The Forever Winter Wiki:Lordoss/Dialogue

Summary

Lordoss is a Euruskan deserter allied with the Scavengers. Having previously served as a police officer in the bio-slums of Outer Mongolia (where he’s from) and an elite soldier in the Afro-Ruskan brigades, Lordoss advises the Scavs on defense strategies and fighting tactics to improve their capabilities and readiness in exchange for life support maintenance through the Innards’ power grid.

At a young age, Lordoss was taken by District Recruitment forces from his bio-slum during one of the seasonal harvest sweeps. Lordoss recalls that the harvest sweeps were brutal: his habitation section was deemed infested, and, consequently, it was razed to the ground. Moreover, Lordoss recalls that his family was locked in the habitation section when it was filled with gas and then destroyed in a blaze.

Lordoss and the other children who were taken were sent to the Gobian Steppes Regional Vocational Academy. Trained by Artificial Instructors, Lordoss can’t recall how he learned or trained or what he did to the other students, but he believes that the “hardening” process must not have been pleasant as he was only one of 7 students to graduate out of a class of 57. Memory wipes prevent Lordoss from recalling what happened to the non-graduates.

Lordoss was then assigned by the MATRON-1 Artificial Superintelligence to the District Troop’s 2nd Brigade in the Department of State Security, and he was promptly shipped back home. Upon returning, Lordoss and the other 6 graduates quickly distinguished themselves as police officers, earning themselves the moniker of the “Magnificent Seven” even though they frequently skirted protocols to secure the performance credits necessary to keep food and maintenance coming their way.

Eventually, MATRON-1 assigned Lordoss’s squad an off-the-record containment mission that surpassed their usual threat-handling factor (which MATRON-1 used to determine optimal troop allocation). After their appeal was denied, the squad was sent on a containment mission to a bio-weapon forge where lockdown protocols had failed and previous squads of District and Internal Troop had unsuccessfully tried to secure the facility. Lordoss doesn’t remember much from the encounter aside from his comrades dying and something big and fast with a skinless face and massive hands (which one may surmise is the Euruskan Grabber) that knocked him unconscious.

Lordoss eventually woke up in an operating theater, where he was outfitted with his current biosuit, part repayment for (involuntarily) participating in an experimental reconstructive program to bring back the nearly dead and part punishment for failing to secure the bio-weapon forge. Learning that only two of his comrades—Dunya and Altan—were the only other survivors of the mission, Lordoss had little time to grieve as he was placed on a rapid forced-rehabilitation program. Before he knew it, Lordoss was again shipped out, this time to the Mega DMZ on the Algerian border alongside the Afro-Ruskan brigades.

During this time, Lordoss recalls seeing total war for the first time, but as the regional conflict escalated, Lordoss’s unit’s position was eventually overrun. Realizing that MATRON-1 left them to die and hearing rumors that the Matryona Committee was fracturing at the highest levels due to conflicts between new and old AI models, Lordoss’s unit deserted, becoming mercenaries for hire. Lordoss feared retaliation from the Euruskan government, but as newer experimental units entered active service, Lordoss figured that his unit was no longer worth repossession or execution.

Eventually, Lordoss made his way to the West Coast of the former United States in Europa. Weakened and on low supply, Lordoss was unable to fight off a group of bandits that were stalking his band for weeks. During the fight, Lordoss was impaled multiple times, and as he was being scrapped alive, he was saved at the last minute by the Scavengers and brought back to the Innards. Unfortunately, the Scavs couldn’t remove the blades for fear of causing Lordoss more damage, but Lordoss thinks that the Scavs don’t trust him and left the blades in his body to prevent him from betraying them.

Personality-wise, Lordoss shows signs of PTSD, alleviating his symptoms through chain-smoking import cigarettes from his native country. The cigarettes also help him better deal with recalling his past since he carries a lot of regret about his actions; the cigarettes also help alleviate the lingering pain from his constant migraines caused by the hyper-resolution of his bio-suit’s vision systems. Having forgotten his real name, Lordoss believes his assigned name suits him as its inspired by his condition. Additionally, due to his time in the Euruskan police forces and military, Lordoss remains apathetic but accepting of his conditions, often feeling nostalgic about his home and previous life.

Mission 1 Start

"flicks cigarette at your feet. Its LORDOSS. With 'O's. You think I don't understand your childish Europan slur. It was given to me. The ones that found me, -saved me-... if you can call this gestures to himself saved... they gave me this name. I wear it with gratitude, even though I've come to understand it was... inspired... by my condition."

"Looks around for a cigarette. Thinking about the past always hurts. To have lived my life meant doing great things, and some terrible things. Things I'd rather not have to think about constantly. But they seep back now and again."

"Listen. All this reminiscing... is starting to not feel so good. But you can help me endure it if I had some basic cigarettes. You just wasted my last one. tilts head back and stares at the ceiling Don't look at me like that. I know you don't work for free."

"Bring me 5 packs of Basic Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 25,000 credits"`

Mission 1 End

"That felt like forever."

"Your reward is 25,000 credits"

"My actual name? Gaze shifts downwards. We don't.. I don't remember. I-I think it began with a 'B'. At least it feels like it began with a B. "

"All I know is that I was a good policeman. That was... was a long time ago now."

"..."

"My hardened biosuit? Ah. Thats from another lifetime. It is so old now. One of the earliest of its kind. You already know it is not standard police-issue. At least not where I was posted. I earned this body after that incident. In the bio-slums of Outer Mongolia where I gave my life."

"That said... what I wouldn't give for my favourite pasttime now. I really miss the aftertaste of Import Cigs. They taste of home. As always, I will have something for you in return."

Mission 2 Start

"Bring me 5 packs of Import Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 35,000 credits"

Mission 2 End

"Nicely done... Takes and lights up a cigarette"

"Your reward is 35,000 credits"

"Well... I guess we can start at the beginning. My earliest memory was being taken by District Recruitment forces from my bio-slum during one of the seasonal 'harvest sweeps'. They seem to occur when a sector's population reaches a certain maturity. There were dozens of these fabled three-legged walkers that towered over us, scanning building after building for kilometers."

"They looked unlike our own, we knew they were exported from the industrial prefectures of Southeast Eurasia. Unlike the sweeps of before, it was impossible to run. My habitation section was deemed infested with a kind of virus and they razed it to the ground."

"My family were locked in the hab when they filled it with gas, then fire. Only those under five years of age were taken. I remember one child that lived down the street from me, his parents lied about his age, and they had one of the tripods impale him on its leg as an example and paraded him for the rest of the event. That was another memory. They didn't wipe that one."

"A premium cigarette would do well about now. These imported ones are a bit too... close to home."

Mission 3 Start

"Bring me 5 packs of Premium Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 50,000 credits"

Mission 3 End

"Motions to the cigarettes impatiently"

"Your reward is 50,000 credits"

"Like all the other children I knew...we were taken to what we later learnt was the Gobian Steppes Regional Vocational Academy. A great bio-structure beneath the desert. A place so different... we would never remember home for the years to come. The Artificial Instructors there raised us... trained us in all manner of skills."

"We were released into servitude once we were of age. 'MATRON-1' personally assigned me to the Department of State Security, District Troop 2nd Brigade due to the specialist skills our cohort were instructed in. We were 57 children when we started, we were 7 by the time of Graduation."

"I can't remember what happened of the others, I try to sometimes, but it feels like they never existed. Too many lifetimes. Too many wipes. I can barely remember how we learned, how we trained...did to each other there. That process of 'hardening' and survival, it must not have been pleasant, that much I can imagine."

"Basic cigarettes will go nicely with this next part of my story."

Mission 4 Start

"Bring me 10 packs of Basic Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 75,000 credits"

Mission 4 End

"I really should quit these, shouldn't I? I know its not good for the dogs."

"Your reward is 75,000 credits"

"We were actually shipped back home, of all places. My neighbourhood was razed to the ground and new biostructures regrown from the nutrient-dense ruins. Everything felt so foreign. One thing left unchanged, was the Police Station. I realise I was apathetic at the time, accepting of my post in life. There was only duty, and I was a tool of the State. I only really recall moments of pride and fulfilment, like our first drug raid."

"We were called the Magnificent Seven, apparently a reference to a famous show from Old Europa. We always skirted the edge of procedure, to be able to secure our performance credits, which kept morale, sustenance and maintenance flowing our way. These revolvers, they hold a special place in my memory."

"We were unchallenged in our district. But one day that changed. 'MATRON-1' assigned us a mission that surpassed our usual threat-handling factor- a system the all-powerful MATRON-series Artificial Superintelligence depends on to evaluate optimal troop allocation. When we submitted our letter of appeal, it was denied, along with a punishment warning."

"This was to be an off-the-record containment operation on a bio-weapon forge where some lockdown protocols failed. We were the only squad in my Station that had been assigned to the case."

"And I've run out of Import cigarettes again. If you'd be so kind? You know I will have something worth your while."

Mission 5 Start

"Bring me 10 packs of Import Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 100,000 credits"

Mission 5 End

`"Thank you..."

"Your reward is 100,000 credits"

"So anyway, that turned out to be the worst day of my life. On the flight to the facility, we learnt 2 entire squads of District Troop dispatched from nearby sectors were flatlined soon upon breaching the facility. By the time we arrived on the scene, we found recognisable bits of Internal Troop.. or what remained of them... everywhere. Even stuck on the ceiling."

"For Internal Troop to have been dispatched, 'MATRON-1' must have deemed this case severe enough to destabilise the entire district and escalated the threat response accordingly."

"I can't remember much else. Other than something big, and fast, bounding down the corridor. The muzzle flashes dying one by one, then a skinless face leering at me, and i was grabbed by massive hands. I'm glad it must have been quick, or at least I hope it was. When i came to, it was in an operating theatre. that was the last time I saw things the same way."

"This green tinge over everything. The hyper-resolution, it gave me migraines for decades. But one gets used to it, eventually. Even that leering face in my nightmares has that same look. As though even my memories have not been spared. Even they are now filtered through these vision systems."

"Fuck. I miss the simplicity. Seeing everything.. seeing through..everything. In hyper-colour, everything loses its meaning."

"Sighs I could use some smokes, comrade."

Mission 6 Start

"Bring me 10 packs of Premium Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 125,000 credits"

Mission 6 End

"Ah, its you. Reaches for the cigarettes. Thank you for this."

"Your reward is 125,000 credits"

"You think this blood points at the suspended blood bags, is mine? I don't even bleed anymore. Not blood, anyway. I just use it to remind me of how it used to feel when I still had a pulse. You never really get used to this hollow feeling. It’s like watching myself from behind a veil. It’s.. forget it."

"Anyways, once I was fit for the debriefing, I was told there were only three surviving squad members from the failed containment operation. Only Dunya, Altan and I survived. They told me they were in the same facility in various states of intensive care and recovery, but doing well. I never got to see them though."

"The caretaker units said our squad was specially drafted for an...’experimental reconstructive program’, to bring back the nearly dead. This would be a new form of repayment for our failure as subjects of the State. Our lives, returned. Our capabilities... enhanced. In return, servitude at the highest level."

"Shakes empty cigarette pack. Sighs"

Mission 7 Start

"Bring me 15 packs of Basic Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 175,000 credits"

Mission 7 End

"Nice, thank you."

"Your reward is 175,000 credits"

" "Glory to Euruska"...sighs. I had no time, no mental strength to grieve for the others. No opportunity to find out about the raid and everything surrounding it. Did the sector get locked down? I can't remember. maybe its something they did to me, maybe it was this body of mine. maybe its just... me. I stopped thinking about them eventually. After all, I was on a rapid forced-rehabilitation program."

"I got stronger every day. Within a week of getting used to my new body, I could land a burst of three, 20mm rounds in a head-sized group at 300 meters. I was deemed suitable for re-assignment. My destination: the Mega DMZ on the Algerian border. Rehabilitation, through fire." "stares at the cigarette box in hand, and tosses it away You know, its nice to be able to count the cigarettes without having to open the box."

Mission 8 Start

"Bring me 15 packs of Import Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 225,000 credits"

Mission 8 End

"Thank you Comrade."

"Your reward is 225,000 credits"

"Where were we... Algeria...It was too much to really process at the time. But my eyes, if you can still call them that.. my new eyes. They were truly opened. You see a lot during your first year. The Afro-Ruskan brigades are an entirely different...creature altogether. We did things that I never thought would be allowed, even by our low Gobian standards. But this was not policing, this was Total War. And it was fought on every level imaginable."

"The funny thing is how they let me keep my memories of the Gobi years. But everything past rehab, the embedded Memory Net in me doesn't even attempt to stitch or smooth out redoctored memories. The nonsensical imagery, artifacts and distortions, the discombobulated perversion of my past lives are almost left there on purpose, to remind me not to bother looking or digging for the truth. All I can do is think for tomorrow."

"Thats how I kept going...existed for many duty cycles, many years. It helped that on our recuperation cycles, we could steal a visit to the local shanties, and find unlicensed neurotech clinics. Many of us chose to overwrite our memories. Its surprisingly more effective than the weekly, low grade biotechnical antipsychotic dosage we were issued."

Mission 9 Start

"Bring me 15 packs of Premium Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 275,000 credits"

Mission 9 End

"Welcome back."

"Your reward is 275,000 credits"

"When the regional conflict escalated... and our position on the DMZ was eventually overrun, we realised 'MATRON-1' had long forsaken us. There were even rumours that the Matryona Committee was fracturing at the highest layers of governance. Newer-generation Leadership and Tactics Models were having irreconcilable differences between each other. That alone brought untold suffering to the everyday servant of our nation."

"We deserted. it was the only way. both to live with the situation... and ultimately live with ourselves. moving across the grey zones, we took on whatever work we could find to survive."

"Every day, we lived in fear that the Layers of the Matryona would hunt us down. But that day never came. Perhaps being an early 'experimental force', and with newer experimental units released constantly into active service, we were ultimately not even worth reposession or silencing. Just left to rot. Eventually, some of us banded together as a warband for hire. The rest went their own separate ways."

Mission 10 Start

"Bring me 20 packs of Basic Cigs"

"And I will reward you with 500,000 credits"

Mission 10 End

"Comrade! I was beginning to feel lonely."

"Your reward is 500,000 credits"

"Where was I... Weakened, and on low supply, our bodies and gear were breaking down. Bandits that were stalking us for weeks, overpowered us. They were scrapping us alive, when members of your community found us. After fighting off the bandits, they found me in my paralysed state, but they did not remove these blades for fear of causing more internal damage. And distrust, I suppose."

"For reasons unknown, they brought me back here. Due to the unique power grid that runs through these..Innards.. I am thankfully kept sustained at no cost. In turn, I advise on defense strategy and fighting tactics and help to coordinate merchant activity, to improve the capability and readiness of your community here. In a way, it has given me newfound purpose."

"I hope to make new memories here. good ones. not suffer endless nostalgia for memories that... might not even be mine."

Mission 1 Complete Start

"Hey, comrade. I don't have much to share right now, but I could do with some cigarettes!"

"Bring me 15 packs of Basic Cigs."

"If you do, I'll give you 50,000 Credits and 1 day of water."

Mission 1 Complete End

"Your reward is 50,000 credits and 1 day of water."

"This better not become a habit... for you, I mean."

Mission 2 Complete Start

"Not in the mood to think about the past... but I could do with some smokes, Comrade."

"Bring me 15 packs of Import Cigs."

"If you do, I'll give you 50,000 Credits and 1 day of water."

Mission 2 Complete End

"Yes, yes... I really should quit smoking..."

"Your reward is 50,000 credits and 1 day of water."

Mission 3 Complete Start

"Comrade. I'm busy right now, but I would love some cigarettes."

"Bring me 15 packs of Premium Cigs."

"If you do, I'll give you 50,000 Credits and 1 day of water."

Mission 3 Complete End

"Yeah... I appreciate your concern. I'll try and start cutting down tomorrow..."

"Your reward is 50,000 credits and 1 day of water."