Process of Understanding
I took a long sip from my coffee and sheltered within its aroma.
What was I doing?
How did I become the manager for this corporation? What had I done to deserve this punishment? More importantly, what did anyone involved do to fall into this hell?
[DATA EXPUNGED] recovered from their deafness, but whenever I sent them back to work at Silent Orchestra, their symptoms emerged again. The bug on their SP bar didn't disappear, as Angela assured me. I was worried, but they were the only employee capable of dealing with an ALEPH grade threat at the moment.
"I am not looking forward to its containment unit breach."
To make matters worse, I wanted to extract that ALEPH's EGO equipment. With it, resisting its white damage will be much easier for my employees. However, to do so, I will have to send [DATA EXPUNGED] to work with it over and over…
I massaged my eyelids and tried looking at the big picture.
We were storing energy. That was what Lobotomy Corporation was all about, but was it really just that? Why did the Sephirahs and the employees have to go through all of this? What sick monster designed this hell?
It was so infuriating… and I felt so powerless… It was nauseating.
Malkuth asked me to suppress a Dusk Ordeal, but before that we had to encounter the Noon Ordeals. Yesod wanted me to finish a day without bad results, which was relatively easy. [DATA EXPUNGED] already reached level 5 thanks to their Prudence, Justice and Temperance, but Hod now wanted them to suppress 4 different abnormalities within the same day. Her training routines were getting more extreme by the day. Her employees are reaching their limit, except for that smiling monster. Finally, Netzach already got a day with zero deaths and another day with zero panics. Now he wanted a day with zero deaths AND panics.
Scariest part of all… The Sephirahs were slowly breaking apart. They still fulfilled their roles, but I could feel the despair blooming inside them. At the rate we were going, they wouldn't last much longer…
What would happen if I lost the head of a department?
Process of Understanding. In the end, they were bound to life. We existed only to express despair and ire.
What is an Ordeal? Why do they happen as the day progresses? And the Qliphoth Meltdowns? What's wrong with this facility? Why does it ooze so much misery?
I moved my cursor through the screen and selected my top employees. [DATA EXPUNGED], Ekpmephtil, Lin, Kikas and Gregory. That crook had enough vigor to put up a fight, so he would need to learn some teamwork. They took it surprisingly well.
I sent them to crush the invaders. Golem-like mechanical beings, armed with saws and guns, moved through the hallways of the facility. Many clerks died because I lacked control to evacuate them, but at least I managed to keep my employees safe.
We will understand life and soul through our hands.
"I wished I could understand why any of this is happening."
Hidden within the shadows of my office, my assistant's golden eyes gleamed with anticipation. At least I could rely on her. Hell may break loose in this place on a daily basis, but she would always be there to guard my back. Not.
I once asked her why she kept her eyes closed.
She dodged the question, like she did many times.
"Dusk Ordeals will occur once we unlock more departments, manager."
"So we just stick to filling quota until we hit day 21."
Her smile reflected her satisfaction at my progress adapting to my duties. Furrowing my brows, I wondered whether she really had any emotion at all. How could she keep so calm with everything that was going on? Did she lack empathy?
Ah. That's right. She's a machine. Machines should behave like machines.
My relationship with my assistant became colder ever since she caught the weird messages I was getting, the ones that warned me about her. I don't know what B was trying to say, but I realized Angela was more than what met the eye. A machine capable of lying and threatening a Wing. I couldn't lower my guard around her anymore.
