Post by Victor Fries on Sept 5, 2020 22:50:09 GMT -7
If Victor had to describe the complex series of emotions that he felt when he began to don the CryoSuit this time, he would have struggled in doing so. He had a reputation for being unfeeling and uncaring, and it was absolutely correct - when it came to many matters, at least. When it came to Nora, however, his emotions were both strong and deep.
He was, first of all, genuinely happy that he was going to see her. It was something that he felt that he shouldn't do very often, as he was a wanted criminal with enemies and he wanted to keep any risks to her at a minimum, so this was a rare treat for him of sorts. He remembered back when she was well, especially when they were first married, how he had felt some discomfort in having to work for an entire day without seeing her until the evening - he felt incomplete without her by his side. But that feeling then paled in comparison to what he had to suffer now, going for as long as possible between visits, so being able to do so was both a joy and a relief.
But it was a joy strongly tainted by an immense sadness. He could go see her and talk to her, yes, but she could not hear or respond. Until he managed to cure her, even at her side he was alone - something he felt very keenly. Yet the more negative feelings didn't end with him simply feeling her absence. Though it was something that he could easily cast from his mind at other times, as he thought about Nora he could not help but also consider what she would think and say if only she could. How horrified would she be if she knew what he had done to preserve her life? He knew that if it had been her choice she probably would have rather died.
It hadn't been her choice, though, and he could not let her die when there was something he could do about it. And he was a very capable man. And very selfish - he knew it and could admit it to himself. He needed her to live more than he needed to live himself, and he accepted this. He could see no other path before him than the one he walked - the one that ended with her alive and well.
When he first became a criminal he'd kept Nora in his lab, but over time he realized that it was a dangerous thing for him to do. People were looking for him, after all, and though many of them were supposedly the 'good guys' he knew that didn't mean that Nora would be safe in their custody. She was technically dead, at least by most biological and legal metrics, so the authorities couldn't be trusted to preserve her. Therefore, for her own safety, she couldn't fall into their hands even if he did, so she had to be kept separate from him.
And when he realized that he was extremely careful about deciding where it was best to put her. With her safety at the forefront of his mind, he found a hidden space with a very reliable power supply. Security systems were put in place - nobody could even approach it without him being alerted to it, let alone get in. He'd broken into enough vaults to know a thing or two about how to keep something precious strongly protected. For every system that kept her chamber running, there were backups to the backups - it was all designed to keep her safe for months if not years, should he be captured without warning. He did everything to ensure that the risks he took would not translate into risks to Nora.
But now he had a reason to visit her beyond the empty hole in his heart, so he would do so in spite of the risks. With a certain eagerness in his movements, he hurried through the process of verifying his identity with the security system, and then the door was opened to him. For a moment, the official purpose of his visit was forgotten as his eyes fell upon Nora. "Hello, my love," he said as he stepped to her, his gloved hand touching the glass that surrounded her chamber.
Even as his eyes basked in the comfort of seeing her again, his heart noted the many layers between them - the cold liquid of the chamber, the glass, the glove, and his own transformation that would render him unable to touch her even if he cured her. But that latter issue was a problem for another time. He stood there is silence for a moment, allowing his heart to feel as it would for a few precious moments before he steeled himself to look away and focus his attention on the purpose of his visit.
"I'm sorry to say that progress has been slow," he added as he started to work, "But I have been able to get better equipment so perhaps that will change." Though he knew that she couldn't hear him, it seemed unnatural and even disrespectful to behave as if she was not present. She was merely sleeping - or at least she was in his mind, as he was fully confident that he would save her eventually even if the longer his research continued the harder and longer the road ahead seemed to get.
Though there was the reason for hope, as the purpose of his visit was to use some of the equipment he had recently obtained to perform some more scans and tests on Nora that should give him some more information on the exact state of her body. With that information, he could hopefully gain further insights he needed to make much more progress on curing her. And when he was finished with that he would also perform some maintenance on her chamber and the systems keeping it going - something he did every visit because he never knew which visit might be the last before something happened that made seeing her again more complicated. There was nothing more important to him than her wellbeing, after all.
He was, first of all, genuinely happy that he was going to see her. It was something that he felt that he shouldn't do very often, as he was a wanted criminal with enemies and he wanted to keep any risks to her at a minimum, so this was a rare treat for him of sorts. He remembered back when she was well, especially when they were first married, how he had felt some discomfort in having to work for an entire day without seeing her until the evening - he felt incomplete without her by his side. But that feeling then paled in comparison to what he had to suffer now, going for as long as possible between visits, so being able to do so was both a joy and a relief.
But it was a joy strongly tainted by an immense sadness. He could go see her and talk to her, yes, but she could not hear or respond. Until he managed to cure her, even at her side he was alone - something he felt very keenly. Yet the more negative feelings didn't end with him simply feeling her absence. Though it was something that he could easily cast from his mind at other times, as he thought about Nora he could not help but also consider what she would think and say if only she could. How horrified would she be if she knew what he had done to preserve her life? He knew that if it had been her choice she probably would have rather died.
It hadn't been her choice, though, and he could not let her die when there was something he could do about it. And he was a very capable man. And very selfish - he knew it and could admit it to himself. He needed her to live more than he needed to live himself, and he accepted this. He could see no other path before him than the one he walked - the one that ended with her alive and well.
When he first became a criminal he'd kept Nora in his lab, but over time he realized that it was a dangerous thing for him to do. People were looking for him, after all, and though many of them were supposedly the 'good guys' he knew that didn't mean that Nora would be safe in their custody. She was technically dead, at least by most biological and legal metrics, so the authorities couldn't be trusted to preserve her. Therefore, for her own safety, she couldn't fall into their hands even if he did, so she had to be kept separate from him.
And when he realized that he was extremely careful about deciding where it was best to put her. With her safety at the forefront of his mind, he found a hidden space with a very reliable power supply. Security systems were put in place - nobody could even approach it without him being alerted to it, let alone get in. He'd broken into enough vaults to know a thing or two about how to keep something precious strongly protected. For every system that kept her chamber running, there were backups to the backups - it was all designed to keep her safe for months if not years, should he be captured without warning. He did everything to ensure that the risks he took would not translate into risks to Nora.
But now he had a reason to visit her beyond the empty hole in his heart, so he would do so in spite of the risks. With a certain eagerness in his movements, he hurried through the process of verifying his identity with the security system, and then the door was opened to him. For a moment, the official purpose of his visit was forgotten as his eyes fell upon Nora. "Hello, my love," he said as he stepped to her, his gloved hand touching the glass that surrounded her chamber.
Even as his eyes basked in the comfort of seeing her again, his heart noted the many layers between them - the cold liquid of the chamber, the glass, the glove, and his own transformation that would render him unable to touch her even if he cured her. But that latter issue was a problem for another time. He stood there is silence for a moment, allowing his heart to feel as it would for a few precious moments before he steeled himself to look away and focus his attention on the purpose of his visit.
"I'm sorry to say that progress has been slow," he added as he started to work, "But I have been able to get better equipment so perhaps that will change." Though he knew that she couldn't hear him, it seemed unnatural and even disrespectful to behave as if she was not present. She was merely sleeping - or at least she was in his mind, as he was fully confident that he would save her eventually even if the longer his research continued the harder and longer the road ahead seemed to get.
Though there was the reason for hope, as the purpose of his visit was to use some of the equipment he had recently obtained to perform some more scans and tests on Nora that should give him some more information on the exact state of her body. With that information, he could hopefully gain further insights he needed to make much more progress on curing her. And when he was finished with that he would also perform some maintenance on her chamber and the systems keeping it going - something he did every visit because he never knew which visit might be the last before something happened that made seeing her again more complicated. There was nothing more important to him than her wellbeing, after all.