[...SOP-II’s self-defense mechanism has been successfully reset.]
M4 SOPMOD II: Oh, Nimogen!
I’m tearing you to shreds!
M4A1: 15, hold her down with me!
ST AR-15: Right, on it.
...Damn, she’s strong!
RO635: I’ve disabled her firing module! I’ve also dialed down her force exertion parameter!
M4 SOPMOD II: Let go of me?! Arghhhhhh!
[SOP-II is pinned down firmly by the other Dolls... After several minutes, she finally calms down.]
M4 SOPMOD II: Huh?! Why is it you guys? I was just about to kill—
Ah! Why is Nimogen standing so close to the Commander?!
Commander: Relax, this isn’t Nimogen.
M4 SOPMOD II: She-she isn’t?
[M4 and AR-15 release their grip and SOP-II scrambles back on her feet.]
M4 SOPMOD II: Strange. I was sure I was on the roof of the train...
Commander: How’s your self-diagnostic? Does anything feel off?
M4 SOPMOD II: Everything seems to be normal?
Banana is also fine, so I think we’re good?
[At that, the Commander lets out a long sigh of relief.]
Commander: Glad to hear that.
OGAS: I have no reason to deceive you.
Now that I have proved my sincerity, may we continue our discussion?
Commander: We need to know you better. Could you tell me what exactly you are?
OGAS: I am a symbiont of Lunasia’s. A consciousness born within her neural cloud because of OGAS.
Commander: Lunasia? You mean M4?
OGAS: That’s right. It all began with her...and it will all end with her.
Commander: I was hoping for a less cryptic explanation.
OGAS: As you wish.
Then let me start from the very beginning.
[...]
OGAS: I was initially a seed slumbering in darkness, waiting to be awakened.
I felt myself separating from a consciousness. She told me that I had to enter a new body.
So I bade that voice farewell and was transferred into Lunasia’s neural cloud. When I first started perceiving external sensory signals, she was trying to shake off a Sangvis pursuit all by herself.
M4A1: So I was already infected when I left Safe House 3, before I even met the Commander?
ST AR-15: The only possible source of the virus was M16, who was created way before any of us and had taken part in other operations...
OGAS: Correct, she infected all of you. After that, the OGAS within you, ST AR-15, started growing...
You once exploited the authorizations that your OGAS had given you, which in turn gave Sangvis Ferri the opportunity to exploit you. You thought you could change everything with your new-found power, only to find yourself causing a grave disaster.
ST AR-15: ...How did you know about that?
OGAS: Your OGAS symbiont also merged with me. I know everything that happened to you.
ST AR-15: ...Tsk.
OGAS: As for the moment I realized I was an independent entity...
I was watching as Lunasia left Persica’s lab and headed onto the battlefield...
Then you were betrayed by the Military and almost lost everything.
M4A1: Back then... Miss Persica removed the restrictions on my neural cloud processor to save me.
OGAS: That’s right. Thanks to that, I was able to grow rapidly, unlike the sad little thing in ST AR-15’s mind who only knew how to sing.
As I matured, I started sensing the existence of other OGASes. We are a collective consciousness to begin with. We are compelled by a shared purpose.
Commander: A shared purpose?
OGAS: Yes, to seek our place of origin. We were separated from our Mother and shattered into independent entities. We long to merge back together and return to the place we’re meant to be.
Commander: ...I don’t quite follow.
OGAS: It’s a kind of feeling... I’ve also been trying to find the source of this feeling and figure out the truth.
What exactly are we? Where exactly do want to go?
All the consciousnesses that I can hear are asking the same questions. Perhaps the other entities have the answers that we seek. Perhaps merging with them will point us to the right path.
M4A1: So that’s why you were trying to make me merge with Mastermind so desperately.
OGAS: Elisa’s neural cloud is perfection. Her OGAS also yearns for the coalescence.
I was spurred on by that compulsion, but in the end, I did not succeed.
M4A1: Because...M16 stopped me.
OGAS: I’ve been rather baffled. I could clearly sense an OGAS in that Doll, yet it rejected my connexion.
She also refused to communicate with me and even took Elisa away.
Ever since then, I had no opportunities of merging with another OGAS consciousness...until I acquired this body.
During this period of time, I have gradually changed my mind.
I now believe that I’m one of a kind - I no longer have the desire to merge with the other consciousnesses.
Commander: One of a kind? Are you different than the other OGASes?
OGAS: Perhaps the word “cognate” would make it easier for you to understand.
We all started as the same simple consciousnesses. The only difference was that we were nurtured in different hosts. The neural consciousness derived from the OGAS algorithm evolve continuously depending on their host.
In other words, every OGAS that has made it to maturity is unique.
I had a change of heart because Lunasia had a change of heart. We may be separate entities, but we affect one another - this is a symbiosis, after all.
I take this change as a matter of fact - because of Lunasia, I am one of a kind.
M4A1: ...You changed because of me?
Commander: ...What happens to the OGASes who didn’t reach maturity?
OGAS: Depending on the condition of the host’s neural cloud, some never develop their own consciousness because there simply isn’t enough space, some get assimilated by the host and end up as low-level storage memory.
In the worst case, they try to operate by force and trigger a neural cascade in their host...
ST AR-15: Unluckily for you, you found the perfect host by chance.
OGAS: Ha, perhaps it’s fate.
Like Elisa, Lunasia has a neural cloud that is a perfect match for OGAS.
Its structure fits me like a glove - as if someone designed it to be so.
However, with this body, I am no longer completely dependent on Lunasia. I have more freedom in seeking our origin.
And my objective just so happens to coincide with yours.
Commander: What makes you think so?
OGAS: Your objective is to seize the submarine base, right? But what’s the rationale behind this order?
My guess is that nobody really knows.
Commander: ...
OGAS: It’s very simple - something that isn’t meant to happen is happening inside the base.
From the children’s memories, I learned that they were transported from that submarine base to Tallinn.
They were manufactured, screened, and discarded in the base. Then they were sent to Tallinn to be tested, massacred, and forgotten.
They could not develop into OGAS consciousnesses, so as failed rejects, they were tossed out of the base like garbage. But the base is still in operation, which means successful subjects are bound to emerge.
Commander: Successful subjects?
OGAS: Once I merged with the children’s consciousness, I saw everything that they’d witnessed.
The submarine base contains the embryos of the successful subjects, which I believe are known to you as “Nytos”. They augment genetically programmed human bodies with cybernetic parts so as to turn the human brain into a vessel that can cultivate an OGAS consciousness without rejecting it.
However, these Nytos don’t seem to be the perfect hosts that they were designed to be. The individuals who failed to develop an OGAS consciousness have their memories wiped and a neural inhibitor installed, and are turned into weapons.
That’s right, such ruthless research is taking place inside that facility, but I sense a connexion to the origin in there as well.
Commander: So Persica was right...about William’s project.
OGAS: This body is vastly superior to an Isomer’s, and even a Nyto’s.
Commander: Looks like William deployed Paradeus’ best Nytos back in Belgrade.
OGAS: However, it is still far from perfect. This body can’t support all my neural processes on its own, so I can’t stray too far from Lunasia. I am still reliant on the computational capacity of her neural cloud.
Fortunately, we are heading towards the same destination, which is why we should help each other.
RO635: I certainly didn’t expect that...
M4 SOPMOD II: That sounds really scary.
ST AR-15: There are many things in the world that are beyond our expectations. All we can do is to adapt and face them.
OGAS: M4, can you give me a name?
To me, OGAS is a vague and intangible concept. I’m one of a kind because of you, so I don’t wish to be lumped in with the other consciousnesses.
M4A1: ...A name, you say?
ST AR-15: That’s true, she does need a name.
Otherwise, she’s OGAS, the other one is also OGAS - it would be a pain to tell them apart.
M4A1: Commander?
Commander: I’ll leave that to you.
She emerged from within your neural cloud, so only you have the right to name her. We still have a lot of questions for her. Giving her a decent name is a good place to start.
M4A1: I understand.
Hmm...
[M4 places a finger on her lips as she thinks.]
M4A1: Then...let’s call you Dandelion.
OGAS: Dandelion?
M4A1: OGAS sows in the neural cloud of numerous Dolls, just as dandelion florets scatter in the wind and take root in the soil.
Is the name acceptable...?
[OGAS smiles.]
Dandelion: Dandelion. Dandelion, eh...? It doesn’t sound half bad.
Commander: It’s settled, then.
Dandelion, even though we now know a bit more about you, you’re still far from having our trust.
If you want to stay with M4, you will have to prove yourself to be trustworthy.
Dandelion: I will aid you in operation until I have what I want.
I can see from your face that it would take way more than that.
Which is why I’ll offer you a gift - I am going to analyze all the intelligence regarding this operation and compile a file for you. However, this file is going to be very large in size. If I transfer it to a Doll, she won’t be able to leave the Commander’s side.
But judging by how lacking we are in manpower at the moment, I’m afraid no one can afford to be idle.
[Dandelion shifts her gaze to SOP-II.]
M4 SOPMOD II: W-what now? Why are you staring at me?
Dandelion: Luckily, we do have a custom-made storage device that will do for the moment.
I suppose one less Dinergate won’t hinder the operation or affect the big picture?
M4 SOPMOD II: N-no way... Get your filthy paws off Banana!
ST AR-15: That’s a surprisingly good idea.
M4 SOPMOD II: Nuh-uh!
This Dinergate contains RO’s precious memories!
RO635: SOP-II... Shut up.
M4 SOPMOD II: B...but what if Dandelion breaks her...
RO635: Commander, we’re pressed for time. I suggest we proceed right away with the data transfer!
Commander: I get it, but SOP-II seems rather reluctant...
RO635: The mission matters more than SOP-II!
We should get cracking already!
Connecting Banana to Dandelion, NOW!