Phase 3: Ciao is locked in with Dr. Ivan Bortnik

Despedida's intention to examine that arm that had fallen off Promethia slowed her down a bit, but still, you were both surprised when a second gate shot up from a serration in the floor, separating you from your other teammate. This meant that Tschau was trapped in the elevator, you in the front of the hallway between two closed-off laboratory walls, and Despedida in the greater whole of the underground complex. Aggravated, you searched for some opening, like an air duct or a way out... There was nothing! It looked like Tschau had given up cutting through that barricade, too... She'd probably gone off to search for some other way past. You couldn't blame her for that, but that meant your whole team really was isolated from one another!

"Yo, Ciao, sit tight! I'll find a way to get this thing open!" Despedida's voice came from outside the most recent barricade. It seemed like she'd probably realized the same thing you had: the way these barriers had closed you in specifically meant that the enemy was watching you. Despedida had control of their whole network... how could they possibly have eyes on you right now? Still, if anyone could get that thing down, you figured it was her.

Unfortunately, your time proved even more limited than you'd expected. In the next moments, a light flickered nearby you, shimmering in the red glow of the alarm as though from some kind of heat wave... then, out of thin air, a lanky old man in a stark, white lab-coat appeared, crossing his hands behind his back. "Ciao, hm? I didn't know the Goodbye Girls had any male members. Should I be worried about the safety of my precious Amelia?" The man grinned, showing not teeth, but some sort of odd, metallic surface like a vent in between his lips. It looked a little like he was wearing a ball gag... You had to assume this was Doctor Ivan Bortnik himself, although his speech made him sound like English was his first language, rather than Russian. You also thought he'd inadvertently just given you your first clue towards Tschau's real name. "What do you think of my optic camouflage? I'd say it gives even CEDIT's technology a run for its money."

You had to agree; you'd never seen anything so advanced, even among CEDIT's stealth gadgets. You were, however, thankful that the man hadn't killed you on sight instead of uncloaking himself. One would naturally assume he was armed and had some lethal capabilities, even given all of the robots Despedida had managed to destroy.

"Oh, yes. I have many weapons for killing as well. However... the Machine Voice tells me not to, so I do not," he smiled, shrugging. With a bit more time to stare, you realized the mouth wasn't the only odd part of him. His eyes were stark white with no visible pupils, as though rolled back into his head, and his silver-gray hair was wrapped about with a series of metallic tubes, running from beneath his ears to some strange panel on the back of his head. Beyond that, you could tell that his neck turned into some sort of prosthesis as well at about throat level... you could only imagine how much of his body was cybernetic beneath that lab-coat he was wearing. "It's telling me that it's worth our time to chat. A shame you aren't tuned in yourself... You'd probably learn so much, without either of us needing to speak..."

Bortnik was losing you fast; the guy sounded completely off his rocker. They said genius and madness went hand-in-hand, but he just seemed too far gone. Still, your mission was to interrogate him. As extracting the doctor began to seem more and more unlikely, you figured you might as well get your intel where you could manage. First, you needed to learn about that Machine Voice he was talking about.

The man uncrossed his arms now; you could see that both of his hands were completely metallic, made of the same black material that Promethia's were. His eyes crinkled into a kindly smile as he continued. "Ah, the Machine Voice. Let us speak quickly, as I sense we will not have much time. I was among the first to hear it because I was among the first to test cybernetic implants. We replaced parts of my brain with the most advanced computational technology-- advanced at the time, you understand-- to move towards what Milaslava and I both saw as the next phase of humanity: enhanced lifeforms, surpassing limitations of the flesh by augmenting our bodies. The dreamers call it 'cyberpunk;' so visionary, ha ha ha..." The old man allowed himself a chuckle into one metal fist, then continued. "However, while Milaslava was content to focus on that path, I received a higher calling... I heard 'the Machine Voice' for the first time. Yes... A second human conscience, only accessible by those who have the implants."

The old bastard was completely mad, you decided, but you nodded and tried to persuade him to continue. This wasn't just for the sake of interrogation; you needed to stall while your Girls made their way in.

"Ever since then, it's always the same. People who receive my implants hear the Machine Voice. I've installed so many... people all over the world, yes... Wealthy types and influencers with an interest in cybernetic human enhancement are all plugged in to that same sacred channel, hearing our second voices, guiding us down a new path. Making contact with Promethia was all part of that, as was enhancing her body. She seems... a small cog, next to my previous work, but who am I to doubt that second voice? I do not understand its intentions, but following it in my pursuits has made me the foremost robotics scientist not only in Russia, but the entire world, hm hm hm..." His smile seemed to fall for a moment as he flexed his metal fingers into fists. "Except... There is a wunderkind in your group, is there not? One who rivals my own genius without listening to the Machine Voice. Imagine if I could convert her... Imagine the advances we would make. Humanity would be catapulted untold years into the future! You must give them to me, Ciao. Give me back my little Amelia, then give me the wunderkind as well."

You wanted to tell Bortnik no dice, but you needed to keep stalling. Instead, you asked about his interest in Tschau.

"Ah, that's what you call her, hm? But her real name is so much more precious. Her cybernetics were a collaboration between myself and Milaslava! Her resources, my technology. Brilliant. Amelia is basically a prototype super-soldier, the type that has yet to be replicated anywhere in the world. Even my own prosthetics or those I installed in your fiery foe probably pale in comparison to hers. But... how should I say it... she's always lacked the essential piece. She does not hear the Machine Voice. I must reclaim her and fix that deficiency..." The man's mouth fell further into a deep frown now. "The Machine Voice does not tell me to do this, but it is the one point on which we disagree. I must disagree, yes? What could be wrong with letting my darling child join me in that special knowledge, in these guidelines for the advanced race? A parent cares for their child, Mister Ciao."

Of course, you knew Tschau and Bortnik had no relation, even without knowing her real name. She'd been born in CEDIT Germany. The guy seemed so batty that he considered her, his first great experiment, to be his own child.

You felt like you'd nearly conducted a full interrogation in just those brief moments. The answer to the link between Bortnik and Promethia? It was so arbitrary it was almost comical: some voice in the man's head, transmitted through his prosthetics, had told him to do it. He'd never questioned why, he just went along with it. Now the new question arose: who was pulling the strings on old Geppetto here, the poor sap who didn't realize he was really Pinocchio in this story? Could it be Adder, with their recent experimentations into controlling the human mind? Or someone else? Perhaps one of the founding Deliverers was even behind it, given how the instructions had led him to assist Promethia in the end? They seemed to be the only ones with anything to gain through this new modification.

"Mister Ciao...?" The man greeted you again, waving one metallic hand to get your attention. "Mister Ciao, hullo? Ha ha ha... You were spacing out there. Have you ever heard the Machine Voice yourself? I believe CEDIT should be nearly to the point where they can replicate my cybernetics... I always wondered if you agents would begin to hear the second voice as well..."

You shook your head slowly.

"A pity. Ah... Speaking of pities," the inventor chuckled, then examined his hand. The finger-tips pressed inward, then rolled back, with the circumference of each outer digit wrapping back around the knuckle. Tiny gun-barrels were left where they'd slid back. The man's decrepit face grinned broadly, showing that weird vent in his mouth once again; his voice projected as clearly out of it as though it was his regular, unhindered tongue speaking. "I think our time is at an end. This is my own 'first voice' judgment, Mister Ciao... If I've defied the Machine Voice far enough to seek my darling Amelia once again, I think I will push it a little further. It is not logical to defy the voice, but I will do it for my child. She may mourn your death if you are her teammate, but, mmm, we can correct that too. I cannot let you simply shoot me."

As if you'd be able to... You put odds about 10:1 that he'd throw out one of the same magnetic barriers you'd seen Promethia use if you tried to use your service pistol. Did you have any tricks left up your sleeve that would stop this guy from gunning you down, just after you'd obtained so much useful intel?