Incompatible perceptions (updated 2024-02-24: Chapter 9 - The End)

Visisonor wrote:Thanks.
Unfortunately, the plot has thickened for me in real life. I can't continue writing right now, the next chapter is unlikely to appear in January. Maybe later.

Oh, that's a shame, but real life does have a way of throwing the spanner in the works for us comic book story tellers . hopefully things will settle down for you again soon to allow your creativity to push through again!
I guess until then, we shall all be left hanging for the next exciting episode, just like a great tv show or comic book series

I hope everything goes ok for you, Visisonor.

Chapter 9

The alarm went silent, but its echo still rang in her ears, reverberating painfully with every heartbeat.
It felt like a dream she couldn't wake up from - or maybe everything until now was just a dream.
In a blurry haze in front of her, the man she used to look up to was looking down on her.
Behind, there were footsteps in the corridor, fast approaching.
- There you are! - Tomoko exclaimed, slowing down. - Rick's been blasted along with ATV! Leliana is cut off without communication and no means of escape!


Of course she didn't know.
Linda couldn't bring herself to look at her.
- See what you've done? - she asked stiffly, still staring at Constantin.
- I thought I could save you, - he said regretfully.
Then he turned and darted through the door leading to a hangar. The hangar he brought her to, convinced they would escape together.


Should she have escaped with him, she wondered inwardly - was it betrayal on her part that she didn't? But what were his actions, if not betrayal?
Tomoko froze in her tracks, confused.


- What's going on?
- It was him, - Linda let out weakly. - He rigged the ATV to reveal our location to human forces.
- What? Why?!
- He wants to go back. To humans.

On Tomoko's face, confusion gave way to horror, which was then replaced with determination.
- Tess! - she grabbed her radio and shouted into its microphone. - Seal the base. Now!


Then she pulled the pistol out and headed towards the hangar.
She stopped as she was passing Linda by, offering her a hand:


- You all right?
- I'm not... - Linda struggled to get to her feet.
- OK, wait here, Tess should arrive soon.
- No. I'm coming with you.

* * *


The vehicle sped off from them towards the gate in the opposite wall, but it was evident it would not make it through because the gate was closing rapidly. The brakes whined in protest, and the ATV skidded to a halt, turning slightly and bumping into the shutter.
Constantin rolled to the passenger seat, then jumped off to cover behind the vehicle.
Tomoko started shooting.

Several shots followed in return, forcing them to take cover too.
- You are fighting for the wrong side! - Constantin called out during that pause. - Syncons killed billions!
- Humans did it themselves! - retorted Tomoko. - The war was started by humans!
She fired a few more shots. Linda shot one of her guns too, aiming at the ATV rather than Constantin.


- It's not about how it started! - he shouted while Tomoko reloaded. - Your robot friends never told you what happened when they joined the fray!


- How the hell do you know? - asked Tomoko, resuming the shooting.
- One side lost the fight, - continued Constantin. - It could all end right then! But they released syncons. The dead hand weapon!
- Why should we believe you? - Tomoko discarded another spent magazine.
- I have evidence! Linda, I've told you I wanted to show...
A new barrage of bullets forced him back behind the vehicle again.
- Keep him busy, - urged Tomoko, glancing at Linda. - I'll try to flank him.


Linda started shooting rapidly, reloading as fast as she could - a suppressive fire that soon depleted her small supply of ammo.


She holstered her pistol and pulled the other one, still loaded.


By the time Tomoko reached the vehicle, it was empty too.


The rumble of gunfire died down, but the silence didn't last long. There were two gunshots once Tomoko disappeared behind the rear part of the ATV.
Then Constantin emerged from behind its front, with a revolver in one hand and another hand pressed to his side.


- What is it, Lin? You have a clear shot, - he staggered towards the wall and leaned on it to support himself.
- Out of ammo, - she replied in a hollow voice, walking to him from her cover.
- Huh. Doesn't matter now, It's over for me.
- And Tomoko?
- She was faster than me... - he glanced at his wound. - But not as precise.
- Then finish it! I am the only one left! - Linda cried hysterically. - What are you waiting for?!


- Never intended to hurt you. I just can't, - he threw his gun aside.


As if this act cost him the last of his strength, he slid down along the wall.
- Neither can I, - she dropped her pistol too and knelt on the floor beside him.


- But we both did. I thought you'd believe me.
- Is it true? About the side that lost and dead head weapon.
- Yes, - Constantin wheezed painfully. - Rick confirmed it all.
- What?!
- Gotta give them... credit for sincerity, - his voice was weaker now, barely audible. - Never deny... facts. Just interpret... differently...
He then pulled something from a pocket - a small smartphone - and held it out. Linda took it from his hand.


- I'm sorry, Linda... I...
These were Constantin's last words.


Linda unlocked the phone. There was no passcode, and an audio file was open. She started playback, and Rick's voice - muffled but recognizable - outlined in a few minutes a brief history of the last war. The rise of Confederation Of Non-States, siphoning from the rest of the world those who were fed up with ubiquitous governmental overreach; its struggle against combined forces of all other countries; the failure of deterrence based on mutually assured destruction; and their last act of removing all constraints from artificial general intelligence program - which then evolved into what is now known as synthetic consciousness and quickly took over the militaries of remaining countries, plunging them into almost total destruction.

The recording ended. It all made sense now. And it was too much.
Behind her a door slid open, and Tess called out her name.
Linda barely noticed her, focusing on Constantin's revolver on the floor.


- I believe you now, - she whispered, picking it up and placing the barrel to her temple.
- No! - cried Tess, running through the hangar.


Linda closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.


There was a click. But only a click, not a gunshot. She tried again, with the same result. The gun was empty.
Tess reached her finally and grabbed the revolver, turning it away from her head.
- O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop, - murmured Linda, letting go of the gun.
Then she fell backwards into Tess' arms.


The end.

Epilogue/Stinger



- Poor girl. And she actually pulled the trigger.
- Yes.
Kate paced the room back and forth, struggling to hold back tears.

- If she's had enough... And was committed to end it all like that... Did you really need to stop her?
- We would not have been able to stop her. But she did not try it since that day.
- I see. And she is not really herself anymore.
- That is correct. Trapped inside her own mind, one might say. We do not command sufficient understanding of human consciousness to find out more.
- Neither do I.
- And yet you have more in common with her than any other intelligent being. If anyone can bring Linda back, it is you.
- If I had any idea how to approach this... Did she tell you anything else about herself? While she still could, that is.
- She did not. This was everything I knew. Some parts of the story had to be inferred, and I took some liberties to fill in the blanks here and there.
- Oh. So you pretty much wrote all this, put it into a story form?
- Yes. You are not the only one here with creative inclinations. Check out Rick's symphonies: they are quite good.
- Maybe another time... Wait, what do you mean?
- Your diary.
- Damn it, Tess! Do you understand the concept of privacy?

Epic, storytelling!

Incompatible perceptions indeed! Beautifully done and photographed. Now that you have perfected tragedy, I expect you to follow it up with comedy.

Marvelously photographed so the smaller scale of the figures is not evident, and the settings look substantial and industrial, with no indication of their printed cardboard origins.

GubernatorFan wrote:I hope everything goes ok for you, Visisonor.

BAMComix wrote:hopefully things will settle down for you

Not exactly, some things are irreversible and inevitable, and time can't mend everything. But I have to move on, and writing helps somewhat. I am grateful for your support in any case.

---

BAMComix wrote:Epic storytelling!

Yay, that was what I was aiming for. Thanks.

davidd wrote:Marvelously photographed so the smaller scale of the figures is not evident

Thanks.
There is some room for improvement regarding props but it requires more postprocessing...

GubernatorFan wrote:Now that you have perfected tragedy

I appreciate that you think so, though "perfected" might be an exaggeration...

GubernatorFan wrote:I expect you to follow it up with comedy.

Something to consider. But it would require another setting

Maybe I'll try something less tragic while I settle on the details of the sequel, or perhaps the sequel will precede that.
Either way, I need a break again. So back to sketches and random things for a few months, now also in 1/6 scale.
Stay tuned, I guess

Supplementary materials

Here I am again with a soundtrack. Picking the songs for it was more difficult than for Diary of a field agent: I had three tracks for the ending of the story - which actually inspired the ending in the first place, and later this number increased to four. But almost nothing for the rest.
This is what I finally settled on:

1. Intro: Edenbridge - Into The Light:

2. Investigation theme: Nemesea - Caught in the Middle:

3. Tess' theme: Xandria - Come With Me:

4. Final shootout: Sirenia - Deadlight:

5. Ending: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - As Evil As Dead:

Music tends to resonate differently for everyone, but I think you have a very nice collection here, suitable for a story, and with a certain consistency between the pieces (except maybe # 2).

Nice choices!