Good chapter, as ever. very mysterious gonigs on with this machinery, it's another oddworld mystery story that I'm dying to know the answer to (The other, by Shrink ,hasn't been updated in ages.) Anyway, good stuff. And nice way to reintroduce Virgil. The bit with the paramite and the grenade somehow reminded me of the whale contemplating life in Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Great chapter, keep it up.
And Happy new Year!