“Can’t you just enjoy it for what it is? Why do you have to analyze everything to death?”
“The only question here is how you can claim to appreciate something if you don’t understand it.”
“It’s art. You’re not supposed to understand it. You’re supposed to feel something about it.”
“What feelings could I possibly have when I don’t even know what it is, let alone what it means?”
“If you would just relax for a minute, let your mind drift off, and listen to your heart instead, you’d see the meaning.”
Saren takes the challenge and stares at the contorted sculpture for a good couple of minutes.
“My heart rate hasn’t changed. And I still don’t see the meaning.”
Nihlus rolls his eyes in despair.
Special Tactics and Reconnaissance
Mission Report
REPORTING AGENT: Agent Arterius
MISSION CODENAME: Connoisseur
MISSION SUMMARY: Apprehend Kasumi Goto (species: human; gender: female; age: 20; aliases: Ghost Sister, Hime, V. V. Vixen, Liquid Black, Molly Millions; physical description: unavailable; psychological profile: unavailable; remarks: slippery little thing, can pull hands from cuffs, do not underestimate) dead or alive and retrieve sculpture Without love, life is a clock, ticking (weight: approx. 10 kg; dimensions: approx. 30 cm by 40 cm by 60 cm; material: bronze; description: unavailable; author: anonymous; owner: Councilor Sparatus) undamaged.
MISSION REPORT:
10/05/2179: Mission accepted.
10/09/2179: Target acquired. Course set for Attican Delta.
10/10/2179: Target lost. Agent Kryik joined the mission.
10/11/2179: Target reacquired using Agent Kryik’s connections among art smugglers. Course set for the Skyllian Verge.
10/12/2179: Target apprehended, but no trace of sculpture. Upon insisting by Agent Kryik, target was questioned using “the good cop and the bad cop” method (see: human culture; human methods in criminal investigation). Target revealed location of sculpture after 76.4 minutes of interrogation. Course set for Prenel system.
10/13/2179: Smuggling vessel Middle Finger with crew of 12 (4 humans, 5 batarians, 3 turians) boarded and searched. Sculpture found in undamaged state and confiscated. Upon insisting by Agent Kryik, captured criminals were not executed. Instead, Alliance patrol ship Euler was called to detain captives and haul their vessel.
10/14/2179: Target lost during transfer of captives to Euler. Complete search of all three ships involved in the operation yielded no results. Agent Arterius advised not to pursue by Councilor Sparatus (private communication).
10/15/2179: Sculpture returned. Mission accomplished.