I’ve given myself room to recuperate. I’ve given myself the time to compose myself.
We lost Gretchen. I tried to run in there, I tried to do something to save her, even if it meant we’d both die. But one of those damned drones, the ones like the architects, they stopped me. They held me back, tossed me to the ground.
The client expects us to continue work. So we will do as such. Despite their wishes, I gave us a few days to recover.
We held a vigil for her. There was a lot of crying. Eric more than anyone, as to have been expected. I understand it may seem odd to mourn someone you’ve only known for a month like a brother, but when you work in conditions such as these, it forms such a fraternity that even saying goodbye alive seems wrong, let alone like this.
Nobody will die under my watch again.
We have been putting the finishing touches on the goggles themselves. We have two modes built into it, one which lets you view the world through a camera, and the other, which is more interesting, that allows you to directly tap into the mindspace of the artifact, directly fusing your magic artifacts. This one will require intensive testing before it’s even thinkable to use.
Progress on the experiment is progressing rapidly and smoothly. I cannot say the same for the morale of the crew.
I’ve found Eric to be very distant. They were never the most outgoing or friendly, but they just seem to have been completely broken by this news. They’re almost… a husk.
Enrique has been trying to take this emotional burden upon himself. He is a most empathetic young man, but I worry he is putting too much pressure upon himself.
I personally have been sinking my woes into the keypanel terminal. I’ve been mostly using it for work purposes, but there’ve been some oddities that have tickled my fancy. Miscellaneous files all about. A lot of television, oddly enough. Seems Corneal has attempted to dip their toes in the entertainment industry.
Meanwhile, it seems that Leeba has becomes something of a recluse. Hardly leaving her dorm. At least, during the day. I hear strange shuffling sounds at night, and last night I had enough of it. I got up and searched for the origin of the sound, and there she was, flashlight in hand. I tried to ask her what she was doing, and she only said one thing before submerging into the darkness.
“Something’s wrong.”