← Previous Chapter |
Next Chapter →
Back to the game page
Sam: Okay. Time to head home. Guess I’m doing this. Lou?
Rainy: Is she alright?
Tarman: Unconscious but unharmed. Uh, Sam… Listen…
Sam: Fragile?
Die-Hardman: Fragile’s dead, Sam. Truth is… she’s been dead for some time. While you were away, searching for that photo, Fragile contacted me. Came clean about the whole thing. It happened back when she—tried to jump Lou to safety. When she was in that space between the world of the living and the dead—and Higgs shot her.
Deadman: As you know, the flow of time is different in our two worlds. On the other side, Fragile’s death was a tragedy that had already come to pass. On this side, however, her physical form still… endured, if only for a while—its end yet to arrive.
Die-Hardman: Fragile knew what the future had in store for her, and what she wanted to do with the time she had left. You were the one person she asked me not to tell, Sam—the only one. And I trust that you understand why.
Dollman: I’m sorry, Sam.
Die-Hardman: Let him go.
Fragile: Sam… There’s something I haven’t told you. When Higgs shot me—in that instant, my Ka and my Ha were separated from one another. And the fact that Lou and I were even able to make the jump had nothing to do with me. It was Lou. Lou connected us to those poor lost souls. And at the time, being with them seemed safer than with me. So I decided to leave Lou in their care. But afterwards, Sam, when you came and found me, I’d lost all memory of what I’d done. The only thing I knew for certain was that I was already dead. And that what little time I had left… I wanted to spend traveling with you. It wasn’t until the moment we arrived at APAS’s beach that I finally remembered… About Lou… About the jump… About everything that had happened. It’s my fault that you never got to watch Lou grow up—me who stole all those precious years. I’m so sorry, Sam. I can’t give you back the time you’ve lost, but promise me you’ll make the most of your future with Lou. You will never be alone. Death can’t tear us apart. We will always be with you. Now go on. The others are waiting.
Sam: Wait…!
Tarman: Sam, we’ve completed preparations for our return trip. Heartman has finished mapping and logging the coordinates of this Beach… And all data concerning the tar currents that brought us have been recorded as well. With this information at our disposal, we can retrace our path easily. Even without Fragile’s power, we should be able to return to Australia at any time. Come to the bridge whenever you’re ready.
Die-Hardman: All squared away? We’re gonna need everyone’s power to make this work. Attention all hands. It’s time for us to go home.
Lucy: Thank you for coming.
Neil: You said it’s urgent so, tell me. I don’t have much time.
Lucy: They’re after my child. They want Lou for themselves. Bridges has plans, and everything hinges on using Lou as a sacrificial BB. Because they need the child of a repatriate. I… I won’t let them have my baby! We need to tell everyone… that you’re the father.
Neil: But I’m not. I warn you, stop playing with me. Please.
Lucy: Neil. Please. Help me keep Lou safe. Thank you…!
Neil: We should run to Mexico. There’s a bunch of routes only people like me know. And I have a couple of friends down there that I can… that, that can help us out. But we need to move quick. Next week, no later. Okay? I will come back and pick you up here.
Lucy: Neil.
Neil: What?
Lucy: This contains everything. I, I want you to hold on to it for me.
Neil: Hey. Let’s go.
Lucy: Just a moment.
Neil: Just leave it. Everything we need is in the car. Everything. Just to make it more romantic. Don’t worry.
Lucy: Okay. Mexico’s waiting.
Lucy: He’s a patient of mine. Thank you. Let me… double check. Should work.
Neil: Thank you guys. That’s impressive.
Guard C: Hold it!
Guard D: Don’t move! Don’t move!
Bridge Officer: You had to know we’d never let you leave. You’re carrying the child of a repatriate, after all. A test subject of incalculable value.
Guard C: Gun!
Guard D: Put it down, put it down!
Bridge Officer: No, no, no, no, no…
Neil: You’re wrong. ‘Cause that’s my child. So back the fuck off. Back off!
Lucy: Neil.
Bridge Officer: No, no! Check fire! Check fir— Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!
Neil: Lucy… Lucy…! Hey. Oh fuck… fuck…
Bridge Officer: Neil.
Neil: You have to save her. Please. Please…
Bridge Officer: We can try—but there’s going to be conditions. This child is invaluable to us. We have to agree to let us take it.
Lucy: No…
Neil: But she’ll survive? She’ll survive? Give me your word.
Bridge Officer: I give you my word. Neil, I give you my word.
Lucy: Neil…
Doctor A: Extraction was successful. BB-00 was transferred to a sterilized pod and sent to a separate facility.
Doctor B: Ready to proceed with corpse disposal. One male, one female.
Doctor A: Impossible…
Doctor B: What the hell…? How long has it been like this?
Doctor A: He’s already succumbing to necrosis… What the hell?
Doctor B: This, this doesn’t make any sense! Call the CD team! Now, go, get outta here!
Doctor A: Get corpse disposal!
Tomorrow: I remember now. The journey the two of us went on together. You and me, Sam.
Sam: Lou…
Tomorrow: We will always be connected. I’m your Louise.
Sam: Yeah…
Though the future is a product of every present that precedes it, tomorrow does not belong to today.
To live is to imagine ourselves in the future.
And there we inevitably arrive.
Yet our place in said future may not be the one we envision.
—Kobo Abe, In Search of the Present
Tomorrow/Louise/Lou: Me, I’ve always loved porters. Through freezing rain and biting wind, across rivers, mountains, and endless deserts… They come to deliver something priceless. A glimpse of a life I’ve never known. They’re my window – my sole connection to the outside world. And I know they’ll be back again today. And every day—even when we’re long gone. Death can’t tear us apart. That’s why today is another day on the road.