Flashback 27: The_Meaning_of_Life.bd

V presses the button near the shiny black metal sliding door. The door suddenly disappears upward, revealing a room filled with blue curtains with in the center a double bed to the right of which is a young woman with short hair and a bikini, sitting on a leather chair.

V enters inside one of the rooms that populate the huge Clouds complex, trying to outline the woman's face, which is hidden in the dimness of the room, illuminated by purple lights of the LEDs.

Skye: Hi! I'm Skye…And you must be… Vincent?

The buzzing of the lights, combined with a strong smell of roses bombard V's senses as he begins to blink, trying to focus on the girl's face.

V: Uhm V. Just V. Only people who know me really well can use my name.

The girl points to the double bed, smiling at V.

V: Ok, then. V.

V sits on the double bed, resting both arms on it and crossing his legs.

V: This should be interesting…

Skye: So, V. You're dying.

V gasps, opening his mouth slightly.

V: How'd you know I am dying?

Skye: Deep Inside… You fear this, cower before it.

V: What if I do? What do you care?

Skye: Of all of the voices in your head, the loudest is the one calling for help. Look around, all of this is your doing.

V does not flinch, trying to change subject.

V: Looking for someone. Her name is Evelyn Parker. Used to work here. You know her? Know where she is?

The woman smiles enigmatically.

Skye: You need answers. That's clear… Just not the ones you think you need.

The woman finally stands up and slowly approaches V.

V: Asked you a simple…

Skye: Evelyn Parker… Not the most important thing you are looking for, is she? I can smell your fear, you are afraid of something else.

The woman rests gently on the bed beside V, peering deep into him with her purple optics, appearing almost demon-like in the dim lights of the room.

V: Think you know me well? Ok. Tell me what I'm so afraid of.

Skye: It's something you don't talk about.

V: Everybody is entitled to secrets. Got my own… With good reasons too.

Skye: Say it. Say it out loud. Not for me, but for yourself.

V begins to move his lip nervously, and after a moment he lowers his gaze, stopping looking at the woman.

V: I snuffed once and I'm going to do it all over again. Got no idea on how to stop it, there. Happy?

Skye: You're scared because you gave up on your dreams. What happened to becoming the best in all of Night City?

The woman lies on the bed, supporting herself on one arm. V does the same.

V: Still wanna be the best. Never gave up on that goal… Chances of getting there starting to look pretty slim though.

V pauses, frowning.

V: I just want the world to know I was there. That I mattered.

Skye: Instead of a dream you are living a nightmare. You are afraid of being erased as you never existed.

The woman leans on the bed, joining her hands on her chest.

Skye: Or is it just the fear of becoming someone else, different?

V sits on the bed, staring at the woman.

V: The people I've lost live on in my thoughts and that's what I'll be… A memory.

Skye: You don't see death as a destruction, the end, but as a change. That thought alone could save your life.

V: Think I might just be… afraid. So I imagine these things to distract myself from the thought of the void… Cause that's about what greeted me before.

The woman gently rests a hand on V's arm and approaches him.

Skye: Fear is our most effective weapon in the fight against death.

V: So what now?

Both rest their heads on the pillows as the woman begins to whisper.

Skye: Now you are going to find out what it is you need to do.

V stares at the woman, captivated by her shining purple eyes, whispering something to her.

V: Which is? You gonna tell me?

The woman answers her, whispering softly.

Skye: You never back down from anything in your life, even when maybe you should've. You go through Night City, knowing a bullet could end you while hailing a cab. But that never stopped you from taking action, going when you needed to go.

V touches the woman's hand. 

V: But how do I keep up with everything changing?

Skye: You have been keeping up. You made an impact. Not a single thing in this world isn't in the process of becoming something else. Likewise you… You never look back. If you gotta kill, you do it. If you gotta burn it all to the ground, then let it burn.

V: Geez… I … I don't feel like getting up…

Skye: Few do, but everything has it end…