Miscellaneous DnD Stories

Science as Art: an Interview with an Expert

"Hello sir, I'm Caleb Mondale with IMP Media, thank you for letting me interview you today. For the viewers at home, can I get your name and what you do for this company?"
"Thank you Caleb, I'm Philip Fernleaf and my work here at the Monolith is with the research team as a... what was the word they used for it... something funky, kenistician?"
"Kinesiologist"
"Yeah, that's the one! Essentially I help them study movement and provide references for the cool machines they make, I'm no real ologist myself but I know my way around any type of movement or weapon they need for their studies, plus I come in handy if any of their experiments go haywire."
"Thank you. Before we get into our main point this evening, I heard you also provide training for the fey students here?"
"Yeah, I do... although I wouldn't call them 'students' exactly... it's a whole mess and I'm not exactly proud of my... treatment of fey before meeting them, but they've taught me almost more than I've taught them."
"It's alright sir, I won't judge you for your past"
"No, no, there definitely is judgement to be had. I was awful, I was a supremacist for Etros' sake! But... well you mind if I monologue for a bit"
"By all means."
"Thanks, well... my brother, Arfir, he and I grew apart after I joined the Monolith, and when he brought home a fey wife I thought I had well and truly lost him... but when I saw his kid it was just... like it was seeing just the beauty of it all. I saw someone that looked so much like my brother yet so much like their mother and I just... I saw the beauty there was in cooperation! I saw how strong their mother was, I saw it again when the training the kids here! Some of the kids are the toughest bastards in the entire Monolith, when one of them beat me for the first time I saw firsthand that they were just as strong if not stronger than we are! There's strength in everyone, and that's been my motto ever since."
"That's... that's sweet. Thank you for sharing your story. Anyways to move on to our main point, can you tell us more about your work with the research team, specifically in regards to the late Dr. Demirci?"
"Oh, right, sorry forgot that's why you're here. Well... he was certainly a nice fellow, really invested in his work studying the void with his team. I admired him, he was only 2 years older than me and yet he was already close to becoming the head of the void research team. I... it embarrases me to say but we did so much work together at the time that I... ended up giving him flowers, from my hometown back in Argentum... he wasn't interested, said he was an aroace which I didn't understand at the time but I made sure I do now. But yeah, it was nice working with him."
"Mhm. Can you tell me more about how your work... ended, per say?"
"Yeah, that day... I had learned from talking with him that he had taken in some of the creatures we had found in the void. I thought he was lying, everyone knows the void corrupts anything that gets near it for too long... but when I was told to go to his house by my commander I saw that he wasn't lying... it's a blur in my mind, everything moved too fast, but what I remember was one of his kids blasted me with some void spell that blinded my left eye and... I cut them in half. I panicked, I didn't know what to do and... I killed them. I... sorry I just... I'd rather not dwell on that day more."
"Oh, I'm sorry. How's your eye doing?"
"It's fine. It's not as good as it used to be but the doctors at base were able to heal it to mostly working. But yeah... the guards dragged Doctor Demirci away and started rounding up the kids and that was the last I ever saw of either."
"... is that all?"
"Yeah, yeah it's all I can remember of him. He was a curious guy but even if the void things he adopted looked humanoid, my commander wanted them neutralized in case they posed a threat. I can't tell you how many we killed but... I don't disagree with the decision, one was still too much for me to handle."
"Thank you. That should be everything I need to ask, so do you have anything you wish to add."
"... no, I'm good. I should get back to training soon, helps me take my mind off things."
"By all means, thank you for helping Mr. Fernleaf"
"You too, take care"

-- end of transcript --