I make my way down the hallway, following the glowing purple line towards (hopefully) a productive and not at all lethal conversation with the Lotus. I feel my heart rate slowly inching up from the nerves, even as I do my best to keep myself calm. "I mean, we've literally already talked before. It doesn't make sense for me to go through an entire first day of training, and get suited up, just for her to flatline me. So like, I have to assume that I'm okay. It's less talking to the cops, more talking to... a principal? I guess?" I tell myself, the pads on the soles of my suit making a staccato sound as I walk down the moderately busy hallway. "Or maybe like talking to my mom. My... space mom?" I feel myself relax slightly as I chuckle at the thought.

  "Probably shouldn't call her that to her face. But yea. I'm not in trouble, I just need to keep that in mind. She's a powerful woman doing her best to hold the system together, and I'm some nobody with dangerous information, specifically related to her. I just need to be understanding about her position, but firm on mine." The path I'm led on is winding; I take multiple turns and pass through more than one door before I reach my final destination. The line I'm following leads to a door less like the one's I've grown used to in the hallways below the concourse and more like a door I'd recognize from the game. It's 8 feet tall, and shaped like a semi-circle. The door has the symbol of the Lotus painted on it in a soft purple, and as I approach it, it splits into three separate pieces; the top fourth retreating into the ceiling, and the bottom portion splitting down the middle and sliding to the left and right.

  I make my way into the room, and just as swiftly as the door had opened, it slides shut behind me, and audibly locks. "Okay, totally super normal and not at all ominous," I think to myself, before looking around the room. Inside are purple cloths draped at varying heights; some attached ceiling to floor, and some ceiling to wall. I can't help but draw parallels to the Lotus chamber within the game, although this one has more of a Tenno design to it. "Kinda like if the Arbiters of Hexis room and Lotus' chamber had a baby," I think to myself. As my eyes wander around, a hologram silently flickers to life in front of me. There's a brief moment where it appears to be a vaguely purple shaped cloud of particles, but it only takes a moment for it to cohere. Beyond a touch of transparency at the edges, the figure in front of me looks incredibly life like, and I can't help but feel a drop of nervousness creep back in.

  "Antimony Nova," says the Lotus, after the briefest of moments. "The Lotus," I say, unsure of how to start the conversation. "You are aware of why you are here, correct?" she asks. The mimic modeled after a human has a mask covering her eyes, and yet I don't doubt for a second that she can see every bit of me, straight into my soul. "Sure. You want to know the information I have," I say. She gives me a nod, and I continue. "Well, like I said on the ship, some of the information is dangerous. I can't really be sure of what is and isn't dangerous, so..." I trail off, not really sure of where I'm going. She nods again. "I am well acquainted with danger, and I believe it is in our best interest for us to be on the same page. Therefore, I'd like for you to explain exactly how much you know about the reservoir, as well as how you came by this information."

  "Sure," I say, nodding my head. "I don't really think there's any danger in giving you information that you already know. I... I mean, I can't really be sure but... anyways. Uhm, so, first, for context, I... know who you are." She responds before I have the chance to continue. "I am The Lotus. Leader of the Tenno," she says, with the slightest bite to her voice. "Right," I say, doing my best to not come off as accusatory. "My mistake. What I meant to say... is that I know who you were. Natah. Daughter of Hunhow. A mimic Sentient." I take a small breath, but the tension in the room makes it feel as though I've failed to fill my lungs. "The... uhm. The specifics of the Old War I'm a little fuzzy on. You were sent by your father to kill the Orokin, and then to kill the Tenno. But then you found out they were children? So... you modeled yourself after Archimedean Margulis, the Orokin who was the adoptive mother of the Tenno, and you hid them away on Lua."

  "And by Tenno," I explain, "I'm specifically referring to the children of the Zariman Ten Zero, who had all come back after the jump to Tau failed with spooky void powers. And the reservoir is the place where they all got put into a sort of lucid dream, I think, by Margulis? Because they were traumatized kids and their powers were dangerous, and also because a bunch of Orokin wanted to kill the kids? I'm really not sure. But more relevant is that those Tenno were found to be able to pilot around something called a warframe, which was an invention by Ballas, one of the Seven, who was Margulis' douche of a boyfriend. And then he asked Margulis if he could use the super powered kids for his weapons program and she said no, so he killed her and did it anyways. And so that's sort of why it's so important it stays a secret. It's both a bunch of kids you feel maternal affection towards and also how to control the warframes, kind of."

  I know the moment the last words leave my mouth that the information I've given isn't perfectly right. I feel the impulse to try to correct myself, but I'm not confident on what the right information is, and so I just bite my tongue and sit in silence. "You know quite a lot about something from many millennia ago," says the Lotus. Her expression betrays nothing, and I can't tell if it's because she's a robot, because I can't see her eyes, or if she just has a good poker face. "Yea, well... as for how I know all of this..." I feel my mind make a snap decision, and my mouth starts moving before I get the chance to talk myself out of it. "Lotus, this may be hard to believe, but I'm from a different world. A different universe. The information I have about this universe-"

  "-is from a game. I'm already aware of this," says the Lotus, cutting me off in the middle of my sentence. I feel a wave of dizziness pass over me, as though I tried to take a step in VR but my character was stuck, or expected one more step on a staircase than there actually was. A mismatch between expectation and reality physicalizing itself in my head. "Wh... huh?" I say, desperately trying to regain my footing. Another hologram forms in between me and the Lotus, and this one is of me in a seated position, cross legged, staring off to the left. "That game that I played, in my hometown on Earth is called... Warframe," says the hologram, and any progress I made on feeling stable is torn out from under me like a rug. The hologram of me disappears, and I'm once more able to see the Lotus, who I manage to notice has the barest hint of a smile. "We've been observing you for a while, remember?" she says. "All of the information you've provided to Recruit Ko-lee within the Unum is already known to us." I can feel the puzzle pieces in my mind snap into place as I finish grappling with this revelation.

  "So... you already knew why I knew what I did. You... why did you ask me?" I question, and she gives me a moment to gather myself before responding. "I wanted to see if you'd be truthful with me, Recruit Nova," says the Lotus. The words are said entirely amicably, but I can't help but feel the tiniest, barest hints of a threat, buried deep in her words. "I think I just passed some sort of test," I realize. "How accurate has your game and this universe been?" she asks. I do my best to shove my feeling aside and think about every moment where I've compared and contrasted the two. "It's... uhm. Sorry. Good? No, uhm, they are mostly the same, I meant to say. Like... like, it feels like details are different, but the broad strokes are there," I say, as I struggle to remember how to speak Origin. "Elaborate," says the Lotus, and I give her a nod. "Sure. So... for example, Cetus is a lot bigger here than in the game. Which makes sense, because the game only really needed a bit of set dressing and stuff. It was like a representation of Cetus more than it was the real thing."

  She stays silent, and so I wrack my brain for something more concrete that I can give her. "Uhh... the conclave? That was totally new. There wasn't any mention of it in the game at all. Or really any politics or anything. Konzu existed, as well as a few other characters, but they were static. We only knew the tiniest bits and pieces about them. Oh, and the Unum! So, she exists in the game as well, but you can't really enter her without using a glitch or something, well, except for this one quest. But when you do, it's in the future, and... anyways, I think it's mostly cosmetic differences as well? But I can't remember well enough to be sure." I watch her breathe for a moment, and before my mind can spiral down the question of whether or not she actually needs to do that, she asks another question. "And the Tenno?" There's a brief moment of confusion before it dawns on me that she's not asking about the Tenno as a whole.

  "You mean the kids? They're usually called operators, 'cause they operate the warframes. Just to... so I know that you're not referring to like, the Tenno as a whole. But yea, there's this quest called Second Dream. It- actually... I probably shouldn't talk about this one," I say to the hologram. "This meeting is for you to share information. If you think that it will help, then please let me know," says the Lotus, a slight downturn to her lips. "No, it's not... I'm not trying to, like... hide..." I sigh, unable to come up with a quick and succinct explanation for why I'm not just telling her what she wants. "Listen, I know I mentioned infohazard before, but I don't think I really explained why I think that it's dangerous for you to know. Have you heard of the term butterfly effect?" I ask. "It's this idea that a butterfly on one side of the planet beats it's wings, and then the air molecules bounce against each other, more and more, until they cause a tornado on the other side of the world."

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  "You are aware that the energy-" the Lotus begins to say, but I wave her explanation away. "No, I know it doesn't literally work that way. It's a metaphor for chaos theory. The idea that even a tiny change can lead to a big change over a long enough timescale. Like a double pendulum. So, my thing is that if I tell you something about the future, even if it's a small thing, then it could lead to a big change down the line. And there are these... really big events that are gonna happen, and I gotta be careful not to knock over the house of cards. My info will quickly become irrelevant, and unlike the Unum, I won't be able to adjust. I'm not getting new info right now, I just have what I have," I say, feeling slightly winded.

  "I am located in the void, as you likely know," says the Lotus. "Any information you give to me will be kept secure, and it will not be acted upon unless I determine it to be safe." I sigh, doing my best to tamp down the beginnings of my frustration. "No, I get that, it's just... some of the stuff I know directly involves you. Actions you take, specifically. I know I'm asking for a lot, but I'm telling you, you need to trust me on this. I am absolutely, unequivocally on your side. I can tell you other things, like side... stuff," I say, faltering on the last word in attempt to avoid saying 'side story'. "Just not the bigger things, not until the time is right," I finish, somewhat awkwardly. There's a moment of silence, and I wrack my brain for something actionable I actually can give her, instead of just telling her things she already knew. "Okay, so, there's a version of the operator who doesn't make the deal with Wally. Er, Man In The Wall. Void entity?"

  She gives me a blank look, and I don't understand her confusion for a moment. "You know, looks like... oh shit!" I curse in English, suddenly remembering the order of the quests. "Fuck! She doesn't know about Wally 'cause Rell is holding him back. But if we wait until after the operator comes out with the whole Hunhow slash Stalker thing, then do that bit, he ends up dead. We need to rescue him before we get to that point but... I don't know if we even can without the operator having... being able to... operate." I can feel my mind running a mile a minute trying to connect the puzzle pieces together without disrupting other parts, and every time I do it falls apart. "The operators can't come out too early as well, because we need Teshin to enter the picture, and they need to kill Tyl Regor, and all that crap. But also, we could maybe probably go and wrap all that up regardless? Also also! If we rescue Rell, won't he be out of his warframe? When does that happen? Then even if they aren't operators-"

  My musing is interrupted by a soft, slightly synthesized voice. "Recruit Nova? You were saying about one of the Tenno? ...operators?" she asks, correcting herself after a moment. "Uhm... yea," I say, trying to pull my focus back to the front. "Sorry, they... there's an operator who doesn't get void powers. Or rather, it's one that did get powers, but also eternalism blah blah blah. So this unpowered operator stays on the Zariman, and then... dreams up a reality called Duviri based off a children's book. I'd imagine they're still there," I explain. For the first time since entering the room, I see a lively reaction out of the Lotus. "One of the children is stuck in the void?" she says, a note of alarm in her voice. I waver my hand back and forth. "Well, sort of? First of all, they're going to get rescued, I promise. The entire Zariman pops out of the void actually, but then it stays half in and half out, and sort of acts like a cork... regardless. They aren't actually on the Zariman. The space they make is like... sort of connected, but only after some stuff happens that hasn't happened yet, and also they've grown up in the place they're in, so they're not really a kid anymore..."

  I can't help but mentally roll my eyes at the convoluted nature of the story, but I do my best to forge on. "Anyways, as long as things play out like they're supposed to, they're totally fine," I say. "I mean, everyone here needs a therapist, so no they're not fine fine but they're not dead, so good enough," I think, finishing the rest of the sentence in my head. "What you're telling me isn't helpful," says the Lotus, after a moment. "Information I already have, and information that can't be acted upon is not very valuable." I nod, frowning. "No, I know, I want to... it's just sticky. There's so much stuff that-" The conversation with the Tenno who had helped me get my suit crosses my mind, and I cut myself off. "Wait, I do have something! I think, probably. So... there's a Fomorian attack that happens!" The Lotus gives me nod, like a parent to a child. "Yes, they do tend to happen," she says, with the barest hint of humor. "No, no, like, a real one. One that destroys this relay, specifically!" I say, doing my best to convince her of my words. It works.

  "When," says the Lotus, steel in her voice. "It's... oh fuck. When is it? I... was I even playing then..." I trail off, and I can feel nerves crawl up and down my neck as I desperately try to find where in my mind the information is hidden. "It's... some of the timeline stuff I have is... based on updates in the game, but that doesn't really make any sense here," I mumble. "Then do you have any identifying information? Anything that might let us determine how this attack was different from another?" she asks, and I can't tell if I'm imagining the frustration in her voice. "Uhm, yea. I think there were multiple relays being attacked at the same time?" I say, unsure. "You think?" she says, the sharpness of the K making me wince. "Do you know which relays?" I can't help but cringe. "No. I just... I can't remember. I've got a bad memory, and like, I was never obsessed with Warframe, I just... liked it," I say. Part of my mind is lamenting the fact that I didn't spend more time trawling the wiki, as though I could have ever guessed that the information would become a case of life or death later.

  "I know that Steel Meridian helps rebuild it. After," I say, offering up anything that could be relevant. "I would like to not need to rebuild the relay," says the Lotus, and it feels like the final nail in the coffin. "You really thought that all that information floating around in pieces and chunks would make you some sort of powerhouse in the universe, huh? And when it finally comes down to it, there's just not a single, usable bit of knowledge in here, is there?" I think at myself. I know the reprimand isn't particularly helpful right now, but I can't help but feel like my ego had been inflated from one too many webnovels. "So convinced that I knew how this would all play out, that I never stopped to actually think about it. What do I actually know? I can give big broad strokes, but how is that helpful other than causing stress and paranoia? What I played, and what this world is, are two fundamentally different things, and I just... got caught up in superficial similarities."

  "You have the information, correct?" asks the Lotus, and I pull myself out of my head to focus back on the hologram. "You're just unable to remember it?" I sigh, and give a slight shrug. "I mean, do I really have the information if I can't access it?" She nods her head, once. "Yes, you do. If you've seen it before, then it's in there, somewhere." She's silent for a moment, and I just watch her think, until she continues. "There is a medical procedure that may allow you to access that knowledge, as well as any other knowledge hidden in your mind." I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" I ask. "I mean, if you are given this surgery, you will have perfect recall of any moment of your life. Instant and clear, with none of the degradation or warping of time," she explains. I just stand there for a moment, floored by the implication. "Fully photographic memory? They can just... give that to me?" I think. "Wait, are you saying like, ever memory ever? Even from birth?" I ask. The Lotus nods. "Every moment you were awake, every moment asleep. Every fraction of a song heard, every sentence skimmed, every glance at a face," she explains.

  "Let me be perfectly clear. This is not a safe surgery. If you aren't strong enough, either physically or mentally, then it can break your mind. You need to have the right mindset, and a body capable of taking the stress. However, we do have training program for this." The room feels huge; the air, huge. I'm standing on the edge of a precipice, a cliff. I've chosen between so many things in my life, but for once, I'm being presented with a Choice. I can feel it. My mind feels it, my body feels it. "I can say no?" I ask, my mouth dry. "You can. If this isn't something you think you can do, or want to, or if you find out that you are unable to go through with the training, then I'd prefer you didn't," says the Lotus. "Any information is better than none at all, and every operative and agent is an important asset." And yet. And yet. I can feel the unsaid words floating between us. "She wants me to do it," I think. "She wants to know what I have stuck in the corners of my mind. ...And... maybe this is just that main character syndrome flaring up again... but... fuck, I think I want to do it too."

  "How long will the training take?" I ask. "Two months. You would start the training next month, and do it alongside your basic training. After you return from your first operation, we would perform the surgery," she explains. "Am I... do I have to choose right now?" I ask. The edge calls. She gives a slight shake of her head. "No. Please, think about it. I will add the first advanced training to your schedule. Meet with the trainer. They will help you make an informed decision," she says. I take a deep breath, stepping back from the cliff, and after a moment, I give a deep bow. "Thank you for the opportunity," I tell her. While my face is pointed towards the floor, I hear the lock unlatch from the door behind me, and as I rise, I find that the hologram is gone, leaving me with an empty room and a head full of thoughts.

  got to it yet, but, ya know, I'm excited! Also, how's my version of the Lotus? We've had some back and forth with her here and there, but this is the most conversation so far, even when you consider the games, I think. She has a very particular way of speaking that I tried to emulate, but I can't tell if I got it. Honestly, I need Rebb Ford to actually say the words for me to know if it sounds right :p

  Discord!