G-Z7: 20. Specific Nex of 01-00 "Essence of Light"

There were two types of Nex.

Liquid Nex and Specific Nex.

Both were used to unlock different things. The former was an energy source harvested from the emotional states of the Corrupted. This energy was the sole reason their Site existed. The on the other hand was the residual Nex extracted from a Corrupted.

This byproduct carried the condensed memories of a specific Corrupted. It allowed Unit Managers to dig deeper into the ‘Origin’ of a Corrupted. Ergo, the emotions, thoughts, beliefs, events, etc…, that created the Corrupted in the first place.

In short, it was their cognitive essence.

The more there was the deeper and clearer the picture of the Corrupted became. This was important in understanding a Corrupted, especially those with existences that could not be explained by the mind alone.

This process was usually done in conjunction with a Worker.

And as such, the first batch of Specific Nex from 01-00 arrived at the doorstep of the First Floor’s Unit Manager; Paolo. In his turbulent chamber he took the vial of blue liquid and sipped from it, as did Rosette moments before she was allowed to sleep in her private bedroom.

Rosette stirred the contents beforehand. For Workers the stories came to them in dreams. Sometimes it would be past experimentations performed on the Corrupted that were long forgotten. Others would tell of the origin of the Corrupted itself.

Whatever they received or saw was never up to them in the first place.

Such were the enigmatic existences of the Corrupted.

Though in the case of past interactions, that was highly unlikely. Impossible, even. The implications otherwise would bring the Site’s very existence into question.

Not that it was for a Worker like Rosette to concern herself with.

“We’re not even safe in our own dreams. Ugh.” Rosette whispered to herself, still dressed in a suit as she lazily tossed the empty vial aside. It was labelled 01-00 “Essence of Light”.

She didn’t know what to expect. After all, it was her first time doing something like this. She had trained for several years to reach this point. Even if she was dispensable there wasn’t an ounce of regret in her decision.

The reason being?

Her sacrifice benefited someone else outside of this place. She turned towards a broken picture frame that sat atop her bedstand. The picture was of her in a wedding dress standing beside a man whose face was blurred by the light. A long crack in the glass split them apart, severing their held hands.

And underneath them was a child with black hair, beautiful blue eyes, and cat-like ears.

“… No point in thinking too hard about it, Rosette. You’re not old enough to reminisce, darling. Haaah.”

Rosette’s swelling lament lulled her to sleep. Despite her words, she reminisced a simpler life that was spent with her loved ones elsewhere in the Region of Grandis.

“… surely that child has long forgotten. Surely…”

* * *

M-Id-01-00

“Essence of Light”

< 1/??? >

What is light?

An entity originating from nothing at all but holds the key to seemingly everything. The interpretation is solely dependent on the observer. Its form changes depending on the observed format.

But nevertheless, what it is, is not so much as important as where it came from and what it seeks.

< Excerpt from Audio Log belonging to Worker [REDACTED], a close aide of Dr. ??? >

“So much attention is put onto these things.

They can get sad, happy, or hurt like living things. You tell them about the good side of the world, and they’ll smile. Tell them about the bloodshed of our daily lives out there in the outer circles, and they’ll start crying.

One day it takes the form of a bird that can’t flap their wings. The next it’s a monkey that eats like a dog. Another is a child that lacks that… emotion that makes them like one. What does it want? What is it seeking?

Why did we collectively call for it? Dr. ???. I think it’s calling for you again. Or does it want that machine?”

M-Id-01-00

“Essence of Light’

//////// < WARNING > ////////

< Not enough Specific Nex to initialize next sequence >

< Specific Nex Required >

< 0/100ml >

* * *

Half of the daily Nex was created into Specific Nex as a byproduct of a given Corrupted. This meant that their 55ml of Specific Nex for 01-00 “Essence of Light” had turned into 27.5ml of Specific Nex, which was just enough to allow them to proceed with their first deep dive.

And to Papilia’s dismay, this Corrupted only showed them more missing logs and observations that were not documented at all.

“Haaah.” Papilia slumped over the CogitO Terminal, scratching her head in frustration.

The second day had already begun and experimentations on 01-00 “Essence of Light” was underway. Additionally, beside it in a cozy, windowless chamber was where one of the new Corrupted was contained.

An adjacent camera revealed a strange potted plant which sat in the center of the room. Dirt was piled up till it was nearly overflowing. It rustled occasionally, but other than that there were no real anomalies to note.

Since their Nex Quota for today was only 30mls, there wasn’t a need to jump onto a new Corrupted. So, she used this opportunity to simply observe it for the day with Aisyle by her side.

“The 30th Seed. What do you think it’s about?” Papilia asked nonchalantly. “It didn’t come with any information like the Essence of Light. But it still had a description.”

Aisyle hummed as she tapped on the screen, ordering the Core Team to continue working with 01-00 “Essence of Light”.

“It’s the Site’s Will believe it or not.”

“Uhuh.”

Papilia wasn’t convinced by this as she tugged on Aisyle’s sleeves like a spoiled child.

“So tell me why we were sent dangerous sounding Corrupted on our first day on the job?” She complained as if drunk.

“Hardly. They’re just names.”

“Tomorrow’s Inhumanity? Sightings From Beyond the Veil? Beyond the Veil. Really?”

The reason why Papilia was so worked up was because of the similarities of the latter with an infamous Corrupted known only to a select few in the world.

This entity in question was called 00-00 “The Voice From Beyond the Veil”. It was an entity so dangerous that it was handled like an infohazard, with all information about it being expunged from the Corrupted Codex that people like Papilia heavily relied on.

This meant that knowledge of the entity – however small it was – was incredibly damaging to the human psyche. At least she believed so. Because in truth, no one knew why ImpulseWorks was so afraid of it.

“Does that Voice really concern you that much?” Aisyle tilted her head as if offended by Papilia’s fear, causing the girl to sigh uncharacteristically.

“If ImpulseWorks is afraid. You know, our employers – then shouldn’t we be afraid too? You did do the training for this, right?”

“Perhaps.”

“Hey. Aisyle? They’re spending too much time inside. The Distress Level just went down.”

As noted, the happy face of the Distress Level Counter on the side of 01-00’s containment unit showed an unhappy face before it dropped from 14 to 13, which was still in its maximum happiness range thankfully.

“Please pay attention. I can’t intervene for you because I’m only a Navigator. Really…”

“It’s fine my Navigator. We are steadily making more Nex now.”

“I’m more concerned about our Worker’s wellbeing than to break records.” Papilia reminded. “What are the odds of us receiving a Corrupted with a Threat Level higher than M?”

“Virtually zero.”

“So the Sightings From Beyond the Veil is rated for M too?”

Papilia stared up into Aisyle’s perpetually sealed eyes. She needed to stand on her toes to assert herself. Now that people’s lives were in her hands she could not afford to be left in the dark. Aisyle seemed to know things she didn’t.

But whether Aisyle was willing to admit this was an entirely different story.

“Believe what you will. The Corrupted we have now is certainly M-rated. Papilia. The Site is a world. We are merely denizens. What good will it do to direct your emotions onto I who is in the same position as you?”

Aisyle was right. In end, it was not like an Overseer had this much power anyway. They were both trying to survive and manage their Site internally. Papilia was sharp. The inconsistencies she had found thus far, plus the sudden shipment of Corrupted made her wonder just what ImpulseWorks was thinking.

“Stars and Moons.” Aisyle broke her trance before tracing her finger to draw them into the air of their dimly lit room. “They are the most powerful beings known behind the Beholders.”

“That’s right. Why the sudden lecture?”

“The Voice From Beyond the Void is something that warrants the need for systematic cognitive suppression through the mandated use of Serum G – Goldilocks. If all else fails, then they are terminated without fail.”

Papilia raised a brow.

“Where are you going with this?”

“Is the Voice something so despicable that it is worth destroying what few of the powerful remain? I believe it is saddening.”

“It is. They’re the people that protect our world from the Corrupted.” Papilia agreed.

But Aisyle’s sadness was not directed to those beings. Rather, it was something so abstract that it barely registered in Papilia’s mind.

“Does no one pity the mouth that speaks to them? The crooked hand that is lend to those in their depths of their well? Such an existence is bound only to despair.”

It felt like Aisyle was not just speaking abstractly for the sake of.

Somehow, she felt like Aisyle was speaking directly about Papilia herself out of experience.