Sage said he had no rules, but in reality, he had one; don’t abuse his gift. She read his message loud and clear. Didnt think you were my babysitter, but I just wanted to make sure I understand what’s expected of me as your student. Message received loud and clear: do not piss off Wicked (can I call you wicked?)
Marta began looking around. She saw nothing here so went down to the bottom floor where the offices were. She could have started in the dojo, but didn’t feel like it. She was a little excited. Puzzles were her thing. Down here were the office’s of Borealis Industries and Durante Securities. Borealis was a weird name - she remembered that it was the northern lights or something like that. Durante at least made sense.
Marta looked around the floor and eventually found some sort of shrine. It almost seemed like a religious thing. It was well taken care of. She saw mostly pictures. Some of the Kallisti staff. It had a candid picture of a woman she did not know. Several sketches. A picture of Nox with two women. One older and one younger. They both looked like Nox enough that she assumed mother and sister. Marta remembered Sterling had talked about Nox having a sister. There was also a picture face down. Marta reached for it, but pulled her hand away. The picture hadn’t fallen. It had been placed like that. This seemed like something important to Nox, and she wanted to be reverent.
She went through the other floors and time passed. But the shrine was what she kept thinking about. She saw nothing about Sage - at least overtly. The only thing here that drew her attention was the shrine. And her answers were here - in this building. What was Nox to Sage? A friend, colleague, lover? Sage had mentioned him. They obviously knew each other.
She opened her mouth to ask Sky, but remembered Sky wouldn’t help. She found herself back on the couch. The problem had bothered her for about an hour. The answer was here and her gut said the answer was at the shrine. She went back down to it and stared. Nox - what did she know about Nox. Not much…but Elyse did. Marta sent her a message.
Elyse - you still awake?
Yes - you okay?
Yeah I’m fine. I have some questions. About Nox.
Okay? What do you need?
I just found these pictures downstairs- wondering who some of the people are. Looks like his mom and sister? A woman with black hair. Some sketches too.
You’re at his shrine. I’ve seen it. The woman is his friend aria - she passed. The picture with Nox and the two women - yeah that’s his mother and sister - don’t know his mother’s name, but his sister is Aurora - she passed too. The sketches are from his favorite artist. I think her name is Thalia? Not sure. Does that help?
Marta thought and added one more question. You know Sage - the guy who is sometimes at Kallisti? How does he know Nox?
Sage, Nox, and Aurora go way back. Childhood friends.
That helped. It helped a lot. Marta’s eyes went to the picture and locked onto Aurora. She was very pretty. Nox must miss her a lot. Sage probably did too. Then it hit her. Aurora Borealis. The northern lights were called the Aurora Borealis. The name now made sense. Thankfully she had paid attention in science class this week. She moved on the stairs quickly, not running. Most of the house was still asleep. She opened her laptop and the app. She typed in “Aurora Borealis” as the key. It buzzed at her - the key was incorrect. She shook her head. She was on the right track - she knew it. Her name. Her name wasn’t Aurora Borealis. She tried again, but with her name “Aurora Durante.” The app opened and Marta smiled.
”Hey Sky. Calculated the amount of data in this app,” she asked and Sky did. ”Holy shit!”
The amount of data was astronomical. Marta couldn’t believe it. She had so much knowledge right at her fingertips. She could have searched for the data she had talked about, but she had no interest in that right now. She instead searched for Aurora and began to read. There were images, sound bites, everything. It only took a short time to find out how she had died and she began to cry. She closed it. She had seen enough for now.
She sent Wicked a message. Im in. That’s a lot of data and a lot of trust you’ve placed in me. I appreciate the scope of the gift you have offered me.
Nox told me once he’s always sad. It’s because of her isn’t it? She was your friend too - I’m sorry.
Marta began looking around. She saw nothing here so went down to the bottom floor where the offices were. She could have started in the dojo, but didn’t feel like it. She was a little excited. Puzzles were her thing. Down here were the office’s of Borealis Industries and Durante Securities. Borealis was a weird name - she remembered that it was the northern lights or something like that. Durante at least made sense.
Marta looked around the floor and eventually found some sort of shrine. It almost seemed like a religious thing. It was well taken care of. She saw mostly pictures. Some of the Kallisti staff. It had a candid picture of a woman she did not know. Several sketches. A picture of Nox with two women. One older and one younger. They both looked like Nox enough that she assumed mother and sister. Marta remembered Sterling had talked about Nox having a sister. There was also a picture face down. Marta reached for it, but pulled her hand away. The picture hadn’t fallen. It had been placed like that. This seemed like something important to Nox, and she wanted to be reverent.
She went through the other floors and time passed. But the shrine was what she kept thinking about. She saw nothing about Sage - at least overtly. The only thing here that drew her attention was the shrine. And her answers were here - in this building. What was Nox to Sage? A friend, colleague, lover? Sage had mentioned him. They obviously knew each other.
She opened her mouth to ask Sky, but remembered Sky wouldn’t help. She found herself back on the couch. The problem had bothered her for about an hour. The answer was here and her gut said the answer was at the shrine. She went back down to it and stared. Nox - what did she know about Nox. Not much…but Elyse did. Marta sent her a message.
Elyse - you still awake?
Yes - you okay?
Yeah I’m fine. I have some questions. About Nox.
Okay? What do you need?
I just found these pictures downstairs- wondering who some of the people are. Looks like his mom and sister? A woman with black hair. Some sketches too.
You’re at his shrine. I’ve seen it. The woman is his friend aria - she passed. The picture with Nox and the two women - yeah that’s his mother and sister - don’t know his mother’s name, but his sister is Aurora - she passed too. The sketches are from his favorite artist. I think her name is Thalia? Not sure. Does that help?
Marta thought and added one more question. You know Sage - the guy who is sometimes at Kallisti? How does he know Nox?
Sage, Nox, and Aurora go way back. Childhood friends.
That helped. It helped a lot. Marta’s eyes went to the picture and locked onto Aurora. She was very pretty. Nox must miss her a lot. Sage probably did too. Then it hit her. Aurora Borealis. The northern lights were called the Aurora Borealis. The name now made sense. Thankfully she had paid attention in science class this week. She moved on the stairs quickly, not running. Most of the house was still asleep. She opened her laptop and the app. She typed in “Aurora Borealis” as the key. It buzzed at her - the key was incorrect. She shook her head. She was on the right track - she knew it. Her name. Her name wasn’t Aurora Borealis. She tried again, but with her name “Aurora Durante.” The app opened and Marta smiled.
”Hey Sky. Calculated the amount of data in this app,” she asked and Sky did. ”Holy shit!”
The amount of data was astronomical. Marta couldn’t believe it. She had so much knowledge right at her fingertips. She could have searched for the data she had talked about, but she had no interest in that right now. She instead searched for Aurora and began to read. There were images, sound bites, everything. It only took a short time to find out how she had died and she began to cry. She closed it. She had seen enough for now.
She sent Wicked a message. Im in. That’s a lot of data and a lot of trust you’ve placed in me. I appreciate the scope of the gift you have offered me.
Nox told me once he’s always sad. It’s because of her isn’t it? She was your friend too - I’m sorry.