Story: Netzach — Episode 4

LOR::100_4_4
Contents:
Location: The Library - Floor of Art
Netzach — Episode 4
					
					Location: The Library - Floor of Art

						Roland (Servant)
						You don’t reek of alcohol today. Wussup?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland1"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Cuz I didn’t drink. I just wanna stay sober today.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach1"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Hmm… What’s gotten into you?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland2"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						You look pretty sad to miss out on a chance to drink.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach2"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Whoops, was it that noticeable?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland3"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Well, today’s a special day.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach3"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						The day I died and perished from this world.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach4"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Really? What’s the date, again?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland4"					

						Roland (Servant)
						It’s hard to keep track of time staying here.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						The date doesn’t really matter.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach5"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It’s this exact moment I’m commemorating.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I learned all about the life and death of Giovanni, my first incarnation.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach7"					

						Roland (Servant)
						That’s what you meant, huh…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland6"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Do you think the followers of the Church of Gears are a bunch of fools, Roland?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach8"					

						Roland (Servant)
						You mean how they’re so desperate to find meaning in their lives, going so far as to join a cult?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland7"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Nah, I don’t think they’re stupid. They’re just pitiful.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland8"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						That’s what I think, too.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach9"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I grew up without anyone to call parents.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach10"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Same here. I was raised by my grandma, had a rough childhood.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland9"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I was born in a Nest, and got left in an orphanage without even knowing who my parents were.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I’d have died already if it was the Backstreets.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I was lucky to be born in a Nest, and unlucky to have lost my parents so early.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach13"					

						Roland (Servant)
						What Nest was it?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland10"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						K Corp’s.
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						Roland (Servant)
						That’s one of the more decent ones I’ve heard.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland11"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Yep. My life was pretty smooth. Slightly more unfortunate than others, and slightly luckier than others.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I never really starved, or got bullied by anyone.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It was a sheltered life, free from any outside influence.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						All I did was breathe in that shelter without meaning. I thought it was the natural thing to do.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Everyone else had the same expression as mine.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach19"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						In the school or on the streets, all the people in the Nest made the same face.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach20"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Lost focus, spacing out and staring into empty places?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland12"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Mhm. You’re spot on. I figured life just comes and goes.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I kept living a monotonous life… Until I met someone with a face I’d never seen before.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach22"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Oho! I’m guessing you met your first love?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland13"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						…I suppose. It was Giovanni’s first love, to be exact.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach23"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						She was giving a passionate speech in the middle of the street, even though no one paid attention to her.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach24"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I barely understood what she was saying, actually.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach25"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						All I could think about was how brilliant and alive a person could be.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach26"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Love at first sight, eh?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland14"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						She went on about how she’ll change this world and its people.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach27"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						And she was looking for recruits to join her cause.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach28"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Isn’t it funny? Who in the Nest would want to give up their comfortable life for research like that, really?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach29"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Yet you did.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland15"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						True. Maybe she went out into the street expecting to run into someone like Giovanni.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach30"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Her name was Carmen.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach31"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Carmen, huh…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland16"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Whenever I saw Carmen brimming with joy and pride for her cause, I felt alive too.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach32"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I wanted to stay with her forever.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach33"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Though she probably just saw me as a good friend or colleague and nothing more.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach34"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Ah, the heartrending agony of unrequited love.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland17"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It didn’t matter to me that much. I was content with living on like that.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach35"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						But…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach36"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Then tragedy befalls the research team, right?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland18"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Yep. Slowly…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach37"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Progress of our research stagnated, and Carmen gradually lost her liveliness.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach38"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						And then, when a kid named Enoch died during an experiment…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach39"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It’s as if something within her snapped.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach40"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I wanted to cheer her up somehow, but seeing Carmen’s lethargic face scared me so much. It’s like I was erased from the world.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach41"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						And Carmen ended her own life soon after that.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach42"					

						Roland (Servant)
						That sure sounds tragic. Must’ve shocked you hard.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland19"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I could take it somewhat well. I was actually pretty calm about it.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach43"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I thought, even the person who was more alive than anyone could meet such an early and miserable end.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach44"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I decided to stay in the laboratory to help out with completing the research Carmen started.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach45"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Her colleagues were still there, and they didn’t lose hope just yet.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach46"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Then one day, they said we might possibly be able to save Carmen.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach47"					

						Roland (Servant)
						A tempting offer, wasn’t it?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland20"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It was. And…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach48"					

						Roland (Servant)
						I’m guessing it came at a price.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland21"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						It was a risky experiment. The subject could slip into a permanent coma if it went wrong.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						No one was willing to participate, so I volunteered to be the subject.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach50"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Carmen coming back would’ve been the ideal outcome, but even if it failed and I ended up sleeping forever, I was okay with that.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach51"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						In a world without Carmen, I lost my light anyway.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach52"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						So I can understand people taking desperate measures to find meaning in their lives, like the Church of Gears we recently saw.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach53"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I participated in an experiment that could get me killed for a similar reason. And its result was…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach54"					

						Roland (Servant)
						A failure, huh?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland22"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Yep. Then I was given a second life. Woke up in Lobotomy Corp. as Netzach.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach55"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Even though I had already abandoned all attachment to life before I died…
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach56"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						In the midst of confusion, I could hear a nostalgic voice. It told me to try and live on.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach57"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						After all those twists and turns, I finally got here. Now with the fearlessness to keep on living.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach58"					

						Roland (Servant)
						That’s a commendable spirit, Netz.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland23"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						And now, I want to actually live, rather than just barely exist while doing nothing but breathe.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						If I get a chance to, that is.
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						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I’m starting to think it might actually be possible this time around.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach61"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						The world is bigger than I expected, and it has lots of hideous sides, but there certainly is beauty to be found.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach62"					

						Roland (Servant)
						I guess your drinking habit was a coping mechanism to get you through each day.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland24"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						Pretty much. I do enjoy alcohol for what it is, though.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach63"					

						Roland (Servant)
						Same for me.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland25"					

						Netzach (Patron Librarian - Art)
						I feel like a drink now. Shall we?
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_netzach64"					

						Roland (Servant)
						I’m all for it! Cheers for today.
Audio: "ch8_Netzach_ep4_roland26"