Day 59: Lieutenant General Charles Berg's Office (Second Shift)

[das_berg]

Three failed mission just within the past 24 hours. Berg would have liked to believe that the patients were interested in their well-being enough to fully participate in their assigned tasks, but many of them could be irrationally stubborn. Attempted sabotage he could deal with, though. Failure to carry out sabotage could also be fixed. But

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[spandexorgtfo]

Kratos disliked unnecessary attention. He was content to remain a presence, acknowledged but rarely scrutinized, dependable but detached, and for the most part, he had been treated as such - save for this day. The institute had, for whatever reason (He was a valued subject - perish the thought.), decided to direct its full gaze upon him and had selected him not only for a drug trial but also for a personal interview with a "commanding officer" that would probably be just as productive as he assumed it would be: not at all. Oh, of course there were questions, many of them, in fact, but the probability of any of them being answered directly was highly unlikely.

Resistance was of course futile, so he submitted to the blindfold and waited calmly as the soldiers gave him what probably amounted to a standard assurance that their presence and the blindfold were both for security reasons - hah, his security...the audacity - and that they had no intention of harming him. He had no words for that, so Kratos merely squared his shoulders and

[das_berg]

Once the next subject appeared in his office, Berg set his mug of coffee down onto his desk and stood from his seat. "Good morning, Mr. Aurion," he politely greeted. "I'm Lieutenant General Charles Berg. You may have heard me address you all on the intercom before." Of course, these days Harrington took that job, but he was certain most people were aware of that. The major could, after all, carry an unmistakable presence.

"I wanted to take some time to speak with you personally," he added. "A file can only say so much about a person, and I heard about how you mostly had nurses and doctors to speak to while under Martin Landel's watch."

The officer gestured to the chair in front of him. "Please, have a seat. Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?"

[spandexorgtfo]

'Mr. Aurion', was it? Berg was not sparing any pretenses here. To be called by his true name was somewhat refreshing, but it was also a subtle reminder of who determined the "patient"'s identities here, an assertion of power that did not escape his notice.

Kratos slid into the seat cautiously. The officer was being remarkably polite, but experience told him that it was probably a ploy for information. Comfort, not force, was expected to drive him to speak. But what sort of things would Berg be interested in? He knew very little about anything that the institute did not already understand or control, which probably would not help him in his own search for answers.

"No, thank you," he said stiffly to the offer of coffee. "I'm afraid I've never developed much of a taste for it." Literally, one might led to say. "What are you seeking that isn't in my file?"

[das_berg]

"Ah, I see," Berg said with faintly raised eyebrows. The drink had become such a staple in his life that he couldn't imagine himself going without, especially with how much he had to do in a day. Given the fact their subjects came from so many different cultures, races and backgrounds, though, Berg supposed that it wasn't so surprising that many of them wouldn't care to bother with it. A pity, yes. Shocking? No

[spandexorgtfo]

Marc...that was right, the new voice behind the intercom, although he used the word "new" loosely: it had been many days since Marc had first spoken to the patients. He still remembered the one who had come before, though- the one who had been killed by Landel himself. That incident seemed so distant and long ago now...

"I'm afraid I know little," Kratos admitted. He hadn't even known that people had met Marc, for the first thing, and he rarely carried his radio around these days in order to keep his hands free. "He would speak over the intercom every so often, usually for morale." He shrugged lightly. "I've never met with him personally, nor do I know anyone who did; it wouldn't be something easily shared, obviously."

He sighed and (for politeness' sake; there really was no genuine sincerity behind his words) added, "I'm sorry I cannot be of more help." But there was that question answered; perhaps it would be time for one of his own, provided he could segue into it neatly.

"But while I have the opportunity...I might as well ask

[das_berg]

"Yes, obviously," Berg murmured in agreement before taking a sip of his drink. It was surprising how many subjects remained loyal to him despite his inability to "help" them in any tangible way. Didn't they realize their efforts to protect him meant little when compared to Aguilar's strength

[spandexorgtfo]

"Only one of him, and yet he persists," Kratos remarked lightly. Not unlike a particularly vexing gnat, now that he thought about it. "One, at the very least, has to respect his tenacity." Personally, though, he couldn't care less about what happened to Marc. The man seemed intent on helping them take on the institute, which was appreciated, but he was erratic; it was better to place as little dependence on him as possible rather than risk all of their hopes on him. Besides, Marc hadn't exactly presented a clear reason for his opposition either.

He tapped his finger lightly on the arm of the chair he was seated in. As for his own question, Berg had been predictably evasive, but one statement in particular worried him: In a nutshell, that is also the aim of the military. The cover and reality were intertwined, although the truth was probably not so civilian. To be used as a weapon for the sake of "peace": it seemed fate had run out of things to throw at him and had resorted to repeating its twists from the past

[das_berg]

Respect? Berg could at least understand the drive he had for his cause. That, he supposed, could be worthy of respect, even if the actual effort of going up against Aguilar could likely be spent on something more productive. "You may have a point," he remarked. "In any case, we'll see how much longer his tenacity lasts."

As for that question, Berg didn't hesitate in answering. "As of now, there aren't any plans to end what we're doing here. It will last as long as it continues to provide solid results, and until we assess that it's no longer necessary to help maintain peace."

Given how many "patients" had entered the institute, only to eventually become released (not to mention all of the data they'd collected day after day), the project was too successful to talk about closing it down just yet.

[spandexorgtfo]

"I see." No concrete end point: a curse and a blessing. It meant that they had time to spare, but also that they were all trapped here indefinitely until they either escaped or were released, whatever came first. Frankly, Kratos was not looking forward to another month spent in Landel's, no matter how enjoyable eating was starting to become.

"Another question, if I may," Kratos began. "Why outsiders? Why turn to other worlds? Is your cause really so lacking in manpower than you even require imported civilians to do your work for you?" It was bad enough that Aguilar was stealing soldiers, and even worse that he was involving people who had no business dealing with anything this place offered. That was desperation-turned-dishonor.

[das_berg]

An interesting question, but one with what Berg felt was a relatively obvious answer.

"If all previous efforts haven't brought satisfactory results, then naturally other worlds' solutions begin to look attractive," he replied as he leaned back in his seat. "Many of them contain things that this one simply doesn't. Having such a wide range of individuals and abilities in one place can only help us in the end."

Berg paused, meeting Mr. Aurion's gaze. "At least, that was what those who designed this project eventually came to believe. Their idea has been successful so far, which is why the military is so invested in it."

[spandexorgtfo]

He still didn't see the need for civilians in such an experiment, and he was willing to press the issue, but Berg had given him a fairly rote response, which indicated that the officer felt that the answer should be obvious. It didn't matter either way; Kratos had only asked the question to lead into the real issue on his mind: Lise.

She wasn't supposed to exist; Anna at best was meant to remain a voice in his head like she was now, berating him in the back of his mind for various social miscues. Berg had just now verified that the institute did indeed turn to other worlds for resources; the idea wasn't merely some fabricated fantasy in his head. And that implied that Lise was actually a fake as he had hoped (dreaded"And yet you see fit to institute some stringent limitations on those abilities you seem to prize," Kratos remarked. "But no matter. I asked only because of a related question. You've confirmed that the institute does indeed draw people in from other worlds; our 'visitors', then...who are they, really? Others you've