Performance Review: Dr. Arisaka (Subject 7)

OROCHI GROUP: EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

EMPLOYEE ID: 009-FAUST-77 // DEPT: FAUST (BIO-OCCULT)

[Recovered from a shredder-resistant folder in the ruins of the Orochi Housing Projects, Kaidan.]

REVIEWER: Director Samuel Chandra
REVIEWEE: Dr. Kenji Arisaka

Summary: Dr. Arisaka has shown exceptional results in the 'Vali' talent-scouting program. His work with the children at Happy Smiles Kindergarten has yielded a 15% increase in preternatural anima-resonance. However, concerns have been raised regarding his emotional stability.

"Subject 7 (Child-44) began speaking in Third Age dialect yesterday. Dr. Arisaka's response was to weep and attempt to provide the child with a 'toy' from the containment locker. This is a clear breach of protocol."

Recommendation: Dr. Arisaka is to be reassigned to the Orochi Tower basement for "Internal Recalibration." His obsession with the "dreams of the sleepers" is interfering with Manticore's efficiency. If he continues to see the 'Black Signal' in his morning coffee, terminate his contract. Permanently.

• Failure to follow containment procedures.
• Unauthorized memory-sharing with experimental subjects.
• Exhibiting 'Empathy-Type' neurosis.

[OROCHI: DATA IS LIFE. EMOTION IS NOISE.]

Orochi Manticore - Your Personal Shield

PROTECT YOUR FUTURE WITH OROCHI MANTICORE™

DIVISION: MANTICORE SECURITY SOLUTIONS

[Found flickering on a terminal in a scorched Orochi lab, deep within the Tokyo quarantine zone.]

The world is changing. The "buzzing" you hear isn't just in your head—it's the sound of a marketplace in flux. At Orochi, we understand that true security isn't just about walls; it's about the data you leave behind. Introducing the Manticore-Class Personal Aegis (MPA-7).

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Our bio-mechanical drones don't just patrol; they learn. Using proprietary Third Age reverse-engineering, each MPA-7 unit is programmed to recognize supernatural signatures before they manifest. Whether it's a minor spectral disturbance or a full-scale Filth outbreak, Manticore has the solution.

• 24/7 Anima-Resonant Scanning.
• Automatic memory-purge protocol for sensitive data breaches.
• Sleek, ergonomic design for the modern executive.

*Disclaimer: Orochi Group is not responsible for auditory hallucinations, spontaneous dental bleeding, or existential dread resulting from prolonged proximity to Manticore hardware. Consult your supervisor if you begin to see colors that don't exist.*

OROCHI: WE ARE THE EIGHT HEADS. WE ARE THE FUTURE.

The Singing Asset

  TYPE: Audio Transcript (Fragment)
  SOURCE: Encrypted Shortwave Burst, Kaidan, Tokyo
  FACTION(S) DETECTED: Illuminati (Origin), Dragon (Listener?)
  TIMESTAMP: [REDACTED]

  (Static crackles. A young woman's voice, strained. Call sign "Pyramidion.")

  PYRAMIDION: ...repeat, the asset is non-viable. It's not just Filth-corrupted, it's... singing. The biologicals are clean, no transmutation, but the psychic resonance is off the charts. It's reciting Orochi
  Tower's quarterly profit report for 2012 in reverse.

  (A second voice, older, male. Calm, almost bored. Call sign "Ziggurat.")

  ZIGGURAT: Define "singing," Pyramidion.
  PYRAMIDION: Not with its mouth. With its teeth. They're chattering in morse code. The melody is... God, it's the hold music from the New York office. This is a dead end. We pull out.
  ZIGGURAT: Negative. The client paid for a living sample. The data is still valuable. Contain the psychic overflow and proceed with extraction.
  PYRAMIDION: Contain it? With what? It's turning the vending machine into a shrine to the Custodial Engineer! It's making the rats unionize! The local Dragon cell hasn't even bothered to interfere, they're just
  sitting on the rooftop across the street, eating popcorn!
  ZIGGURAT: Your observations are noted. We're dispatching a wet-works team for cleanup. Your new objective is to simply record the phenomena. Do not engage. Do not interpret. Just press 'record.' The company is
  always grateful for new training material.
  PYRAMIDION: (A soft, bitter laugh) Grateful. Right. So, when it starts singing showtunes, what do I do?
  ZIGGURAT: Applaud. Ziggurat out.

  (Static. A faint, lilting, impossibly cheerful melody begins to fade in. It sounds like "Anything Goes." The recording cuts abruptly.)