Veil Containment, Neomuna

The Guardian decrypts the fifth research log from Veil Containment's archive.

Chioma Esi: Chioma Esi, research log: Exos. Maya and I have built a working theory around the deaths of our Exo crewmates after their exposure to the Veil. According to Maya, Exominds contain a combination of Vex radiolaria and something known as "Clarity". Radiolaria are alien microorganisms living within a hive mind state. Or, I suppose more accurately, a community. Clarity is.... Maya described it as a paracausal power derived from an alien artifact. Something BrayTech had kept secret. Something Maya... Maya thinks the Veil and this artifact are related. That the paracausal force from the Veil overloaded their Exominds. Unraveled them. It's like taking a powerful magnet to an archaic magnetic storage device. Full erasure. But Maya... she thinks we can reverse-engineer this phenomenon. Use it to write data to a Clarity-infused object. Fabricate consciousness. Scientifically, the process seems sound, but morally... [sighs] Maya keeps saying that we're past the point of morality. She said that! She's convinced that our survival hinges on mastery of the Veil. It's like SHE'S the one unraveling. I feel like I'm losing her. But every time I try and push, I feel her move a little further away. I'm — I don't know if I can lose anything else. How much more can any of us lose before there's nothing left?

Osiris: Nimbus... how much do you how about the Cloud Striders' creation? The technology used?

Nimbus: You don't think...

Osiris: I make no assertions yet. But I worry that your neon-lit city may have darker roots than either of us knew.

Nimbus: Oh.