Part 1 – Chapter 2 – Conclusions
Slowly and panic stricken, Dr. Sephier returned the telephone to Tina's desk and mindlessly walked into the bathroom. He rested his hands on the side of the sink and his knuckles went white as he clasped the edge. He filled a glass with tap water and held it up to eye level. The faint blue tint of the glass cast a light-aqua tinge on the doctor's hand as he raised it to the small window in the room.
When had he felt so guilty?
So alone?
As he focused into the mirror, he caught the reflection of Tina standing behind him—not that he took much notice—Fear trailed through his head like the trains that once travelled his old home; Midgar. As the adrenalin coursed through his veins, he looked at the shambles of a figure leering at him in the mirror, watching his every move and mimicking every placid facial expression. The man in the mirror, the leering freak, was the man he had brought himself to despise—the only hatred he felt for anything was directed at himself.
"Are...are you ok, Jules?" The innocent face. The calming eyes. He loved her, he really did, but he had no tie for miniscule relationships no matter how much he longed for one. Tina stood in the doorway and placed a firm, yet gently hand on Dr. Sephier's shoulder. "It was that phone call, wasn't it..." She moved closer and looked him in the eyes—those icy eyes. The only way she could get to him was through those eyes, the window to his inner soul..."What happened?" Her calm voice snapped Dr. Sephier back to the harsh reality of the situation.
"I killed them..." The words stumbled off his lips like they were dying to seek freedom and escape from his throat. "I killed them all, it's all my fault Tina!" He gazed into Tina's tiger-like eyes and his voice lowered. "It's all my fault..." His eyes dropped as he looked at his feet in disgust. He sighed. "If I hadn't told those poor kids to search for that object, this wouldn't have happened at all." Tina looked at the doctor in sheer amazement because she had never seen him so out of character before and frankly, it was scary to think of her life-long friend to be a murderer. She shook the thoughts out of her head and got back to the task in hand. Finding out what happened.
~oO0Oo~
After the tedious hours of explaining and sharing of information, silence crept over Icicle Inn as the sun began to rise. The crisp white snow glimmered in the serene light of the new morning and it was a picturesque view of tranquillity. The muted light of the candles in the room depleted as a draft swept through the room diminishing the candle's light one, by one. An eerie chill enveloped the room as the sunlight from the sunrise seeped through the bathroom window illuminating a small section of paperwork on Tina's desk. Dr. Sephier steadily got to his feet and walked over to the solitary pile of pamphlets on the desk. Filing through them slowly, he found a letter addressed to him. As he scanned the page for whom it was from, he slowly raised his eyes to meet Tina's gaze.
"Tina, why didn't you tell me that you had received this letter for me?" It was an analysis report from the Nibelheim Scientific 'cynical movement' as people referred to them as. He laid his hand down on the table and placed the paper beside it. Balancing his glasses on the tip of his nose he began to read. Tina inspected the papers and announced, "Jules, these papers weren't here before, well I didn't put them there. No one has visited today either. Come to think of it, we haven't left this building at all in the past three days!" Dr. Sephier looked at Tina in astonishment.
"Three days?! Surely it hasn't been that long since I went out!"
Tina ran the back of her hand over the doctor's face to prove her point, "You haven't shaved either." She smiled. A grin crept over the doctor's face as he carried on reading the letter...
Doctor J. SephierIcicle Inn
Northern Continent
12th November 2057
3:25am
"The funny thing is, that the letter was dated for today." Dr. Sephier looked at the clock, "...and timed for an hour ago..." He shook his wrist in disbelief and looked at his watch repeatedly, not believing what the hands were telling him.
"I'm sure it was just a mistake." Tina's eyes scanned the time and date over and over again as the doctor carried on reading the report.
Dear Dr. Sephier,
Thank you for using our services to aid you in your own research. Here we have included the results from the biopsy on the sample you sent to us, and a possible conclusion to as and why these results may have occurred.
The rest of the letter became a blur as he quickly scanned through the figure apart from a few key sentences...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The sample you provided has biological properties~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Further analysis is needed to determine the exact origin and if there are any signs of an organic life-form~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yours Sincerely
Professor James Hobson
N.S.R.L
(Nibelheim Scientific Research Laboratory)
Dr. Sephier ran his hand over the stubble that had accumulated on his chin and cheeks and stood there thinking there was nothing else to do apart from think and ponder about the facts and information over and over again...
~oO0Oo~
Report 12th November 2057
Six people have been killed at the research site at the Northern Crater and I can't help but to blame myself for the unfortunate accident. I asked them out there in the first place. The test results are back from N.S.R.L and the E-M has 'biological' properties, which was my primary hypothesis and expectations for the object. Such a small amount of the E-M was hard to study, but they managed it.
I know that this materia is more powerful than any other materia in know existence, so I will handle it with the up most of care. The main problem at the site is that when the six people were killed, the materia disappeared so I am not going to put any limitations on the capability of this 'object' until further study is conducted once it is recovered. I should really refer to it as a specimen since I have this daft conclusion that it is a sentient being. I'm working my way out to the site myself to see what is going on, I don't want any more trouble to be caused than is necessary. I'm not too sure what this could mean but it could stem to the problem of the world being 'too' perfect.
"Tina, look after the house while I'm gone..." Tina looked up at the doctor with a puzzled look spread on her face. The doctor's eyes didn't seem so innocent and calm anymore, a storm was brewing in their icy blue waters. "I'm going to see what the hell is going on for myself."
