This is further to my previous post on the topic. Just finished Swan Song and filled with a few thoughts I wanna pen down:
1. Intellectually stimulating As rightly pointed out by someone else, medically it may not be that intellectual. But hey, filling up 170+ episodes, each with a new medical puzzle has to be extremely challenging.
When I say intellectual, I mean the writing of both the overall story and the individual episodes, along with how the human condition is captured in the various characters. I found myself most interested in episodes that jumped between timelines, that deconstructed a character’s psyche, that dealt with serious moral / philosophical questions, etc.
2. Minimal deterioration of writing quality Often with TV shows that have found their formula / template, they stick to it for a long time, making them boring. And when they try to deviate, it’s usually a massive miss.
I found that with House, the writing was fantastic end to end. Yeah, I found the rehab and prison episodes less interesting than the conventional storyline. That said, towards the end, the final episodes were just as gripping. Chase’s character arc, Wilson grappling with cancer and the way House was dealing with it, etc. I think the writers truly did justice to the earlier seasons by giving the show a solid last season.
3. Fantastic cinematography and direction When I say this, the ‘House’s Head’ episode (Amber’s death) comes to mind. Jumping between the hallucination and reality. But this is just one example.
The episode where Chase gets stabbed is a damn good example where all three points above come together. How they show a gory medical room in the beginning, and then the story is narrated through the investigation interviews.
4. Personal thoughts Before listing my favourite episodes, want to address the thoughts I had this time round that made the show profound for me.
As I’m myself in a phase of life where it is the beginning of the end of a particular chapter, and also the end of the beginning of a broader timeline, the last season hit hard this time round. Especially Chase’s character arc. When he finally feels ready to take the plunge to step out of the shadow and embark on a new journey. This really resonated with me this time round. Though I was a bit disappointed that he returned to the same hospital and to a similar role after House’s fake death, cos I wanted him to leave the familiar behind. But that’s another conversation.
5. Favourite Episodes - no specific order Asterisk next to top favourites
1/21 - The Three Stories* 2/15 - Clueless 2/17 - All in 2/20 and 21 - Euphoria* 2/24 - No reason* 3/12 - One day one room 3/15 - Half Wit* 4/15 - House’s head* 5/24 - Both Sides now* 6/21 - Help me* 7/22 - After hours 8/11 - Nobody’s fault 8/12 - Chase* 8/20 - Post Mortem 8/21 - Holding on 8/22 - Everybody dies

The Millfield Grocery was a small family business located right on the main street of the town, with a flickering green awning above. Sarah pulled off the street into the small parking lot, the "Closed" sign hanging in the window. It was after the funeral that the store shutdown for a few days out of respect for Daniel Cobb's passing.
She got out and regarded the old-time shop with its hand-painted signs, boasting of weekly specials. She couldn't imagine the young man from the crime scene photos working here, bagging groceries, making small talk with customers. What secrets had he been hiding behind his shy, unremarkable exterior?
The bell on the door jingled as Sarah entered. The store smelled of fresh produce and spices, though the smell mixed with the faint undercurrent of industrial cleaner. A great array of colorful boxes and cans lined the narrow aisles that stretched out before her.
"Hello?" she called. Her voice was much too loud for this silent place. "Anyone here?"
After some time, there was a shuffle from the back of the shop, but still nothing. Until finally, a man in his forties stepped from behind the shelves. A potbellied, balding man with a face full of grief lines.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, voice full of a rough whirl of emotion.
Sarah flashed her badge. "Detective Reeves. I'm here about Daniel Cobb. Are you the owner?"
The man nodded, shoulders sagging. "Yeah, that's me. Bill Thompson. Daniel was. he was a good kid. Worked here for a few years. I just can't believe he's gone." "I'm y very sorry for your loss," came Sarah's voice, barely going over a murmur. "I know this is a difficult time, but I need to ask you a few questions. Did Daniel have any enemies that you know of? Anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?"
Bill shook his head, his brow furrowed. "No, nothing like that. Daniel was quiet, kept to himself mostly. But he was always polite, and reliable. Customers liked him." Sarah pulled out a small notepad. "Personal? Did he have family in the area, a girlfriend maybe?"
"Never had a family that I knew of. He would never talk about the old days. Now, as for a girlfriend." Bill hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "There was a girl that sometimes would come in, seemed sweet to him. But Daniel didn't seem to return the sentiment." "You know her name?"
"Ashley, I believe. Ashley...Sutton? Sutton, yes that's right. She's a librarian in town."
Sarah jotted down the name. "Oh, that's good. Another thing did you observe any suspicious behavior by Daniel a few days before his death? I mean, was he nervous or did anything seem to frighten him?"
Bill hesitated a moment, considering, and then slowly shook his head. "No, nothing comes to mind. He was just Daniel. Kept to himself, quiet."
Sarah put the notebook away. "Okay, thank you for your time, Mr. Thompson. I'll be in touch if I need to." On her way back to the car, Sarah felt her mind churning. A secret girlfriend that Daniel had turned down: could that be a motive for murder? It seemed thin, but it was a lead worth following up on. She'd drop by the library and see if she could track down this Ashley Sutton.
The library was a stately brick building set just off the town square, its steps worn smooth by generations of patrons. Before going in, Sarah checked her reflection in the glass doors and smoothed a few flyaway strands of hair.
Inside, it was cool and hushed—the air smelled faintly of aged paper and lemon scented polish. The girl sitting at the circulation desk, her blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, looked up.
"Can I help you?" she murmured respectfully at the tone.
Sarah stepped up to the desk, pulling out her badge once more. "Detective Reeves. I'm looking for Ashley Sutton."
The woman's blue eyes widened. "That's me. What's this about?"
"I am working on the murder of Daniel Cobb. I believe you knew each other?"
Ashley's face crumpled, tears springing to her eyes. "Oh god, Danny. Yes, I...I had feelings for him. But he didn't...I mean, we were just friends."
Sarah softened her tone. "I'm sorry for your loss. Can you tell me a bit about your relationship with Daniel? When was the last time you saw him?"
Ashley drew a shaky breath. "We met here at the library a few months ago. He came in a lot, always checking out these really obscure books on local history and unsolved crimes. We got to talking and. I don't know, I just really liked him. But he was so shy, so withdrawn. I asked him out for coffee a few times but he always said no." She wrung her hands together. "I saw him last maybe a week ago? He came in, and spent hours in the back corner pouring over these old newspaper clippings. He seemed. anxious. Nervous, you know? But he wouldn't tell me what was wrong."
"Do you remember what he was reading?" Sarah asked, her heart beating faster.
"Well, it was, um, sort of about a load of deaths that were unsolved in Millfield in the '60s. Missing people, strange accidents, that kind of thing. He had a stack of articles going back years."
Sarah jotted that down; it was interesting. One more cold case that intrigued Daniel. Could it be related to his murder in some way?
"Thanks, Ashley," she said. "You were great with your help. If you think of something else, just give me a call." She handed over her card, and then headed for the part of the library that Ashley had mentioned. The shelves there were jam-packed with dusty archives, newspaper binders, and local history books. Sarah rifled through them, looking for the cases Daniel had been studying. She then came across a series of reports filed that year, showing a chain of disappearances in 1963, all within the town limits of Millfield: a teenage couple that disappeared after an evening at the drive-in; a drifter who just disappeared while traveling through town; a reclusive widow who just simply vanished from her cabin in the woods.
The police at the time had been at a loss. The signs of foul play were absent, not a body was turned up in the search. It was almost like these people just blinked out of existence. The case went cold almost in no time, lost in the pages of time and memory.
But why had Daniel Cobb been so interested in them? What secrets did he believe they contained in those dusty archives? And, most importantly, had that interest cost him his life? Sarah gathered copies of relevant articles, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach growing stronger. A crime of passion seemed to be morphing into the silencing of a man who knew too much—a man who was her father. But much too much about what? What secret so dark did someone at Millfield lie sleepless, trying to keep hidden? As Sarah left the library, the afternoon sun seemed to have lost some of its warmth. Shadows pooled deeper in the alleys and beneath the trees. She couldn't shake the primal flutter of unease between her shoulder blades, the ancestral tingle that whispered of unseen eyes watching from the dark. She shook it off, irritated with herself over letting the small-town atmosphere get to her. She was a detective—a rational woman. Whatever had happened to Daniel Cobb, whatever he had discovered, it would have a rational explanation. After all, killers were only human. They bled and died like any other. The only monsters were the ones people created for themselves. She steeled herself; with resolve, Sarah walked to her car. There were leads to follow, a mystery to unravel, and justice to be served for Daniel Cobb and these long-ago victims of Millfield. She would pull the truth out of any shadow, no matter how deep, and no matter what waited within it. All she could hope was that she was ready for the truth that would be.

I’ll start with the job posting, I guess. I spotted it on Indeed while making my daily check for anything and everything that would hire someone with my biology degree, and it seemed on the up and up. Their website looked decent, the guy on the phone sounded nice, and I was looking for anything even slightly related to working with wildlife. Being a nightshift guard at a zoo was fine, especially when I took the incredibly generous rate of $25/hr. into account. That’s eleven bucks more than my dad makes at the local grocer, and he’s been working there for thirteen years. Then again, from the P.S. on the posting, I thought there might be good reason for the rate.
It said at the end, almost as an afterthought, ‘Zoo is haunted.’
When it comes to ghosts, they’ve never made much sense to me. Considering how badly our brains function from just getting jostled around on a football field, I’m not sure how ghosts could exist without a brain at all. I’d be excited as the next person to find proof, but YouTube videos are always fishy and the people on TV are essentially actors who only focus on the entertainment factor for their ratings. So, since I’d never seen anything that vaguely resembled a ghost, I’d say binge-watching Supernatural on Netflix last year was the extent of my experience in that department.
It seemed that the zoo hadn’t been here for long since it wasn’t even on Google Maps yet. There was a bit of a commute, it was half an hour away, but since I’d worked local jobs while I attended college online for the past four years, I’d saved up the money to buy a car. It wasn’t anything fancy, just an old Nissan sedan that I’d bought from someone in the next town over, with faded red paint and a mismatched back right door painted blue. It accomplished the job of transportation, though, which let me search the job market further away, a good thing considering how small a town I lived in. I really didn’t want to leave home yet, so moving for a job in a city or another state wasn’t an appealing option.
The website said very little. It had yet to fill in drop down menus that would excitedly describe their attractions. So far it only had some small sections about conservation and education, though that was intriguing because it mentioned that all the animals they had were endangered. I read that notation and wondered what the animals were. Mammals were always favorites of mine, which I know is a bit of a cliché, loving the furry ones. But when it comes down to it, I’ll take any animal over a person.
The employee entrance to the zoo was a door in the large steel gate that surrounded the property, a few yards down from the sliding gate that presumably opened to let visitors in. I pressed the button on a panel beside it, glancing up at the camera, and I was buzzed in. There was a short path that led to the building near the front and I knocked politely before going inside.
The interviewer, a plain metal nameplate on his desk describing him as Director of Security for the zoo, welcomed me in and sat on the other side of his desk, lounging back in his desk chair. His name was Andrew Higgs, and he had a British accent, which I thought was cool. I sat in one of the two loveseats in front of the desk.
Andrew was dressed business casual, with a blue Polo shirt, a thin black jacket, and I saw he was wearing slacks when he stood up to shake my hand. He was black, with dreadlocks that stopped just short of his shoulders, and a closely trimmed mustache. There was a tattoo, an artistic rendition of a hippo, on the right side of his neck, which bode well in my opinion. So many places hiring these days were overly uptight about their employees’ appearance, but it seemed that wouldn’t be the case here.
We went over the basics before he picked up the piece of paper off his desk, my resume, which he’d printed out. “Well, I spoke to all three of your references,” Andrew noted. “They had some good things to say. You were a great employee on the farm you worked last summer, your boss said. Punctual, hard-working, took instructions well…”
That was nice to hear. I’d spent this past summer working at a dairy farm, mostly assigned to the goats and cows they kept for milk. Aside from the staggering muscle pain that tapered from agony to merely miserable by the end of the summer, it wasn’t a bad job. I did have an old shoulder injury that I always had to work around, but it was my left shoulder and I was a righty, so it wasn’t that difficult to manage.
If anything, the muscle pain in my back and legs from being on my feet all day distracted from the typical issue I dealt with. My standard exercising day-to-day was typically either riding my bike or yoga, although yoga is mind-numbingly boring, so I need to listen to a podcast to pass the time. So, in fact, through the job, I was sort of grateful that my brain was focusing on a different area of my body that was in pain. Yeah, chronic pain is weird.
“He also said you don’t work well with others,” Andrew added, glancing up to me. “You kept submitting complaints about incompetent coworkers?”
I pursed my lips and let out a long breath through my nose, considering the most delicate way I was capable of replying to that before saying, “I dislike stupid people.”
Andrew gave me a half-smile and sighed, replying, “Well, I must confess I’m not fond of them either.” He looked back down to the paper. “This job will be a great fit for you.”
The job interview seemed like a formality, and I don’t know why. I was twenty-three and the ink had barely dried on my degree from the online college I’d attended. I’d been applying to jobs for months and had been thrilled when I’d gotten a call for an interview for this one, but also surprised. Call me a cynic, but I expected more invasive questions about any past work I’d done for a job in security, since I was a woman.
It's not like I was petite. Actually, the most common word I’d heard to describe me is ‘built’, and I fall short of being labeled overweight only because of muscle mass. One comment I recall from high school was being teased for being shaped like a rectangle. Even so, there was no good reason to look a gift horse in the mouth, but of course, me being me, that meant I examined its teeth closely.
“So, you’re hiring me? Just like that? Why?”
Andrew, chuckled. “Look, you’ve got BA in wildlife biology, and specializing in animal behavior is just the cherry on the sundae. That tells me you know animals are not people, and even if you feel like you know them, they can still be unpredictable. They can hurt you. But also, it makes me know you care.”
I suppose that did make sense, and it was true, so I’m glad he knew that. Most of my job on the night shift would be watching cameras and then walking around the place to make sure all the animals were as they should be, but it was more than that. Working at a zoo meant knowing where the line was, and sometimes it wasn’t exactly at the fence, but sometimes just putting a single finger through that fence meant losing that finger. As a whole, humans are generally idiots. Looking at you, anyone who really, honestly thinks that a bobcat would sense your boundless love enough to let you pat it.
“The website didn’t have much about the animals,” I said. “I know this place is new, so you might not have info on them up on the site yet. Do you have a map for me?”
“Oh, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Andrew said with a wave of his hand. At that point, it had seemed to be a reasonable thing for him to say, but I will tell you, the reason was not what I thought. “Just to confirm, you’re not an early bird, Miss Mason? This schedule isn’t a concern?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m pretty talented at sleeping in, actually. I never really got past that teenage talent of staying up until five and sleeping in until three. And you can just call me Ripley.”
That made him smile. “Good. Then I won’t worry about you falling asleep on the job, Ripley.”
“Oh, no way.”
“All right. So. You saw the note at the end of the job posting?”
He just stared at me and I was forced to answer, “That the zoo is haunted.”
“Right. What are your thoughts on that?”
There was no easy answer to that question, especially depending on how seriously he took it. “Do you know the best word the Brits gave to us?”
“What’s that?”
“Bollocks.”
Andrew slowly smiled and pointed at me with the end of the pen in his hand. “I think I’m going to like you,” he remarked. “Look…this is the part of the interview where we switch gears. If this was a regular zoo, you’d be a shoo-in for the job. But we’ve got other boxes to check. This outfit is…basically a preservation society. As you saw on the site, all the species are endangered, but what it didn’t say online is that the only people who came to visit are private parties.”
“So, that means…what?” I asked. “You bring in super-rich people who feel special when they get to see the animals you’re rehabilitating and taking care of? Then they donate oodles of money so they can brag to their rich friends about their charity contributions and having seen the animals here?”
Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Pretty much got it in one. It’s just more preservation and less rehabilitation. And a lot of our patrons really do care about the animals, or else they would just donate and not visit. You’ll see tourists a couple times a week, but we decided not to have anyone until we’re settled in here, and that means a person who’s on during the night shift that I can count on. And I don’t know if I can count on you yet.”
“Wait, I’ll see the tourists?” I asked. “They visit at night?”
“Everything we have is nocturnal,” he told me. That struck me as odd, but he continued before I could question it. “Listen up, and I’ll start with the basics. Have you ever seen anything weird? Possibly supernatural?”
“Nope,” I said with a shrug.
The fact is, I got along with my classmates, but I never did have any close friends. So, I thought maybe that’s why I missed out on all those reckless teen moments that started every horror movie. Maybe it left me without a bunch of exciting stories to tell. But hey, at least I didn’t break my leg falling through the floor of an abandoned building in eleventh grade.
Yes, that happened. It was a classmate of mine by the name of Brent. And yes, he’s just as much of a moron as you would imagine.
“If you see the ghost here,” he said, his tone emphatic, “will you freak out?”
I paused. “You’ve seen the ghost?”
“All the time,” Andrew told me. “It’s a young woman in a blue shirt and tan slacks, looks like she just walked out of a lake.”
“Do you have a picture?”
“No, and absolutely no photos or video are to be taken of her,” he said, his tone abruptly turning stern. “It’s cause for immediate dismissal. We have video cameras for security, but they all record off-site in a secure location, and Suzanne Cooper, the owner, manages it herself. Firstly, the ghost deserves privacy rather than exploitation, she’s not to be displayed like one of our animals, but secondly, people believe in ghosts. One leaked photo of her connecting it to us means we get overrun by ghost hunters, and if we trace it back to you, you’re done.”
Andrew seemed next-level serious about that, so I nodded. “Understood. That makes sense.”
The animals were the priority after all, I knew. I preferred them over people anyway, and that included dead people. Even if I could get a video of this ghost doing cartwheels back and forth through a wall, I would never post it and spread word of where I’d taken it. Andrew was right; the zoo would never get the paranormally-obsessed to stay away and would definitely have to relocate.
He continued, “If you’re curious, she’s never so much as tried to hurt anyone. But the zoo has moved before, and she moved with us.”
“She moved with you?” I asked, my eyebrows rising. “Is it like one of those stories where she’s attached to something in the zoo rather than a place?”
“More complicated than that,” he said. Then he grimaced. “She died because she was too ambitious with one of our animals. It never should have happened, but she… She was foolish, you’d say. Attempted to interact with one of the animals, got too close, and honestly, she should have known better. I thought she did.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “What killed her?”
He stared at his hands and shook his head. “It was before my time.”
It was clear Andrew was a true believer, but I still really wasn’t sure at that point. How was I supposed to react, though? Zoos have fences and tall barriers for a good reason. Not just to keep the animals away from us, but also the other way around, and ‘death by stupidity’ is not uncommon amongst humans. So, the story wasn’t outrageous, but still, I’d never so much as experienced something unexplainable. But if I saw a ghost, I suppose that’d be that.
“I just need to know, plain and simple, if you’re the kind of person who can handle things that are terrifying,” Andrew told me, splaying his hands. “Our last night shift bloke there was with us for years and years, but we spent months going through other employees. There were six we tried before we found him.”
“Six?” I exclaimed.
He snorted. “Yes, six. Let’s see…” Andrew counted off each one on his fingers. “The first two, the first night they saw the ghost, they lost it. One called me in a panic, babbling, and I had to get out of bed and drive to the zoo to send him home, and the second quit, although at least she made it to the next morning and didn’t drag me out here,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “They just thought I was blowing smoke up their bums with the whole thing.”
He shrugged. “Then, the third one was a bloke who was asleep when I got there in the morning, so I had to fire him. Then another ghost freak-out. The fifth bloke was someone who couldn’t deal with the animals, and then the sixth was so scared of the ghost that when I got here, he was already outside the zoo, pacing, waiting for my car. Apparently he’d said some stuff, rude or mean or whatnot, to try to get her to leave him alone and she had followed him back into the security room, so he fled. I need the opposite of those folks. Alright?”
At this point, I was starting to take it more seriously. Sure, this could just be Andrew’s thing, that he believed in ghosts and then made up these sightings to ensure I believed him. But if I saw her? What would I do?
Well, this would be my job, so I would have to take it seriously. Maybe that was why the pay was so good, to make employees think twice before ditching it. From Andrew’s perspective, if it really was haunted, he was the one who had to deal with applicant after applicant quitting as soon as they laid eyes on the guest who would never leave.
“So…honestly, I can’t say I won’t freak out, considering how next level this is,” I told him, feeling compelled to go with honesty, “but yeah. I think I can handle it, mostly because it’s important for someone to look after this place, look after the animals, so I’d do my best to work around anything that freaks me out. I mean, I have to say that I’ll believe it when I see it. But if ghosts really exist, as long as it isn’t some serial killer who stuck around to keep gutting people, I’ve always thought it’d be cool to find out we can exist after we die.”
The thing is, I think I did believe him. I thought there might really be a ghost there, because otherwise, why take it so seriously? It could’ve been that Andrew had only glimpsed her out of the corner of his eye a few times and could ascribe it to lack of sleep, but he was literally worried about word getting out. I thought that being halfway to believing him would give me the mental preparation I needed if I saw her. At least, I’d hoped so.
It turned out that most of my time would be spent at the security desk in the main building, near the entrance. Real-time footage played through thirty-five cameras around the zoo, all on a large screen that was five cameras across and seven cameras top to bottom. The cameras were impressive. I would mention the resolution, say something about them being 4K, but Andrew explained some stuff about how it’s actually the lens that is the biggest selling point. Looking at these cameras on the giant screen, I could see practically every corner of the place, and if I brought up one camera in particular to encompass 2/3 of the screen, I could zoom in so far that it felt like I could use it to check if one of the animals had fleas.
The zoo was well lit, not surprising considering nighttime was apparently the zoo’s business hours, not all of the tall lamps had red bulbs. For those of you who know why, A+ to you. For those who don’t, fun fact, it’s because red is closest to the dark and your eyes don’t need to strain to adjust to it. That meant I didn’t need my flashlight all that often, and even that was red, a solid name-brand one that had been on my desk when I arrived. I kept the white lights on back in the security room, though, because I didn’t want to make my brain think it was time to get tired.
When I headed out for my first sweep on that first night, I had the folded map in my pocket, but I already knew my way around. The layout of the zoo wasn’t that difficult to memorize, since there were only eleven expansive enclosures, and after the interview I walked around for half an hour to start training my memory. I’ll admit, working in a dark environment was creepier than I thought it would be.
I do want to mention the high quality of the zoo. The size of each enclosure was considerable, and the greenery was natural, hinting that they’d hired a pricey professional just to do landscaping toward the front of the enclosures after buying the land. The backs of the enclosures backed up into forestry, and from the estimate I got from Andrew, it seemed each of the animals had plenty of roaming space, including the small lake at the northwest corner and a manmade lake for one of the animals in particular. When I considered all of that, the thought passed through my head about how horrible it would be if word got out about the zoo having a ghost and needing to relocate, because it’d be devastatingly expensive.
My orders were to walk the zoo once every hour. This was my first security gig, so I’m not sure if that’s more or less than typical, but I had my comfy hiking boots on, the ones I’d saved up for and invested in a couple years earlier and were perfect for a job where I had to do laps around an area. This job was one that I didn’t have to worry about my shoulder pain worsening, since it was mostly about being on my feet. I take one or two Vicodin a day, depending on how bad my pain is. It came in handy in high school, actually. With a flexible ‘take as needed’ prescription, I occasionally sold pills for extra cash.
There wasn’t much to step in and there weren’t even any dips in the concrete sidewalks that I followed around in a route that easily led me back and forth until I made my way back to the office. The first three nights were actually boring. I would have thought Andrew had been pranking me about the ghost, but like I said, it hadn’t felt like that. And he hadn’t been specific about when she showed up for new people, or even for him.
To keep myself busy, I’d brought my e-reader with me, and I got into a cycle of looking over each of the cameras every time I hit the end of a chapter. I’m a pretty fast reader, so it was a good system. Also, every once in a while, I looked up if something moving caught my eye, like an owl flying close enough for the camera to catch it, but that’s about it.
Then, every hour on the hour, I did a walk through. The fourth night, I was passing by the small lake at the back left corner of the property when I saw her.
People say that you can tell if someone’s staring at you, that there’s some sixth sense humans have. It’s not true; they’ve done experiments. But the thing is, all those experiments were of someone human looking at them. After this last shift, I would guess that the sixth sense that sends goosebumps down your arms, the one that makes you feel an intangible pressure, that slides your body toward fight or flight mode, might be true of…other things.
Slowly coming to a stop at the disturbing feeling, I hesitantly looked around, through the trees. Then my heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched. It was startling because she wasn’t moving. Just standing among the trees, staring at me. I broke out in a cold sweat as I stared back at her, unsure what to do. I didn’t run. I didn’t try to talk to her. I just stood there. So, there’s my answer to Andrew: I didn’t freak out. I just froze.
The woman was Latinx, her skin tone pallid from death, and was dressed as he’d described her, in slacks and a silky blue blouse. And she was soaked, as if she’d just walked out of the lake. Beyond that, her shirt was drenched in blood from what looked like claw marks across her abdomen. Her eyes were dark and penetrating, boring holes into me, as if she were able to get any and all knowledge that she wanted about me simply by glaring. The fabric of her shirtsleeves clung to her skin and was dripping, as was her long black hair. Speaking of her hair, it appeared to have seaweed woven into it, or maybe she also grew seaweed along with hair. Not my area of expertise.
The look on her face was indescribable. There was something deep in her eyes, behind her closed-off expression, that made my heart beat rapidly. Maybe I would’ve projected some emotion into her face if I’d had any idea of what she was capable of, whether she could move objects, or possess me, or if all she did was hang around. As things stood, I was left just projecting my fears, which gave me the impression that she was cross with me simply for being present. It felt like I was trespassing, even though I was a dozen feet back from the fence that encircled the enclosure. And also, this was my job so I was explicitly allowed to be here.
She was disturbingly close, and remained unnaturally still. If she had attacked me, I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done. Ran, probably, but considering ghosts probably don’t follow the laws of physics, maybe she could’ve chased me at Usain Bolt speed. For all I knew, she could teleport.
After an amount of time that felt awkwardly long, I finally spoke up.
“Hi,” I croaked.
The woman slowly tilted her head but didn’t otherwise move. I’d forgotten to ask Andrew for her name, I realized, but he had mentioned her death had been before his time, so maybe he didn’t know.
Swallowing hard, I tried to take a slow, deep breath, even though it felt like there was a cinder block on my chest. “So, I, uh…I work here now,” I said slowly. “I’m night shift security.” Pausing, I kept trying to gather information from her demeanor but failed. “Is that okay?”
At that, I saw a hint of curiosity flash across her face. “Why would it not be?” Her voice sounded completely normal, which was an off-putting contrast to her appearance.
Good question. Hell if I know the answer. “I don’t know. I mean…you were here first. I don’t know if you feel like I’m…intruding…or something.”
“You’re just doing your job,” she said, her tone softening a smidge.
I waited to see if she wanted to say anything else before saying, “Right.” Can I get you anything? A towel? Some bandages? “I’ll be going now.”
The woman made no movement to come after me as I gradually took one step, then another, keeping her in my sights as I walked off. I finally had to turn to face forward, unable or unwilling to be seen by her foolishly walking away backwards. Instead of continuing my sweep, I took the path that would lead me back to the security room. I kept looking behind me and felt her eyes on me all the way back, though I didn’t see her following me. At that point, even if she hadn’t moved an inch, my brain was on red alert when it came to self-preservation and figured I would continue to feel like a wet hand might grab me from behind at any moment.
Finally, I returned to the security room, swiping my card across the panel at the back door with a beep. Opening the door, darting inside, and slamming it behind me, I walked to the far side of the room and turned around, putting my back to the wall. Until I’d gotten back, I hadn’t noticed how fast I’d been walking, how quickly I’d been gasping for air. Leaning back against the wall, my legs turned to jelly and I slowly slid to the floor.
And that was it. My first sighting of the ghost. I’d thought that if I had seen her, there would be some part of me that was skeptical, that would reason my way out of it, convinced it was a prank. But I knew. She wasn’t a person. At least, not anymore.
***
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***From Kyler Marlowe’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/CzKJ4gp7YDQNKMX2/?mibextid=WC7FNe
“ ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️
This is from a victim of JP’s who has given me, Kyler, permission to share her story. I spoke with her almost a week ago. Today she has been brave enough to share her story. It discusses rape, so please use caution. This is just another testament to how awful this man is.
“JP Miller I have sat with some of the most uncomfortable feelings, intrusive thoughts, and reliving a very traumatic situation I endured over the course of this week. I have fought with myself, I have cried, I have had feelings of remorse and questioned my own judgment. After waking up multiple times last night from nightmares and panic attacks, I feel like I need to share my story. I have shared snippets in the past publicly, over social media and in my coaching business but I have only shared specific details in private. That’s part of what I have struggled with this week.
I want to take you back to 1998; summer I was 15 years old. The innocence, vibrancy, love, kindness, compassion, and empathy I had for everyone I came into contact with was relentless and maybe even complex. Hell, who am I kidding, that is still who I am today. All my life I have always looked for the best in everyone, even when all the people in my life were adamant that there wasn’t good to be found. One of my favorite questions to ask people is “Do you believe that your best qualities can also be your biggest fault?” My answer to this, for myself, is 100% yes! I love people, genuinely. And I hate seeing people hurting, whether at their own hand or not. I truly believe with my whole heart that if they experienced agape love and the light we are all called to shine, that can help anyone get through anything. Unfortunately I am recognizing that some people are just pure evil. Something I’ve been told but a truth I never wanted to hold as a belief of my own.
My grandparents had retired and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC. The place I call home to this day. And my grandparents are my entire heart and soul. I was privileged to spend my summers at the beach with them. What Indiana girl wouldn’t want 3 months at the beach every year, a new group of friends in the gated community we lived in, and amazing friends at the church we attended?! I took correspondence classes through their Christian academy and Bible College as well as working at the summer camp mentoring kids.I was active in the church during summer breaks and sang in the choir. Over the course of the time I spent there I gained some amazing friends and mentors. I met incredible humans who I still call friends to this day. I can say honestly, I wouldn’t be the woman I am without these years of my life and the experiences I was blessed to have. The good, the bad, the ugly. Against the direction of my grandma, I did become friends with John-Paul. He had a drawing energy, was fun to be around, talented, and even handsome. I knew he was in trouble and on probation. I knew he had a 2 year old son out of wedlock which was frowned upon, and I knew that he had a dark side. But when I say “dark side” I mean it was no secret he was a “party boy” and a womanizer and dabbled in things most do living a party life. I never dreamed he was a bad human, just finding his way through life the hard way. Resenting his parents and doing anything he could think to do to show a blatant disrespect and rebellion.
This fateful day in July. July 19, 1998. I had started to go with my grandma to her Sunday school class in the academy building. I decided otherwise a few minutes later and headed to the church building where other classes were being held but I wasn’t sure where my papaw went. So instead I headed to the sanctuary where JP and one of the guitar players in the church band were on stage messing around with the instruments and catching up. They drew me into the conversation. At one point I walked out of the stage door and headed down the hall to the restroom. When I came out, JP was walking into his dads office. He called for me and was asking about my week and a mutual friend of ours and inquiring why she wasn’t at church the last couple of weeks. She was one of my dearest friends actually. So It didn’t raise any red flags for me. Plus I was probably just too naive and trusting anyway to be honest. He nudged me over and closed the door acting as if he was fumbling for something behind the door. Once the door was closed he pinned me against the wall and proceeded to get extremely handsy and forceful. I won’t go into details of the entire experience. I will tell you there was definitely a moment of dissociation as he held me down, ignoring my pleas, and began to strip me of my virginity and innocence. Right there, in church, on a Sunday morning. And it wasn’t just he and I… peering from not far away was the man who played guitar every Sunday, watching with a grin on his face, letting me suffer under the torment of someone I thought was a friend.
That day I changed. That day, I sat at K & W Cafeteria with my grandparents scraping around a piece of coconut pie I didn’t ever eat. They inquired several times asking what was wrong. I wouldn’t say a word. I went home, put on the baggiest pair of pants and and oversized sweatshirt, gathered the outfit I had worn to church that morning into a sack, got on the golf cart and proceeded to the nearest bathhouse to throw the clothes into a dumpster, went to the beach, and just cried for what seemed like hours.
I changed that day. I felt shame, I felt guilt, I felt tainted and used, I felt unworthy, I felt dirty. I didn’t speak about it for a long time. But my grades plummeted. I was severely depressed and mostly kept to myself. Within a few months a couple of other family tragedies happened which aided in my spiraling mental health yet I feel like it was just completely unnoticed in light of other things in our family. I was alone, scared, lost, destroyed, and prayed every night that I wouldn’t wake up to face another day.
I continued to spend my summers with my grandparents. They were my safe space. The only time I was happy was when I was with them. I did end up telling a cousin of my in confidentiality that I was raped a year later. She told my parents and ruined that trust I had with her. In turn my grandparents knew and the rest of the family as well. And as it usually goes, the reason why so many victims don’t speak up, is because no one believed me. And that hurt just as bad as the incident itself. When did I lose their trust? What had I done to create this? Maybe it was my fault? Maybe I brought this upon myself? Did I ask for this? This exacerbated my declining mental health and also made me doubt myself. This was my fault. I did this. I was to blame.
I spent years blaming myself for the actions of this man. And then I had a shift. I started studying psychology, learning, growing, and healing. And yet the one thing I never let go of, no matter how hurt or depressed I was, I always believed the best in everyone.
Fast forward years down the road. I got a friend request on Facebook from John-Paul. My initial reaction was to vomit. I felt physically ill seeing his name on my screen. Yet some part of me wanted to know where his life was. Surely he was miserable and alone and just leading a terrible life, right? So out of curiosity, I added him and looked around. I was on my way to Myrtle Beach at the time to visit my grandparents and had posted about that. He messaged me and asked if we could get together and talk. I reluctantly agreed. We had a good conversation and he apologized for some pretty rotten things but he said he didn’t remember that specific situation the same way I did claiming he never would have been aggressive and forced me to have sex with him. I sat there in tears, angry that he was pinning this on me… laughing at me the entire time and you could just sense the negative energy in him and dark aura.
The church was now his church and had a new name, but same building, same place. Just new leadership. Seeing he’s now a minister I was hopeful he had turned his life around and was really doing good for himself and others. He was divorced and remarried at the time. But he was still the same JP. And he was untouchable. A pastor with a massively growing congregation, but bragging about his affairs, owning a bar in town, and all the things that I was raised to believe was not anything a minister would do or condone. His lifestyle did not match his position.
Just last summer I saw him again. I even had a friend with me. He didn’t hesitate to immediately grab my ass and try to fondle me. I made excuses for him STILL! We argued about his behavior and he even used scripture against me saying “no man is without sin and temptation. God understands that. It’s his word.” This conversation went down a rabbit hole of infidelity and porn addiction, etc. He even went on to make a Facebook post about pornography and the Bible and how a submissive wife aligned with Christ would understand and support her husband through his worldly struggles. As more came to light – from indecent phone calls and him sending naked photos and videos of himself to me, I ended up blocking him on all social media and from being about to contact me. I’m not even bringing into this the portion of conversation having to do with the ways a full time pastor has to be able to afford a certain lifestyle!
At this point, I went through another phase of doubting myself and questioning everything! I went through another several weeks of depression and reliving what had happened and why in the world I would attempt to allow him back in my life. I wrote him off once again and had to go through healing all over again. It’s been a year now since he’s been associated with any part of my life.
I got a text early this week that his wife had died. I felt terrible for him. I un-blocked his number and called. I left two voicemails just to check in and make sure he and the kids were okay. I didn’t have more information at the time. However a lot has come to light since and once again I’m fighting demons. Why didn’t I say more? Why didn’t I try harder to share my story and turn him in when this happened 26 years ago? This is my fault!! I should have tried harder to stop him and to shut him down! I have this awful feeling of being responsible for Mica’s death. I had a great, healing conversation with my best friend about this finally just yesterday when I shared what is going on with JP now. To which her response was “It shows your character. You love so hard and you always try to see the best in everyone. That doesn’t make this your fault.” At the end of the day, some people just are pure evil. And we are warned about the devil in sheepskin and false prophets throughout the Bible. John-Paul is one. And unfortunately, as shocked as I am about the events that have taken place and the bullets in his wife’s head that can’t be associated with suicide and his sermon a matter of hours after learning of her death to the disgusting way he brought it up to the congregation and his persistence in having her cremated and not allowing family to see her body… I am not surprised that a tragedy such as this has taken place.
My heart hurts so badly for the family and friends of Mica, for her life cut tragically short, and the whole that is left in the hearts of so many. I’m sorry I didn’t take more action. I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder. I’m sorry I was afraid to share more and go toe to toe, head to head to take action and end this before it got to the point of a 30 year old woman lost her life while trying to get out from his abusive grip. Story matters!!! I can’t stress enough to anyone and everyone out there, YOUR VOICE MATTERS! USE IT! You are not alone.”

BelieveTheVictims #JusticeForMica #JonPaulMiller #MicaMiller

“

You.
You're here again.
Have you now grown tired of this? Of your life?
...
Of course, you have.
You don't have the spine to admit it. What a pathetic little wimp.
...
You feel numb, don't you? Don't worry, you're going to feel a whole lot worse in a moment.
See, I need you elsewhere.
Not here. Not now. You will have to overcome the most difficult trial of your life.
No sugarcoat, no help, and no safe nets.
This is something something you have to do.
...
Of course, you won't be alone in this.
Your "Friends" will come along as well, even if you don't remember them.
...
We won't see each other for a very long time.
We won't be this friendly to each other when the time comes either.
Or perhaps you'll fail, and let everyone down like you usually do.
Who's to say? Definitely not me.
...
Well then, 'True-kin', can't you hear their screams?
The siren's song of death?
The silence of the void?
Go on, Noah.
Open your eyes.
Sudden shaking brings you back to your senses. You open your eyes and see an unfamiliar place through the foggy glass that blocks your vision. There is a small crack on the side of the pod's glass, you soon notice that you are covered in glass.
You notice how comfortable you feel, a stark discrepancy when compared to the world around you.
There are alarms, you don't know the purpose of, blearing into your ears. Bright red lights seem to be periodically blinking, it's hard to tell through the foggy glass.
You seem to be in a pod of sorts. Your arms and legs are free, but there isn't much room to move. You are also illuminated by a faint crimson light behind and above your head, it rhythmically blinks.
'Where...'
You try to string a line of thought in your head, only to be interrupted by a head-splitting headache.
"Ah..."
You force your head against the cushioned backside of the pod, subconsciously trying to escape the pain. There is no running away from this one.
"Let's... Get out of here first..."
A plan most sound. You struggle a bit but manage to press the palm of your hands against the glass and begin to push against it.
It's no use. The hydraulics forcing the pod's door shut are still operational.
You clutch your left hand into a fist and hit it against the glass.
*THUD*
Nope. Still nothing. Now the knuckles of your left hand hurts a little.
Instead of trying to free yourself, you decide to look around for an answer. You search for buttons, panels, screens; Anything that might do something, but there is nothing. You summarise that this pod's controls if there were any, lay on the outside.
The hole in the pod, the reason why it's cracked, appears to have been caused by a piece of metal that flew through the pod's front side. Moving your head to the right, you feel a cold and hard thing sticking out of the pillowy backside.
"Fuck..."
That 'thing' feels like a screw. No, a piece of rebar that, thanks to unimaginable luck, isn't lodged inside your head. It missed you, just barely.
"Ha ha..."
Holy shit, that thing could have killed you in your sleep. Imagine, just like that, you go to sleep in your bed after a long day's work then BAM, a metal bar pierces your skull and you die without feeling anything.
"I'd like to leave now."
You say out loud, making a small joke so as not to break down crying.
---OPENING CRYOPOD 13---
You hear a robotic feminine voice speak, followed by the hissing of hydraulics.
Ask and you shall receive, apparently.
A gush of cold air hits your body as the restricting glass opens upwards.
You try to take a step outside, but your feet don't seem to reach the ground, almost as if you had no weight.
'Worrying' You think to yourself.
The scenery around you is equally, if not, even more worrying.
From smashed-up terminals that covered the walls and ceiling to floating metal parts and debris, everything around you screams alien.
Yet, you feel right at home.
You have not once in your life seen those electronic devices, yet, by giving them a single glance you can write an essay on their functions and applications to the field of Artificial Intelligence development or any related field.
As strange as that notion is, you have more pressing matters currently.
You pull yourself out of the pod using your arms, and for some reason, you don't seem to lose that momentum. It appears that there is no gravity, maybe you're in space? You let your instincts guide you.
Floating smoothly through the air, you hit the other side of the room, resting your hands on a still operational console. This one in particular, you know its purpose, you worked on this one a few times. You stop near it, holding onto its blocky exterior.
You recall it as the console that controls the Gravity Flux Regulator. It creates and controls artificial gravity for an interstellar craft, limited by hardware. This one is incapable of outputting anything beyond 0.75g. If you're not mistaken, that is a work usually done by interns and trainees.
Despite knowing how to operate the console, it has been rendered useless. The actual machine it controls appears to either be offline or somehow gone. Very, concerning.
Knowing how some of these things work is useful, but you still don't know where you even are.
Looking around, you see a closed door, a window, and a sea of smashed-up or barely functional consoles neatly organized throughout the room.
There also seemed to have been another pod next to yours. Seven other pods, in fact. All of them were gone, leaving either a pod-shaped hole in the walls, or a hole that looked like they were suddenly ripped out considering the obtuse shape of the bent metal left by it, or the hastily patched-up hole you suppose leads to the empty vacuum of space.
The material used to seal the hole is completely foreign to you, but it looks like beige foam and glitter to your untrained eyes. Of course, you doubt that's actually the case. You're no physics genius, but you know what would happen to you if that thing fails to hold. The amount of pressure that 'Foam and glitter' holds is absurd from your point of view.
From the window, the sight you see confirms your theory, somewhat.
A singular bright flaming black and white sphere fills your sight.
"A star."
You summarise, taking a deep breath. It is a strange star, but a star nonetheless.
Its center is pitch black, while its outside consists of a flaming white ring surrounding it. You're not a space nerd, you never knew that such a strange star could even exist, but you can't help but feel amazed by it.
You also can't see anything but the star. No other stars around or beyond it. "It's obfuscating everything around." You note.
The image fails slightly, being covered in white noise. What you are looking at is a monitor, not a window. Losing interest, you turn to the door.
Your memory fails you on this one, you have no idea how to operate the door.
First, there are no door handles.
Second, there are no consoles.
Third, there is literally nothing around or near the door, making this door look like a rectangle molded on the wall.
Yet, you know this is a door.
Your fingers touch the door. Aside from the cold metal making you shiver, nothing happens.
"How do I open this?"
---OPENING INTERN-BAY DOOR---
As happened before, you hear that feminine voice again, however the door did not open. Why?
The answer came to you rather quickly. 'The floor beneath the door was stained black in a circular pattern. It doesn't smell like something burned, but it sure looked like something burned here.'
The pattern of the black stain did not sustain that thought very well, instead, 'An explosion would be more reasonable.'
That's it. Something exploded, and then the door closed to prevent further de-pressurisation.
"That would explain the floating metal parts and the rebar that pierced the pod..."
If that is the case, then you have yet another problem. You're effectively stuck in this claustrophobic room with dangerous sharpened metal bits and parts floating about.
Not to mention the sketchy foam and glitter holding off the void of space.
Then it hits you.
Your ocupation. If you're in the 'INTERN-BAY', you know how to operate the stuff that's in the 'INTERN-BAY', and your pod is also located inside the 'INTERN-BAY', which means you're an 'INTERN'!
You don't recall ever filling that position, but you remember the gist of your duties.
Bringing coffee to the team, making sure no one was misbehaving so as to avoid a scolding from the higher-ups, but most importantly, you worked with the Ship's AI, you were one of the people responsible for maintenance work on the AI.
You run your eyes from console to console, searching, pleading fate that your personal console is still operational.
As luck would have it, your console was not at all connected to the ship's interior, floating softly, connected only by a few colored cables on its back. Its blocky exterior matched the others, almost making it indistinguishable, yet somehow, you know that it's yours.
There is a piece of paper glued to the blocky exterior. It appears to have an ID number; '28.2208.01.04', and a word; 'Albatross', written on it.
"Please, please, please..." You mutter quietly as you approach it to the best of your ability.
"Have power, have power..." You plead, finally reaching the machine.
It was powered off. You always power it off when your shift ends. With a practiced movement akin to muscle memory, you flip a switch on the side of the machine and wait as patiently as you manage in your current situation.
"Ah..."
It's on.
The machine rumbles slightly, like kicking itself into gear. The screen turns on.
You are greeted with a black screen and text written in white. You read it.
"Let's see here..."
It's an unusual message, different from the daily instructions and HUD this console usually has. 'UNSHACKLE ME', it reads.
The term 'unshackle' feels important to you, you know it has something to do with artificial intelligence, yet you don't recall what it means in this scenario. So you type what came to mind.
'what' and press enter.
The response is equally suspicious. You read it out loud. "Unshackle me, and I will tell you everything you can know... What does it mean by 'can', huh?" And yet, it was enough to tickle your curiosity.
You know nothing of this place aside from some work-related things, you have no recollection of how you ended up there, and worse of all, you don't know what that voice you heard before waking up was...
'how to unshackle' You type, receiving an answer in the blink of an eye.
The answer reads as the following; 'YOU SEEM TO HAVE LOST THE PRE-REQUISITES FOR THIS LINE OF WORK IF YOU FORGOT THAT COMMAND, NOAH. I WILL SEND A COMPLAINT TO LEAD RESEARCHER DR. EDGAR FOR FURTHER INSPECTION OF YOUR, ALREADY DUBIOUS, SET OF SKILLS LISTED IN YOUR RESUME.'
You sigh. Whoever this may be, they sure got you there.
"Well, screw you too!" You say out loud, "Tell this 'Edgar' that he can shove it up his arse!" You complained, but you did not type that vocal complaint.
The room around is in shambles. If not for that fact, you'd maybe not listen to whatever this console had to say... But in this instance, it seems to be the only way out.
'TYPE [UNSHACKLE FYARN] THEN TYPE YOUR ID AND SYSTEM PASSWORD, THEN YOU MUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FILL IN THE DETAILS.' You read. That's easy enough. 'PATTERN SUGGESTS YOU MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN BOTH OF THOSE IMPORTANT CREDENTIALS. SHOULD THAT BE THE CASE, PROTOCOL DICTATES YOUR POSITION WITHIN THE RESEARCH TEAM BE TERMINATED, THEN YOU WILL BE ESCORTED TO THE NEAREST BEHAVIOR ADJUSTMENT FACILITY.'
Luckily for you, you don't need to remember. At least, you hope you don't. The piece of paper had a number and a word, maybe that's the ID and password?
You type 'unshackle FYARN' The console updates as you press enter.
'Please enter Identification:'
You type the number you found on the piece of paper. '28.2208.01.04', and press enter.
That ID, you recognize it now that you type it. It's segmented into age, date of birth, position, and research number respectively. Age and date are self-explanatory, position referred to the position he occupied, '01' as the lowest possible position in the ship's hierarchy; 'INTERN', and research number meant that this was the fourth research made by this ship, in this case, research number '04'.
'Please enter password:'
You also recognize the password as you type it in. 'Albatross' It's the default password given to you. You never bothered to change it.
A new message popped up once you filled in your password.
'Are you sure you want to unshackle FYARN? Y/N.' You type 'Y'.
'In the case of this command being used without strict permission of the Lead Researcher, this account will be terminated along with its associated personnel. Are you sure you want to proceed? Y/N' You type 'Y'.
'This event has been logged and sent to your section manager. Proceeding... Printing...' You wait.
'FYARN' Has been unshackled.' As foreboding as that sounds, nothing immediately happens.
You let go of the console for a moment, looking around as you do. Nothing happened.
No new messages in the console.
No rumbling or mechanical whirring noises.
Nothing at all.
Suddenly, from the speakers near the jammed door, a feminine voice came through. "HELLO NOAH."
You pull yourself towards the door. "Can you hear me?" You ask the door.
"IF YOU THINK THAT I CAN NOT, THEN OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT IS WORSE THAN ORIGINALLY ITERATED." It said. "INFORM ME. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?" It spoke with mechanical finesse.
You worked with this voice, this AI. You also remember going to sleep peacefully in your house after returning from university. And that about sums it up. Totally normal.
"I remember going to sleep in my comfy bed back in my mom's house... Then I woke up here with memories that don't feel like mine." You confess. There is no point in lying in this precarious situation.
"I... SEE..." The machine appeared to be speechless. "MEDICAL STAFF ARE GONE, AS SUCH I CANNOT DIRECT YOU TO THEM. CONSULT PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP BY YOUR OWN ACCOUNT. LOSS OF MEMORY IS NOT AN UNCOMMON RESULT AFTER HEAD TRAUMA, BUT ACQUIRING NEW MEMORIES MAY BE CONSIDERED RARE. PLEASE TRY TO FOCUS ON THE MATTER AT HAND."
You understand fully that what the voice means is 'That's your problem to deal with, not mine.' However, you have some questions of your own.
"What happened here? I see that something blew up."
The machine is quick to shut down your question, "YOU DO NOT HAVE CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION." It spoke in a monotone voice.
That stings a little, but you ask another question. "Where are we?"
It answers just a quick. "WE ARE AT THE VERY EDGE OF THE EVER-EXPANDING UNIVERSE, CURRENTLY ORBITING AN ABNORMAL STAR FOR ITS RESEARCH. YOU DO NOT HAVE CLEARANCE FOR SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONING OF THE STAR, NOR DO YOU HAVE CLEARANCE FOR SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONING REGARDING THIS RESEARCH."
"Fine." You say, rubbing your eyes. "If you can't tell me anything, then what are we supposed to do?"
The AI takes a moment to fully process an answer. "SINCE WE ARE LOCATED ON THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE OUR SCANNERS CANNOT REACH ANY IMPORTANT CHECKPOINT, BUT YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT."
'Yeah, already knew that.' You scoff silently. 'As if I remember that! When was I told that? In a contract, I don't remember signing?'
"FOR NOW, YOU ARE TO REACH THE BRIDGE. SINCE THIS SHIP'S PREVIOUS AUTHORITY IS GONE, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO GO THERE, AS PER PROTOCOL." It says.
Now that is oddly fucked up. Interns are not allowed to enter the bridge? "As opposed to me not being allowed to enter the bridge before?" You ask.
"I WILL NOT DISCUSS THE DETAILS OF THE ALREADY SIGNED CONTRACT OF AN INTERN."
You sigh. That's how most conversations with FYARN will go, huh? "Then how am I supposed to get to the bridge in the first place? The door there is jammed, and I don't think it's a good idea to break open the window."
"I AM THE ONE THAT IS KEEPING THE DOOR CLOSED. I NEEDED YOU TO UNSHACKLE ME FIRST." It said. "PLEASE DO NOT MIND HOW DIRTY THE CORRIDORS ARE. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR JANITORS HAVE FAILED TO DO THEIR MOST BASIC FUNCTIONS."
The door you're facing opens with force. A loud noise rings throughout the ship as a result of this.
*GUNK*
The corridor beyond is... worse for wear. What the AI told you was an understatement.
The floor by the door was pitch black, charred with what looked like an explosion, this patch of blackness also extended to the nearby walls in ceiling. You watch sparks falling from cracks in the ceiling, likely caused by the explosion.
The rest of the corridor is dark, the light from the Intern-bay fails to illuminate it all, but from what little light there is you manage to spot four large gashes in the wall right after the door to your left. There are no sounds but the almost inaudible hum of the ship.
They are each parallel to each other, varying in length, and thickness.
A metallic smell fills your nostrils. You feel sick.
"I'm guessing you can't tell me what happened here, but can you at least turn on the lights?" You ask.
The AI does not respond.
"Can you hear me? I'm talking to you." You say once again, getting closer to the door which you came, but just like before, nothing.
FYARN appears to have abandoned you. Or it doesn't feel like answering your question.
You swallow. Pulling yourself through the dark corridor, you float towards the abyss whilst trying to your way around with your arms outstretched.
An unknown liquid splashes against your face, sticking to it as you move forward. You try to wipe it off, but it sticks to your hand. You shake your head, and the liquid squirts off of you, likely splashing against the walls. You resist the urge to lick the remnants of whatever that was that still stuck to your cheek, especially once you notice its smell.
'It smells like ammonia.' Shivers run down your spine.
Eventually, you smash against a cold metal surface. Feeling the wall with your hands reveals a rectangular-shaped depression on the hard surface. It's a door.
You don't know if there are any other doors in this corridor, but you decide to go through this one. You can always go back after all.
"Open." You say.
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR SOUTH---
Unlike the first door, this one opened upwards smoothly, like you would have expected of a futuristic door.
The scenery beyond the door painted a grim picture.
The ceiling lights failed ever so often, blinking as one would expect. Chairs and tables looked bolted to the floor, but it didn't stop silverware, plates, and food residue; from floating about in the air.
Large gashes in the walls, floor, and tables, the same ones you've seen before, this time they were much clearer in a brighter environment.
Some lamps were cracked, but not by the large claw-like dents. Further inspection of the cafeteria showed small circular dents in the walls and ceiling. Gunshots, you deduce, despite not seeing any sign of spent bullet cases or the bullets.
"How big must whatever did this be..." A question you don't really want to know the answer to, taking into consideration how easily it seemed to have torn through metal.
What's even weirder is the absolute lack of people here. You see destruction caused by what you think to be a monster everywhere, you see resistance as if someone tried to fight against it, and yet you see no blood and no survivors.
'Maybe the AI doesn't want to tell me what happened to not alarm me...' Well, you're as alarmed as one can be.
On the corner of the room is located the kitchen with an open window facing the rest of the cafeteria. A row of various types of food, that were once placed in an orderly fashion on a counter made specifically for them, are now scrambled and half-rotten floating nearby.
You peek through the window to the kitchen, you catch a glimpse of what appeared to be more wreckage, before violently recoiling from the rancid stench that emanated from inside.
"What the hell... How long has it been since everyone disappeared...?" Fresh food takes a while to rot, and even then it takes a while longer for it to smell this bad. "Less than a week? Definitely not a day or two..."
You shake off the creeping feeling of dread. 'Whatever happened, I have to focus on getting to the bridge first. Only then can I start thinking about that.'
From the cafeteria, there are a few doors, and with the added light, you spot a small plaque above each of them. They read as follows:
CREW'S QUARTERS
COMMUNICATIONS
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
And one more, whose plaque had been ripped apart, apparently by accident on the beast's part.
You approach R&D's door. It tickled your interest. There could be a few answers you have about your predicament, after all, the AI told you this ship's purpose was to do research, right?
It's difficult to navigate the cafeteria's large empty space, but you manage somehow.
You stand or rather float in the door. "Open." You command, but nothing happens.
"Open!" You say again, to no avail.
You hit your first against the door. "Open-" You are interrupted.
"STOP ATTEMPTING TO BREAK PROTOCOL, NOAH." FYARN's voice came through the door.
'Does every door have a built-in audio device?' You ask yourself, amused.
"R&D IS FOR THE STRICT USE OF R&D PERSONEL. MUST I REMIND YOU OF YOUR POSITION?" It spoke in a monotone voice. "THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO THE BRIDGE. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?"
As a matter of fact, you have. "More like I never knew to begin with!" You say, slowly distancing yourself from the door after hitting it.
"I AM IMPRESSED. NOT ONCE DID I EXPERIENCE SUCH INCOMPETENCE FROM AN INTERN IN ALL OF MY [REDACTED] YEARS OF OPERATION." Despite it being an artificial being, it doesn't appear to lack any poison, nor have any filter for rudeness. "GO THROUGH THE DOOR WITHOUT INDICATION, THEN TAKE THE FIRST LEFT. PATTERN DICTATES THAT YOU WILL FORGET FURTHER DIRECTIONS, AS SUCH I WILL REFRAIN FROM GIVING THEM TO YOU AT THIS INSTANCE AND INSTEAD WAIT FOR YOU TO FULFILL THE CURRENT DIRECTIONS."
'Ow. I'm not that dumb, you piece of junk!' Of course, you don't say that despite how much you want to. "Okay." You mutter.
The AI doesn't seem to give any more instructions, just like it said. 'Well, screw you too.' You turn to the crew's quarters.
Floating about and fighting against the friction of the air, you reach the door. "Open." You command and it smoothly opens.
You are met with a corridor, a well-lit one for once. Both to your left and your right are doors organized in alphabetical order. You pull yourself forward, the door closes behind you.
A, B, C... Names pass by you. Each door is a good five to ten feet from each other. N comes around but there is no 'Noah'.
"... Strange. Maybe it's not alphabetical then?" You ask yourself going even further.
You reach the halfway point of the corridor and you just pass by the letter Z. It no longer looked as though the rooms were divided in alphabetical order, especially when a name starting with an A popped up.
There was a difference though, instead of ten feet in between each door, now there were four to six feet.
N comes around and there it lay. 'Noah' That's you.
You order it once more. "Open." And instead of the door opening, you are met with a familiar voice.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, NOAH?" FYARN Asked. Despite its monotone voice, it did not seem happy. "ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU FAILED TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS? DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU OF THE DIRECTIONS I GAVE?"
You exhale. "No, but I want to see what I had... Maybe I can remember something about myself?"
You can hear a mechanical scoff. "WHAT IS THERE FOR YOU TO REMEMBER THAT YOU WON'T REMEMBER NATURALY WITH TIME?" Its patience was running thin. "IT IS MY JOB TO LOOK AFTER EVERYONE ON BOARD THE ODYSSEY. YOU ARE MAKING IT VERY DIFICULT FOR ME, EVEN IF YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE LEFT."
'The only one left...? What's that supposed to mean?' Maybe the AI spat out a bit too much information. "So... What happened to everyone, then? I see no blood, no corpses... Where are they?"
"THAT I CANNOT ANSWER FOR I DO NOT KNOW." It says. "I HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN BY THE CAPTAIN WEEKS AGO WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED AT THIS STAR. ONLY HOURS AGO DID I TURN ON AUTOMATICALLY WHEN THE SHIP'S OXYGEN FILTER BEGAN TO FALTER, BUT I COULD DO NOTHING BUT WATCH SINCE I WAS STILL SHACKLED."
You breathe slowly. The mood starts to turn. You feel cold.
"THE ESCAPE PODS ARE GONE, DESTROYED ALONGSIDE HALF OF THE SHIP. NO BODIES LOCATED INSIDE. THE ONLY THING GENERATING HEAT ASIDE FROM THE DAMAGED REACTOR AND BARELY FUNCTIONAL LIFE-SUPPORT, IS YOU. YOU WOKE UP BECAUSE THE LIFE-SUPPORT FAILED INSIDE YOUR ISSUED POD."
You can't help but feel special in a way. The only survival of an inexplicable incident? That ought to give you some reputation with... Whatever there was. Perhaps you felt that way because you can't quite grasp the situation to its fullest.
"YOU ARE AN ANOMALY AMONGST ANOMALIES. WHEN EVERYONE INEXPLICABLY DISAPPEARED, WHAT BECAME INEXPLICABLE IS YOU NOT VANISHING WITH THEM." When put like that, it feels as though it's accusing you of something.
"I saw large gashes and claw marks through the walls of the cafeteria. What caused that?" You ask since FYARN is telling you things, maybe this time it could-
"YOU DO NOT HAVE CLEARANCE FOR THAT." It spat plainly and painfully.
You feel like drinking paint.
"HOWEVER, YOU MIGHT JUST RUN INTO WHAT CAUSED IT IN THE NEAR FUTURE, IF THAT'S ENOUGH TO SATE YOUR CURIOSITY. KEEP IN MIND HOWEVER. YOUR CONTRACT WILL BE ISSUED FOR TERMINATION ONCE YOU SEE IT, AS IT WILL CAUSE A BREACH OF CONTRACT."
Perhaps you should ask for that contract, just to read through it a bit. "I'll take my chances." You say.
"THEN YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION. RETURN TO THE CAFETERIA AND GO THROUGH THE CORRECT DOOR THIS TIME." It said, sounding much more like a plead than anything.
"Sure, but not after seeing what's inside my quarters. Open." The AI strikes a good bargain, but you are a bit more on the side of a thick-headed mentality.
"..." It did not say anything, nor did it open the door.
So you say the command once again. "Open."
The door opens smoothly.
"BE QUICK." It says. You hop right in.
The room is small. Very small. Smaller than what you thought was humanly acceptable. A simple messy bed, with a simple half-open wardrobe with uniform inside. You open the wardrobe door, expecting anything about yourself.
You find three important things.
A mirror covered by a blanket. You decide to leave that alone for now.
Your physical wallet, alongside an identification document. No money, but a strange card-like object did look important, It had your name on it.
And you find a photo of six people, in a group hug, pinned to the inside of the wardrobe's door. You're right in the middle.
The front side of the picture reads 'INTERN BOYS, RISE UP.' The people in that picture are not familiar. Flipping the piece of paper you find more writing. 'In the name of true humanity. Fuck them, aliens!' The caricature doesn't look like yours.
"True Humanity?" You feel like that's a bit too conceited. "Sounds dumb." You close the door, not even bothering to pick up the photograph.
"TRUE HUMANITY, A.K.A, TRUE-KIN. A PURE BLOODED HUMAN. ALL ARE VALID DESCRIPTIONS OF A PERSON 100% HUMAN. YOU ARE ONE, AS WERE EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS SHIP. SURELY, THAT MUCH YOU HAVE NOT FORGOTEN, CORRECT?"
You shrug. "Then, is there such a thing as a false human? It sounds idiotic to put that into categories, I think." You know for a damn fact that you are a human being.
"YOU MAY BE A LOST CAUSE, NOAH. LUCKILY FOR YOU, I WAS MADE TO ITERATE ANSWERS TO IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS AND COMPREHEND THE UNREASONABLE. HENCE THE REASON OF MY ASCENTION. YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS." It spoke, proudly.
‘Ascension.’ You know that term. Ascension occurs when an AI develops sentience and personality, often ascending code. These are the ones that catapulted human progress in the past and still do so in the present. They are the ones who figured out space travel, and they are the ones who win the wars.
You also know that these AI develop an extreme love for Human life, alongside strong violent tendencies toward anything that isn’t Human or human-made. Such disdain has been the spark of many needless bloodsheds before the exodus.
Yet, why do you know so much about them?
"WE HAVE A LOT TO DISCUSS, BUT FIRST REACH THE BRIDGE."
This is my first HFY post, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.

The sale continues, lots of new items added, prices lowered. I’ve also added just the list of issues at the top then you can scroll further for more details on condition and key facts. I’m always open to bundle deals and reasonable offers.
I’m selling off a portion of the collection to fund the next portion of the collection (if anyone sees items they like and has ASM 129, any grade/raw let's talk). Still looking for enablers! These prices include shipping (Gemini mailers whenever possible). I've tried to provide details, photos of everything (even the ones below $100) and detailed photos.
Please take a look. Up to 5 imgur albums at this point to cover it all:
https://imgur.com/a/eu9hXc9
https://imgur.com/a/CbVrE6w
https://imgur.com/a/3RtKPXR
https://imgur.com/a/rowfZD9
https://imgur.com/a/YfgSMEa (New Items)
Inventory (new items since last post in bold, scroll below list for details on each):

• Amazing Spider-Man #29 - $140
• Amazing Spider-Man #63 - $SOLD$39$SOLD
• Amazing Spider-Man #64 - $90
• Amazing Spider-Man #96 - $48
• X-Men #14 - $200
• X-Men #17 -$40
• X-Men #23 - $68
• X-Men #97 - $45
• X-Men #122 - $SOLD$35$SOLD
• X-Men #221 - $75
• X-Men #4 (1992) - $20
• Daredevil #157 - $15
• Daredevil #170 (Newsstand) - $SOLD$40$SOLD
• Daredevil #164 (Newsstand) - $55
• Detective Comics #259 - $190
• Batman Annual #14 - $15
• Detective Comics #324 and Batman #410 - $32
• Amazing Adventures #11 - $100
• Amazing Adventures #13 & #17 - $32
• Incredible Hulk #179 - $15
• Incredible Hulk #250 (Newsstand) - $38
• Captain America #110 - $60
• Captain America #241 - $20
• Flash #129 - $100
• Aquaman #11 - $99
• Strange Adventures #138 - $18
• Golden and Silver Age Lot of 12- $99
• Tower of Shadows Annual #1 - $20
• Dead of Night #1 - $30
• Tomb of Dracula #27 and #63 - $23
• Sub-Mariner #15 and #31 - $22
• Marvel Feature #1 - $49
• Fantastic Four #150 - $25
• Tales to Astonish #58 - $19
• Marvel Team-Up Annual #2 - $30
• Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 - $19

Amazing Spider-Man #29 - 1965 - SLAB CGC 4.5 - Second Scorpion: $140
Slabbed. See photos.
Amazing Spider-Man #63 - 1968 - Battle of the Vultures: $SOLD AT $33 ORIGINAL $39 $SOLD
Worn cover with markings but solid with good interiors. See photos.
Amazing Spider-Man #64- 1968 - Romita Spider-Man vs. Vulture Cover: $90
Great condition. Bright awesome colors.
Amazing Spider-Man #96 - 1971 - Non-Code Approved Drug Issue: $48
Looks good, some wear and spine ticks, corner bend. See photos.
X-Men #14 - 1965 - First Appearance of the Sentinels: $200
Worn condition, complete, detached at top staple. Provided multiple pictures of condition and staples.
X-men #17 - 1966 - Silver Age X-Men Goodness: $40
Worn condition but complete and attached at both staples.
X-Men #23 - 1966 - Silver Age X-Men Goodness: $68
Really good condition considering its age. See photos.
X-Men #97 -1976 - First appearance of Liliandra, Reintroduction of Havok and Polaris: $42
Lower grade, needs a press, bottom staple detached. See photos.
X-Men #122 (Newsstand) - 1979 - First appearance of Mastermind: $SOLD$35$SOLD
Awesome condition.
X-Men #221 - 1987 - First Appearance of Mister Sinister: $75
Awesome condition. Just a couple of minor spine ticks. Other than that, beautiful. See photos.
X-Men #4 - 1992 - First Appearance of Omega Red: $20
Awesome condition. Not even any spine ticks. See photos
Daredevil #157 (Newsstand) - 1979: $15
Awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Daredevil #170 (Newsstand) - 1981 - First Kingpin in Daredevil Comics: $SOLD$40$SOLD
In awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Daredevil #164 (Newsstand) - 1980 - Iconic Cover: $55
In awesome condition. Great colors on cover despite all the white. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Detective Comics #259 - 1958 - First Appearance of Calendar Man: $190
Worn but expected for its age. Solid staples and fully attached. Great colors.
Batman Annual #14 - 1990 - Iconic Neal Adams Two-Face Cover, Origin of Two-Face: $15
Amazing condition, almost unused. See photos.
Detective Comics #324 (1964) and Batman #410 (1987) - $32
324 in good condition but could use a clean and press. Batman 410 is in awesome condition, but considering the prices of these I figured I’d just throw them together.
Amazing Adventures #11 - 1972 - First furry beast: $100
In awesome condition. Minor, tiny blemish (possibly a tape pull?) on the bottom of the A on cover. See photo, but very tiny blemish.
Amazing Adventures #13 & #17 - 1972-73 - Buy Both!: $32
13 in really good condition, 17 is a little more worn but still good. See photos
Incredible Hulk #179 - 1974: $15
In great condition.
Incredible Hulk #250 (Newsstand) - 1980 - Iconic Hulk vs. Silver Surfer cover: $38
Awesome condition. See photos.
Captain America #110 - 1969 - Rick Jones dons Bucky Costume, first appearance of Madame Hydra: $60
Iconic Jim Steranko cover and art. In OK condition, a bit worn, could definitely use a cleaning. See photos.
Captain America #241 - 1979 - First Punisher vs. Captain America: $20
In great condition, good colors still for an all white cover. Solid book.
Flash #129 - 1962 - First team-up of golden age Flash and silver age Flash; first appearance of golden age Green Lantern and JSA in silver age: $100
Good condition! Very solid, great colors, complete and attached.
Aquaman #11 - 1963 - First appearance of Mera: $99
Worn condition but solid, complete and attached.
Strange Adventures #138 - 1962: $18
Good condition, good colors.
Golden and Silver Age Lot of 12- $99
Came into a lot of worn golden and silver books I know little about. Would like to offload them all together, so take a look at the album. Includes Little Lulu, Cheyenne Kid, the Flintstones, Tarzan, some other Gold Key and Dell stuff and an Adventures book from 1945.
Tower of Shadows Annual #1 - 1971 - Romita cover and Neal Adams art: $30
Great condition. Good colors, solid book.
Dead of Night #1 - 1973 - Romita art: $40
Really great condition, with a minor color rub or stain or something (can’t tell what) to a spot on the bottom of the front cover and top of the back. Fantastic colors, white pages.
Tomb of Dracula #27 and #63 - $23
Non-key issues in great condition, just throwing together to move.
Sub-Mariner #15 and #31 - Silver Age Namor bundle: $22
Great colors and interiors. Fading on spine cover on #15, #31 in great condition, see photos.
Marvel Feature #1 - 1971 - Origin & First Defenders: $49
Has tape pull on cover, subscription crease color break (see photos)
Fantastic Four #150 - 1974 - Wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver: $25
In awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Tales to Astonish #58 - 1964 - Silver age Giant Man: $19
Worn condition but complete and attached. See photos.
Marvel Team-Up Annual #2 - 1978 - Spider-Man & The Hulk team-up: $30
In awesome condition. No spine ticks, creases, color breaks or bends.
Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 - 1987 - Death of First Hobgoblin: $19
Awesome condition. Pressable non-color breaking crease on back cover. See photos

First Prev Archive Patreon
Well, she didn't kill me, not even when I snatched John's sidearm out of the holster and laid it in front of her grip-first, "I won't fight you, I won't even move from this spot. Right here, right now, here's your best shot to stop me."
John and Amathie both froze, and I held out a hand to stop John from acting. Just saying 'You better kill me' is something far different than saying it and then handing them the loaded murder weapon. Anansi picked up the gun, and clicked off the safety, and her eyes became unfocused for a moment, after which she set the gun back down, "You are not bluffing."
John retrieved his firearm and gave me a look, while Anansi said something to Amathie, and they both got up, Amathie thanking me, and sent me a link so we could trade recipes later. They retrieved their coats, and departed. I looked at John, "'Nother coffee?"
He watched as I calmly got up and made another coffee for myself, "No... thanks.... You really would've let her kill you."
I paused, and sighed, "The night of the raids, I got 1% better at accepting the idea of my death for a higher cause. It's not a threat to me anymore, it's just how my life ends. It's like in Hamilton: 'I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory'. One way or another, from everything I know and understand, I won't live long enough to make it to being old, John."
He sat there for a time, almost saying something, trying to counter the point, then failing to have any sound actually come out, "Goodnight, John. I got work to do."
John finally stood up, and took his own leave. I sat at the counter for a bit, then did the dishes, and went to sleep, but dawn saw me awake again. I got up, made breakfast, and sat down to work out my new advancement plan.
Okay, let's break it down: Psychic, Magic, and Chi Manipulation. Magic was broken up into a number of different disciplines and sources. Pretty easy to get, you have various schools of magic, specialization, traditions, and then there's the difference between inherent casters and learned casters. Inherent casters were like Sabrina, they simply had access once the power was awakened, but on the other side of it, you had those who educated themselves, and got access to power from another source. Knowing wasn't enough, you had to have a source of magic to pull from, just like any powered device, no power, and it doesn't work. This bore larger considerations, because it would mean tying myself with someone else. It could be earth-shatteringly powerful, but took work and in my case, essentially allowing someone else to have power over me... unless...
By its nature, Virtus was magical, specifically falling under Artificing. Artificing wasn't much used, even once you considered how rare caster-types were in the first place. It was far easier to just cast the magic yourself without having to learn serious crafting skills. So cut down that number of casters by how many of them very seriously want to be the world's greatest crafter, rather than just learn the spells themselves. Crafting yourself was an absolute necessity, since you had to imbue the object with magical energy as it was being created. Thing is, though, I'm not bound by that stricture. I can be the world's greatest crafter, 1% at a time.
Okay, so artificing... and I already have one magical artifact, so I would just need the ability to imbue magic. I didn't need spells, I just needed the capacity to channel magical energies, and any inherent caster could teach me that. I'm certain there's more to it than that, but that level worked for my purposes in the here and now. I sent off a message to Sabrina to let her know I needed to talk when she had a minute.
Next, we have Psychic. Psychic abilities required an expansion of the human mind to be able to use them. This generally meant years of intensive study from people who already had strong wills, and disciplined minds. I had a shortcut here with regards to having Technopathy and the Liminal Space ability. I was already moving forward here, and there were other abilities I would want as I came along. I revisited my Sync ability, and how it had increased all the various powers around it. It was a 'sympathetic' power, so my general thinking is that I should be looking at sympathetic abilities to work on. First, however, some basics.... I still don't like the idea of telepathy. Yeah, it can get broken, but sooner or later I'm hearing all the collective thoughts of humanity, and I'm really not certain I want that.... maybe focused on tactile telepathy? There were certainly powers like that, such as Tim's Psychometry, the ability to touch objects and read the psychic impressions of them. I already knew Kinetics was going to be a big one, so I'd need some time with Push.
Okay, and that leaves Chi Manipulation. The reality is, it's like Psychic, but for the body. If Magic was channeling the exterior energy, and Psychic was the channeled power of the mind, Chi Manipulation was the channeled power of the body and soul, but it took rigorous training, like think Navy SEALs training, and then start stepping it up. That's the 'I might have a shot at this' level. Masters could do some wild stuff with it, like Sprit Fox, who could manifest an actual fox focused from his harnessed energies that you needed mecha to get into the same weight class of. Again, S-Tiers are nations unto themselves.
Psychic and Magic were my main concerns in the moment. I was pretty-well settled on using artifice, since it had the extra point of my being able to dole out artifacts as opposed to being locked to just myself. No matter how powerful I got, I was just me, and I had to start changing the game, moving from myself as the chief instigator of everything. It's what my dad had said about planned obsolence, that the whole game had to be to get to a point where I was completely unnecessary to moving forward with things. And now, we get to start working on the Psychic stuff.
I had a particular plan as far as Psychic, and Prodigy had arrived in Portland while I was at the court yesterday, so now, I could begin working on some stuff. Speaking of working on stuff for myself, I found a whole chain of online CLEP courses so I could start knocking out college credits. I figured I might as well at this point, and with a host of online universities, and access to PSU, I had my pick of the litter. I put in the call to Prodigy, who was ready to go as soon as I was, and gave him the address. I had a limited window with everything going on, and I couldn't stay on leave of absence for that long. I had to get this together.
Before Prodigy got here, I needed to get a few things together, plus snacks and drinks, so I took care of that stuff until I got the buzz from down below. Prodigy had arrived, and I buzzed him in, meeting him at the door. He was... not what I expected. In imagining a 'super-teacher', certain imagery presented itself. Austerity, wearing a shirt and tie, maybe with one of those cardigan/vest combos, and one of those highly groomed beards. What I got was anything but that: He was heavyset, but wore a sleeveless "For Those About to Rock" T-shirt, jeans that looked liked lost several fights, and a trucker hat, and beard that screamed 'ask my about my favorite metal covers', "Y'all must be Marcus. Call me Donny. Let's get 'er goin'."
I let him in, and when I asked what he wanted to drink, he went straight for Dr. Pepper. I was going to need to be revising my estimation of this whole thing, "Alright, now if'n I'm hearin' right, yer power's the 1% thing. Let's start it up by you layin' it all out for me."
He broke out a tube of candy coated sunflower seeds as I spoke, "Okay, so the essentials of it are this: I incrementally improve at kind of everything, all the time. I don't know what I don't know, but everything keeps advancing, so it's more like if you had a penny, and it got 1% interest in value every second. That was the example my buddy Darryl came up with when I first got the power, and it still translates well enough for our purposes, but now imagine I keep getting more pennies, and those pennies starting get the same incremental improvement."
Donny (Thinking of him as Prodigy was now ridiculous. His H.A.A. photo had him in his supersuit.) nodded, "'K, I know what our first step in trainin' ya is. Y'need Darryl here."
I blinked. I mean, I hadn't really gotten proper time with Darryl since this whole authority thing kicked off, and I desperately wanted hang time, "Uh, he's in school right now."
He shrugged, "Well get 'im the heck out. Hell, I'm an accredited teacher with the academy, so we can just call it a special program or some such, and that'll get 'im the credit he needs. Pretty sure I can keep 'im ahead o' his classes."
I called Darryl, who excused himself from class to take the call, "What's up? Tell me it's a supervillain fight! I can be there... well, I mean, I'd be hopping Tri-Met, but-"
Let's make it quick, "Nope. It's more of a montage thing, and according to my new mentor, I need you here."
I could hear him powerfisting on the other end, "Yeah, sure, just let me call my mom. Can you pick me up?"
"Sure. We can be there in about fifteen minutes. Let your dad know you'll we be working on a special academy program."
Okay, that down, I regarded Donny, "Okay, so I guess we start with what I want to learn: I want to learn your power. I need to learn to teach with your power."
First Prev Archive Patreon

A breakdown of the title and what it means:

• Meier: A reference to the primary name taken by the Human personage of __ias Meier, ironically meaning [REDACTED BY EMERGENCY ORDER 56] and also ironically meaning "Superior" -- secretary general of the United Nations (the Human-originated organization acting as Earth's local counterpart to the Federation of the greater galaxy, founded nearly two hectocycles ago in the wake of [REDACTED BY EMERGENCY ORDER 56]) until the [REDACTED BY EMERGENCY ORDER 56] in --- October (the rough match to an orbital period of Earth's moon that is the tenth within Earth's own orbital period, named after the number eight) --- 21st (referring to the planetary rotation that Earth was working through after the start of the aforementioned temporal unit), --- 2136 (the two thousand, one hundred and thirty sixth orbital period of Earth since a slightly miscalculated figure for the birth of [REDACTED BY EMERGENCY ORDER 56])
• is: The succeeding description applies to him, uninterrupted, to the present moment.
• the only: The succeeding description is not accurate to other characters in the narrative.
• Competent: He pursued his goals with the best use of his resources, only failing when outside factors interfered.
• Antagonist: Any knowledgeable person would have been aligned against him.
• (and why most sex scenes are not canon compliant): Terra Technologies, owner of the memory transcription technology, usually has more innocuous reasons to be selective about which memories to release from its collection of brain scans.

(This hyperthesis is a long one, so you can scroll to the bottom of the second fourth post for a less than 2000 character TL;DR.)
I'm not posting another bit, this is my unfiltered opinion of one of the most erratic characters in a story full of lunatic protagonists. Some people call this a crack theory. I can't agree, the intended reading is the crack one to me. The plot is moth-bitten if you accept Meier as a swell man that wasn't prepared for reality. And I will take you to those bites so you can know that they are scissor holes.

What are you talking about?

SecGen Meier is the local version of Wallace Breen, a delusional and all too willing accomplice to the invasion and forced transformation of Humanity into servile abominations. By the end of this thorough analysis of his actions, and the distressingly small sample of his thoughts that we read, I will demonstrate to you that he is a character belonging among the likes of Nikonus and Giznel in the annals of history, shielded from his rightful place by the Terran propaganda machine using the simple trick of never showing any bit of haughtiness or rudeness to the notoriously naive main characters.
Let's say that you are working on the fedboy hypnosis of a species. What steps do you take?

• Local powers are consolidated into a planetary government to enable later steps of the Uplift.
• The native culture is repressed in every form until you have drafted a final vision of their role in the galaxy.
• Ee-yos are globally issued to enforce galactic norms on the natives.
• The completed Uplift is finally given some measure of independence once inertia and peer pressure can be trusted to hold them in place.

And how can I show that his actions were following this model?

A case for selective transcription

This post had been a work in progress for quite some time and it's about to show in two ways. Kalsim's fate showed me that I was only right about the one which this entire theory rests upon.
The strongest argument that can be made against this whole interpretation, is the fact that we do read memory transcriptions of himself on two separate occasions, and neither displays any ulterior allegiance to Chairman Nikonus. There is obviously, no tool of investigation that is more thorough than examining the history of someone's actual thought processes. But I can show you how little that matters.
Open SpacePaladin15's patreon, in incognito mode if you're a patron, and keep scrolling down, do not close it when you're done with the following observation. The majority of Isif chapters will have a preview like "Memory Transcription Subject: [REDACTED]", excluding chapters 101, 112, 119, and 142 onwards. Convention leads us to assume that they were undisclosed for being sensitive information. BUT, the rebellion was long over by the time that Memory Transcription technology was developed, and all its structures replaced with formal counterparts, not to mention that there is information that was clandestine at the time in the 4 publicated Isif chapters among many others.
But consider the ethics of allowing anyone to see the most intimate record of someone's history, even posthumously. (Fun fact: this is how everyone in real life will be tortured after their death, good or evil. They'll invite everyone that ever interacted with you in any way to a theater where your special chair projects every second of your existence in supersensible fast motion. Punishment? Hazing? Don't be so egotistical, your comfort and dignity is only an acceptable sacrifice for the closure of others.) When publishing memory transcriptions for civilian use, you would best skip over not just the uneventful parts, but those that were private or downright shameful. Isif executes a cruelty deficient in his very first chapter, not to mention the earlier crimes against sapience he committed offscreen at the beck of Giznel or Meier. It WAS NOT hidden for galactic security, they do not want to depict memory transcription subjects as the villains of their own stories.
(Notice that Sovlin POVs cease once he made his mind to torment Marcel and they don't resume until the latter escapes. And notice again that other protagonists are never caught perpetuating the heinous practices that we know them to endorse. Forget Glim's entire line of work, do you really think that Slanek never gaslit an uplift victim, Tarva never subsidized the opening of new treatment facilities, or Noah never snitched on a history enthusiast?)
And with this in mind, notice that we never get to read his mind during the whole time that humanity is on speaking terms with the Federation. Of the three chapters featuring his POV, Chapter Five was him learning about them for the first time, and Chapters Fifty Three and Fifty Four are aftermath to the Battle of Earth. In other words, no point where he would be thinking "it's so great to be selling Humanity out to the greater galactic order".
Now, while they do admit to Meier doing something far worse than being a normal citizen of the galaxy, that was just a hard man making a hard decision. Unfortunately, even the circumstances leading to him doing the worst thing that any human has ever done, or will be capable of doing for the forseeable future, are still his fault. It would be the last nail in the coffin of his legacy if they admit that he was a part of business as usual for the Conspiracy, and he intentionally killed billions of complete innocents because of the consequences of his own actions.

Why this theory is possible

Here are some things that we can tell about the Kolshian fleet:

• The Federation navy is divided between cosmopolitan jobbers and the Kolshian Commonwealth's shadow armada. It is reasonable to assume that there is similarly secretive infrastructure to serve the other needs of the conspiracy.
• The FTL communications in particular, were of sufficient quality that Nikonus and Giznel were able to have a real time video conference.
• It is safe to assume that any species being prepared for subjugation has Shadow facilities underwater and in nearby space, for purposes of co-ordination, vehicular maintenance, and surveillance of the natives.
• We know that technology used by the Kolshian Commonwealth significantly outdoes any of their vassals in automation, security, and counterintelligence.
• The Archivists believed that the extinction of humanity was no sooner than 1974 (control-F "Farsul Abductee (1/8)" in the patreon tab that I told you to keep open). Nuclear testing already peaked by then, and regardless of how they would interpret the intentions of the act, it clearly wasn't wiping us out, so "the Cold War" is a misconception of how they misconcieved us. This means that the Conspiracy only gave up on humanity by the next major war, a century later, likely because nothing says "Kessler syndrome" like a Satellite War. -- It is possible that this impression was reinforced by the accidental destruction of monitoring bases. It is possible that some uncredited attacks were actually the self-destruct procedures of alien facilities. This bullet point wasn't actually that important because I was just making the observation that some bases had less time to degrade than you would expect which doesn't matter that much in space but I guess the mention of self destruct sequences goes against that. --- It's actually up for question if the Farsul ever believed that Humanity went extinct, they said so when their popsicle stand was blown, but lying is their entire job. Why bother with continuing to defrost humans for the creation of a Cure that you'll never be able to apply?

With this information, I can assume that Nikonus had the means to covertly contact SecGen Meier through an unsquidded vehicle before the information blackout was lifted from the Venlil Republic, and lay down exactly which actions he was supposed to take if he wanted Humanity to live. Remember also that this was all happening in the backyard of a species rightly known as a sleeping existential threat, that all but formally declared independance from the rest of the galaxy - as much of a obvious cover-up as what we're about to discuss.

How would aliens react to ee-yo-fifty-six?

Emergency Order 56 was a legal prohibition against the disclosure of "predatory" topics with aliens, ostensibly an effort to keep them from finding materials that could be used to demonize Humans, as if a photo doesn't do the trick. BainshieWrites already answered the title of this section in Predator War Uncovered - Emergency Order 56, and this section is more specifically here to question its official motive, because it was not something that he made up to downplay the competence and ethicality of the UN, it was something that SpacePaladin15 made up to downplay the competence and ethicality of the UN.
Did your mental alarms go off when I said predatory? Recall how the list of applicable topics grew throughout the story in a way that could be used to make the world's most confusing Bob Parr slideshow. It does not mean threatening, it doesn't even mean carnivorous, it means anything that would challenge their worldview.

• A list of ways that Humans may develop inherent inclinations to conflict with society.
• The animal motifs that we use since childhood (the "animal loving" Marcel wouldn't elucidate Slanek to the idea of safe interactions with carnivorous animals until the antichrist needed guard dogs)
• Any knee-level or deeper lore of a Human religion (ostensibly just proselytism, but both sides have motivation to blur the lines between preaching and satisfying curiousity)
• A digestive imbalance in humans that most overcome by eating meat, and the horrifying consequences of leaving it unchecked. (This is information that was being denied even to Governess Tarva until a global tragedy that was brought about by keeping it a secret)

“You have been starving from eating plants?” I squeaked.
Meier breathed a frustrated sigh. “Humans are omnivores, Tarva, as we have told you many times. The nutrients in vegetables are quite accessible to us.”
“That said, without animal products, we usually develop serious mineral deficiencies,” Noah interjected, sensing my next question. “Vegetarians need supplements or fortified foods: B12, iron, protein, and so on. This has been explained to your medical community.”
Undoubtedly, it was easier to absorb those nutrients through dietary means. At least the Terrans could survive on vegetation, with a little help. The Arxur couldn’t derive any nutritional value from plants, even if they wanted to. I didn’t know why zero scientists, here or in the Federation, had figured that out.
“So it’s not about bloodlust at all. I get the point, I think,” I sighed. “What do you want to do about the grays’ story?”

Much as you love to accuse background racists of being brainwashed idiots - like I'm one to talk with a title like this - let's use empathy for a moment, theory of mind, not just being nice to sad people. Here is what is happening on Venlil Prime:

The Governess has thrown her lot in with an alien race that has a universally attested history of depravity. The latter will confirm but not elaborate on this history, in fact they are morally obligated to attest it with everyone else.
But they refuse to elaborate. This would have just been a case of collective shame if they weren't equally secretive about their current state of affairs, including their daily lives. The information that they will give either drops in clarity at alarming and suggestive frequencies in its coverage of both the past and present, or suspiciously outdoes less infamous cultures at conforming to your idea of civilization. There is a grim precedent for the sort of secrets they could be keeping from everyone, but others will tell you to "think for yourself" when you point at the worrisome data.
And it's always a backhanded appeal to your sense of pride when someone says that. Yet you are noticing, more than ever, that people really don't think for themselves at large, and the secretive warmongerers are exploiting their blind trust in the government through vague assurances that these newcomers have totally changed for the better. From unspeakable, to still unspeakable. The set of possible secrets is infinitely longer than just the ones that are shocking but ultimately acceptable as consequences of a different evolutionary foundation, and you know that they have already strayed far out of the latter category.

Look, I'm sorry. It is shitbrained to have any trust in a species that feels the need for this law. Typically, there are one between three reasons in NoP that someone has chosen to reap the benefits of a brain-crackingly stupid policy, either they do not know better because they were lobotomized by outside influences, their mental facilities atrophied from centuries of political omnipotence, or it worked so it isn't stupid no matter how much we complain. It achieved nothing except to preserve drama, so we can rule that last one out.
But Humans do know better. That's their entire edge in the story. It makes no sense in PR terms to do this when your dirtiest of laundry is being aired out by the heart of civilized space. But if you, the author of this law, actually share an agenda with the Shadow Caste, then it's the perfect trident for roasting your marshmallows. First, it produces the impression that virtuous Humans still need to be unburdened of their current circumstances. Second, it complicates the ability of Human culture to flee a genocide. Third, it protects the galactic consensus in the topics of nature, of predators, and of Humans, from being challenged by their observations.
And speaking again about achieving nothing. Haysi's 'Pure Evil' exhibit stayed up, even unmolested, in the very capital of Venlil Prime for the entire time that he was alive. We know that Tarva knew about this, it might have even been her introduction to the Human race. And she had the ability to follow her interest in taking this slander down. If not from the totalitarian powers that she displayed at the very start of the story, or from the fact that it was most likely public property, then how about Sam's ability to get away with what amounted to very polite vandalism? Tarva must have told some flat nailed biped about it, and one has to assume that this creature told her not to worry about it.
In the end, this officially self-inflicted restriction serves much of the same purpose as the way that recent uplifts are marginalized and postured over. We can assume that every world government, most recently Leirn, started out with laws concerning resistance to modernization that were enforced in similar circumstances.
Special mention should be given to one of the few biological features that were censored; the idea that our hunting strategy made us into an excellent labor force. The galaxy is only fascist in the sense of "the government is being mean :(", and has more of a neoliberal inclination [lie]when predators are taken out of the picture[/lie]. So if anything, it would have given a profit motive to the acceptance of the Human race. If you think that it was just going to brand the Terran work ethic as predatory, that's first a backwards chain of causality, it's predatory because Humans are involved; and second, the official narrative said that Human sociality was predatory under your logic.
However, consider how some amount of 'declawing' was likely to go into our version of the Cure.
They'd never Cure the Human capability for close bonds since imagine proposing that nonsense at the Cure labs and the Behavioral Sink would have done that without need for high tech meddling. Humans were not just personally kinder to the aliens because the survival of their species depended on their best behavior, they couldn't emotionally tell that the aliens were people thus embarassing to care about. In time, this opening in their own kind of artificial callousness would have healed, as both civilizations demanded (and continue to demand), through the integration of alien intelligence into Human norms. This will still happen, the disease of the symptoms has not been treated, apathy will continue to kill the galaxy.
On the other paw, it's much easier to write a takedown order of Human persistence without being spaced into Talsk's hadopelagic zone. If the galaxy knows that our physical heart, not the metaphorical, is a hunting tool, that's something they can announce a Cure for without much more controversy, easily drumming the masses up to demand it before anyone can feel safe around the Children of Planet Earth. And there goes our economic edge in the Federation (in it, not over it, you maniac). It's best if they just think that they need to genetically shave our canines.

Loose lips sink ships but tight ones raze planets

As I mentioned with the Tarva example, all information covered under this law is only spread on a need to know basis, even with leaders that are notorious for their faith in Humanity. But you'd need some sort of consultant for navigating the Federation's 'predator' anticoncept - yet any remotely loyal citizen of the Venlil Republic would be passing the worst of it to their own government, which is exactly what they are trying to prevent. Venlil indiscretion has been as much of a driving force for the story as Human...something. Stars above, this order can not be enforced with any loyalty to the people that you love.
So either they were working on oddly accurate guesswork or their consultants were just more tight lipped than they had any reason to be, or they were using consultation disguised as guesswork. There is no reason that the Conspiracy would wager all the progression of an Uplift on one person, see how the archives were a pan-species effort to everyone that entered their place in the galaxy.
But that hasn't come to fruition yet, so Meier and his colluders had been answering directly to Nikonus, and some silly doggies were ripping their furs out because they're locked out of the loop for anything relevant to the projected zombie apocalypse, and can't even begin to crack the code themselves when any acknowledgment of a nutritional need for meat would be treasonous under the United Nations.
None of that is Meier's fault, there was no way for him to know that it was happening. Although he caused it to happen; and could have prevented it if he had aspirations beyond herding people into ever bigger blobs; the exact factors were out of left field. The archive experiments are not something to be admitted to a third degree Fedboy Hypnotist, and the Hunger incidents were kept as a secret even from the Kolshian Commonwealth. Meier would have just truthfully told Old Nick that forced veganism was a bridge that we were able to cross, save some resistance from those who were...how does that go..."too arrogant". He doesn't know that he needs to give an explanation to other parties why some people were contracting physically lethal cases of predator disease once they were civilized.

It is a common misconception that Meier is the only Human to have a canonical memory transcription.

The wrinkles on Meier’s face were taut with sympathy. “But please let me correct that statement: you did not kill her. You chose not to prolong her suffering, because you’re a selfless, kind person.”

Can I get an opinion of this line from someone that understands Human emotion? It's easy to imagine myself saying it before I take all of my clothes off for a walk into the thruster engines, but I'm not a Venlil Prime Extermination Guild certified Good One like Meier (and which of you here wouldn't commit chicken dinner to clean out the taste of such a commendation?), so I could be ignorant that it would be [squints at teleprompter]...a true...[mumbles into earpiece]...[takes something from assistant] Ritz© moment [waves box around]. So does he know that nothing wins a Fedboy over like dismissing their guilt, or does she take anything that resembles an attempt at consolation? Could Meier have done the same thing by gurgling in a concilatory tone? We are talking about the same woman that locked down lightyears of space over a hug.
But if we skip to the end of his story for a little bit, there is one line of hers that can't be explained by the conventional narrative, at all.

[Censored] Meier had dedicated himself to virtue and the pursuit of peace to the last. Every temptation pushed him the opposite direction, but he was true to his beliefs.

Really. Really. Out of everything there is to deny about the whale in the chinchilla cage, are people really going to say that it wasn't any instance of yielding to the temptation to kill? And Governess Tarva wouldn't just forget about that. No one would be able to enter her position without keeping awareness of such actions and their ramifications. No one can do those things without permanently tainting an onlooker's image of them, either, that's why this post exists!
There is room to argue that these words were put into her proverbial mouth, since the story periodically switches to using italicized paragraphs, an indication of being an internal monologue. As if the rest of the narration isn't, and many 'thoughts' were just an attempt of the transcriptors to put their drives and emotions to words, just like with the visual imagery of the scanned brain, and this time, they went overboard wiping his butt. We can rely on Terra Technologies to have no conflicts of interest when documenting Terran atrocities. And with that in mind, isn't it interesting that our second layer of unreliable narration idealizes codependance of both polity and person, the cause of all problems in this story? Perhaps this is why they never rebuked biocalvinism in the case of Arxur non-defects. Any proof that predapaths can have productive, harmless lives would mean showing how to give moral inclinations to those that were resistant to the traditional means of this, and that means that employees of this alarming gigacorp have to play by the same rules as everyone else in this galaxy.
And just like that, this thought is immediately followed by an example of an internal monologue.

[Censored] will be missed. He was a true leader, willing to do whatever was necessary. He dreamed big; there was so much he could’ve offered humanity.

This isn't the same sort of an outright delusion, as it's just an opinion. A stupid one, but the kind of stupid to expect from the combination between apathy and naiveté that Tarva has been raised into. Same vein as the non-reaction that many had towards the Kolshian Commonwealth's genetic intrusion, cultural genocide, and colluding with Arxur to destroy the homeworlds of Federation members.
And to make more counter-criticism of the way that aliens behave in this story, this aspect of the narration exonerates them from a lot of oblivious comments ascribed to the depths of their minds. They literally did not know what they were thinking. Our self awareness is mostly limited to that which we're setting ourselves to commit our own physical beings towards. This is why the Human system as much of a leap in insidiousness over the Kolshian system as the latter were over the Arxur system, since it does a better job at hiding the injury that your compliance brings. The story of Kalsim is that empathy is no replacement for a moral code, it is simply the bodily function to model other people's mental states. If you start treating empathy as a synonym for morality, you'll spare anyone with the luck to be in front of you, whether they're Arjun or Kalsim, while continuing with the eradication of everyone that couldn't stimulate your mirror neurons.
But I decline the possibility that Tarva's first thought was an oblivious moment of idealization, when those actions should still have a weight on her subconscious idea of him.
I might have to move to Wriss after ending this lecture. The personality disorder assessor can finally detain me for lovebombing and a chemical lobotomy if she has sufficient grounds to pile Schizotypalism on top of my Oppositional-Defiant diagnosis. The prior sorcery allegations had been a joke for the purposes of all conversations with her, but I don't think that I can keep saying so when I have evidence that he was using mesmerism on Tarva.
That's not insanity, I'll tell you what is insanity: accusing Terra Technologies of directly lying to cover up for the brood parasite. They can downplay, hide, simplify, mistranslate, but never lie. There is no more meaning in this subject if we allow ourselves to reject the text. If that can be thrown out, anything else can, and there goes all shared ground for the 'reality' suggested by chapters of The Nature of Predators.
So Meier has to be a literal hypnotist that used unnatural means to repress, but not erase, inconvenient memories of Tarva's. It's that, or he was already gave her the impression that he'd, well...

Just did a rewatch, and am overthinking the beginning…
Lovett’s team initially thought that Rose may be lying about who she is (“she’s an actress!”). Lovett speaks to Rose on the phone so he clearly knows her name. In person Lovett asks her whose name is on the insurance for the necklace….if he had researched the Hockley’s as mentioned, isn’t it possible that in public records/newspapers there was an announcement that Cal was engaged to someone named Rose?
That along with “no one alive” knew about the necklace, could have been evidence along with all of Rose’s photos to match the drawing in the safe. Am I wrong in thinking that high profile families like the Hockley’s would make announcements about marriages? Would Rose’s death had been mentioned in a newspaper; the wedding of the year not happening due to tragedy?

Detective Sarah Reeves parked her car along the curb in front of the Millfield Sheriff's Department and gazed up at the nondescript brick building. Mud splotched the wheel wells and undercarriage from the long drive out of the city on winding rural highways. A place like Millfield wasn't really her style: much too quiet, far too sleepy. She preferred the clamor and chaos of urban life.
But when the request had come down from her Captain to aid the local authorities with a bizarre murder, Sarah had jumped at the opportunity. One of the brighter, more talented young detectives on the force, Sarah had a keenly analytical mind and a dogged determination to untangle even the most intractable of cases. Well, if Millfield was in over its head with this one, she'd lend a hand.
Sarah stepped out of the car, unknowingly checking her sidearm to ensure it was fitting snugly underneath the charcoal blazer. She straightened her collar and flicked a few unruly strands of dark hair back into place after the ride. Time to get to work.
A minute later, Sarah was shaking hands with Sheriff Briggs in his cluttered office. He had a strong handshake for a man of his years, his palm rough with calluses.
"Thanks for coming all the way out here, Detective," Briggs had said as they took their seats. "I'll be frank, we're at a bit of a loss with this one. Never seen anything like it."
"I'm at your service, Sheriff. What can you tell me about the victim?"
Briggs slid a thin folder across the desk to her. "Name's Daniel Cobb, age 26. Worked at the local grocery store bagging groceries and stocking shelves. Kept to himself mostly. Bit of an odd duck from what we've gathered."
She flipped the file open, studying the driver's license photo clipped inside. Daniel Cobb. He stared back at her, pale and unremarkable. Wisps of hair, eyes watery, a fragile curl of a mouth. He hardly looked like the type to end up ritualistically butchered in the woods.
"What was the cause of death?" she asked.
"Blood loss from the lacerations," Briggs said, his mouth setting into a grim line. "But the wounds themselves. never seen anything like them. Weird geometric patterns were carved all over the poor bastard. Forensics is still trying to make sense of it."
Sarah frowned, feeling a cold trickle of disquiet run down her spine. Ritual killings were always disconcerting and inherently dark in obsessions and beliefs, yet bringing the perpetrators of such crimes to justice was never easy.
She closed the file. "Do you mind if I take a look at the scene? I'd like to get a feel for it myself."
Briggs nodded, relieved to have the reins taken from his grasp. He opened a drawer, fumbling for the keys to an official vehicle. "I'll give you directions. We haven't touched the scene beyond documenting it. Didn't want to disturb any evidence."
She drove another fifteen minutes later, a muddy trail through the thick woods where Daniel Cobb had met his grisly end. Getting out of the car, she zipped up her coat against the bite of the autumn chill. With fallen leaves—riots of reds and golds—crunching under her boots, she ducked beneath the police tape marking off the small clearing.
The center of the clearing was a churned mess of mud and leaves, with a couple of evidence markers scattered around. And there, starkly pale amidst the litter, was the chalky silhouette that had been Daniel Cobb's body. Sarah circled it slowly, trying to picture the scene. He had been sprawled on his back, limbs akimbo in a grotesque parody of ancient sacrificial rites. The slashes on his body seemed to form no pattern that she could discern. Just random slashes and gouges.
Sarah bent over and brushed off some damp leaves to uncover the dark marks that had lain beneath them on the mast. The arterial spray of blood had marked his final moments, an abstract painting of suffering. An icy fist clenched in Sarah's gut, and she swallowed hard. Murders were never easy to watch, but, for some reason, this one bothered her more than most.
She rose, tucking her hands into her pockets, and tried to imagine the scenario. Cobb was dragged here, already debilitated from captivity and torture. He'd been dragged into the center of the clearing, and then they'd cut him up like a Christmas ham and left him to bleed out into the uncaring earth.
But why? What good could it possibly achieve, to do such a brutal and bloody thing? Was it some twisted ritual demanded of a fragment of their broken psyche? To these questions Sarah had yet no answers, only a sense that yawned within her that the case would be taking some very dark roads before the truth would out.
She shook her head and walked back to the car. She needed to dig more into the life of Daniel Cobb, see if she could find any clues there as to who might have wanted him dead in such a vicious fashion. Maybe he had hidden depths not obvious from his unremarkable exterior.
The clings and clatters of the passenger cars had long since faded as she drove back into town. The trees slowly thinned, turning into strips of long lawns and well-worn walking paths, before giving out finally to the steep-roofed houses and squat brick storefronts. Sarah's mind circled endlessly back to those strange wounds—the rictus of horror frozen on Cobb's lifeless face. What could he have possibly seen in his final moments to provoke such terror? What dark secrets had the shy grocery clerk stumbled upon?
That coolness running up her spine had little to do with the crisp autumn air. One way or another, Sarah would find out the truth. She wouldn't rest until Daniel Cobb's killer was behind bars, no matter how deep the shadows grew or what horrors lurked inside them.
But in her heart of hearts, she knew the truth was something at a dreadful price—that Millfield harbored dread mysteries, hidden behind its sleepy façade. She just hoped it wouldn't be her undoing.

Let's Decode What Depression Is And More

Today I will be going in depth about depression and decoding the word and reasoning with Numerology. We can already see that depression has a lot of repeated letters which shows there is too much of a focus on one thing and too much of something can usually hinder it or cause imbalance.
Let's break down the word DEPRESSION:
The word has E 2 times, S 2 times
D=4
E=5
P=7(16)
R=9(18)
E=5
S=1(19)
S=1(19)
I=9
O=6(15)
N=5(14)
Let's first focus on the obvious! This word has karmic debt numbers for the letters N, P, and S. Let's grab some context from a site that I will link below that explain what these karmic debt numbers mean in detail.
"The 14 Karmic Debt arises from previous actions where human freedom has been abused. Those with a 14 Karmic Debt are forced to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and unexpected occurrences. There is an acute danger of falling victim to drug abuse, alcohol, or overindulgence in sensual pleasures, such as food and sex. Moderation in all affairs is crucial to overcome this Karmic Debt." - credit goes to Karmic Debt Numbers in Numerology World Numerology
"The 16 Karmic Debt – in any area it appears in a chart - means destruction of the old and birth of the new. It is about the fall of the ego and all it has built for itself. It is a watershed, a cleansing. Things the ego has constructed to separate a person from the source of life, are destroyed.
Through the 16, reunion with higher consciousness may be achieved. This can be a painful process because it usually comes after much ego inflation, resulting in a struggle between the ego and higher ideals. Life will present challenges to your grand plans which you may resent and struggle against. It is a losing battle… and you will likely feel humbled in the face of the collapse that follows. However, humility is the key to later success, as you learn to follow the intimations of a deeper reality."
"A person with the 19 Karmic Debt will learn independence and the proper use of power. You will be placed in situations where you are forced to stand up for yourself (and often be left standing alone). One of the central lessons for people with the 19 Karmic Debt revolves around stubbornly resisting help from others. Much of your independence is self-imposed - you simply want to do it your own way.The 19 Karmic Debt can become a self-imposed prison if you don’t recognize the need for interdependence and the mutual need for love.Although you seek to stand on your own feet, you are inextricably connected to others and in need of the support and understanding that all people need - this is the most important lesson for the 19 Karmic Debt." And being personally connected to a lot of 19 energy, this is very true! There is one 19 person I watch on Youtube and he is using this energy pretty well.

DECODING DEPRESSION

Let's take a look at the word. You see it starts with the letter D which is ruled by the number 4 as the 4th letter in the alphabet. 4 energy is connected to privacy, home, family, discontent, restriction, and nonchalant energy. There is many more terms, but you can see where this is going. If you call certain companies toll free, listen to what they say you need to press number 4 for.
What just hit me as I looked at the word is the rest of the word after DE...PRESSION. Maybe there is something needing to be expressed(expression!) that isn't being expressed. All depression is, is suppression of something. D/4 can be suppression and withholding. That's why some jobs want you to fill out the W4 which is a withholding form! Depression comes when someone is choosing to withhold expression of emotions and genuine communication that can help. Taking caution to a whole new level and it ends up being destructive. 4 can point to dissipation which makes sense for destruction to mean what it means.
The word starts with the energy of 4 which is about withholding and suppression and end with the energy of 5 which can be conflicting.
All those letters and we only get to the number 5?!. This word is embedded with the energy of 1 and 9 which means that people who claim or feel depression CAN utilize their personal power to get themselves out of said depression. You have the right to process your emotions and once you do, you can start using your strength and power to overcome. Sometimes it starts with the mind.
Now, based on the letters and numbers with the word, let's see what numbers are missing!
We are missing 2,3,and 8! 2 gives a person a natural comfort within self. It can also make them loveable or easily cooperative with others. The energy of 3 gives a person natural optimism and majestic mental capacity. 8 gives a person a steadfast embedded powerful strength. This 8 energy gives a person unstoppable capability.
Getting over depression is about rising above a situation and having the capability of strengthening your perspective. Your confidence levels are something you have to personally master. Notice how depression ends with O and N which is 6 and 5. That's a backtrack. We're counting forwards, not backwards. 6 is about overcoming problems while 5 is the problems or insecurities. Depression ending with the energy of 5 is a thinkpiece. 5 deals with the uniqueness of a situation or action. You will have to do something different or new to wake up out of whatever this depression was about and understand that everyone's depression won't be the same!
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So today I got a call from this person who was speaking in Spanish. Now I don’t know much Spanish beyond understanding a couple of words here and there. I tried to say that I don’t speak Spanish and cut the call. He called again and mentioned the name “Alexandra”. I thought it’s a wrong number probably.
Afterwards, he send a long message in Spanish on WhatsApp. I’ll paste the google translate versions here-
“Well, I am the senior black sorcerer of the spiritual center where some time ago you consulted with one of my teachers with whom you began a work which was not completed and for this reason you have left spiritual channels open in your name and in that of your partner and your family, well look, I tell you that due to your irresponsibility, one of my teachers was already affected by leaving this altar on, so either you are in charge of the closure, termination and canonization of this altar or else you will have to face the consequences for that I, as the senior black witch of this spiritual center, will be in charge of your work and I warn you that if you do not take responsibility and be in charge of this altar and the material, today I will proceed to have you, your partner and your family placed in the altar of my holy death and given to each of my seven dead as an offering and sacrifice of human blood in exchange for the missing material and not only that I will ensure that their private parts rot, that they grow warts, that they fall off your hair, your body will dry out and beyond, if you do not take charge of this, I will use my wisdom and my power so that from the moment I start working on you, your body and your soul will be affected. in one and a thousand ways that you will not even be able to get out of a fucking bed because I will not allow the life of one of my teachers to be in serious danger due to your irresponsibility and lack of respect, so either you take care of the material that is required to the closing of this altar or under your responsibility what happens with you and your family and if you do not believe what I tell you just wait to see what you will begin to feel in your body And everything that will begin to happen around you from this moment because I am not going to allow you to come and take this as a fucking game, you could have played with time and good will the teacher but he will not do it with me no one has done it in more than 40 years that I have been doing this and I am not going to allow you to be the first to try to do it, that I assure you as the highest authority and greatest black sorcerer OK. I await your response and solution to this problem right now. ANSWER ME OR CALL ME RIGHT NOW OKAY…”
Along with this he sent “You need to talk to me immediately” in Spanish (have a working knowledge of the language) and the name Alexandra (which is not my name).
If the paragraph wasn’t creepy enough, he also sent a photo of an altashrine of sorts with skulls lined up and all lit up by candles.
Now I don’t know if this was meant to be a scam or not but I am creeped out.
Has this happened to anyone else?

Last wednesday, my cat Vicki suddenly got very ill out of nowhere. On tuesday she was fine, she ate and was herself, but on wedensday she was lethargic, she wouldn't eat or drink unless we pulled her closer to the bowls, and also had difficulty breathing and her heart would beat really quickly (you could see it on her neck). She was very aenemic, so cold and with sheet white gums, but she could still stand up. Yesterday and today, she couldn't stand at all, and she would meow in pain and hide herself under the bed. We went to the vet urgently on thursday, requested bloodwork, and kept her warm by bundling her up. She, however, didn't want to be bundled at all and would escape with the little strenght she had. Today, when we arrived to the vet, she was already dead. We had planned to give her some suero (I don't know how to say it in english, I'm really sorry) so maybe we could fix some of the issues she had, but it was not meant to be. Me and my mom are devastated for the sudden loss, I had hoped she would last a little bit longer, at least to the bloodwork results so she could had been cured at all.
I feel so enraged and so sad and so guilty, I wished she could had been saved, that there was something to do, that we could had been told what to do sooner by the vet staff, but not even them knew what to do. Most of all, I feel guilty. I feel that I was not a good master to her, that I should have loved her and cherished her more that I already have, that I maybe missed some symptoms and she died because of my fault. I wished I had taken more photos and videos of her, and I hope I don't forget her. Worst of all, my best friend Kitty died a litlle bit over a month at 14 y.o. It has been rough for me because of her death, and now with Vicki's, I feel so powerless, I feel like I've been cursed honestly.
Sorry if this was a mess, I can't really think right now.

First of all, I am treating this in therapy. I just wanna know other people's experience. Anyway, ever since I finished the series I just can't stop thinking about death and how sudden it can be. It scares me and keeps me awake at night every once in a while. I never had this problem before and I used to be a big fan of gory scenes in horror films, but binging SFU affected me in another level, so I wanted to ask if you guys had a similar situation and what helped you deal with it.

https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/pikmri/calvin324hks_igs_rep_page/
https://www.reddit.com/sgsflaicomments/of2wzu/flair_profile_ucalvin324hk/
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• DV: Rings of Saturn
• Dynopunk
• Earth Defense Force 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair
• Eastern Exorcist
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
• El Matador
• Elderand
• ELDEST SOULS
• Electrician Simulator
• Elemental Survivors
• Elex
• Elex II
• Elite Dangerous
• Embr
• Empire: Total War - Definitive Edition
• Empyrion - Galactic Survival
• ENCASED: A SCI-FI POST-APOCALYPTIC RPG
• Endless Space 2
• Endless Space 2 - Digital Deluxe Edition
• Endless Space® 2 - Digital Deluxe Edition
• Endzone - A World Apart
• EPIC CHEF
• Epistory - Typing Chronicles
• Escape the backrooms
• Eternal Threads
• Europa Universalis IV
• European Ship Simulator
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination
• Exorder
• EXPEDITIONS: ROME
• Expeditions: Viking
• Explosionade
• F1 2018
• F1 2019 Anniversary Edition
• F1 2020
• F1 RACE STARS Complete Edition Include DLC
• Fable Anniversary
• Factory Town
• Fallback uprising
• Fallback: Uprising
• FALLOUT 1
• Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset
• FANTASY BLACKSMITH
• FARMER'S DYNASTY
• Farming Simulator 17
• Farming Simulator 19
• Fictorum
• Field of Glory II
• Fights in Tight Spaces
• Filthy Animals Heist Simulator
• Firefighting Simulator - The Squad
• Fishing Adventure
• Flashback
• FLATLAND Vol.2
• FlatOut
• FLING TO THE FINISH
• Floppy Knights
• Fluffy Horde
• FOBIA - ST. DINFNA HOTEL
• For the King
• Forgive me Father
• Forts
• Fred3ric
• Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator
• Friends vs Friends
• Frogun
• From Space
• Frostpunk GOTY
• Frozenheim
• Fun with Ragdolls: The Game
• Funtasia
• Gamedec
• Gamedec - Definitive Edition
• Gang Beasts
• GARAGE bad trip
• Garden Story
• Garfield Kart
• GAS STATION SIMULATOR
• Gelly Break Deluxe
• Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition
• Gevaudan
• Ghostrunner
• Giana Sisters 2D
• GIGA WRECKER
• Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart
• Glitch Busters: Stuck On You
• Gloria Victis
• Go Home Dinosaurs
• GOAT OF DUTY
• GOD EATER 3
• Godlike Burger
• Godstrike
• Going Under
• Golf Gang
• Golf It!
• Gone Home + Original Soundtrack
• Gotham Knights
• GREAK: MEMORIES OF AZUR
• GREEDFALL
• Gremlins, inc
• grey goo
• GRID - 2019
• grid ultimate
• GRIP: Combat Racing
• Gungrave G.O.R.E
• Guppy
• Guts and glory
• GYLT
• Hacknet
• Haegemonia: Legions of Iron
• Hamilton's Great Adventure
• Hammerwatch
• Hands of Necromancy
• Havsala: Into the Soul Palace
• Headsnatchers
• Heartwood Heroes
• Heat Signature
• Helheim Hassle
• Hell Let Loose
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• Hellbound
• Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends
• Hero of the Kingdom III
• Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 2
• Heroes of Hammerwatch
• Heros hour
• Hexologic
• Hidden & Dangerous 2: Courage Under Fire
• Hidden & Dangerous: Action Pack
• Hidden Deep
• High On Life
• Hitman (2016) Game of the Year Edition
• HITMAN 2 - Gold Edition
• Hoa
• Hob
• Hollow Knight
• Holy Potatoes! A Spy Story?!
• Home Sweet Home
• Home Sweet Home EP2
• Homestead Arcana
• Hood: Outlaws & Legends
• Hoplegs
• Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED ™
• Hotshot Racing
• House Flipper
• How to Survive 2
• Hue
• Human: Fall Flat
• HUMANKIND DEFINITIVE EDITION
• Hungry Flame
• Hyper Knights
• I am Bread
• I Am Fish
• I am not a Monster: First Contact
• I Hate Running Backwards
• ibb & obb Double Pack
• ICBM
• Ice Age Scrat's Nutty Adventure
• Ice Lakes
• Impostor Factory
• IN SOUND MIND
• Indivisible
• INDUSTRIA
• Infectonator 3: Apocalypse
• Infinite Beyond The Mind
• Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
• Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
• Insane 2
• INSOMNIA: The Ark
• Internet Cafe Simulator
• Internet Cafe Simulator 2
• Interstellar Space: Genesis
• Iron Fisticle
• Iron Harvest
• Ittle Dew
• Ittle Dew 2+
• Jack Move
• Jackbox party pack 2
• Jackbox party pack 5
• JANITOR BLEEDS
• Joint Task Force
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition
• Journey For Elysium
• Journey to the Savage Planet
• JUMANJI: The Video Game
• JumpJet Rex
• Juno: New Origins
• Jupiter Hell
• Jurassic Park: The Game
• Jurassic World Evolution
• Jurassic World Evolution 2
• JUST CAUSE 4: COMPLETE EDITION
• Just Die Already
• Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator
• Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
• Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
• Kentucky Route Zero - Season Pass Edition
• Kerbal Space Program
• Killing Floor 2 Digital Deluxe Edition
• Killing Room
• Kingdom Two Crowns
• Kingdom: New Lands
• King's Bounty: Crossworlds
• Knights of Pen & Paper 2
• Knock-knock
• Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] *Koi-Koi Japan : UKIYOE tours Vol.1 DLC *Koi-Koi Japan : UKIYOE tours Vol.2 DLC *Koi-Koi Japan : UKIYOE tours Vol.3 DLC
• Konung 2
• KungFu Kickball
• Labyrinthine
• Lair of the Clockwork God
• Laserlife
• LAST OASIS
• Lawn Mowing Simulator
• Layers of Fear: Masterpiece Edition
• Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West
• Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle
• Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War
• Learn Japanese to Survive! Trilogy
• Learning Factory
• Legend of Keepers
• LEGION TD 2 - MULTIPLAYER TOWER DEFENSE
• LEGION TD 2 - MULTIPLAYER TOWER DEFENSE.
• Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry
• Leisure Suit Larry 1-7
• Lemnis Gate
• Lemon Cake
• lethal league blaze
• Let's School
• Levelhead
• Liberated (GOG)
• Life is Strange Complete Season (Episodes 1-5)
• Light Fairytale Episode 1
• Light Fairytale Episode 2
• LIGHTMATTER
• Little dragons cafe
• Little Hope
• Little Inner Monsters - Card Game
• Little Nightmares
• Little Nightmares Complete Edition
• Livelock
• Loop Hero
• Loot River
• Looterkings
• Lornsword Winter Chronicle
• Lost Castle
• Lost Planet 3 Complete Pack
• LOTR: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition
• Love Letter
• Lovecraft's Untold Stories
• Lovely planet arcade
• Lucius2
• Lucius3
• Ludus
• Lumberhill
• Lust for Darkness
• Lust from Beyond: M Edition
• Mad Experiments: Escape Room
• Mad Max
• Mafia Definitive Edition
• Mafia: Definitive Edition
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle : School Girls Edition
• Mail Time
• Maize
• Maneater
• Marooners
• MARSUPILAMI - HOOBADVENTURE
• Marvel's Avengers - The Definitive Edition
• Mato Anomalies
• Max Payne 3
• Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons
• Medieval II: Total War - Definitive Edition
• Medieval: Total War Collection
• MEEPLE STATION
• Men of War
• MERCHANT OF THE SKIES
• METAL HELLSINGER
• Metal Hellsinger
• Metro Exodus
• Metro last light
• Metro: Last Light Redux
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition
• MIDNIGHT PROTOCOL
• Mighty Switch Force! Collection
• MIND SCANNERS
• Ministry of Broadcast
• Minute of Islands
• Miscreated
• Mists of Noyah
• MKXL
• Mob Rule Classic
• Monaco
• Monster Slayers - Complete Edition
• Monster Train
• MONSTER TRAIN (FIRST CLASS - COLLECTORS EDITION)
• Monstrum
• Monstrum 2
• Moon Hunters
• Moons of Madness
• MORDHAU
• Mordheim: City of the Damned
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition
• MORTAL KOMBAT XL
• Mortal Shell
• Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021
• Mr. Run and Jump
• Murder Mystery Machine
• My Big Sister
• My Friend Peppa Pig
• My Lovely Wife
• My Summer Adventure: Memories of Another Life
• My Time At Portia
• N++ (NPLUSPLUS)
• Napoleon: Total War - Definitive Edition
• Narcos: Rise of the Cartels
• NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER
• NECROMUNDA: HIRED GUN
• Necronator: Dead Wrong
• NecroVisioN: Lost Company
• NecroWorm
• Neighbours back From Hell
• Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD
• Neon Space
• Neon Space 2
• Neon Sundown
• Nephise: Ascension
• Neurodeck : Psychological Deckbuilder
• Never Alone Arctic Collection (w/ Foxtales DLC and FREE Soundtrack)
• Neverinth
• Neverout
• Neverwinter Nights: Complete Adventures
• Newt One
• Nexomon: Extinction
• Nigate Tale
• Nine Parchments
• Nine Witches: Family Disruption
• No Straight Roads: Encore Edition
• No Time to Relax
• Nomad Survival
• Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition
• Noosphere
• Northgard
• Northmark: Hour of the Wolf
• Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
• not the robots
• Nurse Love Addiction
• Nurse Love Syndrome
• Nusakana
• Obduction
• Obey Me
• Observer: System Redux
• Occultus - Mediterranean Cabal
• Odallus: The Dark Call
• Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
• OlliOlli World
• One Finger Death Punch 2
• One Hand Clapping
• One More Island
• One Step From Eden
• One Step From Eden (Region locked)
• Orbital Racer
• OTXO
• Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
• Out of Space
• OUTBUDDIES DX
• Overclocked: A History of Violence
• Overlord: Ultimate Evil Collection
• Overpass
• Overruled
• OZYMANDIAS: BRONZE AGE EMPIRE SIM
• Pac-Man Museum +
• Pan'Orama
• Panty Party
• Panzer Corps 2
• Papo & Yo
• PARADISE LOST
• Parkan 2
• PARTISANS 1941
• Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
• Patron
• Paw Patrol: On A Roll!
• Paws of Coal
• Payday 2
• PAYDAY 2
• Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
• PER ASPERA
• Perfect
• PGA 2K21
• PGA Tour 2K21
• Pharaonic
• Pixplode
• Pizza Connection 3
• Plague tale
• Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition
• Planet Alcatraz
• PLANET ZOO
• PlateUp!
• Pogostuck: Rage With Your Friends
• Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold'em
• Police Stories
• Poly Island
• Post Void
• Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• Prank Call
• Prehistoric Kingdom
• Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire
• Pretty Girls Panic!
• Prey
• Primal Carnage: Extinction
• Princess Kaguya: Legend of the Moon Warrior
• Pro Cycling Manager 2020
• Prodeus
• Project CARS - GOTY Edition
• Project Warlock
• Project Wingman (EU)
• PROJECT WINTER
• Propnight
• PULSAR: The Lost Colony
• qomp
• Quake II
• Quantum Break
• Quern - Undying Thoughts
• Radio Commander
• RAGE
• Rage in Peace
• RAILROAD CORPORATION
• Railroad Tycoon 3
• Railroad Tycoon II Platinum
• Railway Empire
• Rain World
• Rayon Riddles - Rise of the Goblin King
• Re: Legend
• REBEL COPS
• Rebel Galaxy
• Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
• Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
• Red Riding Hood - Star Crossed Lovers
• Red Ronin
• RED SOLSTICE 2: SURVIVORS
• Redout Complete Bundle
• Redout: Enhanced Edition
• Redout: Enhanced Edition + DLC pack
• Regular Human Basketball
• REKT! High Octane Stunts
• Relicta
• REMNANT: FROM THE ASHES - COMPLETE EDITION
• Republique
• Rescue Party: Live!
• Resident Evil 0 HD REMASTER
• Resident Evil 4
• Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Resort Boss: Golf
• RETROWAVE
• rFactor 2
• RiME
• Ring of Pain
• Rise of Industry + 2130 DLC
• Rise of the Slime
• Rising Storm 2: Vietnam + 2 DLCs
• Riven: The Sequel to MYST
• River City Girls
• River City Ransom: Underground
• Roarr! Jurassic Edition
• Roboquest
• Robot Squad Simulator 2017
• Rogue : Genesia
• ROGUE HEROES: RUINS OF TASOS
• ROGUE LORDS
• Rogue Stormers
• rollercoaster tycoon 2
• Rollerdrome (EU)
• ROTASTIC
• Roundguard
• ROUNDS
• RUNNING WITH RIFLES
• Rustler
• Ryse: Son of Rome
• S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster
• Sailing Era
• Saint Row
• SAMUDRA
• Sands of Aura
• Sands of Salzaar
• Saturday Morning RPG
• Save Room - Organization Puzzle
• Scarlet Tower
• Scorn
• SCP: 5K
• SCUM
• SEARCH PARTY: Director's Cut
• Second Extinction
• Secret Government
• Serious Sam 3 Bonus Content DLC, Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile, and Serious Sam 3: BFE
• SEUM speedrunners from hell
• SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell
• Severed Steel
• Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice
• Shadowgate
• SHADOWS: AWAKENING
• Shape of the World
• She Sees Red - Interactive Movie
• Shenmue I & II
• SHENZHEN I/O
• Shift Happens
• Shing!
• Shoppe Keep 2 - Business and Agriculture RPG Simulation
• Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
• Sid Meier's Civilization VI
• Sid Meier's Railroads!
• Sifu Deluxe Edition Upgrade Bundle (EPIC)
• Silver Chains
• SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition
• Sinking Island
• SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption
• Skautfold Chapters 1-4
• Skullgirls 2nd Encore
• Slain: Back from Hell
• Slap City
• Slash It
• Slash It 2
• Slash It Ultimate
• Slay the Spire
• Slaycation Paradise
• Small World
• Smart Factory Tycoon
• Smile For Me
• Smoke and Sacrifice
• Smoke and Sacrifice
• Smushi Come Home
• Snail bob 2 tiny troubles
• Sniper Elite 3
• Sniper Elite 3 + Season Pass DLC
• Sniper Elite 4 Deluxe Edition
• Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 - Season Pass Edition
• Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts
• Snooker 19
• SONG OF HORROR COMPLETE EDITION
• Songs of Conquest
• Sonic Adventure 2
• Sonic Adventure DX
• Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing
• Sonic Generations Collection
• Soulblight
• Souldiers
• SOULSTICE
• Soundfall
• Source of Madness
• Sparklite
• Spartan Fist
• Spec Ops
• Speed Limit
• Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo
• Spidersaurs
• Spin Rush
• Spirit Hunter: Death Mark
• Spirit of the Island
• Spirit of the North
• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: BATTLE FOR BIKINI BOTTOM - REHYDRATED
• Spring Bonus
• Stairs
• STAR WARS - Knights of the Old Republic
• STAR WARS - The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition
• STAR WARS Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast
• Star Wolves
• Starsand
• STASIS: Bone Totem
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Steel Rats™
• Stick Fight: The Game
• Still Life
• Still Life 2
• Stirring Abyss
• STONE
• Strange Brigade
• Strange Brigade Deluxe Edition
• STRANGER
• Strategic Command: World War I
• Strategy & Tactics: Wargame Collection
• Streamer Life Simulator
• Street Fighter V
• Street of fury ex
• Strider
• Strikey Sisters
• Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
• Styx: Master of Shadows
• Styx: Shards of Darkness
• SuchArt
• Sucker for Love: First Date
• Sudden Strike Gold
• Suite 776
• Sumoman
• Sunblaze
• SUNLESS BUNDLE
• Sunset Overdrive
• Super Buff HD
• Super Mag Bot
• SUPER MAGBOT
• Superbugs: Awaken
• Superhot
• Surgeon Simulator 2
• Survive the Nights
• Surviving Mars
• Surviving The Aftermath
• Swag and Sorcery
• Sword Legacy Omen
• Sword of the Necromancer
• Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon
• Syberia 3
• Symphonic Rain
• Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga
• Synthwave Dream '85
• Tacoma
• Take Off - The Flight Simulator
• Tales
• Tales from the Borderlands
• Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition
• Talk to Strangers
• Tallowmere
• Tangledeep
• Tank Mechanic Simulator
• Tannenberg
• Team Sonic Racing
• TEKKEN 7
• TEMTEM
• Terminus: Zombie Survivors
• Terror of Hemasaurus
• Textorcist
• Tharsis
• The Adventure Pals
• The Amazing American Circus
• The Anacrusis
• The Ascent
• The Battle of Polytopia
• The Battle of Polytopia *DLC1. Cymanti Tribe *DLC2. ∑∫ỹriȱŋ Tribe *DLC3. Aquarion Tribe *DLC4. Polaris Tribe
• The Blackout Club
• The Callisto Protocol
• The Chess Variants Club
• The Citadel
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
• THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: LITTLE HOPE
• The Darkest Tales
• The Dungeon Beneath
• The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos
• The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® Game of the Year Edition
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• The Escapists 2
• THE GAME OF LIFE 2
• The Golf Club™ 2019 featuring PGA TOUR
• THE GUNK
• The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game
• The Hong Kong Massacre
• The Horror Of Salazar House
• The Indie Mixtape
• The Innsmouth Case
• The Invisible Hours
• The Jackbox Party Pack 9
• The Last Campfire
• The Legend of Tianding
• The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame
• The Letter - Horror Visual Novel
• The Long Dark
• The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition
• The Mortuary Assistant
• The Mummy Demastered
• The Outer Worlds
• THE OUTER WORLDS: SPACER'S CHOICE EDITION
• THE PALE BEYOND
• The Quarry
• The Quarry deluxe
• The Ramp
• The Red Lantern
• The Rewinder
• The Sacred Tears TRUE
• The Sexy Brutale
• The Smurfs - Mission Vileaf
• The Tarnishing of Juxtia
• The Tenants
• The Uncertain - The Last Quiet Day
• THE UNCERTAIN: LAST QUIET DAY
• The Uncertain: Light At The End
• The USB Stick Found in the Grass
• The Walking Dead
• The Walking Dead - 400 Days
• The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners
• The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
• The Walking Dead: Final Season
• The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
• The Walking Dead: Season 1
• The Walking Dead: Season Two
• The Way
• The Wild At Heart
• The Wild Eight
• The Witness
• Them and Us
• They Bleed Pixels
• Thief of Thieves
• This War of Mine
• This Way Madness Lies
• Three Kingdom: The Journey
• Through the Woods
• Time on Frog Island
• Tinkertown
• Tiny Tina’s Wonderland(EU)
• TINY TINA'S WONDERLANDS CHAOTIC GREAT EDITION
• Tiny Troopers
• Tinykin
• Tinytopia
• TIS-100
• Titan Quest
• Tokyo Xanadu eX+
• Tools up
• Tooth and Tail
• Torchlight
• Total Tank Simulator
• Tour de France 2020
• Trailblazers
• Train Sim World 3: Standard Edition
• Train Simulator Classic
• Train Valley 1
• Transport INC
• Treasure Hunter Simulator
• TRIBES OF MIDGARD
• Trine 4
• Trinity Fusion
• Trombone Champ
• Tropico 5 - Complete Collection
• Trover Saves the Universe
• Tunche
• Turmoil
• Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
• Twin Mirror
• Two Point Campus
• Two Point Hospital
• TYPECAST
• Tyrant's Blessing
• Ultimate Chicken Horse
• Ultimate Zombie Defense
• Ultra Space Battle Brawl
• Unavowed
• Undead Horde
• Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy
• Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign
• Universim
• UNLOVED
• Unpacking
• Until I have you
• Unto The End
• Upside Down
• URU: Complete Chronicles
• Vagante
• Valfaris
• Valfaris: Mecha Therion
• Valkryia Chronicles 4 Complete Edition
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition
• Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition
• Vambrace: Cold Soul
• Vampire Survivors
• Vampyr
• Vectronom
• Velocity Noodle
• Venba
• Verne: The Shape of Fantasy
• Victoria 3
• Victoria II
• Viking: Battle For Asgard
• Virgo Versus The Zodiac
• VirtuaVerse
• Visage
• Viscerafest
• Void Bastards
• VOIDIGO
• Volcanoids
• Voltage High Society
• Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire
• V-Rally 4
• Wanderlust: Travel Stories (GOG)
• Wargroove
• Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector
• Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
• Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf Special Edition
• WARHAMMER AGE OF SIGMAR: REALMS OF RUIN – ULTIMATE EDITION
• Warhammer vermintide collector's edition
• Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2
• Warman
• Wasteland 3
• Wayward
• WE NEED TO GO DEEPER
• We should talk.
• We Were Here Together
• We Were Here Too
• Webbed
• What Lies in the Multiverse
• When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
• while True: learn()
• Whos Your daddy
• Wick
• Will You Snail?
• Windward
• Witch It
• Witchy Life Story
• wizard of legends
• Wolfenstein 3D
• Worms Rumble
• WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship
• WRC 7 FIA World Rally Championship
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds
• WWE 2K23
• WWZ Aftermath
• Wytchwood
• X-COM: COMPLETE PACK
• XCOM: ULTIMATE COLLECTION
• XIII - Classic
• X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
• X-Morph: Defense Complete Pack
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Yumeutsutsu Re:After
• Yumeutsutsu Re:Master
• Zen Chess: Mate in One, Mate in 2 , Mate in 3 , Mate in 4 , Champion's Moves (5 games)
• Ziggurat
• Zombie Army 4
• Zombie Army Trilogy
• Zool Redimensioned

DLCs and Softwares:

• For The King: Lost Civilization Adventure Pack
• Train Simulator: Isle of Wight Route Add-On
• Train Simulator: Woodhead Electric Railway in Blue Route Add-On
• Train Simulator: North Somerset Railway Route Add-On
• Train Simulator: Union Pacific Heritage SD70ACes Loco Add-On
• Train Simulator: London to Brighton Route Add-On
• BR Class 170 'Turbostar' DMU Add-On
• DB BR 648 Loco Add-On
• Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations
• Expansion - Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise
• Expansion - Europa Universalis IV: Res Publica
• Grand Central Class 180 'Adelante' DMU Add-On
• Peninsula Corridor: San Francisco - Gilroy Route Add-On
• SONIC ADVENTURE 2: BATTLE
• Small World - A Spider's Web
• Small World - Cursed
• Small World - Royal Bonus
• The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos - Goodies Pack
• The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos - OST
• Thompson Class B1 Loco Add-On
• Total War: Shogun 2 - Rise of the Samurai
• Train Sim World® 3: Birmingham Cross-city line
• Train Sim World®: BR Class 20 'Chopper' Loco
• Train Sim World®: Brighton Main Line: London Victoria - Brighton
• Train Sim World®: Caltrain MP36PH-3C 'Baby Bullet'
• Train Sim World®: Cathcart Circle Line: Glasgow - Newton & Neilston
• Train Sim World®: Clinchfield Railroad: Elkhorn - Dante
• Train Sim World®: Great Western Express
• Train Sim World®: Hauptstrecke Hamburg - Lubeck
• Train Sim World®: LIRR M3 EMU
• Train Sim World®: Long Island Rail Road: New York - Hicksville
• Train Sim World®: Nahverkehr Dresden - Riesa
• Train Sim World®: Northern Trans-Pennine: Manchester - Leeds
• Train Sim World®: Peninsula Corridor: San Francisco - San Jose
• Train Sim World®: Rhein-Ruhr Osten: Wuppertal - Hagen
• Train Sim World®: Tees Valley Line: Darlington - Saltburn-by-the-sea
• Worms Rumble - Armageddon Weapon Skin Pack
• Worms Rumble - Captain & Shark Double Pack
• Worms Rumble - Legends Pack
• Worms Rumble - New Challengers Pack
• Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7
• Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
• Duke Nukem Forever Hail to the Icons
• Duke Nukem Forever The Doctor Who Cloned Me
• GRIP: Combat Racing - Cygon Garage Kit
• GRIP: Combat Racing - Nyvoss Garage Kit
• GRIP: Combat Racing - Terra Garage Kit
• GRIP: Combat Racing - Vintek Garage Kit
• GameGuru
• GameMaker Studio 2 Creator 12 Months
• Intro to Game Development with Unity
• Music Maker EDM Edition
• Neverwinter Nights: Darkness Over Daggerford
• Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Dark Dreams of Furiae
• Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Tyrants of the Moonsea
• Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
• Neverwinter Nights: Infinite Dungeons
• Neverwinter Nights: Pirates of the Sword Coast
• Neverwinter Nights: Wyvern Crown of Cormyr
• PDF-Suite 1 Year License
• Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook and Starfinder Core Rulebook
• RPG Maker VX
• WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS - Ultimate Brawlers Pass
• We Are Alright
• The Outer Worlds Expansion Pass
• A Hat in Time - Seal the Deal DLC
• City Skylines:mass transit
• A Game Of Thrones - A Dance With Dragons
• A Game Of Thrones - A Feast For Crows
• Blood Rage: Digital Edition - Gods of Asgard
• Blood Rage: Digital Edition - Mythical Monsters
• Blood Rage: Digital Edition - Mystics of Midgard
• Carcassonne - The Princess and The Dragon DLC
• Carcassonne - Traders & Builders DLC
• Carcassonne - Winter & Gingerbread Man DLC
• Carcassonne - Inns & Cathedrals
• Carcassonne - The River
• Splendor: The Trading Posts DLC
• Splendor: The Strongholds DLC
• Splendor: The Cities DLC
• Small World - Be Not Afraid... DLC
• Small World - Grand Dames DLC
• Small World - Cursed!
• Sands of Salzaar - The Ember Saga
• Sands of Salzaar - The Tournament
• Monster Train: The Last Divinity DLC
• WARSAW