"Ono Yoshinari. Formerly of the Kirijo Group. Retired for the past ten years with a nice pension. Sekimiya-san gave me a call after everything that happened and dragged my graying ass out of retirement. But none of you probably give a fuck about that, so let's get on with business."
Some of the other adults winced at his blatant expletive, but Ono didn't seem to really care.
"So you know about Shadows, I'm told - the unconscious representations of our repressed selves. I was involved in the turnover of the research of the Kirijo Group to the Japanese government over a decade ago. Over the course of that process, I found a piece of information that I've held onto ever since -- and after being briefed by the team here at Chitoku, I have a possible lead for you all."
From his coat pocket, he withdrew a small tablet and stylus, and began to scribble away at the tablet. Moments later, the word written on it began to project on the wall: REFLECTION.
"Among the stuff we found going through our files was something that didn't quite jive: embryo-stage research on the concept of REFLECTION. Unfortunately, I can't identify the researcher who conducted this research, or anything else other than this one doc.There's very little to go on, one document out of millions that my team and I had to analyze. But the basic information we do have fits the bill."
His eyes flitted about the room, taking in the group of youths sitting in front of him. He had only been given basic information, but he recognized most of the faces from the dossiers.
"Reflections, it is theorized, are the embodiment of society's view of what an individual should be. In that sense, they're a sort of...anti-Shadow, I guess you could say. Similar, but very different, and that difference, I think, explains what happened to your teammate."
Ono's shoulders slumped forward. Loss of life involving Shadows wasn't uncommon – but there had been surprisingly few Persona-users KIA over the course of the various campaigns. Her death had hit him, even to hear about it from afar.
"It was discovered over the course of the incident in Yasoinaba that denial of one's Shadow causes it to threaten the host's life, as it is an aspect of the individual. A Reflection, however, is not oneself. It is an image produced by the views and thoughts of others. As such, accepting a Reflection could be seen as a denial of oneself and one's right to exist, abdicating the responsibility of self-determination to society as a whole. In short? It's signing your own death warrant."
As he shook his head, he thought about just how many lives the girl had probably saved. The differences between Shadow and Reflection were subtle – this death had likely prevented the rest of the team, or at least individual members, from going out the same way.
"This would explain why Miyume accepted the entity that confronted her, and yet was found dead anyway. Unfortunately, what I've told you all today is literally all that I have to go on. Yachiyo-san's put in a request to the government to go back through what they have and see if there's anything else, but I'm not optimistic."
He paused a beat, looking around the room from behind his glasses, before straightening himself up and looking at the investigation team.
no subject
Some of the other adults winced at his blatant expletive, but Ono didn't seem to really care.
"So you know about Shadows, I'm told - the unconscious representations of our repressed selves. I was involved in the turnover of the research of the Kirijo Group to the Japanese government over a decade ago. Over the course of that process, I found a piece of information that I've held onto ever since -- and after being briefed by the team here at Chitoku, I have a possible lead for you all."
From his coat pocket, he withdrew a small tablet and stylus, and began to scribble away at the tablet. Moments later, the word written on it began to project on the wall: REFLECTION.
"Among the stuff we found going through our files was something that didn't quite jive: embryo-stage research on the concept of REFLECTION. Unfortunately, I can't identify the researcher who conducted this research, or anything else other than this one doc.There's very little to go on, one document out of millions that my team and I had to analyze. But the basic information we do have fits the bill."
His eyes flitted about the room, taking in the group of youths sitting in front of him. He had only been given basic information, but he recognized most of the faces from the dossiers.
"Reflections, it is theorized, are the embodiment of society's view of what an individual should be. In that sense, they're a sort of...anti-Shadow, I guess you could say. Similar, but very different, and that difference, I think, explains what happened to your teammate."
Ono's shoulders slumped forward. Loss of life involving Shadows wasn't uncommon – but there had been surprisingly few Persona-users KIA over the course of the various campaigns. Her death had hit him, even to hear about it from afar.
"It was discovered over the course of the incident in Yasoinaba that denial of one's Shadow causes it to threaten the host's life, as it is an aspect of the individual. A Reflection, however, is not oneself. It is an image produced by the views and thoughts of others. As such, accepting a Reflection could be seen as a denial of oneself and one's right to exist, abdicating the responsibility of self-determination to society as a whole. In short? It's signing your own death warrant."
As he shook his head, he thought about just how many lives the girl had probably saved. The differences between Shadow and Reflection were subtle – this death had likely prevented the rest of the team, or at least individual members, from going out the same way.
"This would explain why Miyume accepted the entity that confronted her, and yet was found dead anyway. Unfortunately, what I've told you all today is literally all that I have to go on. Yachiyo-san's put in a request to the government to go back through what they have and see if there's anything else, but I'm not optimistic."
He paused a beat, looking around the room from behind his glasses, before straightening himself up and looking at the investigation team.
"Any questions?"