Overload:
(1988… Lothrin-Industries C.R. Lab N.A. 3, The Olympios District, New Alexandria)
The Narrator
Chapter 27 = Overload... Lothrin-Industries C.R. Lab N.A.3 in the Olympios District of New Alexandria in the year 1988 AD of Earth #8193… The laboratory echo's with a gentle chorus like a cathedral of steel and glass, its vaulted ceiling lined with containment pylons that pulse faintly with protective light. The air is sharp with ozone and antiseptic, the vibration of generators thrumming through the floor like a heartbeat. At the center of the chamber, suspended in a cradle of magnetic fields, Ice Heart glows with its cold, alien radiance. Its surface shimmers with shifting facets, less a crystal than a frozen fragment of some otherworldly star.
Dr. Emilia Lebenstocher stands at the primary console, her lab coat crisp, her hair tied back with clinical precision. Around her, a half‑dozen technicians move between stations, their voices hushed, their eyes flicking nervously to the containment cradle. The datapads on Emilia's desk glow with scrolling waveforms, energy readouts, and tissue regeneration charts.
Emilia Lebenstocher
"Stabilize the resonance at seventy‑two percent. Increment by point‑five. Let's see how she responds."
The Narrator
The pylons brighten, their glow deepening to a steady thrum. The hum of the chamber shifts pitch, a low vibration that crawls into the bones of everyone present. For a moment, the readings hold steady. Emilia narrows her eyes, lips pressed into a thin line of concentration.
Then the spike comes.
A jagged surge slashes across the monitors, the waveform fracturing into chaos. The datapads scream with warning glyphs, their displays bleeding red.
Emilia Lebenstocher
"…No. That's not right."
The Narrator
Her fingers fly across the console, pulling up secondary diagnostics. The surge builds like a tidal wave, climbing faster than the systems can compensate. The pylons flicker, their protective glow stuttering. A low vibration rattles the glassware on the benches, sending ripples through the water in the containment tanks.
Emilia Lebenstocher
"SHUT IT DOWN! DISCONNECT THE FLOW!"
The Narrator
Technicians scramble, hands slamming against emergency cutoffs. Sparks leap from the conduits as the surge cascades through the system. Emilia lunges for the manual override, her hand slamming down on the lever. Too late.
Ice Heart flares unleashing a blinding pulse of impossibly bright light. For a heartbeat, the entire lab freezes in crystalline brilliance, every surface refracting the alien glow. The technicians' faces are etched in stark relief, eyes wide with awe and terror.
Then the world detonates.
The explosion tears through steel and stone, a blossom of fire and shards. The shockwave obliterates the pylons, rips the consoles from their moorings, and consumes Emilia and her team in an instant. The last thing she sees is the waveform spiking off the charts, climbing into infinity.
The lab collapses into silence, leaving only the echo of the blast and the faint, lingering whisper of something not entirely gone.
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The Narrator
The Narrows is never silent. Beyond the walls of the Lothrin Memorial Grounds, the city screams and cries but within the gates of the Lothrin-Memorial Zone, the noise is muted, as though the air itself refuses to carry violence into its sacred space.
The memorial zone stretches across the reclaimed ruins of an old rail yard now covered with green foliage and cherry blossom trees. Black‑marble headstones rise in neat rows, their surfaces etched with names and dates, each one lit by a scarlet lantern that burns through the night. At the center stands a mausoleum of steel and stone, its doors engraved with the sigil of House Lothrin. This is no state‑sanctioned burial ground. It is Anya's creation, her sanctuary for the Narrows' dead, those denied dignity elsewhere.
Tonight, the lanterns flicker in the damp air as a small gathering assembles. There are no parents, no siblings, no blood kin for the one they are here to honor and grief. Emilia's family disowned her long ago, and Gwen's did the same. Instead, the mourners are those who chose her: her lover, her colleagues from the lab, Anya's circle of friends who welcomed her among them with open arms, and a handful of Narrows allies who knew her compassion.
Oskar, Artair Anya, Emma, Zahrell and Sophia bare forth her coffin as they process down the cobble stone path flanked by mourners. Their bring her casket forward and place it gently onto the lowering-straps above her open and waiting grave. Zahrell and Sophia go and take their seats next to their dear young Jessie as Emma goes and takes a seat next Emilia's mourning widow, Gwen. Emma places a loving arm around her, holding her close as she cries. Artair, flanked by Oskar and Anya, makes his way over to the podium to begin the next phase of the funeral.
Artair
We are gathered her tonight to honor a truly brilliant and noble-hearted woman. A woman of both strong will and mind. Who understand the power of compassion and the importance of love especially when confronted with dual horrors of oppression and hate. Emilia and her beloved Gwen faced both these dark forces on constant basis, but Emilia understood the only true path of survival is clinging with your whole heart to those you love and never backdown when that love is threatened. However, it is true none of these words will do anything to numb the pain many of us now feel and must carry forward into day to day lives as time passes and the world turns.
The truth is remembering all her wonderful virtues and her good nature only serve to deepen the tragedy that those she leaves behind now face at her loss. So I will simply say this, Emilia was truly magnificent woman and the world is far darker without her it but we all know that she would never want any of us to give in to that darkness, she would want us to find our paths to heal and grief with love in hearts and hope in our eyes… Love and warmth to thee dearest Emilia and may your soul find peace.
The Narrator
Artair and Oskar go take their seats as Anya approaches the podium.
Anya Lothrin
"She was mine, by law. But she was never property. Emilia sadly understood better than most just how horrific and cruel the systems that govern out current society truly are for her, and Gwen often faced these systems head-on with courage and love. These battles are often not easy, but I was honored to be able to both know Emilia and give her and Gwen the support to fight these battles neither one of them should have never had to endure.
Emilia was more than just a valued employee, she was a woman of brilliance, of heart, of love. And the truth is… the truth is, I failed her. I put her in that lab. I approved those tests. Her death is my failure, and I will carry it with me every day. Her death is on me. I dare not ask your forgiveness Gwen, but you ever need anything my heart, my home and my resources will always be available to you."
The Narrator
Anya goes and takes a seat next to seat next to her beloved Emma who continues to hold the crying Gwen close. For a long moment, Gwen does not move. Her hands tremble in her lap, clutching the ring Emilia gave her only days before. Finally, she rises, her legs unsteady, and steps to the podium for her final words:
Gwen
"I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to say goodbye. You were my home, Emilia. My heart. My future. And now you're gone. I love you. I always will." [voice shaking and rattled with sadness] 2 YEARS LATER…