Dakota knocked hard against the massive wooden doors before her. They were easily fifteen feet tall and were engraved with various depictions and designs inspired by the Warlocks and their pursuit of knowledge. While she waited for a response from the other side, a certain depiction in the carvings caught Dakota’s eye. It showed a Warlock kneeling before a massive orb, obviously the Traveler, and the two seemed bound together by some kind of energy. It was a well-made work of art, but what really intrigued Dakota was that the energy also arched out to various unknown objects around the Warlock. She wondered what it could mean, but was torn from her thoughts when the door abruptly swung open. In the doorway stood a tall Warlock, robes flowing around him, with an old book tightly tucked under his arm. The guardian was a human with very long black hair and a beard that rested on his chest. Dakota thought he looked more like a wizard than a guardian. The wizard eyed Dakota with disdain and curiosity. “Can I help you, Hunter?” There was an emphasis on the word ‘Hunter’ that sounded to Dakota like borderline disgust. She had to admit, she did not expect this much hostility. Usually the Hunters were the ones who messed with the Warlocks. Dakota decided to take the authoritative approach. “Yes,” she said firmly. “Ikora is off on some important business at the moment. I have been asked by Commander Zavala to bring an alien message here to be translated.” She had made sure to put special emphasis on the word ‘Commander’. The Warlock’s eyes narrowed and he gripped his book a little tighter. He despised being pulled away from his work to help a Hunter, but if it was Zavala’s request, he had no choice. “Fine,” he said. “Follow me, and don’t touch anything.” Dakota smiled and followed the Warlock through the door. “Thank you Mr… What is your name?” The Warlock sighed. “It’s Alatar.” The door closed behind them and Dakota followed Alatar inside. The building was massive and served as a private facility where Warlocks could study and experiment in various fields. It was the size of a warehouse, and a single tower rose in the far corner. Dakota soon found herself among rows and rows of books. To the untrained, the place was a labyrinth of knowledge. The pair made several twists and turns before finally arriving in the central common area. A few Warlocks walked through the room, no doubt in search of a specific book or other item, while even more sat among the sea of tables, chairs, and computer monitors that now stretched before Dakota. Many looked up in surprise and curiosity at the presence of a Hunter, while the rest remained consumed by their quest for knowledge. “This is quite the collection you have,” Dakota observed. Alatar nodded. “It is the pride of all Warlocks. We stand amidst a vast library filled with ancient texts and arcana. The floor above us is full of test-ready work stations and labs, dedicated to various fields of experimentation.” “What about the tower?” Dakota wondered. “I saw it on my way here.” “It is an observatory,” Alatar answered, navigating through the sea of tables. “What are you observing?” Alatar frowned. She was asking a lot of questions for a Hunter. “If you must know, we like to keep an eye on the stars. Silvia, our chief astronomer, is up there now studying a black hole. The humans of old called it M82 X-1. It’s not terribly creative if I do say so myself. Ah, here we are.” They finally reached the table from which Alatar had been working. It was stacked high with various books and notes. Alatar set the book he had been carrying on the table and turned to Dakota. “Now, you say you have an alien message that needs translating. That is not my cup of tea, but there are plenty of others upstairs that would gladly take a look at it.” “That’s great,” said Dakota, taking out the information drive from her pocket. “Let’s give it to them.” Alatar held up his hand. “If you don’t mind, [i]I[/i] will give it to them. Warlocks do not like to be disturbed, least of all by a Hunter.” It made sense to Dakota, though she couldn’t help feeling like Alatar was talking about himself. “That’s fine,” she said, handing him the drive. “I’ll wait here.” Alatar nodded. “I will let you know what we find,” he said, then trudged back into the maze of books. Dakota was not particularly happy with waiting, especially in such a quiet and controlled place among the prying eyes of Warlocks. Trying to suppress her urges to invade the personal space of others, she turned her attention to the pile of books on the table. She began to read the titles to herself. “The Afterlife, A Case For Memories, The Solipsist Position, Death Takes All, The Philosophy Of Dying, Life and Death: The Difference… Damn Alatar, what the hell are you researching?” Curious, she opened the nearest book, titled “What Comes Next?” For half an hour she glossed through the book and a few others. Dakota could not ignore the fact that they all were about death, or what came after death. She began to wonder what kind of answers Alatar was trying to find. It was then that she noticed the book that the Warlock had been carrying with him. It was newer than the rest, and Dakota could see the tip of a pen sticking out through the pages. She could not contain her curiosity, and opened the book to the page on which the pen rested. To her surprise, Dakota realized the book she held was a sophisticated journal, full of notes and personal entries. She flipped through the pages and read a random entry: [i]Retrieval Experiment – Attept 47 My ghost tells me this experiment is both dangerous and a waste of time. I partially agree. This is a dangerous process, but each time I cross into the dark void I remember a little more, or at least I can see events occur. There is no telling whether or not what I see belongs to me. I hope it does. If not, that means the solipsist position is false, and that alone is frightening. I will try again tomorrow.[/i] Dakota couldn’t make much sense of that, so she turned to a random page to read another: [i]Retrieval Experiment – Exo Instance 5C My colleagues and I have discovered quite the conundrum today. We decided to focus our efforts on only exo Warlocks to see what would happen, and the results were interesting indeed. After the process, every one of them reported seeing a single tower amidst a field, and in the field waited an army to stop him or her from reaching the tower. I have no clue what this means, and even more pressing is the question of how these results are related. Is the solipsist position indeed false, or are these visions related to the origins and/or nature of the exos themselves? This is a question I hope to answer with further experimentation. [/i] Dakota was fascinated by what she read. She wondered what the “process” was that the subjects went through. She had a hunch. Eager to find out more, she read the most recent entry: [i]Retrieval Experiment – Attempt 75 I decided to go through the process once more on my own. My ghost continues to protest, as it usually does, but I have grown quite used to the feeling of the deep black, and the visions that await me on the other side. This time, I am sure that the memory I witnessed was my own. Just in case, I shall not reveal the details here, but it must have been from my past life. I cannot see it being anything else. I look forward to seeing more. I hope that with time, the pieces will finally begin to fit together.[/i] Dakota’s mind was racing. There wasn’t no doubt in her mind about what Alatar was trying to achieve. He, and others, were killing themselves to see some kind of “visions” after death. She was so involved with the notes, Dakota did not hear the footsteps that approached. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Alatar exclaimed. Dakota jumped backwards as the Warlock ran over and slammed the book closed. Alatar was angry. “You think it’s okay to read my private notes?!” For some reason, Dakota was feeling extra sarcastic in that moment. “Yes!” she retorted. “I love to go around and just read all your most private words!” Alatar grew even more furious, but Dakota managed to keep her cool. She took a deep breath. “Honestly, if you didn’t want me to read it, why is it untitled and sitting in the middle of a public work station?” Alatar became suddenly embarrassed, but remained angry too. “How much did you read?” he growled. Alex made a sly grin. “Enough. Those are some interesting experiments you’re running… Thanatonaut.” “Okay!” Alatar confessed in a hushed tone. “Keep your voice down!” Alex smiled, proud to have kept control over the situation. Alatar calmed down some and explained. “I admit my methods are not popular but they work. You have no idea what we have disco-” Alex held up her hand, interrupting him. “I don’t really care.” That was a bold faced lie. She absolutely cared that guardians were killing themselves for science, but she had run out of patience and just wanted to get her intel and leave. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said. “You tell me what the message says, and I won’t tell a soul about your shady experiments.” Alatar frowned. “Fine,” he said angrily. “It’s not a message, nor is it alien.” Dakota was instantly confused. “What are you talking about?” Alatar rolled his eyes. “It’s not an alien language at all, but rather a form of numerical code that originated here on Earth.” “So… what you’re saying is that it has numbers, not letters.” “Yes,” the Warlock said simply. “This is no message at all. What you have here are a set of geographical coordinates.” Dakota was intrigued. “The team is never going to believe this.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/227679396/0/0]Chapter 7[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0]The Hub[/url]