ALL OF THIS IS REAL?!

The Player's First Meetings ft Jebus & Hofnarr (Phobos)

Jebus had first “met” you when he was still widely known as Dr. Christoff. He had just stepped into a hallway after being informed that Phobos wanted to see him, already trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever the Director would throw at him that time. (Dealing with Crackpot was bad enough, but Phobos’ ego was an even worse obstacle to overcome.)

He was ripped from his internal musings when a deep warmth sprouted from his chest, making him pause mid-step. It was unlike something he’d ever felt before, almost comforting as it spread through his form. He felt revitalized, no longer bogged down by the persisting exhaustion he had these past months. It was definitely suspicious, especially since it came out of nowhere.
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t first he wondered if this was some sort of side-effect of his work (perhaps being in close proximity to the dissonance energy when assisting Hofnarr with the Divergence project?). But this was ruled out when the force that enveloped him nudged him to move.
Perhaps out of pure curiosity (or because the comfort you gave him didn’t make him want to resist) he surrendered to the instructions of this being. Weirdly enough, it seemed to want to take him to his intended destination anyways, navigating the Science Tower with ease. So you were intelligent.

His second theory was that you were a S-3LF, but that wouldn’t make any sense. As far as he knew, the Enmeshment program could only use S-3LFs to fill shells or provide additional experience through the memories said S-3LF had. But he had no signs of this, he still felt like himself. Just slightly disconnected, in a way.

He knew that he had encountered this presence before, but it was never this strong. That’s when the realization struck him.

Didn’t the original S-3LF, Subject 1v02P_6, report a warm feeling and a helpful being that assisted them in their training? They swore that it was the cause for their effectiveness in combat, but no one really believed them. (An otherworldly force doing that was unheard of, it couldn’t be true. Surely the Employers would’ve taken an interest in it otherwise. If only he knew.)
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t was written off at the time as a side effect of the Enmeshment, but no one could really explain the weird feeling they got around them. Jebus himself had experienced it when briefly passing by them as they were sent to the testing room. Upon asking during a brief moment they were together in the same room, they answered that they called them the “Player”, someone who helped. But there wasn’t any time for them to elaborate on it, as they were soon escorted back to the test chamber to endure more waves of combat.

The individual who acted as the real basis for the entirety of Project Nexus had experienced this. Someone who was cited as perhaps the most successful, if not most powerful, of subjects who participated in the Nexus’ endeavors. If you could influence S-3LFs, you were probably the reason for their accomplishments. But why had you shown up now?

The longer he spent with you as you sent him through the tower, the more questions he formed. It’s obvious that you weren’t malicious-you had a lot of opportunities to wreak some havoc in the facility, but took none of them. You just assisted him with his current goal, which led to another thought. Would you help him deal with Phobos?

You were obviously powerful, and your work with 1v02P_6 showed that you definitely had some strategic knowledge. (You had directly contributed to them tearing through hundreds of waves of grunts after all.) He was sure that getting rid of the Director would be far easier with you by his side.

Jebus is a man of science, but he knows there’s something to be said about instinct. He tries to find a fault in your actions, but he can’t really doubt you. He doesn’t know very much about you as a whole, but his gut tells him that you’re trustworthy. That and your past work was enough for him. (It also helped that your presence felt so good. He hated to admit it, but he almost dreaded the moment you’d leave. Hopefully you’d be with him for a while.)