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Killer
Instinct Revelations:09
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Brazil: The Village
Ricki walked sluggishly down one of the side
roads, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dirty, faded black jeans.
He thought about a lot of different things at the same time; the martial
arts competition coming up on Saturday, sacrificing half of the radish
crop in order to plant more carrots, and Anna. But no matter how
much he let his mind wander, one thing kept popping up.
Kain.
He was a threat to the village. But
no one could see it. The Elder, Drew, Anna, they had all fallen in
love with the cyborg. But Ricki knew better. It was just too
suspicious. It was just too.....uncertain. One day, a beaten
up cyborg is found in the Rainforest. It is fixed; and not only does
it walk, talk, act, and think like a human, it doesn’t remember anything
that happened before it came.
Ricki was about to round a corner, onto another
side street, but he overhead a group of men talking. As the subject
was one of interest, Ricki decided to stop and listen in on the conversation.
“I’m telling you, if we keep that thing around,
this village will be leveled!” A man’s voice said.
“We agree with you.” another voice said.
“But what can we do? As far as we know, we three are the only ones
who feel this way.”
Ricki finally rounded the corner, surprising
the three men. “That depends. What are you guys talking about?”
They all exchanged puzzled looks. “Should
we tell him?” the third man asked?
“We gotta take that risk.” the second
said. “We’re talking about Kain.”
Ricki sat down, with them. “And about
how he’s a threat to this village?”
“Yes!” The first man exclaimed.
“Man, I knew we could count on you, Ricki!”
“Okay, okay,” Ricki said, “so we all
agree that Kain is a menace. That doesn’t do much towards getting
rid of him.”
“I think we should try to persuade some of
the other village men, then confront The Elder until he makes Kain leave.”
The third man said.
Ricki shook his head. “Isn’t going to
happen. The Elder loves Kain; as does most of this village. They
just don’t see how dangerous he is.”
“Maybe if Kain got his memories back, he’d
leave anyway.” The second man suggested.
“I’ve been waiting for that myself.”
Ricki responded. “But it hasn’t happened yet, and I’m not sure it’s
going to happen. Even if he did, at this point, he might just decide
to stay anyway. I also thought about just asking him to leave, but
not only wouldn’t he want to, everyone else would convince him to stay.”
“So what do we do about it?” The first
man asked.
“Only one thing we can do.” Ricki said.
“Kain’s gotta be....destroyed.”
“You mean murder?” The second man asked.
“We can’t kill Kain!”
Ricki shook his head. “It’s not murder.
I mean, it would be if this were a person we’re talking about. But,
c’mon, it’s a cyborg! It was never alive to begin with.”
“We may see it that way,” the third
man said, “but the village doesn’t. The Elder, Drew, Allan, they’d
never forgive us.”
Ricki sighed. “They never need know.
Perhaps Kain had an.....accident. Or maybe he got his memories back,
and rushed away, telling only me. Hmm. He could even go berserk;
and if he did, wouldn’t it be fortunate for everyone that we four were
there to stop him?”
The second man smiled. “Of course.
They need not know what really happened.”
The first man nodded in agreement. “And
it wouldn’t be like we were betraying them. We’re trying to help
them; they just don’t know it yet.”
The third man leaned in, closer to the group.
“So, when do we strike?”
Ricki grinned. “No time like the present,
eh?”
“What? Now?”
“Yes, now. Every day that Kain lives
in this village is a day we live in risk. Besides, he’s at the edge
of the village right now, and as far as I know, the only other person out
there is Anna. We may not have another opportunity like this.”
“I guess you’re right.” The second man
said. “So then, what’s the plan?”
“The plan, gentleman,” Ricki started,
then he looked around suspiciously, and leaned in even closer to the group,
“is simple. First, we’ll need to get Anna out of there.......”
The Outskirts of the Village
Where the east side of the village led into
the Rainforest, the left side of the village, for a few hundred yards,
was farmland. This is where the village grew their crops and vegetables,
which they ate from. Beyond the farmland was about a mile or two
of plain land; flat for the most part, but an occasional plant, hill,
or rock formation popped up every now and then.
It was sunset in Brazil; a brilliant red sun
was quickly ducking under the horizon; only half of it appeared in the
distance, its appearance distorted slightly by refracting light waves.
The sky around the sun was also red, however as the distance away increased,
the color turned from red, to orange, to dark blue, to black. A few
stars were beginning to pop up in the sky, one by one, although you couldn’t
actually see one appear.
Anna was sitting at the top of one of the
higher reaching rock formations. She wore a simple black dress, and
she was barefoot. She stared off into the distance, thinking about
either nothing or everything. Although she seemed to be caught up
in the moment, she still sensed Kain’s approach from behind her.
He stopped a few feet away, not wanting to disturb her, half-hoping she
would detect him first.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Anna asked.
“Huh?” Kain was caught off guard.
“The sunset.” Anna said. “Even
more so than sunrise. The ending of a day, with the promise of another.
The way the colors all seem to blend in, with no definite beginning or
ending. You can watch all night, but you’ll never be able to see
when the first star of night appears. You’ll just look up and, there
it is.”
“It’s just physics.” Kain said.
“The colors are a result of light rays being scattered throughout the atmosphere.”
“I know. But it’s still pretty amazing.”
Kain took another look at the sunset, but
he knew that he was not seeing the same thing Anna was. He wished
he could, though. “Uh.....Drew sent me; him and Allan were expecting
you for dinner tonight, and they were wondering where you were.”
Anna turned towards Kain, and smiled.
“I’m sorry. I lose track of time very easily, especially when I’m
out here.”
Kain shrugged. “I thought you might
be out in the Rainforest, but I used this heat tracking sensor thingamajig
in my head and found you here. Either way, I told Drew to give me
an hour to find you, and you’ve still got over half an hour left, so if
you want to stay.....”
Anna shook her head. “No, that’s okay.
I really should be getting back.” She stood up and began to climb
down the rock. When she was within reach, Kain took her by the waist,
lifted her off the rock, and set her gently back down on the ground.
Anna smiled and thanked Kain. They began to walk back towards the
village together.
“So Kain,” Anna started, “do you believe
in God?”
“What?” Kain exclaimed, taken off-guard.
“God?”
“Yes. Do you believe in a God?”
“Uhh.....” Kain looked up. “I
don’t know. I’ve been so caught up in trying to figure out who I
am, that I haven’t even thought about religion. Why did you ask?”
Anna looked down. “Well, I was just
thinking about how, no matter how hard we try, nature is always more beautiful
than anything man can create.” She laughed. “Whenever I watch
the sunset, I can always imagine God up in the heavens, with a giant paintbrush,
painting the sky. Then I thought about your physics explanation and
I wondered if you believed in a God.”
Kain looked around nervously. “I think
I’ll answer that one when I know who I am. I don’t want to assume
anything.”
“A good strategy.” Anna remarked.
“But, assuming that there were a God, why do you think that you ended up
here, without any knowledge about yourself.”
Kain laughed. “Have you ever thought
about being a reporter, Anna? You’d be very good.....”
“Now, don’t dodge the question! What
do you think brought you here?”
Kain shook his head, in good humor.
“Well, if I had to guess......I would have to say that I was brought here
to learn something. Something that I couldn’t learn if I was myself.
I had to have an open mind.....no previous thoughts or biases.” Kain
gave Anna a look. “Assuming I believed in a God.”
“Of course!” Anna grinned. “So
now, the question would be, what is it that you have to learn?”
Before Kain could answer, a man came running
up, calling Anna’s name. As he came closer, Anna recognized him to
be Dominic, a man who lived a few houses away from her. He was also
one of the men in the group Ricki had been talking with a few minutes earlier.
“Anna!” Dominic called. “I’m so
glad I found you!”
“What is it Dominic?” Anna asked.
Dominic took a few moments to gather his breath.
“It’s kinda personal.....uhh.....can we......” He motioned towards
a particularly large rock formation a few meters ahead.
“Of course.” Anna turned towards Kain.
“I’ll be right back. Will you wait for me?”
Kain nodded his head. Anna bowed to
him and went with Dominic behind the rock formation. She had only
been gone for a few moments when Kain’s internal sensors picked up three
signatures converging on him; two from both sides, and one from behind.
Kain spun around to confront the signature that was approaching from behind.
The man was still a few meters away, but using his cybernetic eyes, he
saw that it was Ricki. The two signatures on the sides of him were
Antonio and Roderick, two other men from the village. Kain waited
for them to come closer until he spoke.
“Ricki, Antonio, Roderick, what’s up?”
He asked, suspiciously.
“I’m glad we found you.” Ricki said.
“We need your help.”
“Okay......” Kain said, noticing that
although Ricki had stopped moving, Antonio and Roderick were still converging
on him.
“You see,” Ricki continued, “there’s
a great threat to the village. The worst we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately,
we four are the only ones who can do anything about it.”
“What kind of threat?” Kain asked, still
feeling uneasy.
“A bad one.” Ricki answered simply.
“An unpredictable, dangerous threat. One that could end up killing
everyone. We have to take care of it immediately. I was hoping
that you would help us.”
“Of course.” Kain said. “Anything
to help the village.”
Ricki grinned. “I’m so glad you see
it that way.”
Antonio and Roderick quickly closed in on
Kain, grabbing his arms. Kain struggled, but couldn’t go anywhere.
Ricki finally advanced on Kain.
“What are you doing?!” Kain screamed.
Ricki’s grin turned into a half smile.
“As I said, we’re taking care of the threat.”
With that, he turned and hit Kain in the head
with a vicious roundhouse kick.....
Dominic led Anna to the other side of the rock
formation, where he stopped to catch his breath again.
“So, what’s going on?” Anna asked.
Dominic took a deep breath, before answering.
“Well, you know I have a dinner date with Marta tonight, right?”
“Really?” Anna said. “Congratulations!
You have been chasing her for quite some time now, haven’t you?”
“Yes, so as you can imagine, I’m wanting things
to go perfect tonight. However, my best pair of pants ripped, and
I don’t have any others, so I was wondering if you would sew them for me?”
Anna smiled. “Yes, of course!
When do you need them?”
Dominic looked around, nervously. “Actually,
I need them now. The date’s in a few minutes and I really can’t be
late. So, if we could go back to the village now......” He
started back towards the village.
“Okay.....” Anna said, then suddenly
stopping. “Oh wait, I asked Kain to wait for me. Let me just
go get him and we can go.”
“There’s no time for that, we have to go now!”
Dominic insisted.
“Oh, but it will only take a second; I’ll
call him from here.” She started to go around the rock formation,
but Dominic grabbed her by the arm.
“No! We must go now!”
Anna gave him a strange look. “Not without
Kain.”
Dominic tugged harder on her arm. “I’m
sorry, but we really must go now.” He began to drag her along, but
she kicked him in the groin, and his grasp quickly loosened.
Anna looked at him for a moment, then ran
around the rock formation. Dominic, curled up in the fetal position
on the ground, whimpered for a couple of seconds, then got up and began
to pursue her.
Kain stood very weakly. His head was
bowed; the hair from his ponytail dangled in front of him. In fact,
if not for Antonio and Roderick holding him by the arms, he wouldn't be
standing at all.
In front of Kain, Ricki cracked his knuckles.
He punched Kain twice in the face, then delivered a forward kick to his
midsection.
“You may have fooled The Elder.” Ricki
said, hitting Kain with another roundhouse. “You may have fooled
Anna.” He clasped his hands together and nailed Kain with an overhead
smash. “But you haven’t fooled us. We’re going to make sure
you never threaten this village again.” He hit Kain with yet another
roundhouse. Kain didn’t appear to be able to take much more.
Suddenly, Anna ran up to the scene.
“Kain! Kain, no!” She exclaimed. Ricki stopped a punch
in mid swing.
“Anna......what?” he said, surprised.
Dominic ran up behind Anna and grabbed her
with both arms.
“You were supposed to take care of her!”
Ricki said, angered.
“I couldn’t help it.” Dominic said,
as he struggled to keep Anna within his grasp. “She wouldn’t leave.
So what do we do now?”
“It’s our word against hers.” Ricki
responded. “Besides, she didn’t see how this started, now did she?”
“Ricki, you animal!” Anna screamed.
“How could you do such a thing?”
Ricki took another roundhouse kick at Kain’s
head before answering. “Anna, Anna, Anna. Dear, sweet, innocent,
naive, Anna. You just don’t understand, do you? You’ve been
fooled for far too long. You just don’t see that Kain is a threat
to our village. If he lives a day longer, we’ll all end up dead!”
“He’s another person; just like you!”
Anna raged, desperately trying to free herself from Dominic’s hold.
“I won’t let you get away with this! Kain! Kain, can you hear
me? You’ve got to fight them Kain!”
Kain was unresponsive.
“He won’t be hearing anything from now on.”
Ricki said. He hit Kain with a three-punch combo, then an alternating
leg double kick, then a high straight kick to the chin. Kain’s head
lowered even further.
“No!” Anna cried. She managed
to free herself from Dominic, and ran towards Ricki. She struck him
in the face with everything she managed to gather into her fist, but it
had little effect. Acting in reflex, Ricki backhanded Anna, sending
her sprawling to the ground.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Kain said softly.
Ricki stopped, and stared at Kain wide eyed. “I have had enough!”
Kain’s head snapped up quickly. His eyes were wide, and glowing a
fierce red. He quickly turned his head towards Antonio. A panic
spread across Antonio’s facial features. Kain raised his arms, lifting
both men a good foot off the ground. With a swift motion, he flung
Antonio at least ten meters away. With his other arm, he did the
same to Roderick.
Ricki’s eyes widened, but he put up a fighting
stance. Kain’s eyes narrowed. Feeling high levels of anxiety,
Ricki charged at Kain, with a punch. Kain blocked it easily.
Ricki tried a double kick, but Kain grabbed his legs, backhanded him in
the face, then he hit him with a roundhouse. Ricki tumbled backwards.
He was back to his feet quickly, but Anna grabbed him.
“Ricki, you must stop this!” she exclaimed.
“Get back woman!” Ricki ordered.
Not entirely himself, he pushed Anna away harshly. Ricki turned his
attention back to Kain, but found him doing something odd. Kain stood
erect, facing Ricki. His eyes were as narrow as they could possibly
get, and he extended his arm out towards Ricki, his hand open.
“Enough!” Kain yelled. Suddenly,
a blue burst of energy shot forth from his hand. Ricki was too shocked
to move. The energy burst hit Ricki in the chest, sending him flying
backwards a great distance. He hit the ground and skidded a few more
meters, finally coming to a slow stop. After that, Ricki didn’t move,
except for his chest moving up and down from breath.
Dominic took one look at Kain, still frozen
in pose, then at Ricki, Antonio, and Roderick, prone on the ground.
Deciding that he no longer wanted any part of Kain, he took off running
towards the village, as fast as he possibly could.
Anna stood up slowly. Her eyes were
wide from shock, her mouth hanging open, her hands clutched at her chest.
She stared at Ricki for a few moments, then turned to Kain. Kain
was still frozen in pose, but he suddenly snapped out of it. His
eyes widened, and he looked at his hand as if it were no longer a part
of his body.
Hours Later
The Elder’s House
Anna entered in, slowly. Her black dress
was somewhat tattered, and she kept a large piece near the top from falling
by holding it with her hand. It was dark, and anything inside was
extremely hard to see. She could make out The Elder sitting in a
chair in the corner of the room.
“Anna,” The Elder said, “how are you?”
“I’m fine.” she said softly.
“And the men?”
“The other three are fine. Just a little
bruised. Ricki’s still unconscious, but he’ll be fine.”
“And Kain?”
“Drew and Allan are with him now. They
said he wasn’t really damaged.”
“I see.”
Anna looked around. She still couldn’t
really see anything. She kept hoping she wouldn’t have to ask, but
The Elder didn’t volunteer the information. Finally, Anna resolved
to ask.
“So.....have you made a decision.....about
everything?”
“Not yet.” The Elder said flatly.
Anna took a deep breath. “Then.....may
I say something?”
The Elder extended his hand towards Anna.
“It’s not Kain’s fault!” Anna outburst.
“You saw, when Allan replayed those files from his memory core, they attacked
him for no reason!”
“I know. I saw the same thing you did.”
“Well, if you make anyone leave, it should
be Ricki. If not for him, Kain would have never......have never......”
“Shot lightening bolts from his hands?”
The Elder finished the sentence.
Anna sighed. “All I’m saying is that
Kain’s the victim here.”
“I understand.” The Elder sat back in
his chair, which further put him in the shadows.
Anna twisted her mouth. She turned to
leave, but The Elder stopped her.
“Will you wait? I’ll be heading over.....there......shortly.”
Anna nodded.
Kain’s House
“C’mon, try it again.” Drew insisted.
Drew, Allan, and Kain were in a small room
in Kain’s house. Except for a wooden table that Kain leaned against,
there was nothing in the room. There was a small, uncovered window
behind Kain, and the door to the room was on the front wall.
Kain raised his right eye. “But I’ve
been at it for over an hour now! What good is this going to do?”
Allan rolled his eyes. “If you know
how to do it, then you’ll know how to control it. Just try again.”
Kain sighed, then extended his right arm towards
the ground, similar to what he did while fighting Ricki. He kept
it there for a few moments, then withdrew it.
“There, you see! Nothing!”
“Keep trying.....” Allan chimed.
Kain reluctantly stuck his arm out again. Drew put his arm around
Allan and led him away, to a corner of the room.
“So, remind me why not telling anybody about
Kain’s weapons systems was a good idea.” he said.
Allan shook his head. “I thought it
was one of those things that would never come up. Kain himself didn’t
even know he had them! I sure didn’t see this coming......”
“Well, I still think that they would have
liked to known about his destructive capabilities.”
“If you were the leader of this village, would
you rest easy knowing one of your neighbors had the ability to destroy
a small continent?”
“A small continent!” Drew scoffed.
“From what you’ve told me, Kain could wipe out a hemisphere if he wanted
to.”
Allan scratched his head. “Well, I don’t
exactly understand how it works, but from what I could tell, there’s no
limit on what Kain couldn’t blow up......”
Drew threw his hands up. “All the more
reason to tell them!”
Suddenly, there was a high pitched sound,
and Drew and Allan turned around just in time to see a burst of energy
shoot from Kain’s hand, into the ground. There was a small explosion
of dust and dirt chunks. When it cleared, Drew and Allan saw Kain
staring at his hand.
“Holy mother.....” Allan said, “they
said a lightening bolt came out of his hand, but silly me, I didn’t believe
it......”
Drew, Allan, and Kain gathered
around the hole in the ground the energy burst had created.
“How far down does that go?” Drew asked.
“I don’t wanna know.” Allan said.
“Excuse me.” The Elder said, as he came
through the door, with Anna behind him, “am I interrupting anything?”
“No, of course not!” Allan exclaimed.
All three men quickly stood at attention. Allan tried to cover the
hole in the ground with his foot. “What’s up?”
“I’ve reached a decision, about everything
that’s happened.”
“Oh.” Drew, Allan, and Kain said in
unison.
The Elder began to walk about. “Kain
was attacked a few hours ago by four men from this village. In defense
of himself, he shot some sort of energy bolt out of his hand.” The
Elder paused. “But, we knew when we allowed him to stay that he was
different. What happened out there could have resulted in a death,
but it should not have happened at all. Kain is not to blame.”
Anna hid a smile. Kain seemed to be
relieved, but a look of distress spread across his face.
“Elder.....what about Ricki and the others?”
The Elder seemed to be thinking about his
response. “Dominic.....Antonio.....Roderick.....I think that maybe
they have been influenced in this affair. However, Ricki has not
hid his feelings since day one, and it’s evident that he engineered this
incident. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with him.”
“Elder, if I may,” Kain said, stepping
forward.
“And who hasn’t?” The Elder asked, in
good humor.
“Huh?” Kain was confused.
“Nevermind. You were saying.....”
“Oh. Well, I don’t think that Ricki
is to blame either. He was just afraid of me. Fear turns into
hatred, and hatred leads to.....things like this. He was just misguided.
I think I you should not make him leave.”
“And what if you two continue to not get along?”
The Elder asked.
“Then I will leave.” Kain said.
“It’s only fair; I’m the newcomer here.”
“Kain.....” Anna whined.
“But,” Kain continued, “let me talk
to Ricki first. Perhaps I can straighten things out.”
The Elder appeared to think it over for a
few seconds. “Very well. You can speak to him, if you wish.
I heard coming over here that he just awakened.”
Kain bowed, headed for the door, and left
the room. Anna discreetly followed him.
The Elder approached Drew and Allan.
“So, gentlemen, what do you know about what happened to Kain?”
Drew shot Allan a look.
Allan forced a laugh. “Well, we, uh,
I mean, we took a look at his systems, and found those self defense......er......weapons
systems. We’re trying to teach him how to use them so that there
are no more......accidents.”
The Elder gave them both a look. “Very
well. Keep me advised on your progress.” He turned and left
the room.
Allan made a face; kind of a half frown, with
his eyebrows raised. “Well, that went well, don’t you think?”
Drew shot Allan another look.
“Kain, wait!” Anna called out, running
up to Kain as he ventured down the road.
Kain stopped for a moment to allow her to
catch up. “I’m....uh.....sorry about your dress.” he said when
she arrived.
“Oh!” Anna said, looking down at the
tattered dress. “You shouldn’t be. It wasn’t your fault.
Besides, this wasn’t one of my favorites.”
They continued down the road in silence.
Neither Kain or Anna had ever felt so awkward together before. Finally,
the silence became unbearable for Kain.
“Anna......are you afraid of me?”
“What? No, of course not? Why
would you think so?”
Kain looked down. “Well, considering
what happened today....”
Anna took Kain’s arm. “Like The Elder
said, we knew you were different when you first came here. So this
is.....new to us. But so is heat tracking sensors and claws coming
out of your arms and everything else. But that doesn’t matter.
You’re still who you are.......even if you do have lightening in your fingertips.”
Anna forced a little smile.
Kain paused. “So.....does anything change
between us?”
Anna gave Kain a playful punch in the arm.
“You should know better than that! Nothing changes! Well, maybe......”
“What?” Kain asked, a little nervous.
Anna grinned. “I may ask you to come
over and light my fireplace when I can’t find the matches.”
Kain laughed. He stopped walking suddenly
though.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“We’re here.” Kain said flatly.
He looked up at the door to Ricki’s house.
“You sure you don’t need backup?” Anna
offered.
Kain shook his head. “I’ll handle it,
thanks.”
“Okay.” Anna began to walk away slowly.
She turned around and waved to Kain. “Goodnight......see ya tomorrow!”
“Night.” Kain replied. He watched
Anna leave until she was out of eyesight, then he turned around and entered
Ricki’s house.
Kain had to cross three rooms before finally
getting to the bedroom. It was relatively simply decorated; the bed
in the center of the room, with black sheets and comforter. There
was a nightstand on either side of the bed; an unlit, ground mounted torch
was on the nightstand on the right side; a clay pot on the left.
The only window in the room was in the center of the left wall. On
the right wall was what appeared to be a closet, covered by a dirty blue
curtain.
When Kain entered the room, Ricki sat up in
his bed, then tried to move backwards, as if he could go through the wall,
outside, to safer ground.
“It’s okay; I come in peace.” Kain said.
Ricki eyed him nervously. Kain continued. “The Elder has been
thinking about what happened today. He wants to let me stay, but
he’s considering making you leave.”
“A great victory for you, I’m sure.”
Ricki said, viciously.
“Actually, no. We can both stay, but
we have to get along. I think that’s a much better option, don’t
you?”
Ricki said nothing in response.
“Look,” Kain went on, “I know you think
I’m this great threat to the village. But I’m not, I’m really not.
I know about as much about what happened to me today as you do. That’s
why I’m here; to find out who I am. As soon as I have my memories
back, I’ll leave. But until that time, I don’t intend to hurt anybody.
I didn’t have a problem with you or any of the others. In fact, I
still don’t. I’m even willing to entertain the possibility that I’m
wrong and you’re right. Maybe I am a threat to the village, and I
don’t even know it. If you think I’m a threat, just say so, and I’ll
leave forever.”
Ricki only gave Kain a blank look. Kain
waited for a response, but it never came. Eventually, Kain assumed
the silence to be the response, so he turned and started to leave the room.
“Wait.” Ricki called out. “You
shouldn’t leave.”
Kain stopped and turned around. “Good.
Thank you.” He looked over to the left at nothing in particular,
and his eyes narrowed. “I know that your hatred of me has turned
back into fear, which is probably your greatest motivation for you to resolve
things peacefully with me. But that’s okay. It’s a start at
least.”
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