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Edited by TehDildacorn: 3/2/2018 6:51:13 PM
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Fireteam Daybreak- Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Memory 2, pt.1)

[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/197415283?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]Catalogue of Art, Profiles, and Fics related to Fireteam Daybreak[/url] [i][b]Word count[/b]: 3,587 [b]Characters[/b]: Laila, Merric, Doctor Evangaline Larson, Clovis Bray, Cayde (in passing)[/i] [i]Part 1--- [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/211065569]Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Prologue)[/url] Part 2 --- [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/219825893]Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Memory 1)[/url] Part 3 --- [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/227373339?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Memory 1.5)[/url] Part 4 --- [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/227633976]Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Memory 2, part 1)[/url] Part 5 --- (currently reading) Part 6 --- [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/243496257?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]Thanatonaut: The Deep Stone Crypt (Sideshow 2)[/url][/i] -------- The mechanical groaning and mumbling of the staff in the lab hummed like a haze over her dissociative thoughts as technicians circled and fumbled to hook wires up to the probe ports in the head cap’s webbing. Laila could hardly hear them above the snapping of jacks clicking into place as they asked her simple “yes” or “no” questions, but she’d already heard them all before and had memorized them in order so she could respond with an absent nod or shake of her head as she stared unfocused into the space before her. No one seemed to notice how out-of-body she felt. For the last three months they’d been taking daily brain scans as they asked questions, provoked reactions, and asked her to recall as much of her life as she possibly could, for four to five hours each day, in order to measure the accuracy of Nirvana’s “Cognitive Profile Transcription” software. Dr. Evangeline Larson was a psychotherapist, one tasked with monitoring the development of AI higher cognition, bringing out the best in their developing personalities, and evaluating whether or not it would be wise to allow an AI to advance in their project beyond the digital rendering of its mind. Today, however, she would be doing Laila’s job as well, which hopefully wouldn’t require much more than the push of a button and watching for any red code while they waited for the imprint to finish processing. If all went according to plan, she would wake up in her own body, with an exact rendering of her consciousness in the body of an Exo. Across the room Eva directed her assistants to their stations and walked them through their responsibilities, group by group. To the left out of the corner of her eye, Merric stood dutifully at his post, one which he’d requested assignment to so he would be there if something went wrong; he was nervous, eyes shifting around the room every few seconds to cast his skepticism on those whose hands he’d be leaving his partner’s life in, and to warn them of who he’d harm first if anything happened to her. Above them, from an observation deck, Clovis’ presence loomed like a dark cloud, watching them with an expectant twitch in his hand that ticked his index finger against the handle of his cane that she could hear every time his wedding band tapped against the marble. Through her blurry vision she couldn’t recognize anyone else, save his unmistakable silhouette, but she’d seen the guest list and committed every name to memory. With him, the Board of Directors, among whom the Commissioner of the Development of Artificial Intelligence was present, mumbled and laughed amongst themselves as they waited for clearance from the team to begin the procedure. She had only ever spoken to them once or twice, but today not one of them had requested to speak with her, not one of them had questioned why she had put herself in this position. Perhaps it was because today she was not one of them- not one of Clovis Bray’s best and brightest, no mathematician, no engineer, no physicist, not even a scientist at all; today she was “Subject #001-1”, and she was hope, promise, and risk. To Mr. Bray and his investors, today she was not even a person, she was property in a hospital gown: an observer to their dream which she’d made a reality. Today Eva wasn’t her friend and colleague, she was her doctor; Merric wasn’t her lover but her prison guard, and to the Bray corporation she wasn’t anyone important, she was- [i]Disposable.[/i] The word made her shudder as anxious tremors settled into her shoulders, spine, and stomach and twitched her muscles in slow, excruciating progression. Laila’s eyes glazed over as she swallowed and swayed in her chair; she felt sick. [i]Why had she done this? This wasn’t what she wanted! Why had she volunteered to take herself out of the equation?[/i] She’d been rash, she’d been angry, but most of all she’d been too kind, too empathetic, [i]too stubborn[/i] and [i]too prideful[/i]. And now here she was, a cog in the machine, watching herself disappear, to protect the well-being of someone she hardly knew. How could she have allowed this to happen? Straps locked down tight over her wrists and pulled her shoulders back flat against the chair, and Laila’s eyes snapped shut as Eva leaned the seat back to allow her body to lounge and encourage her muscles to relax, but she stiffened under her hand on her shoulder and gave a quiet whimper that didn’t go unnoticed. Dr. Larson could feel the tension radiating from every pore, and it made even her a little uneasy. In the eight years she had known Laila, she’d never been afraid of anything. Curious, excited, ready to break the glass ceiling of scientific advancement- but not scared, not doubtful. Eva traced soft fingertips over her forehead and along her temple, tucked the hair out of her face behind her ear and sighed. “Dr. Essam, I need you to relax,” she cooed in a soothing tone as she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Laila eyes snapped open and focused on hers and let the fear flow out of them wide and glistening, lips drawn tight. Panic was setting in, and her brainwaves were off the charts, unbalanced. She needed to realign her mental state before they could safely proceed, or it could permanently fracture her consciousness. “Please, I need you to [i]breathe[/i],” she tried again. “I-I can’t,” she stammered, paused and swallowed as she quivered. “Yes you can,” she coaxed as she motioned with one hand and breathed along with her words. “Just breathe out, take a deep breath in-” “I’m afraid, I just-” she stammered uncertainly, eyes trailing away from her face without focus. How could she pinpoint exactly what she was feeling when she was drowning in depersonalization? Eva paused, sighed, and lowered her gaze to meet hers. “You weren’t afraid three days ago… you weren’t even afraid when I spoke to you last night,” she started, eyes shifting from one to the other to make sure she was paying attention to her. “So what changed? What happened between then and now?” Laila broke eye contact and directed her gaze floor-ward, then half-heartedly in the direction where Merric was standing, speaking with one of his superior officers, and immediately Eva knew what this was all about; but she waited… listened. “There’s just so much at stake,” Laila muttered as Merric’s words came back to her and hit home. This could be the end of her life with him, and he wasn’t ready for that. Neither of them was. So[i] why hadn’t she listened before? Why had she put morality above the needs of the one she loved? What would happen to him if she didn’t come out of this?[/i] “Like what?” “What if this doesn’t work?” her voice cracked and she strained to breathe as her throat tightened. “What if it does but I end up stuck in this body that isn’t mine for the rest of my life? Or what if-” Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and rolled freely down her cheeks as she blinked her eyes clear of the watery blur crowding at the edges of her vision. “… what if I die?” Eva frowned sympathetically and crouched down beside her, observing the quivering in her arms, her jaw, the hardly noticeable shuddering of her eyes, and dilated pupils. They were valid concerns- the probability that something would go wrong was low and, if she were in control of herself in her right mind, even lower than with unprepared subjects. The likelihood of catastrophic failure decreased from seven percent to two percent, giving them a ninety-eight percent chance of success. It wasn’t going to get much better than that. “A two percent chance of failure didn’t bother you before,” she noted. “So why does it now?” Laila exhaled, furrowed her brow and lifted her eyes to meet hers with a guilty look in them. “This morning, when I made it home, Merric was awake… had been most of the night. And he-… we fought.” Eva rolled an understanding response in her throat. “He doesn’t want you to go through with this?” ([i]Cont. in comments[/i])

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  • Edited by TehDildacorn: 3/2/2018 6:52:50 PM
    “No,” she confessed in a morbid tone, “He’s upset that I didn’t consult him first… that I volunteered without taking into consideration how he felt about me taking the risk of changing not only [i]my life[/i] indefinitely but his too… that I didn’t stop to consider what would happen if we [i]did fail[/i] and what would happen to him if-…” Laila cut herself off before she could say the words again, closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “And it just [i]hit me[/i] that-” she paused and exhaled with a shrug. “He’s right.” “You feel guilty then?” “I guess that’s part of it, yes…” she replied thoughtfully, “Now I can’t stand the thought of what would happen if something did happen to me… his anguish would be my doing,” she cried quietly as she curled over, and the quiver in her lip returned. “And I didn’t even…” Doctor Larson shook her head and looked toward him. “I see…” she breathed quietly. “But it’s not just that,” she sniffled and took in a deep breath as she snapped her head up. “Looking around, waiting for all this to begin, I’ve realized for the first time that-” Trembling eyes jumped around the lab from one person to the next without following any real pattern or focus as she said quietly in detached tenor, “I’m not needed.” The Doctor’s expression drained briefly but she sighed and disposed of the sorrow before Laila could get a read. Intrusive thoughts or not, she shouldn’t have allowed herself to dwell on lies fabricated by her anxiety. “What’s that supposed to mean? Of course you’re needed.” “This thing that I’ve spent so long working to perfect is about to run for the first time, [i]without[/i] my input,” Laila frowned and set her gaze on the empty chair behind her desk as people walked by without even an instinctual glance to say hello; the Doctor closed her eyes and shook her head in front of her. “I don’t even know why I’m here.” “Yes you do,” she insisted, shook her arm until she turned to look at her, and she smiled sadly. “No one wanted you to volunteer for this, not even Clovis, and we all fought tooth and nail to change your mind-” She hesitated, lifted her shoulders helplessly and chuckled under her breath with a grim smile. “But you wanted to take the risk.” “But… why? [i]Why would I do that[/i]?” she asked in exasperation. “Because you care,” Eva placed a soft hand over one of hers and tilted her head with a reassuring smile. “You’ve seen harmful things come out of research meant to benefit mankind, and you don’t want to be a part of that legacy,” she reminded as she brushed her thumb over her fingers in quiet thought for several moments before she asked, “Do you remember what you said to me the last time I tried to talk you out of this?” If she couldn’t give her answers, maybe she could jog her memory. For the life of her, she couldn’t recall the conversation… probably because she had been too focused or too tired ([i]or both[/i]) to know what was happening; she clenched her hand tight around the edge of the armrest of her chair and unclenched it as she shook her head with a dejected look. “You told me you didn’t become a scientist because it was a smart career choice… you did it because you wanted to know what you were capable of. You didn’t sign onto this project because it was safe, you signed on because the possibilities thrilled you.” The distance in her eyes dissipated just long enough that Eva could see the focus return for a split-second, so she continued. “You volunteered yourself because you were horrified by what happened to Dr. Shirazi’s patients, and swore you wouldn’t let it happen to any of yours. And [i]this[/i]… to be the [i]first[/i] human consciousness to exist as an Exo?” Brows lifted and hand squeezed tight over hers. “You said it was a milestone, something to remember. You were [i]excited[/i] for the opportunity, to make your mark on history, as a forebearer of your work into the far future.” [i]Excited[/i]? Maybe before when she was in the moment and not thinking clearly, but she didn’t want this anymore. Her head shook back and forth, slowly at first, but quickened as she processed her change of heart. “This was foolish of me,” she breathed with panic in her voice as she tried to sit up. “Yes, [i]it was[/i],” she agreed, “But that’s what makes you such a great scientist, and that’s why you’re so important to us-” “No, [i]you don’t understand[/i],” she protested through the tears as Eva furrowed her brow in confusion. “I feel like everything I’ve worked for has been erased, like I didn’t contribute to any of this.” “Laila…” The Doctor’s heart sank heavy like a lead weight, her words confirming her suspicions. “I don’t feel like I’m here anymore… It feels like I’m already gone.” The silence that passed was hollow and pained, dry and unsettling. The clacking of instruments on the countertops and the rolling of carts and chairs, the murmur of voices, and the white noise of the database hub were suddenly so much more clear and sharp, reinforcing the distance the words had just carved between them. It hurt more than she thought it could to hear the finality in her voice, like she had already decided her fate. When she looked up again Laila’s face was empty, resigned to something that hadn’t yet happened. If she didn’t fix this now… Eva steeled her resolve and hardened her voice. “The only reason that would [i]ever happen[/i] would be if [i]you gave up on yourself[/i].” There was a flash of anger that shocked her back into focus, followed by confusion and deep thought, but she was listening now. Really listening, rather than fighting against reason. “We could never forget you, sweetheart. You know that. You’re worth so much more to everyone in this room than who your mind tells you you are when you’re sitting in that chair. Even when you are gone, which won’t be for a very long time… after what we accomplish here today, your achievements will be remembered for hundreds of years to come.” There were tears in her eyes again, but this time they were grateful tears. Hidden beneath the surface sadness was deep, overwhelming gratitude twitching at the corners of her eyes and lips. Eva smiled, the way she always did when she worried about her, and in that moment Laila remembered who she was… to them, to herself, to Clovis Bray… but she wavered. The muscles in her face trembled and she tried to speak, but Eva just moved to brush her tears away with her thumb, smeared them across her cheek, slipped a hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Clovis Bray wouldn’t be where it is today without your insight,” she assured, “And that’s why I know we’ll succeed. That’s why I know everything’s going to be alright, because we all know you and we have faith in you. So please… have a little faith in us, and in yourself.” Laila’s hand finally gripped tight around hers and she nodded hard and jagged in response. “Yes Doctor… I will. Thank you for your wisdom and your patience.” “Just take a breath and try not to worry,” she said and presented her with a calming smile, “It’s just like any other day.” Laila’s eyes relaxed and they focused on her face after long last as she went back to doing her final checks. Fingers loosened and the tremors in her arms and back dispelled a little bit at a time as she breathed in cycles. She was starting to come to her senses. Eyes floated around the room once more, but this time she realized how many people were actually watching her, and how concerned they looked. Even the board seemed uncomfortable with her decision to take Cayde’s place, which she deduced by the way they had isolated him at the other end of the observation deck and kept casting him judgmental looks. Her new friend seemed just as uneasy as anyone else, if not a bit more so out of sheer guilt that she was the one strapped to a table, jacked into a server and being harvested of her self-awareness, and not him. But she put the morbid thought out of her head and turned her attention back to Merric, just in time to lock eyes with him as he flashed her a little smile; her heart fluttered, her eyelids faltered with a neediness that radiated from a shy smile as it pulled into her cheeks. She needed to talk to him before they put her under. [i]Come here[/i], she mouthed, at which he blinked expectantly and tilted an ear as if it would help him hear better. [i]Please, I need to talk to you[/i], she tried again; even though he didn’t understand he trotted across the room anyway and wrapped a hand around hers as he set piercing brown eyes on hers and waited for her to speak. A chill raced through her and she forced out a short breath as she curled her fingers into his. How she needed so badly to be held… “Merric I… I wanted to apologize…” she started nervously. “For what?” “For not considering your feelings more seriously…” she explained in a glum tone, “… or at all. I should have listened, I shouldn’t have made this decision on my own.” ([i]Continued in comments[/i])

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