Aglaya Lilich

Pathologic 2=

Aglaya Lilich is an Inquisitor sent from the Capital to address the epidemic.

Description
"Aglaya contends with God. Those she touches begin to rebel against the established order of things. At the same time, Aglaya is the voice of the law. She sees the universe as a machine. She maintains that the logic of the universe is above everything—polyhedrons be damned. To her, contending with God, too, is a form of restoring justice and natural law. Those she touches begin to realize that there are limits of what’s possible, and they must be accepted with humility."

- From the game's design documents

Aglaya Lilich is a State Inquisitor and Commissar for Critical Emergencies. As part of the Inquisition it is Aglaya's duty to uphold the law. She believes that miracles do nothing but warp the thin fabric of the vulnerable universe, and she thinks them unnecessary. Her methods are harsh and leave a trail of fear in their wake. To her there is only one true crime: betrayal. She wields absolute power and is not to be disobeyed.

According to Mark Immortell the Inquisitor as just as much of an actor as the Haruspex is.

Background
As a child Aglaya was chosen to become a State Inquisitor due to her intellect and problem solving skills. While training under the Inquisition she learned to read people, and to mould them to fit her needs. The Inquisition calls such methods "crafting people". No laws, nor ethics bind the Inquisitors.

Letter to Nina
"See, I’ve become more careful.

The thing of the last time turned out to be more important than. Don’t frown, I won’t talk much about the bureau, it’s the irony which is fate.

Remember how father wouldn’t look at them at those devilish evenings in the old house? Still not. Dreamers, idealists. Drawing the plans of the new. You, always fascinated with it. Candles in your eyes. An emerging rebellion, you are disgustingly beautiful. Myurkin, Kain, Schelling — all in love with you.

Sister, dear, take note of this.

The Emperor dragged parents into his business. You must admit, the reforms destroyed the family. He is a genius, but it hit us like a ton of bricks. The Emperor is a dreamer, so is father. All of us are. I hate it.

And your damned Kain. I told you, no.

I won’t list names. The Inquisition won’t hold for nothing. Behind every reform is the labor of talented minds. Led by the most August, all of them tried to build a better future, just like your husband.

The Inquisition that you and parents always saw. There’s only so much, you know it. Father knows. The men of power, right?

Don’t get your hopes up. I already know. It doesn’t prove your or Kain right as much as it stresses my age-old questions.

As soon as Alexander died, as you remember. [crossed out] and his comrades let their guard down, then it was over.

[crossed out] places, places of the broadest infested by human villainy, cowardice and greed, they cannot be blamed for the fall. But villainy, cowardice and greed.

The Sheiny-Shilovsky are fighting back, others are giving up. By the way, the Kains are disappearing. Drawing away, as Kain would sing that the scoundrels and cowardly moneybags must be sacrificed, their bones the foundation of a new world. Unexpectedly, I can’t accept. If there’s a sacrifice, then there’s the one who does. The Inquisition is reason. Who will be the ones, the hecatomb, after everything does? Blood, dear sister. The laws of nature and the world.

Every attempt to change nature and the world will be met with opposition, pushing it back to its initial position of homeostasis. A formidable attempt to change the homeostasis is a devastating act of violence against the world.

How do you build a perfect world if it’s inhabited by imperfect people?

The Inquisition doesn’t have an answer for it. All I can is defend the system, keep it together so it won’t fall and bury millions of lives under the rubble. You are talking about constructing the embryos of the new. You should see Ragen. Where’s the new, Altitude?

I hope the current affair won’t lead me to you. The train is reaching the station, time to say goodbye.

Forgive me.

Aglaya "

- Aglaya Lilich's Letter Inq. Addressee #1

Haruspex Route
As part of her duty as a State Inquisitor and Commissar for Critical Emergencies Aglaya Lilich is sent to The Town to deal with the epidemic quickly spiralling out of control - a order she believes was crafted specifically by The Powers That Be to doom her. Upon her arrival the Town she creates a base of operation in the Cathedral. As the Cathedral is said to be the creator of the Town's time in doing so she upsets the fabric of time within the Town, causing it to move faster.

Aglaya quickly establishes order and opens the previously closed Termitary, revealing to the Town the horrors that lay inside. She terrifies the Townspeople, interrogating them and breaking them. Bad Grief in particular finds himself caught under her gaze, broken under the weight of his own sins. As part of her introduction to the Town meets with the doctors of the Town and discusses their plans for dealing with the epidemic. She calls the Haruspex for interrogation to discuss his panacea and remarks upon his strangely free cadence. If the Haruspex did not create the Panacea prior to her arrival she will receive it from Stanislav Rubin.

With some suggestion from the Bachelor Aglaya turns her eye to the Polyhedron. She quickly deducts that it is to blame for the outbreak and makes plans for its destruction. Her theory is only strengthened when the Haruspex tells her of living heart that resides under the Town. Besides the obvious evidence against it's unnatural creation Aglaya also knows of the Polyhedron's value to the Powers That Be and wishes to seek revenge on the people who irreversibly stifled her life by placing her in the Town.

In the final days of the outbreak Aglaya finds herself growing to care about the Haruspex, who she believes is freer than anyone else in the Town. She asks him to flee the Town with her, forgoing her revenge in favour of the possibility of struggling against her fate to preserve her life. She will only attempt to flee if the Haruspex accompanies her and should he agree they will take a train out of the Town on the morning of the final day. However, the pair will be stopped by the Military and Aglaya will be executed. If the Haruspex refuses she will remain in the Town and continue her plan to destroy the Polyhedron. Aglaya will send three couriers to the Town Hall to give the orders for the structure's destruction to Alexander Block. She will also take one copy of the orders to the Town Hall herself.

Regardless of any action taken (or not taken) Aglaya Lilich will always die on Day 11.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See The Inquisitor/Spoken Dialogue

Description
Aglaya Lilich calls herself a servant of the Law and believes the main purpose of her activities is to save the city and preserve the rule of law. According to Aglaya, the presence of miracles in the Town had violated natural law. In her view, creative wonders warp the thin fabric of the universe. The logical conclusion is clear: to save the city it is necessary to demolish the Polyhedron.

Background
Lilich was the student of the famous Inquisitor Herman Orff. In the past, Aglaya, while going by the name Stella Karstlich, met the Bachelor while attending a conference during which he performed an experiment to show off the results of his lab, Thanatica, and reanimated dead tissue.

Nina Kaina is her sister and, consequently, Maria Kaina is her niece. However, according to Victor Kain, the sisters hated each other, and this hatred did not lessen even after Nina's death. He suggests that Aglaya may have come to town for revenge on Nina. While speaking with Aglaya and Maria, it is said that the two are not on good terms and Maria is scared of her.

The Inquisition
In this case, the term has nothing to do with the Church. The Inquisition is a group of unique experts (their number has varied over the years from 19 to 52) sometimes entrusted with special tasks by the Powers That Be.

Inquisitors possess a mysterious ability to solve problems that seem to be completely unsolvable. They combine their unique techniques and broad outlook with the unlimited powers provisionally vested in the inquisitors by the Powers That Be. While completing a task, inquisitors are bound by no law but their own.

Plot
The arrival of Lilich proved to be very unexpected, as initially, everyone assumed that the authorities would send Inquisitor Kroy, Orff or Karminskiy. This is partly due to the fact that the Inquisitors Board had recently sentenced Aglaya Lilich to death.

Victor Kain makes three suggestions why Aglaya was given the mission to save the city: either the rumor about her impending execution was false; she was playing the role of Inquisitor illegally, having usurped her power from another; or the authorities provided her with one last near-impossible chance to rehabilitate herself. The last assumption is confirmed in a conversation with Artemy Burakh by Aglaya herself.

Haruspex Route
((Editors note: It is possible that this section could be moved to general plot above))

Aglaya's mission quickly turns to the destruction of the Polyhedron. If one recalls that the spirit of Scarlet Nina is currently concentrated in the Polyhedron, the brainchild of the Kains, Victor's idea that Aglaya seeks revenge against her sister may not seem so wrong. But there is an additional, more nuanced perspective: that Aglaya knows who the Powers that Be are and leads the fight against them directly—which presents another reason for the demolition of the Polyhedron.

Following the events of the outbreak, Aglaya returns to the Capital. There, she gives her account of the outbreak while under interrogation, likely performed by the Inquisition itself. It is likely that Aglaya is executed after the conclusion of the interrogation.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See The Inquisitor/Spoken Dialogue