The Haywire Heart
Please note that this story contains spoilers
for the "Ageless Artifice" event, as well as the
main campaign through Chapter 11.
Eirene: Locked on... FIRE!
Finni: Hraaah! It's OVER!
Eirene: Operation complete. Minimal losses sustained.
Finni: Hee hee. Chumps like these stand no chance when you and I work together, Eirene!
Laxi: ▷What an incredible duo...◁ They were made with the technology of a thousand years ago, so it's only natural that their abilities would be exceptional.
Luca: Man... A thousand years ago, huh? So back in those days, civilization was, like, super advanced and stuff, yeah?
Laxi: ▷That's right. We were built based on the design of androids from that era.◁
Laxi: But the technology in the era we were constructed was different, so we're not perfect reproductions.
Laxi: ▷Yeah. In terms of basic performance, Eirene and Finni have us beat.◁
Luca: Considering how nutso strong you are, that's saying a lot. And you mean to tell me their old android pals—Ex Machina, right?—might attack again anytime?
Laxi: ▷Yes... Though I'd really prefer to settle things peaceably, if at all possible.◁
Eirene: Unfortunately, that's not going to happen.
Laxi: ▷Why do you say that, Eirene?◁
Eirene: A thousand years ago, the scant few humanoids who remained built the Sky City Ark and escaped from the surface of the planet.
Eirene: They believed that the world was taken from them by the dragons, and that those humanoids who remained on the surface were traitors who sided with the wyrms.
Eirene: And we of Ex Machina were formed to serve as their agents on the ground— their sword of retribution.
Eirene: Ex Machina considers those active on the surface nowadays to be enemies. That sentiment has remained unchanged for the past thousand years.
Luca: What an incredibly long time to be at odds... Man, I'd think the people up there on the Ark or whatever would long since be gone and replaced with other people.
Eirene: Yes. I doubt that any of the humanoids who formed Ex Machina remain at this point.
Eirene: But orders from the Ark haven't changed. Which is why the commander of Ex Machina, Anassa, still fights on.
Finni: I'm SO glad to be outta there. Anassa would never shut up with the orders. "Do this, do that; go here, blah blah blah."
Eirene: Honestly, I could have defected at any point. I no longer had any reason to fight for Ex Machina.
Eirene: You all have given us a chance at a fresh start. Allow me to thank you once again.
Laxi: ▷We're just happy to have new allies!◁ Correct. And we're counting on you.
Finni: Yeah, and you all fixing my heart was a real lifesaver. Who knows what kinda havoc I could've wreaked if I'd kept going berserk the way I was.
Laxi: ▷Er, well... We didn't totally fix your heart. It has too many parts that we lack the know-how and tools to analyze.◁
Laxi: ▷The outer shell was damaged, leaving the interior components exposed, so we just fixed that.◁
Laxi: It should better resist impact now. However, the fundamental defect remains.
Eirene: Ah. See, I was wondering how you were able to repair a heart. That's impossible, even with Ex Machina's technology.
Eirene: (So Finni's heart remains damaged...)
Eirene: (If something were to happen, it's possible she could lose control again.)
Eirene: Laxi. Mascula. There's something I'd like to know...
Eirene: When Laxi's heart broke and she went berserk, you gave her your heart, right, Mascula?
Eirene: I did not realize you two were furnished with such a function.
Laxi: ▷Huh? No, it wasn't a specific "function," per se.◁
Laxi: ▷It's just that Laxi and I were the same model, so I figured that she would be able to use my working heart in place of hers.◁
Eirene: So... You had no proof it would work?
Laxi: ▷Well...not exactly.◁ Mascula can be impulsive like that.
Laxi: ▷At the time, all I could think about was stopping Laxi. I never would've thought that our hearts would end up merging.◁
Eirene: So you had no way of knowing what would happen, then.
Eirene: (Interesting. In my experience, replacing a heart won't leave memories or a personality intact.)
Laxi: ▷Eirene... Are you thinking of giving your heart to Finni?◁
Laxi: I oppose that. We are an exception, not the rule. You cannot expect hearts to merge. There is a high possibility that you could disappear entirely.
Eirene: Of course I'm not expecting a miracle like what happened in your case. But so long as Finni goes back to normal, that would be more than enough for me.
Eirene: Finni has been at my side for a thousand years. She's my irreplaceable partner. I would pay any price if it meant repairing her heart.
Laxi: ▷Oh, Eirene...◁
Eirene: If giving her my heart was guaranteed to fix her, I could accept that. But that alone won't work.
Eirene: That's why I want to use you two as a reference point for a successful transplant.
Laxi: That likely won't help. Mascula and I are matching models; since we are built the same, we can swap parts and still function at 100 percent capacity.
Laxi: And that is why, I assume, our hearts function together even though mine was replaced. Is such a thing possible for you and Finni?
Eirene: We should definitely have at least some compatibility, but I can't say with certainty that we'd function at 100 percent...
Laxi: ▷Exactly. That's why I'd strongly urge you to reconsider this transplant idea.◁
Eirene: ...Point taken.
Laxi: ▷Phew. I'm glad you can see reason.◁
Eirene: Let's say we turned that notion around, though. So long as we DID match, it actually would be possible, wouldn't it?
Laxi: ▷What?!◁
Eirene: I understand now what guidelines I would need to follow to be successful.
Eirene: I must confirm the compatibility rate between Finni and myself.
Eirene: And the best way to do that is to obtain our blueprints from Ex Machina's base!
|
