text: [Themes: Mystery, suspense, fantasy, steampunk]
  
  > describe your surroundings
  From this observation deck, you can see the grand scale of the operation of the Channelworks. A solid mass of machinery extends everywhere within this ancient building, filling its domed chambers and its high stone arches. Everywhere you look, pipes converge in a dizzying cacophony of hissing steam and flowing water, of whirling turbines and rolling metal drums.
  
  A foul-smelling tunnel leads out of the Channelworks to the south.
  
  There is a console here, and a hydraulic door to the east which stands open. The black trail flows from one of the leaking pipes near this door.
  
  > Go east
  It is dusky here, and cold. The walls are austere bunker-brass. Looming about are locked cabinets and metal crates stamped with esoteric ciphers; there is a laboratory counter that bristles with papers, alembics, syphons, the skeletons of mice, the detritus of knowledge. The floor is dirty and scuffed. The counter has been used recently.
  
  > examine the cabinets
  These look like filing cabinets for highly restricted treatises, the sort you would find in the Philosophers' animological research libraries. Each is labeled according to what you assume is a secret cataloguing system. All are physically locked and sealed by dozens of warding glyphs.
  
  There is one odd cabinet, though, that seems newer than the rest. The wards are the same, but the metal is a little less tarnished.
  
  > look at the odd cabinet
  This cabinet is a little less tarnished than the others.
  
  > examine the wards
  Harsh red triangles are inscribed in a lattice all over the cabinets. You're no sigiler, but you know a deadly defensive spell when you see one.
  
  > Examine crates
  You recognize them as the type of crate used to transport dangerous substances.
  
  > look at counter
  A cold desk light illuminates dated scientific theses and yellowed medical reports. By the looming shadows of old alembics and syphons, there is a glass containment cage filled with skeletal corpses of mice.
  
  You feel like you need to investigate the items more closely.
  
  > examine the reports
  There are human, goblin, and mutant anatomical diagrams; skeletons, musculatures, and circulatory systems. And there are other diagrams: ones with concentric circles, amorphous cross-hatched zones, rays of differing magnitude.
  
  differing magnitude.Slowly you realize what the diagrams are depicting. They are charts of the other light, the unseen light. They are meticulously measured and recorded diagrams of souls.
  
  are meticulously measured and recorded diagrams of souls.Some are fulgurant and whole, looking much as the spirits in the aqueduct did. Others are fractured, like Reden's animus, and torn apart.
  
  Others are fractured, like Reden's animus, and torn apart.The fractured souls are labeled "NOCTIS TEST RESULTS."
  
  fractured souls are labeled "NOCTIS TEST RESULTS."There is some writing on the back of one of the reports. It reads: "I cannot do this anymore. My conscience weighs too heavily. Philosopher Scepter is no more and it is for the best that her atrocities are forgotten."
  
  more and it is for the best that her atrocities are forgotten."A line below it, in a newer hand: "You always were too cautious, Arturus, my friend."
  
  > examine  the line
  Your father gave you these tattoos when you were a young child, as is tradition in some alchemical families. Even now, the flowing, circuitous lines remind you of him.
  
  > examine the cage
  A box for the observation of small creatures. The insides are dirty and coated with fungus.
  
  > look at the mice
  Parts of the ribcages are black and corroded, as if eaten from within. There are no animii that you can see.
  
  > put the endoscope in the cage
  The glass containment cage is empty.
  
  > examine alembics
  Opaque liquids in warped glass. They look like solutions of bile left to stand, or perhaps what is left after oxygen is purged from blood.
  
  > look at the syphons
  Droppers, needles, and syringes, glistening and ruddy from recent use.
  
  You notice a protruding shape hidden behind the syphons, cleverly concealed in the clutter of the laboratory counter.
  
  > examine the shape
  It's a small push-button.
  
  > Journal
  Sixth of Aquaria, Auritum IV
  
  I wish I never knew. I wish I'd never come here.
  
  Current objectives:
  
  It is dusky here, and cold. The walls are austere bunker-brass. Looming about are locked cabinets and metal crates stamped with esoteric ciphers; there is a laboratory counter that bristles with papers, alembics, syphons, the skeletons of mice, the detritus of knowledge. The floor is dirty and scuffed. The counter has been used recently
  
  You can go west to the hydromotive control room, or east through the open door of a false cabinet.
  
  > go east
  A freezing cold storage chamber not meant for the living. Desolate mist fills the aisles between banks of opaque black vats, which cast long and looming shadows in the flickering light.
  
  In the faint glow of floor-to-ceiling sigilwork, the silhouettes of isolation chambers are outlined along the walls.
  
  The exit is to the west.
  
  > examine the chambers
  Person-sized capsules with a single door and a small crystal window. You recognize them from the College laboratories for the study of infectious diseases.
  
  > examine the sigilwork
  It is a massive cooling system inscribed in mercury.
  
  > look at the vats
  Huge alchemical storage vats. They are merciless pillars with empty visages. At first you think they are painted black. Then you look closer.
  closer.The vats are filled with darkness. It is the ineffable blackness that you saw leaking from the pipes. It is the night that descends when you go to sleep or die.
  descends when you go to sleep or die.It is broiling and it is seething and it hurts your eyes -- it hurts to see -- like looking
  into a hole in the fabric of the universe.
  into a hole in the fabric of the universe.This is what you are looking at, in these massive, chilled storage vats. This is a laboratory for making more.
  
  > J.
  Sixth of Aquaria, Auritum IV
  
  I wish I never knew. I wish I'd never come here.
  
  Current objectives:
  
  A freezing cold storage chamber not meant for the living. Desolate mist fills the aisles between banks of opaque black vats, which cast long and looming shadows in the flickering light.
  
  In the faint glow of floor-to-ceiling sigilwork, the silhouettes of isolation chambers are outlined along the walls.
  
  The exit is to the west.
  
  > go west
  You stumble back, away from the cold, away from the terrible nothingness that in those pillars broils. You are fumbling,
  looking for the exit, when --
  
  looking for the exit, when --"...someone there?"
  
  looking for the exit, when --"...someone there?"You draw back, your heart racing. A voice rings through the Channelworks, and it is a familiar one.
  
  familiar one."Damned mutants," Doctor Serpens's murmuring echoes. "Who's there? Identify yourself!"
  
  "Who's there? Identify yourself!"There is a loud hiss from the hydromotive control room. For a moment you hear nothing. Then it is there: the cold, atonal clanging of footfalls on metal, drawing closer and closer to where you are.
  
  and closer to where you are.You need to hide. Now.
  
  > 2
  You stare out of the window with bated breath, not quite able to believe your eyes.
  
  Justinian's face is twisted with the specter of anguish. He looks around, but he does not see you. He paces through the freezing aisles, clutching his coat close to his shivering shoulders as he scans the corners and the shadows.
  corners and the shadows."Marid, Marid, Marid," he says, in a voice that is almost cracked from grief. "Please... Marid... tell me you're here."
  1) "Justinian?"
  2) <Remain hidden.>
  
  > 2
  You dare not emerge, but you feel tears welling up in your eyes.
  
  You watch as Justinian painstakingly searches the room, sometimes sobbing, sometimes begging for a sign. His hands are shaking as he struggles with the glyphs on the isolation chambers. He opens one only to find it empty, and slams the door shut with a scream of frustration.
  frustration."Please, Marid, please," he repeats hoarsely. "Please be okay. I can't lose you. I can't lose you..."
  okay. I can't lose you. I can't lose you..."You are beginning to feel horrible.
  
  1) "Justinian?"
  2) <Remain hidden.>
  
  > 2
  He goes around the room, opening and closing each isolation chamber in turn, calling your name over and over with such despair that you can't take it any longer. You just can't.
  
  There are some things that you have to do.
  
  1) "Justinian?"
  
  > 1
  "Justinian?"
  
  Your voice is a thin thread, a whisper that must be almost inaudible from outside the walls of your prison. But if it is a whisper, it is one with the power of a lightning bolt.
  
  one with the power of a lightning bolt.Justinian stands bolt upright, and his eyes widen and he looks around madly.
  
  and his eyes widen and he looks around madly."Marid!" he says. "Marid? Marid, is that you?"
  
  Marid, is that you?""Justinian. I'm here."
  
  Marid, is that you?""Justinian. I'm here."You tap the safety release glyph and the door opens. With a hiss the cool air rushes in, and the light, and a feeling of relief like a held breath finally letting go.
  
  light, and a feeling of relief like a held breath finally letting go.Justinian takes a couple of steps forward and embraces you. His dirty cheeks are stained with tears.
  
  dirty cheeks are stained with tears.You feel weightless with Justinian's arms wrapped around you. He is close, and he is warm, and his heart is filled with fire. A part of you notifies your conscious mind that your cheeks are burning. But the embarrassment is less, somehow, after you have already died once.
  
  somehow, after you have already died once."Marid," he murmurs, almost under his breath. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Do you know how insane this is? You could have died."
  
  how insane this is? You could have died.""I know," you say. "I know. Listen --"
  
  Listen --""Marid, it's not safe here. You need to --"
  
  Listen --""Marid, it's not safe here. You need to --""Justinian, listen to me," you say. "I've found the source of the contagion. It's being produced right here in this laboratory. There's a stack of research notes on that desk. You need to tell the inquest to get a team down here so that... so that..."
  
  team down here so that... so that..."Something is wrong.
  
  team down here so that... so that..."Something is wrong.Justinian's demeanor has not changed. He has shown no surprise, no reaction apart from his concern.
  
  from his concern.You try to pull away, but you cannot. His embrace has turned rigid.
  
  turned rigid.You look up, and his eyes sear into yours like dark sunsets.
  
  1) "Justinian?"
  
  > 1
  "Justinian?"
  
  "Yes, Marid?" His voice is soft.
  
  1) "What's going on?"
  2) "Why are you here?"
  3) "You already know, don't you?"
  
  > 3
  "You already know, don't you?"
  
  Those unreadable eyes of his flicker across your face. Slowly, very slowly, he inclines his head in a nod.
  slowly, he inclines his head in a nod."I do."
  slowly, he inclines his head in a nod."I do."You begin to feel something creeping in your heart. It is a kind of pain.
  
  1) "How long have you known?"
  2) "Why didn't you tell me?"
  3) "...What else have you not told me?"
  
  > 1
  "How long have you known?"
  
  Justinian's lips tighten with sadness, with unspoken regret.
  
  "A long time," he says, very quietly. "I had hoped to be the one to tell you."
  
  1) "Why didn't you tell me?"
  2) "...What else have you not told me?"
  
  > 2
  There is a sense of a voice in the back of your mind that has been silenced, for a long time, and which you are only now able to hear. Now it is telling you something you had never wished to believe could be true.
  
  be true.For perhaps the first time you look at Doctor Justinian, and in the other-light that follows him, you see it.
  
  in the other-light that follows him, you see it."...What else
  have you not told me?" you say.
  
  have you not told me?" you say."You still aren't ready," Justinian whispers. "There's so much I wanted to tell you, Marid. If only --"
  
  whispers. "There's so much I wanted to tell you, Marid. If only --""If only what?"
  
  only what?"There is no more warmth in his embrace -- only a
  kind of sickening smoldering hurt that makes you want to throw up. You shove him with such force that he lets you go, and you stumble into the cold brass of the isolation chamber at your back. He looks away. His brow is furrowed with pain. Sorrow.
  
  His brow is furrowed with pain. Sorrow."I wish I didn't have to do this," he says. "I promise, Marid. I promise that one day you will forgive me."
  
  forgive me.""Justinian, what have you done?"
  
  forgive me.""Justinian, what have you done?""One day you will
  forgive me," he repeats, and then he lunges at you with a cloth in his hand, and
  
  hand, andyou can't breathe, and your vision swims and
  
  hand, andyou can't breathe, and your vision swims andthe world ceases to be but for
  
  to be but forshadows cast inflame.
  
  The weather is cool outside, and Father is gardening.
  
  The weather is cool outside, and Father is gardening.The towers of the Lake District are silvery bronze against the sky. The streamers on the balcony sway with a late-afternoon wind. You watch as Father reaches into the bucket and pulls out a fully grown pigeon, which struggles and twitches in his grip.
  
  and twitches in his grip."Why do we have to bury the pigeons?" you ask.
  
  ask.Father turns to you and smiles warmly as he holds the scalpel in his hand.
  
  his hand."So they will make the flowers grow," he says. He slits the pigeon's throat with a quick and brutal motion, and black blood pours from the wound, staining the soil in the pot with the dark, viscous consistency of ink.
  
  consistency of ink.Father buries the pigeon in the pot, and as he covers its body with cold black soil, you feel a fog coming over
  your mind and something wet and clammy pressing into you, and
  
  Your head hurts.
  
  Your head hurts.It's hard to think. Your body is numb and prickly all over. You're hungry and thirsty, and the back of your throat tastes like bitter wine.
  
  like bitter wine.You try to move your arms and legs, only to realize they have been bound. You rock experimentally and find yourself tied to a chair. Rope bindings chafe and dig into your skin.
  
  to a chair. Rope bindings chafe and dig into your skin.It is dark; very dark. But then you remember, and you force yourself to wake up so you can see the other light. It works for you, after a
  fashion.
  
  fashion.You see your breath, swirling around in the
  nothingness, catching the emanations of your weakly glimmering animus. There are motes and sparks trailing from above, probably the afterimage of some ceiling light seared into the fabric of the veil.
  
  afterimage of some ceiling light seared into the fabric of the veil.And you see him.
  
  veil.And you see him.He switches on the light. It's blinding;
  you reflexively squeeze your eyes shut. You feel the rhythm of his heart, the unevenness of his exhalation, as he draws closer. He kneels down right next to you and presses a bowl of warm porridge to your lips.
  
  lips."Go on," comes the soft voice of Doctor Justinian. "Drink up."
  
  lips."Go on," comes the soft voice of Doctor Justinian. "Drink
  up."1) <Drink.>
  2) <Don't drink.>
  
  > 1
  You gaze into the bowl. It's millet porridge that smells like it's fresh from the stove. There are almonds in it, and an egg, and a bit of honey. It smells exactly like the fare you used to have at the Physicians' College.
  
  Like the fare that your father used to make.
  
  Like the fare that your father used to make.Tears run down your cheeks as you lap up the porridge. Justinian holds the bowl to your mouth as you finish your meal. Then he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and delicately dabs around your lips.
  
  and delicately dabs around your lips.You cannot bear to look at your captor any longer. You turn away, shoving his hand aside with the motion.
  
  motion."What's wrong?" he asks.
  
  motion."What's wrong?" he asks.Everything is wrong. But in a way that you cannot describe. Your heart sinks as it hits you -- the full ramifications of what has happened, and what is now happening. You feel as though your head is spinning and the world is slipping away.
  
  feel as though your head is spinning and the world is slipping away."Justinian," you whisper. "Please. Don't... don't do this."
  
  away."Justinian," you whisper. "Please. Don't... don't do this.""Marid..."
  
  this.""Marid..."There is warmth in his voice still, like a fireplace in the evening. But there is also pain, and anger.
  
  in the evening. But there is also pain, and anger.Justinian walks up to you and grabs your chin. He forces you to look at him. His jaw is set; his brow is furrowed with sorrow.
  
  set; his brow is furrowed with sorrow."Marid."
  
  set; his brow is furrowed with sorrow."Marid.""Please," you beg. "Please..."
  
  "Please..."Slowly, he releases his grip. He turns around, clenching and unclenching his fists. There is silence for a long moment before he speaks again.
  
  he speaks again."I don't understand." His voice is low. "I'm just trying to help you. Why do you keep struggling, Marid? Why do
  you force yourself to suffer?"
  
  1) "Where have you taken me?"
  2) "Why have you tied me to a chair?"
  3) "Did you do it, Justinian? Did you kill all those people?"
  
  > 1
  "Where have you taken me?"
  
  Justinian sighs. You watch the particles of his breath swirl dispassionately in the air.
  dispassionately in the air."You're safe, Marid," he says. "If you must know, we are still in the Channelworks. Not far from where I knocked you out. But this time, Doctor Serpens will not find you. The quarantine enforcers will not find you. Here we are in a safe space, where no one will break down your door, or hurt you, or threaten you again."
  again.""I would feel safer if you let me go," you say.
  again.""I would feel safer if you let me go," you say.Justinian shakes his head. "Marid... when will you learn to trust me? I will not hurt you, Marid. I could never hurt you."
  
  1) "Why have you tied me to a chair?"
  2) "Did you do it, Justinian? Did you kill all those people?"
  
  > 1
  "Why have you tied me to a chair?"
  
  "Marid." He pauses. "You must understand that I take no pleasure in doing this. I wish that I did not have to treat you like... like a common asylum patient. But you are not ready.
  common asylum patient. But you are not ready."I know that you
  hate me, Marid. You must hate me, after what I have done. But if I were to let you go free, you would run at the first opportunity. You would undermine everything that I have worked to accomplish."
  would undermine everything that I have worked to accomplish."He looks at you with a fire in his eyes.
  at you with a fire in his eyes."I can't let that happen."
  
  1) "Did you do it, Justinian? Did you kill all those people?"
  
  > 1
  The air is heavy in the chamber, the rope bindings like leaden weights upon your skin. You can hear Justinian's quiet breathing; feel the labored pulse of your own heartbeat, and how the contractions and releases mark the passage of the hours.
  
  releases mark the passage of the hours."Did you do it, Justinian?" you ask, very softly. "Did you kill all those people?"
  
  ask, very softly. "Did you kill all those people?"Justinian turns away from you and begins to pace. His eyes are dark; his hands are trembling.
  
  trembling.He is searching for the right words, like a lyrist trying to grasp the pain in his heart.
  
  grasp the pain in his heart."Do you remember the Physicians' College?" he murmurs. "Not so long ago, when we were young and foolhardy, and thought we could learn the origins of life. When we believed we could change the world."
  
  change the world."He turns around and gazes into the distance. He sighs. He begins again. His voice is quieter now, drawn tightly like a bowstring.
  
  bowstring."The Physicians' College lied to us, Marid. We were fools.
  
  bowstring."The Physicians' College lied to us, Marid. We were fools."Think, Marid. Humor me for a moment. We are both the apprentices of doctors. We have seen death aplenty. How many times has Doctor Cavala succeeded? And how many times has she failed? How many patients of yours have slipped away, no matter how much you tried to save them?"
  
  save them?"His gloved hands ball into fists.
  
  save them?"His gloved hands ball into fists."Do you want to know the truth, Marid?" he says. "Let me tell you the truth. The truth is that death will happen with or without us. By illness, by injury, by old age, it hardly matters. The truth is that all our reason, all our years of learning -- they are nothing in the face of Death.
  
  Death."We cannot change the world. We cannot even save lives. All we do, Marid, is lie to ourselves. All we do is prolong the suffering, the uncertainty, before the fire and light of existence turn to ash."
  
  the uncertainty, before the fire and light of existence turn to ash."There are tears glistening in Justinian's eyes, but his gaze does not waver as he speaks to you. You find that you cannot look away.
  
  not waver as he speaks to you. You find that you cannot look away."Listen to me, Marid," he says. "For four years we have known each other. You know me. You know that I am a principled man, and educated in the ars vitalis. I have sworn to do no harm. I
  have always upheld Reason.
  
  have always upheld Reason."And I know you, Marid. I know that you see what others do not. I know that you have experienced more loss than anyone. Marid, you are the one person who could possibly
  understand what I relate to you now.
  
  understand what I relate to you now."I tell you this because I trust you, and I know you, and... and I... I love you. I love you,
  Marid. I always have.
  
  Marid. I always have."So listen to me. Listen to me, Marid.
  Listen to me when I say that there is no use going in circles, trying and trying only to fail and fail again. Listen to me when I say that something has to change. That is why we have to do away with
  the old, and we have to tear out the rot, and we have to act.
  
  the old, and we have to tear out the rot, and we have to
  act."You asked me, Marid, if I killed those people. I didn't
  answer your question because you weren't ready. I never told you because... because perhaps deep down, I always knew that it would come to this, with one of us tied to a chair.
  
  to this, with one of us tied to a chair."But now, Marid... now you know. Now I have told you the truth. And perhaps now you will understand when I tell you the answer to your question.
  
  understand when I tell you the answer to your question."I killed those people, Marid. I found Doctor Arturus's weapon, and I brought it back from the grave, and now it is my scalpel to wield.
  
  from the grave, and now it is my scalpel to wield."No one can fight Death, Marid. That is why it is the only thing with the power to change the world."
  
  change the world."Justinian grips your shoulders and gazes at you, and you feel like you are about to cry.
  
  1) "Why did you kill Reden?"
  2) "Why did you kill Creditor Nacarat and the thugs?"
  3) "Why did you kill Doctor Arturus?"
  4) "Why did you start the epidemic?"
  5) "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  6) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  7) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "Why did you kill Reden?"
  
  "Reden? You must mean the drunkard."
  
  Justinian places his hands on his hips and starts to pace.
  
  Justinian places his hands on his hips and starts to pace."He was..." he begins. "He was an unfortunate casualty. He kept coming to the outflow of the Channelworks. He tripped our alarm sigils. At first I believed he had discovered something.
  
  believed he had discovered something."In the end, we decided to let him drink in peace. But we were careless. One of our Noctis tanks... sprung a leak."
  
  sprung a leak."You recall the thin black strand that led you from Reden's haunt to the storage room.
  
  Reden's haunt to the storage room.Justinian lowers his eyes. "It was a hairline fracture. I didn't notice until it was too late. By then, he had already been exposed."
  
  had already been exposed.""Then Reden's death... was an accident?"
  
  had already been exposed.""Then Reden's death... was an accident?"Justinian folds his arms. "I would have taken more precautions in hindsight. I don't... Perhaps he didn't deserve to die. But I knew the risks when I set out to do this. If a few accidents are the cost of changing the world... so be it."
  
  1) "Why did you kill Creditor Nacarat and the thugs?"
  2) "Why did you kill Doctor Arturus?"
  3) "Why did you start the epidemic?"
  4) "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  5) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  6) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "Why did you kill Creditor Nacarat and the thugs?"
  
  "Why?" Justinian looks almost surprised. "Marid, you've been all over the Channelworks District. You know the Greater Corindia Trading Company, don't you? They are criminals, Marid. They are parasites. They are the worst aspects of society congealed into a tumor."
  They are the worst aspects of society congealed into a tumor.""They don't kill people with biological weapons."
  don't kill people with biological weapons.""Marid, Doctor Arturus was in debt to them." Justinian's eyes flash. "You weren't there, Marid. You don't know what they did. What they were capable of. Scum like that doesn't deserve to... to even breathe the same air as us.
  that doesn't deserve to... to even breathe the same air as us."When I needed test subjects for Noctis, I didn't have to think twice. Nacarat and his goons were the first ones to die because I knew the Channelworks District would be a better place without them."
  
  1) "Why did you kill Doctor Arturus?"
  2) "Why did you start the epidemic?"
  3) "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  4) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  5) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "Why... why did you kill Doctor Arturus?"
  
  Justinian's face darkens, and he turns away.
  
  "Arturus..."
  
  "Arturus..."He gazes contemplatively at his hands.
  
  "Arturus..."He gazes contemplatively at his hands."I held him in high regard. I believed in his ideals. He was the best pathologist in Furopolis, I'm certain. Perhaps the best in the world."
  
  Furopolis, I'm certain. Perhaps the best in the world."His jaw tightens.
  
  tightens."I wish..." he says. "I wish he had understood. What he had on his hands... a weapon that could topple nations. A power that could change things for the better. But he didn't see it that way. All he saw, when he looked at Noctis, was a tool of destruction."
  
  saw, when he looked at Noctis, was a tool of destruction.""Maybe he was right," you say.
  
  was right," you say."He was wrong." Justinian clenches his fists. "He was wrong, and he was deluded. Trapped in the past. Death is not an end, Marid. It is a means, a tilling of the soil for a new beginning. We could have done so much..."
  
  We could have done so much..."He exhales.
  
  We could have done so much..."He exhales."I tried to reason with him," he finishes. "But he was too set in his ways."
  
  he finishes. "But he was too set in his ways.""And you killed him for that?"
  
  that?""There was no other way." His voice is quiet. "There was... there was nothing else I could have done. He would have ended the plan before it started. Destroyed his own creation, after I had spent so long following in his footsteps.
  
  long following in his footsteps."I couldn't let that happen. I had to make him look like another victim."
  
  make him look like another victim."You gaze at Justinian. "If I don't agree with you, will you kill me too?"
  
  agree with you, will you kill me too?"He looks away and does not reply.
  
  1) "Why did you start the epidemic?"
  2) "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  3) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  4) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "Why did you start the epidemic?"
  
  Justinian puts his hands in his pockets and looks into the distance.
  
  "I thought you might ask that question," he says. "Let me ask you a question in return.
  
  question in return."Marid, have you ever wondered why the people of the Shanty Quarter suffer? They are good people. Hardworking people. Their hands are just as able as yours or mine. So why do they still starve? Why do they languish without homes? Without jobs? Without even the pity of the Council of Works to protect them?
  
  the pity of the Council of Works to protect them?"The truth is that there is no place for them here. The Channelworks District has no room for them. Furopolis has no room for them. There is an upper limit to the number of people that can be made to live in one space."
  
  the number of people that can be made to live in one space."You glare at Justinian. "And the epidemic is your way of... of culling
  them?"
  
  them?"Justinian's face hardens, and his voice becomes humorless.
  
  them?"Justinian's face hardens, and his voice becomes humorless."Don't get me wrong, Marid. I don't enjoy killing. I never have. But do you remember what I said? Death will happen with or without us. The people in the Shanty Quarter will die with or without me.
  
  in the Shanty Quarter will die with or without me.The only question is -- should they be made to bear a lifetime of suffering first? Scrounging for scraps and inflicting the same burden on generations of children? Should their descendants be forced to suffer because we couldn't imagine an alternative?
  
  couldn't imagine an alternative?"With Noctis, we have a choice. They have a way out. And it pains me to say this, but killing them may be the only moral choice. Even an atrocity such as this may be
  justified if it averts countless lifetimes of suffering.
  
  justified if it averts countless lifetimes of suffering."That is why I am doing this, Marid. I am killing them, yes -- but I am
  euthanizing them. I am setting them free."
  
  1) "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  2) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  3) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "Why did Carnicer try to kill me and Doctor Cavala?"
  
  "Carnicer." Justinian clenches his fists. "I didn't... She was out of line. I told her specifically that you were not to be harmed. But she took matters into her own hands."
  
  took matters into her own hands.""Why?" you whisper. "Why send her?"
  
  took matters into her own hands.""Why?" you whisper. "Why send her?"Justinian shakes his head. "I never had a choice. If I could have resolved this any other way...
  
  resolved this any other way..."After Doctor Arturus, I realized you and Doctor Cavala were the only remaining obstacles to my plan. Doctor Cavala is too paranoid... too set in her ways, like Arturus was. Given time she would realize what was happening and formulate a cure. And all of this --" He sweeps his hand across the room. "All my plans would have been for nothing."
  
  would have been for nothing.""So you... you sent an assassin
  after her?"
  
  after her?""There was no other option." His voice is strained. "Negotiating with her was too risky. A bomb or poison would have put you in danger. I believed -- I thought that hiring a hitman was the best solution.
  
  best solution."I didn't account for Carnicer's unprofessionalism. Her cruelty. Had I known that she would go after you... I would have killed her myself."
  
  1) "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  2) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "How much does Doctor Serpens know?"
  
  "Doctor Serpens is my accomplice," Justinian says. "He has helped to misdirect the authorities, to manage the logistics of transmission. He is the kind of person you need on your side when performing an operation on this scale.
  operation on this scale."How should I say this..." He exhales. "I wish I didn't have to work with him. Doctor Serpens is an evil man -- he sees this as a cruel game, an opportunity to perfect his masterpiece in spite of the cancellation of his project.
  in spite of the cancellation of his project."I can only hope that I have turned his cruel impulses towards a more productive cause."
  
  1) <Change the subject.> "What will you do with me now?"
  
  > 1
  "What will you do with me now?"
  
  Justinian takes a long moment to reply. The light flickers a little.
  
  Justinian takes a long moment to reply. The light flickers a little."I don't know," he says.
  
  don't know," he says.He takes a couple of steps forward, placing his hand on the backrest of your chair. He gazes at the wall behind you.
  
  hand on the backrest of your chair. He gazes at the wall behind you."I..." he begins. "I have told you everything, now. I have laid myself bare to you. Now you see... the full magnitude of what I have been fighting for. What I have sacrificed everything to accomplish.
  
  been fighting for. What I have sacrificed everything to accomplish."The other doctors could never understand. They could not know... what a terrible thing it is, that has to be done. But you, Marid, you are different. I know you are. I know you can see things differently, and perhaps you too will know, and understand the truth.
  
  differently, and perhaps you too will know, and understand the truth."One day... one day, we may even..."
  
  truth."One day... one day, we may even..."He trails off, and shakes his head.
  
  his head."It doesn't matter. I... I don't expect you to understand me now, Marid. But I hope -- I know that you will understand, too, in the end. That this is the best way. The only way."
  
  end. That this is the best way. The only way."The man you once knew walks back around to the front of your chair, and he gazes quietly into your eyes.
  
  into your eyes."You understand why I'm doing this, Marid. Don't you?"
  
  into your eyes."You understand why I'm doing this, Marid. Don't you?""I..."
  
  you?""I..."It is too much. It is all too much.
  
  you?""I..."It is too much. It is all too much.You are hungry, and you are exhausted, and you feel like a hollow and broken and dead thing inside. The weight that is now pressing upon you -- that Justinian has forced upon you -- is too much to bear.
  
  forced upon you -- is too much to bear.You try to imagine the hundreds of lives -- the thousands of lives that Justinian has snuffed. You look at him and you see, in his animic wake, ten thousand skulls weeping black tears.
  
  weeping black tears.You feel light-headed. You feel like you cannot move, you cannot breathe. Your pendant weighs on your heart like a stake, and you can feel your blood rushing in your ears, thumping, congealing like a tumor.
  
  congealing like a tumor.You close your eyes. You block out the image of Justinian, and you try to breathe. It helps, a little.
  
  of Justinian, and you try to breathe. It helps, a little."Justinian," you say. "Stop. Please."
  
  you say. "Stop. Please."He is very quiet. He does not make a move as you take deep breaths, as you tremble in your seat and try to regain your composure.
  
  your composure."I'm sorry, Marid," he says, his voice low. "You weren't ready. I should have... I should have waited..."
  
  weren't ready. I should have... I should have waited..."You open your eyes, and he is walking away, his head bowed. He does not look at you, as though he cannot bear to see you in such pain.
  
  as though he cannot bear to see you in such pain."You need time to think," he says. "I understand. I won't rush you. Take as long as you need."
  
  need.""Justinian..."
  
  need.""Justinian...""I'll be back for you." He places his hand on the light switch. "I have things to do now, but I will come back for you. I'll be back, Marid. I promise."
  
  I'll be back, Marid. I promise."You gaze at him mutely, your heart pounding, your thoughts a disastrous jumble. You open your mouth but find that you have nothing to say.
  
  find that you have nothing to say.Justinian looks at you one last time, sadly, silently, and then switches off the light. Your world collapses into darkness.
  
  collapses into darkness.At last you find your voice. "Justinian --"
  
  collapses into darkness.At last you find your voice. "Justinian --"But he is already gone. Further and further his footsteps echo, until they too melt and vanish into the pitiless silence.
  
  too melt and vanish into the pitiless silence.And you are alone.
  
  1) <Cry.>
  2) <Try to compose yourself.>
  
  > 2
  You close your eyes and take a ragged breath.
  
  You close your eyes and take a ragged breath.The thrum of the Channelworks envelops you. You can hear the machinery of the Hydra Aquifera -- of the sanitation of the entire district -- churning ceaselessly. You hear the displacement of hundreds of tons of water, and the grinding of mechanical turbines, and distant hisses of steam like a great creature's exhalation.
  
  like a great creature's exhalation.It is the lifeblood of the district that you are hearing. It is that which bears the lives of the thousands that live here.
  
  thousands that live here.You think of Horatio in the rain, his face dirty after a long shift. You think of Doctor Cavala and her self-assured smile. There is the bartender with his mask, and the ice-cream salesman, and the boy with the cap who hands out the newspapers every morning.
  
  newspapers every morning.You take another breath. You try to hold it steady. Your heart isn't pounding as hard any more.
  
  steady. Your heart isn't pounding as hard any more.You aren't okay. Not really. But you're a little better.
  
  Not really. But you're a little better.It will have to be enough.
  
  1) <Try to loosen your bonds.>
  
  > 1
  You will your sore muscles to move. You test the limits of the ropes Justinian has tied you with. They're tight -- but not so tight that you can't wiggle a little.
  
  you can't wiggle a little.One of the ropes binding your hands is perhaps a little looser than it should be. You can feel it give when you twist your wrist just so -- feel the knot shifting, letting your wrist move an infinitesimal distance further than before.
  
  wrist move an infinitesimal distance further than before.Was Justinian in a hurry? Or is this just another mercy he chose to grant you?
  
  in a hurry? Or is this just another mercy he chose to grant you?It doesn't matter. What matters is that you have a way out of this chair. It will take a long time. It will take hours. But it's not as if you have anything else to do.
  
  have anything else to do.Now, at least, you have something to work at, to take your mind off things. Perhaps without the ropes constricting your blood flow, you will be able to think clearly -- to think of something that will make Justinian return to his old self.
  
  something that will make Justinian return to his old self.It must be possible. It must --
  
  possible. It must ---- because you don't know what you're going to do otherwise.
  
  * * *
  
  * * *You think an hour has passed. You
  have a stinging rope burn and a terrible cramp in your wrist. But it's done, and your right hand is free. You reach over and painstakingly loosen the bonds around your left wrist and your left elbow, and then with your left hand reach into your coat pocket and pray.
  
  with your left hand reach into your coat pocket and pray.There it is -- your scalpel.
  
  -- your scalpel.You have to pause for a moment, take deep breaths to steady yourself. Your heart is racing. You draw out your scalpel and use your free hand to remove the safety cover. Fumbling in the darkness, you press the blade into the rope binding your right elbow -- and it parts.
  
  -- and it parts.You work slowly, carefully, but not without a tremor of excitement. The circulation returns to your limbs as you free yourself from rope after rope. Each cut makes the next one easier. At last you reach down and slice through the ropes binding your ankles in a single stroke.
  
  a single stroke.You are free.
  
  a single stroke.You are free.Now you need to figure out how to get out of here.
  
  You are somewhere dingy and humid and shut off from the outside world. There is no light here, and even your second sight is not enough to pierce the suffocating gloom.
  
  At the foot of the chair, a faint glimmer of other-light outlines the shape of your animus lantern. But the lantern is dark, and its phylactery cathode no longer shines.
  
  > get the lantern
  You pick up the animus lantern, finding its rough angles, its weight. You trace the alchemical lines to its fuse glyph, and strike the fuse to light it. But nothing happens.
  to light it. But nothing happens.You peer into the lantern, and you see that the animus that once danced within its cage is still. The life in the lantern has gone out.
  life in the lantern has gone out.Without an animus to replace the one in the phylactery cathode, the animus lantern will be of no use to you in the dark.
  
  > Inventory
  You are wearing an animus pendant (containing the spirit of your father), your natron jacket, and your clothes. On your person are an animus lantern, your practitioner's badge, your scalpel, your purse, and an antiseptic cloth.
  
  > put the pendant into the lantern
  Your pendant...
  
  You run your fingers along your collarbone and find the weight of the pendant resting against your heart. You pull it out and look at it. In your mind's eye it seems to glow against the animic veil.
  
  your mind's eye it seems to glow against the animic veil.How long have you worn this reminder of your father around your neck?
  
  you worn this reminder of your father around your neck?"Father," you say --
  
  say --But even before you open your mouth, you know there will be no reply.
  
  reply."We can make no promises," the animologist said, his brow knitted. "If indeed your father died there, we can bind the residual energies to an animus stone, residual, you understand; there's no telling how much of his energy remains, or indeed if any of his energy has remained. Consider the pendant a memorial to your father, rather than a way to bring him back. The sooner you accept that, the sooner both of you will find peace."
  
  both of you will find peace."You will never speak with your
  father again. There was a time when you dared not admit that to yourself. But now it seems impossible to imagine that things could have happened any other way.
  
  have happened any other way.Perhaps there is a better way to remember your father, after all, which does not bind him to a stone.
  
  your father, after all, which does not bind him to a stone.You use your scalpel to make a chip in the stone of the pendant, and the other-light streams from it like sunlight rippling in the ocean. You touch it to the fuse glyph of the animus lantern, and brilliance fills the animic lines and the metal grows warm beneath your hand.
  
  the animic lines and the metal grows warm beneath your hand.The pendant is empty now. It is the lantern that glows, and is alive.
  
  pendant is empty now. It is the lantern that glows, and is alive.## Oubliette
  The light of your lantern reveals what looks to be an industrial cistern, now emptied and repurposed as a holding cell. A metal chair has been placed among dingy grates and concentric water-purification rings. There is only one door leading out of this prison, and it appears to be locked.
  
  But beside the disconcerting stains and discarded pieces of rope, there is a drain cover that looks like it can be opened.
  
  > get the rope
  The leftover bits of rope are too short to be of any use.
  
  > look at the chair
  You're glad to be free of it.
  
  > look at the drain
  On the other side of the drain, there is the sound of rushing water.