poly_chromatic | 005

Entry tags:

system shock 2 - marie delacroix

005 :: audio log

DELACROIX to VOID: 11-03-???? re: Music

Zhis is worse than the last time I was able to pull XERXES' voice sub-system. Some fool 'ad hacked into his primary data loop - zhose protocols were so immature eet would not 'ave taken more zhan a fool - and made him sing for hours. I will admit, zhat at least zhis time I am to hear somezhing other than Elvis Presley.

[She sighs. There is no music emanating off of her, but there are the muffled sounds of it around her. As an afterthought she adds,]

Rummy. I 'ave modified your weapon as a thanks. Come to collect eet and I will show you what 'as been changed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Torture by Elvis, was it, Mademoiselle Delacroix?

Must you be so dramatic, Karl?

Ah, but how can I help it? My 'mother' and 'mistress' were fabulous opera sensations. It's in my blood.

[Said 'mother' and 'mistress' were also the same person :|]

Eet was not torture, but eet was certainly an irritation. And I warned zhe captain zhat zhe security protocols were not up to standards. No one listens to me.

~Poor Mademoiselle Delacroix. One sane woman amid a swarm of lunatics.

[Says the lunatic. In a burst of perverse humor, Karl's cursed soundtrack begins playing this number.]

[She lifts an unamused eyebrow at him.]

Yes. Eet seems to be zhe case. Lunatics and monsters.

[Yes. She is probably making an aspersion there.]

[He isn't insensible to the mockery. Sighing, he feigns sadness.]

Why, Mademoiselle. You wound me. What have I done ~~to you~~ that is so dreadfully monstrous? Why, in fairytales, most monsters are truly princes inside.

[Fortunately, this is no fairytale.]

Our actions speak much louder zhan our 'earts.

~Ah, not so, not so...

Our actions are sadly dictated by our surroundings. But our hearts remain fixed and true. They absolve us where our deeds cannot- even if others may judge us poorly.

[That said, you're right on the money about him, Marie B|b]

[She barks an irritated little laugh at him.]

Non. Zhere is no absolution.

Ah, but now you intrigue me, Ms. Delacroix. Do you speak from observation? Or experience?

To be controlled ees weakness, and zhere is no absolution from zhat. It ees zhat simple.

Tsk, tsk.

But we're all controlled, Ms. Delacroix. Even the mightiest and fiercest of us. By our pasts, our egos, our emotions. The only true freedom is in Death.

[And dooon't get him started on Death. After Saya, that's his favorite subject B| ]

[Oh her ego.]

Defeat yourself, eef you like.

Are you lonesome tonight?

[Sometimes he just can't help it. In the background, though, it's something else.

I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress