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Marshall: Here, this will lead back to Central Research.
Jesse: Okay. We need to find a way to Black Rock Processing. That’s where Marshall said we’d find a Prism.
Arish: Hey, Faden! Up here! I’m glad to see you’re still you. What’s the damage?
Ranger medic: They’ve each taken a few hits. We need to take them to a chirurgical station ASAP, but I don’t think they’re stable enough to move.
Arish: Oh yeah? Well they’re gonna have to be, ‘cause we are moving out and I am not leaving them behind. Now do what you need to do.
Arish: Thanks for bringing down that… whatever the fuck that was. We are barely holding on here, boss. How’s the situation outside Maintenance?
Jesse: (What do I tell him? The truth is harsh, but these people seem familiar with death.) The Hiss are everywhere. Most of the Bureau is lost. We need Black Rock Prism to make more HRAs for any survivors in the Safe Rooms. I’m here to check Darling’s Black Rock lab.
Arish: So to recap: death, disaster and imminent destruction. Another day at the FBC. Darling’s lab is just past Black Rock Processing, but I got good news and I got bad news on that front. The good news is it’s right down the hall. The bad news is a Hiss monster has decided to move in, so that’s great.
Jesse: Monster?
Arish: That’s what the Rangers said. The ones that survived, anyway. We are just treading water here and the Hiss keep coming. Salvador would know what to do, but apparently he took a security team into the Containment Sector just before the lockdown happened and—Well, no-one’s seen him since. But hey, at least, we’ve got you. Our fearless leader.
Jesse: (They shouldn’t rely on me. They don’t know me. They don’t know how I fail people.) You’ve done a good job here, Arish, but you should take your people and get to the base in Executive. You can regroup there. I’ll go deal with this monster. I’m getting kind of used to them.
Arish: Aye aye, Faden. And be sure to put a bullet in that thing for me.
Jesse: Arish wasn’t kidding about that “monster”. You showed me the HRA when I first got here, and the machine that makes them. Can you help me find a Prism? Shiit. They’re shattered. What the fuck? Let’s hurry up and find Darling’s lab.
Darling: There are areas in the Oldest House, where under the right conditions, when frequencies match, other dimensions leak in. We call these areas Thresholds. The Quarry is one of the more stable Thresholds in the Maintenance Sector. That’s where Black Rock comes from. Extra-dimensional matter. It has the unique property of blocking out a lot of frequencies, a good thing—it keeps things stable, contained. Think of it as paranatural lead. Our research involves many dangerous things we absolutely need to keep in check. That’s what the Black Rock lined Firebreaks are about. The Panopticon container cells…
Pope: Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I need the code for the Quarry elevator.
Darling: Oh, Emily! The codes. Black Rock. 6-6-5. Neighbore of the beast. Get it?
Jesse: You heard that too, right? Black Rock comes from a Threshold. The Quarry. So the Prisms must be there too.
Jesse: Darling’s key…
Jesse: Everything here is crazy, weird, but it feels… right. Like how the world should be. I am in an infinite building leading to different dimensions, and I never wanna leave. Even with all the horror, I’m happy. It feels sane. Or just the right kind of insane.
Jesse: Elevator’s broken. Gotta get down the old-fashioned way.
Jesse: Not what I expected.
Jesse: And there it is, right where you led me. The HRAs, the Prisms, they mean something to you. I need to get this Prism to Marshall before it’s too late. HRAs, then Dylan.
Researcher 2: Pope wants us to compile all of Darling’s data entries from the past month.
Researcher 1: Who does she think she is, authorizing that kind of data breach?
Researcher 2: She must think he’s hiding something. And I agree. The HRAs alone are proof Darling knew more than he let on.
Jesse: Had to take a detour into the Quarry, but I found plenty. Here.
Marshall: We will restart HRA production immediately. I promised I’d tell you about Dylan once you helped us.
Jesse: (This is it. She knows. Seventeen years I’ve waited.)
Marshall: Your brother is here. He was once known as Prime Candidate 6, codename P6. We brought him here after the Ordinary event. He was groomed to be the future Director. He had talents far beyond any other candidates in the program.
Jesse: (Of course he did. We found you together. We share a bond. Are you with him now?) So you kidnapped him.
Marshall: We took him in. Your parents vanished along with every other adult in Ordinary. Eventually his power changed him. There were casualties. He wasn’t fit to be the Director.
Jesse: (Did you know about this? Is this why you didn’t bring me here sooner? Were you keeping me away?) Where is Dylan?
Marshall: He’s kept in the Containment Sector, in the Panopticon.
Jesse: (My brother. I thought we were the same. What if we are?) I’m going. Now.
Marshall: I expected as much. I need to go check on something. Something I cannot let the Hiss find. It shouldn’t take long, but… you must watch the Bureau while I’m gone. And remember: Dylan is dangerous. Do not let him out, Director Faden.
Jesse: (How do I make her stop calling me that? I’m not here for them.)
Jesse: Nothing’s simple here. These people took my brother, but they’ve accepted me without question. Are they my enemies or… my friends? I need to see Dylan. I need to know. I wish you could tell me what you know, explain things. Just… stay with me, okay? I could use a friend right now.