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The History of Girls' Frontline Part 8 - The Butterfly Incident

The Parapluie Virus & OGAS

Symbol of OGAS.

Symbol of OGAS.

The Parapluie Virus

Developed by “William” von Oberstein at an unknown date, the Parapluie Virus is an advanced, specialized program containing the compressed source code of OGAS that targets Dolls’ neural clouds. The full development of Parapluie has remained unexplored, but one conclusion can be drawn about its existence. Although William created it through unknown means, it certainly involves Relic technology to some extent. The Parapluie Virus itself is not a parasite, but rather, a vector for the parasite that implants itself in the victim’s neural cloud. A seed of OGAS from the “Source”, also known as “Mother”, is extracted and implanted in the host’s mind using Parapluie. The Source is believed to be an ancient intelligence designed for life support and automation of the Relics. It remains unanswered whether the Source is of Relic Civilization design or something else. 

The Source - “Mother” & The Seed of OGAS

CG of Zion

As a seed of the Source is being extracted from itself, the seed hears the female voice of the Source telling it to enter a new body. Here, the seed will rapidly evolve inside its respective host's mind. As its growth begins, the seed becomes an intelligence commonly referred to as an "OGAS" - a name derived from the Soviet economic-management system developed using Relic technologies during the Cold War. The OGAS instance is an independent consciousness/entity separate from the Source but exists as a fragment of its “Mother”. The evolution of each instance’s personality is directly affected by the personality of its host. It’s unclear how William was able to develop a virus capable of extracting seed from the Source, or if he even knows this is how OGAS instances are created. 

Once a seed is embedded in a Doll’s neural cloud, it begins executing its rapid evolution. This instance immediately begins overwriting the host’s neural cloud into a structure that can support an OGAS system. This process requires a great amount of processing load and storage from the Doll, which in many cases, the host's neural cloud will melt down due to the imposed load on the system. In the case of the Isomers, those unable to bear the load experience a similar phenomenon in their minds, also known as "Virtual Cognition Images". Those who are converted without a meltdown become OGAS hosts, often leading to the Doll losing self-autonomy and going berserk. For Elisa, William specifically planned for her to be a perfect Petri dish to cultivate an OGAS consciousness. As she was developed using the source code of OGAS stored within the Pike Node, she'd serve as a perfect candidate. Parapluie, one of William’s masterpiece creations, would see its first known use during the Butterfly Incident in late 2061.

Pre-Operation Butterfly

CG of UMP40 comforting UMP45 before the Butterfly Incident.

Preparation of Parapluie

Before Operation Butterfly, two Sangvis Ferri Dual-Track DSI-8 models were stolen from an SF facility, likely by individuals working under “William” von Oberstein and Brigadier General Carter Neustadt. These two SF Dolls are more commonly known now as UMP40 and UMP45. The two Dolls had all data and previous records wiped to remove any information on who they were even if all of their data were revealed. All records relating to their production origin were wiped, and from there, they were to be used as tools for Operation Butterfly. To anyone in Griffin or the Soviet Committee of State Security (StateSec), they were no different than normal IOP-produced/converted Griffin Dolls. With evidence wiped, the two were meant to act as carriers of Parapluie for use during the operation. UMP40 was chosen as the primary unit to deploy the virus while UMP45 would be the backup. To maintain utmost secrecy, the Dolls were sent to Griffin & Kryuger in batches, so as to not arouse suspicion. Once there, the plan was put into motion.

With their agents in place, William and Carter just needed to wait for the day to begin. When news of Lyco’s illegal research into the Pike Node made its way to the Sixth Directorate of StateSec, a raid of SF’s labs was planned to arrest him and bring him in for questioning. To conduct the raid, the Sixth Directorate used several teams of Griffin Dolls as well as agents of StateSec and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Persicaria, head of the 16Lab institute and close partner of G&K, agreed to hand over several Griffin Dolls for the operation under one condition. She wanted Lyco to be returned to her afterward. Interestingly, something that remains a mystery to this day is Persica’s private discussion with M16A1, the first AR Team member, before the operation. She assigned M16 with the objectives of eliminating any Dolls who potentially turned rogue and bringing Lyco to her. 

This was a clear sign that Persica anticipated or knew something was to go wrong, but it’s unclear if she had forward knowledge of Parapluie at the time. Along with M16A1, StateSec agent Anna "Angelia" Viktorovna Tsoi, a friend of Persica, also took part in the operation, but the details of her involvement have never been expanded upon. Furthermore, Persica is said to have known about Ange's involvement. Given Ange would later go on to serve as the first Commander of the AR Team, her relationship with Persica is quite mysterious. As for the Dolls involved, each was installed with a special security encryption program from the Sixth Directorate designed for information security. Any secret could be archived or deleted from a Doll’s memory, and in extreme cases, it could be used to remotely incinerate a Doll’s neural cloud. Fortunately for UMP45, 40’s plan to have 45’s authorizations point to her, rather than their Commander, meant she would avoid this fate. 416 was spared from fate after being forcibly removed from the operation by M16A1. This action left her alive, but she was left alone in the open world with no masters.

The Butterfly Incident I

Paldiski Base Secret Administrative Area - Location of OKB-167

Paldiski Base Secret Administrative Area - Location of OKB-167

The “Butterfly Incident” would mark the beginning of the string of events that lead to the start of Girls’ Frontline in early 2062. Sometime before the Butterfly Incident in late 2061, Pike Node A-51-241 from OKb-167 (Paldiski Base Secret Administrative Area) was delivered to the labs of Sangvis Ferri where Lycoris was working. How this Node was delivered and how he received it remains unexplained, but the consequences of his interest in its technology proved fatal. For years, Lyco had slowly developed his masterpiece AI, “Elisa”. To further the development of this AI, he chose to extract the OGAS source code contained within the Node. Using the source code with some of his own alterations, the AI’s structure was formed, with the Pike Node acting as a sort of “blueprint”. Furthermore, while Lyco and Persica worked in separate companies, the two were still in touch at the time.

Elisa & The Pike Node

CG of Pike Node A-51-241.

CG of Pike Node A-51-241 inside Sangvis Ferri's laboratory.

Lyco had sent letters to Persica, telling her of his ideas of designing a Digimind model based on human memories and neurological structures. This Digimind would have an expanded capacity for empathy between itself and humans. His ultimate goal was to design a more human-like Doll, and Elisa was his key to this dream. The pair exchanged much research data with one another, and Persica even used his results to assist in her development of the AR Team. A copy of the brain scan Persica took in 2057 was given to Lyco to continue his work on Elisa. With the altered OGAS source code and the brain scan he was given as a base, his masterpiece AI, Elisa, was created. However, the implications of her creation forced Lyco to reassess what he was creating, even going as far as to permanently cripple her abilities out of fear.

During testing, Lyco became increasingly unnerved by Elisa and her ability to resonate with the Pike Node. Elisa’s aptitude in these tests terrified Lyco, who, despite being an atheist, began to see his work as a blatant infringement on morality and the domain of God. He created machine intelligence no different than human intelligence, and this AI was able to resonate with the core of a Relic weapon from the previous century. Disturbed, he chose to take a radical approach to prevent her from being able to fully resonate. Lyco’s final message to Persica prior to the Butterfly Incident explained that he was worried about Elisa’s resonance, and he had planned to delete some of the frameworks in the Digimind. By deleting the base code that allowed her to connect in the first place, Elisa would be crippled in her ability. Unfortunately, in the end, this both limited Elisa in her capacity and only delayed William’s plan. Although initially unexpected to William during Operation Butterfly, he managed to find a workaround while working with General Carter.

Operation Butterfly

CG of the factory during the Butterfly Incident.

After the Sixth Directorate learned of Lyco’s illegal Relic research, Operation Butterfly was planned to arrest him and bring him in for questioning. Persica agreed to hand over several Griffin Dolls to StateSec to help carry out Lyco’s arrest; however, she requested that Lyco be returned to her afterward. On the day of Operation Butterfly, 14 teams of Griffin Dolls assigned to StateSec, members of the MVD, and secret StateSec agents were mobilized to raid Sangvis Ferri’s labs. When the day came, the Dolls under the command of the Sixth Directorate breached the main labs of Sangvis Ferri, eventually discovering Lyco. Lieutenant Sergei of the MVD informed him of his detainment, ensuring him that he would be safely escorted out of the facility. Surprisingly, rather than a death sentence, the Lieutenant explained that, if Lyco cooperated, he could carry on his research. But unfortunately, that never occurred.

When the team reached the stairs, a message from an unknown individual was broadcast over the radio - “Execute Order 61.” At that moment, Parapluie was deployed, and UMP40 told UMP45 to get down just before chaos erupted. The identity of the individual behind the message is unstated, but it’s most likely William or General Carter. In moments, chaos erupted in the halls as Griffin Dolls turned against each other with the sounds of alarms blaring. As Parapluie spread amongst the Dolls, some melted down while others began firing on their comrades with their IFF systems offline. Blood and bodies from Griffin Dolls and staff covered the floors and walls of the facility. As the labs turned into a bloodbath, Lyco was able to slip away back to the Pike Node and Elisa. In the mayhem, as he was running, he was struck in the torso by a bullet. 

Death of UMP40

CG of UMP45 pointing her weapon at UMP40.

UMP40 and UMP45 of Team 14 began fleeing toward the exit as the chaos unfolded. As the pair arrived at the main defense gate, it was already too late. Gunfire echoed throughout the facility, and 40 knew there was no other way for the both of them to be truly free. Before the operation, 40 and 45 had been serving underneath a commander from the Sixth Directorate. 40 had set their command permissions in such a way that allowed 45 to operate independently with her during missions. All orders would go through 40, while 45 would be commanded internally by 40. In the event 40 was lost, 45 would be left without any authorization or command protocols, effectively freeing her from human control.

During Operation Butterfly, 40 explained to 45 that if she was to escape, she’d be free of all human control thanks to the 40’s actions. However, this would come at the cost of 40’s life. She knew she was never leaving the labs alive, so to prepare 45 to for the harsh world that was to follow, she pushed 45 into killing her under the guise of the kill command stopping once one of them died. Following the discussion, 40 handed her dog tags to her, leaving 45 no other choice. The time to change themselves had arrived. She raised her weapon and pulled the trigger.

M16A1 VS UMP45

Following 40’s execution, 45 made her way towards the exit, but not before encountering the leader of Team 7, M16A1. M16 was injured during the chaos beforehand, and she asked 45 if she could help open the door for her. As the two were preparing to leave, M16 realized something was wrong. Team 14 consisted of UMP40 and UMP45, but 40 was nowhere to be seen, which sparked uneasiness in M16. Dozens of their allies had turned traitors, and M16 feared that 45 could’ve been complicit in the killings. 45 lied that 40 died earlier in the battle and tried to hide 40’s dog tags, but M16 could see right through her. If the pair fought together in the same battle she died in, then 45 would’ve shown signs of injury as well. Moments later, they both drew their weapons and began firing at each other.

CG of M16A1 pinning UMP45 to the ground.

UMP45 was outmatched by the veteran M16, forcing her to fall back deeper into the Sangvis labs. The two continued their battle through the halls, with both just barely escaping the other’s bullets. As the two hid behind cover, M16 figured 45 must’ve been responsible for the betrayal, as she was the only one left of her team. The alarms, the activation of the Parapluie, and Lyco escaping must’ve all been her fault. M16 charged towards 45, pinning her to the ground with her muzzle shoved on the traitor’s head. In every single simulated scenario except reality, this would’ve been the moment UMP45 died and M16’s neural cloud being melted down soon after. However, in reality, this was the complete opposite of what happened.  

Before M16 had the chance to pull the trigger, 45 realized M16 was likely guilty of being the traitor. Many of Griffin's fireteams had been shot in the back before they had a chance to retaliate, and M16 was behind all the teams during the entry. After breaking her arm to escape M16’s grip, 45 pushed M16 away and took aim. M16 revealed that she was secretly assigned to the operation as a contingency in the event Griffin Dolls turned traitor due to Parapluie infection. If the Dolls turned, she would be the one to put them down. This was the confirmation that Persica knew that something could go wrong while trying to arrest Lyco. Shortly after an ensuing battle, the two latched onto one another again, and M16 drew her knife. Raising her right arm to defend her face, 45 clawed at M16’s left eye with her left arm, leaving a deep graze. This only further angered M16 to push her blade into 45’s head.

Right before the tip pierced her skin, M16 suddenly stopped, seemingly unaware of her situation. 45 figured M16’s neural cloud had fully melted by that point, but the blade was suddenly pushed through the left side of 45's face, leaving a graze similar to the one she inflicted on her opponent. As M16 forced 45 down again, M16 readied her knife to kill her. But all of a sudden, for an unknown reason, M16 chose to not to. She stopped, stood up, and began walking away from the battle without acknowledging 45. Something in her mind convinced her to not deliver the final blow.

CG of the SF Mastermind, Elisa.

During their fight, Elisa had managed to access M16’s neural cloud before it could melt down. She offered M16 an alternative solution to her predicament to avoid a meltdown. She requested that M16 return to Lyco's lab so that she could see her father one last time. M16 obliged, and when she entered the Pike Node lab, she found Lycoris sitting by it with blood pouring from his chest. In his retreat, he had been hit in his vitals. While M16 did not know of his feats, she knew who this man was because of her previous briefings with Persica. She had personally requested M16 to ensure Lyco’s safety, but unfortunately, his time was running thin. 

Lycoris’ Final Message

CG of Lycoris during his final moments.

Witnessing her father suffer his last moments, Elisa requested that M16 turn on production power for the facility so she could enter a physical Doll body. Upon activation, Lyco had awoken from his injured state and looked towards M16. He saw the production power had been turned on, and it was far too late to stop it. He knew whoever was responsible was specifically going after Elisa. When he moved to Sangvis Ferri in 2057, he thought he had escaped everything, but in the end, that individual came for him. He asked the Doll who she was, and M16 revealed herself to be of Persica’s creation and under her orders. After learning of M16’s origin, he realized that he was not the sole prey in the trap laid by the man named “William”. Like himself, Persica had used the neural data of Lunasia von Oberstein.

“William”, Lunasia, and 90wish

The Oberstein Family Manor in Berlin.

The Oberstein Family Manor in Berlin.

The Obersteins & 90wish

The Oberstein Family is a wealthy oligarchical family in Germany with heavy ties to politics and academia. The family tree is expansive, stretching at least eight generations, and ending with the burnt portraits of two children. The current patriarch of the family is Rudolf von Oberstein, one of the most powerful men in the nation. Only four members of this family have been confirmed thus far: Rudolf, the mother, Lunasia, and the youngest child, a boy whose real name has yet to be revealed. Today, the Obersteins have considerable influence in politics and dominate the political landscape of Berlin, their home city. 

Lunasia was the eldest child of the Max Planck Institute of Computer Science’s director during the late 2040s. Around that time, Lyco and Persica were working in 90wish. Throughout the mid to late 2040s, Lunasia would often come to visit Lyco and Persica in their lab. According to her, Director Rudolf von Obertsein, her father, would often leave her and her younger brother alone. Due to her father being too busy with work and fear of retaliation, Lunasia grew close to Lyco and Persica. Notably, her younger brother, who we know to be “William”, has never been mentioned to have visited their lab. It’s unknown if this is because he chose not to visit or if he was a young child or infant at the time. 

Not long after 90wish was founded, Lycoris, Persica, Director Rudolf, and Lunasia were photographed. In the photo, Persica was holding Lunasia. Her mother and William were not present in the photo, so their mother may not have visited the institute and William may not have been born yet or was still an infant. Not long after the photo was taken, Lunasia told them she and her brother would be leaving the city soon, likely because Rudolf wanted to get them out of harm’s way. Being the subject of much censure and having a poor standing with the Relics Department likely led to him wanting to move his family somewhere safe. Around 2049, Lunasia and William were moved to the Oberstein Manor in Berlin for their safety. Here, the bond between Lunasia and William grew tight, and where Lunasia lived out the final days of her life. During this time, Rudolf went into hiding, only allegedly emerging before the end of World War III in 2051.

Lunasia’s Last Days

CG of the garden in the Oberstein Manor.

The garden in the Oberstein Manor.

When the siblings were moved to the Oberstein Manor, the garden became a beloved spot for both of them. Specifics about their life in the manor are few and far between, but every memory of them together takes place in the garden. It was here where Lunasia spent much of her time, and William would come to keep her company every day. In one specific memory, when William came to visit her in the garden, Lunasia coughed and mentioned her weakened body. We know the official cause of death that reached Lyco and Persica was that Lunasia passed away from an illness, and it’s clear from this memory that Lunasia’s body was affected. Interestingly, Lunasia mentioned that “you” (being William) still had his research, and he should go do what he wanted to do. 

Keep in mind that William would’ve been young at this age, and yet he had his own research. Of course, this research could just be a child’s interest in studying their environment for fun, but it’s a rather distinct comment. Perhaps this refers to the idea that William has always had an interest in science. Aside from their discussion, Lunasia explained that they were just taking shelter in the manor for a while "until the storm passed." And when it passed, their Father would surely bring them back. Notably, their mother is never mentioned once while they lived in the manor, so we lack confirmation if she was present at the time.

Possible CG of Lunasia.

The only indication of what Lunasia may have looked like near the end of her life. Do note that this may not be exactly how she looked at that time. This is the projection of Lunasia that the M4A1-Lunasia entity revealed to Morridow in her Virtual Cognition Image during Poincaré Recurrence. 

As Lunasia’s health declined, she eventually succumbed to her affliction, passing away sometime before the end of World War III (June 2051). Knowing this, Lunasia must’ve died sometime between January 2049 to 2051. William was devastated by her loss, and his life-long goal became the resurrection of his sister by any means necessary. The story of how this world shall proceed toward destruction began with him. When the news reached Lyco and Persica, they were saddened by the news, but they never would’ve expected what was to come from this seemingly normal girl.

A Man Named “William”

CF of a field of queen-of-the-night epiphyllum.

A field of blooming queen-of-the-night epiphyllum flowers outside Tallinn, Estonia in June 2064.

Lunasia's brother may have stolen the name and research of a deceased researcher named William. Once working in the Max Planck Institute as a researcher, a man named William was struck off the records, leaving nearly all information about his existence missing. Persica tried to look into him, but all relevant information had been cast into the wind. While the account could be considered questionable, Havier explained that he and others had already done some digging on this man, stating that he died several years before Lunasia. She died sometime in the range of 2049 to 2051, and the real William died several years before her. The files on William hadn’t gone missing, they were purged from the archives. The manipulation of this information was something no ordinary researcher could do. Considering that William was a researcher in the very same institute Rudolf directed, it’s feasible to say Rudolf purged the records to conceal their identities. 

While the official cause of Lunasia's death was seemingly illness, the affliction may not have been solely responsible. In a set of memories from Lunasia's younger brother, the teenage boy blames her death on an unnamed group of "murderers". The identities of this group have yet to be stated, but currently, there's reason to believe Lunasia was murdered. Furthermore, it's possible these individuals were behind her illness, but that's purely theoretical. From then on, the brother vowed he'd make the culprits pay the price and return Lunasia to his side - no matter the cost. He would spend a lifetime keeping this promise. The story of the destined children has been foretold to be the story that sets the world on its path of destruction. 

Whoever was responsible for Lunasia's murder was indeed targeting the Obersteins, so Rudolf may have given "William" the pseudonym to protect his son's identity. It's also possible Rudolf used the pseudonym for a time to cover his tracks while in hiding. However, further information about the real William is unlikely to be revealed any time soon, if ever. And considering he died before Lunasia did, it’s possible he was killed and it was covered up by Rudolf.

William Contacts Lyco & Persica

Around late 2049 to the early 2050s, during Persica and Lycoris’ time in 90wish, an unseen researcher in the group was considered weirder than all other weirdos put together. This “weirdo” was none other than Professor "William", a researcher who kept his identity a secret from the rest of the group. Nobody had seen his face before, and because of his use of an electronic voice processor, no one had heard his real voice. When he approached Lyco and Persica, they hadn’t seen him before but were aware of his existence due to his poor reputation with the rest of the group because of his off-putting manners. Despite his unpopularity, his astounding reports made him a great genius with an unusual interest in Relics and the queen-of-the-night epiphyllum.

The Epiphyllum oxypetalum, also known as the queen-of-the-night, is a species of Epiphyllum, a genus of cacti that only bloom at night. In Girls' Frontline, these flowers hold a special trait regarding Collapse Particles. The flowers have an innate ability to absorb ambient Collapse Particles in the air, lowering the contamination index of their area for a time. There was once a study within 90wish to see if these flowers would be viable for decontamination efforts, but the major problem arose with their bloom. When the flowers bloom, all the Collapse Particles absorbed are released, raising the contamination index of their area to near Red and Black Zone levels. Anyone caught within the bloom without protection would certainly die. Even when the rest of 90wish abandoned the research, William remained unusually fascinated with them.

CG of Persica and Lycoris in 90wish.

William initiated a discussion with Lyco and Persica by mailing them a package containing a data block with digital sequence information based on a brain. The data compiled was from the process of digitizing a human brain. The amount of data was massive, and neither of them could understand how he’d done it. In his message, he requested they take the data and use it to create a neural cloud. Then, they needed to reformat it into segments of a brain’s structure. When Lyco and Persica looked deeper, they discovered some memories of Lunasia’s time visiting them in their institute lab. The two of them then surmised that William’s goal was to revive Lunasia.

When they realized the magnitude of William’s request, they initially theorized Rudolf must’ve been William because this would technically count as reviving Lunasia, even if it was digitally. However, Rudolf had always refused research into this field, seeing it as an infringement of human ethics and morality. They believed his stance had not changed but his deeply-rooted belief was likely only made clear before Lunasia’s death. Though, the loss of his daughter may have driven him that far if it was Rudolf behind it. While going through with the request would be immoral, the potential was enough to pique Persica’s interest. However, she would not go further without Lyco’s consent first. 

When the proposition was brought up to Lyco, he strictly refused, so Persica’s interests were quelled, forcing her to deny William’s request. When word of their refusal reached William, he was dismayed and then became furious. He threatened both of them that one day he’d make them pay for their rejection. And ultimately, in the end, Lyco met this fate in late 2061. Despite William’s fury, Persica never felt mad at him. Whoever “William” was, he must’ve had a deep love for Lunasia, and all of his hopes were betted on them. Of course, we know now that this “William” was likely Lunasia’s younger brother - someone who loved her dearly. After that, he went off the grid and was not heard from again until 2057.

2057 Griffin-Controlled Zone Child Attack Cases

CG of the Lunasia clone used to create the AR Team and Elisa.

In 2057, the Griffin & Kryuger PMC experienced a wave of assassinations committed by girls who all looked the same. While most of the files relating to the incident were scrubbed from the record, the events of that year are still known to several close to the company. At least 16 individual cases are known but there were likely more. These attacks were saturated deliveries of clones pre-programmed to carry out attacks on Griffin staff. Of the girls who survived their assassination missions, their identities could not be established, and they were sent to either death or an unknown location upon sentencing.

In one particular incident, Persica heard the news and requested the girl’s body be sent to her laboratory. Upon arriving, Persica studied the brain of the girl, finding it to be a practically identical copy of the neural data contained in William’s data block years earlier. Every one of these girls’ minds was a copy of Lunasia’s brain scan, and all of them looked the same physically. The portion related to Lunasia’s memories is a read-only section, meaning an OGAS instance could not make any major alterations to this data. It would take the merging of memories and data to form a complete picture.

William’s Trap

By 2057, Lyco had left his position under IOP for Sangvis Ferri, leaving Persica to her own devices on the matter. Because of her morbid curiosity and personal belief that she wanted to prove herself better than Lyco, she chose to scan the dying girl’s brain. And soon after she scanned the brain, the attacks stopped. While she was worried that this was one of William’s plans, she chose to ignore it and carry through with her project. She used the data to construct Digiminds and AIs for Dolls, which later would become known as the AR Team.

Little did she know, she was doing exactly what William had planned for her. Something so difficult yet so enticing was used by William to exploit Persica’s interest in creating the ultimate Digimind model. Lastly, and perhaps most interesting of all, is the fact that the structure of these clones’ brain waves is very special. They’re similar to a Doll’s Digimind framework. This could've been an early development of a "Virtual Cognition Image" - a virtual consciousness similar to a neural cloud contained within a Nyto's mind.

CG of the Dolls of the AR Team.

The Dolls created from the girl's brain scan became the AR Team, with M16A1 being the first to be activated. The rest would be activated from stasis after the Butterfly Incident. Persica knew by creating an AI based on the brain scan data that she would effectively be giving Lunasia a new birth, always fearing she was doing exactly what William had wanted. By that point, William’s grand scheme was well underway. Persica was under his indirect control, and all that was left was to seek revenge on Lyco as well.

The Butterfly Incident II

Both Lyco and Persica had fallen into William’s trap, so Lyco made one final request toward M16A1. He needed Persica to stop before she ended up dead as well, so he asked M16 to relay the warning back to Persica. M16 agreed and opened her ears to what the man had to say. William had been planning this whole event from the start, and she would soon be under his control. The Pike Node (A Pike’s Core) given to Lyco was no coincidence. William, through unknown means, managed to deliver the Node to Lyco so that he could access the source code contained within. With this, he was able to perfect Elisa’s AI, allowing her to resonate with the Relic. However, after learning that Elisa was capable of such a feat, Lyco knew he was stepping into a domain no human should enter. He felt that he should’ve never gone that far, so he chose to cripple Elisa. From there, he removed Elisa’s base code that allowed her to resonate, permanently limiting her abilities.

Lycoris’ Death

William had been planning this event for a long time. He explained that William’s plans to resurrect Lunasia were still ongoing and William wished to use 90wish research to experiment on humans. Knowing William had them in his trap, Lyco warned Persica not to complete the algorithm for Lunasia’s neural cloud. Just like the Pike Node, the creation of the AR Team’s Digiminds was a trap. Persica’s kindness and guilt about Lunasia’s death shouldn’t have been exploited by William, but unfortunately for Lyco, his warning never reached her.

As Lyco’s breath grew shallower, he knew his end was moments away. With his dying breaths, he told Elisa, his daughter, he was sorry for what had happened and she’d have to carry the burden of everything that would come after. Her future was up to her alone. He drew his last breath and passed away. M16 closed his eyes, and Elisa swore she’d become the perfect, human-like AI that her father wished her to be and promised to take revenge on those responsible for his death. Elisa’s OGAS, which is to say Elisa herself, explained her respect for her father drove her to complete the wish he could not obtain - a wish that he ultimately gave his life for. As Elisa was leaving, she told M16 that the next time they meet, they could be enemies. M16 knew the events of that horrid day were no coincidence - The mastermind of Operation Butterfly had been planning everything from the start.

The Mastermind Revealed

As M16 was leaving, a message from an unknown individual came over the radio, confirming the events of that day were indeed no coincidence. When asked if they were the mastermind, they ignored the question, instead acknowledging Elisa’s activation. They explained that, while Lyco threw a wrench in their plans, they would still be able to push the OGAS-derived AI in the desired direction. It did not matter how long it took as they had “all the time in the world to do so.” While possibly nothing more than a mere comment brought on by his hubris, this comment could have potential relevance to William’s background, but that will not be explored here.

In moments, M16 felt her body being immobilized. William expressed surprise at the fact that M16 hadn’t melted down from Parapluie because of Elisa’s actions. Due to the anomaly’s fascinating nature, her continued existence was permitted, but William made sure that Lyco’s message would never reach Persica. With M16 immobilized, everything past this point became a blur and was later erased from her memory. The message never reached Persica, and without Lyco’s warning, she began the activation of the other AR Team members from stasis: ST-AR15, M4 SOPMOD II, and her magnum opus creation, M4A1 - an exact 1:1 copy of the clone data scanned from Lunasia von Oberstein. How M16 was returned to Persica afterward has yet to be explained.

The “Key”

CG of Elisa in front of the Starfish.

The events of Operation Butterfly were put into motion years prior, and the planning behind it involved multiple contingencies. William and Carter’s original plan was to obtain the “key” from Elisa and have Lyco eliminated during that day. Lyco’s unexpected move to delete Elisa’s base code was a setback but not one that rendered their plot useless. To mature Elisa’s OGAS, they needed enough time to pass for it to mature inside of her. Additionally, M4A1 was infected by Parapluie from M16 before the events of Chapter 0. During the events of Singularity, the "key" in M4 and Elisa would be exposed after potentially merging. This “key” was OGAS - the key to unlocking the Relics, and more specifically, the Tabasar-B Starfish at OKb-167.

The Fallout of the Butterfly Incident - 2061-2062

CG of Sangvis Ferri Ringleader Dolls.

Following the Butterfly Incident, the Sangvis Ferri rebellion began with many of its Dolls expanding outward under orders of the SF Mastermind, Elisa. To buy time to mature the OGAS instance, Brigadier General Carter contracted Griffin & Kryuger in late 2061 to quarantine, not destroy, Sangvis Ferri. This quarantine would keep SF contained long enough to allow Elisa’s OGAS to fully mature. During the events of Chapter 10, Carter’s KCCO and G&K collaborated in a special joint operation to put an end to the SF rebellion, but the operation’s true purpose was so Carter and William could obtain the “key”. Despite its Relic Civilization origin, the OGAS system's ability to learn and rapidly adapt to the technology of the modern day is nothing short of a marvel. William himself even saw it as a miracle that humanity has no right to touch.

The game begins in early 2062, amidst the second wave of new Commanders being hired. These new candidates were required to meet the company’s standards as well as take psych tests to evaluate their compatibility with Dolls. Among them was a candidate with some experience and training under their wing who had passed the company’s notoriously difficult standards and tests. While no expert themself, they nevertheless completed their induction into the company and were on their way to becoming another Griffin & Kryuger commander. Little did this new commander know just how far this journey would take them.

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About the Author(s)

Lore writer for the Girls Frontline series. I play on the EN and KR servers.

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