Flickering Light

Thank... you...

...Originium won't infect me.

Did we ever imagine that such pain would come?

What would you say about what's happening to this world?

(Unknown language) Originium.

(Unknown language) The last spark that we have passed on.

......

(Steady breathing)

It's working.

It's several times more effective than existing suppressants. Amiya's blood Originium crystal concentration has dropped significantly.

But...

It's just a prototype. I haven't found a way to mass-produce it on Terra yet.

Doctor!

I know you're experimenting on yourself... but you really don't look well.

Just some research on blood.

Originium doesn't infect me. We've had safety measures in place since it was just an energy project. Maybe this could be used to mitigate the symptoms of Oripathy.

And Theresa... she's not like you. Civilight Eterna is not some kind of powerful magic. She has simply created Originium Arts in its most fundamental form, through the accumulation of a long legacy.

With her help, we may be able to develop more advanced Oripathy medicine that can be mass produced...

I'm more concerned about you right now, Doctor.

I'm fine.

If Originium has transformed you into beings identical to us, then there will be a way to create a serum in place of my own...

No matter how complicated the present issues are, if Babel can develop an effective Oripathy medicine...

It will be more than just the Sarkaz that support us. It will be all of Terra.

Then, we can—

No, listen to me.

You have not relaxed for an instant, from Rim Billiton, to the Sarkaz civil war.

I chose to wake you up in order to point the way for this civilization, one that's surprised me at every turn.

I don't want you to waste away now.

You need to take care of yourself.

...Sorry.

Right now, though, what I want to do most is alleviate Amiya's pain.

I see you, Amiya. You can come out.

Doctor... am I interrupting anything?

No, just curious how you got in when I didn't hear the door open.

I found a lot of secret passages.

Secret passages?

Yeah. Closure said not to tell anyone, so I haven't.

No wonder Dr. Kal'tsit can't find you for checkups. You've been hiding there all along.

...I promise I won't run away, if you go with me.

Alright, I'll try to make the time.

You've been really busy. Dr. Kal'tsit said even she has hardly seen you lately.

Whenever I see you, you're all by yourself, carrying a stack of papers, head down, walking from one end of a corridor to the other.

If someone says hi to you, all you do is nod, then keep on walking without a word.

Sounds like you're describing a really rude person. Sorry, Amiya.

No, that's not what I meant... you just seem really unhappy.

Why would you say that?

Before we came to Rhodes Island, you were curious about everything, cuddled up with the burdenbeasts at night, crouched down to look at tiny rocks in the mines, and went to pick fruit from beckbeast dens...

You enjoyed everything, even the things that didn't interest me as a kid.

But now... whenever I talk to you about something fun, all you say is, 'I'm glad you enjoyed it, Amiya.'

But I came to talk to you about it to make you feel happy...

Are you unhappy because I'm not getting better?

It's not because of you, Amiya. This is about me.

And... you can hear noises outside the ship, can't you?

Yes. Like the huge drills in Rim Billiton. They're so noisy... I don't like them.

Me, Theresa, Dr. Kal'tsit, we all have a lot of things to do. It's not your fault.

...Alright.

Do you have time today, Amiya?

Yes!

I want to go up the deck and see the clouds. It's going to rain. They have very interesting shapes, and I could talk for a long time if there was someone there to listen to me.

Of course! But... don't you have work to do?

It's okay... I'll be done soon.

Doctor!

...It's okay. The Doctor just passed out on the deck due to exhaustion.

Thank goodness... it's not something serious.

What about the wound on the Doctor's arm?

Trying to contract Oripathy. The Doctor tried many ways: breathing in dust, exposure to Originium-dense environments, even a direct incision with active Originium...

I tried to get the Doctor to stop, and I asked Scout to do the same, but...

No one wants to see the Doctor get hurt.

Maybe the Doctor is in more pain than we see on the surface.

What about Amiya?

Terribly frightened. She wouldn't stop crying. It took a lot of effort to get her to sleep.

This is... a sculpture?

A gift from a rescued Infected to the Doctor.

Ace was the first to hear Amiya's cry. He carried the Doctor back and left this behind.

See, Doctor? You've established connections with so many people. You're not alone.

But what are you hiding that you wouldn't even tell Kal'tsit or me?

......

The Doctor truly wants to help Amiya and Babel. I can feel that.

But I also can't help but feel that the Doctor leaves some thoughts unsaid... some concerns, some doubts.

I believed these sentiments were the result of such an abrupt awakening, and that they would go away in time.

But they haven't.

The Doctor is being torn apart by these unsaid things, tormented by hesitation, pain, and guilt.

Perhaps I don't understand the Doctor as well as I thought.

I don't know how to ease the Doctor's pain. And if neither of us know what the Doctor is thinking...

Then the Doctor of Babel will always be alone, all the love and respect notwithstanding.

...Kal'tsit.

Yes.

I will explain to the Doctor in time.

This... is Originium?

When was this memory...? The Doctor's emotion, pain, hesitation, and... fear?

Who was that... accompanying the Doctor in despair?

No, Kal'tsit said there was another—

...!

Theresa!

...!

What happened, Theresa?

What did you see?

I... I saw Originium.

It had assimilated the entire continent. The Doctor felt pain and anxiety over it.

—

Was that the Doctor's memory? No... a dream?

Give me a hand, Kal'tsit. The feeling, the noise and the wailing... I...

Theresa.

I told you that Originium once decided the distant future of this land. There were two choices.

We were too focused on tangible suffering, Catastrophe, Oripathy. Casting our eyes toward that future brought too much difficulty and too little meaning.

The Doctor chose one of them... the future that the Doctor spoke of to me, personally.

I could not forget that future the Doctor described. Never, in all these years.

But the other cold and empty thought has often shot up my spine in the middle of the night over the past ten thousand years.

I cannot speak of it.

But you can sense my anger with your power.

That means that Civilight Eterna exists outside of the boundaries of language.

......

So, Theresa.

If you saw a future that you are not willing to accept, I hope you, Civilight Eterna, can change the course. Only you can.

If you saw the side of myself or the Doctor that is strange to you...

Kal'tsit?

No, Kal'tsit, that's not what I meant—

—The Doctor's feelings toward Amiya, toward us, toward you, are sincere. That is the truth.

Trust the Doctor, and trust me. I will find the answer to what is tormenting the Doctor. And when—

Ugh...

Doctor!

Doctor... you're awake.

What happened to me?

You fainted as you were leaving the deck with Amiya.

Hgnh... where's Amiya?

A little shaken, but she's fine.

You're still in bad shape. What were you thinking?

......