Hermitcraft/Empires SMP/Third Life/Afterlife Randomness

Am I Going Mad?!

TW insanity and also cringe warning

~~~

Zedaph looked up at the Wool Wall.

It truly was one of his greatest creations so far in Season 8, and one of the best automatic wool farms he had ever made. And all the sheep were right on display for him to see. Maybe it wasn't the most efficient thing in the world, but it certainly was wacky, and Zedaph loved wacky things.

His mind drifted down, into the depths of the mountain where he lived. Into the Chamber.

Tango's test had gone well. Zedaph was one step closer to figuring out how a Hermit brain ticked. He had told Tango that he would send the results. That may have been a lie.

A thought tugged at his mind and he frowned. When he had released Tango under an oath not to tell anyone what had happened in the Chamber, he had said something... something that had pulled at a part of Zedaph that had been buried the moment he decided to follow his scientific dreams.

"What happened? WHAT THE HECK WAS THE POINT OF THAT?! Why?"

The reawakened part of Zedaph asked the same question.

And the rest of him answered. Because it was interesting. Hermits really were fascinating people. They took everything as a joke, but that had had a tone of seriousness that had been quite unpredicted. It had gone straight onto Zedaph's notes.

Was he a little bit mad?

Well, considering the fact that he was a true hermit among them, only seeing people when he tested them... maybe.

The question circled back. Am I mad?

Zedaph, annoyed, pushed it away. Of course I'm not mad. I'm fine.

He looked back to the Wool Wall. Sheep weren't as complex as Hermits.

He remembered a time when he has just been curious. Curious to see what he could come up with.

When he realized he was bored of testing redstone, he had moved on to Hermits. And he had no regrets. Right?

They're people, the reawakened part of him protested weakly. They're Hermits. Just like me.

I'm separated from them. They don't care about me. They're off, building their Boatem Holes and Octagons.

I'm not a Hermit.

Am I going mad? the Hermit in him asked again.

NO! the other part screamed.

There was a brief silence as the two conflicting sides came to a stop.

And then the other part, that had surfaced when curiosity turned to obsession, spoke again.

Well, maybe we are.

And with that agreement, Zedaph realized he was mad.

And he didn't mind a bit.

He smiled, a manic, insane smile, the smile of a madman. Soon, he'd bring in another Hermit to test. And this one would go much deeper than the others... this one would actually bring concluding results.

Zedaph fit the stereotype of mad scientist perfectly, actually. The white lab coat with the chemical stains, the messy hair, the clipboard. And of course, the Chamber.

That would soon be inhabited again.

Eventually, he'd figure it out. He'd figure out a pattern, and he'd finally know how a Hermit worked.

Until then...

Let the testing begin.

~~~

This would be cool as a full fanfic tbh