleasant dream, but you’re surprisingly lucid.”
”Defense mechanism. Now get out of my head, and stop trying to manipulate me.”
“I’ve done nothing of the sort. Pleasant dreams.”
The mirrored wolf’s eyes flashed red and it slowly turned to dust, paper talismans fluttering away under a nonexistent wind. Leaving her alone. The false dream swiftly began to fade, becoming a haze that would be unreconisable come morning. But even through that haze, one fact stood out.
She'd already drawn unwelcome attention.
21:32 local time equivalent?
Something was calling to her. An echo on the wind at first, a whisper echoing directed at nobody in particular - but something she couldn’t take her eyes from. She'd come here for a vantage point, but the hill itself stood out more than anything she could see from it. Nothing about it was interesting, but it just seemed... too perfect. No rocks, no craters, no blemishes. A perfect hill, so ordinary that it bordered on irrational.
It took thirty minutes of confused searching before Liana finally accepted that it was just a hill, and by then it was perfect no longer. Furrows had been scratched into the earth with her mobile weapons legs, and there was even a smoking crater from a single frustrated weapon discharge. Thankfully nobody had seen that. Certain individuals would never let her live it down if they had. But despite her vandalism it was still the best place to watch the capital, and so the wolf saw no reason to move. Setting her machine down at the peak, and disabling as many systems as she dared before starting to wait - maybe it was pointless, but the unnatural sunset was beautiful in its own way.
Minutes stretched out, and she started to become drowsy. Sleep came to her quickly, with an almost unnatural haste to it.
An endless plain. Something about the landscape felt oddly familiar to Liana.. Repressed memories of a time long gone. Deep enough that they were almost alien to the woman. But she wasn’t alone.
A metre or so away stood.. Another wolf. A mirror of herself, perfectly matching her gaze. When she advanced, so did the other Liana- a bizarre dance of stopping and starting that ended when they were just inches apart. Something felt off.. A feeling only reinforced when the other wolf began to speak with her voice.
”Why are we still fighting?”
Liana simply stared back at first, crossing her arms - a gesture that was immediately mirrored. It took another moment of suspicious glaring before she finally broke the silence, deciding to humour her.. Subconscious? Double?
”To save lives. You know that. I know that.”
“Then why do we keep killing people?”
The question gave her pause. Having her own doubts thrown in her face was rather troubling, but she’d dealt with them before. She could handle them now.
”To prolong the conflict while the second stage is put in place, and establish our own power base. Selling weapons won’t work if nobody needs them, and it keeps the focus off our own activities.”
Her answer was almost rehearsed, following a script she’d had beaten into her long ago. A plan she still believed in, even if the cracks had begun to show. She began to elaborate, her tone more.. guarded as it brought about a contradiction.
”But.. We should have started the second phase already. There’s enough conflict. It’s why I.. wait. If you’re part of me, you’d already know.”
“Yes. But can we do it ourselves?”
“Probably. We need time. Resources. For Heidel to pay what I’m worth. But it’s possible.”
“Doesn’t that mean Prometheus made the wrong decision?”
Liana opens her mouth to respond… but that last question was too much. Too obvious. It crossed a line the woman herself was so far unable to, and thus tipped its hand. She frowned, taking a quick step back - which was immediately copied.
“...You’re not me. Who are you? What are you?”
Her hand reached for a blade that wasn’t there, and this time the mirror didn’t bother replicating her movements. It just stood there, shaking its head and looking almost.. Disappointed. When it spoke it wasn’t using her voice any more - it was far deeper, words echoing from behind her as it spoke without moving her lips.
”Interested in your worldview. I had hoped to simply provide a pleasant dream, but you’re surprisingly lucid.”
”Defense mechanism. Now get out of my head, and stop trying to manipulate me.”
“I’ve done nothing of the sort. Pleasant dreams.”
The mirrored wolf’s eyes flashed red and it slowly turned to dust, paper talismans fluttering away under a nonexistent wind. Leaving her alone. The false dream swiftly began to fade, becoming a haze that would be unreconisable come morning. But even through that haze, one fact stood out.
She'd already drawn unwelcome attention.