Zeroth Directive

Archive II

When speaking of the 'Rhine Lab Ten', Nasti is seldom the first name to come to mind. Kristen is an icon unto her own. Muelsyse has as many friends as she has water clones. Ferdinand is so strict he can scare a crying intern into shutting up with a single look. Maryam's exploits have won him many fans in Columbia's extreme adventuring community. Meanwhile, there is little to even say about the Director of Engineering, who spends her time moving from construction site to construction site, rarely showing her face in public. Even in her rare appearances, she hardly talks or shows any expression on her face. That is, until a junior researcher from the Ecological Section repeatedly came across Muelsyse, the director of the Ecological Section, watching the same home renovation show with great interest. Among the many interests of Muelsyse, from games to fashion to photography, home renovation was not known to be one of them. The Rhine Lab gossip mill quickly ramped up and soon discovered the truth: Muelsyse had her eyes on a special guest who participated anonymously across multiple seasons, fascinating the audience with bold, avant-garde designs that emphasize unconventional spatial order. In a season themed around future living, the designer built a home based on the concept of musbeast wheels, with seven living spaces in different styles rotating on a wheel, maximizing both usage and fun. Muelsyse made a compilation of episodes featuring that designer and sent it to the designer herself: Nasti. This discovery soon became the talk of Rhine Lab from the corridors to the break rooms. Everyone had a hard time connecting that paragon of avant-garde architecture on the show to the reserved, pragmatic, and meticulous head of Engineering. Later, it was revealed that it was Jara, head of HR, who initially arranged for Nasti to join the show to 'maintain activity'. Contracts for subsequent seasons, however, were signed by Nasti of her own accord. 'Unlike the research sections, Engineering has a limited budget for creative experimentation. I saw no reason to turn down an offer to pay me to build weird houses.' This was Nasti's answer when someone mustered the courage to ask her.

Archive III

[Audio log of a lecture to new employees by Nasti, Director of Engineering for Rhine Lab] 'Engineering is Rhine Lab's busiest section. We have to coordinate with the other operational sections, while also providing engineering support for Structural, Ecological, Energy, Originium Art, and Scientific Investigation Section, in an endless journey to fulfill their demands. This is my advice: don't think of yourself as the scientists' friend. Read every word on those proposals and blueprints carefully, and tell them which are a matter of laying the bricks and tightening the screws, and which are pipe dreams they need to wake up from. 'Energy's facility proposals are generally properly validated. Ferdinand may be an arrogant asshole, but he knows what he's doing.' ...... 'Be on your guard when dealing with Ecological. Don't let Muelsyse find your weakness. 'Defense... Saria's former department. A bunch of tough customers to deal with. In its role in assuring the safety of Rhine Lab's projects, the Defense Section has more concerns to consider, and its methods are more resolute. Saria is the new Control now, but their style has not changed. Saria herself has a serious case of OCD. I was in charge of renovating her office, and it was a long, arduous process. 'Power supplies and emergency equipment for Originium Art must be built to the highest standard. As for Dorothy, I am very familiar with people like her. They have too many people to worry about, too many things they want to do, and too many things to lose, but they deserve respect.' ...... 'May I ask a question, Director Nasti?' 'Go on.' 'When you described the other directors, it sounded like they are more than just co-workers to you...' '...Is that so? I suppose I talked a little too much. Anyway, Rhine Lab has changed a lot. Some names aren't talked about so much anymore, while others will come to be remembered. Change is a constant in science and engineering, but the walls of Rhine will remain strong. It welcomes you.'

Archive IV

To Kazdelians, burying a dead body is no different from burying potatoes in winter. The true farewell happens after the dead turn into Originium crystals sprouting from the ground. Then, those who remember the departed gather to carve their name, their nicknames, the events of their life, and words of gratitude or grudges on the crystals. 'I was three at the time. A sickly man was carefully knocking on a crystal on the ground. I asked him what he was doing. He said his wife's crystal was too small for all the things he wanted to carve into it, so he decided to take it home and use it as a hanger. That way, he could talk to her every morning and night.' The Pioneer caravans of Columbia are always moving forward, even during a funeral. Whether the departed left behind ashes or Originium dust, it gets scattered behind the procession when the others set out the next day. The urn is passed from one hand to another, each person scattering a handful of ashes while saying their goodbyes. 'I tried to sing an elegy the night before. I sang awfully and they didn't understand a word of it, so I was surprised when they passed me the box of ashes the next day. It was a simple plastic lunchbox, with one last handful of ashes inside. 'If you're willing to sing that song one more time,' they said.' —Nasti, on the funeral customs she had witnessed ['Great Server' Visit Notes] In Professor Aefanyl's class, we listened to the voices of the myriad souls in centuries past. When asked about the new myriad souls and their new voices, he instead brought us to this enormous tree that took up nearly an entire floating plate. The Great Server's main structure was built upon its main trunk in many layered stacks. We were greeted by Director Nasti Lunorey, who complained about how Professor Aefanyl kept interrupting her work by sending students to visit, while patiently guiding us through the internal structure of the Great Server's facilities. As I crawled out of the labyrinthine maintenance pipelines with a safety helmet on my head, I almost felt like I had changed my major from vocal techniques to civil engineering. Then, some branch-shaped robots crawled out from a corner of the tiny storage room, giving each of us a small cardboard box. 'This is the answer Aefanyl wanted you to discover here.' As though the five-hour visit wasn't enough to demonstrate how inscrutable Director Nasti was, the cardboard box contained neither writings nor drawings, but an elaborate cupcake. Director Nasti began explaining the nature of the 'Great Server', seemingly oblivious to our confusion. 'I've been to many places and seen many funerals. No matter the occasion, no matter what form it takes, those left behind try to wrap all their love and hate, relief and regret, into a few words of farewell. But the departed have had no such opportunity. Now, the 'tree' has given them that opportunity, and the Great Server stores their words of farewell. 'I love you, I hate you, thank you, sorry.... Besides the countless messages like these, some have left behind more unusual words: a report on the near-death experience, a melody that has never been written, a wildly imaginative blueprint, or a joke... 'The recipe for this cupcake was one such message. I might never have tried my hand at baking if someone I've never met hadn't left this recipe behind. Now, you've heard the voices of the new myriad souls that Aefanyl wanted you to hear. 'Or tasted them, to be precise.'

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