Lost In Lucidity

Revelation

Much like us, Mason had the idea of smashing the controls to the elevator so that chasing after him would be a more laborious task. If I thought going down the steps was a nightmare, going up was sheer hell. About a quarter of the way up, I began to wonder what the practicality of having stairs even was instead of just building another elevator strictly for emergencies. Did the power of OSHA fire regulations really still surpass the jurisdiction of the secret government cult? I suppose it's still a good thing, however. No matter how many elevators the place had, Mason could find a way to break them. Breaking stairs wasn't a simple task, however. At least, I hoped not.

The new suits that we wear definitely help make the climb less awful. Minor bionics in the joints make our bodies feel weightless, even with the packs slung over the hard, armored exterior, so the only muscles we need are what's necessary to move one foot above the other. The suits run on a power source, and once that's drained, the thing is basically a fancy suit of armor, however the life appears to be long, which only furthers the question of what these suits were used for before the world went to hell. There was no threat that warranted such a tank of a device other than the ongoing wars that still flickered about in parts of the world. However, as far as we knew, these had never been used in them. On top of that, these complexes were very far from any war zones. Something tells me that the P.A.P were probably using these to fight things other than humans long before the world ended...

As we grow closer to the top of the steps, I go on high alert, waiting for any sort of ambush that Mason might have set for us. The man clearly will be planning for us to come after taking Lyle, so we need to prepare for any possibility. My hope is that the helmets will catch whatever it is before it happens, however. The sound maps on these shells trump anything our old ones could do by a mile. Somehow, seemingly by some sort of echolocation or radio waves, it can fully map the surrounding area to a perfect degree, not just having to rely on a mental layout. On top of that, all the data and statistics that it provides are twice as plentiful and accurate. It can display things I didn't even know I needed to know. Calorie usage, heartbeat monitor, optimal movement patterns to maximize speed and energy efficiency. There are some strange ones too, however. There's a stress meter, and another tab telling me that my current condition seems to be distraught. Both read incredibly high, the text glowing red with warning. I don't know what they're for, or how they're pertinent to the mission at hand, so for the time being, I pay them little mind.

Our plan that we informed Eight of so far was this: we really had no coherent plan. It took a hell of a lot of convincing to get her to be okay with that answer, but there was nothing else that we could really say. Like I said, we have no clue what's up here waiting for us. The fact of the matter is, sometimes having a plan in the places beyond the grid can be a detriment. Very rarely does the chaos that lives and breathes in the dark abide by what you have in mind, and it can almost be more of a detriment to try to be ridged in approach than to adapt. Case and point was the Basilisks. We had a plan, and it went south very fast. If Mason's men hadn't shown up and helped us, we most likely would have died from the rest of the mob breaking down the door and bleeding us dry. Adaptability was key, and Val and I thrived more on knowing the key points of a mission, then molding it as we went.

At least, that's what I tell myself...

This answer eventually convinced the new captain enough, and with another farewell to my dad, as well as everyone else before we left, Val and I set out. I was glad Arti was occupied elsewhere at the time. I wouldn't have been able to say yet another goodbye to her...

"Bring him home safe. Yourselves too." Tom told us as we stepped through to the tram platform, "I'll be praying for you."

We were going to need it.