voice; un: eliasainsworth

[thornydisposition]

I believe I have some information that might be of use, or at least to consider.

[The voice is low and very even, having only the barest hint of a conversational cadence.]

My companion, Shuyi, and I managed to locate and capture Miz Poppy. We captured her and two of her Deemer companions, and as we began to take them back to Perdition's Rest, she had some very interesting things to say.

She reaffirmed that there was no way to safely separate a Taraxa from its host without the destruction of the latter. What is more troubling, however, was that she insisted that hers and her compatriots' mission of destruction was something which the TIMELINE.EXE asked of them.

Before we could deliver her back here, one of the other captured Deemers sacrificed himself so that she may escape in the confusion.

It is not my intention to offer this information in order to incite mass confusion or doubt, as it is quite possible she was lying. But I do not think we can completely discount that she might be telling the truth—or that she and her fellows are somehow deluded enough to believe that they are. It is, as I originally said, something to at the very least keep in mind.

Comments

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[thornydisposition]

ALASTAIR has told us themselves that they have employed Taraxa in the past, albeit that their hosts were temporary. A very interesting qualification given what we have found happens to hosts after their parasites are removed.

So if Zymandis merely hired them, it makes that organization not only our rivals, but one eerily similar to the one which claims us as well.

video

[sekimorinashi]

If the Taraxa hosts can be temporary, what makes these ones otherwise, then?

[ She sighs. ]

This is a lot more than we initially knew about. We need more answers, not more questions.

[thornydisposition]

There are several possibilities. One is that the definition of those Taraxa hosts as "temporary" was true, but they were also robbed of sentience after their parasites removed themselves. This would mean this is just a natural response to Taraxa infestation.

If the hosts were healthy after the ALASTAIR Taraxa left them, however, it means there is either something intentional or unintentional the Zymandis faction is doing to undo their hosts upon departure.

[A brief pause.]

Sometimes when attempting to detangle a thread, it only becomes more ensnarled.
I would agree with you, but I fear we will not find anything concrete until after we leave this place.

[sekimorinashi]

Doesn't make me feel very confident 'bout any decisions we'll hav'ta make.

[thornydisposition]

I'm inclined to say the same.

[sekimorinashi]

In the end, the best we can do is hope our choices weren't the wrong ones.

[ A sigh. ]

Yanno, thinkin' about it, I suppose that's just life in general.