SAKROSANKT

Chapter 5

Based on the horror game "SIGNALIS" by rose-engine


SAKROSANKT

written by Matthew Leonard Oliver Adam N.




AKT-EINS: VINETA

FÜNFTE BEWEGUNG: ARZNEI

>SYSTEM WIRD HOCHGEFAHREN. . .

>34%

>87%

>100%

>BETRIEBSSYSTEM: BÜROADMINISTRATIONS-/ ELEKTROTECHNIKER REPLIKA "AMEISE"

>ID NUMMER: AMSE-4496

>SYSTEM-CHECK
> . . .
>SCHADEN-REPORT
>LEICHTER KRANIAL-SCHADEN
>MITTELSCHWERER RUMPF SCHADEN
>REPARATUR-PROZESS. . .73%
>AMSE-4496 FUNKTIONSFÄHIG

"!!"

A sharp inhale stirred Ameise to awaken, unaware of his surroundings, his body still in combat mode due to the unexpected assault by what he had assumed to be a corrupted Replika, albeit a model he hadn't seen before. In a panic, his hand instinctively darted towards his handgun. It wasn't there however. There was no mysterious Replika. Neither was he in any danger. In fact, the place was rather serene. Sterile, even. He was lying atop a bed, a marginally softened one, one that was quite common in a doctor's office. Before him, a white, wooden cabinet, filled with plastic models, one depicting the cross-section of a Gestalt's head, displaying all the intricate, inner workings. Alongside it, several unlabelled bottles, a QR code, one that would be easily read by a medical Replika. Replika, however, do not need any sort of medication, so these were most likely medications intended for the Gestalt workers of the spires. One thing that caught his ears, now that the rush of panic and adrenaline subsides, was the slow, steady beeping and humming of machinery. A brief glance to the right, and his blue eyes locked onto a projected monitor on the wall, displaying and monitoring his vitals.

According to the display, the head wound he had received during his initial scuffle with the decrepit STAR unit had almost recovered fully, something he credited the repair patch for. As his gaze waned lower, a yellowish light was highlighting the lower region of his back, recognizing it as the area where a Gestalt's tailbone would have been located. Moderate damage, apparently. Curiously enough, it seemed to be undergoing repairs in real time.

"Ah, guten morgen! Seems the adrenaline levels wouldn't keep you sleeping for long, after all."

Like the head snap of an owl, Ameise twisted and turned towards the source of the voice, already on high alert. There was no reason to be alert, however. What Ameise withnessed, was a Replika, much like himself. No AMSE unit, but a Replika that was on the level, sane, even. One that didn't go for his chassis the instant its eyes fell upon him. It, or rather, he, didn't even look at him, opting to instead jut notes down onto his clipboard. His chassis was of black color, wiring and highlights of a bright, green color. The chassis' of most Replika was already developed and designed to resemble clothing that a Gestalt would wear. And yet it never dawned upon Ameise that AMSE Units were the only ones using additional clothes and uniform atop their chassis. Why was that? The Replika in question had a fair, pale complexion, blue, attentive eyes, like most other Replika, save for the tuft of greyish hair sitting atop his head with a comb-over sweeping to the side. Similar to most other Replika, he seemed to have a chassis consisting of hardened polyethilene, giving him the signature black parts associated with a Replika. Well, not exactly black. The mixed in materials gave it a mildly greyish look, thanks to the substance the Nation refered to as "Augmentleder". Think of it as artificial skin, making it difficult to recognize them as Replika from afar. To what end, Amesie did not know, but it gave it intense feelings of uncanny valley. Something resembling a Gestalt, yet it is not. The scribblings suddenly stopped, and his eyes snapped, locking with Ameise.

>MEDIZIN- KÖRPERWARTUNG REPLIKA "MASKENWÜRGER"
>MODEL IDENTIFIKATION: MKWR-1611

A MKWR Unit. . . a Masked Shrike. Something was not right. A mild discrepancy, Ameise thought to himself. The Baltic Sea Branch did have a medical station, yes, but it was primarily run by EULR units, acting as nurses, but there never was a MKWR unit stationed to act as a head doctor. The MKWR cocked his head sideways, eyes narrowing into an inquisitive gaze.

"What? Never seen a MKWR?"

"Not neccesarily." Responded Ameise. "Why are you here though? All spires on Vineta were supposed to be uniform in staffing and behavior. So why would King's Station have a MKWR unit stationed here?"

The eyes of the MKWR rolled to the side in a dull motion. "Well, I could ask you the exact same thing, AMSE-4496."

"What do you mean?"

"You see-" MKWR briefly put his pen and paper aside, before fixing onto Ameise as if he was some sort of unnatural anomaly. "By the time I found myself in King's Station, it had already fallen into disarray. This office especially." MKWR paused briefly, his gaze darting towards a walk in closet, with a trail of suspect skid marks leading inside. "As I was cleaning up the office and making it as sterile as possible, I came across the frame of an expired Kolibri, designation KLBR-4334. As I examined her neural wiring post expiration, I couldn't find any records of King's Station having stationed AMSE units, or ADLR units. And yet here you are."

"Neither does your appearance make sense. King's Station is probably the only spire on Vineta to have a MKWR unit as we speak!"

No actual answers, only more questions. Ameise wasn't sure whether his headache was from the doctor Replika's questions or the fact that he was tossed at a wall at the speed of a Howitzer missile not too long ago. Once he came to, he noticed the MKWR unit focus on him. In particular, his hands and arms.

"Say, AMSE-4496, you don't happen to have a black arm, do you?"

"No. What kind of question is that?"

"You see, there was more to the memory frame of KLBR-4334. One of them regards an interrogation of the Offizier Nathalia Richter.-"

"Nathalia? Do you know where she is?" Ameise asked, but his hopes were dashed in a swift, merciless fashion.

"Offizier Richter's location is currently unknown to me. However, back to the topic at hand. . ." MKWR's mouth escaped a light chuckle as he realized the possibility of a pun, but was quick to straighten out. "Why did I ask about your hands? Well, turns out, the interrogation was of a quite mundane nature, until something truly unusual cropped up. A memory of an AMSE unit,who'se left arm is black."

Ameise shook his head.

"A manufacturing mistake. . . ?"

"Hm. . . highly unlikely. Faulty Replika are usually decomissioned instantly. Then again, seeing as AMSE units are successors to the ADLR units, there must have been an attempt at a model conversion, which didn't work out very well."

"But why would an ADLR unit attempt to convert into an AMSE? This is not how it works, atleast to my knowledge."

"That, I do not know. But an AMSE with a black hand does seem quite anomalous, if you ask me."

An awkward silence hung in the air. An AMSE unit with a black arm, or hand, rather. Was such a thing even possible? Maybe the hull was missing, exposing the chassis? Was he hallucinating again? No, that couldn't be it. A quick glance to the wall bound monitor, or a projection of it, was iron clad proof of his mental hygiene. All systems green. The hull damage from the crash was recovering steadily. Recovery process read roughly 88%.

"One thing, however. When is the last time you had any maintenance done, AMSE-4496?"

"I believe several cycles before I left for King's Station. Why?"

"I believe there might have been an accident en route. Once I managed to drag you to safety, scans showed me that your Anti-Bioresonance Notch was effectively useless. A redundant implant."

"You mean to tell me that it was defective?"

Slowly, pieces were slowly falling into place. AMSE units were under supervision of Gestalt officers, hence why they didn't work well with KLBR units. Hence, the Anti-Bioresonance Notches. It was impossible to control or read what was going on inside an AMSE's head. Was it an act of sabotage? Was that what triggered hallucinations? Some kind of Bioresonant Phenomena?

"Not neccesarily. I could not see any mechanical anomalies or damages present. It is just...hm..." Mid-explanation MKWR stopped, pondering wheter or not to continue his hypothesis. "It is almost as if it spontaneously stopped working once you arrived here."

"You mean it just...shut itself off upon me arriving at King's Station?"

"Precisely. I took a look at it, but for some reason, it actively refuses to work. It positively baffles me. However, I don't think there is much I can do. Granted, there are several Replika utilizing Anti-Bioresonance Notches, but you can not put Plug A into Slot B. Or in layman's terms, let's say, a SKUR unit can not use an Anti-Bioresonance Notch that is meant for an AMSE unit. It's just not how it works!"

"Fair enough. So, what is the plan here? Do you perhaps know where Nathalia is?"

MKWR shook his head. It would appear that Ameise didn't have any new trails. Then,it dawned upon him.

"Wait, when I first arrived, I came across an injured EULR-unit who told me of some sort of excavation site, from which this pathogen seemed to spread. Do you know how I could reach it?"