Aloy shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Another councilor scoffed. “Don’t play coy, boy. We’re well aware of your little ‘experiments.’ Explosions heard from miles away, mysterious equipment vanishing from storerooms. . . last I checked, there wasn´t a license for thievery.”The smile faded slightly from Aloy’s face, replaced by a steely glint in his eye. “Independent research, councilor Lysander.""So he´s not denying it!" Lysander said, smirking. He looked over at Thalia again and smiled. "Again, I have no idea what you´re talking about. I am merely an inventor. Forgive me if I didn’t have the time to wait for bureaucracy to catch up with the needs of scientific progress."The councilor’s face reddened with anger, but before he could speak, the princess raised a hand. “Aloy, you will answer the council’s questions truthfully, without evasion or arrogance. Where did you acquire the equipment for these experiments? It is my understanding that nothing of this scale would be accessible to an ordinary citizen.”Aloy tilted his head, looking at her with something akin to admiration. "I´m sorry, princess. I would answer properly if anyone here were willing to listen. Your bored faces tell me you´ve already decided what´s to happen to me. Who am I to question the hierarchy? A lot of other people in Arnem do see the value in innovation, Your Highness," he said, bowing again, this time lower than before. Alice spoke up next. "I warned Aloy that he could end up in prison and lose his scientific license. If he was concerned, he did not show it.""I think we´ve let him go too far with his ´contributions´. This has to get punished appropriately, lest everyone think the council is a jo-"A high-pitched ring ran through the room before Lysander could finish. The gazes all turned immediately to Aloy, the source of the sound. "Sorry, councilor," he said to Lysander with a smile. He asked a nearby guard to help him, and he pulled out a Spectra-Link from Aloy´s pocket, Aloy answered it."Shut that off!" a councilor shouted over the sound. Aloy picked it up anyway. Then he bent his head low. "I *told* you to never call me when I´m on trial," he said. The councilor opened his mouth again, but Aloy interrupted loudly on call. "Hold on, councilor," Alice said. "Thanks, councilor Alice," Aloy said, pointing to the device. "Hard to hear."After a moment he put it down, dropping it back into his pocket. "Sorry," he said. "Some technical problems are unfortunately getting quite common with the Spectra-Link. I´m sure I can fix it, though. . .""You´re the one who caused the problem!" Lysander roared, getting up from his chair. Aloy did not stop smiling. "Princess, this man needs to be punished!"Kain banged his fist on the table and Lysander stopped at once. "My dear councilor, you sit at one of those chairs at a table with the princess. Do *not* think, even for one moment, that this makes you equals.""Sorry for the interruption, Princess Thalia," he added. Thalia´s gaze hardened. She cleared her throat and silence fell at once. “And this. . . innovation of yours- what exactly are you hoping to achieve?"Aloy’s smile returned, more subdued but defiant. He spoke slowly. "I hope the military has made great use of the communication system I developed, General Kain? And now, for the past six years, I have been working on something truly incredible, something even bigger. A way to harness Ghoul abilities through science."The council fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted into murmurs. One of them, a man with a deep, gravelly voice, spoke up. “You’re meddling with forces you don’t understand, boy. Ghouls are a curse, a plague. Trying to wield their power is madness.”Aloy shrugged. “Madness, perhaps. But it’s madness that could save Arnem. And Ghouls, they´re kind of. . . really cool.”The princess leaned forward, her gaze piercing. “Do you have any proof of these. . . discoveries?”Aloy met her gaze, a flicker of hesitation passing over his face. “Not yet. But I’m close. It's closer than anyone has ever been. And-"“Close is not good enough. You’ve endangered lives and caused havoc with your recklessness. Arnem is not your playground.”"I also believe it may help us understand Replicant technology."Silence fell again, and almost all the people looked surprised and intrigued. Aloy smiled to himself, having expected such reactions. He had successfully peeled the interest of everybody in the room. "More specifically," he added. "I know the science behind Technomancy, the power we´ve been using for generations. Once I unravel the threads, I can join them together however I want. Humanity, with its Replicants, could finally bring forward the technology needed to fight against Ghouls and their magic.""Technomancy is magic," Alice said. "You can´t harness magic. And Replicants are born, not fabricated. . . in a lab.""Technomancy. . . is technology. It´s in the word. We just don´t understand it. Technology builds, magic destroys. What the Ghouls are capable of, that´s magic. But even that, we can conquer through science.""Do you have anything to prove your wishful thinking?" a councilor asked. One of the older councilors scoffed, shaking his head. “Romantic nonsense. The past is dead, Aloy. The Ghouls are an aberration, a scourge to be purged, not embraced.”Aloy rolled his eyes and sighed. "Are humanity´s most powerful people so narrow-minded that they fail to see how the ancients had technology far beyond what we even understand today? Is nobody interested in the truth? Imagine everything we could create if we understood the technology we´ve been blindly using for centuries!"Aloy’s gaze grew distant as if looking at something far beyond the walls of the chamber. “Our ancestors knew things we’ve forgotten, technologies that border on what we call magic. We only see relics of an age we’ve lost, and if we don’t reclaim that knowledge, then humanity paves the way for its own extinction.”Thalia considered his words carefully, her gaze shifting between Kain and Aloy. As much as she trusted Kain’s judgment, there was a certain logic to Aloy’s argument that she couldn’t ignore. If he was right, then understanding Ghouls might be their only hope. “Aloy,” she said slowly, “if we were to allow you to pursue this line of research… what would you need?”The councilors gasped in disbelief, but Thalia held up a hand, silencing them. Her gaze was fixed on Aloy, who looked momentarily stunned by her question before regaining his composure.“I’d need a team,” he said, his voice steady. “And access to secure facilities. And, of course, time."Lysander shook his head, muttering under his breath. “This is absurd. Princess, with all due respect, you’re endangering us all.”Thalia turned to him, her eyes cold. “Councilor Lysander, if you have a better solution against the Ghouls, I would be glad to hear it.”Lysander fell silent, his mouth snapping shut as he glared at Aloy.Kain stepped forward, addressing the princess directly. “Your Highness, if you decide to go through with this, I insist on being involved in every step of the operation. Aloy’s methods are. . . unconventional, and I want to ensure the safety of our people.”Aloy smirked, his tone laced with sarcasm. “I’d expect nothing less, General.”The princess rose from her seat, and all eyes turned to her. “Very well. Aloy, you are granted permission to proceed with your research under Commander Kain’s supervision. You will have the resources you require, but be warned- any deviation from protocol, any endangerment of civilians, and this project will be terminated immediately.”Aloy bowed. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”"And as a warning for your behavior, you will spend the night behind bars."Lysander looked a bit happier. Aloy frowned. "And here I was getting comfortable with these," he said, looking at the ropes binding his hands. A tense silence followed, broken only by the sound of a door creaking open at the back of the chamber. A figure entered quietly, her gaze intense, sweeping over the room until it settled on Aloy. It was Leanna and Kieran.As he straightened, he exchanged a glance with them. There was a flicker in Lea´s eyes- worry, perhaps, or a silent warning. But Aloy merely gave her a reassuring nod, as if to say he had everything under control.With that, Thalia dismissed the council, and the room began to empty, councilors filing out with hushed whispers and anxious glances. Aloy lingered by the door, watching as Lea approached him, her expression unreadable.Aloy smiled. "Worried, Lea? Don´t worry, I know what I’m doing."Leanna merely came up to him and hugged him on tiptoes. When she let go, Kieran walked up behind her too. "What did you do this time, Aloy?" he asked."Oh, not much. Just secured a team for my future projects. . . been getting lonely working in the lab by myself."His unfazed smile vanished when the guards walked up beside them, their figures looming over them. He let himself be dragged by them, sighing as he swept away from Kieran and Lea, pulled by the collar. "I´ll excuse myself now," he shrugged as his feet dragged on the smooth surface. "Gotta go to jail, you know. . ."
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