Nari’s Log was a ambitious unfinished sci-fi novella created by Natalie Neumann. Natalie does not recommend that you try to read the original work due to its low quality, structural issues, and grammatical errors. Instead, she encourages you to read the summary included in Volume 06: Nari’s Logof The Saga of Vincent Dawn and Volume 02: Nari’s Log of Natalie Rambles About The Saga of Vincent Dawn to better understand the content of this novella.
I have only been in this place for what amounts to three days, and most of that was being asleep, but it is getting difficult to imagine life any other way now. I very easily could just be drugged into behaving some certain way by The Doctor. I mean, I admitted my suspicions when I know he’s listening to this. But onto what happened to me during the hour or so I was awake on the Omnibahn this… Time is losing meaning, isn’t it?
Open eyes, feel around to make sure the body is right, look at the nice wood furnishing, and go to the Rec Room. Already felt like I’ve been doing this for months. However, upon entering the Rec Room, it sure looked like a few months had passed. The Doctor was occupying the scene as always, this time wearing a red and white striped top hat. While Max and Y’vonne were sitting on some of the bean bag chairs. But it was inside their hands that confused me. Y’vonne was holding onto a large book with thick and colorful pages, while Max was holding a bag of water with a face in it. The face looked basic, but humanoid if not for its missing nose, but it appeared to move the face and even bounce around.
But before I could break the ice of another awkward moment, The Doctor took the honors. “Gee, sleepy head. Would it kill ya to get up before the others for once?” I was transferring my consciousness between bodies, how was it my fault if it took me awhile to get used to it? Before I could respond, and maybe ask about the cube, assuming my teammates didn’t. I was leapt upon my something wet and giggling that started to climb over me like a sticky cat. I made some standard noises of discomfort as Max started to shout at me. “Hey Raiyne, if you can crawl over Unkie Nari, so can I!” She tried to leap, but Y’vonne held him back, as I attempted to grab the slippery bag that thought I’d be a fun thing to climb over.
I eventually got a decent grip on the bag of water, and started to stare at it. The toothless mouth and wide eyes certainly had their charm, but if not for the cute appearance, I would assume it to be some sort of maneater. “So, um, what is this?” I finally asked the duo in front of me, but The Doctor took the spotlight. “SIlly, it’s good old Raiyne! She’s the equivalent of a one year old already! And in just a few more sessions, she will be able to come with you on adventures!”
I shook my head, still kinda confused over the whole idea of sentient water. Of all the things, it was the one I could not grasp. But Y’vonne spoke up and tried to explain it. “Well, Nari. You remember Maxxi’s baby?” How could I not? “We told you that The Doctor has been taking care of her, and now she can play with us during our off time.” I don’t have many memories of infants in my life, but the ones I do are ones of aggravation. I wanted next to nothing to do with raising a child, even if it did not poop or need to eat.
I meekly handed the child by to Max, who then gave the bag a raspberry, even though I don’t think it would be able to feel it. Being adamant about my own work, I redirected my attention to The Doctor. “So, what’s next on the agenda? More deep hurting, or more fun?” The Doctor pouted at me, and spoke in a higher pitch than usual. “Hmph! You don’t wanna just play with the baby? Fine! Your next mission will take place in an hour. I woulda told you what it was, but you had to be a jerk!”
I groaned. “Look, I am just not the kind of person who has natural parenting skills, or whatever. I lack the desire to even make a child. I have no clue why these two, and you, formed an attachment to a consciousness possessing some water.” Max then looked at me with some of the saddest eyes I even saw. “B-But Nari! You’re the Unkie! Just visit her monthly, it’s been a year already from her point of view!”
“Okay Max, what do you want me to do with this… Raiyne?” Her eyes sparkled up. “We were gonna go to the VR thingie, and be in a play! C’mon, you gotta at least give it a try! Raiyne just loves stories!” Did I really have a choice? No, not really. Instead, I just shrugged in compliance, as Max held Raiyne in one arm, and grabbed me by my head in another. As the Y’vonne followed, and The Doctor shouted, “Allonsy” or something like that.
We stumbled into the VR room, as I glared at Max for being so rude about literally pulling me along. I patted myself down as Y’vonne jogged in, and went right to a panel by the entrance. As I adjusted myself off of the floor, I felt everything around me change. The metal walls turned to stone, and the floor was laid in red silk. The three people who stood before me seemed to disintegrate as I noticed my own hands and entire body changing. After three body transfers, I should be used to the whole idea, but this one was different, I was the one changing in my own body, feeling my weight morph around, if only partially. At least there was none of the expected shifting of bones that my revamped form would imply.
My hands were black and devoid of warmth. With golden lining placed irradiating every so lightly, as it coated every movable segment of my hand. However, instead of leading to wrists, they merely floated near my body, as if a nonexistent wire was keeping them in place. Instead of arms, I had loose hanging sleeves that lead to a robe of sorts, which was the majority of my body. I could not even manage to lift it above the floor as it coated my feet, which felt normal at the very least.
Yet, my attention was soon overwhelmed by how off my face felt, and upon placing my hands over, it was clear why. I was wearing a mask of sorts, assuming it was not just my face. It was made of a metallic substance. And I could feel that it was made to resemble a bearded man, with a sort of crown coating his head. I began to speak, which I did despite my lips remaining static. It was a deep voice, one that sounded wise, yet also a fair bit brash. Unfortunately, a similarly dressed gentleman faded in right in front of me, as I found myself in a large and extravagant chair.
The man stood before me, as if they expected me to speak, which I did not. Only for a voice to pop in angry that I was so baffled. “Cut, cut, cut! Nari, you’re the lead here! Guh, I figured Max wouldn’t be a great one to give a 411. C’mon, this is one of your universe’s, your own planet’s stories!” It was The Doctor talking from thin air. I let out a powerful groan before I told him off. “Look Doctor, I don’t know what is going on, I’m just tyrign to make these two happy, alright?”
A mix between a whine and a grumble followed. “C’mon, ya gotta know Oedipus! Your world’s first exceptional tale of incest! And you’re the lead, because Max thought it’d be fun!” I shook my hollow feeling head. “Sorry, I am unfamiliar with that one beyond a man accidentally marrying his mother and gouging his eyes out. Could you just give me some… cue cards. Since I know there’s no quit button.”
I heard a snap of fingers, as the left side of my vision began to fill up with text. I understood most of it, but it was also very clearly translated, and reeked of gibberish. It began with, “What is it children, sons of the ancient house of Cadmus? Why do you sit as suppliants crowded with laurel branches?” I was already lost, so I had to decipher the gist of every sentence and just tried to waddle my way through the dialog I had with the masked man in white robes.
I spent a good minute hoping to get the words right as I spoke to the emotionless vessel before me. I was certain it was not one of the trio that joined me here. After discussing a plague that was ravishing a kingdom that I was in control of, I read aloud how someone by the name of Creon was sent out, right before he came back, materializing right besides the masked man I was talking to.
This Creon looked to be a living suit of armor, and one that looked to be no more advanced than the mask I was wearing. However, he was like my body where it lacked any wrists, and kept the unusual look of ancient otherworldly robotics. He’d still look right at home on an armor rack, if not for how there was some sort of living read scarf that poorly hid his missing neck. I would not even assume it to have been alive if not for how it walked towards me, and had eyes that glowed red, while not looking very menacing.
I was about to address him, but I was met with laughter. He sounded very ill fitting for the theme I established from this virtual reality thing, sounding fairly high pitched, with a constant modern dialect. “Wow, you’re actually following the script? Pffft! We’re just using this as a framework, ya insestual Billy! ‘Sides, Raiyne loves the silly!” I paused and placed my hand across my mask. “Max, what the blazes are you doing?”
“Loosen up a whee bit! This is just a game. Now, I need to tell you about how your city is threatened by some bad mumbojumbo. Some jerk murdered the former king, and you need to swear revenge upon him for causing great illness, by demanding his death!” I did what one would expect by now, before responding as fitting as I could muster, since the script in my eye was no longer relevant. “I hereby swear to strike down whoever slew the former king, and brought forth such upheaval upon my city!”
Max clapped his leather bound gloves that served for his hands. “Goodie! Now prepare yourself to encounter the man who could tell you of the truth, if you choose to believe him. Hit it Doc!” With that, The Doctor’s voice boomed once more. “And so it was foretold, after all the crap going down in the city, our king would prove his worth by going to see the wise transgendered sage to see the truth about the plague, or so he thought!”
Everything went black for a second, as a new figure appeared before my eyes, replacing the one Max was turned into. It looked to be an actual human, being a pale old man with a large and skinny beard that went down to his gut. He was donned in violet robes, and carried a well carved piece of wood as a sort of cane. All would be normal, except for how his entire face was a flat piece of skin. It was as if he lacked a skull or blood, and someone cut off all of his features, as the skin grew over it in a remarkably flat pattern.
He spoke with an unintentionally sarcastic tone, while he sounded to be taking a big poop. “O God! How horrible wisdom is! How horrible when it does not help the wise! How could I have forgotten? I should have not come!” The script did not appear in my field of vision, so I just tried to wing out a proper response from him, not knowing if he was just there to mess with me. However, after many an attempt where he just would not respond until I got angry at him for being so picky, I got him to tell me something that I found to be crucial.
“I say that you, Oedipus the king, are the murderer you seek.” To which I replied, “So I must seek redemption for my misdeeds?” The faceless figure looked at me as much as a faceless figure could. “So, you see the error of your ways. I know not why you murdered our king, but he had been off on a voyage, and by the time he returned, our city would surely be in ruins. You have slain him, but you also saved our city from the sphinx. It is only from the gods that you may seek redemption!” I shrugged as my reaction, asking how I could manage that.
However, the man did not answer. Instead, another figure came out. It was one more abstract humanoid figure with a mask. This one was merely a smoothed-out face with large lips and eyes that floated, unconnected to its body. Which looked like an hourglass if slimmed down, and was covered in a peculiar triangular pattern of teal, navy, yellow, and orange. She had no visible feet, or even arms. There were not even any visible hands for her to control.
Her voice was remorseful, as if she had just been stabbed, and was more upset that she would never get to see others, than how she would die. “So, you have slain your own father. For shame. But I have laid with my own son. Men often, in their dreams, approached their mothers’ beds, lie with them, possess them. And now, I suppose that is the fate you desire. For my body, the one that bore you, as well as your children. As your body dies, it shall live on in mine, then your daughters, and so forth. It is a pitiful existence, but I would be lying if I said that I would not do the same. So, my son. Take my body as they take your head for your endless sins.”
I looked around, having no clue what was even happening. “Okay Doctor, I’m done with this. This is just like work at this point, and I don’t want to have to deal with it!” There was no response. “Look, whoever the hell you are, I guess the mother character, I don’t have the slightest clue what is going on with this random shit, I just want to-” I was cut off as I felt the equivalent to a brick hitting the back of my head.
After my eyes blurred up a bit, I noticed the world shift around, back to a slate metal room, as my hands returned to flesh. My first reaction was obvious, “Okay, what did I just see happen?” I was answered by the familiar sounding voice of The Doctor. “You said a bad word in a children’s story! Now you’re going to your room!” I felt like punching something at this point. “Sorry for being an idiot, please elaborate what I did wrong!”
Max chimed in, with genuine tears rolling down his cheeks. “You didn’t do the playtime right! We wanted something neat, and fun, and based on a classic, but for dear little Raiyne, and you threw in your potty mouth! You potty face!” I inhaled, always trying to be the top dog when shit hit the fan. “Sorry for not automatically knowing the rules, you messed up the tutorial, so I couldn’t go through the game properly. Don’t get pissy for not pulling knowledge right out of my bum!”
My temper got the better of me, as Max began to cry, as Y’vonne rushed over to him, shooting me a look that was pretty much a plea for me to leave. I did such, feeling like a piece of trash, going through the automatic doors, and into my room. I laid in my bed as I tried to force myself to sleep. I would do enough reminiscing during my Log anyhow. But I still don’t think I was being out of line, maybe because I wasn’t trying to tell a tale of incest to a one year old.
But before drifting away, my door was opened by Y’vonne, carrying the little water bag that was Max’s child. She looked upset, but not in a way that seemed like she was blaming me. “Nari, I should have probably told you this, but… Max is not the best playmate. He never learned much about sharing his toys. He’s a great guy, and does his work, but he… and with a child, things can be even more sensitive. Not that Raiyne could even understand what we were doing. Max doesn’t get that children don’t have clear memories before they could talk. Well, I just wanted to let you know. It’s best you let the gasses take you in for now.”
She left before I could get a word in, and after I felt my energy drain enough to drive me to sleep. I was not expecting this kind of conflict based on my previous accounts, but I can sure say that it was at least different, for whatever that’s worth. I just hope we can cleanse this possible bad blood during our next Shift.
End of Cycle
Nope, still not editing this, but not publishing it.