Forty Two Stations of Breath

then... ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Somewhere in Jamrock North, a small wood shed behind Rozenknartz Row, Lieutenant Nick Feuerbach puts his hand to the chest of a small corpse, no larger than a monkey. It's raining outside, light drizzle. There is darkness in the shed. Elsewhere yet, an obese female sits in a wicker chair, her silhouette ball-like against the window. Outside: Grand-Couron. The day is turning dim for Sergeant Mack Torson. Hand extended, he approaches. To make sure she “is dead, more than anything else.” ...and so all across Jamrock, Coal City, G.R.I.H. Forty two deceased persons found today -- forty two Stations of Breath.

A screenshot from Disco Elysium shows two detectives standing in a tiled interior while a dramatic narration panel describes corpses, rain, and forty-two deaths across Jamrock. The absurd punchline turns a grim detective report into the phrase “forty two Stations of Breath,” making it useful as a reaction to exaggerated bleakness, bureaucratic fatalism, or an absurdly depressing situation.

• @eternalclassic / 57112 2024-09-09