I went out Powder-hunting again late last night, and was very pleased to find one. Thus, on the twelfth day, I was able to get the Bachelor and the Haruspicus both in the Cathedral, though I ignored their arguments. I also had one last chance to speak to my adherents. And the General asked me to leave the town with him after the final decision is made. He wants to parade me across the country, healing the sick and stopping war all over.
On the other hand, Rubin explained to me what life could be like in the town, always at the ready to fight the plague if ever it resurfaces. Alexander went on at length, describing how to rule the town after he's gone, how to maintain the meat trade without attracting too much attention from the outside world. The Elder confirmed to me that his grandfather was a bull, and thus believes his blood line ought to be eliminated anyway. I have to admit I didn't learn as much about Lara or Julia as I was hoping to in this scenario. Ospina, while submitting to her fate, admitted that she was jealous of my position - she's the type who would get a kick out of going door to door, deciding who gets to live and who gets to die...
As expected, the Authorities invited me to chat with them again inside the dream inside the Polyhedron. The little girl seemed afraid to catch the disease from me, despite the plague being part of their game. The boy told me his favorite character was the brutish Elder, and that the girl's favorite was Lara. I discovered whose funeral it was that led to the creation of this game ("plague", not "Pathologic" - or is it?) - it was their grandfather's. Kind of mundane, but then again, it puts everything in perspective, and gives the whole sordid tale a really frightening relatability.
The Founders (a.k.a the Developer) then invited me to a chat in the Theatre, also as expected. I can't pretend to have understood everything they related to me... I mean, when they speak like this:
"It was a trick much more cunning than split mind. It was a trick of choosing my own destiny. Such a logic-time casus. The Mebius train of events. Reserve variant. It seems to have worked."
But from what I picked up, it became more or less apparent that my sister was an illusion all along, that I really was the disease - in a sense - and that my lie was actually the part about being a miracle maker. But my inability to tell a lie is what birthed me - me, not my sister, was the result of the lie. I - the plague? - believed I could work wonders, and so an alternate version of me was created, and I carried out my mission. I redeemed myself, by transforming from indiscriminate killer to compassionate healer. And I broke from the decree of Law. My sister/me helped me to understand this in the Cathedral during the final council.
And so it ends.
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