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Nemesis/Story
| Nemesis | Story | Profile | Quotes |
"This is classified information!"
This article contains unmarked spoilers. You have been warned.
"I can't sleep yet, I still have work to do..."
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| Core Characters |
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Introduction
A calm and mysterious Doll who speaks almost exclusively in cryptic riddles. This quirk is due to her origins as a proselytizing test platform for Paradeus, and instances where she speaks plainly are very rare, though she can reliably use non-verbal communication to convey agreement and her mood. While the Elmo crew built an automated translator called NemesisPod to attempt to communicate normally with her, it doesn't work well and isn't used very often. Instead, the crew mostly relies on the only other person who (somehow) understands almost everything Nemesis says. Unfortunately for her, this person happens to be Krolik, who can't stand Nemesis because she prefers the practicality of long-range shooting to close-quarters fighting. It doesn't help that Nemesis loves to rile Krolik up.
Nemesis also has an interest in fortune-telling. She sometimes uses Latin words.
Biography
Origins
Nemesis started her operational life as Test Doll No.397_Zeta_39287, used to test programs able to boost the efficiency of second-generation Dolls. The tests were not conclusive. Later, under the designation EU-2497, she was used by Paradeus to test their deep reinforcement learning module in second-gen Dolls, for the purpose of determining how best to communicate with prospective cult members. The tests yielded the best results with a certain amount of cryptic language, but Dolls were deemed inappropriate for this process since most humans don't trust them. She was converted into a combat Doll and assigned to the Cohors No. 7 Guards Combat Squad under the designation C7U29.
During an escort mission, C7U29 was seemingly the last survivor of her squad and retained no memory of the incident. When she tried to return to her Cohors base, she was chased out because she had been deleted from their database. After taking refuge from a Collapse storm in a crumbling ruin, she found a strange mask and a conical crystal in an Obshare nest. While trying to compute an escape route from the ruins, she accidentally dropped the crystal, which pointed in one of the possible escape routes. C7U29 serendipitously followed it and successfully escaped, leading her to register the crystal as a viable choice determination method. The divination somehow always led her to the resources necessary to survive.
C7U29 established a shelter in the contamination zone and started living a reclusive life. But after she helped a lost convoy find their way, she became the center of rumors about a witch performing divinations and started receiving unwanted visitors, some of which started more rumors that she would provide divination in exchange for leaving dead rats, frogs or worms near her refuge. The Commander eventually heard about the "all-knowing witch" and paid her a visit with Groza and Suomi to locate a fugitive, as a replacement for the high price asked by regular info brokers. The prediction turned out to be accurate and the Commander wanted to buy her services again, but C7U29 refused and instead requested, in her own cryptic way, to join the Elmo, where she was nicknamed "Whitey" (assumedly because of the color of her clothes).
Aboard the Elmo
C7U29's strategic ability was thoroughly lacking, but the Elmo was understaffed enough that the Commander kept her as an extra fighter. After finding a leaflet representing a diviner named "Nemesis" with similar tools as her, she requested to use Nemesis as her official name and named her divination tool "the Prism". Around the same time, the previous functions of her communication modules caused her to develop a completely incomprehensible speech pattern. She was aware that she couldn't be understood but couldn't fix it either since her language module considered the wording appropriate.[1] Mayling had also determined that her speech module was functioning normally and concluded that she was speaking this way by choice.[2][3] Nemesis could only communicate with body language until Krolik joined the Elmo in early 2074. For unknown reasons, Krolik could naturally understands Nemesis' speech pattern, though she was also quickly angered by Nemesis' teasing.[4] However, this implied that Krolik always had to be teamed up with Nemesis to solve the problem of strategic communication. Later inspired by Vepley's multilingual singing module, the Commander tasked Mayling with building an automated translator, dubbed the NemesisPod. However, the translator proved too inaccurate and slow to be usable in combat and Krolik remained stuck in the role of Nemesis' interpreter. The NemesisPod remained in use when Nemesis wanted to speak privately with someone.[2]
Side-stories
Dusty Memories - Secrets of the Heart
Dusty Memories - Extreme Translation
Dusty Memories - Knack for Cooking
Dusty Memories - Hidden Feelings
Elmo's Wishing Well
- Nemesis' Divination Invitation - Part I
...When the full moon rises, a gaze... (Wish, a divination for you)
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... Fractured water reflections... coalescing atop distant hilltops... (Lately, the accuracy of my divinations seems to have improved).
...Patterns emerging from the waves... forming pathways... (I'd like to perform a divination for you).
...Peeling away... time congealed within leaf stems... (I'll reveal your fortunes regarding tasks, wealth, and health).
...Converging upon the surface of their root hairs... (I hope this will be of assistance to you).
- Nemesis' Divination Invitation - Part II
To: Commander
...Hushed whispers, startled and fragmented words... (Commander, the divination results are...)
...Undulating cloud tops... scattering silvery light spots... (Good fortune will arrive amidst adversity).
...Foam, drifting at the pinnacle of sails... (Overall, it's a favorable outcome).
...Stretching across the horizon, the boundary between reality and illusion... (This time, I have great confidence in the divination results).
...Flickering, shadows on the moon... burning flames, metaphors for truth... (But if I once again earn the title of "harbinger of misfortune", I'll face it alongside you).
...Unburned ashes... seeping through dense fog, luminous scales of light... (As for the "adversity", with me by your side, there's no need for concern).
-Nemesis
Mail - Exilium 1 Year Anniversary
Nemesis' Anniversary Message
Commander, the prism whispers in the morning light.
Measure of the stars... rests within the quadrant of grace and celebration.
This moment... dewdrops gather along the veins of the leaves.
Young beasts return to mother's embrace.
The flower and roots... share a single heart. The flower always follows the guidance.
Moonlight seeps through mist... rooftops. No meaningless expanse.
The flower and roots perceive hidden paths of the stars.
Roots nourish the soil... the flower returns the favor... bloom.
Nemesis