The Gates of Horn and Ivory - SCP Foundation

⚠️ content warning

Alberto Aureo and Gael Ceballos met in the Elysium Campus at Eurtec Polytechnique. Their first class together was an optional subject, 'The Ontology of Dreams', which Ceballos only enrolled to fulfill his class quotas. Yet his first memory of Aureo was of that annoyingly brilliant boy, genuinely curious about dream ontology.

It was rumored that Prof. Danielopoulos taught at Alexylva University before coming to Eurtec. Whether or not the rumor was true, his classes were very popular, maybe in part because of his powerful lecturer voice:

"Stranger, dreams verily are baffling and unclear of meaning, and in no wise do they find fulfillment in all things for men. For two are the gates of shadowy dreams, and one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those dreams that pass through the gate of sawn ivory deceive men, bringing words that find no fulfillment. But those that come forth through the gate of polished horn bring true issues to pass, when any mortal sees them. But in my case, it was not from thence, methinks, that my strange dream came…"

Danielopoulos remained in silence for a few moments, as to give the class time to assimilate the passage he had just read. "Can anyone of you tell me which is this from?"

"The Illiad, professor?" asked a female voice.

"Close but not quite, Claudia."

"It's from the Oddysey, professor."

"As sharp as always, Alberto."

Alberto looked like he was always daydreaming, yet he always managed to get the right answer. Ceballos envied him, he wished he was as brilliant and carefree as Alberto. Yet what he envied the most was the way Claudia looked at him. Despite this, the three became close friends during their university years. Ceballos became an accomplished scientist, but he never managed to surpass the geniality of his best friend. Always the second best.

Alberto wasn't interested in Claudia, nor in any woman for that matter. Claudias' heart was eventually broken, and Ceballos was there to be a shoulder to cry on. Even though they married, Gael could never shake away the feeling that he was but a consolation prize. Always the second best.

From: g.ceballos@ValravnCorporation

To: morosowa@RaptorTecIndustries

Topic: Prototype proposal

Content:

Mrs. Morosowa

On behalf of the Hight Table of the Valravn Corporation, I express the most sincere admiration towards Raptor Tech Industries’ work.

I write to you with the intent to hire the technical services of R.T.I. We are developing a new model, but we have faced some difficulties regarding ontological stabilization. I happen to be aware that one of your researchers, Dr. Aureo, has achieved impressive results in that topic. I am confident this venture will be mutually beneficial for our organizations.

We would be more than thrilled to work with R.T.I. and Dr. Aureo on this project. Regarding monetary compensation, the Valravn Corporation would spare no expenses for hiring the best in the industry.

Signed

Mr. Ceballos

Lead Researcher in Paraprosthetics

Gael Ceballos had been writing and rewriting this mail for hours. He had scrutinized every word, overthought every sentence, and agonized about the clarity of his message. Yet he had to admit to himself that, at this point, he was just stalling the inevitable. He clicked 'Send' and the dice were cast.

He looked at the web camera on his workstation. It was most likely off, but to him, it served as a clear reminder that at Valravn someone… something… was always watching you. He shrugged away the paranoic feelings and focused on his other monitor, where he had opened the Gorgon Drone documentation:

Gorgon Drone Technical Brief.

Hardware:

Gorgon is a remote-controlled close-combat drone. The drone is equipped with 8 segmented limbs ending in gripping claws, used for both mobility and combat. The exterior of the drone is reinforced with titanium alloy, granting remarkable durability in combat scenarios.

Control system:

The Oneiros is a Greek concept referring to the personification of a dream. While dreaming, any person has the potential to manifest an Oneiros. Usually, oneiric manifestations are restricted to an alternative plane commonly known as the "Dreamscape". However, interactions between the Oneiros in the dreamscape and the physical world are theoretically possible, given sufficient ontological stabilization.

The proposed control system should allow the user to pilot the Gorgon drone through their Oneiros. Oneiric Remote Control offers many advantages over traditional channels, for example, it would be more resistant to interfering and hijacking and range should be a non-issue. However, the drone can only be reliably controlled under a state of lucid dreaming during REM sleep. To successfully achieve this state, Compound-M0RPh, synthesized from Calea zacatechichi1, should be administered to pilots.

Disadvantages:

No suitable Ontoligcal Stabilizator had been found.

Ceballos was no stranger to ontological stabilization. Yet dreams were a different type of beast compared to ghosts and spirits. Begrudgingly, he had to accept there was only one person in the world that could solve the issue at hand. He risked a lot acting behind the back of Olga Brandt to contact R.T.I. and get the help of his former classmate. "That old wicked hag," he thought. It had been a costly move, not only had he had to swallow his pride but also everything would have to go perfectly else he would be at mercy of Brandt's retribution.

He sighed and opened a drawer on his desk, he need something to calm his nerves. Lexapro, Benzos, Gaba, CBD, and of course, Calea zacatechichi. "Pasto amargo", he considered for a few seconds before closing the drawer. "I need to be sober…" He had made his move and now he could only wait. But he had a good chance of finally beating Brandt at her own game. For so long time he had lived under the shadow of the Lead Researcher of the Valkyrie Program. It was time for a change. "The Mother of Valkyries" — what a joke, he thought.

The annoying notification sound of a new email interrupted his mental ramblings. He hurried to open the incoming message.

From: morosowa@RaptorTecIndustries

To: g.ceballos@ValravnCorporation

Topic: RE: Prototype proposal

Content:

Mr. Ceballos

We here at Raptor Tech Industries are greatly honoured that the Valravn Corporation has shown some interest in our work. And of course, Dr. Aureo would more than available to participate in this project.

If you wish to continue working with us, we look forward to your response. Let's schedule a call to discuss pricing.

Signed

Mrs. Morosowa

Responsible for Sales and Marketing

Prof. Veloce flipped through the documents, concept drawings, and blueprints. For Alberto, watching the Raptor Tech senior researcher working was a mesmerizing spectacle. While he had grown enough to see Prof. Veloce as a professional rival, the first years in Raptor Tec. Industries with Prof. Veloce as his mentor meant that Alberto still cared about the older man's opinion.

"Good. From a purely structural point of view, this is implementable."

"Where would the difficulties be?"

Alberto knew the old researcher's quirks well, that he could pick out the unspoken 'but' from the tone of his voice alone.

"Dr. Aureo, I think you are already familiar with my reservations on certain components."

Prof. Veloce had never started calling Alberto by his first name. His reasoning was not out of impoliteness — Alberto should be treated as if they were on equal terms. But in most cases, it gave rather the impression that Prof. Veloce was being distant.

"Is it the Oneiric Control System?"

Alberto was able to hide his frustration enough so that it would not be perceived as rudeness. Prof. Veloce put the documents aside and began cleaning his reading glasses.

"I want to make it clear that I don't mind your interest in the Oneiros. I fear what might go wrong. Dreams can be unpredictable."

Prof. Veloce handed back the schematics and smiled a smile that teachers show when they knew they had put a dent in the enthusiasm of one of their students.

"You're experienced enough to know what will work and what won't. The whole dreaming thing is your pet passion too, so it's not out of the question that I'm mistaken. I am an adult, I should be able to admit a mistake."

Alberto took the papers and was about to thank Prof. Veloce for taking the time when a woman entered the room as he was about to leave.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Ridter," Prof. Veloce greeted the newcomer, "How can I help?"

Elisa Theodora Ridter was the eldest of the Ridter sibling trio, a notorious family among the ranks of R.T.I. Alberto had very rarely had contact with her before; in the handful of times they had met, he had always found her to be cold and somewhat mechanical.

"I was asked to give you this dossier before I leave with my brother. Latest Titan-related updates, I was told you would appreciate being kept in the loop."

"Oh, thank you. Yes, I see, I see… Interesting developments. Thank you again for bringing it to me."

Mrs. Ridter motioned to leave again, however, she stopped briefly and looked at Alberto with a strange, indefinable gaze. It was longer than the ones she usually gave him. The fact that her eyes were expressionless made it all the creepier. For an imperceptible split second, the woman opened her mouth to say something to him.

Then she left without a word.

Alberto followed her example and tried to distract himself from that awkward moment. With one hand he fished out his mobile phone and dialed Ceballos' number.

Gael Ceballos had a complicated relationship with dreams. He had suffered from insomnia and nightmares since he was thirteen. To help him cope with his night terrors, his abuela used to give him hoja madre. He still used it to this day, when melatonin and rivotril would just not do the trick. Pasto amargo not only gave you a good night of sleep: lucid dreaming was a powerful weapon against nightmares. And Ceballos was planning on turning into a powerful weapon for Valravn.

Gael found himself in the middle of the lecture hall. All of his old class was there, including Carmen and Alberto sitting together at the same desk. Instead of Prof. Danielopoulos, Olga Brandt presided over the lecture.

"You are late again, Gael." Said the Mother of Valkyries, "and it seems you forgot your pants again."

All the class began to laugh at the pantsless Ceballos. Carmen's and Alberto's twisted fingers pointed at their friend while they cruelly laughed. The laughter grew increasingly louder and distorted until it consumed all other noises. Their faces had already mutated into parodic facsimiles of the human visage. They began to make out, their unnaturally long tongues twirling into each other.

"Enough of nightmares!" shouted Ceballos as he violently turned the page of his dream. He tore into the fabric of his Subconscious to escape into the unconstrained possibilities of the Dreamscape. He found himself floating in an endless stream of consciousness. Above him alebrijes, the oneirozooic inhabitants of the Dreamscape, swam graciously over the noospehric currents. Below him, an island with violet beaches floated above the memetic mists of the Seas of Id.

Gael swam frantically towards the island of violet beaches. Dream-logic compelled him to get close, to reach the gates. If only.

He felt a colorful cacophony near him. A pack of alebrijes galloped alongside. "Gael, Gael", said a snake that was the tail of a red and golden zebra. "Are you the center of everything that happens to you"?

"Is he trying to reach the Gates?" Asked the head of the zebra.

"Yes, he is trying to reach the Gates." Answered the snake.

"Shut up, you damn freaks."

"Gael, time to wake up." Said the alebrijes in chorus.

The ringtone of his phone pierced through the dream like a hot iron nail. A half-sleep Ceballos reached for his phone. Three missed calls from Alberto Aureo.

"I am the Lead Researcher on Paraprosthetics of the Valravn Corporation", Gael muttered as he entered the conference room. He had found that reminding himself of his title and achievements was a temporary way to calm his nerves. Yet, a meeting with the High Table was always a torturous and anxiety-inducing deal.

A long table occupied most of the room; all of the black office chairs were empty, with one exception. Olga Brandt directed a side look at his rival. "You are almost late, Dr. Ceballos." She discretely pointed at a monolith at the center of the table. "You wouldn't want to keep the CTO waiting."

The monolith was a big black prism carved with runic symbols. Ceballos could have never discerned whether it was made of metal or some type of rock. At last, he knew it was not his place to ask. The runic symbols began emitting a soft greyish-blue light. The CTO was online. A metallic voice emerged from the black monolith:

Greetings.

Researcher Ceballos, leader of Project Tyr.

Dr. Olga Brandt, leader of the Valkyrie Program.

I have summoned you to discuss recent research developments.

Researcher Ceballos has brought an interesting proposal for a new drone control system.

I would like to know your opinion on the matter, Dr. Brandt.

"I'm a bit curious about why Researcher Ceballos thought it was necessary to bring external consulting to develop his project." Brandt was not interested in holding back her punches. "If he has some doubts about our in-house R&D capacities he should externalize them. However, that can wait until the next quarterly meeting. As I have made clear in the past, I'm not an enthusiast on drone warfare."

"External expertise was indeed needed for this project. It's my job to ensure we achieved the best results." Ceballos felt a lump in his throat but nevertheless push on; it was his moment to turn the table back on the hag. "We have been trying to improve the physical bodies of soldiers for a while now. And we did achieve impressive results, but is the cost-benefit really worth it? We are a business, not a medical charity after all. Why do we constantly expend small fortunes rebuilding crippled bodies just to send them to be killed or crippled again? In my opinion, the whole philosophy behind our paraprosthetic program should change. And I just found a way to start the disruption. Sir."

Please go on, Researcher.

"The future of war is remote. We already see it with unmanned aircraft. Why risk losing a skilled pilot if we can wage war safely from afar? Also, why invest millions in cybernetics and complicated surgeries just to risk our investment going to waste?" Ceballos paused for a moment, it was challenging to assess the effectiveness of his rhetoric when his audience was a creepy monolith.

"The process of integrating the Oneiric Neural Control System is much simpler than a cyborg conversion surgery. Drones are already cheaper than prosthetics and cybernetics. In case of critical mission failure, we don't lose valuable trained personnel, and replacing our assets would be easier. Our whole logistical chain gets easier. We can kickstart a new wave of warfare innovations that would put us decades ahead of our competition. With our exclusivity deal with Raptor Tech, neither ARGUS nor Primordial will have access to similar tech. Cobweb and Myrmidon will be left behind as well. But we must act soon!"

Ceballos' blood suddenly froze. He got carried away and now regretted it. Had he been disrespectful to the High Table? He boiled on this intrusive thought for a few eternal seconds until the monolith spoke again:

A reasonable argument, Researcher Ceballos. Anything to add on your side, Dr. Brandt?

"Ceballos is overselling his case. Interference exists. Remote control signals can be jammed. In the particular case of the proposed oneiric control system, Calea zacatechichi is notoriously unpredictable: dosage is hard to do right. The reliability of having troops on the grounds should not be dismissed. Also, soldiers fight harder when their life is on the line, according to our Psych Department."

"Yet, I do think Dr. Brandt is letting herself get carried away by a romanticized and outdated view of warfare." Gael had been emboldened by the CTO's positive response. "The Valkyrie Program is very romantic indeed. But is this the way we should be conducting our business in the 21st century? Remote control and automation are unavoidable tendencies, I'm afraid."

"We are not currently discussing full automation, the human element is still present in a drone. Even if not physically on the battlefield, it is always going to be the weakest link in the chain. Instead of "shielding" the soldier in a gilded cage away from the battlefront, we should work on making it stronger and more resilient."

Please, let's leave this philosophical discussion for another time. For now, Researcher Ceballos has argued his case successfully. We will proceed with his proposal. Óðinn á yðr alla.

Alberto Aureo looked at the flow of traffic, absorbed in his thoughts. Elisa Ridter was sitting at the steering wheel of the car, something which surprised him since being a driver was not within her area of responsibility.

Aureo turned his gaze to the folder full of files. With a heavy breath, he flipped open the cover and reviewed everything: was the information in the order correct, did he have all the documents he required, his notes, which he had typed up carefully so that they would look less like they were from his student days.

His nervousness was clearly written on his face. At least, that's what he assumed when he noticed the piercing stare of his driver. She did not look away, as if to demonstrate who was in control. Or that would be his assumption, as the eyes were cold and emotionless as always. Like two cameras.

Obviously, he was uncomfortable with this, so he averted his gaze.

"What do you think about Valravn Co?"

Aureo was not expecting her to break the silence.

"Excuse me?"

"If I may ask: What are your thoughts on the Valravn Corporation?"

"I don't really know much about them. I understand we are in the same business of military paratechnology."

"In a way that is true. We make and sell weapons to however pays. They, however, have a different philosophy. They don't sell the weapons they make. They sell the war instead."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean…"

"Your former classmate, Gael Ceballos, do you trust him?"

Alberto was taken off guard by the question, "Gael, I… I haven't talked to him for so long. But he was a good scientist… and a close friend."

Elisa kept staring at him with her emotionless gaze. Then, suddenly, a glimpse of humanity appeared in her cold eyes. "Alberto. You have been shielded in your lab for too long. Be careful with what lurks out there…" Then she went dead silent.

Alberto wanted to keep asking, but a quick glance at her now again impenetrable semblance let him know the conversation was over. It was going to be a long ride to Valravn HQ.

Documents 20.22/1-3/2

Code Name: Oneiric Drone Control

Document Clearance: Medium

- - - - - -

Product Goal: Next generation drone control

Possible Product Name: R.T.I. SCYLLA

Status: Still in development

- - - - - -

The Dreamscape and the material "reality" exist as separate, yet correlated orthogonal planes. Causality feedback loops have been observed to occur between them. In plain words, reality influences dreams, and dreams influence reality. However, the exact mechanism that allows for this interdependence has been the object of unfruitful speculation for ages.

The Greeks called it "The Gates of Horn and Ivory", a metaphorical construct that represents this nexus between planes. The dreams that become reality come through the "Gate of Horn". The "Gate of Ivory" is for the "deceiving" dreams. In other words, fantasy. The gates are an ontological crossroad, the point of divergence between the two planes.

Recent advances in para-neuropsychology have confirmed the long-suspected theory that a biological correlate of the metaphysical "Gates" exist in the hippocampus. Humans have two hippocampi, one in each hemisphere of the brain. The left one corresponds to the "Gate of Horn". The right one is the "Gate of Ivory".

Besides its non-anomalous neural functions, the hippocampus serves as a natural ontological stabilizer, allowing access and communication between the material world and the Dreamscape (the famous Oneirios phenomena).

For the application of drone control, it has been proved that a high dose of Compound-M0RPh (Calea zacatechichi.) amplifies the hippocampus's metaphysical activity during REM sleep. Thus, synchronization between a dreamer's hippocampus and an artificial hippocampus module in the drone's chassis becomes possible. This in turn should generate enough ontological stabilization for an Oneiros to control the drone's movements.

"This is…" Ceballos slowly put down the R.T.I. technical document, "a genius solution."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it coming from you," Aureo replied without the slightest hint of arrogance, "It is good to be working together again, after all these years.“

A smile appeared on Alberto's face. There was a brief hot sting in Ceballos' chest. Aureo was sincere, he was actually happy to see an old friend again. For a very brief moment, Ceballos wished Aureo was lying, so that he would have a human reason to be envious of his friend. Ceballos was just as quickly filled with hot shame that he had wished this.

"Are you ready to see our candidate?" Ceballos just wanted to keep his mind occupied.

"Of course."

"Please follow me."

They walked through the metallic corridors of the Valravn facility. It was not so dissimilar to the R.T.I. HQ, thought Aureo. They finally stopped at a large automatic door with a sign reading "Life Support Area". Ceballos used his card on the panel in order to open it.

"Is this a…" Alberto muttered, "Gael, why are we at a hospital?"

"To meet our candidate, of course."

Alberto followed Gael through the medical bay. Several beds were empty. Others were occupied by unfortunate souls. Heavily injured and mutilated survivors of war; barely kept alive by mechanical systems maintaining their hearts adrenalized enough to keep beating and their brains sedated enough to not unplug themselves. Aureo focused his eyes on the floor, avoiding the sight of the suffering surrounding him.

Ceballos finally stopped at a bed. An emaciated man rested on it, dead eyes looking at nothing. A weird tube was inserted into his throat, pumping a viscous solution of experimental chemicals and unholy potions.

"Alberto, meet Santiago." Ceballos gave him a notepad with the patient file.

Summary of Candidate.

Prototype: Oneiric Control system for Gorgon Drone

Test subject: 932.

Name: Santiago Olivera.

Nationality: Brazilian.

Age: 44.

Info: Ex-BOPE operative. 18 years of experience in the Military Police. 4 years working at Valravn. Received several gunshots on last mission, rendered paraplegic. Selected for Gorgon drone project to continue military service despite the condition.

Comments: Subject's brain has been determined to be healthy enough for testing.

"Is he… did he consent to be our candidate?" Aureo felt nauseous.

"Of course he did. Every single one of our operatives preemptively consents to any 'restoring' procedure in case they end up in an unresponsive state. It is in their contract."

"I see… I'm not sure if I…"

"Want to help this man?"

"No, I… of course, I want to help."

"You have always been so selfless, my friend." Ceballos half-smiled.

Alberto was nervous. He had enjoyed the last few weeks working and prototyping alongside his old friend, but now it was time for a demo. The serious faces of paratech researchers and military officials attending the show were certainly intimidating. One of them, a middle-aged woman, stood to him. "Olga Brandt," he thought. Even though Gael had warned him against her, she didn't look that frightening. There was something almost motherly about her.

"Is the High Table going to watch?" He asked Ceballos.

"Of course."

"Where are they?"

"They are always watching," said Gael with a smile. He walked in front of two big monitor screens.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to the demonstration of the Gorgon Drone and the new Oneiric Control System. Please, acknowledge our distinguished guest from Raptor Tech Industries, the man of the hour and the one whose work made all this possible: Dr. Alberto Aureo." Alberto smiled nervously. He didn't like being the center of attention. At least there was no clapping.

Ceballos grabbed a remote control and turned one of the monitors. The display showed an idyllic if surreal scene. It was the point of view of a child. He and several other kids played in an inflatable pool in the shape of a pirate ship. Except that sometimes it was an actual pirate ship. A pirate ship that flew into space, while the children floated around in big shiny bubbles.

"A very pleasant oneiric imagery, courtesy of our volunteer Santiago. He is currently in a trance state, so he and his Dreamscape will be very responsive to my suggestions. Do you read me Santiago? Time to activate the Gates."

The flying ship suddenly crashed into a violet shore. The bubbles flew away, taking Kid-Santiago's friends into the vast Sea of Id. Santiago himself seemed to shift among the scenes. Suddenly he was no longer on the ship's deck but walking in the purple sands instead. In front of him, two gates stood tall.

"Please Santigo, move away from the Gate of Ivory. Go into the Gate of Horn."

Santiago complied. As he crossed the umbral, a few words appeared on the second screen: "Oneiric connection established. Initializing Gorgon Drone."

Now the two screens were on. Santiago was back at the pool party, no trace of the Gates in sight. The other screen showed a night vision cam. The outside of a dimly lit warehouse.

"To demonstrate the capabilities of the Gorgon Drone and the reliability of the Control System, we have decided to test a real-world scenario. For now, I want to focus on the capabilities of the Gorgon for melee applications, however, there are plans to eventually add a paralyzing module for capturing live PoIs. In the meanwhile, our friends at the Volk Division2 have the fortune of being chosen to be part of this demo." Ceballos' smile, as he said those last words, made Aureo feel chills in his spine.

"Santiago… play!"

The infant-shaped Oneiros began to run on the right screen. On the left screen, the drone lunged into the enemy stronghold. Another kid laughed at Santiago, hugging and lightly pushing him. On the other screen, the drone grabbed a Volk guard with its claws. It tore his extremities apart one by one.

The screams of the mutilated soldier grabbed the attention of the other guards. They came to investigate, discovering the killer robot and their unfortunate comrade. Gunfire rained down over the drone. From Santiago's point of view, new friends had come to play. They shot at him with water guns while he ran for cover. He jumped to a height only possible in dreams and fell over one of them. They wrestled lightly until the other child said "You got me!". On the other screen, the drone crushed another unfortunate merc.

In the dream, Santiago wielded a wooden sword and played "pirate wars" with his childhood friends. In reality, the drone brutally but efficiently dispatched all of the enemy squad. Children's laughter came from one monitor, men's screams from the other. Alfredo looked at the spectacle in awe and horror. "What have I done?"

Eventually, the game changed. There were no longer more pirates to fight. Instead, it was hide-and-seek in a whimsical forest. Most of the Volk troops had already been massacred. The survivors hid in the corners of the warehouse. The joyful Santiago looked for his friends. Whenever he found one, he said "I found you!" and hugged as the drone tore a panicked Volk apart in the other screen.

"Respectable audience, we have almost finished this demonstration. Our sensors indicate there is only one target left. Great job, Santiago. Find them!"

Santiago found an exotic-looking curtain. He opened it, revealing a little girl hugging her knees. The drone approached a closet door and tore it open. A young woman lied on the floor, crying.

Alberto could not stand it anymore. "Gael, that is a civilian! Call it off!"

"Interrupting the mission at this point may interfere with our data collection. But I will turn off the Drone Screen for the benefit of the sensible members of the audience."

Santiago approached the hiding girl and gently touched her with the tip of the sword. "You got me", the girl laughed.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" screamed Alberto furiously. "What was that?"

"That was the best demo done in years. Why are you acting like this? They loved it. It was a total success."

"That was psychotic! Those people… that woman… I don't know you anymore… How could you?"

Ceballos expression went somber. He looked directly into his friend's eyes. "Alberto, do you work at Raptor Tech?"

"What? Why are you ask…"

"Answer the question, Alberto."

"Yes, I do."

"And Raptor Tech is one the biggest manufacturers of anomalous weapons in the world. Weapons that get into the hands of trash like those Volk fascists we just killed. Do you really not know what they do with these weapons?"

"I…"

"You were so comfortable in your lab, doing the theoretical work. You were so busy being the smug genius prodigy that you never stopped to ask what they were doing with your research, right?"

"I don't want anything to do with this."

"But you do. This is not your lab of dreams, this is the real world. This is what we do. R.T.I. and Valravn. You and me. I'm sorry to burst your bubble like this, but this is the deal you signed for."

"I… I can't continue. I'm leaving, Gael…"

"What? You can't leave! We still have work to do!"

"I'm sorry, Gael". Alberto walked away.

Gael stood silent for a moment. Then he exploded. "You were always a self-righteous arrogant prick! Can you hear me? Did you ever care to hear me? I don't need you!"

Ceballos had taken booze, benzos, weed, pasto amargo, anything on his hand to calm his anxious brain. He was so close to greatness, so close to beating Brandt. Yet everything was just about to be ruined by that self-righteous idiot. He plunged into the Dreamscape and found himself swimming frantically against the treasonous currents of the Seas of Id. But this time, the island of violet sands was looking closer and closer.

"He is reaching the Gates," said a mantis with a horse head.

"You always have to be careful with what you dream of," replied a rainbow-colored axolotl.

"Wasn't the phrase about what you 'wish for'?", inquired a lion head with the body of an ant.

"Same results. You can ask The Lady if you don't believe me," replied the axolotl.

"Shut up! You ridiculous pastiches! I always hated the stupid alebrijes!" Yelled Ceballos as he remembered the chimeric papier-mâché sculptures that were paraded in his hometown during Día de Muertos, always giving nightmares to his childhood self.

Finally, he found himself stranded in the violet sands of the island. He dragged himself into firm land. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in front of two towering structures. He wasn't expecting the Gates to be that tall, to feel so small and insignificant against them.

He stood in front of the Gate of Ivory. Alberto was on the other side, smiling at him. Since their time in university, and even though he never dare to admit it, that smile was the only one that truly managed to warm Gael's heart. And that he could never really forgive.

"Fuck you, Alberto. I don't need you. I never did." He muttered while he walked into the Gate of Horn.

A synthetic voice replied: "Oneiric connection established. Initializing Gorgon Drone."

"Last night. The Gorgon Drone spontaneously activated. It tore down the armory's door and cause some minor damage to local infrastructure. Nothing relevant to be fair. Unfortunately, it found its way into Dr. Aureo's accommodations," Olga Brandt's tone was weirdly affable, and that unsettled Gael Ceballos much more than if she was being confrontational.

"Very unfortunate incident. However, it won't damage our working relationship with R.T.I. I have already spoken with Prof. Veloe. What a charming and understanding man. We will, of course, cover all the medical costs of rehabilitation and paraprosthetics. That's your specialty, after all."

"Medical costs? Is he… alive?"

"Barely. He will get better with proper care. But it cost him an arm and a leg. Literally. Such a shame."

Ceballos was still hungover from his late-night binge. He could barely remember his dream. Did he really… did he really do that to Alberto? It could not be, he could never… Alfredo was his… friend. "No, that was irrelevant," he told himself. He fucked up hard, this incident could have started a war with R.T.I. And if they knew, the High Table would have his head for breakfast. Now he was at the mercy of Brandt, his sworn enemy. The game was over.

"It is a shame to watch such a valuable employee waste their life like that?" Olga smiled like a poker player just revealing their winning hand. "Especially after he was just about to return to the field."

"Me… Who… Who are you talking about?"

"Santiago, of course. It seems he could not handle Compound-M0RPh, hence this unexpected activation. Sadly, I had to mark him for termination."

"But he… I…"

"It has already been done, Gael."

Ceballos freeze. There was no way Olga Brandt didn't know what had really happened. What game was "The Mother of Valkyries" playing? Whatever the case, there was no point in pretending.

"Why are you covering me?"

"Well, Gael. I think you are a brilliant scientist and enjoy working with you." Brandt replied with motherly voice.

Ceballos' brain was at a breaking point. Blue Screen of Death.

"Also, you are a sad pathetic excuse of a man. You have mundane and vulgar ambitions that would normally repulse me, but since you are also such weak-willed there is no way you will achieve anything on your own. You represent literally zero threat to me. For that reason alone, it is convenient that you stay around. Else you would get replaced by someone who could actually threaten me." Olga Brandt's delivery was matter-of-factly yet still somewhat polite. Her voice betrayed neither disgust nor contempt. For her, Ceballos was not worthy of even that. "Have a nice day, researcher."

Gael Ceballos wandered off Brandt's office. As he stumbled back to his quarters, he could no help but embrace the weak hope that maybe, just maybe… he was still dreaming… that maybe there was still a chance to make it through the Gate of Ivory.

Footnotes

1. Hoja madre o pasto amargo has been traditionally used in México and Central America to potentiate lucid dreams and perform dream divination.

2. Russian anomalous PMC and Valravn's main competition in Eastern Europe.