It should have been placed under lockdown soon after... but now, it looks completely abandoned.
Ksenia
The good news is that Originium particle activity has also dropped after work stopped. Infection risk should be minimal as long as you do not touch the deactivated Originium crystals.
Mon3tr
I'm not detecting any other lifeforms. We should be able to get in without a fight.
We still don't know what happened here.The Patrol Units and guards could return any time.
Ok, looks like this is the right way. All we need to do is to go in the opposite direction from the mine carts.
Mon3tr
Opposite direction? I thought we're going deeper.
Ksenia
It leads to somewhere other than the mine tunnels. I don't know what it's actually for, but the carts only carry goods, not people.
Mon3tr
What about the cart? Can we use it?
Ksenia
There are no structural issues, but it's been abandoned for so long that there's only enough emergency power for the lights. I don't think it's a good idea.
I agree.We can walk.
Mon3tr
Mm.
Mon3tr
You two, get on the cart.
Ksenia
What?
There's no safety belt!We can walk!
Mon3tr
Get on, Doctor. We can save time that way.
Ksenia
But it won't start—
Mon3tr
I'll take care of it.
Mon3tr
Do you need me to lift you up, Doctor?
...I can do it myself!
Mon3tr
Are you ready?
Ksenia
What are you planning—
Ksenia
—Whoa?!
We'll be thrown off the cart.The cart's going to fall apart.
Mon3tr
It'll be fine. Just sit tight.
Mon3tr
Here we go!
Ksenia
Thank goodness the tunnels look intact.
Ksenia
But we should have started a fire before coming down... it's a lot wetter than the outside. The difference is almost as great as the Iberian coast compared to inland Ursus.
Ksenia
Of course, there is a dramatic difference in temperature as well... are you alright?
Mon3tr
I'm fine. What about you, Doctor?
Every part of my brain feels equally shaken.You looked like you enjoyed it, Mon3tr.
Mon3tr
I kept the speed steady.
Ksenia
Mon3tr is a very good cart driver. Or cart pusher.
Mon3tr
Sounds like the problem's not on my end.
I have a question, Ksenia.When was Oka first discovered in the mines?
Ksenia
I'm not sure exactly when. The first sample arrived at the lab a month ago.
Ksenia
That was when I learned of the appearance of this heretofore unheard-of substance in the Originium mines.
But it's strange...
This substance that appeared in the mines...What made the lab decide to perform human experiments?
Ksenia
Infected exposed to Oka in this tunnel were subject to unusual mutations.
Ksenia
Their infection readings soared, but their vital signs remained stable, 'healthy' even...
Mon3tr
That sounds familiar.
Ksenia
Have you encountered other patients like this? Have they come into contact with Oka?
There may be another possibility.We're not sure yet...
Ksenia
In any case... the Ursine government wanted to replicate the 'miracle'.
Ksenia
I suppose they wanted a docile labor force that did not fear illness or pain... perhaps even employ them in combat.
I'm not surprised the government would react that way...They haven't realized the potential danger.
Mon3tr
I think we're getting close.
Mon3tr
This is as far as the rail goes. We'll have to proceed on foot.
The three of you move forward in the darkness.
You hear before you see. It is the heavy sound of water.
The three of you look up and slowly open your eyes.
You soon realize that the light in the tunnel is not coming from outside. It is coming from the stationary liquid in front of you on the ground—and the 'waterfall' at the very end.
It glitters like obsidian, refracting light from a crack high above as it falls, making the cave bright as early morning after a shower.
...An obsequent river.
Ksenia
You can tell?
Ksenia
Yes. Like an obsequent river, the Oka cannot flow outwards along the dip, so it can only flow backwards, until it lies 'still' like this.
Ksenia
But it continues to flow in a way, even without external forces acting on it. That's why they named it 'Oka'—river.
Mon3tr
The liquid is everywhere.
Mon3tr
It's like a natural karst cave. You can't even tell that it used to be a mine.
Ksenia
Even stranger, Oka itself is almost like water.
What do you mean?How could it be?
Ksenia
Well... in a manner of speaking.
Ksenia
Oka becomes highly stable after it is allowed to stand still for a while. It can even be used as a universal solvent.
Ksenia
Wait! We still shouldn't touch it with bare hands—
Ksenia
Oh...
Mon3tr bends over and collects some liquid with a test tube. She is not wearing gloves, or any other form of protection.
Her expression grows solemn as she shakes the liquid in the test tube with wet hands.
Mon3tr?
Ksenia
You should not touch it directly—I have protective equipment. You can tell me if you want a sample, and I'll collect it!
Mon3tr
(Whisper) Doctor... I know what this is.
Ksenia
What?
......
Ksenia, the samples...Can you get some samples from around the waterfall?
Ksenia
Oh, okay.
Ksenia
Wait here. I'll be back soon.
Ksenia
...Be careful.
Mon3tr
This liquid that they call Oka... it's Originium.
Originium...Why does it look that way?
Mon3tr
It's complicated.
Mon3tr
Do you remember the 'Transmitter' that Rhine Lab was studying, or the 'Corazonix' that is often mentioned in Iberian alchemy?
I do.Are they related?
Mon3tr
This is their prototype... or perhaps I should say, the original form.
What the Transmitter and Corazonix have in common...They both serve as a kind of medium.
Mon3tr
Yes. A medium that reacts directly with the human body, or to store information.
So that's why they are both liquid?
Mon3tr
I think so...
Mon3tr
You understand, Doctor, that Originium is both a vehicle for information, and a vehicle for energy.
Mon3tr
Both the Transmitter and Corazonix re-record Originium energy through specific means, in order to record different types of information.
Mon3tr
The Oka here is the remnant of Originium, after its energy was extracted in an even more effective manner.
Mon3tr
So it's really a form of 'universal solvent', and this explains why the Infected who came into contact with Oka became 'mutated'.
Mon3tr
Because of its nature as drained Originium, Oka neutralizes the Originium activity inside the Infected, while creating the perfect conditions for the continued growth of Originium.
Mon3tr
It allowed the Infected to retain their vital functions temporarily, but does not change the fact that death would inevitably follow soon.
Mon3tr
Meanwhile, all the uninfected individuals injected with Oka died of severe rejection, due to the lack of active Originium in their bodies...
Its presence here in such quantities...It means...
Mon3tr
This is what we feared the most...
Mon3tr
The Kolossal Prime Vein is drying up.
..................
Mon3tr
The rumors we heard, that Ursus is accelerating the extraction of Originium... it's all to hide the exhaustion of the ore vein.
Mon3tr
It began here in the northmost parts of Ursus, and it will only accelerate.
Mon3tr
Within four months, the Originium deposits in Ursus will drop to thirty percent of previous levels.
This is the real reason why the Grand Duchess put the mining district on lockdown.They can't hide it forever.
You did not need to ask the question. One gaze exchanged with Mon3tr, and both of you have the same name in mind.
The only one who could have done this—
Priestess.
Mon3tr
There's no one else.
Why would she do this?
Mon3tr
The exhaustion of the ore vein cannot be stopped or reversed.
Mon3tr
Ursus will collapse.
Not just Ursus.
Exhaustion on such a scale will have ramifications across Terra.
Is this what she's after?
Mon3tr
I have an idea!
Mon3tr
Oka is also a relic of the old civilization... a by-product of your experiments.
Mon3tr
If she caused the exhaustion of the ore vein, then there might be some useful information left within.
Mon3tr
See if you can read it.
How would I...?
Mon3tr
Our means are limited. You'll have to insert your hand, like I did when I collected the sample.
Mon3tr
Don't worry, it won't harm you.
Following Mon3tr's instructions, you crouch down and immerse your hands into the liquid Oka.
You wait.
You do not feel any different.
You await some kind of change, or response, like the 'miracles' that happened so many times before.
Nothing happened.
The product of a previous civilization seems to reject you, denying your connection to it.
Could it be that it has already lost its ability to hold information?Or perhaps, she had no intention of leaving any information to us.
Mon3tr
It's possible.
Ksenia
Mon3tr! Doctor!
Ksenia
Come! I found something!
Ksenia
There's a hole behind the waterfall. When I climbed up and stood there—
Ksenia
I heard a sound of an unusual frequency from the cave. It didn't seem natural—no, it definitely isn't natural!
Ksenia
It's like... it's trying to communicate some sort of information through audio waves!
Listen carefully to the sound of the liquid impacting the rocks! Some of the sounds are of a particular frequency, like it's trying to draw attention to itself. It's very different, and you can definitely tell.
Ksenia
I tried to decipher the ones I heard. It took a while to record the various pitches—
Ksenia
There! Did you hear that?
Mon3tr
All I hear is the rain! I can't even hear you speak—
Mon3tr
Doctor?
You close your eyes and allow yourself to be immersed in sound.
Until you identify the sound that is constantly changing in frequency.
I...
I hear it.
Mon3tr
—Did you say you hear it—
The sound rushes into your consciousness. Sometimes it is formed from several high frequencies, sometimes it is short and sharp, like a meticulous music score.
You soon realize that it represents some sort of code, or perhaps language.
You try to recall all the languages that you know, categorizing them in your mind, and you soon realize that you are hearing the same word, just in different languages.
Ksenia
I've copied it down...
Ksenia
It's just a hunch, but if we decipher it using the standard encoding for communication between nomadic cities...
Ksenia
I think it's referring to the same word, in many different languages. I could identify Ursine and Gaulish from it! I think they both mean—
