[GERARD KEAY LAYS STIL IN HIS HOSPITAL BED. HE IS DRESSED IN A THIN GOWN AS OPPOSED TO HIS USUAL GOTHIC FARE. HE WOULD HAVE RESENTED THIS IF HE WAS NOT DEAD.]
GERTRUDE: It's probably for the best if you get out of the institute and go see a doctor.
GERRY: Gi-Gi, I told you already, I'm just... it's just a cold. I'll go home and sleep it off once I finish going through these for you.
GERTRUDE: Gerard Delano Keay.
[THERE IS A HISS OF STATIC AS GERARD GASPS AND CLUTCHES HIS HEAD, SHUTTING HIS EYES AS HARD AS HE COULD MANAGE.]
GERTRUDE: Go see a doctor. You *really* shouldn't be here today.
[THE MONITORS LET OUT A STEADY, FLAT BEEP. HIS NEURONS CONTINUED TO FIRE IN SPITE OF THIS. FLASHES OF PEOPLE WATCHED, QUESTIONS ANSWERED, STATEMENTS GIVEN. NOTHING TO GRAB ONTO.]
??? (Muffled): I'm a relative, here to visit Mr. Keay. Don't worry, we'll be alright on our own.
[THE CLACK OF SHOES AGAINST TILE COULD BE HEARD THROUGH THE DOOR. IT SWINGS OPEN CASUALLY, AND A TALL MAN ENTERS THE ROOM. HE IS FAR TOO CASUAL ABOUT THE FLATLINING HEART RATE MONITOR.]
[GERARD, NATURALLY, DOES NOT RESPOND. ELIAS SIGHS.]
ELIAS: Ah- yes, very well. Now is not the time for pleasantries and fond memories, I suppose. You are clinically dead, although I'm sure you already know that. Your sickness was too much for you to recover from. But, I have an... alternative means.
[ELIAS PAUSES FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT. WHY?]
ELIAS: I know how averse to this idea you must be. You've hated them since the day you began to think, and your *minimal* partnership with the Eye was only for Gertrude's sake, to provide yourself protection. But, you've proven remarkably capable, all things considered. You're so much like Gertrude in that way, did you know? Neither of you being taken out by a thing with too many bones or a woman with shadow spilling out of her. Just classic bad luck.
[HE PACES BACK AND FORTH, *LOOKING* TO MAKE SURE NO ONE WILL ENTER THE ROOM PREMATURELY.]
ELIAS: You have two choices today, Gerard. Either you'll die, or you'll become an avatar. You can continue on with what you were doing before with Gertrude, take down the rituals, put a stop to the Fears for good and all. Carry on her legacy, just like you did with your mother.
ELIAS: And, well- you can't reach for the stars without a few sacrifices, can you? This can be the first of many. However... your connection to the Eye is, for lack of a better word, weak. You haven't fed it nearly enough to gain its blessing. However... I may have one solution.
[ELIAS LEANS DOWN OVER THE BED, FACE TO FACE WITH GERARD.]
ELIAS: Become the Archivist, Gerard. The spot is vacant. It's yours if only you'd take it for yourself. Now, I know it isn't ideal, and I'm sure Gertrude has issued a thousand times over a stern warning about taking it if something were to happen to her. But I'm willing to bet she hasn't told you about the positive side of things yet. It's a powerful position. Certainly, it comes with risks, but under the Eye and the Institute, you'll be protected, and you'll have a steady way to feed, if you keep things in check. Resources, too, to continue Gertrude's investigations.
[HE CHUCKLES TO HIMSELF, LOWERING HIS VOICE.]
ELIAS: And besides, if you don't take the role, I can't guarantee you that I'll brief any of my other candidates nearly as well. I'm a very busy man, Gerard, I'm sure you understand.
[ELIAS LEANS BACK, STRAIGHTENING HIS POSTURE.]
ELIAS: So, what'll it be? Dying here, alone? Leaving your business unfinished, and letting some poor sod take on a burden they won't know the weight of? Or, take the position of Archivist, become an Avatar, and do what you do best?
[HE OPENS THE DOOR, AND LOOKS BACK AT GERARD ONE LAST TIME.]
ELIAS: All you have to do is choose, Gerard. Goodbye.
[THE DOOR CLICKS AS HE LEAVES. GERARD IS STILL. THE HEART RATE MONITOR CONTINUES TO FLATLINE. SUDDENLY, IT STOPS. IT CONTINUES TO BEEP RHYTHMICALLY AGAIN, AS GERARD'S HEART RATE SPEEDS UP FASTER THAN THE MACHINE CAN KEEP UP WITH. GERARD'S EYES OPEN, AND WHAT WAS ONCE A DARK, REASSURING SHADE OF BLUE HAS BECOME A STRIKING, UNNATURALLY BRIGHT SHADE OF NEON GREEN.]
