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File 163054550438.png - (122.48KB , 1000x1000 , 495.png )
1009279 No. 1009279 ID: 5fc3a0

6 Months Later

33-67. The first of the preliminary polls came in, and people who want to stay in town outnumber us nearly an exact two to one.
934 posts omitted. Last 100 shown. Expand all images
>>
No. 1100694 ID: 441914

My current expectation is that Kara is a front, somehow - not sure how. I expect we'll find out soon. Keep your hand on the vial.

The one other thing - Hart mentioned prepping a bubble. Does that mean anything to anyone else? Without actually knowing, it makes me think of like, a bubble of reality or st - maybe he can swap out sections of reality with another altered in some way?? Wild speculation, but SOMETHING weird is going on, and "your local reality is now different" would explain why, uh, everything seems different. And perhaps the general sense of unease.
>>
No. 1100700 ID: 3df1ab

Well at least now you know the mission as initially specified is FUBAR: Paporron and "Hart" knew from the start you couldn't possibly be Pillet, and you can bet Hart scanned you the moment you were sedated.
They've been humoring you this whole time, but for some reason hiding this from their allies?

...unless this whole conversation is also part of the illusion you may or may not be trapped in.
>>
No. 1100714 ID: 04e6e3
File 173325611967.png - (30.24KB , 1200x1000 , 817.png )
1100714

>Why is the audio file still being appended to if the phone was destroyed hours ago?
That *is* odd.

... Oh, nevermind, it's nothing. The database is just filling in placeholder silence waiting for further bug data that isn't coming. That's a strange way to do it, but Tesh knew about this design flaw.

This log *is* unnerving, but I won't use the canister yet. If or when I do, several people or possibly just everyone will detect me. I hold it tightly in my coat.

The thought that Hart is a memory artificer... it's absurd, but I have been given the knowledge that the reports of Pillet being missing were lies, as I was then told she was executed. And if she is alive and here, then those are outright wrong. My trust on this matter cannot be 100% anymore, but even then, it is absurd to me that Hart, a random Klivanian, is a memory artificer who simply ferries people.

I would sooner believe that either Pillet or some dangerous new threat is posing as Hart for whatever reason.

>Paporron is going to teach Hart soul sensing too?
I believe the other way - Hart - or whoever he is - would teach Paporron about improving his craft of soul seeing. This implied that Hart knows soul seeing better than Paporron.

Soul artificing is not something I like the sound of, but it may have been what was used to make me look like Pillet even after I resurrected. For what purpose, I don't know.

>I wasn't aware it was possible to acquire multiple disciplines like that.
It is, but it's phenocosm law that any practioner of a restricted skill cannot learn another restricted skill.

... If Hart is Pillet, and the phenocosm knew Pillet learned soul and memory artificing, then that would start explaining why she was public enemy number 1. Those are not skills any one person should have.

>Hart mentioned a bubble
In the context of the conversation, I think it was a travel bubble. It's a non-restricted travel technique for those with relatively high energy to form a bubble with preloaded propulsion levels. It can be used to protect oneself from the elements while not requiring constant focus and energy on standard flight. An invisible version of it is what Zanthe placed me in to extract me from Klivania.
>>
No. 1100715 ID: 04e6e3
File 173325612634.png - (41.72KB , 1200x1000 , 818.png )
1100715

>Hart ambushed you on this train, and rewrote the twins' memories to erase the knowledge of the phone bug. He also erased your memories of being ambushed, but you were somehow able to hide everything else maybe thanks to your energy boost. Paporron and Hart let you keep the memory of the server because they wanted you to know they've gone rogue?
Even if Hart's energy vastly outscaled mine, it would have taken time to rewrite my memories. Perhaps he knocked me unconscious first to make it quick, but there are no signs of a fight or of lingering injury or energy usage on my person even now.

But if he did get access to my memories, then by that point I would not have been able to hide anything. Any of my memories could have been removed if this is the case - perhaps he did not have time? I'm speculating too deeply now.

It's too many questions, and the phone is ringing a third time. I answer.

"Reneil speaking?"
>"Hello, this is the train conductor. I've been asked to deliver a message. An anonymous person of interest is requesting that you walk to the very back of the train's cargo wagon line and get on the roof any time between now and 5 PM. Normally this is unacceptable, but I can't stop this. I'm unable to get any of the security agents to help. I'm sorry. She'll be waiting for you on the roof, but asks that you do anything you'd like to do on the train before showing up."
"And if I don't?"
>"If you don't show up by 5 PM, then she'll be coming for you instead."
"Who is 'she'?"
>"I'm not... able to say."
>>
No. 1100719 ID: 273c18

>>1100715
Tell her you're sorry she got caught up in this.
Might as well go immediately, we've got nothing else to do and it seems Hart is helping you for some reason so we should probably find out why.
>>
No. 1100720 ID: df45e0

Is probably best to leave the mice. Giving them any memories would just hurt them and your side knows of your intentions to take them along later. Pillet or Hart or whoever has gone to some effort to reset those around you.

So keep your power canister close and go meet her up top.
>>
No. 1100721 ID: 441914

Anything we should do before going? Lay some traps, cache something useful? ...Free food? Dunno what traps/caches, really, and it feels like whoever is behind this has pretty firm control of things, so they might be watching you, but it still feels bad to walk into sb else's arranged meeting without anything up your sleeve (canister notwithstanding). Unless we're entirely conceding the upper hand, I suppose.
>>
No. 1100724 ID: c17d05

The only thing I can think of is to leave a hidden message somehow to explain what may potentially be your sudden disappearance to the phenocosm agents, but... whoever's behind this is showing an terrifying amount of control over the situation, through mental means rather than physical at least.

It'll need to be something that'll get discovered after whatever mind screwing is over or not actively being watched, maybe under a pillow, or in Pesh or Tesh's coat if they've left them here.

The domino were already set up, now it's time to see how they fall, I think.
>>
No. 1100731 ID: 6c233e

>>1100724
If you have access to Tesh's server maybe leave a message there. Whoever's setting this all up might over look it because they think the server's done receiving.
>>
No. 1100745 ID: 441914

>>1100731
That seems like a good idea. Leave instructions for them or something. Don't forget to thoroughly log out. Though...the adversary can probably pull login info from the twins' memories. Hmm. Are you able to erase your own memory that you left a message? Would it do any good?
>>
No. 1100751 ID: 53560f

…we aren’t likely to survive much longer on our own terms… let’s go get something to eat, maybe chat up some regular people for a little while. We have time.
Also, for the sake of paranoia, do you still have the canister? It’s genuine and not replaced with a fake or just outright gone? “She” obviously knows about it, seeing as how tegge got got, but I want to know what options we have left.
>>
No. 1100832 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352197545.png - (128.69KB , 1200x1000 , 819.png )
1100832

"I'm sorry you got caught up in this."
>"Don't worry about me, it's just part of the job." I think she's exaggerating, but perhaps more than she knows.
"Goodbye, then."
>"Goodbye."

We hang up. I thought of heading towards the mice, but perhaps I'll leave them as is. I still intend to take them back to the phenocosm with me, but the only thing I can do right now is to see what happens when I give Tesh's real memories back to her. This can be unpredictable depending on what happened to her, and even if it works, Pesh would be left in the dark. It's an awkward situation, and even more awkward to deal with right now.

I think until further evidence comes, I will simply assume that I am heading to meet Pillet. Walking into an enemy's location at their own request is not an ideal move, but I feel that she's gotten a firm handle on the situation. I take a brief meditative break to

>>1100724
>>1100731
>>1100745

top off on rest.

I just realized that I've been feeling and holding onto the canister, but that I haven't seen it since I placed it in my coat. I slide what I expect is the canister out of my inner lining, and... good, it's still here. I'm almost surprised it wasn't taken somehow.

Once I'm ready, I start my walk through the train.

>"Hey, new girl, you still look restless. Take a seat." Odia says.
"Okay." I was planning on walking straight there, but I just don't feel like rushing into something I may not survive.

I chat with them awhile longer. It would be easier if I knew how their minds were altered, but they don't grill me for information, they simply chat about their favorite vacation spots. Once again I lean on Tesh's memories so that I am not clueless to Klivanian geography.
>>
No. 1100833 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352197851.png - (133.59KB , 1200x1000 , 820.png )
1100833

I pass through the lounge. Tegge looks up, but we simply nod to one another. I spot more plainclothes agents through the following coach cars, and people are exclusively using the observation car as a lounge due to the lack of visibility out there.

Kara is here. She's showing some card tricks to a child between a gap in the benches.

>"Mmm, you pulled out a blue seven."
>"Whaaa?! How?!" The child asks, upon having the face of their card guessed correctly. Kara laughs.
>"A good magician never reveals their tricks! But if you want, I can be blindfo - ah, job's calling, just a moment!" She stands up fully and faces me. "Reneil, are you heading to the back already?"
"I'm making my way through slowly, but I'm not hurrying."
>"Good. Can you help me with this? I think the boy thinks I'm cheating!"
"... Okay."
>"Okay, Hegander!" She faces the boy. "This is Reneil, a kind lady who's going to help me do some tricks."
>"But what if I want to help?"
>"Then you won't get to see so well!"

I did not expect to get waylayed by being volunteered into Kara's magic show. The audience seems to be growing some, and I be a good sport about magic tricks played at my expense. She pokes her hand into my empty pockets, and my hand fully compresses around my canister to protect it. She notices this for just long enough for me to notice her detecting that.

Then she pulls out a cooking pan through means I fail to understand. Her other hand reveals an egg that she cracks open. Energy is used to heat the pan up, and the egg white sizzles.

>"Waiiit a second, you're a growing boy, you need two eggs, don't you?"
"But you only have one?"
>"I think we can get two yolks out of this egg!"

She holds up the egg. It's whole again. She cracks it again and a second yolk comes out. Did she swap it? I saw the egg the entire time.

Kara had memories that expressed a casual interest in magic tricks for entertaining some guests. However, what she is doing now is far beyond what she learned.
>>
No. 1100834 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352198095.png - (66.86KB , 1200x1000 , 821.png )
1100834

Kara thanks me, eliciting a round of applause for my participation. I'm left to go through the sleeper car. Beyond this point is staff only, but I noticed the door is unlocked. I go through one, then the next.

The little chime of the train's intercom plays.

>"Hello, this is your conductor speaking. This is a reminder that all unauthorized passengers must remain out of the cargo wagon area. If the two unauthorized individuals who have entered will kindly return to the passenger cars, no fines will be administered, thank you."

Two cars later, and I see Pesh and Tesh sheepishly creeping back the way I came.

"Ah, so it was you two Kara was talking about. What were you doing here?"
>"Would you believe snooping?" Pesh says.
"I would."
>"'Cause we were. We're returning." Tesh's phone says.
"Good. And I'm feeling much better, I'm sorry for those weird things I said before."
>"Haha, you must have forgotten to put pants on under the coat if you wear it so much!"
"I didn't forget, I just... nevermind. The dining car was getting pretty crowded, so you'd both better head over there before the free food runs out."
>"Oh, heck! Okay thanks - you are actually supposed to do something here right? You're not just being weird again?"
"No, no, I'm here at the request of Kara. You can ask her yourself if you like."
>"Okay, okay."

Each of them pat my shoulder as we squeeze by one another.
>>
No. 1100835 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352198326.png - (674.29KB , 1200x1000 , 822.png )
1100835

About 10 cars later, I've made it. I sense her. She's not much stronger than a civilian, but I have no doubt that she's suppressing her energy well.

I stop short of entering the final car and instead climb up the ladder to scale the roof. I can feel the train's shakiness as I climb, and I wonder how in the world regular civilians are supposed to work like this.
>>
No. 1100836 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352198833.png - (1.13MB , 1200x1000 , 823.png )
1100836

I form a light shield around myself to prevent the snow from sticking on me. I see a figure up ahead with their back turned.
>>
No. 1100837 ID: 04e6e3
File 173352199237.png - (0.96MB , 1195x1000 , 824.png )
1100837

She turns.

"Kara? I didn't see or sense you pass me."
>"Like I said, a magician never reveals her tricks. How've you been, Aelsaw?"
"I'm talking to Pillet, right?"
>"Yep. In the flesh."
"What did you do with Kara?"
>"Hey, that wasn't a rhetorical question, girl! How have you been?"
"Oh. I've been busy in unusual ways. Perhaps I'm in over my head."
>"Yup."
"But you, sister! What have you done to get on the number one most wanted list?"
>"'Sister'? We've drifted a little far to keep calling each other that, haven't we?"
"The last three centuries of having you gone are little compared to the millenia we spent together."
>"And it started with me leaving the artificers. If you want to know why I was the most wanted, ask the phenocosm! I didn't put myself up there, hell, the last few centuries I was laying low. Biding my time, learning things the slow way, enjoying being able to get a breath of fresh air without the express permission of three different officials. And it was going great right up until Paporron told me about some insane shitheads that wanted to make a subdimension with or without an artificer. My words, not his. It lit a fire under my ass. We've obviously got to stop them."
"Wait, you want to stop them?"
>"Absolutely. Our interests line up there. I almost tipped the phenocosm off early and anonymously just so they could deal with it themselves before it reached this stage. But I saw an opportunity for myself. So I came."
"Opportunities, such as?"
>"I'll tell you when one of us kicks the other's ass. And no offense, you're not going to be doing much of the ass kicking when you're sporting the energy level of the average PICK agent."
>>
No. 1100838 ID: eb0a9c

"Guess we're catching up the hard way."
Move to a secure train car. Don't risk falling off the train during a spar.
>>
No. 1100839 ID: c17d05

...she knows that we know that she knows about the energy canister, or at least I think that's a reasonable guess for her to make. So... she's trying to get us to use it? Why?

I'm wary of her just attacking if we stall but I don't want to go loud unnecessarily. Ask if she's sure she wants to do this, say you don't want to fight on top of a train full of civilians, and would rather just talk it out. Maybe hint that you have some sorta of edge? Not sure.

If push comes to shove, use it, but try to avoid that outcome.
>>
No. 1100854 ID: debc82

>>1100837

Regardless of the outcome, let's ... promise to leave Pillet be. Seriously

It might mean going against everything the phenocosm stands for, but she's gotten this far and she IS kind of working in their interests.

It probably won't sway her to offer that, but it feels like the right thing to do.
>>
No. 1100859 ID: 273c18

>>1100837
I guess you have to wait to use the energy capsule until the fight starts?
Wait, shouldn't she be worried about attracting attention? If you two engage in a high energy duel then all the Agents in the train will get involved won't they? Perhaps you two shouldn't fight, even as a spar.

Tell her you're very interested in working with her. You were predicted as the best person for this job, and her presence explains everything. You can swear an unbreakable oath or something to keep her alive-status a secret from the phenocosm if she wants... and you kindof want to find out why she's marked for death in the first place. Hold up, why did she fake her death if she didn't know? Also, HOW did she fake her death?

Current day Pillet: Would the memories look like they did if they were recorded by old Pillet? Like, could old Pillet have... read Aelsaw's memories, then stored her memory of those memories, instead of storing Aelsaw's memories directly? Would that explain how the memories look?
>>
No. 1100864 ID: 19973a

Okay, yeah, that's definitely Pillet. She knows you got the energy canister but instead of taking it she wants you to use it to fight her. She may just be rearing for a fight but it's also likely this is a form of indoctrination. She's probably trying to make you act more reckless so she could make use of you some way since if you broke the energy limit to that degree you might as well break a few other rules. That said I doubt she'd go so far as to try to actively recruit you since she knows full well what your attachments are and established that you aren't sisters, probably because her worldview's changed a whole lot in the past few centuries. No offense but three centuries is a lot of time when your memories aren't being constantly scrubbed clean.

Also, this panel can only be referencing one thing, and I love it.

Current Day Pillet: Well, at the very least the moral dilemma of whether the real you, whichever it is, would want to take down this subdimension is dealt with. It seems that both Aelsaw and Pillet agree on this point. Though this does seem like it's affect your policy towards the Phenocosm when you get out. I guess we'll see based on which Pillet gets stuck in the fog though if it's both we have another problem. Also, the fact that Pillet is able of changing the way a soul thinks it should look means appearance is not a reliable way to know who people once were. Delli could have been anyone now, anyone.
>>
No. 1100871 ID: 734775

>>1100854
Well, that feels a little premature. 1. It assumes we immediately believe her vague statements at face value, and 2. Just because we're working towards the same ends doesn't necessarily mean we want to give her carte blanche. Someone could e.g. be working to achieve world peace, funded by child slavery, and I think many people would object.
>>
No. 1100872 ID: 734775

Oh, edit - I would still be open to considering some kind of truce, though, personally, depending on how things shake out.
>>
No. 1100885 ID: df45e0

Yeah pop the canister and go epic fight your sister. Destiny and all that.
>>
No. 1100897 ID: 3df1ab

Refuse to fight, you have no reason to.
She's trying to goad you into taking the canister, possibly compromising yourself.
>>
No. 1100898 ID: 6bef31

What's the point of fighting if you're both in agreement about the Phenocosm? Tell her to be honest. You deserve at least that.
>>
No. 1100932 ID: b6ea64

Fighting seems a bit pointless at first when we both have the same goals, but given the circumstances working together might be incredibly hard, at least directly. As far the phenocosm is concerned, Pillet's an enemy at this point. Working with us puts herself at a lot higher risk. This might be her testing to see which of you two has what it takes to accomplish the task.

Given who you're up against here, I do not think the phenocosm will judge you harshly for using the capsule. Losing the capsule or all of that energy to Pillet on the other hand would probably earn you quite the scorn and shame. Start absorbing that energy and prove you can do what it takes.
>>
No. 1100936 ID: 53560f

There is no way she went through all this effort just to tell us to keep doing what we’re doing. Something has to be going on that we can’t see and I think she’s trying to bait us to either join her or fight her, though I have no clue why.
>>
No. 1100941 ID: 04e6e3
File 173368578167.png - (1.04MB , 1200x1000 , 825.png )
1100941

>To Present Pillet: Would the memories look like they did if they were recorded by old Pillet?
>Delli could have been anyone now, anyone.
[ Maybe, on both counts. I'm going to see where all this lands before I think too hard, but I'm sure Delli's remained who he is ever since he killed the founders off. ]

Usually if a memory artificer has to apprehend anyone, it's because several safety nets, precautions and protocols all fell through. Such things were bypassed by sending me here as Ellie, Reneil, and Pillet. Still, phenocosm protocol declares I am duty bound to prevent Pillet from getting away.

With that said, there is too strong of a chance that I simply cannot. She has control of the situation to the point that even using the canister seems like it might be playing into her hands. I don't feel like fighting is the best option.

"Do we need to fight, Pillet? First of all, we're on a train. With passengers!"
>"And children, yeah. Why do you think I had us go to the back of the train? The nearest person is nearly 300 meters away."
"Oh, good." This is the most secure car to fight on, if it comes to that. "Secondly, won't the agents come fighting? They still think they're agents, no matter what you did to them."
>"They'll let Polly handle it."
"Who is that?"
>"I made him up. Trusty old Polly, Tegge's trusty right hand man that'll take care of any cargo wagon troubles and no one else."
"Hmm. I still want to know why you were supposed to be killed. And for that matter, how did you fake your death?"
>"I told you, I'll tell you once I kick your ass."

She starts striding slowly towards me. I finish compacting my light shield such that it's functionally invisible. Judging by how the snow flows off of Pillet, she's done the same technique.

"I'd rather not fight. What's the point in it?"
>"For god's sake, I didn't remember you being so unpredictable."
"God? Klivanian customs have rubbed off on you, haven't they?"
>"It's just an expression! There are no gods watching us. The phenocosm must be cleaning your heads out way too much ever since I left. Do you really think I could just leave and not be on the kill list?"
"Is there not more to it?"
>"Of course not. You must still know the cardinal rule. Our duty is to serve until death. I stopped serving. Now the phenocosm wants me to finish my duty and die."
"And to become number one most wanted?"
>"Really. That's all it took."

She stops a few steps in front of me. I'm still hesitating to use my canister.
>>
No. 1100942 ID: 04e6e3
File 173368578587.png - (497.82KB , 1200x1000 , 826.png )
1100942

>"It's because of how afraid they are of us, of what a rogue artificer could do. That's why they keep ones like you naive and loyal by constantly brainwashing yourselves. You might not believe it, but there's a centennial gathering that includes discussions on whether or not to stop the artificing program. If they decide to cut it off, they'll kill every last one of you."
"I could believe it, but I would also accept it. If they don't want us, then what else is there?"
>"Everything! You've already been getting your own ideas on Klivania, I know it because you're sitting here trying to make peace with me. The Aelsaw I know would try to convince me to turn myself in, sure, but she'd also know when it's time to fight. You're going to forget your time and everyone you met here."
"It's a cost I've already sworn my life to. If what you say is true about the centennial meeting, then it's the loyalty of all other artificiers that has made them decide to keep us around every century!"
>"You'll always be the naive child with that thinking. It's not because you're such good loyal phenocosm tools, it's because of the subdimensions."
"Oh?"
>"The phenocosm tried to kill off all knowledge of making pocket dimensions a long time ago." She points downwards. "Now it's happening anyway. Except now they're so ill equipped to deal with it that Shuzenza can hardly take any action!"
"He did send me. I do question if I was really the best choice, but I was sent all the same."
>"Hah! Shuzenza didn't want to send you. It was that encephalon matrix that pushed him into thinking it was a good idea, and he who had every idea of his shot down was pressured into sending you."
"Wait a second, how do you know all that?"
>"Think about it. You already knew it was odd the encephalon sent you down to pretend to be me, when it knew that there was a soul seer down there who could tell you weren't me! And it didn't have any way of knowing Paporron would cover for you anyway! That's not the sign of a healthy, functional encephalon matrix. And you just heard my call with Paporron, where I mentioned I had already infiltrated the fleet."
"You're saying those are connected. You poisoned the encephalon matrix, just to somehow call me down? That's virtually impossible, I thought the encephalon's terminals were self sustaining and inaccessible to flesh and blood."
>"The phenocosm is right to fear what a rogue artificer can do. That's right, I'm the reason you're here. First of all, I needed you to generate hope for Shuzenza. I've studied his career. If he couldn't place his hopes in someone like you, that would have festered into desperate measures. And desperate measures from Shuzenza are too unpredictable and explosive. But mostly, I just needed you to fill the role of official memory artificer so that the place could function correctly for the long term, all while I was left to move freely unbeknownst to the founders."

She moves her odd light source to the side and lifts her hand towards me. I will be absorbing the energy if she even blinks in an aggressive way at this distance, but her posture is too relaxed.

>"If you want to work together, let me borrow your body. Take my hand and yield yourself. I'm not going to explain what I mean, it's way easier to show you."
>>
No. 1100943 ID: df45e0

Break the canister and then take her hand. If you are not on equal footing you have no power to dictate terms at the table.

Honestly she has a lot of good points. You are a memory expert turned field agent in a insane act of desperation. None of the last week has been anything you should have been thrown into. And your bosses are so scared of you that this conversation alone and using the power canister will likely get you killed or worse at the end of the mission. The phenocosm is a bloated mess of a organization and not horribly trustworthy. Maybe standing at your sisters side is the best idea. But you can only worry about that sort of thing if you are not a zonked out zombie in a bit.
>>
No. 1100944 ID: debc82

>>1100942

... alright, why not? She makes some valid points, and if one person can manage all of this (and we've literally seen her do a fair bit already, just on this train, let alone the logs!) then we are so far in over our head that we're apt to become collateral from the fleet anyway.

Better to let Pillet show us and then make our decision, particularly if our interests already coincide.
>>
No. 1100945 ID: dfa46e

Can she go back to looking like herself first? Wearing the conductor is making this a bit weird.
>>
No. 1100946 ID: c17d05

...alright. If she had enough access to manipulate things to get you here, she has enough access to cause you hell for just having a higher than legal energy level if you are able to return. We're in deep enough that the only way is down.

Use the canister. I don't yet know whether we should fight or not, but either way, we're doing this on a more even footing.
>>
No. 1100947 ID: eb0a9c

You can't trust the Phenocosm when they've had root access to your very soul this whole time, but you can't mindlessly obey the narrative of someone who wants that control for herself. The whole reason you're fighting, in both narratives, is to stop a messed-up science experiment from potentially whirling out of control, consuming everyone in the universe and forcing them to play to the tune of an eternal purgatory they will have no choice but to live in, the ultimate expression of 'enslavement of the self'. If Pillet can't accept your will to fight that fate as your own person, then you can't accept her desire to merge with you. Keep talking it out.
>>
No. 1100957 ID: 71fafc

....Nah, not trusting it.

She already told us she's been moving all the pieces to put us here. That she's more dangerous that anyone knows. AND she can alter souls!

The Phenocosm is likely every bit as bad as she says and then some, but she sure as sin ain't trust worthy.

Break the cannister and kick her ass. Read her memories. Every last bit.

Maybe she's expecting it and is ready for it. But fuck it, I think it's well past time we stopped trusting blindly on people who shamelessly pull our strings.
>>
No. 1100959 ID: 3df1ab

She has already had access to you unconscious, so I don't think yielding now is of any further danger.
>>
No. 1100996 ID: 8f9bc4

You have a computer plan military strategy? With no checks on it, if it gets detached from reality? A single point of failure?

...the phenocosm kind of sucks.
>>
No. 1101255 ID: b6ea64

Looks like Pillet's deeply rooted into this and more knowledgeable on the situation than the phenocosm themselves. With that, and the fact she's asking you instead of just taking what she wants by force speaks volumes. Take her hand and trust the plan.
>>
No. 1101320 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438966515.png - (1.68MB , 1200x1000 , 827.png )
1101320

"Can you go back to looking like yourself?"
>"That's not how this is going to work."

She summons energy through her palm. I reactively crack my canister before waiting to see what she's doing. It's not easy taking in this much energy for me, even if I have a few spare training memories of doing this.

Pillet responds just as reactively by leaping backwards.
>>
No. 1101321 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438967023.png - (697.49KB , 1200x1000 , 828.png )
1101321

I'm ready for a fight, but I don't launch the offense. Pillet's body language isn't aggressive either as she lands. She waits a moment for me to finish consuming what I can of the canister before speaking.

>"I'm just forming a memory. Calm down."
"Okay. Send it to me."

She floats it toward me. With my current energy, I'm confident there's no real danger in accepting this memory. I do not trust her fully, so just in case there is poison within this energy pulse, I extract the memory from the energy manually rather than absorb the entire thing at once. There's nothing suspicious about it, and all my knowledge indicates that it isn't feasible to harm me when I take this precaution. If she can lay a trap that could incapacitate me like this, then I likely had no chance to begin with.
>>
No. 1101322 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438967326.png - (437.64KB , 1200x1000 , 829.png )
1101322

An Unknown Number of Years Ago

[ It's Pillet. She's on her home planet, which is home to an immortal phenotype. No, a species? It's a slightly different categorization of organisms that predates me. She doesn't know the science of such things yet in this memory, and only a tenuous grasp of how her planet moves around the solar system. It's a large, tidally locked planet that's only habitable in a sizable but comparatively small circle on the far side. Two moons circle the planet, providing the sun's light when it is over the horizon but not blocked by the planet itself, thus the two moons provide 4 short days. ]

[ She is looking over the larger of the two moons, but it does not reflect light that well, so it still provides less light than the small one. A heavy storm is approaching, which is common on such a disorganized celestial system. However, its own self violence includes heavy seismic activity, which has provided plenty of natural shelter through deep cliffs that she will soon retreat to. ]

[ The oldest of her species is over 70,000 years old. They are revered for their age, but often have trouble remembering that they are in the present. They ask about people they knew who have been dead for thousands of years, and often go to old destroyed sites believing it's where they live. Pillet spends a moment here wondering if she will be like that someday. Long lived, but senile. For now, she is only 24 years old, and this is the earliest genuine memory she has. Though she does not remember her life as a child, her people treat her like a newborn. ]

[ They live using knowledge of the planet mixed with blueprints and raw resources brought in by the civilizations of the galaxy, but trade ships only come once every two hundred years or so. She's asked about leaving on one such spaceship, but was told that one came shortly before she was born. Therefore, she can't entertain the thought of travelling the stars for close to two centuries. ]

[ The reason for the long gaps is because there is no FTL travel here. There is no energy, not as the phenocosm knows it. ]
>>
No. 1101323 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438967694.png - (133.91KB , 1200x1000 , 830.png )
1101323

[ She was only 29 when the universe had a hole ripped into it. This came with an incomprehensibly large fleet that came from a different universe entirely. This universe was visible through the rift, but it appeared pitch black. There were simply no visible stars in this universe. ]

[ The fleet came to avoid the incoming heat death of their universe. They came as conquerors rather than refugees, aiming to take the warmth and light of her reality. They were far beyond not just Pillet's people, but her universe's people. With FTL tech and energy that allowed a single one of them to match an entire fleet of Pillet's universe, there was no significant resistance. Her people had their land taken while they were put aboard generational ships, split up, and relocated. ]

[ It could be said that Pillet fought back, but the extent of her fight was to talk back against her oppressors. This was enough to be made an example out of, and so she was sent to be imprisoned back in the old universe. She spent years inside of a jail cell where the rift was visible, but she sometimes wished her cell was windowless. Living in this universe would slowly let her build up her own well of energy, but her binds and other machinery in the prison served as energy blockers.]

[ They made prisoners do hard physical labor, but what she found insufferable was that they didn't let her keep any belongings. Her diaries and photographs of her home were thrown out. She refused to let go of what was taken from her, so she managed to recreate them within the prison. She was not yet a memory artificer, but she is confident she was able to recreate her diaries and photos with reasonable accuracy. ]
>>
No. 1101324 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438967865.png - (38.84KB , 1200x1000 , 831.png )
1101324

[ Many years later, she would be released along with all the other people in that prison. When she heard a ship was headed back through the rift, she stowed herself away on it. Oh, I have this memory. It was one of the few I saw in Shuzenza's vault, but I lacked the context. I see now why there was so much despair. From Pillet's vantage point in the prison, the rift had appeared open because light from her universe was still travelling to her cell from so far away. But once the ship got out of FTL travel, the rift was discovered to have been gone for years. The captain got on the intercom and expressed his condolences about the closed rift and a speech about the dying universe still having at least some generations of life left in it, but Pillet couldn't listen to the details. ]

[ The civilization that had captured Pillet already moved who they wanted through it. The remaining people were considered undesirables, and were purposefully left behind in the dying universe. That, she learned, is why her prison was dissolved. Yet in Pillet's perspective, her prison cell simply got larger. The life she had barely started was robbed, and this was the moment where she first thought that she may never get it back. The memory mercifully stops before her despair completely sets in on the ride back. ]
>>
No. 1101325 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438968014.png - (34.79KB , 1200x1000 , 832.png )
1101325

[ As time continued, the undesirables, criminals, and bottom class citizens slowly found the one final star in the universe that still held significant light. In this memory, she looks over one of her recreated photos of her mother and father as she takes a work break. She had become an engineer in the properties of gravity, and lived on a space station with a growing population. The abandoned people gradually come to this last star to work together, dedicating themselves to the pursuit of stopping the heat death of the universe. ]
>>
No. 1101326 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438968405.png - (758.04KB , 1200x1000 , 833.png )
1101326

[ They succeeded. The memory skips ahead to the same spot on a space station as she looks into the sky. Though Pillet only had a relatively small part to play, she still helped with designs made to collect lost matter within the dark universe using black hole nets, though I don't know how literal that term is. Over time, they employed methods to make stars, even galaxies at a time. This new civilization spread back outwards into its own artificial stars. ]

[ The final natural star of the old universe was given a new name, the Final Core. It remained in the center of this new universe, where it would be fueled for a new eternity as the seat of the new civilization. This new collective also gave itself a new name, now to be known as the phenocosm. ]
>>
No. 1101327 ID: 04e6e3
File 173438968846.png - (623.64KB , 1200x1000 , 834.png )
1101327

That was all she showed. I never knew Pillet had a hand in the formation of the phenocosm itself.

"You don't hate the phenocosm at all."
>"No. They're flawed control freaks that are way too eager to burn libraries down, but no. I just want to go back and find my family and home. All I need to do is figure out how to rip a hole in the universe, and then that's it. I leave the phenocosm, and they won't ever need to worry about me again. It's a little silly at this point, because it's taken me so long. I doubt my family even remembers me, but I remember them. Anyways, you had an energy canister! Did you make Tegge forget he gave you one?"
"Not that I can remember."
>"Hah."

It's possible all of those memories are fabricated, but I doubt she's been trying to pull on my strings considering how she was determined to fight me just a moment ago.

>Your computer plans military strategy with a single point of failure?
No, it's... hm, that doesn't line up well with what I know about the phenocosms security.

"Something is bothering me, Pillet. The workings of the encephalon matrix shouldn't be accessible so easily, no matter who you impersonated. How did you do it?"
>"I didn't change its inner code or anything like that. All I altered was what data and priorities were fed into it. No matter how good a computer is, what it comes up with can only be as good as its data. So it thought sending you down was a better idea than it was in reality. I seriously doubt Shuzenza thought it was a good idea either, but he's found himself in a bad position. The union between you and him is one hell of a conflict of interest, you know, and the only reason he let you come to this solar system with him to begin with was because he wasn't told what he was dealing with until you were both here. There's more to it than that, but even I'm not omniscient."

If it's true that she gave the encephalon matrix bad information, then maybe I truly was never a good choice. Did Shuzenza really think I could do this, or did he simply want to support me knowing that there was little other choice? It would be like him to be positive in the face of disaster. As usual I am speculating with many gaps in my information, but if this is the case, maybe I truly cannot do this without Pillet.

>"Oh well, the cookie's crumbling, and only a few pieces are in our control. I don't have anything else to show you, at least nothing I'm comfortable with sharing. No more talking it out, either take my hand and yield, or fight."

Taking her hand would almost certainly fly in the face of all my duties and loyalties to the phenocosm and its principles, but given the potential stakes at hand and how much I may need Pillet's help, maybe I should set aside her crimes for the greater good.
>>
No. 1101329 ID: df45e0

Hold out your hand but give her a grin.

"Well that memory of yours is very nice. But all I see is your history, your life, your despair and your struggle... Not our life. Not a bit of me in those memories. If I am your sister show me how much I actually matter to you by giving me a proper fight."

"Oh and keep the fight to your memories of me please. I don't mind joining you but I don't actually know you due to occupational hazards. If you want me to join you? Prove that you are the stronger loving sister I hope you are deep down.... also maybe keep collateral damage down to a light spanking?"

Waggle the other hand up and down as if motioning for her to consider this to be a sibling tussle and not a back alley knife brawl.
>>
No. 1101330 ID: 253c2f

She'll get your help.. but at least see if you can actually land a blow first. She has to earn it.
>>
No. 1101331 ID: dfa46e

Always in for betraying the status quo in favor of reckless changes to the way things are. Let's fucking goooooooo
>>
No. 1101332 ID: 273c18

>>1101327
She's one of the founders of the universe. She's got seniority over the phenocosm, and she's on their side even if they want to kill her for some asinine reason. There are precious few reasons aside from a rather restricted sense of loyalty/duty not to cooperate with her. So go ahead, take her hand.

I'm guessing Tegge made *himself* forget he gave you the energy core, via taking some sort of chemical or regular mental effort. He wasn't supposed to do that, after all. As for why Pillet didn't see that you had it in your memories, I can only guess that she didn't look through them exhaustively; you did something similar with the conductor too where you didn't look at all her memories. Or maybe Pillet didn't look at your memories at all, since she didn't have any good reason to.
>>
No. 1101333 ID: eb0a9c

Wow, so this entire universe is one big Space Australia? And now Space Australia has become its own oppressive empire.

And now we have to wonder what became of the conquerors.

"So, that's it then. What the Phenocosm fears most is the empire which accidentally created it - because they would see us, and everyone in this universe, as one big mistake to be... corrected. Again. How can you guarantee that you won't accidentally give the universe-colonists enough intel to find out about their reborn universe and 'reclaim' it all for themselves?"

Hold out your hand.

"It would be hypocrisy for me to try and convince you to abandon this obsession just to be my big sister, when you helped build an entire universe on the hope that you might see your parents again. But that's exactly why our choice can't be cut-and-dry, why it has to be complicated and weird. You're as much my family as your parents are, this universe is as much a part of you as your home was, and you can't abandon us both without risking your conviction break apart."

Grasp.

"So we have to get freaky. Merge part of your soul with mine. Part of you has to be with me forever... and part of you has to leave forever. Find the rest of your family, tell them all that you accomplished and how they helped make what we did possible. You have to be two to be you; it's messed up, but so are post-universe colonists. And if I have to... part of me should go with you."
>>
No. 1101334 ID: debc82

>>1101327

Considering everything she knows and what she's been through, I don't think we ever HAD a chance to fight her.

Let's submit. Better to have her on our side, an actual founder of the phenocosm, than fight what's starting to sound like a battle we were already set up to lose.
>>
No. 1101343 ID: 71fafc

Hmmm... I'd like to confirm she's telling the truth by reading her full memories. Plus, let's face it, a super-powered combat scene has been a long time coming.

[musical note symbol] Fighting tiiiiime! [/musical note symbol]
>>
No. 1101488 ID: b6ea64

Her crime of defecting from the phenocosm is nothing compared to the crimes she had to endure. Can you really fight and turn her in after seeing all of what's she been through? Give your sister a hug and team up.
>>
No. 1101568 ID: 8f9bc4

Her—crimes? You still haven't identified any crimes. It may be completely sensible to execute any memory artificers who try to retire, but it's convenient to keep that secret, and thus extralegal, and thus Pillet has broken no laws.

If Pillet is this... incomprehensibly ancient being older than the phenocosm itself, who helped create all the stars in the sky then the phenocosm has a duty to serve her, so serving her is doing the phenocosm's duty, which is doing your duty. There's only one problem with this that doesn't quite add up.

You are her sister. How old are you? Her parents didn't get taken through the rift, so you have to be immeasurably old too, don't you? Are you really her sister?
>>
No. 1104924 ID: 04e6e3
File 174199154918.png - (625.21KB , 1200x1000 , 835.png )
1104924

"I can't help but notice that I wasn't in those memories at all."
>"I was nothing but a normal, perfectly well behaved artificer around you."

She steps closer.

"Just tell me one more thing. If you rip a hole in the universe, will the phenocosm simply be invaded by our predecessors?"
>"Only if they find out we relit this universe. I'll be taking measures against that."

>Are you really her sister?
Not biologically, but artificers seldom ever keep ties with their old family. For us, we are each other's family, and so we refer to each other as brothers and sisters. Most of my tens of thousands of years of life have included Pillet. In spite of how I was only in a tiny slice of her life, how important her old family is to her, and how she balked at me calling her sister, I cannot stop thinking of her as a sibling.

I consider fighting her just to see how strong she is in combat, but I can't in good conscience fight for fighting's sake. I take her hand.
>>
No. 1104925 ID: 04e6e3
File 174199155318.png - (652.85KB , 1200x1000 , 836.png )
1104925

I don't feel anything at first. Then I start to get tingly, and I realize I've slumped to a knee.

>"I'm putting you to sleep, first." Pillet explains, but whatever she's doing is working so quickly that I can't process it quickly enough to respond.

I feel my energy flowing into Kara's body. She's able to absorb it right out of me? No, the other way. I believe she's hijacked my body and is puppeteering me to transfer my energy to her. Oddly, I feel some of Kara's fur wrap around my hand and forearm.

Though she isn't thinking with words, I can sense her thoughts. She used her fleshcrafting talent to grow tendrils out of Kara that resemble long fur strands. These can float in the air or snake through the train's carpet to get into physical contact with everyone, including me, without looking like she touched anyone.

Memory artificing with such little physical contact is impressive, but it's also obscene. I have to acknowledge that considering she was there from the start, it's plausible that she would know artificing techniques that are not taught, and even banned within the artificer's curriculum. To be able to do all of this! This is why the phenocosm never teaches any single person more than one restricted school of advanced energy manipulation.

I go back down to 1,200 EL, and my vision is turning black.
>>
No. 1104926 ID: 04e6e3
File 174199155538.png - (240.15KB , 1200x1000 , 837.png )
1104926

Now I am here. Or I am not? Structures are forming around me. My senses are coming, I would say, but my senses are not my own? Oh, this is disorienting - ah, I am not of flesh. This is my soul. Was it all a trick? Did Pillet kill me?

>"No, idiot, my life would be simpler if I could afford to kill you. Turn around."
"Oh, sister Pillet, hi. You can read my mind here, I see. Or can we read each other’s minds?" I feel I should be able to sense Pillet's thoughts, but I am unsurprised to feel that she has formed some kind of barrier around herself disallowing me the same privileges as she has. "This isn't the artificer's society, is it?"
>"No, this is a soul repository that only looks like it. It's the exact same as the afterlife except on a tiny scale I can carry with me. I'm storing your souls here because the alternative is for all of us to share meatspace, and Kara's brain doesn't have the mental capacity for the three of us."
Ah, that's right. The conductor is here. "Hello, Kara. I'm sorry we had to meet like this."

Kara lifts her hand in a mix of acknowledgement and dismissal while only barely turning to look at me before staring into the distance once again. She wants to indulge in this sight, but knows that her time is limited. Soon, Pillet will be wiping her memory of all of this, but she looks forward to returning to her train. I turn to face Pillet again.

"What are your plans now, Pillet?"
>"I'm going to hide your unconscious body in the lost and found while I revert everyone back to how they were. Those 'off duty' agents have been screwing around. Fuck, I think one of them had wine. I'm just going to extract it right out of him, because I can't have my falsified memories of good behavior running counter to physical evidence to the contrary - forget it, you don't need to worry about that. You just need to lay unconscious in the lost and found. I doubt even you can fuck up my plans doing that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
>"You tell me, miss acts undercover and goes running around Winterheight like you're on vacation! Forget it, I can still barely believe you're going along with me on all this."
"Although it was and is my duty to resist you, I have been given a more important duty to make certain that the subdimension is destroyed. The risk in working with you is better than the risk of fighting you."
>"And just like that, having something go against my plans is nice for once. After I revert everyone including Kara, it'll just be us two sharing your modified Pillet body. We'll kill time until we reach Varther's Estate where I'll clear Gel. Then we navigate around the phenocosm's reaction to all this, eventually leading into the subdimension."
"And if Shuzenza succeeds in destroying it?"
>"Then we're going to be sharing a body until I find a chance to bail out, but I'm aiming to lock ourselves in with those megalomaniacs. I hope we stay on each other's side. If it was just one of us, it would be hard to do anything under the scrutiny of the founders. But so long as one of us is acting as Pillet, the other can operate behind their backs. Any questions so far?"
>>
No. 1104927 ID: dfa46e

Want me to braid your tail?
>>
No. 1104928 ID: 273c18

>>1104926
What about the twins? It looks like she's trying to put them out of the picture, but they would've been so useful. Even if they aren't working with the two of you, perhaps you could arrange for them to be hired by the phenocosm?
>>
No. 1104929 ID: debc82

>>1104926

How did you manage all this? It's ... well, "impressive" barely does it justice.
>>
No. 1104948 ID: 8f9bc4

So wait, you really are Pillet, after you took over your sister's body, and she's in a phylactery somewhere around here? Or do you just think you're Pillet because of messed up memories, and your sister "Pillet" is out there somewhere? This is confusing. Is Shuzenza still your bf? Are he and goat boy gonna have to fight for your hand in marriage?
>>
No. 1104949 ID: 273c18

Wait, "Afford to kill you"... does she WANT to kill you?
>>
No. 1104955 ID: b6ea64

Why do you want to get locked into the sub-dimension? Is it easier to take care of from the inside?
>>
No. 1104960 ID: 63f50c

>Questions?
A thousand, but I'll trim it a bit:

Why lock us in? For how long?

Also, who else besides Paporron is going to help us in this?

Also what were the invaders from this universe like? and, when all is said and done, do you have any plans for coming back in case they killed everyone in your universe and made it an uninhabitable hell?
>>
No. 1104962 ID: df45e0

"Afford to! That's not very nice." Go give her a hug and make your displeasure known. Perhaps by braiding her tail.

As for questions lets see...

1. "When you say carry around I hope you don't mean we are in a marble in your pocket and its more of a soul thing that can't get lost right?"
2. "If we are going inside to sabotage it from within... what if it all goes right but we get stuck there?"
3. "Can I make my own room over... here?" Find a nice spot in the landscape to claim while you hang out in soul swap land.
>>
No. 1105167 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259797574.png - (154.74KB , 1200x1000 , 838.png )
1105167

I back out of the memory for a moment.

>So you're Pillet?
Maybe. I don't know anymore, because Pillet's soul is rubbing shoulders with Aelsaw's. Mixing together is completely possible, especially with where I think this is going.

>Is she in a phylactery somewhere around here?
No phylactery or other physical object is involved here, past-Pillet's soul afterlife thing is completely energy based. Whichever one's my pseudo-sister is, assuming we both did get in here, it's more likely she either got killed at some point or has been in hiding.

Hm. I'm inclined to embarrass myself. I look over every memory of mine, looking at every time I've said 'There are no founders left, other than me.' and 'No way there's any other memory artificers in here, that's impossible." I've said those things multiple times a year for thousands of years. What's next? Paporron comes knocking at the door?

At this point I wouldn't be surprised. Delli killed the founders repeatedly enough to grind them down to amnesiacs, but the only way to find them repeatedly like that, that I'm aware of, is to be able to sense souls. Did Paporron help Delli? If Aumstail was missed, who else could have been? Did that even happen?

I'm not confident about much anymore, except that Delli's going to have his work cut out for him when we leave.

>Is Shuzenza still your bf?
Even if I'm Aelsaw, I doubt it. If he's still out there, goat boy's likely going to have to fight him.

Okay, continuing on.
>>
No. 1105168 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259797811.png - (127.36KB , 1200x1000 , 839.png )
1105168

"You learned how to make an afterlife, you can hop bodies... how did you manage all of this?"
>"Ambition, skill, and lots and lots of time."
"That is true of most accomplishments, isn't it. Am I in some kind of soul marble?"
>"No, you're linked to this body just like before. I've just shoved myself into the body's driver's seat and wrapped your soul around mine to prevent soul seers from seeing me in here. Rough metaphor, but I'm sparing you soul seer jargon."
"Oh. Would you like me to braid your tail?"
>"Really, now? It doesn't look good. And before you say you want to try anyway, you've had your memories of asking me this already wiped. You've asked me this dozens of times and even tried a couple!"
"That's a shame, but I still want to try.
>"There are more important lines of questioning!"
"Mmm, I suppose, but I'm not doing anything important."
>"That's- uurgh."
"What about the twins? It seems like you don't like them very much, but, hmmmm." This close to Pillet's soul, I can get hints about her true feelings. "Can we arrange for them to be hired by the phenocosm?"
>"Yeah. Fine. The lucky rats can become immortal, why... not?"
"Hm?"
>"If they can sense Zanthe at their age, they'll become freakishly good if the phenocosm trains them to be live scanners. But there's no way they'd be the best Shuzenza would have, so it's not like they'll be a threat when I make a break for it after we collapse the subdimension. Yeah sure, we'll give them an out."
"Great, I was worried. You even mentioned your life would be simpler if you could afford to kill me, and now I'm worried that you'd have liked to."
>"Girl. If I wanted a simple life killing you, I would not be anywhere near this planet inviting you to make the most of your time here before I subsumed you. I don't want to kill you."
"That means a lot."
>"Don't get sentimental on me, I've got work - "

I pull her off the railing and hug her.

"You may be misguided, but I've still missed you."
>"The phenocosm must be getting sloppy if they've let you feel that."

She has no idea how to respond, but gently and hesitantly hugs back. In that time I see how fluffy her tail is. She said I've wanted to braid it before, which I believe, but that it doesn't look good, which I don't believe.

>"Sappy time is over, I'm fixing this mess now!" But it will have to be another time, as she quickly breaks the hug.
"Okay okay. Is it possible for me to make a room around here?"
>"No! You're only going to be in here for an hour or two, then I'll share meatspace."
>>
No. 1105169 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259798102.png - (158.82KB , 1200x1000 , 840.png )
1105169

Pillet flips herself around on the railing and becomes frozen. We soon sense Pillet focusing on the physical world around us in a flurry of rapid memory artificing, although the details escape me like this. She won't be interacting with us, so I turn to the conductor.

"Are you doing alright, Kara?"
>"As long as the train and its passengers make it out of whatever all this is, you can shatter my reality all you like."
"It must be a lot to take in."
>"The architecture here is strange. The towers are all spread out. It's bright and makes no practical sense. You live here?"
"Yes, but the infrastructure and main city lies below on the lower sky level. These are the artificer's towers, and each one is a vault containing the memories of one memory artificer."
>"What are those wires?"
"They're connections. Although I do not know how, the towers are connected to the true afterlife, the one everyone shares. All of our memories are somehow given to the afterlife to ground it in reality, and make it all more, hm... lucid, I should say."
>"Pillet's going to remove my memories of all this. Will I remember it in the afterlife?"
"Normally, no. But my memories of you, and memories I take from you, will someday be vaulted. Those memories will then find you in the afterlife, and you will remember."

I don't know when that'll happen, as I believe Pillet will have ways to hide these memories if we go back to Heaven's Jurisdiction. But provided she does not outright delete these memories, it will happen.

"I have not scrutinized your memories closely, but if they were accurate, then merely skimming them tells me you will get to be a conductor in the afterlife as well."
>"What if I want to be a train engineer instead?"
"Hm?"
>"They told me they had enough of those, and I had too friendly a face to not be a conductor instead. I'm a professional, so I've gotten good at pretending to be social. The job is still nice, plus I also just learned there's a generous afterlife."
"Yes. If you'd like to, you can tell me about yourself and anything you'd like to remember after you die."

I spend the next hour or two listening to her. I can't do this for every Klivanian, but there is no reason not to do it for ones like Kara who found themselves tangled up in this situation.

Although Pillet's memories were hidden when I read Kara's memories, I confirm that Kara's memories were not falsified nor exaggerated by Pillet after all. She really does revolve around trains and their operation.
>>
No. 1105170 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259798322.png - (68.85KB , 1200x1000 , 841.png )
1105170

I perk up when Pillet is ready to let Kara go. She and I share a look, but her silence is peaceful.

Then I feel everything and myself shift. Kara fades away. When I next blink, I physically wake up in Reneil's body while my soul remains in this space along with Pillet. My consciousness is split after all, but it is manageable.

>"Yes, Agent Reneil. Here's your wallet. Is everything inside?" Kara says. My body reaches out not by my own response, but by Pillet.
"Yes it is, thanks so much. Please don't mention it to anyone else, okay?"
>"My discretion is my duty. Please enjoy your stay." She smiles with a friendly but professional tone, showing little to no familiarity. I see now that while she has little trouble behaving like this, it is a mask she puts on for the customer. She must be back to normal.

>< Everyone else is too. >
< Oh, hi Pillet. >
>< Yes hi. Did you have to make this body so chubby? >
< Of course, it was originally just a quick disguise. I'm sure you'll find it's more comfortable not having all your bones clack against everything, sister. >

I still think normally, but I think communication is clearer if I imagine speaking directly to Pillet even in my own head. Otherwise, our own thoughts would overlap on top of each other, and this is confusing enough already.

>< Like how I keep biting my own lip with these giant fangs? No, after we meet up with Gel and change back, you'll have to get used to being able to jump without destroying your knees. And stop calling me sister. >
< No. I still have more questions, firstly to clear something up. Why again are we being locked into the subdimension? >
>< Because I want to take all the knowledge and talents the other founders have regarding spacial energy and engineering, and because it'll be your mission to make sure the subdimension is torn down from the inside. >
< I see. And for how long? >
>< It could take a couple months to a couple centuries to safely get copies of their memories without them noticing. But so long as I'm in the subdimension, I won't have to constantly be on the run from the phenocosm's light. I might spend millenia perfecting, consolidating, internalizing and expanding all their knowledge and skills for myself before I want to leave. >
< And what happens if we get locked in there indefinitely? >
>< Then something went wrong. That could mean lots of things. >
>>
No. 1105171 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259798644.png - (161.63KB , 1200x1000 , 842.png )
1105171

Pillet begins walking us, Reneil, back to her room. Never mind Pillet getting used to the modifications of her body, I still have to get used to being moved around without my will!

< Who else will help us, besides Paporron? >
>< No one. >
< No one at all? >
>< Just you and me. Paporron helped me save your ass after I, being Hart, euthanized you in that tunnel, but there wasn't much choice. He's screwed up simple stuff before. >
< He seems like he'd go to the end of the universe for you. >
>< Yeah, but he's careless and too trusting. Take his help with caution. >
< Surely we can find help from the regular workers? The founders seemed distant from them, and it seems inevitable many would not like their rule. >
>< I'm not going to lean on double digit babies. >
< Mm. Well, what were the invaders from the old universe like?>
>< It wasn't as unified as the phenocosm, believe it or not. It was like a collective of dictatorships only held together by outward conquest and tense alliances that would slap one of the factions down if they tried to do a grab for power at the cost of another allied faction. If they weren't able to open a hole to find new universes to conquer, I bet they would've collapsed and eaten each other. The ones I met were propaganda eating military with a tenuous grasp on reality. It was before I became a memory artificer and I didn't keep many notes on them, so I don't know much beyond that. Okay, here we are at the room. >
< What's wrong? >
>< Just got to get in the right mindset to treat the twins as you would, not as I want to. But I'm eager to get some sleep. Real sleep. No meditation, no eyes open, no observational organs, nothing. >
>>
No. 1105172 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259798771.png - (42.09KB , 1200x1000 , 843.png )
1105172

We enter our room, and Pillet abruptly grabs at our coat.

< Oh Pillet wait a seco - >
>>
No. 1105173 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259799022.png - (110.87KB , 1200x1000 , 844.png )
1105173

Ah. Of course Pillet wouldn't scrutinize my memories regarding things so trivial as what clothes I wore in ignorance. I'm too late to warn her before she throws off the coat.

Pillet freezes, gawking at the sight of herself in the mirror. And in that mirror, the mice stir from the noise. Pillet weighs her options, rushing between diving under the bed, wiping the twin's memories, and jumping out the window.
>>
No. 1105174 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259799241.png - (53.43KB , 1200x1000 , 845.png )
1105174

>"Ahhhhhhh?!" Tesh wakes up too quickly to do anything and makes the first excited noise. Pesh is milliseconds behind.
>"Oh my GOD! Hahahaha Reneiiil?!"

Well they certainly sound like they're back to their old selves.
>>
No. 1105175 ID: 04e6e3
File 174259799402.png - (82.93KB , 1200x1000 , 846.png )
1105175

In this soul repository, Pillet twists her neck to stare at me.
>>
No. 1105180 ID: df45e0

"I thought you were the adventurous one?"
>>
No. 1105182 ID: dfa46e

>>1105175
Smile innocently.
>>
No. 1105183 ID: a6cdc2

"Maybe take this as a last little lesson going forward, that you can still be surprised sometimes... seriously though it looks good right?"
>>
No. 1105189 ID: 6c233e

"Well you have to take advantage when you have a body this good."
>>
No. 1105193 ID: d1f31f

Oh my goddddd! Firstly very good taste, secondly I am dying over Pillet's reaction. Who knew she could rotate her neck like that?

Maybe just explain that the coat was really warm, and offer to handle the explanation to the twins? Something something, you're the one who chose this outfit so you get to deal with the explanation?
>>
No. 1105194 ID: cb76eb

Gotcha, sis.
>>
No. 1105195 ID: 273c18

>>1105167
What if Paporron *is* Delli, and killing himself over and over was so that he would forget that fact first and foremost? Another possibility is that Delli is Pillet, which would be HILARIOUS... but Delli killed himself repeatedly to erase his own memories, which is something Pillet wouldn't need or want to do. ...wait, do we have any confirmation Delli did that, or did we just assume he did because he's got amnesia?

>>1105175
Ehehehehe
Oh just tell them you were in the middle of changing into new clothes.
>>
No. 1105197 ID: 0d81fe

to be fair, she didn't check if she was waering /anything/ under there, sure its only the phenocosm being sloppy?~
>>
No. 1105225 ID: 04e6e3
File 174268285174.png - (33.44KB , 1200x1000 , 847.png )
1105225

>(To present Pillet:) What if Paporron is Delli?
[ Then he's so different that he's become a whole new person. I also just don't know if it matters. I'm in this memory to learn about the phenocosm and what's waiting for us out there in the future. What happened in here is lost history. ]

>What if Delli is Pillet?
[ If he's the real Pillet, then the real Pillet is just fucking around at this point. ]

"So you can still be surprised after all you've lived through! I thought you were the adventurous one?"
>"Adventurous?! I've spent billions of years trying to go retire on my backwater planet home! I don't let myself become numb to shenanigans like these because my very sanity depends on my ability to be surprised and here you are with your innocent little baby smile face happily making kink lingerie ride up into the wedding cake you've made out of my ass!"
"Oh my goodness, you're so rattled! Is it because you realized you're as sloppy as you think the phenocosm's gotten?"
>"No!... Close. I'm a touched embarrassed I was so focused on everyone else that I didn't spare a thought for why the clothes felt like this!"
>"Heheh. But it does look good, doesn't it?"
>>
No. 1105226 ID: 04e6e3
File 174268285299.png - (36.19KB , 1200x1000 , 848.png )
1105226

She slaps my cheeks lightly but firmly enough to squish them.

>"I'm going to make a brand new hell and you'll be the sole occupant!"
"Hahaha, you know we're immune to suffering torments. But you've already taken my physical agency away, so you'll have to deal with this. Unless you can let me assume control, somehow?"
>"No, but - that's right. I can read your thoughts. That means if you try to move a certain way or say things, I can put your thoughts into actions. It'll take some practice, but this is a good time to do it! So you deal with this!"
>>
No. 1105227 ID: 04e6e3
File 174268285628.png - (252.74KB , 1200x1000 , 849.png )
1105227

"Oh, don't mind me, I was just getting changed." I try to say this as I normally would, and as Pillet said, she takes my thoughts and has Reneil say this.
>"Into what? I didn't see any clothing shops!" Pesh scoots a little closer. Although I do not try to hide, Pillet reminds me that she is still in control by having her - our? Reneil's body faces away. Her attempts are thwarted by Pesh crawling past Tesh so that she can see Reneil's front through the mirror. Pillet is right, it will take some practice, but I am starting to feel like I'm controlling Reneil's body. There is simply some latency in doing so due to waiting for Pillet to react, assuming Pillet does it to begin with.
"I, er, no. But I needed to take the coat off, I've been overheating badly."
>"Is that why you're wearing fishnets? Fishnet sleeves?"
"Yes, actually! It ruffles my fur so that a lot of air gets through my coat. It helps more than you'd think."
>"Hahaha you're so full of it!"

><I can't believe I followed your lead on that one.>
<Maybe you have a better idea?>
><You started off well, let me follow up on that.>

"I'll just make a clothing purchase from a place willing to have a high speed drone deliver to a train."
>"Good idea but that'll still take hours. What'll you wear in the meanwhile? You want to borrow my jacket?"
"Oh, thank you, but that's much too small." Pillet lets me lead Reneil's actions from here.
>"Pfffft you don't look like you'd have a problem with that!"
"Ah, but that wouldn't let me go out in public any more appropriately! I honestly thought if clothes were sold in a public place, they must be acceptable in public." I have Reneil whisper, "Alien, remember?"
>>
No. 1105228 ID: 04e6e3
File 174268285888.png - (69.05KB , 1200x1000 , 850.png )
1105228

Pesh slides off the bed and wraps her arms from Reneil a little tightly. Tesh looks like she's about to follow suit from the other side, but I first feel Pesh's breath on Reneil's neck.

>"Yeah an alien I want to bang."
>>
No. 1105229 ID: dfa46e

Good thing you see another, yourself.
>>
No. 1105232 ID: 273c18

"Oh, so scandalous, propositioning a married woman! What would my husband think?"
What would he think, I wonder?
>>
No. 1105235 ID: df45e0

"I will admit to trying to get this to happen just a bit. You are not gonna mouse block your poor sister are you?"
>>
No. 1105243 ID: 6c233e

<Now Pillet, when was the last time you had sex while sharing a body with your own sister? Surely you can't turn down such a deliciously novel experience?>
>>
No. 1105253 ID: e74c7a

>>1105228

We're from what I assume to be a sexually enlightened super-society and a little fun isn't something to be punished, even with a husband.

Anyway how often are either of you going to get a chance to try this sort of thing in this body?

It'll be novel! Aelsaw gets to enjoy being a lot more in shape and taller, and Pillet gets to see what it's like to have some plush curves. She even said that she relies on new experiences being surprising and not something she's numb to, so this is an important thing to do for sanity.

Plus honestly after the day you've had it's about time for some stress relief.
>>
No. 1105279 ID: cb76eb

For all they know, you could be toxic to them down there.
>>
No. 1105283 ID: 0d81fe

Well, do you have anything more important do do~
You two 'cooperatively' got yourselves into this situation so you might as well, curious how you'll handle this
>>
No. 1105293 ID: 66de4b

> the wedding cake you've made out of my ass!

It is a rather amazing ass, but it might be good to remind Pillet that this is your body. You haven't done anything to her body, only your own.

Unless she thinks she owns your body? Which is valid~
>>
No. 1105332 ID: 78bd3b

>>1105253
Oh, right.

The husband!

We should tell Pesh that you have one of those, see if she has issue with that.

And of course, see if the husband issue with that. He's very precious to us. He's a crocodile with a baseball. We won't find a catch like that in another hundred thousand years.

Let's see if we can call him.

>>1105293
Yeah, let's tell poor Pillet we would never have been so careless in looks or wardrobe if you were controlling someone else's body, let alone your dear sister.
Feel very hurt if Pillet tells you not to call her sister. She'll feel it first hand now.
>>
No. 1105337 ID: d1f31f

I'm inclined to go for it, opportunities for fun like this in your future might be a whole lot more limited. And what else is there to do while you wait for the train to arrive at it's destination?

I would mentally check with Pillet to make sure she's at least ok with this though. The only thing worse than having to let the twins down would be to have to stop suddenly because she's not okay with it.
>>
No. 1105348 ID: 273c18

>>1105332
>tell Pesh
We already told them. Said "my husband is a eunuch", even. Also Aelsaw had some internal thoughts about not being serious about the flirting, but finding it hard to resist doing it anyway, so it's hard to tell what she wants to do?
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