Chapter 14-10 Dialogue

Chapter 14-10 Dialogue

A voider once said to me that war is the continuation of policy with other means.

Perhaps from the existence of which they knewtheir world that was and exists in their drifting sanctuaries out in the black, but my experiences have educated me differently.

Death is beneficial here. A catastrophe in the realm of the personal, yet a net positive for the world now.

For all the might our cousins possess, there is a gentleness to them that I envy and despise. The flock is still capable of great atrocity, for all their shepherds of silicon and integers seem reel when gazing upon our world.

Death is policy here. Death is fed by war; by famine; by sacrificial quotas; by industrialized breeding; by the mutilation of reality at the hands of the divine.

Diplomacy, to further the ends of death.

It took shattering the gods to break this yoke on the people, but the scars remain, and even with time, I fear the wounds we suffered are indelible, and will not fade.

I write this now to correct a notion in the minds of everyone.

Voidwatch heralded this new era as one built on humanity, diplomacy, and ethics.

I reject all these notions without any ill will borne against our cousins.

The mistake here was hope.

What won wasnt diplomacy, it was the exploitation of desire and greed, that the fall of the pantheons was not delivered by the rising strength of our virtue, but by the certain suicide that comes with practicing vice.

Greed and envy and hunger and control.

You think it was difficult to convince the pantheons to go to war with each other? That it was some legendary feat of sophistry?

Hardly.

There was always the want. I just gave them a reason.

That is the core of all diplomacy: to offer an end sought, and then lead them on a path to see your own to fruition.

-Jaus Avandaer, On the Godsfall

14-10

Dialogue

As Avo directed his haemokinetic proxy to board the aero, he studied the scene before him from two angles.

The first was where he actually was: in the shadows cast by the Hypertube station below the block itself. Being this far away would spare him any radial effects of a Thoughtwave Detonation, and would only require him to sever the session that tethered him to his proxy to avoid a full nulling.

The second line of sight he possessed was channeled via a dozen Whispers grown from the ghosts rushing through his proxy. Drawing on his newfound willingness to experiment and merge with his templates, he perceived the aerodock from omnidirectional vectors, sweeping his attention across the sealed bulkhead and the aero itself in detail.

The vehicle bore the aesthetic of an ashen wedge with dual engines running above and below its chassis. Benhata remembered the model as part of the Harshlander series. Its speed was of little note, but its energy economy and sheer structural integrity made it the cream of the crop when it came to Stormtree manufacturing.

Such was the claim, after all.

[If it can fly in the Skuldvast, it can fly anywhere,] Benhata chuckled. [No truer words spoken. Seen one get clipped by a linear accelerator, get flung into a building, and then end up flying right back out a couple of seconds later. Scaarthians work hard to make sure their tech doesnt break.]

Avo himself was more personally vested in how much phantasmal interference was flowing around the aero itself. If the side door wasnt wide open, he wouldnt have noticed either of the two accretions. It wasnt quite an Incog, but more a scrambling feature. Something that seemed to spread and direct thoughtstuff into a lingering nimbusa near-opaque veil of privacy in the Nether.

It didnt hide the presence of minds, but it did make it hard to tell how many accretions there actually were.

This was the work of someone who really knew how to sequence.

[Would be very useful to include him in our gestalt.]

[Yes. Might even elevate our capabilities by multitudes. Indications are that we are in the presence of skill.]

Good. Avo liked people with skill. They tasted good.

As his blood-shaped puppet bounced awkwardly up the Harshlanders ramp, he shifted his mind and attuned himself to fit the challenge at hand, shedding his loathing for social interactions for curiosity and charisma drawn from his templates.

Fascinatingly, Abrel and Benhata synchronized quite spectacularly in places. The former was forthright and unshakably dogged in her approach; the latter was introspective but refused to quail under pressure. Combining the two, and bringing some discordant aspects between their personalities using a few hundred sequences from Shadow-3, he found a calm excitement rising inside himself as he seated his proxy down on a seat across from the holocoated figure and the Wight.

He felt like a performer, about to record a vicarity, or a circuit brawler ready to put on a show.

[All the worlds a stage, and all the consangs and half-strands are here to hear our motherfucking words,] Abrel chuckled.

[Pay attention to the scene: the Wight is placed right next to the unknown. Seated. They treated it with care. I think our mystery squire and Necro might have a pretty good working relationship together.]

Already, it was paying dividends not being himself.

Avo wasnt sure how he felt about that.

+Apologies,+ he began. +I wanted to come in person, but I got a little death-shy after you murdered me.+

[Levity injected,] a submind responded. [Not enough humor for a laugh. Will make you more personable though.]

The scene played as estimated. No laughter, but he felt something soften and quiver in both minds spinning before him.

A pulse of thoughtstuff spilled out from the Wight. +Yeah So. Sorry about the killing you thing too. Not sure how we managed that, but its not what I wanted to listen, Im just going to get this out of the way: your mind is on fire. Your ghosts are burning. I can see your modified Specters crackling in the bloodwhat happened to you? Thats thats a Conflagration. I didnt think I saw that right, but its staring me right in the face. How are you not nulled right now?+

Oh, and they know what a Conflagration is too. Another few points to their estimated skill as a Necro. Avo guessed this made them familiar with the Incubi as well. Whispers of warning sounded in the back of his mind as he considered the possibility he might be facing an off-duty Incubus or some other Guilder Necro of considerable merit. The initial wave of paranoia was countered by questions as to why they didnt just call in Guild support to kill or capture him.

+Javvers? Like Vincintine?+ Avo asked.

Reva suddenly went very still. Yeah. That half-strands my uncle. Do you know what happened to him?

Zein. Thats what happened to him. But Zein was also the last thing Avo wanted to invoke. He didnt need to find out if a version of her would appear out of nowhere and behead both his bodies for revealing her presence.

+Some strange miracle. Just blinked out of existence in front of me.+

Her face scrunched together in disappointment. Alright. Shit.

He turned his attention back over the Wight and considered the DeepName again. +White-Rab. I heard of you somewhere. Cant remember the exact details+

A low chuckle came from White-Rab. +You've heard my thoughtcast. I mightve given a few guides on how to survive as a Necro in this here fine city of ours. Maybe youve been in one of my vicarities as well. Silvers got a bounty on my head too. Two billion imps.+

Hes real proud of that one, Reva said, a faint smirk tugging at their lips.

[Huh. Theyre fuckin,] Abrel observed.

+What?+ Avo asked.

[Those two have been rubbing their ghosts all over each other.]

+How do you know?+

[Because she gave him the look you dickless monster. Theyre fucking. Im right. Theyre fucking.]

+Okay. Okay.+ He fought the urge not to growl. At some point, Abrels aggressiveness got to be pretty grating.

+Anyway,+ White-Rab said. +Now all things are still kind of messy, can we talk about the reason why were, uh, face-to-face with each other.+

Fuck both of you, Reva deadpanned.

+You want to speak of Walton?+ Avo asked.



+Walton? Who the hells is Walton?+

+You call him the Strix.+



+... Waltons his real name?+

+No. Its actually Wahakten.+

+Wa-ha Wahaggdan? What kind of name is that?+

+High Nolothic.+



+Whys his name in a redacted language?+



+Because he was a Low Master.+



+...What?+

Reva closed her eyes slowly and took a long drag of air through her nostrils. Raldi. You gave your memories to a fucking Low Master?

+I I didnt know! Are you sure?+



+He was also killed by his other offshoots?+



+His what?+



+Theyre called nodes.+

+Huh?+



+He used to be one person. Then he split himself into four.+



+Aedon Avo, Jaus, whatever you aredo me a favor and explain everything to me from the start. When youre done, I have a memory you might be able to open, and then well find out if this conversation still seems schizophrenic.+

Avo filtered through the potential responses of a dozen minds and let out a sigh. +You will be disappointed.+