TYPE: H.E.L.M. INTERNAL SURVEILLANCE REPORT
DESCRIPTION: Conversation between persons of interest
PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Guardian-type, Class Hunter, designate Eris Morn [EM]; One [1] Guardian-type, Class Warlock, designate Wahei Ohr [WO]; One [1] Nightmare-type [u.1]
ASSOCIATIONS: Calus; Crown of Sorrow; Darkness; Egregore; Haruspex; Leviathan (Cabal Ship); Morn, Eris (ERI-223); Nightmares; Ohr, Wahei (POI #0247); Pyramid (Lunar); Scryer; Traitor's Die; Umbranomicon; Witness
//AUDIO UNAVAILABLE//
//TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS...//
[WO] Eris!
[EM] Wahei Ohr. You seem angry.
[WO] I would say so! Have you seen the state of the H.E.L.M.?!
[EM] [beat] It would be a lie to say I haven't.
[WO] Do you think this is okay?!
[EM] Of course not. The rapid spread of the egregore fungus in spite of containment and cleansing protocols is... unexpected.
[WO] Only to you, and maybe to the grunts that Caiatl sent to guard the airlock. Eris, I hate to say it, but I warned you.
[EM] And I took every precaution. You can attest to this.
[WO] The only thing I can attest to is that, in spite of my warnings, you went and used the Crown anyway. I told you, Eris, I warned you that using the Crown was a mistake, and that you cannot trust what it will do.
[EM] Yes. I made sure to read your report, as well.
[u.1] [laughs] Oh, yes, the roadmap that Calus is now using for his own purposes.
[WO] You be quiet.
[u.1] You studied the Crown of Sorrow for months, lining out its capabilities and gauging its powers, and now, thanks to you, the Golden Emperor is preparing to devote himself to the Voice in the Darkness.
[WO] Shut up!
[EM] Wahei, I am trying to use the same knowledge you gave Calus to unmake the work he's done, to prevent him from weaving his fungal network. You realize this, don't you?
[WO] Of course, Eris. But you also realize that we've somehow made things worse, don't you?
[EM] The overgrowth is a problem, yes, but--
[WO] Not that, Eris. It's-- [sighs]
[pause]
[u.1] Give her a minute, she's working up to something here.
[WO] The egregore is like a quantum nervous system, right? Or, more than that, a paracausal nervous system. It's heavily tied to the Darkness. Calus has said as much in his communications, and our own studies have confirmed it, right?
[EM] Yes. Every spore and sprout is connected to the rest, even across vast interstellar distances.
[WO] Right. And these Nightmares, they're a manifestation of the phantasmal energies the Pyramid emits, and the Pyramids basically ARE the Darkness, right?
[EM] I follow you.
[WO] It's safe to assume that Calus is using the commonality of that Darkness connection to link the egregore to the Pyramid, to use that link to resonate and evoke the Nightmares. And when we come into contact with the egregore's spores, we briefly connect to that mycelial network. Calus then uses that connection to find our fears, our shames, our weaknesses, and then conjures up these Nightmares to slow and stop us.
[pause]
[EM] It is a solid theory.
[WO] The ritual you performed with Zavala and Crow was a solid attempt to hone in on some of those connections using sympathetic magic.
[EM] Quite. Severing their Nightmares' hold on them should have weakened the mycelial network's connection to the Pyramid.
[WO] Yes. Except for the fact that the mycelial network is, again, like a nervous system. When parts of the brain are damaged, other parts of it will take up the slack and the brain as a whole can return to functionality.
[EM] And you believe that--
[WO] Yes. That the remaining connections the egregore has linked to the Pyramid are strengthening. Worse, I believe that if we're not careful, anyone else that goes aboard the Leviathan will only cause it to forge new connections. The only way we could probably avoid it would be to send kinder-Guardians in, since they'd have fewer fears or shames to feed off.
[EM] But new Lights are not properly equipped to deal with the threats aboard the Leviathan.
[WO] Exactly.
[EM] What other choice do we have? We must continue to sever the connections between the Leviathan and the Pyramid, to stop Calus' ascension or transformation before it can proceed any further.
[WO] [sighs] And that's the trick, isn't it? We don't have any other option that can get the job done in time, apart from simply blowing the Leviathan out of the sky, and I suspect that wouldn't work.
[u.1] What's this? Is the notorious Seeker finally sharing her Insight?
[WO] Quiet, you. This has always been the point of my studies and my explorations!
[u.1] Hm. Is it, though? What's that phrase you like to throw out there?
[WO] Stop.
[u.1] Oh, right! "I never tell secrets."
[WO] Shut up!
[EM] Wahei, this Nightmare that's haunting you--
[WO] It's nothing.
[EM] You know that's not true.
[u.1] Listen to the woman, Wahei. I'm not nothing.
[WO] Shut up!
[EM] I won't ask for details. But you know you must be bound to the Crown if we're to find a way to sever it.
[u.1] [laughs] She won't agree to that. Because she's worried that it won't work, and that it will further twist the knowledge in her head that she's already gone too far--
[WO] Stop it!
[u.1] --or worse, that it WILL work, and that it will somehow prevent her from using the Scryer to explore her foresight, and if there's one thing she doesn't like thinking about, it's that she won't be able to see the future--
[WO] SHUT UP!
[a burst of static as of paracausal radiation]
[sound of Nova Warp energy expulsion]
[pause]
[EM] Wahei...
[WO] Don't.
[pause]
[WO] [sighs] [quiet] I can't, Eris. I'm not-- I'm not ready.
[EM] I understand. Confronting one's... inner demons is not something that everyone can do so easily. But I promise that I will be here to listen, when you are ready. So, I think, will your fireteam.
[pause]
[WO] Thank you, Eris.
[pause]
[WO] [chuckles] I made a mess.
[EM] On the plus side, it cleared some of the overgrowth.
[WO] I... I'll be back to help clear more of it. But I need to take a bit to clear my head.
[EM] Of course. May your respite give you the clarity to find some more insight.
[WO] Thank you, Eris.
[sound of transmat departure]
[pause]
[u.1] [chuckling] I think I struck a nerve with her.
[EM] That is what your kind do.
[u.1] She only wants insight on her own terms. But I could so easily give it to her.
[EM] Wahei is smart enough to recognize the razor in that candy floss.
[u.1] Not all insight is pleasant. Shall I demonstrate for you?
[EM] Begone, specter. I have demons enough.
[u.1] [chuckling] You keep telling yourself that, O witch-finder mine.
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