M-Id-01-00

“Essence of Light”

“To not be mistaken for an apple.”

Risk Classification

Affinity: Undetermined

Attribute: Identity (Suspected)

Origin: Nil     Status: Site O-Z0  (Previously G-Z1: Terminated, Unconfirmed)

 

State of 01-00 is unknown after the fate of Site G-Z1 following its ‘Zeroed Horizon’.

 

 

The entry of M-Id-01-00 ‘Essence of Light’ contained a brief warning regarding its fate. Papilia studied the entry, having printed the information into a handheld leaflet form as she and Aisyle made final checks across the Administrative Layer.

The first was the Research Division. It was a robust department with currently only a handful of rooms and one major research area. Here, one could find miniature versions of the Cognition Terminal where they could access, store, and organize Corrupted information as they arrived.

Many chairs on swivels with research desks sectioned off by walls and semi-opaque glass screens littered the roughly 625m2 room, with a ceiling that towered at least 15 meters high. The reason for this was because some Corrupted materials were known to be quite large, even if they were harvested from much smaller Corrupted.

The department carried a white, sterile aesthetic with clinical lights and a number of colored tapes that allowed employees to know their boundaries. Overstepping them usually resulted in harsh reminders, punishment, and more often than not…

… termination. This was how disposable her workers were.

Her hands scrunched the sides of the Corrupted log.

She wanted to change this.

“Quite small. Enough for perhaps two floors worth of Corrupted before it would need to be expanded.” Aisyle noted, her head remaining fixed in one direction whilst Papila’s eyes wandered all over the place, awed by the various apparatus that would be used in just a few days.

The Research Division’s primary goal was to determine the properties of Corrupted materials, items and where information was dumped before it went to the Navigator for the final check. In a General Site, their work would be insurmountable as time went on, meaning it would have to expand eventually.

Afterwards, they left the premises. Aisyle led the way as though she knew the Site better than the back of her palm. The corridors they traversed were strangely shorter than when she travelled alone. And it wasn’t just by one or two extra hallways.

It was by dozens, like the Site itself did not wish to impede the Overseer’s will. She stared up at the back of her coworker and wondered just how much experience she had on the job, or if she maybe knew something about the history of G-Z7 more than what the documents told.

She flickered through her ImpulseWorks Overseer’s Training Manual to the ‘Historical Emergencies’ section.

Historical Emergencies

As there have been countless emergencies in the past. We will only cover the most relevant events.

Zeroed Horizon – O-Z0. Previously G-Z1

Aside from our Headquarters, M-A1; O-Z0, previously known as G-Z1 was an iconic Site known for its world-class personnel. It was the very first instance of a Zeroed Horizon Event that wiped out 5,000+ Workers, 10,000+ Employees and two of the most gifted Overseer and Navigator.

 

General Sites were decommissioned for 70 years. Today, they are slowly being introduced. The next Site G-Z7 will replace G-Z1 and will begin production of Nex in the current year of 350 Post Advent.

 

Two Incandescent Colors perished in the attempted rescue, the Red Barron, and the Orange Disruptor. Several Eclipses have also perished.

 

This Zeroed Horizon Event was extraordinarily powerful and was unexpectedly canceled by an unknown force, prolonging the Site personnel to unimaginable horrors. We can only hope it was a one-time event.

 

Zeroed Horizon/O – Obliteration will continue to occur and devour entire Sites when all else fails.

Suffice to say, it was a miracle that things were so pristine. Untouched. It was eerie but there were certainly stranger things out there. They eventually returned to the reception and passed through several steel doors until they arrived at a dark, spacious chamber where a single catwalk stretched into the darkness.

Metallic groans like that of a beast could be heard all around them. Red, strobing lights flickered in the foggy darkness. Hisses of steam bellowed deep underneath. If she didn’t know any better, then she would’ve believed the Site to be –

“– Alive. The Site speaks in the tongues of ancient machines, but there is no point in interpreting what is merely the bowel sounds of an amalgamation of concrete and steel.” Aisyle seemed to have read her mind.

The slams of their boots banging against the grated metal caused fear to gnaw at Papilia’s heart. She held her paperwork closely and stuck by the Overseer even closer. The catwalk they traversed seemed infinite, but she knew that this was not the case.

Further ahead, hundreds of red lights emerged from the darkness like the eyes of a beast. They formed the colossal outline of a door. An ominous hum rang as she heard the faint sound of a bell call them forward.

The Site rumbled, like it had risen from a long, deep slumber.

 

//////// < CAUTION > ////////

 

< APPROACHING THE CORRUPTED RECEPTION >

 

A white light split the door in half before they began to slide open, revealing a massive, spherical chamber within. Fog spilled into the great nothing beneath, and Aisyle and herself froze momentarily to allow the smoke to dissipate.

“Infusion R – Repress. I’m surprised you were trained to recognize it.” Aisyle hummed.

“Of course I’d know what that is. Inflow Direct’s…” Papilia wracked her mind for a moment, awed by the emphatic glow that laid within. “Section 7. Infusion R will be ever present within the Corrupted Reception. To keep them repressed until the Site slots them into a containment unit. Section 7.3.2 tells us that we’re not allowed to tinker with it. We can only operate and observe it.”

Inflow Direct: their biggest exporting partner focused on creating what the world called ‘liquid miracles’, which came in the form of healing potions, mana restoration potions, and even liquidized combat-based magic. To create this, they required the product of the Site – Liquid Nex. And in exchange, they provided a liquid miracle that allowed them to completely subdue a Corrupted and ready them for transportation.

This prevented delivered Corrupted from wreaking havoc around the Site. Unfortunately, this could not be used outside of the Corrupted Reception due to the immense volume of gas was required.

“We tinker with it, and we can expect their Liquidators to come and cleanse the Site.”

“The Ateliers hate having people snoop in on their tech. But… wouldn’t it be nice to have something like that in a handheld form?” Papilia softly spoke.

Aisyle smiled unexpectedly. When the fog finally disappeared, she led the way and uttered:

“That would certainly be nice. The Corrupted Reception is none of our business. We merely operate it, as per the arrangement between ImpulseWorks and Inflow Direct. Afterwards, it would be wise to return to our quarters.”

The Overseer stared fondly at the spear-like apparatus within, which was easily more than 50 meters in length. And as they stepped into the light, she uttered one last thing:

“Tomorrow we will receive our Workers and Employees. Papilia. My dear Navigator.

Please do not get too attached to them.”

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