The Truth Covered in Darker Than Black
"After this, everything should be ready to go," a hoarse grave voice says to you. It is an Agent of Truth. He is helping you on your journey to find the truth regarding a past tragedy known as The Takeover of the Palace of Justice. You are a Colombian citizen in a Truth Station, and the reason you are here is to find out the truth about your missing mother who had been working as a waitress in the cafeteria at the Palace of Justice on the day of the incident.
"I have to make sure you are ready," the voice of the Agent of Truth tells you.
"I know you must be aware of all the implications of what you are doing here. However, there is no harm in reminding you," the Agent concludes.
You nod in response. You have been thoroughly prepared for a while now.
"This project is at an experimental stage," the Agent declares. "Moreover, the complete truth of that incident is more than likely never going to be discovered. You may or may not find what you are looking for and you must be prepared for that."
***
If you answer that you understand, continue reading.
If you answer that you are not ok with that, scroll down further.
You answer that you understand. This is your only chance to find the truth. If at least you find something, that should be enough to satisfy you.
"This way. Behind this door you will find what you are looking for." The agent invites you to enter a door that leads to a dark room, a darkness so deep that it almost seems just like a wall painted with a color darker than black (if that is even possible).
You feel uneasy, and you hesitate for a second before you step into the dark room.
After a minute shrouded in complete darkness, you hear a voice in the room.
"All is set. Now I will start the simulation. You will appear first at La Plaza de Bolivar. From there you can explore wherever you want to," explains the Agent of Truth.
You try to look around and then small images around the room start to appear periodically. In the end they end up forming a whole ensemble that composes a scenery that every Colombian is familiar with, La Plaza de Bolivar the day of the takeover.
You scan your surroundings. This feels too real to be a simulation, you reckon. The characteristic tiles of the plaza lie at your feet and surrounding the place are groups of pigeons. All the pigeons suddenly fly out in the direction of an old man. You follow their trajectory and then it dawns on you. This is a particular scene which is representative of that day. The moment in which the first group of hostages was being guided out of the palace.
You try to return to your senses. Your mother could be in that group of hostages. But you feel heavy. Moving is difficult. When you take one step, the world around you distorts and the images flicker to change into a suitable background. You feel dizzy and cannot focus. In the end, the images start to disappear slowly and one after another, until you are surrounded in the initial darkness once again.
You fade out on the spot. You were not determined enough to find the truth. The truth remains covered by the darker than black world in which you lie right now.
***
THE END
You answer that you are not ok with that. If you are not able to find the truth today, you never will. You are ready to do whatever it takes, even if it means breaking the system.
"Well, you are full of determination. That's good. You will be fine as long as you understand the circumstances." The agent takes your response wholeheartedly.
"This way. Behind this door you will find what you are looking for." The agent invites you to enter a door that leads to a dark room, a darkness so deep that it almost seems like just a wall painted with a color darker than black (if that is even possible).
In spite of your uneasiness, you don't hesitate even for a second and with firm steps you enter into the darkness that promises to reveal the truth of that day.
After a minute shrouded in complete darkness you hear a voice in the room.
"All is set. Now I will start the simulation. You will appear first at La Plaza de Bolivar. From there you can explore wherever you want to," explains the Agent of Truth.
You try to look around and then small images around the room start to appear periodically. In the end they end up forming a whole ensemble that composes a scenery that every Colombian is familiar with, La Plaza de Bolivar the day of the takeover.
You scan your surroundings. This feels too real to be a simulation, you reckon. The characteristic tiles of the plaza lie at your feet and surrounding the place are groups of pigeons. All the pigeons suddenly fly out in the direction of an old man. You follow their trajectory and then it dawns on you. This is a particular scene which is representative of that day. The moment in which the first group of hostages was being guided out of the Palace.
You immediately return to your senses and remember your purpose for being here. Your mother could be in that group of hostages, or not. You cannot look everywhere. You have to take the decision of whether to look in that group of hostages or look inside The Palace.
***
If you look in the group of hostages, continue reading.
If you choose to look inside The Palace of Justice, scroll down further.
Those hostages are key. Even if your mother is not in this group, she could come later in another group. The important thing is to locate the place where they are being taken to. As a matter of fact, you know that they are being taken to La Casa del Florero, where they are going to be interrogated in order to make sure they are not members of the M-19 armed group. The problem though is that many people were brought to that place and never seen again. You must not lose sight of your mother once you spot her getting there.
You follow this first group of hostages. As you predicted, they were taken to La Casa del Florero. Now you decide to stay nearby, waiting for a new group of hostages in which your mother could possibly be.
As you wait, you catch wind of an occasional ruckus inside La Casa del Florero every now and then. Sometimes even screams can be heard. You are tempted to go see what is going on, but every second watching here can be crucial.
After a while, a new group of hostages comes. You immediately blend in to search for your mother. You catch a glimpse of a woman dressed in the uniform of the cafeteria. With haste, you hurry up to approach her, when a rough looking man blocks your way.
When you push him aside, you are met with another man, equally disgusting now. You cannot delay any longer, your mother is getting further and further away. But these people are blocking you completely.
"Mom!" You cry.
You don't know if she can hear you, but she seems to have noticed something.
"Mom! Over here!" You scream.
She turns your way, apparently looking for you. However, in the moment you meet her eyes, a hairy face gets in the way, a man with menacing eyes. It is then that you realize all these people are doing this on purpose.
"Why?" You ask in vain.
By the time your field of vision is clear again, you have lost sight of your mother and even the hairy man has gone away too. You try to find your mother again, but everything is turning hazier as more people start to block your vision once more.
Eventually you find yourself enveloped in a sea of darkness. You whimper and sob. It is an echo inside a box.
You feel lost. You failed to find the truth. As soon as you start to think these things…
"------ Is that you?"
"Eh? Mother?"
You rapidly raise your head which had been buried in your chest and there she is, even if for a moment before everything turns dark again; your mother's face.
"Mom, come home!" Your words resonate in the empty space and come back at you.
Silence rings in your ears loudly.
"Are you ok?" Asks the Agent of Truth after a while.
"Yes, I will be ok," you answer after a moment's rest.
"Take your time," the Agent replies.
You found a truth. It is a strange satisfaction. Or is it relief?
***
THE END
You decide there could be more chance to find your mother inside the Palace of Justice, after all, you should already know that from the hostages who were rescued at that moment, your mother was not one of them.
You pass by the group of hostages, making your way into the Palace of Justice. You swim swiftly through the crowd, opposing the current of hostages and armed forces going out. Amidst the chaos, before you can get through the doors, a hooded man closes them just as the last of the officers guarding the hostages comes out, leaving you outside of the Palace.
You try pulling the doors open again, however, as you try, something stops you.
"There is no helping it. The inside of the Palace of Justice is a complete mystery," the Agent of Truth states calmly. "Anything that happened in there, we can only make out by the testimonies of the victims."
"But I need to get inside," you say.
"You could, but I must warn you, nothing you find in there may make any sense. The program is at an early stage and since there is no real footage –"
"I know, I know, just let me in," you exclaim annoyed, interrupting the Agent of Truth.
"Don't say I didn't tell you."
Suddenly, the resistance in the doors lets go. You immediately pull them open without a second's waiting.
The inside of the Palace of Justice is revealed to you, or so it seems. You have never been to the Palace of Justice before. Right now, you are in what seems to be its lounge area. The lounge area is a mess, with dust and furniture turned over. When you walk you can feel something like broken glass crack under your feet.
A scream startles you. It comes from upstairs. You quickly run to find its source. There you find what at first appears to be people. It is hazy at first and then becomes more visible, allowing you to look at the faces of these people.
The people in front of you don't have a face. They are like manikins. There are some who are armed and standing around while the rest lie on their knees in distress.
In between all these manikins you start to recognize some people who do have a face. A woman with what you think is a uniform from the cafeteria is at the back of the group. You cannot see her face from where you stand, so you need to get closer.
When you move forward, an armed man without a face raises his voice and then blocks your way. He points his gun at you. You seize up with fear. The man shoots. In that moment, you hear a yell behind you. The bullet went through you and when you turn around you realize who it was supposed to hit.
A person without a face is dead. You feel nauseous. Since they do not have a face, it could be anyone, even your mother. You ignore the thought and close your eyes.
"Move forward," you tell yourself. Your mother is not there. She is back there
You go once again in the direction of the person dressed in the uniform of the cafeteria. When you close in on the person, surrounded by bewildered manikins, you can finally see their face.
"Mom?" You mutter.
The face of the person changes constantly. You think you can see your mother amidst the changing faces. You reach out to touch this person and then, your tunnel vision narrows. The world around is closing in on you, covered in black.
"Mom!"
You catch one last glimpse of your mother's face before all is covered a shade darker than black.
You found a truth.
"I told you," the Agent of Truth remarked.