Issue 28, Page 16
Transcript
1: Xijo and a pair of other scientists observe via window. Screens in front of them show the test pilot’s vital signs and a rack of digital clocks times exposure, labeled “pilot”, “observer 1”, and “observer 2”.
Xijo: His time has nearly expired, we must continue to minimize exposure.
The results are even worse than the last…
Scientist: Right.
*blip*
Khramov, that’s it for the test. Please disengage.
*blip*
Shut the doors. Who’s next?
2: Metal shutters rapidly close away to hide the black mass sample.
3: The previous pilot has exited the room and is patting the shoulder of the next tester.
4: Julia, suited, now sits at the device and attaches its helmet to hers.
OH IT’S JULIA IN THE SEAT HAHA SHE LOOKS THE EXACT SAME AS THE SKUNK GUY, I NEVER WOULD’VE NOTICED WITHOUT THE TRANSCRIPT
I literally went uh-oh out loud because I thought he was mind-controlled into removing his helmet like the guys on the moon!!
Julia is gonna TAKE that sample down with THOUGHTS
This should be interesting. Julia has had up close and personal experience with this.
This is either going to go VERY well, or VERY badly. Julia lost scars from her childhood after coming back from being merged with Sedjet. Scars she still had after her return from the alien planet. It’s been hinted at a few times that she might not actually be her original self.
Personally, I don’t think that really matters much. Her body had been merged on a cellular level with Sedjet as part of the black mass, and I imagine reforming her body at the end of that experience would rely mostly on DNA and whatnot to more or less recreate what her body ought to be. I’d even Expect there to be loss of information, especially historical information like scars.
But I’m not the author, and there are many parts of this story I would have written very differently. This part could be one of those parts, so even if something I would expect to happen really does happen, that doesn’t necessarily mean it happens for the same reason that I would have had. Coupled with how often hints have dropped that maybe she hadn’t really ‘come back’, I’m starting to think maybe she’s different.
And that.. Can go one of two ways. Either this device is designed for users who are made of the same sorts of cells as the black mass, such as Julia’s original self, and will react negatively with whatever Julia has become… Or what Julia has become is unusually adept at the exact sort of thing that the device is made for, and she’ll end up being one of the few people who can effectively use it.
Actually, the two aren’t mutually exclusive; she might be unusually adept at using it, AND her body might experience adverse effects from using it at the same time.
Honestly though, I’m more worried about Melissa’s turn. She’s got that container with the glitchy dusky doge, and I have no clue what it’ll do when it’s exposed to that device, OR when it sees the ‘sample’ of its meal on display.