Conversation · Ruby, the Instigator

Suddenly, your entire body is paralysed. Aggressive white noise fills your skull -- a strange pain like you've never felt before. Through the static, you hear a woman's voice.

It's like a thousand radio stations are being blasted into your head all at once, but her words are the only ones you can make out.

"I know you're feeling pretty uncomfortable right now. Don't move too much or fight it. That'll just make it worse," says the shadowy figure by the machine.

"Can't say it's a pleasure, officer. I was really hoping not to make your acquaintance. But -- here we are. "

The voice coming through the whirlwind of pain is not malicious. She doesn't want to hurt you -- but she has to.

Doesn't wish to hurt you? Not according to your ear canals... wait, no, not even your ear canals -- this is going directly into your neural pathways.

Don't cover them.

That's an awful decision. Why would you not want to shield yourself from it? It's an entirely new type of experience -- way worse than all the previous ones.

Take out all the good parts of pyrholidon, leave all the bad parts, and make a brain-bomb. In a constant state of exploding. That's this.

Don't focus on the pain -- focus on doing your job. Tell her she's under arrest.

"Are you gonna... kill me too?"

"No, I'm not going to fucking kill you. If that had been my plan, you'd be dead already. All things considered, I'm being pretty reasonable here."

"I'm using a pale latitude compressor. You and your partner have been caught in its field."

The explosion of static you're hearing -- it's the ULAN frequency.

Blasted from that pale emitter Fat Angus mentioned.

"You're using one of those devices used to send signals through the pale on me!"

"Wow, check out the big brains on you." She sounds impressed. "You're not entirely wrong..."

"Hhhhhzzzzzzzzssss... 136841... hhhhhzzzzzzzzzzssss... 37891303... hhhhhzzzzzzzsssss... hzzzzsssss..."

You should probably check on Kim. It doesn't sound like he's doing all too well.

Keep your eyes on Ruby.

"A pale latitude compressor is used to sort of... make the pale more manageable. With a lot of these, you can force a radio signal grid on the pale -- literally crunch the distance across it."

"Signals are relayed across a series of repeater stations fixed to buoys." She pauses. "Not a fun job, manning those stations. All alone out there in the pale, people lose their minds in just a few years."

Sounds like she knew someone who used to man one of those stations. But she won't tell you about her. Boy, you're one empathetic police officer to have guessed even that right now.

"So, what we are experiencing is... a concentration of radio waves..." He gestures toward something with great effort.

"Precisely. This is an industrial-strength paraboloid. It's meant for forcing dimensions on something that doesn't have them. Needless to say, the frequencies used are... out of this world."

"At the upper limit is the large prime number generator station. It's used specifically for pale latitude compression. That's why you may be hearing some numbers. But you might also hear -- or think you're hearing -- local radio chatter."

This must be how the twins heard the radio in their heads. They must have been standing by when she tested it.

She's been holed up in here for a while with no one to talk to. Keep her talking, and you just might get an opportunity to break loose.

"How did you get your hands on this thing?"

"I built it myself." She nods toward her torture device.

And she's proud of it, too. As she ought to. This is way beyond your abilities.

"That's illegal. I'm guessing it's patented... But we're beyond that, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah. Way beyond." She studies her death ray and the law officials trapped in it.

"What's this goddamned pale anyway?"

"The pale? It's the end of the world."

"Will I stay like this forever?"

"No -- once I shut down the compressor, the pain will end." She hesitates. "It may take a few minutes for you to steady yourself, though -- it's a bit like waking out of a very confusing dream."

Hzzzzzssssss... 342455797... Tere kallis... Hzzzzzzzssss... Palun ära ole ometi nii pilves, ometi nii pilves mu tüdruk... Hzzzzzzssss... 4464544829... hzzzssss... hzzzzssss...

"Have you... experienced the compressor yourself?"

"Yeah, I stuck my head in there before using it on you. It seemed like the ethical thing to do. Can't say that I enjoyed it. The field was weaker, but I can imagine what you're going through."

"Please, could you just turn it down... so I can... ask you something?" (Move on.)

"If you've got something really important to say, you can do it through the white noise."

"236189281... If you're looking for a deal on mattresses... SUHSUHSUHSPEEDFRRRR... 23567... 32971047302819... Oh Rosaline, oh Rosaline..."

"Damn... this..." The lieutenant clutches his head, grimacing.

"Goddamnit." She regards you and Kim with sudden sympathy.

"Fine, if you really want to talk, I can dial it down. I've also got a gun, by the way." She steps reluctantly out of the shadows. The pain lessens.

The gun she's carrying is a two-barrelled front-loader -- not like the murder weapon.

Well, it doesn't feel much better, but you can form sentences now. Thinking doesn't seem to hurt as much.

Just keep her talking and you'll get through this.

There's only three metres between you and the machine. If you keep her distracted for long enough, maybe...

Be careful when you make your move -- that'll be it for questions. Bide your time.

"What happened... Sunday night? Tell me your version."

She eyes you warily, as though gauging your sincerity.

She's refusing to adopt the demeanour of a cornered animal. A leader with no one to lead -- she still wants to retain some control of the situation.

"It's okay... We just want to... hnghhhhh..." He struggles to finish the sentence.

"Alright, don't kill yourself over it. I was shooting the shit with Hardie and the boys over a few beers, like always. Then Klaasje comes in, all pale and shuddering..."

"She sits down with a drink, trying to steady her nerves. So I grab a seat next to her."

"Wait... did she also seem high to you?"

"Oh yeah. Super. But I didn't think too much of it at first -- I'd seen her party hard before."

This woman has seen people O.D. Klaasje wasn't quite there yet, so why worry?