Tantalus spoke for the next twenty minutes. He revealed as much as he could to General Feldrast. Tantalus touched on such topics as: the true nature of Ferrum as a video game, the fact that the Revenants were trapped in the game by the God of Machines, the similarities between Ferrum and the real world, the fact that the Revenants cannot read the written language of Ferrum, and the probable actions that the Revenants will take in the coming days.

Most of the other Revenants in the room left as Tantalus spoke. Maria Feldrast and her subordinates listened closely to Tantalus’s words, but the speech was immensely uninteresting to those who already knew the information.

“I could talk for many more hours about my world, but it would be unnecessary,” said Tantalus. “Ask any Revenant, and they will tell you basically the same thing I just told you. Well, assuming they’re telling the truth that is.”

“You’re right,” General Maria Feldrast said, looking up from her notebook, “I don’t believe you. You’re trying to tell me that my entire world was created and sold for the entertainment of entities with a culture that is barely more developed than my own. Surely,” she gave a mirthless chuckle, “a people that could create such technology would have evolved past the need for war, and they certainly would not count mass-murderers among their number.” The General looked toward the door through which Ashcroft had disappeared with a cold glare.

“You’d think that,” Tantalus said with a self-deprecating smile, “but that’s unfortunately not the case. If it makes you feel better, you are free to believe that the Revenants are all insane. But… if this is a psychosis, it is a shared psychosis. All of us share memories of the same world, and this truth can be empirically tested. I would recommend that you do so in the coming days.”

The General snapped her notebook shut. “You have given me much to think about. I will bring this information back to Archduke Edwin, and he will decide what to do next. Based on what you tell me, I assume you do not intend to help us in our attempts to bring Ashcroft to justice.”

“You are correct,” Tantalus took out a cigarette and began the process of lighting it. “I recognize that what Ashcroft did is wrong, and I will do my best to make sure it does not happen again. Beyond that, there’s nothing I can do.”

“I have one more question before I leave,” the General stared Tantalus directly in the eyes. “Do the Revenants consider us to be humans… or animals?”

Tantalus paused and took a long drag from his cigarette. “That depends on the Revenant. We all believe that you are sentient pieces of computer code. Within this accepted premise, there can be philosophical disagreement. Some say yes, some say no. I can’t speak for all Revenants.”

“Then I’ll make my question simpler,” the General said, the slightest hint of anger appearing in her tone for the first time since Tantalus had met her. “Do you think we are human?”

Tantalus’s gaze briefly flicked over to FullDan, the only Revenant other than Tantalus who remained in the room, before he spoke. “Yes,” he lied. “I wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep the peace if I didn’t.”

“Well…” the General said, “I suppose there’s nothing more to gain from this meeting.” She paused before saying, “Tomorrow, seven A.M., bring ten of the most important Revenants to the Ducal Palace. There, you will meet with the Archduke under the Edict of Nonviolence, and you will receive new orders regarding the defense of Osiris.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Tantalus said without conviction, and he did not salute. “That list of ten will include Ashcroft, I’m sorry to say. Are you prepared for that?”

“Yes,” the General said evenly, “we are prepared for Ashcroft to attend this meeting.”

“Good,” said Tantalus.

The General and her entourage began to leave. Hearing the sound of motion from the other room, the Revenants returned to the room occupied by Tantalus and FullDan. Ashcroft winked at Maria Feldrast as the two passed close by each other in the hallway. The General did not react physically or verbally.

The Revenants called to the meeting by Ashcroft reconvened in the second-floor foyer. Most of them looked annoyed at their time being wasted, but FullDan and ConcreteBeats looked concerned at the situation that had just unfolded.

“Tantalus, why did you…?” Fulldan began to speak, but Tantalus held his hand up in a sign for silence.

“Not until we’re sure they’ve all left,” Tantalus said.

“Oh, they’ve all left, I’m sure of it,” Ashcroft said.

“How can you be so sure?” Tantalus asked.

“I just took the [Enhanced Hearing] special skill,” Ashcroft said, pleased with himself. “I listened to their footsteps. They’ve all left, and they didn’t leave any stragglers.”

“Alright, good enough for me,” said Tantalus. “FullDan, you were saying?”

FullDan’s body language once again indicated a distinct feeling of nervousness. Having known FullDan for several years, Tantalus knew that FullDan suffered from social anxiety, and this anxiety only really disappeared when FullDan thought he was alone or had something to focus on. Tantalus figured that this particular quark is what made FullDan such a good soldier. In combat, FullDan was the most confident man you’ll ever meet. Outside of combat, FullDan was a nervous wreck.

“Sorry…” FullDan apologized. “You said that you consider the NPCs to be human. Is that true?”

Ashcroft scoffed as Tantalus said, “No. I want them to work with me, so I had to lie. My opinion might change later, but who knows?”

“Can we get to the actual meeting now?” Ashcroft asked impatiently.

“Almost,” said Tantalus. “I just need to ask if there’s anything else I should know about the situation at the North Gate.”

“Oh yeah,” Ashcroft said, snapping his fingers as he remembered. “We’re keeping some NPCs in the prison attached to the North Gate. We’ve been capturing NPC refugees that try to flee into the City through the North Gate. Well… we were doing that until the prison got full. I’d say we’ve captured about fifty of ‘em.”

“That’s horrible,” ConcreteBeats gasped.

“It’s not like we’re killing them,” Ashcroft said. “Well, not intentionally. That reminds me of a test we did on one of the NPCs. Emile here made one of the captured NPC officers shoot an unloaded gun. Emile had to physically force the guy to pull the trigger. As soon as the hammer struck, the NPC started screaming. He was dead in seconds.”

ConcreteBeats looked like she was about to throw up. Tantalus raised his eyebrows as he wrote something in his notebook.

“Interesting…” Tantalus said. “Good work, Emile.” Emile gave a wide smile. “Anway,” Tantalus continued, “On to the second meeting of the Osirian High Command. To begin with, everyone in this room must go to the Palace of Osiris at 7:00 AM tomorrow. Brigadier General Maria Feldrast has ordered all of us humble soldiers to attend a strategy meeting. Regarding the topics of this meeting: I wish to talk about starting a three-stage watch at the Gates, and I also want to talk about balancing the forces present at the Gates.”

A few of the Revenants groaned in annoyance at the sound of having to wake up early.

“I’d like to talk about removing the NPCs from the East and West Gates,” said Ashcroft. “I also want to talk about organizing a funeral for those who died defending the Gates today.”

Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment before Clock said, “And I’d like to talk about what I found during my scouting mission. I can go last, if you’d like.”

“Anyone else?” Tantalus looked at the Revenants around him. “If that’s all, then let’s begin. Should I go or do you want to go first?”

“You can go first, Commander,” Ashcroft said with a smile.