Chapter 2.3 - Virtual Reality: Rooftop
Jan and the others catch up with Klaus on the top of a building.
Melisse: Yes… we got him!
Jan: Klaus Torres?
Klaus: …
Lactis: There’s no escape. Come quietly…
Klaus: “And I heard the altar respond: ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.’” [Revelation 16:7]
Jan: …?
Suddenly, an enormous macrophage appears behind Klaus.
Bugs: Captain! Look out!
Jan: An enemy…!?
Battle with Egil.
Jan: Checkmate. We've sealed the program. There's nowhere for you to go.
Klaus: …
Jan: You’re under arrest on charges of illegal access to the U.M.N. and mind control through the U.M.N.
Klaus: …
Jan: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Klaus: “The bowl was poured on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.” [Revelation 16:4]
Jan: …?
Klaus: “Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: ‘You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.’” [Revelation 16:5-6]
Melisse: Is he losing it?
Klaus: “And I heard the altar respond: ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.’” [Revelation 16:7]
Jan: Torres. Do you understand what we’re saying?
Klaus: Oh, I understand. The words you’re saying… and the words he’s saying…
Jan: Who's 'he'? Is it Voyager?
Klaus: He wants blood! Oh, not your blood. The blood of angels!
Jan: Blood… why?
Klaus: Ahh, only a person who inherited the blood of angels is given audience with him. That is his desire. And that blood is flowing in me! Even me, a person from a spoiled, rich family…
Melisse: Captain, this man is in a very dangerous state of mind! Disconnect him!
Jan: Wait, Melisse…
Klaus: I’m going to the promised land. I’ll obey his commands…
Jan: The promised land…?
Klaus: Ahh, the place that rejects no one. The place where no one will bother me. Those Goodwill Ambassador brats should already be there by now…
Jan: You, too... Voyager really has…
Lactis: Captain, be careful. Suicide in virtual reality is just as deadly as in real life.
Klaus: I’m going now. What, you jealous? You guys should have a ticket there too. And then he’ll cut it and you’ll be left with just the pieces… Yes… you look like you have enough of the right qualities.
Jan: Hey! Wait!!
Klaus: We’ll meet again someday.
Jan: !
Before their eyes, Klaus jumps off the roof.
Archon Police Station Briefing Room
Jan is sitting on the edge of a diving bed and the others have gathered around him.
Melisse: Another… another person is dead!
Jan: …
Lactis: …Captain.
Jan: …?
Lactis: Do you think that man was Voyager?
Jan: Perhaps not. Did you hear it too? I think he was just another person being used by Voyager. What about you?
Lactis: Well… from what we know of Voyager so far, it’s not unlike him to end a life that’s been cornered.
Mikhail: …Yeah. And from an operator’s perspective, I don’t think that Klaus guy could have hacked into the party alone.
Melisse: …But isn’t Klaus the son of the president of the Torres Foundation? Is it possible that he had help from someone inside the Foundation?
Mikhail: Klaus was exiled from the Torres family nearly ten years ago. Consequently, he would have been kept far from any Foundation insider information. And…
Melisse: And?
Mikhail: The pattern of the trace log from the program rewrite clearly shows the influence of a third party. I thought I could see Voyager’s hand at work. It’s no more than a feeling, though.
Melisse: A feeling, huh…
Jan: No, that feeling… might be right.
Melisse: …Oh?
Jan: According to Mikhail, the construction process of that virtual space was identical to that of the program the ambassadors were held in. He was able to make the trap because he analyzed the logic behind the program’s composition.
Erich: Same construction process, same approach… probably the same person. It’s true of us, and it’s true of him.
Melisse: So is it possible that Voyager is one of the developers of that virtual space?
Mikhail: We’ve already looked into that. We didn’t find traces of any authorized developers in the records…
Jan: There’s a strong possibility that the person who captured the ambassadors leaked details of the construction process to Klaus. That person is probably Voyager.
Melisse: If Klaus could hear him…
Mikhail: Everything that guy knew was erased when he died.
Melisse: We lost the only lead we had… now it’s back to square one.
Mikhail: Dead men don’t talk. It’s sad… he was just a petty criminal who was used and thrown away.
Erich: No, we can’t say that for sure…
Mikhail: What, petty criminal?
Erich: No. He might not talk, but we can still listen. His memories are preserved inside his brain.
Melisse: Dive… into a dead man…?
Jan: Is that possible?
Erich: Yes. His body will be perfectly preserved for up to 48 hours after death.
Melisse: It’s illegal to dive into a corpse! It’s far too dangerous!
Jan: It may be dangerous, but if it’s our only lead then we have no choice.