.
.
"What did you do to her?"
"I did what I had to."
"What you had to? You opened up her skull and fucked with her head!"
"She was dying."
"And the alternative is better? Who is going to be there when she wakes up? Veronica, or your closest approximation of her?"
"I'm not going into this blind, Gannon. The tests have been-"
"Oh, so because the lobotimization process lets you turn rapists and cannibals into docile cattle means you can do the same to your friend?"
"It isn't the same!"
"How do you know?!"
"I wasn't going to let her die!"
"YOU ARE NOT A GOD! YOU DO NOT GET TO DICTATE-"
"I will not let my friends die if it is in my power to save them."
"AT WHAT COST TO THEM?! AT WHAT POINT ARE YOU ACTING LIKE OUR CREATOR? CONTROLLING HOW WE LIVE, HOW WE SLEEP, HOW WE-"
"Gannon. It's spreading."
"What? What is?"
"Veronica's condition."
"To who?"
"You."
"What? How is that-"
"You're talking in your sleep, Gannon. The same words Veronica screamed before we put her under."
"How do you-"
"I can show you the tapes. It's getting worse."
"I don't feel any-"
"Different?' Bullshit. Something is wrong, and if you deteriorate as extensively as Veronica-"
"You want to cut me open."
"I have to stop this before it gets any worse."
"Uh-huh. What if I refuse?"
"This isn't a choice. I'm sorry Gannon, but I'm putting a stop to this. This world needs you more than it needs another corpse."
"Is it really about saving me? Or can you just not stand the prospect of you being to blame for one of your friend's death?"
"Beyond the fact that I killed a friend at Hoover Dam, it doesn't really matter either way. I'm going to save you."
"Or at least pretend you did."
.
.
Moving, in combination with a severe case of "what the fuck am I doing" have led to the delay, in which I've basically scrapped the entirety of chapter 29. Didn't like how it was blocking out, but I'm still working at it! Just wanted to touch base and write something at least.
Wee bit of explanation/response to a review:
The Lovecraftian parts of Fallout have always been an interesting element, as were the presence of psykers, but in the grand scheme of this story they were... inconvenient, I suppose. I wanted to touch on their existence and acknowledge their presence, because their influence is quite substantial.
Farsight, even limited, is a huge boon and something the Courier would have access to with the Forecaster being in the Mojave. Ug-Qualoth, and whatever other entity that is about, has potentially dramatic effects for anything it interacts with.
They both exist in Fallout, and still exist in this story, but their influence won't have any more impact than they already have.
Sorry for the wait! Chewing away on the next chapter as much as I can.