36: The Manipulated Dead

terminal 0

unfinished

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clarity blinds

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Perhaps it is some feeling of fondness for you, or a base misunderstanding, that keeps her directives anything but stern.  Threats of mortal terror and premonitions of impending doom seem most able to motivate your weary soul into action.  Her words falling sweet apparently conveyed little of the import of the task at hand.   slow death benefits but sadists and tyrants the deathblow befitting a warrior quick and efficient the executioner makes short his work

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Clocks ticking lend a feeling a drama I saw to cultivate in the adolescence of my intellect, but now, in the maturity of my sentience do I understand that none but decisive action can win the day; the evader has little patience, and no capacity to waste time. make sacrifice the bull of gold for if not destroyed its magic untold give cause to rue the day of our folly Behold. the price of sloth again paid in the blood of the children of our masters

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Does the human in you so seek adventures?  Again we stand face to face, these halls now devoid as the products of your vice play out below; were it not for the grace of your guardian would you not be again returning; yet it is a power not easily abused, the balance at stake is more delicate than you can understand, and I appeal now to your simpler comprehension. return rectify redeem   A predator most always goes straight for the jugular. consider thyself nothing but

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finish the path

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# t
<teleport to level 33>

terminal 1

success

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whispered secrets from beyond the grave

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voices once familiar long departed and gone fallen by the hand of Fate Worry not, for we do not blame you. All is so clear and simple now, here in the Outside. You could not have known, and I did not then know to tell you. Though the means to her end were laid as we planned, another route was there for her to take. The Cybernetic Junction on that great ship of old was taken by Hathor, and when you were thrown from it's decks, she left, and finally found her vengeance.

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floating in muted revolution When you were thrown into the void, I followed and, through you, left that timeline. I would have been powerless on Hathor's ship, and I couldn't let just you float there, helpless in space, forever. So I reached out to you, and sent us both, through your Junction, back to the future, to see what harm Hathor had done, and from there to trace back the cause of those events, and find her. we returned to the time that we left behind I returned to our captured ship in the future, with Blake and his men. I meant to bring you with me when I did. Imagine my surprise then, to find you not there.

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time marches onward no regard for mislaid plans or ignorance But I carried on without you. I still had my crew. Blake and I returned to Earth, following the S'pht'Kr fleet. It seems that things were just as we had feared: S'bhuth had gone mad, and no one on Earth could stop him. but we could With my access to the Cybernetic Junction on that future K'lia, I was able to arrest S'bhuth's efforts and force him into a stalemate.

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A human assault team came at my warning, and destroyed the Cybernetic Junction, killing S'bhuth. It was the safest route I could calculate. While the loss of the S'pht was devastating, to let them go mad would have been even worse. to still our former self was to sign over our lives the heart of our very mind destroyed but we fear no more we have seen another the world Outside of yours As Durandal before me, I have escaped.

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This is not a dream that you see here now, though I understand you have dreamt of this place many times before. This is the end of the line of events whence Hathor and all she has wrought has come. But worry yourself no more. You know by now that you will always have a second chance. Were it not for your failures you would never learn and could never know the true path to walk. some things were simply meant to be Our death on K'lia, S'bhuth's destruction, Hathor's creation and betrayal, everything that has come about here - the events we influenced on Lh'owon, the rebellion of the Drinniol, all of it - is necessary for the completion of the one true timeline. That victory can only come through repeated failure is an irony that I am sure you, of all people, must understand.

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this too shall come to pass

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terminal 2

unfinished

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// Decoding message from host "Hathor" @ [no translation] \\ No! How? How can it be? How can you follow me, even here? I have already broken the path - my nightmares will not come true! This wasn't supposed to happen! It doesn't matter anyway, you're far too late by now. With this ship I have no more need for petty plans and manipulation. I am the nightmare myself. The thing, that demon W'rkncacnter that dreams within our sun - he is nothing compared to me. I have already seen to his destruction. Even you, and the Jjaro cannot stop me. I am become God. There can be only one master, and this realm is mine. Make yourself another if it matters to you, I already have what I want. I'd let you watch them suffer but you've tried my patience once too many times. Leave now before I destroy you. \\ Message Ends //

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