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Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Fiorella Arianna de Marco Subject:RE: Fontana
I do want to know.
I can't guarantee that I'll understand, but I do find the overall aesthetic curious enough to be fascinating. But please be careful, if those inhabitants you refer to truly are alive then they'll be desperate.
Desperation makes people dangerous and unpredictable.
"Liberty or death."
-"Cobra"
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On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed
Sender ID: Fiorella Arianna de Marco, Golden Cross Cartel Recipient ID: Damien "Cobra" Morreti Subject: Pale Mask Damien
La Maschera Pallida - The Pale Mask, or also known as the Spirit Mask. It is a tradition where ancient Maltese sought to invite the Spirits into their being after a cleansing rite, to borrow their wisdom, their knowledge, or perhaps to hope to evade the whims of fate through their intervention.
And no - by 'Spirits' - I do not mean the Nomads, as the Technocrats or the Order would like to scream. The visions granted by the Nomads were simpler, louder, demanding and more direct. For a time, they managed to deceive some of us before we realized that these were flawed, fallible, and mortal beings, certainly not worthy of worship or following.
But what exactly are the Spirits, I hear you ask? Well, my dear fiancé of reason, that remains a mystery - are they constructs of our subconscious? Our dearly departed? Our own World communing with us?
Whatever their nature, one thing is certain - their guidance and visions have aided our spiritual guides for centuries. They were our enigmatic companions and protectors on our once desolate and unforgiving world. You have seen their shrines all over my home region, and there are still holidays dedicated to them.
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Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Fiorella Arianna de Marco Subject:RE: Fontana
I'd like to actually visit one of those shrines.
But I'll admit I've never placed much stock in this idea of spirits or ghosts, and a supposed afterlife. Even the stories from smugglers about how the nomads can mess with your mind has always seemed like an exaggeration of reality. Having faced down more than a few in recent history, I can safely say that killing them is a quiet affair.
For one, they don't talk. So there's no unnecessary profanity going back and forth before shots are exchanged. Come to think of it, they can't communicate at all. So that has the tragic side effect of there being no screaming when they do die. For that reason, it can be quite dull confronting them. Doesn't stop people I personally know and consider reliable from spinning tall tales about having visions when they encounter them. But from the benefit of personal experience, or rather the lack of it, I know none of that's actually true.
Still, they always seemed so convinced of what they'd seen or heard. A bit odd in hindsight.
"Liberty or death."
-"Cobra"
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Sender ID: Fiorella Arianna de Marco, Golden Cross Cartel Recipient ID: Damien "Cobra" Morreti Subject: Pale Mask Damien
I believe that your skepticism stems from the environment in which you were raised. For the vast majority in Sirius, reality is limited to what can be physically measured. Anything beyond this spectrum is dismissed as uninteresting and inconsequential.
Yet, we perceive things that cannot be physically described, much less measured and quantified. These elements are as integral to my world as your meticulously brewed morning coffee is to yours. Science and faith are not the adversaries they are often made out to be. They complement each other - until one or the other becomes an immutable dogma, of course.
To add a twist: The underground bunker has been under our surveillance for a day and a half, with no measurable activity thus far. We will give it another couple of days before we attempt to use a drone to open the armored doors. We even found a shallow grave with the remains of an executed Crayterian operative. Isn't that interesting? We have no records of rebel activity in this area.
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Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Fiorella Arianna de Marco Subject:RE: Pale Mask
My skepticism is rooted in no evidence to the contrary.
It's not like I don't lead an adventurous life or haven't seen my share of strange, bizarre, or poorly understood phenomenon. But not once have I ever experienced anything even remotely close to what many people claim to have personally seen, heard, or otherwise been given visions of.
The mind can play tricks on you when under sufficient stress, and I imagine coming face to face with cosmic unknowns can be quite harrowing for rookie spacers, hence their wildly imaginative recollections of what happened. But I'm not so easily unnerved.
I can appreciate science and faith for what they are. But superstition lives under justifiable exile in the corner, and what all this talk of ghosts and visions sounds like to me is just that. Superstitions that have been passed down through the generations and recounted enough times that they seem plausible if not outright true.
And if there's a grave then that means somebody wasted time putting that corpse in the ground. So you either have survivors there or one of your own just decided to be alarmingly sympathetic to a sworn enemy.
I'd wager it's the former.
"Liberty or death."
-"Cobra"
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On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed
☠ Incoming transmission.
☠ Signal source: Free Republic relay, Liberty
☠ Opening video feed...
Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Fiorella Arianna de Marco Subject:RE: Fontana
Being with you has already had that effect.
And even if I don't subscribe to the idea of something like a dreamcatcher, I'd still hang it above where I sleep if you were to gift me one. Valuing your partner's sentiments exists independently of ones own personal beliefs.
I'd still vastly prefer having you around instead.
"Liberty or death."
-"Cobra"
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On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed
Sender ID: Fiorella Arianna de Marco, Golden Cross Cartel Recipient ID: Damien "Cobra" Morreti Subject: RE: RE: RE: Pale Mask Damien
If you wish to take it from me with the conviction that it will not function, then indeed, it will not. It is akin to undergoing supportive therapy while firmly believing it to be futile. Engaging in a hobby that holds no allure for you. Composing a poem that you do not genuinely wish to write.
I will have to conceive of something else. Something less otherworldly, perhaps.
☠ Incoming transmission.
☠ Signal source: Free Republic relay, Liberty
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Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Fiorella Arianna de Marco Subject:RE: Pale Mask
You seem intent on making sure I sleep well.
I'll admit that I'm having a little trouble now and then. It's not stress or worry keeping me up though, I know that for sure. I find myself laying there with my eyes shut and being given no reprieve. Sometimes hours go by and I get none at all.
I think I'm moving between bases too much.
"Liberty or death."
-"Cobra"
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On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed
Sender ID: Fiorella Arianna de Marco, Golden Cross Cartel Recipient ID: Damien "Cobra" Morreti Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Pale Mask Damien
This commonly occurs if your thoughts cannot pause, even momentarily. It is likely a sign of prolonged stress, which prevents you from focusing on your usual relaxation activities. Or perhaps you have caught a mere four hours of sleep routine from me. Could it be contagious?
Nevertheless, I am finished here. Nothing but old, dried bones and shattered hopes. These rebelling house slaves executed their Crayterian handler shortly after it became clear that no rescue was forthcoming and they would be missed by no one. Instead, they sought to survive here as unobtrusively as possible. They have been slowly poisoned by a malfunction in their life support system. Heavy metals in their drinking water slowly took away their bodies and minds.
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