Eleanor wasn't sure what to do. She just stood there, beholding the scene as rain tapped against the roof and windows, making everything feel sadder. Tenenbaum and the Big Sister hugging reminded Eleanor of Father, or at least something she wished she could have experienced. Eleanor slowly looked down, quietly sighing. It would have been so nice to see Father's face, and embrace him for what he was...
The Big Sister sniffled, gradually pulling away from Mama. Tenenbaum remained silent, wiping her eyes. Turning her torso, but not getting off Mama's lap, the Big Sister took a letter from the inside of her helmet. She passed it to Eleanor. Tenenbaum covered her face and wept, so the Big Sister comforted Mama, putting an arm around her shoulders. Figuring Tenenbaum and the Big Sister should be alone, Eleanor took her leave, going to her bedroom upstairs.
Eleanor sat on her bed and examined the letter. It looked old, yellowish from dampness, was rather crumpled, and even had mould growing here and there. The front read:
To: Lamb
Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows, but opened the letter anyways. Curiously enough, the text was written in shiny red. It was uncommon for someone to write a letter in red.
It's me. You have noticed this because of my handwriting. Lamb, you can't hide her from me. No matter what you choose, we will meet again, eventually. If this is something that can be stopped, then try to stop it. You will know where to find me. Find me before I find you.
P.S. Don't pick number 77 when you get here. Do not alert Benny Chairman of your presence.
- Michael Vay Atar
Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Hunh...what an odd way to write a letter, Mr. Atar." She certainly never met such a person. She did not know if the letter was meant for her, or for her mother. She looked at the back of the letter to see its address:
460 Madison Ave, New York City, NY 10022-6863
Eleanor sure did not know what place this address referred to, let alone how a letter written in New York ended up in the hands of a Big Sister, then given to her. This was quite the mystery. However, it sure would be nice to go back to New York. Last time, when she flew to New York City with Brigid and Sinclair to return Cindy to her mother, Eleanor did not stumble upon any friends. Cathal did mention going to New York, after all. It would be nice to see him and Cindy again, no matter how unlikely the odds were.
Eleanor sighed.
"Cathal... I miss you, too. I hope you're at New York, and somewhere I can find you." Eleanor did not realize how lonely she was until now. She truly missed Cathal, even though he was a fucking dick when they first met. She smiled at the thought of giving him a bleeding nose, reminded her of what she did to Amir so long ago.
Go to New York, a voice said to Eleanor, her own. Was she talking to herself? Or was her mind talking to her? She did not know why, but something in her thoughts was driving her to go to New York City.
"Hm... Maybe The Thinker will know how to find him?" Eleanor asked herself, then looked up, seeing two familiar faces standing in her bedroom. Each held a small red pillow in one's hands, each pillow holding a ring box.
"Serpent?"
"Or the lighthouse?"
"Or perhaps the serpent?"
"Nothing beats the lighthouse."
Eleanor reared. "What the hell are you two doing in my room?" She stood, clearly annoyed. The Luteces stared at her attentively, tilting their heads a bit here and there, as if facially gesturing her to make a pick. Each box had a pretty pendant...
Robert's ring box had a pendant depicting a gaping serpent, reminding Eleanor of a certain statue of Father a Little Sister saw long ago, when the child was controlled by Father to fetch the suit.
Rosalind's box contained a pendant depicting a lighthouse. Undoubtedly, it was the Rapture Lighthouse. It did have a somber feel. The lighthouse... The lighthouse is the main reason for all of this happening, wasn't it?
The Luteces' little things were quite amazing, expertly crafted for sure. Eleanor wondered which one Father would pick. She would never know which one he would like more, though. However, Eleanor was not pleased about the twins' little game. She just stared at them, slightly irritated.
"What do you think I am? Five?" Eleanor grumbled.
"I think she'll pick the lighthouse," Rosalind said.
"And I say the serpent," Robert assured.
Eleanor would never admit it, but she was rather excited about receiving a gift. She caused the little ones to leave gifts for Father, and she never accepted Mother's gift, but... Receiving a gift made her feel like a little girl again. She grinned, eyes darting side to side from the little things.
"Actually... Hunh. Platinum is what they are made of, aren't they? More expensive than solid gold, more expensive than Little Sisters..." Eleanor chirped, her demeanor changing. She leaned, forearms raised, wondering which medallion to pick. She made her choice, picking up the one on her right and putting it around her neck. Robert bowed while Eleanor looked at herself in the mirror.
"I love it! I think Father would, too. Makes me feel like a conqueror," Eleanor said.
"But basically everyone picked the bird... I was expecting this animal, too," Robert almost whined, head low.
"A sore loser? Just as I predicted. Knew I shouldn't have had done this again," Rosalind spoke, raising her palm against Robert's chin to lift it up. "Chin up, again."
"But I thought you'd be the sore loser, again?" Robert replied, the two starting their walk out Eleanor's room.
"I suppose you may consider that the serpent did not catch the bird this time."
"But, the lighthouse does lead to a cage."
"Well, there's always the chance for next time."
"Indeed. I wonder which of our two other choices Mr. Va'Ahtar will choose?" Robert asked, and then the twins mumbled as they walked down the hallway.
Eleanor took another good look at herself in the mirror. She did not know why, but she really liked the lighthouse pendant. She tilted her head, extended a foot, and swayed her shoulders a bit. The platinum thing made her feel special, yet it also gave her unhappy memories.
"My trophy for surviving Rapture... Hah-hah..." Eleanor chirped, then looked somber. "Also a memory of Father's last moment. This is for you..."
Eleanor wondered how Father's body was doing in Ireland. Her one regret was never being able to see Father without his helmet, again. Yet, she left him on Sinclair's lifeboat, and simply moved on. She never wanted to see Father dead ever again.
New York... I have to get to New York.
The next morning, Eleanor phoned her workplace and informed them she was leaving for New York. She did not bother explaining, and hung up the phone early. She put all her money, identification, and passport into her wallet and was ready to go. However, Eleanor would not leave the UK without saying goodbye to her friends first.
Eleanor headed to the university, proudly wearing her epic platinum amulet through the bustling streets of London.
Reaching the university, Eleanor went to the library, and found her school buddies sitting at a table. She noticed half the library staring at her. Various people whispered about her arrival, as well as about rumours of her life. A few of the most common words were about her height, her huge eyes, she being born in Rapture, and being a cute super genius. A few guys commented about her cuteness, legs, and even lack of boobs, but, Eleanor never cared about guy-talk. She sat with her friends.
"Hi, Eleanor, how are you today?" Nwando Nwodo asked, a young woman from Nigeria, a diligent student. She was short, had a slim waist, and was curvy. Her African accent made her R's long.
"And what's that around your neck?" Lucas asked, a funny guy who was always curious about everything. Eleanor felt good to have something noticeable.
"Good, Nwando! And Lucas, this is my new trinket. Got it from the Luteces. But in other news, I'm leaving for New York City," Eleanor replied.
"Really?" her friends all asked at the same time.
"What? You're going to New York?" Emily, a British student, asked, lifting her head out her homework. "You never said anything about this, Ellie, it's kinda uncalled for!"
"Don't get yourself killed, Eleanor. New York is a dangerous place, gang violence! Irish, Italians, Polacks... Pretty nasty people in a nasty city," Alex exclaimed, a British guy. His bias against the Irish irked Eleanor. As for Italians and Poles, well, she didn't see many of them in Rapture.
"Oh, believe me, I'm used to gang wars, Alex. I'm not afraid," Eleanor assured.
"But you can't go! The term isn't even done yet! We still have three terms to go," Nwando warned, Eleanor unbothered.
"Not to mention, The Thinker is far from completion," Emily butted in rather childishly. Emily sure overreacted at times.
"Eh, let's just say this is my getaway from another fever dream," Eleanor said.
"Do you feel...like you don't fit in?" Lucas asked.
Eleanor paused. "Of course. I grew up in an underwater city, what did you expect?" she replied in good humour.
"Is it really true, then?" Lucas asked, Eleanor nodded.
"Been reading the news? They've sent submersibles to try and evacuate Rapture, or what's left of it. I'm surprised there's any Rapture left, honestly. I just can't handle the memories anymore, I want to be as far away from it as possible. I hope you understand, and I hope you will forgive me for running away," Eleanor explained sweetly.
"Will you be back, Eleanor? You're the golden girl here, everyone's always talking about you. Heard some crazy things about you, and crazier rumours," Emily spoke warily.
Eleanor made a little smile. "Yes, Emily, I will be back. Porter and Tenenbaum can continue work without me, I... I just want to go for a while. My Father gave me the greatest gift of all...my freedom. I just can't stand being cooped up in school. I want to enjoy life with the money I saved from my job."
Her friends seemed to understand.
"It's your life, Ellie. Just be careful, okay?" Emily cautioned.
"I'll be fine, Emily, I'll be fine. I need to do this. I'll be going to see Charles, Brigid and Thinker one more time, then I'm leaving. See you all later." Eleanor took her leave.
Going down the hallway, Eleanor felt someone bump her in the shoulder; she barely budged from impact. Eleanor stopped and turned. A young woman had bumped into her, a tall, pretty, blue-eyed blondie with rather big boobs, who had grimaced but was rubbing her shoulder. With her were several other young women, friends.
"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see you," Eleanor said, but in truth she did see the girl and was pretty sure she kept her distance.
"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see you," the blondie repeated, noticing Eleanor's pendant. "That's the prettiest thing I've ever saw! It looks good on you!" the blondie complimented, slightly bending her knees for a moment, tilting her head, and making a plastic smile. Her friends also smiled.
"Thanks. It's quite the gift, isn't it?" Eleanor responded, the blondie nodding. Eleanor continued her walk.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Seriously, wearing a medallion? In the twentieth century? Who does Eleanor think she is? The Queen of England?" the blondie grumbled as her friends closed in around her.
Eleanor heard that but minded her own business.
"You don't like her?" a passerby asked, another young woman.
"She has sex with her mom, did you know that?" the blondie asked, tilting her head back a bit and making a plastic grin.
Her friends chuckled.
"Ew," the passerby exclaimed.
"I know," the blondie assured, looking proud. The group of girls walked off together with a new friend, talking about how much Eleanor sucked, their radars scanning for any lack of conformity.
Eleanor did not feel offended, but was surprised by how stupid some people were. "Just like Porter said...too bad you can't splice common sense."
Ms. Lamb headed to the warehouse containing The Thinker, currently offline. There was still so much more work to do, and Eleanor almost felt distraught at the thought of it. Sure enough, Porter was working like crazy even during lunchtime, but Eleanor was surprised to see the Big Sister here. However, the Luteces were not here, the unfinished sections of the Lutece device clearly needing way more work.
The Big Sister was not wearing her helmet, and sat on a chair while Tenenbaum tried to use various medical instruments and ADAM on the big girl to treat her condition. However, the Big Sister, like a big baby, sucked in her lips, reared, and turned her head. The Big Sister made a wheezing dolphin cry, clearly expressing displeasure.
Eleanor found it very creepy to see someone making dolphin noises.
Brigid huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Child! You must take medicine, or we cannot help you!"
The Big Sister clearly wouldn't make this easy, not even for Mother Goose.
"Having a good time being Mommy?" Eleanor teased, walking to the scene.
"You know...at least the little ones were, well, little," Tenenbaum admitted. "It won't be easy curing this big one of her ADAM sickness. You! Sit!" Tenenbaum attempted an injection but the Big Sister leaned, forearms raised to her chest and elbows low, and she just loudly laughed like a crazy dolphin. The inhuman laughter startled Tenenbaum, dropping her injector. She sighed.
"At least she made it out of Rapture," Eleanor remarked.
"Yes... And to save one life is to save many. If I can save just one more girl from deh old Rapture... Zhen that would be wonderful. Oh, and Eleanor, you are still going to leave, yes?"
"Yes, Tenenbaum, going to New York is what I will do. It's...private, personal."
Brigid nodded. Good thing she wasn't nosy. Eleanor noticed Tenenbaum's suitcase, and furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought you forgot your suitcase in Ireland?"
"It was already here this morning. I think Ms. Big Girl brought it for me. Such a cute girl, aren't you?" Tenenbaum asked, giving the Big Sister's a rubdown, the big baby sticking her tongue out from pleasure.
"But first..." Eleanor walked towards The Thinker. Porter was so busy working in his computer he did not even notice Eleanor until she leaned by his shoulder.
"Oh! Yes, Eleanor? How do you do?" Charles asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Very well, thank you. Mr. Porter, may I use The Thinker? I'm leaving for New York, I would like to see if The Think can help me find someone or two," Eleanor asked.
"Of course, Eleanor, it's the least I could do considering all the help you've done." Charles cleared his throat. "Good morning, Thinker, how are you?" The Thinker whirred to life, even the Lutece device shocking to some activity. The holograph of a woman's face appeared on the monitor.
"Acceptable. Requesting conversation with Eleanor Lamb?" The Thinker spoke.
"Sounds like she was already expecting you," Porter remarked.
"Hunh, I suppose so. Thinker, suppose I were to fly to New York. Where could I be most likely to find my friend Cathal?" Eleanor asked.
The Thinker buzzed with thought. "Cathal Mac Ruaidhrí...sailed to New York City, arrived on early October. Has some family members living in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, likely his next destination."
"Oh, so he did go to New York... Thinker, what about Mo—nevermind. Thinker, do you happen to know anything about...Spirry?" Eleanor asked, Porter giving her a somewhat odd look.
"Spirry? Who's that?" Porter asked.
The Thinker buzzed. "This...individual... Seems to be the result of a cross-over of genetic sampling from recycled ADAM and created memories. Unknown cause. No Rapture resident had these memories. Unknown source of memories. Memories may be false or created."
"So, you don't know everything after all..." Tenenbaum mumbled from the background. "Grownup Little Sister! I said sit! Please, child..."
Dolphin laughs.
"Interesting. Since I think you bonded with me, we might be able to connect. Focus on my thoughts, my memories, my drives... Let me see if I can help you solve this little mystery," Eleanor said, closing her eyes and thinking hard. Since she and The Thinker were empowered by ADAM, perhaps there was a way to converge the two entities?
Eleanor attempted to siphon her thoughts and memories of Spirry into The Thinker. The Thinker's Plasmids kicked in, the supercomputer lighting up and groaning with activity. Eleanor felt the power rush through her body, spine tingling, skin crawling, hair waving from electric waves. Porter, Tenenbaum and even the Big Sister paused, gazing at The Thinker.
"Thinker...let's try to figure out what Spirry is, now," Eleanor said, and that was when her Plasmids flashed. Both conjured streams of electricity and powers connected between them. Telekinesis waved, Porter having to hold down his glasses and coffee mug.
Eleanor felt herself rise off the floor. She calmly levitated before The Thinker. It felt very nice to float like this, but Eleanor focused hard nonetheless. She heard static resonating within her skull; all the veins under her skin and in her eyes beamed yellow.
The Thinker's holographic image of a woman's face began glowing yellow, and surprisingly, the holograph actually floated out its monitor. Porter and Tenenbaum were surprised, whereas the Big Sister was spinning on her seat like a toddler.
"Eleanor? What's...going on?" Porter asked.
Eleanor turned her head, eyes now beaming yellow. "I'm alright, Mr. Porter. Let me focus, please..."
Porter nodded, jotting down notes.
The holograph flashed with static bursts every few seconds or so. The Thinker's holograph seemed to be floating in front of Eleanor, and then stepped inside of her. Eleanor was covered with a holographic aura. The static amplified, the noise hurting Porter's ears, enough to cause him to step back.
"Eleanor!" Porter called, but Eleanor did not reply.
"Porter! What's going on? Can you turn it off?" Tenenbaum asked, clearly nervous.
Several blasts of electricity shot from The Thinker, many sparks fluttering about.
"Thinker! Thinker!? Eleanor, can you hear me?" Porter called, but there was no reply. Porter was becoming nervous. He stepped to Eleanor and touched her, and immediately felt a shock, causing him to jump. "Thinker! If you can hear me, shut off! Now!" The electricity intensified while Telekinesis threw computer parts around, some snapping off The Thinker.
Porter rummaged through the hardware to manually shut everything down. However, the electricity and violent static was too much, forcing Porter to step away from the machinery.
Meanwhile, about twenty people came, a mix of students and technicians returning from lunch break. When they saw what was going on, they stopped and murmured.
Then, the static of The Thinker and Eleanor became so bright that Porter, Tenenbaum, the Big Sister, the students, and technicians were blinded. When the light faded, Eleanor slowly descended, tips of her shoes touching the floor, then she landed gracefully. Her holographic aura flowed out of her, and rearranged back into the monitor. A strange image formed within the monitor, looking like a rippling opening with a bright purple outline, disrupting the appearance of the holograph.
"Eleanor! What did you do?" Tenenbaum asked, she and Porter amazed. Eleanor's eyes and veins were still glowing with yellowish static, but she seemed to hear them.
Ms. Lamb's voice was flanged and distotted as she spoke, "Well, exactly as I said... I connected my mind with The Thinker's...essence. We can expand ADAM into greater Plasmids. I believe The Thinker can now understand me. It can now form something called a...Lutece tear? Must be what Rosalind and Robert were talking about."
"Eleanor, child, are you..." Tenenbaum hesitated.
"Yes, Tenenbaum, I'm fine," Eleanor assured, but the static fields in her made her look creepy.
"Thinker, are you alright?" Porter asked, The Thinker's holograph looking at him.
"Acceptable. New information and data processing...installed."
"Thinker, let's try again. I must know who and what he is," Eleanor implored, crossing her arms. The Thinker looked at her, and seemed to think hard.
"Unknown...processing... Analyzing... Spirry seems to have a genetic code similar to...the sea slugs. Connection established with RODIN, analyzing further data... Scanning ruins of Rapture... The individual you refer to as Spirry... Processing... Spirry's genetics include an overlap of Gilbert Alexander...and the man known as Atlas and Frank Fontaine prior to being killed by Jack and the Little Sisters."
The revelation surprised Eleanor, and Tenenbaum's attention was immediately fixated upon the mention of Atlas.
"So... I was partly right about him..." Eleanor said to herself. "Yet, Spirry is a convergence of the mutations that transformed Dr. Alexander and Atlas. Hunh. He must have somehow acquired Atlas' corpse." Eleanor took a good look at the Lutece tear within the monitor. She had a feeling someone was staring back at her.
"Acceptable," The Thinker remarked, "however, a majority of his genetics are unlike anything that has been analyzed. About eighty percent of Spirry's genes are of unknown information."
"Thank you, Thinker. Hmm, where do you think I can find him?"
"Analyzing... Analyzing failed. Unknown parameters."
Heartbeats reverberated through the Lutece tear, every pulse causing blood to squirt out the tear.
Eleanor's own heart skipped a beat.
A deep, gargled voice growled from the Lutece tear, "I will meet you at the address of the letter, but only if you bring the girl. It's your choice, Eleanor, it always was."
Eleanor gazed at the Lutece tear which was, apparently, leaking blood. Someone was staring at her through the Lutece tear. Whoever it was, seemed fleshy and skinless.
"Gilbert Alexander? Is that you?" Eleanor asked, wondering if that mutated fetal doctor was actually just calling himself Spirry this entire time.
Leaning forwards and squinting her eyes, Eleanor saw something odd. She beheld a face unlike any that she had ever seen. The face was skinless, fleshy, and had a...muzzle? The skinless head of an animal? Before she could see anything else, the Lutece tear closed, leaving behind streaks of blood along various machinery and computers.
The Thinker abruptly shutdown. Eleanor returned to normal as well, but her nose was bleeding.
Several students and technicians exclaimed hushes of fear and worry. The Big Sister sneezed, falling off her chair like an idiot, Tenenbaum looking at her.
"Uh, Eleanor... I think that's enough crazy experiments for today," Porter commented.
"Agreed," Eleanor said, "but when I get back, we'll continue our work." She was totally convinced her next destination had to be New York, the only way to finally solve all this bullshit once and for all. Eleanor spun on her heels and left, stepping through the dumbstruck technicians and students.
Leaving the university was harder than Eleanor expected. A crowd formed and went after her, dying to meet her. All the fanboys and fangirls wanted to kill Eleanor with questions about what just happened. Eleanor sure did not like being a superstar, and was glad she was leaving it all behind. Unfortunately, the crowd became too big, and Eleanor could not exit the university. Various teachers tried to sustain the crowd but to no avail.
Ms. Lamb groaned. "Ughh... Annoying people..." Knowing she could not go forth, she had no choice but to be creative.
A flash of purple rippled through the air, students screaming from fright—Eleanor was gone.
Eleanor reappeared in the girl's washroom, fortunately empty. She sighed with relief; at least no one saw her appear. She left the washroom and headed for the exit, overhearing the echoes of the crowd. As she walked, Eleanor felt someone grab her shoulder from behind, so spun around. It was that blonde bitch and her friends.
"What?" Eleanor demanded, obviously annoyed.
"Looks like the Cult of Eleanor following their cult leader, that's what," the blonde girl replied.
"She's just like her mom, apparently. Can't trust her," one of the other girls remarked.
"What's her cult called? Cunt of Eleanor, and she's the cunt leader!?" The girls laughed.
"I bet she fucks teachers in their office, too. The golden girl will do anything for attention and good grades," the blonde bitch said.
"She fucks her dad, too," another girl commented.
"If you want to be offensive, you have to be taken seriously, first," Eleanor remarked.
The girls just artificially laugh at her.
"What's that? You suck your mom's dick?" the blonde bitch asked. The girls chuckle again. "You know what? When I graduate, I'll have both of my parents watching me. I have good parents. Did you?"
"You know nothing of me," Eleanor stated.
"I know that you don't even have any tits," the blonde bitch assured, pushing Eleanor on her breasts, staggering her mostly from discomfort than anything else. "You've got tits like a stick. This little bitch doesn't even have an ass."
Eleanor was irritated by those comments. She still needed a couple years and some hormones from sex to grow curves. Obviously, Eleanor would not get out of this easily. She could have simply teleported, but that was too easy. Instead, she leaned into the blonde bitch's face, Eleanor using her forehead to push the blondie back a bit, surprising her. "How about you get the fuck out of my face before I ram your own head right up your fucking ass?" Eleanor stepped through her and another girl, neither able to stop her.
Grunting, the blondie stepped in front of Eleanor and spat in her eye. Eleanor reared, covering her eye, definitely not expecting that.
The girls laughed, a few slapping Eleanor across the head or pulling on her hair. None of the attacks hurt her but Ms. Lamb did not actually want to seriously hurt anyone.
The blonde bitch then grabbed and pulled on Eleanor's breasts and kneed her in the crotch, which did hurt even for a superhuman girl. Eleanor blushed, which converted to rage. She slapped the blonde bitch across the face, and with such force that blood and snot smeared across the bitch's face. She lied on her side, face red and swelling. She shook, breathing rapidly, tears trickling down her face. Eleanor's hand was basically imprinted on her cheek, the searing pain writhing against the blonde bitch's skin like hot acid.
The other girls jumped Eleanor, kicking, punching and pulling on her hair. Eleanor did not need to use Plasmids. She grabbed one of the girls by the forehead, lifted her with one hand, then threw her down to the floor. Eleanor grabbed another girl by the arm and flipped her over. Grabbing a third by the leg, she threw her against the lockers, but not too hard.
The other girls and nearby bystanders realized they were dealing with someone who clearly was not normal, perhaps not even human. They got scared and walked away. Eleanor did not notice, but a small crowd had gathered to observe the fight, and everyone kept their distance. Ms. Lamb stepped on the blonde bitch's head and took her leave.
What does it take to just be left alone?