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Antjie Coetzee
Born
Date unknown
South Africa
Died
After January 12, 2104[1]
Age unknown
Omega, Atlantic Ocean
Status
Deceased
Nationality
South Africa South African

Actor N/A

Antjie Coetzee was a South Africannote technician who was the Space Gun Operatornote on PATHOS-II, stationed at Tau.

In SOMA, she is only referenced, with her function being unknown. She is the protagonist of How to Climb a Mountain, where it is revealed that she was the technician behind the operation of the Omega Space Gun, with her working at Phi most of the time.

Description

Antjie Coetzee was born in what is today known as South Africa. In her childhood, she used to visit Tafelberg, out of Cape Town, along with her parents.

In her adulthood she eventually got a position on PATHOS-II, working at Tau for years. By her own admission she didn't enjoy the job, however it paid well and the job offered no opportunity for stress. By the time of the Impact Event, she was stationed at Tau to work at the nearby Phi.

Since the Impact Event, Coetzee has given into the idea of dying. She seemed to struggle with the desire to feel one last time as a worthy human being, not something that of an animal.

At PATHOS-II, her work consisted of manually operating the gun, but also involved ballistic calculations, weather status checking and the payload proper accommodation.

Biography

At some point after Tau's failed evacuation, she apparently ran to the observation sub-station near Tau to check on rations, though, as noted by Dr. Johan Ross, it was more likely a failed suicide attempt.

On January 12, 2104 or after,[1] Coetzee decided to climb the Omega Space Gun.

The climbing

Coetzee seemed fascinated with the idea of what it was like to be up there in Omega platform, inspired by its broadcasted video feeds concerning the success of each Omega Space Gun's launch.

This led her to plan the climbing of the Space Gun's barrel to reach Omega, even knowing it was a “one way street”, also stating it would have to be done from the outside, “like climbing a mountain”. She set off with her Haimatsu Power Suit, carrying three extra tanks of oxygen and a technician's tool belt.

During the climbing, she regards it to be easy, but exhausting, long and confusing due to, among other factors, the darkness surrounding her, besides a few meters her floodlight could illuminate, what caused a sensation of “going anywhere."

The arrival at Omega

After about 4 hours of climbing, she reached the surface, finding the sun covered by what looked like smog or smeared clouds high above an atmosphere full of dust and ashes. She proceeded to an observation deck, “It was like a small oil rig, fitted with work rooms, a weather station, a couple of offices and a small habitat with beds and a kitchen.”

Even after she checked her suit’s climate scanner that indicated the air was toxic, Coetzee unlocked her helmet and stepped out of the armored suit. She regards It was too warm, but also felt pleasure in the natural sunlight and the fresh ocean Wind. Searching through the drawers and the wardrobes in the bedrooms, she found oversized male shirts and jeans. The kitchen did have tea and some pasta, rice, and other dried foods, which Coetzee cooked and ate as much as she could stomach. These were enough to make her feel human again. She was incredibly happy.

Coetzee even pulled a chair from the common room out on to the deck, grabbed a pile of books and a bottle of whisky she found in the pantry. Picked up a book of poems by Keats and flipped through it.

Last moments

As time goes on, she begins to show a persistent cough that just got worse, progressing to expelling blood. She was aware of what was happening, but “she wouldn’t let that ruin this moment for her.”

"As the sun set that day over the Omega platform Coetzee was falling asleep for the last time in her life. She could feel it, she knew what was happening, but damn it was worth it.”

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 How to Climb a Mountain
    She had been thinking about it a lot lately. It had been a year since the comet killed the planet, shot down communication between the abyss and the plateau, and activated WAU in the most devastating way possible.

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