I'm dreaming again; sitting atop a Corpus tower on Jupiter watching the sun rise. It creeps above the gaseous horizon inch by inch, luminous fingers stretching to the sky, searching for a hold. Faint outlines of other towers dot the clouds like mirages, appearing and disappearing as the landscape shifted and changed. It was beautiful, if alien.
A pleasant distraction from the whirlwind of light and magic trying to force its way out of my skull.
I close my eyes and lean back, letting my mind wander. I creep through my surroundings, examining pieces of carefully shaped metal and well-hidden mechanics. Their designs confuse me but as I spend more time investigating the connections they begin to make sense, much as a spider's web makes no sense till you understand its purpose. I trigger security mechanisms, open and close doors and watch as the box-headed inhabitants chatter in confusion.
A surge of power and strange noise catches my attention and I look down to see a large machine waking up. I think it's called the Jackal, though I've no idea why. It reminds me of a crab or some sort of insect more than anything else. Still, I can't help but admire the sleek designs that the Corpus come up with. Even the Zanuka Hunter looks appealing till it tries to maul you.
Despite their ingenuity and efficiency, the Corpus scare me. There's a certain something about their lives that scares me. Or, more to the point, their lack of life. Their culture is dedicated to money and material pursuits, otherwise brilliant minds bent and shackled under the weight of expectation and greed.
A lot like the Orokin, if you cared to make the comparison.
No matter how far you traveled you couldn't escape the stench of gilded corruption that seemed to permeate the air. It seeped into the earth, clouded the skies and made my stomach roil. Their... our influence was everywhere and anywhere. From what I've learnt, it seems that it even in death it stretches far beyond the Origin system.
That said, it isn't without its opposition. What was once their flesh rebels against it, machines made for peace turning to war in the wake of realization. Despite the value of the remaining artifacts, it was very debatable if the rewards were worth the risks they presented. Factions vied for control of them, short-lived alliances growing and dying as their masters sought new ways to exert power and authority.
Many were blind to the rippling effects their actions or lack thereof had, and those who were seemed not to care. There were a few exceptions of course - many of the smaller groups, the Syndicates, seemed dedicated to bettering the reality around them. I admired their efforts, though the way they venerated me when I helped them made me suspicious. Everyone wants something from everyone else; some just don't like to admit it.
It's a shame they weren't better teachers too. I could stand to learn a few things if anyone was willing to teach. Teshin Dax seemed open to the idea of teaching but I don't know if I want to learn what he has to teach. I'm sick to my core of this conflict and the way it spoils anything it sinks its claws into. I don't want to give in to it, to give in to the fear and mistrust. I want to be better than that.
I want to have faith.
Some of the box-headed workers are talking in hushed tones. I can only make out parts of what they're saying but I can get the gist of it. There's something big and bad that some Grineer asshat woke up on Uranus. Truth be told I'm sick of hearing about the loud, obnoxious Grineer authority, but I can't help my curiosity. I strain my hearing, trying to make out the rapid-fire syllables of the Corpus dialect.
Most of the technical jargon is lost on me but a few words stick in my head, sentient being one of them. Are they trying to say that they found some huge creature under the surface? Something... trapped, I think? That could be very interesting. My gut tells me that it's a bad idea but I can't resist the idea that there might be something new to learn - something to sate my curiosity, if only for a moment.
Oh, to the Void with it. I want to go and investigate. I'll probably regret it later, but I'll regret not going more.
- Writer's Note -
Apologies on the lack of updates for god knows how long, there's been a lot going on in my life. Study has kept me busy, not to mention my health turning to sh!t, so now that both of those are mostly out of the way hopefully I'll be able to update this more often. I'd like to update it once a week on Mondays (NZT) but I don't know if I'll be able to stick to that. Hopefully I will.
