Book 9: Chapter 22: GN

Book 9: Chapter 22: GN

Trigger Warning: See the link here for details.

Geneva Scala dreamed of the past, some days. She knew, then, she was in a memory. They called it lucid dreaming on Earth, and the [Doctor] had, privately, always thought it was a hoax. Despite people claiming to be able to control their dreams, it bordered too much on pseudo-science, and she had the same feeling from it as friends who tried to get her to admit that exotic foreign herbal tinctures and acupuncture were replacements for medicine.

She had always been meaning to look up some studies and see if there were any actual data behind the myth. Perhaps, thenthat was why her subconscious always brought her back to her journey into becoming a medical practitioner.

It was a long, long path. Geneva had entered into med school and actually been getting hands-on at 25. Which was fast; shed managed to gain acceptance in the grueling sea of applications without having to take time off or build up a resume.

A resume, to be accepted into the right school. The costs? Not to be spoken of when you were adding to your student debt. Geneva remembered vaguely resenting a lot of college, which was a four-year pre-med journey normallybefore you actually got into medical school.

Shed done it in three years in a BS/MD program. To get into medical school, you had to be very, very focused on science. But not just thatyou had to prove you were the right candidate. So in a sense, Geneva had been, in college, preparing for a second round of applications and admission tests.

That was a level of academia unknown to most of the world, let alone the one she was now in. Even the Minds had been slightly alarmed by the mental conditioning, as they saw it, that some people went through.

Which was funny for giant amalgamations of Selphids formed into a collective. But as the Second Mind had pointed outhow long was school, even for someone who dropped out at high school? Eight years? College made it twelvesixteen, more depending on if you were in graduate school?

Possibly no other experience would shape you as much, especially in your formative years. Parents might have less of an impact.

It was this memory that stood out to Geneva. Among the many things shed done to apply for med school, shed known that students needed to get patient-contact hours. Experience in varied fields that proved they were more than a bunch of essays.

There were a number of ways to do this. She chose to be a first responder since she had enough experience to be accepted. Well, the requirements werent that high, but she had seen medical emergencies before, and she was confident she wouldnt freeze up.

More strenuous activities like climbing, rafting, or any sport led to someone getting hurt, and shed had to help call in a helicopter for a friend whod taken a group of college students climbing. Their leader had been the one who broke their leg.

Compared to search and rescue, being a first responder had seemed far more fitting to Geneva, who was not fit or confident enough to find someone lost in the wilderness. She had been so focused on the requirements and building up her application for med school shed forgotten what first responders did.

All this to say that Geneva was nineteen years old when she first touched a corpse. Not an animals; shed lost a beloved pet long, long ago, and that had started her on this path, almost by chance.

The gravel driveway was crunching under her shoes as she walked up the slope. Shed volunteered with a bunch of other pre-med students, and by chanceor because they were close by in their dormsshe actually knew the guy who had also shown up.

He was freaking out, though. Already. He must have been here eight minutes before her, but there was no rush. Volunteer first responders were called on to head to accidents, medical emergencies, and more. Sometimes, thoughthey arrived for cases like this, where the victim was already deceased.

Suicide. Geneva hadnt known that was the case when she was called, but the dispatcher had been fairly certain. Her role, and the adrenaline spiking through her body, changed to apprehension. She wasnt needed to save a life, but for something else. That was why her coworker was so upset.

Nor were they even the first to arrive. The coroner was already done. They were being nicer to the first responders. Nicerin that the coroner put the body in a bag for them to carry to the van. First responders werent like EMTs.

It didnt smell as bad as she feared. That was what Geneva remembered, in this dream-memory. She feared a stench so foul she wouldnt forget it or that she was going to panic.

Her classmate wasnt helping. He was panicking about carrying the body. Geneva was afraid of what she might see. But that fear turned out to be groundless.

The coroner had arrived first. Whomever this was was already dead. All Geneva saw was a black tarp and a shape under it. No flies, no

Her partner bent down and almost touched the feet. Then he straightened. She could hear him breathing a mile a minute, and she didnt think that was what he wanted. Not in this room.

In her dream, she remembered that the wallpaper was peeling. Peeling in those rounded strips or torn off. She hadnt ever recalled that when she thought of this day.

That was her gift. An older Geneva now watched the younger one trying to calm down the other studentbut he was already backing away.

And she remembered how the coroners face had looked, a twisting of the lips as he turned to her and realized hed have to help. Then she bent down and felt something too stiff and awkward in her arms and waited for that burst of panic, ready to fight it off and do what shed surely have to do in time.

It never came. She just watched her step as they moved out through the houses corridors, and the idiot who couldnt lift at least held the door open. Then? Then she realized she was touching a dead body, and it was a moment she might not forget. But it hadnt sent her into a spiral or taken her off this path.

In her memory, she wondered, even now. Whose face had been under that sheet of plastic? Sympathy, determination, and that crunch of gravel and straining in her arms.

Then she woke up.

Geneva Scala remembered the dream as she woke up and someone greeted her.

Good morning, Geneva. Have you been sleeping okay?

Idis, the Selphid, was as cheery as ever. Geneva didnt know when she had fallen asleep but she answered slowly.

Ive been having the same dream.

Are you remembering your dreams? I remember all of mine now!

The Selphid was instantly excited, and Geneva nodded stiffly. Her body swung out of bed, and Idis began hurrying it around, putting a pot of tea on the stove in the subterranean quarters they had been assigned in the Gathering Citadel, the home of the Minds.

By now, it was something Geneva was used to. Shed asked Idis to let her feel her body, but it was like riding along, not having to do the, well, the sheer mundanity of some activities like brushing your teeth. Idis did it and still seemed to relish the sensations she and Geneva shared.

Idish.

Geneva muttered as Idis brushed their teeth with the toothbrush shed had made, rather than using the alchemical mouthwashes she didnt quite trust. But that was the problem with a Selphid; sometimes they couldnt quite hear you. So Geneva Scala concentratedand spoke with a second voice.

(Idis. Dont swallow the toothpaste.)

Oops, sorry, Geneva. It tastes so good!

The Selphid stopped, and Geneva felt her body spit. The [Doctor] rinsed her mouth, and then she thought again.

(Were going to be late if we savor breakfast. Lets just eat some cereal and go. The Second Mind is waiting.)

She could sense a tin of cereal grains on the table. Slowly, despite her body washing its face and combing its hair, Geneva Scala reached out, and she, her mind, slowly pressed on the tin. It was different to how hands worked. Foreign. She had to exert pressure here and here, because the damn thing stuckand she kept forgetting she should press from the outside.

It made sense to try to push straight up, from the inside, but that meant projecting her will through the thin metal, and that was ten times harder than

Pop. The little lid opened, and Geneva mentally exhaled as it did. Idis strolled over, humming. Then she recoiled as she saw the open tin.

Did you do that, Geneva? I cant do manipulation yet!

The doctor just murmured her agreement. And the [Telepath]Geneva Scalacarefully watched and hid everything she truly thought and felt deep within her mind, locked away behind her consciousness.

She was learning.

The days after Geneva Scala had gained her new class and resisted the Third Minds attempts to force her to cooperate were better.

Better, for being a hostage of the Minds. Better, because she had gained some autonomy. Her body might need Idis to be moved and she might be prisoner to it, but her mind was free.

And her mind could move mountains. Or at least, pop the lid off a tin.

(Small steps make a thousand miles. A very good saying. Of course, Fraerlings point out that not all steps are the same size. That, too, is wisdom.)

The Second Mind spoke in the same way Geneva did. When she wasnt inside thelandscape of one of the Selphid Minds, she could sense the meaning and words themselves much like hearing them, but without the possibility of being misunderstood.

Only the Second Mind bothered; the other Minds found it infinitely faster and more nuanced for Geneva to enter their gestalt and communicate there. The Second Mind was, of all of them, an ally.

The radical, the free-er thinker; identical to the others. A slowly moving orb of thousands of slowly-writhing Selphids. To others, they appeared to be elastic slugs, these ones dark in color from oxidation by the outside, living, pressed together, and held hovering in the air by pure mental force alone.

The stuff of some peoples nightmares. Yet the Second Mind was a calming presence. It had decorated its floors with bright colors, experimenting with palettes to see how they affected the emotions of people who walked the corridors.

The Second Mind played music and read books. For Geneva, it had put a chair and even pillows, a stuffed animal in one corner. It kept switching out which one was there. A monkey, a crocodile, a rabbit

In that sense, Geneva Scala was still an experiment, someone to learn from. But she appreciated at least the sense that she was more than a resource.

All the Minds did. The Third Mind had been censured, and it had pulled back from its more invasive uses of her own consciousness. Accordingly, she and Idis had begun to be taught by the Minds one of the purposes of this place.

The Minds were leaders of the Selphids. They were super-intelligent, powerful, and had old memories and knowledge to draw on from all the Selphids who made them up. They had capabilities that had allowed Selphids to survive even the wrath of other species, and their one greatest threat was the Wasting.

Well, their existence was a secret only Geneva and few others knew. Their true goalsending the Wasting being one desirewere unknown to the world, as were their true capabilities. But one of the things they gave [Honor Guards] and elite Selphids like Calectus, and now Idis and Geneva, was a class unheard of by most of the world:

[Telepath]. It was the Selphids great weapon, and it was useful in combat, diplomacy, and everywhere else.

It was hardly infallible, though. Most Selphids could not best a [Mage] throwing a [Fireball] at them even with mental abilities. Yet for someone like Geneva, it could be very useful indeed.

Could she see into a patients body? Stop hemorrhaging with more than a Skilllocate a shard of metal hidden away? At the very least, she could now move things with her mind and sense other peoples thoughts.

Her training was with the Second Mind. It often consisted of meditation and learning how to move mentally. For instance, like the tinGenevas mental power was limited by her proximity to an object.

Not by space alone, though. What was interesting was that unlike magic, telepathy didnt scale up in the same way by sheer distance. Rather, it was Genevas understanding of things.

She could not open an object she hadnt seen before. If it had a screw-on lid or a latch, she wouldnt be able to do more than pull weakly on it. If she were handed a ball or a scalpel, she could make it move. But an object she had no idea of, not what it was made of or the entire thing, was far, far harder to manipulate.

(Sense each object completely. Meditation is part of this. [Monks] have learned many lessons we remember. Your dreams you now remember because you are learning to be aware of what your mind is doing. Sometimes, you will be aware it is playing a trick on you. Mental control, even magical, will be far more difficult. But flying may be beyond you without Skills.)

I dont know how Id even begin.

Geneva had a headache just pushing around a soccer ball the Second Mind had placed between them. A child could kick it infinitely harder than the slight pushes she was doing. The Second Mind lifted the ball up and tossed it to one of its [Guardians], who caught it and retreated.

(We are the Minds. Thousands of Selphids wills joined. Ours is not exactly a fair competition.)

How can you fly all the time, though? I know you do have to rest.

Geneva stared at the floating orb, and the Second Mind executed a kind of mental shrug in her head. It looked like a Selphid wearing a Gnolls body shrugging.

(We know ourselves perfectly.Each Selphid that makes me up is a part of me, memory and experience. Each Selphid is lost in me, never to be individual. At least, not without me deliberately separating off those experiences. It is a great sacrifice. Our creation is constantly changing as Selphid bodies die, and in that sense, we are a wasteful being for our species. Yet powerful. Perhaps we have lost our way as a species and considered a Mind the end result, rather than a choice.)

That was why the Minds hated the Second Mind, incidentally. It questioned their very existence. It waswell, dissident thought made manifest.

Six Minds occupied this Gathering Citadel. Of them, Geneva knew they were ranked in terms of importance by number. There was a First Mind, tasked with looking into the Earthers, who led the group. But they voted collectively; the Second Mind was a radical. A free thinker who took in Selphids who had journeyed far from home.

The Third Mind was her true warden. It was the one who tried to stop the Wasting, the death of all Selphids before their time, and in that, Geneva was united with it. But she had opportunities to meet more in the days after her new class.

The Second Minds lessons did more than give Geneva some power even without Idis sharing her body. It earned her the respect of the other Minds, enough to learn their names.

Minds were odd things. They had personality, as Geneva well knew. However, even a broad collective wanted a name. Rather than take one that was made up, though, each Mind was a word.

For instance, this Second Mind was referred to by a word that summarized its purpose or perhaps its vision and how it viewed itself and its role. It was known as Contradiction.

By contrast, then, the Third Mind grudgingly told Geneva it was called Dictum, and she had to admit, it was a fitting name.

She met with Egress five days after gaining her new class.

Egress was grumpy. That was the first thing Geneva noticed. It was like a well-worn track, and it resented doing the same thing, even as it understood the value of not extrapolating. Egress was tired.

Egress was old.

(This Egress is the oldest of six. Once, it led Minds. Now, it serves another point until the very foundation of Egress shifts to a new name and purpose.)

She understood that this Selphid was comprised of so many ancient Selphids that it had grown stuck in its thinking and been given a different task compared to the other Minds. It was, perhaps, less adaptive, and the sad part for Egress was that it knew it. So it had voluntarily shifted its role.

How old does a Selphid grow? What is the average age of Selphids within your body?

Egress was silent a moment, but the room it was in was not. Rather, very sturdy barriers of glass and magic were surrounding this Mind, so it could still see around the roombut the forges where hammers swung and metal cooled did not end.

It was making weapons. Weapons and armor and even items for the Bodies of Fellden and other Selphids. Geneva saw a chestplate of armor that could be adapted to multiple forms shining with some kind of bright magic as Egress enchanted it and manipulated hot steel in the air without needing tools. Only the sheer hammering force required such implements.

It could only forge a fraction of items compared to an army of smiths, but what it did make was of a quality only Fraerlings could exceed, and they were tiny. Still, Geneva understood why Egress disliked the work; it made valuable things to defend its people, but it was boring.

Accordingly, the Sixth Minds touch was weaker than the others, as if the monotony weakened the collective itself.

(The average age of Selphids in Egress not replaced due to Wasting or the needs of continuum is ninety-one years.)

It had taken a few minutes to calculate that. Genevas eyes widened.

How old is the oldest Selphid within you?

(Six hundred and two.)

How is that possible? I thought half-Elves were the only ones who lived nearly that long!

For answer, the Sixth Mind lifted a burning piece of metal into the air and began to shape it as it spoke to her.

(No Selphid bound within a body, alone, has lived past two hundred years in the last two Ages. Selphids are introduced to parasites, disease, pain, and distress. The Minds are controlled environments. Nevertheless, time affects us. Is this information germane to your understanding, Doctor?)

I think it is. But I need to look into your biology.

The Mind dourly agreed, which felt in Genevas mind like a thousand grumpy Lizardfolk nodding.

(Hence Egress. I have nearly completed prototyping. A more fascinating challenge. Egress appreciates the stimulation. Your second request is difficult. Each Mind must tabulate. It is foreign to us. Need yourstatistical analysis truly be done?)

It sounded annoyed, and even Contradiction had hesitated when she asked. But Dictum had insisted, and Geneva nodded.

It is. You called me here for a perspective and understanding unlike

(Yes. The point is already made.)

The annoying thing about Minds was that they never let you finish a metaphor or analogy. They got your point whenever you thought of it.

The ironic thing about the Minds was that when Geneva met them, she had thought she was encountering some kind of biological artificial intelligence. Some grand forceand they were.

But like everything, reality didnt meet expectation. The Minds were collectives, a gestalt of countless lives, not a supercomputer. Thus, as the Second Mind had shown her, their weaknesses were all biological:

They could get trapped in a way of thinking. If they lacked perspective in their constituent parts, the greater whole might still lack it.

Thus, when Geneva Scala had begun her research into the Wasting, she realized that the Third Mind had no spreadsheets, no concrete data it could show her about the Wasting.

It had taken tens of thousands of Selphids who had encountered the Wasting in their personal lives or seen its effects or tried to stop it into its body. But when Geneva asked it the basics, Dictum had floundered.

If this is a plague, can you show me a breakdown of Selphids infected by the Wasting by geography, time, age, and so on?

It had been unable to. Nor had the Mind appreciated Geneva wanting it to copy down all the data it had in quantitative form. Even for the Minds

(It will take cycles upon cycles of thought! The other Gathering Citadels must all be queried and the knowledge cross-referenced. The Third Mind will be at work for a week straight!)

So Dictum had complained, but the other Minds had allowed Genevas request to go through. Mostly because they saw her point.

Scientific analysis was something Humans came up with because they died and they couldnt share their information at the speed of thought. It was a weakness of the Minds, and henceGeneva Scalas value to them.

So Dictum was unhappily now processing data for hundreds, possibly thousands of years of Wasting events from the memories of all the other Minds and trying to pinpoint them across a map and having to write it down.

It meant it had no time to speak with her, and in the meantime, Geneva was free to pursue other avenues to improve this worlds medicinal knowledge and help with the Wasting as a whole.

Hence, Egress.

Geneva Scala was a doctor.

She was also a surgery resident in her third year on Earth. If she went back home, with all her knowledge and experiences, a surgeon might well admit her as a very, very promising doctor whod operated on battlefields and who had an intimate knowledge of the Human body.

Experience like that was invaluable, and Geneva might be the best authority among Earths medical practitioners on adapting medical practices to non-Human bodies.

None of that meant she was near the level of a practicing expert in medical fields. She was also not an anesthesiologist. She was not a biologist. She didnt know (much) about the effects of radiation or how to deal with cancer. Mind you, you had questions on nuclear physics on some exams

But she was aware of her lack of knowledge. So Geneva Scala had decided that all her understanding of the bodies she had worked on, the lives shed saved as The Last Light on the battlefield, were anecdotal.

Did she really understand how Dullahan bodies worked? Did she know, conclusively, how a Centaur was a mix of Human and horse?

No. Were Lizardfolk even lizards or were they mammals in disguise? The microbiology of each species alone was a mystery to her, and Selphids were arguably the biggest mystery of all.

So Geneva had asked for a Mind to help make her something no other person on Baleros had been able to do thus far. Egress slowly shaped metal and glass and magic to exacting perfection.

(Not even a Fraerling could do as well. For they cannot see the final product.Egress understands. Refraction of light. A [Glassblower] once observed the same when working for an [Archmage]. Zelkyr, they called him. He wished glass eyes for his Golems but gave up.)

Slowly, it placed a gleaming lens of glass in a large contraption of metal still gleaming blue from forging. It adjusted, grumbled, and cast a spell to enhance the image again.

The resultant object was nowhere near as precise as what Geneva knew from home. Yet it was still a microscope. It had to be far larger because even Egress could not adjust the minute parts perfectly, but with magic, it could magnify beyond belief.

Even sogetting down to the cellular level was tough, and Egress soon realized that the slightest imperfections or misadjustments meant Geneva missed what she was trying to focus on by miles. Metaphorically speaking.

(Can this not work?)

It grumpily cast [Eagles Eye] on a circle of wood for her, and Geneva could see the very pores on her skin. She looked up as it tried to adjust the lenses it needed to have perfectly aligned and tried to figure out a system so it could be manually adjusted. It had no eyes, so it needed a volunteer to help it.

Unfortunately, this is far, far below what I need to see.

(Then Egress shall ponder. Go, go, go. You shall be summoned when Egress is finished.)

It shooed her out, but it seemed rather pleased by the difficulty. As for Genevashe walked off and spent the rest of her time in lessons with the Second Mind and then investigating bodies of dead people that the Selphids were only too happy to show herso long as she sewed them back up afterwards.

She needed to learn.

Those were the days before Fetohep of Khelt called an alarm across the world. When the Minds feared an advent of Seamwalkers, they dropped everything they were doing and spent every moment obsessively combing Baleros for the threat or monitoring the battles elsewhere.

Geneva Scala did not see The Dyed Lands changing, but she felt the Minds desperately assessing the damage and trying to evacuate their people from the first waves of monsters.

She worked and dreamed and made a few discoveries.

In her dream, she remembered something. The dead body in the body bag. The smell wasnt bad.

Even sothat idiot threw up.So she had to walk through a mess, and there she was as the coroner and she carried the body out to the van. And he said, as they were maneuvering the body into the back

That one wont last long.

She agreed.

Memory was a strange thing. Geneva knew that memory cells actually changed in your mind; they were rewritten, and so your memories changed too. Perhaps her class was uncovering the truth, or at least, putting some memories into clarity.

The Third Mind was grumpy when it finished its work. Dictum presented her with a chart highlighting the Selphid Wasting occurrences by region on a map of Baleros and the world, and she looked at it blankly.

This is just population data? I can see Wasting occurs where there are more Selphids.

(So?)

Geneva bit her lip. This would have been so much easier with a computer instead of the papers that the Third Mind had laboriously copied down the data onto. It had had to teach itself statistical analysis from her memories, and it seemed really fed up. She still caught a current offear from the ripples after Fetoheps warning and the battle at the Meeting of Tribes.

Can you perform another comparison? I need you to show me the number of Wasting occurrences by density of population.

(How wouldaggravating, aggravating.)

The Third Mind actually sank in the air as it realized what Geneva wanted it to do. Rather to her amusement she realizedit wasnt made up of a lot of Selphids who liked numbers.

Another flaw of the Minds was that while they had [Guardians] and helpers, they were individualistic. The Second Mind had the most capable staff; the Third Mind had been so used to being superior that it had no one to delegate this work to. It was the only person who could do the job. Glumly, it told her to come back later.

Meanwhile, Geneva Scala was working on an actual discovery courtesy of the First Mind.

Continuum.

Of all the Minds, the First Mind was the one who got to worry about Earth. And unlike anyone else, the First Mind could look into Genevas head and see an image of a nuclear weapon falling. It could understand a billionand it worried.

But it said little of this to her. Continuum knew how the world workedand it tried to see how the world could change.

So the First Mind had given orders, and the unhappy Bodies of Fellden, the Selphids who fought and executed the Minds wills, had given Geneva Scala some of their most precious resources.

(The Bodies of Fellden are a vast group. A name for all Selphids acting as the Minds will. Each Gathering Citadel may employ them under this title. Some have more combat capability than others. Calectus is among the best of our number.)

It shunted the information to Geneva as she worked on a table in front of it. She was concentrating hard, but the First Mind was listening to her background thoughts.

(This body in front of you may cost hundreds of gold pieces, or less if the owners are unaware of its worth. Many times, a Selphid may pay tens of thousands of gold coins, even for a body that may soon be useless. This is untoartifacts as most non-Selphids understand it.)

It gestured down at the dead Gorgon, and Geneva glanced up and nodded.

Especially if they have loved ones.

(A regrettable difference between species. What do you observe?)

Slowly, Geneva Scala lifted something out of the body, and one of the [Guardians] sighed.

Im afraid I need to investigate this. Which means you may need to cede the body to me.

(Acceptable. Can Egress manufacture a microscope to your expectations?)

Not as precise as I want, butthis is invaluable.

Geneva Scala was holding something shed removed from the body. She felt like she was performing actual mad science, because this was dead tissue. Not a transplant. And yetshe looked down at the strangest thing.

She thought it waswell, she had a thin strand of muscle fiber and what might be a tendon. Geneva knew all about connecting tendons and the many, many complications from tearing or snapping one completely.

It was a difficult process with a lot of rehabilitation, and she had never done anything like having to reconnect themeven repairing the War Walkers body, Bastiom, had been more about pouring healing potion into the right spots and connecting whatever she saw.

This thoughGeneva Scala had never, ever run into something in a body her scalpel couldnt cut through. But shed had to actually yank the entire tendon out of the body as well as the individual strands of muscle.

They even looked subtly different as they curled up, and Geneva was carrying them over to the next version of the microscope as she spoke.

Because she had a feeling she was about to see Galas-muscle up close.

In a sense, it was well that Egress couldnt yet manufacture a microscope that took her down to the maximum level of Earths microscopes. It was getting closeshe was down to views of muscle fiber.

That had to be200x magnification? She had to guess. And she wondered if it was even possible to get to the molecular level with the Minds help. Thisthis was already revolutionary for this world, but only Geneva could understand what it meant. She focused, twisting a knob that the Sixth Mind had labored on for ages. And what she saw made her blink.

She wished she had access to a medical database. Even Wikipedia would mean she wasnt reliant on memory! But the First Mind was able to help her cycle back through memory to the point where she could actually pull pages of textbooks into the mental landscape of the First Mind.

Geneva did so now, jotting notes down as a horde of Selphids, all wearing lab coats, followed her about. As if she were a professor in a laboratory teaching a bunch of students about dissection.

Geneva pointed up to a blown-up image taken from her eyes as she adjusted the microscope with her physical body.

This is what Im seeing right now. Galas-muscle. Im almost sure thats what it is, and hereis an image of regular muscle from memory.

A bunch of pink strands with odd striationslittle linesappeared. It looked just like long branches of pink with black dots. The black dots flanked the muscle fiber most of the time, and they lookedsome of the Selphids frowned.

What is that?

The black dots? Nuclei. A kind ofwell, I suppose youd call them the center of a cell. The databases with all the information a cell needs to multiply. The instructions for doing so.

These are in muscles? They look uncanny. Like parasites.

One of the Selphids looked disturbed, but the rest were nodding. Their eyes were swinging from the image Geneva had seen back home to the galas-muscle. Because there were differences.

For one thing? Geneva Scalas own eyes hurt a bit as she tried to count how many striations were in the galas-muscle compared to the regular muscle.

A factor of two-to-one? Three? The galas-muscle obviously wasnt pink in her microscope; you often got dyed samples for better clarity, and lighting mattered. But it was morevibrant.

Vibrant, in a way she wondered if it would show up on a camera. It had a subtle iridescence to it. And she thought that change in color might be a sign of magic.

Well, the other big clue was this: each nucleus in the galas-muscle looked slightly larger, and they had a different color to them. Pale grey or silver, and Geneva Scala wondered what the hell was going on at a cellular level.

The Galas-muscle is tougher. Stronger. Even in bodies where rot has set in, galas-muscle does not degrade. A rotting corpse of a Level 30 [Warrior] can be stronger than a fresh one without such muscle.

One of the Selphids observed knowingly, and Geneva caught the image of two Selphids swinging an axe. One could swing it and push their body so hard they tore muscle and crashed it into a tree; the other swung, and the entire tree shook and began to tilt and fall over.

Theres something changed on a cellular level about galas-muscle. You said it develops as a result of high-level classes?

All the Selphids nodded.

Not quickly, though. If a [Warrior] dies at Level 34 having [Greater Strength], they might not have any. But if a Level 22 [Veteran Lineholder] dies after decades of fightingthey may have some.

Geneva Scala stared at the two images and frowned.

In that case, it seems clear to me that Skills arent biological. Theyre intangiblethis is a change due towhat, levels? Your class? Magic? I wonder. Hold on, Im going to check something.

She went back to the Gorgon and extracted more samples from what she could identify as non-galas-muscle. Yet when she put it under the microscope, the Selphids began murmuring.

The nuclei.

It took Geneva a dozen samples, but she found in the muscle along the Gorgons abdomen, arms, and tailwhere muscle would be very important rather than, say, non-vital areas for a warriora telltale sign.

Some of the nuclei had changed color. Geneva Scala saw the faint tinge of magic, and she began working on a theory.

This must be galas-muscle in development. I could be wrong, but a fundamental shift is occurring in the Gorgon. Im alsoconfused.

This entire time, she had been inhaling the smell of a dead body, and the Selphids were good at keeping rot and other signs of decomposition from corpses, but the Gorgon was an old body from the mercenary company.

Cut open, it was smelly, to be blunt, and some of the muscles had begun to, uh, liquefy. The stench was increasing to the point where a preservation spell had to be cast so this long dissection wouldnt result in worse rot.

However, the galas-muscle was not rotting at the speed of the rest of the body. Indeed, Geneva Scala could barely cut it; it was closer to steel wire than muscle!

Even diamond-edge scalpels might have trouble. Imagine performing surgery on someone lined with this stuff.

She shook her head. One of the Selphid [Mercenaries] nodded.

Even Selphids have to learn how to move past Galas-muscle; its too tough to shift. If the damn stuff snaps, we cant easily reconnect it.

Genevas head snapped up.

You can reconnect tendons and ligaments? Muscle fiber?

Of course.

The Selphids looked amused, and one actually tried to show her what the Selphid meant.

She was a writhingher body was myriad, and she had no eyes. She felt contained. She was squeezing part of herself through a

Stop!

Geneva threw her mental shields up and pushed the sensation of being a Selphid out of her head. She nearly vomited, and the First Mind instantly censured itself.

(Your perspectiveis not that of a Selphid. Apologies.)

It tried to show Geneva instead as she collected herself. She had the vaguest sense of a Selphid slowly secreting something over a bit of torn muscle and manually closing it together. In fact, they could do it with bones too.

It is tiring. But that is why bodies do not rot with us. We can alsoput elements of ourselves into a body to stop it from rotting.

They could slow decomposition. They were living, biological factories that could consciously produceGenevas mind spun.

What? Platelets? Fibrin? Any medical company in the world would sacrifice everything on an altar to get one Selphid for them to learn their means of production. Imagine being an athlete and being able to manually knit together a torn ACL!

The First Mind was growing excited as Geneva began thinking in a dozen different ways. One of the Selphids in its mental image tapped Geneva on the shoulder.

Medical practices, yes. Getting a Selphid to secrete a vial of the substances you requiredone. We require a living subject. You will not injure yourself; perhaps a squirrel? What are you thinking about, ethics?

Ew. That sounds like a lot of work. A vial?

Idis complained, but the other Selphids were shushing her. Yet the First Minds inquiry was focused on something else Geneva had thought about.

What do you mean, transplant?

Geneva Scala focused, and a few thoughts flew together. Well, surely it made sense. She looked down at the galas-muscle in front of her.

It was curled up, and even Selphids probably had a lack of knowledge or inclination to try this. Yet the First Mind was thinking of [Saw Doctors], [Necromancers of Flesh], and there was a precedent.

Such images made Geneva feel vaguely queasyand that was madness. Sawing off an arm and putting it on someone else?

She wouldnt think of that. Not yet. Certainly not with someone living. But what ifall in the context of dead bodies, right?

Dead bodies didnt have rejection issues. Dead bodies, that a Selphid could use, werent repairable by healing potions. But if a Selphid could conduct spot-repairs, even if it was tiring for them to do so and impractical

What if you harvested galas-muscle from bodies well past usability? Arm muscle here, leg muscle thereit would be madness to try to copy them over, and what kind of surgeon on Earth would try?

But if a Selphid could join tendon to bonecould you replace an entire bodys muscle with galas-muscle? Or at least, the part the Selphids cared about?

It was insanity. It was something no decent medical student should think about. Butthe First Mind was already asking how many bodies they had, especially ones that had no further use. Just an arm? What about an arm?

Geneva Scalas fingers twitched, and she hesitated. Galas-muscle was used for combat, for war. She kept hearing a name in her mind, the apocryphal tale.

Slowly, she saw more bodies being walked over to her, and she stared down at the cords of flesh in front of her. And she wondered if she could walk if you could heal a spine, or give someone who was paralyzed a new lease on life.

[Surgeon Level 36!]

[Skill Advanced Organ Transplant obtained!]

Yet all Geneva Scala heard as Calectus flexed the arm of a Lizardman and the First Mind began alerting the other minds in excited telepathy was a voice. It said one word to her.

Frankenstein. Frankenstein

Geneva Scalas learning from the Minds was a long process, in secret, in their most hidden abode. So hidden that most of the world didnt even know the Minds and Gathering Citadels existed.

Even knowing about the Minds could get you in trouble. Knowing where they were? Wellthe Minds could pluck that information out of your head. They suffered few enemies.

So no wonder no one had found her. Even if they knew the Bodies of Fellden had taken her, every Gathering Citadel was home to the Bodies of Fellden. So chasing rumors of that company would lead you across Baleros to no end.

Plus, who had the resources to go up against Minds? Resources, inclination, and most importantly, knowledge of why The Last Light was more than just valuable, but essential?

Well, Niers Astoragon, weeks before Erin Solstice played her famous chess tournament, was on the job. Jungle Tails was retreating, and after making sure the biggest fires were out, he had a walk through Elvallian.

Through the Fraerways, obviously. Although they were crowded of late! There were actual Fraerlings walking about, investigating his citadel, and Niers couldnt believe his eyes.

Thereforeshe looked and saw. And what she first saw was a breakdown by date and location and yes, relative population of every Selphid that had ever fallen victim to the Wasting.

What was the Wasting? It was, quite simply, disintegration by parts. A kind of full-body death where a Selphid slowly lost parts of itself until it expired. Bits fell away, as if a Selphid were rotting to death like the corpses they inhabited.

And that was a terrible death, because unlike other species, Selphids were a mutable organism. If they lost part of themselves, any part, they did not necessarily die, but they lost memories and bits of their selves. This Wasting was a death of their very identities, and it was as close to Alzheimers as anything Geneva had encountered.

A bunch of notesher mental notesfluttered up and pinned themselves to the hot, humid air where Geneva was hovering. Firstly, the Wasting was not transmissible as far as she understood it. The Minds and other Selphids behaved as if it were, but even when a Selphid had been sharing a body with another Selphid, it hadnt necessarily spread.

It normally affected older Selphids, too. However, some Selphids had gone into centuries without being affected, and others were struck down decades in. No known cure. No known vector. Some Skillsespecially high-level Selphidscould hold it off or even regenerate and grow faster than it killed them.

For a time. But even Named-ranks fell to it, slowly. It was a plague of the Selphidsbut here was the thing. That was a misnomer because it was not something another species had done to Selphids.

At least, as far as the Minds could tell. In its efforts to erase this phenomenon, the Third Mind and many other Selphids had investigated whether this was some kind of retribution for the old Selphid empire or a way to keep them weak.

That wasnt even paranoia; the Gnolls stolen magical potential proved that it was definitely a concern. However, the Minds were fairly convinced that this was not created. They were very, very good at finding out things, and they had investigated the matter.

(Thoroughly.)

Geneva Scala twisted as the Fourth Mind emphasized that. She did notlike how it thought that. But she let it go. What species wouldnt look into its own demise? It was too long ago for her to do anything about it. An entire species was in jeopardy, so she lent what insights she could to the data so painstakingly acquired.

The map of Baleros was the most accurate sample of data as other continents had very, very few Selphids by comparison. Even so

Can I get the other continents displayed? For contrast? Even if the data is suspect, Id like to see it.

Again, the continents appeared, and Geneva slowly toggled through her mental and the pictorial depictions of the data. If she turned on the sheer numbers of Selphids who fell to wasting

Baleros turned red below her, a spreading stain of crimson and black the more Selphids who fell to the Wasting. As she had observedthe map highlighted population centers. Even more crucially, it was doubly confusing because the population centers moved and changed over the years, so the Fourth Mind showed her how each decade, different cities and provinces had more Wasting occurrences.

The data is skewed.

A Selphid Garuda observed, flying next to Geneva. The [Doctor] nodded and concentrated.

Now, lets see the distribution based on Wasting events to Selphid population density. Ah.

Instantly, the map changed. It was a complex equation, trying to balance out this part. Not because you took the number of Selphids affected by wasting and divided by the population. Morebecause doing that was so difficult without formal censuses.

A Selphid who developed the Wasting might not know about it for a while, and might travel somewhere else to seek a cure or live out their remaining years. They might not tell anyoneso the Third Mind had had to check, double-check, and rely only on hard data.

Even so, Geneva instantly saw something odd. But she swooped from continent to continent to make sure she was right.

What she saw was, firstly, no real data or evidence of most parts of Izril, Terandria, Chandrar, and places like Drath and the House of Minos having any change in Selphid Wasting. The numbers were too inconclusive, and Selphids had developed the disease wherever they went on these continents.

Too many mobile Selphids. Those who do develop the Wasting in cities follow the exact same path in Baleros.

Geneva swooped down, and the world dissolved, and she landed in

Pallass? Geneva stared around the City of Inventions and saw a bunch of elevators in construction. Drakes, working to and fro, a master-smith, a Drake, calling out orders to a bunch of working Drakes and Gnolls.

This was Pallass as one of the Selphids in the Fourth Mind had once seen it. The Fourth Mind overlaid this with scrying orb images of modern Pallass. But the smell, the feel of being there came from Selphids who had walked the City of Inventions before joining the Fourth Mind.

Up, Geneva shot, feeling like this was something she could do all day, touring countless memories of the world. She wanted to see it all.

(Duty calls.)

The Fourth Mind whispered, and Geneva wished it was not right. She looked about.

I have theorized that corpsesthe consumption or inhabiting dead bodies is a vector for this disease. But the Third Mind told me the Wasting occurred even during the Selphid Empire.

(Yes.)

Inconclusive, then. Dietif no continents have a difference in Wasting that we can immediately see, maybe diet isnt a factor. Back to Baleros.

The world spun, and Geneva began inspecting the map again. What had the Third Mind seen that was so interesting? She frowned at the relatively even blotching of Wasting. It was indeedfairly uniform when you accounted for population.

Exceptshe eyed the map and had an idea.

Can youoverlay the population graph again? No, wait. Just take the numbers of Selphids by area. Then show me this map.

The Fourth Mind had to take a few moments to do this. When it figured out how to display the data, it began highlighting what Geneva wanted.

In shortit showed her the places where Selphids werebut where they didnt suffer from the Wasting. Thenthe Fourth Mind began to buzz with excitement, and Geneva Scala exhaled.

Weve found a clue.

She didnt know what the clue was, but the Fourth Mind broadcast a triumphant note that made every Selphid, from Idis in Genevas body to the other Minds, look up and laugh and smile. Statistical analysis won, andno wonder the Minds couldnt see it!

Few Selphids would come to them from these spots. There were a few around the world that might be just statistical anomalies because only a few Selphids had ever lived there, like Khelt or another paradise. But if you wanted proven populations of Selphids in a region and almost no Wasting events?

There were exactly two spots in the entire world with sufficient data to create anomalous zones. And guess which ones they were?

This cannot be a coincidence. Now, of all times? Rhir. Rhir and The Dyed Lands.

Calectus, the [Honor Guard] of Selphids, was present with a number of high-level [Guardians]. The Third Mind had convened them to speak about what Geneva had found.

(The data is beyond refuting.)

Is itcould it just be that Selphids have perished there too quickly for the Wasting to take them, Third Mind?

One of the [Psychic Guardians], Ressk, didnt quite understand the significance of the data. It was Geneva who replied.

No, this is about Wasting events, Guardian Ressk. We did not look at the number of deaths, but the number of Selphids who developed the Wasting in these areas. I am sure many Selphids did perish in these areas.

Both are Death Zones.

Idis muttered out of the corner of Genevas mouth. She fell silent as the older Selphids glared at her. Not Geneva.

(That is a fallacy in thought. Now the data is presented, it is clear. Rhir has developed only six cases of the Wasting since its resettlement six thousand years ago.)

One every thousand years? AndGeneva Scala pointed down at the map the Third Mind had worked up.

Thats one oddity. The second is this. Look at the relative number of Wasting events around the Dyed Lands. They decrease the closer you get to the origin point. Its less concrete than Rhir

In that more Wastings occurred, but the number faded out the closer you got to the Dyed Lands. Almost as if something there was stopping the Wastings.

By now, every single Selphid was getting excited. Even if they didnt follow the data analysis, they understood what that meant.

Thensomething in these locations is protecting Selphids.

Or theres another factor. Either way, I need to know what it is.

You cannot tell based on somesimilarity between plants? Animals? Magic?

Now they were reaching. Geneva Scala shook her head. If this were Earth and she had an unlimited budget and resources, shed instantly call for a full analysis of both areas. Soil, climate, local fauna, magical spectrographs, everything.

Failing that? The Third Mind was deliberating with the other Minds.

(An expedition must be mounted to The Dyed Lands. This comes at the worst time. But the Minds must investigate this place.)

Not Rhir?

Geneva only knew about the hell of continents by reputation, but the Third Mind was adamant.

(It is further. And the Blighted Kingdom isinquisitive. Demons aside. The Dyed Lands are far easier to secure.)

Every new monster is pouring out of there.

(Then Selphids shall join the taming of The Dyed Lands. Geneva Scala, you have done well. Very, very well. A tangible hint emerges. Continue your work. This is proofproof you will help us find the cure in this generation.)

The Third Mind was beyond ebullient. Geneva feared it was making too many promises, but she had to admit, this seemed like a tangible lead. She was only too familiar how hints or evidence didnt provide a cure, though. If this were analogous to cancershe couldnt help.

Then again, she had never heard of cancer or any disease just disappearing in a geographic location. Diet, lifestyle, exposure to harmful chemicals informed rates of cancerbut this was something else.

She decided there was still more she didnt know. Genevas investigations had to continue, and she was growing excited, not least because she was learning more and more. She had agreed to try and transplant more galas-muscle into a single body with her new Skill. The Second Mind was teaching her more mental tricks.

After this day, the Third Mind was so pleased, it offered her a reward only a Mind could give: anything.

In your daydreams, have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly into a cloud? A boy or girl imagining being a superhero?

Such dreams had to be pleasant. Telling your boss exactly what you wanted. Winning an argument. Eating a favorite meal again, or reliving triumph, correcting a failure.

Howeverthe mind was a weak thing, and imagination only colored these ideas faintly. In the heart of a MindGeneva Scala put on a red cape. She pointed a fist upand flew.

The world disappeared below her, and she felt gravity beginning to drag on her, but fall away. It was terrifying, exhilarating, and real. She felt the cape flapping behind her, and when she stopped, hovering in the air, she could look down and see her home, her apartment window below.

Someone was staring up at her. Pointing. Geneva looked around and saw someone poking their head out a window back on Earth. As she hovered there, she could see a helicopter taking off on a skyscraper, hear shouting

That was when this false reality grew too real. She concentrated, and the world blurred away.

This is my reward?

Geneva Scala was unsteady, but the Third Mind reassured her. A Selphid walked out of white space and smiled.

Anything you wish to envision can be done.

Geneva Scala looked around. Anything?

The Minds truly were like a thought experiment. A thousand things flickered before her, and she imagined what someone might do if they could experience anything. The knowledge that she was within a Mind stopped her from going on.

Geneva Scala reached outand held a coffee cup. A latte. She took a sip and then drank a mouthful down, and it was so real she dropped it and almost backed away.

I am within a Mind.

I am Geneva Scala.

She centered herself, as the Second Mind had taught her, and the sense of boundless power and the fraying of reality stopped. The Third Mind seemed displeased.

The Second Mind teaches you too much. What is the harm in indulging thought?

Thought leads to action.

Philosophy. Enjoy yourself, if only memory. This is a gift.

So, Geneva Scala looked around and then decided to revisit a memory. She stood on a beach, with Luan, Ken, and the Earthers, and dabbled her toes in the water. But this time, instead of sitting there with Aiko, she asked if she could try canoeing and walked off into the water. For a little while

She imagined she was free.

Niers Astoragon never received a reply from the Minds regarding his offer about Geneva Scala, from Ollosq or via any other means.

He had not expected any. The offer-threat had multiple purposes. Yes, it tipped his hand, but it escalated timetables on the other side. Which wasnt necessarily good for Geneva if the Minds were hostile to her survival, but he had to hope they were not.

He suspected they wanted her for the same reasons he did, and the Wasting disease for Selphids? Well, he had motive. He knew it had to be Minds, and so Niers just needed to know where they were. The reason hed said this all publicly was simply because he wanted this to be above-board.

Jumping a bunch of Minds was already risky without this looking like an attack on their species. If the other Minds disavowed whichever group this was, Niers had a better chance of not causing a diplomatic incident.

At the very least, he could claim hed warned them.

Not that Niers wanted this to come to bloodit was just a distinct possibility. And yes, the Minds might think they were undiscoverable in their Gathering Citadels, but Niers had found one group before. Mind you, they had nearly killed him when he popped in, but it had been a valuable lesson.

Minds were still capable of being idiots. If anything, they were highly intelligent idiots sometimes, and unless one was geared to strategic thinking, Niers knew he could locate them. In fact

He had Erin Solstice to thank, and she had asked him to find Geneva Scala herself.

It all went back to the day when she had come back from vacation. Niers had begun laying plans before that, but Erin had provided the perfect catalyst. When shed challenged him, on television, to a match, Niers had refused.

It hurt him, physically, to step away from the board, but he knew shed smoke him, and if he wanted to beat her, he had to see how good shed be. Watching her thrash poor Pisces with a dozen top-level Skills was something he was going to put on repeat.

Save the recording. But get me Eirnos. Now. I want Foliana and Uminas reports and every single [Diviner] weve got. But get me Eirnos.

When the Titan spoke like that, he got what he wanted. Iuncuta Eirnos was not pleased to be summoned, but she found him watching the scrying orb of Erin Solstice playing.

A bit tall for you, isnt she?

The Fraerling quipped, but Niers barely reacted to her jab. He was checking an hourglass.

I need to participate in the chess games. And probably broadcast my live reaction. I take it youre watching the news?

Your mysterious chess partner? Were on campaign, Titan.

Eirnos snapped back, but even she had to admit that she was watching the news. They were all stationed in one of Niers forward bases, pushing towards the Dyed Lands. It wasnt some campground affair of tentstheyd set up magical buildings and mobile fortificationsone of his Chess Towers was providing a level of defensive fortifications few groups could match on the march.

The Titan barely looked up.

And Im on two. Three, counting Jungle Tails, Iuncuta. I told you that I wanted your peoples help? Well, Im going to convince you to call every Farspeaker and [Mage] under your authority to help me out.

Iuncuta Eirnos laughed in his face. She leaned against her spear.

If this is to get more angles of your Human interest or win a chess game for a level

She stopped as Niers glanced up at her. The Fraerlings exchanged a look, and Eirnos smile flicked out.

Youd better have a damn good reason. The Fraerlings do not go to war against the Tallfolk without a damn good one.

Im looking for The Last Light, a Human [Doctor]. This is the moment. I need you to hack into Wistrams scrying spell and find her.

Eirnos blinked her good eye. She understood what he meant at once.

Everyone who was magically gifted or paranoid knew about the scrying spells being reversible. Wistrams scrying orbs could be used to create a bunch of informative camerasand Wistram itself was not so advanced that another party couldnt break into their spell.

Especially Fraerlings. However, Archmage Eldavin had solidified the spells intricacies so it would be tougher. Not impossible. Even if you couldnt break into Wistrams network, you could essentially pinpoint whoever was using a [Scrying] spell and linking into a network and backtrace it to their device.

Thats an invasion of privacy above your authority, Titan. If were found outI know about that [Doctor]. Some kind of famous healer, eh? The answer is still n

The Minds have her. And unless I miss my guess, theyre close to violating the Minacien Wall.

Niers was very gratified to see Eirnos go perfectly still. Her good eye flickered, and her fingers slowly tightened over the butt of her spear.

How certain is that claim?

Certain enough that when we find Geneva Scalayou can interview her and find out why the Minds would be so fascinated with her. If you dont think I had reason to fear this, Ill stand trial with every Fraerling settlement and conclave of Minds you want.

Niers Astoragon knew that claiming someone was violating the Minacien Wall could make you an enemy of every Selphidand it was not a claim you threw around lightly. But he just bet the Minds were at the very least reading Geneva Scalas thoughts.

That alone gave Eirnos pause. Foliana wheeled herself into the war room.

Is this about your girlfriend?

For once, Niers didnt rise to the bait. He turned as one of his aides hurried in.

Cameral, the Dullahan, looked terrified, but he was doing well as Niers assistant. He had a sheaf of papers, and he put them down as the Titan looked at Eirnos. She spoke.

What do you want, Titan? What are my [Seers] after?

Niers pulled up a piece of paper and showed it to her. It wasa sketch. A sketch of a partly-rotted face and a Selphid within a corpse. It had a name, and he had nearly three dozen of them.

Courtesy of Umina, Marian, and Cameral.

In Talenqual, the Bodies of Fellden were working with the United Nations company, a group of Humans, and the Last Light before they carried her off. I had my students use a memory spell and yanked an illustration of all of them. They may have rotted a bit over the months, but I need you to find every scrying spell in this area.

He had a compass, and he circled a vast region around Talenqual; everywhere he thought the Bodies of Fellden could march in a months time.

Thats fucking huge.

Eirnos grunted. Niers shrugged.

Find one of the faces here.

If theyre in a Gathering Citadel, theres no way youll find them. The Minds ward everything.

Folianas head snapped up, and she gave Niers an uncharacteristically serious stare. Cameral looked blankly at the Titan, and Niers gestured for him to remain silent. Cameral was going to learn one of the secrets of Baleros today. He had an eye on Erin Solstice announcing her challenge to the world as he replied.

I know that. But the Bodies of Fellden are their mercenary group. Not their protectors. In short

In short, they might not all be in the Gathering Citadel. Eirnos blinked as she got it.

Everyone needed time off. Gathering Citadels were underground, boring damn places. The odds that the Bodies of Fellden were working somewhere else were high, or at least, on vacation.

During a huge event like thisthe odds of one of them watching a scrying orb were through the roof. Niers just had to find them.

Here are their names. Try scrying them first. I know our Fraerlings can break through or bypass low-grade anti-scrying spells. Find them, Eirnos. All I need is where they are.

But that doesnt find you a Gathering Citadel. This time, the Iuncuta didnt say that. She was thinking. She nodded, slowly, and turned on her heel.

How long is this chess tournament supposed to last?

Niers glanced at Erin Solstice. He shrugged.

Youve got an hour or more. I think shes going to beat me, but Ill throw every game if I have to. Find them.

It turned out the rush was unnecessary. By the time Niers watched Calidus Reinhart beat Erin Solsticepurely due to his luck and her exhaustion, he might addEirnos was waiting.

She handed him a map with a circled group of dots. All of them in the same city.

Did you throw all eight games?

Dont talk to me. She wasted Fraerlings as well as everyone else. So this is where they are?

Niers glanced at the map, then he just took a compass, found every single forest and body of large untamed space within fifty miles, and circled it. Then he handed the map back.

Thats where the Gathering Citadel is. Six spots, and Ill bet you theyre in an area marked Gold-rank danger but without any known valuable resources. This spotin the hills, here, is my top guess.

He pointed at the second-largest body of land in a valley that hed pick. Eirnos didnt take the map.

Youve got your intelligence. Am I supposed to fly out there? Ive never fought Minds, but I know the record. Theyll tear up a column of your bestand you have Selphids in your ranks. How are you going to make sure theyre there? Three-Color Stalker?

No. Get me Golems.

Niers eyes gleamed. Even Foliana wouldnt be appropriate against the Minds. Eirnos brows rose.

You mean?

If you have a [Necromancer] or a [Puppet Master]I want them to send in Golems, puppets, and undead. On flying carpets, no trained animals, or similar spells. Have them scour the area.

Remote detection? To find a Gathering Citadel? You must be mad.

Eirnos scoffed, but Niers shook his head.

Even an underground base needs air vents. If they think Im coming, they might be stupid enough to call the Bodies of Fellden back. At the very leastsomeone takes them food and other resources. Put sentries up there and all the other spots. When you locate them, Ill have a strike force ready. You want to watch?

He stood up. The Iuncuta was giving him a disturbed look.

Were on campaign against

Well take a flying carpet. Ill move a force with the right preparations into the area. I have a number of Fraerling specialists I want you to lend me. Ill be thereand if you want to watch, be my guest. But we might be fighting Minds in the tunnels.

He was striding to find Cameral and giving the orders. Now, the other Fraerling was watching him. That was the difference between them.

She might be a proven war-leader, an expert hunter of monsters, and she certainly didnt find him intimidatingbut Eirnos was still a Fraerling used to Fraerling strife. She didnt hunt people.

Better take notes, Iuncuta Eirnos. When we find Peclir, Im not going to bother with a raid. Let alone a warning. Well knock on the Minds door, but if they dont open up, Ill drag them out of their lair.

The Titan was striding fast. Because despite his ability to find the Minds, they had been holding Geneva Scala for ages. If he had been back here, instead of lost on Izril, he might have found her sooner. Right now?

Hurry, hurry. His mind was buzzing. The Minacien Wall was something the Selphids had created to prevent more reprisals. But it was also there for everyone elses safety.

When the wall came down

Bad things happened. But how sure was Niers that bad things were happening? Maybe Geneva Scala was just a guest of a powerful force of semi-neutral Selphid leaders genuinely trying to save or safeguard their species, treated well but simply hostage?

If one of his students said that, hed fail them out of their class. BesidesNiers scratched at his beard. No Minds had officially replied to him in any capacity, but hed received something odd from one of the Selphids under his command. While theyd been marching back from a campaign against the Dyed Lands monsters, one had handed him a slip of parchment. It had one word scrawled on it, and he took it to heart.

Hurry.

Hurry.

The Second Mind knew something was wrong. It knew it, but it didnt believe. It didnt send Niers Astoragon the message until it had a reason.

(I asked you to not discover anything.)

Geneva Scala looked calmer, happier after walking through her memories. The Third Mind was very, very pleased, and even Contradiction couldnt deny that Dictum had achieved some success.

Continuum and the others were very pleased, and that meant Contradiction had to rely on Niers Astoragon being able to pressure the others.

What disturbed the Second Mind was this:

The other Minds, First and Third, which it thought might be colluding in purpose, should have forced a decision ahead of the Titan finding them. If they wanted to keep Geneva Scala, that was the most logical course of action before the stakes were against them.

Instead, theyd opted to wait. Which implied a plan. Something other than Geneva Scala finding clues about the Wasting. The second cause for unease was Geneva Scala herself.

I know, Contradiction. But I am committed to helping the Selphids as much as I can. My oath as a [Doctor] doesnt diminish that.

This was true, but Contradiction was still disturbed. It floated around her, and her own telepathic abilities were stronger. Idis was humming inside Genevas body as the two communed, and the Second Mind didnt sense Genevas faint unrest at the Selphids presence.

Perhaps she no longer felt as much a prisoner in body and mind. Yet the Second Mind was still

(Why did you transplant the galas-muscle into the bodies? Why have you agreed to keep doing this? This action does not seem to me to be something you would do, Geneva.)

She hesitated, then. Geneva almost shrugged.

Its dead bodies, not living ones. I draw the line on Humanthat is to say, experimentation on people, but these bodies are already dead. If I can level and find ways to correct injuries or understand how magic or galas develop

She felt at her own back as she spoke. It all sounded very reasonable, all understandable. The Second Mind had no nerves, and the component Selphids in it needed very little that larger bodies did.

Nevertheless, a thousand Selphids squirmed. The orb of them shivered.

(You say this reasonably, Geneva Scala. I can tell you believe your words. I point out that this does not sound like you. You told me once that the ethics of your profession were a slippery slope. Are there no parallels in your own history to your actions now?)

It watched her face and sensed her thoughts suddenly go into a kind of arrest, a franticGeneva Scalas eyes flickered, and her confidence changed.

Ithats just a childrens story. Frankenstein.

Frankenstein? The Second Mind was confused. It listened to the parable of Frankensteins monster. Which, yes, was a mix of popular belief at the time, culture, and a number of other elements.

All very reasonable for someone from Earth to relate to her actions here as a cautionary tale.

Which was why the Second Mind felt something was wrong. It floated around Geneva, leaving the center of the room. Its own personal [Guardians] watched it. They could sense the Second Minds nervousness. Its unease.

(Geneva Scala. Why does the myth of Frankenstein come to your mind?)

Because it applies? Its a warning, Contradiction, but I understand Selphids are a being, and these bodies are something they need to live. If I can create a more stable vessel orrecycle them, isnt that a net benefit for all?

The Second Mind was aware it was, by nature, too powerful. The Minacien Wall meant it should not look into her mind. Even that, even reaching into her head, was a technical violation under the strictest version of the idea.

Perhaps the Minacien Wall had been designed to discourage Minds from being created.

Even sothe Second Mind broke the Minacien Wall in that moment. It had to. It reached out and touched Geneva Scalas memories.

(Geneva Scala. Your story of Frankenstein befits a girl from your world. Not a doctor. Surely there are historical examples you can think of.)

Thenher face twisted into uncertainty. Then, the Second Mind saw her mind connect to something she knew full well. A story not rooted in fiction, but reality. She looked up at the Second Mind, and her lips grew bloodless.

Ithere is. There have been peoplewho experimented with no regard for safety or ethics. But this isnt the same. This is dead bodies. This is

She fell silent, because her eyes were flickering left and right. And the Second Mind thought that surely they had done that too. The living and the dead. If monsters of her world hadwhy would the most principled [Doctor] of this world not deliberate more?

She had performed the galas-muscle transplanting experiments before even asking for time to think it over or talking to the Second Mind. As if it were natural and only a childrens story had any bearing on that.

(That is not like you, Geneva Scala. Tell me, has anythingchanged of late?Have the other Minds done or thought anything unusual? Do you notice anything fundamentally different about yourself?)

It could not tell, not without moving her into the center of the mind and searching her very core as the Third Mind had doneand that was a violation of her privacy and self.

Yet Geneva Scala just shook her head. She ran a hand over her head as Idis spoke up.

S-Second Mind, I dont know what youre talking about, but Ive been here the entire time. I would have reported anything weird. I promise.

She sounded and felt genuine. The Second Mind acknowledged Idis, who did seem to care about Geneva. And she was loyal to the Minds, not knowing allegiance to any particular one.

But Idis was a junior Selphid and a burgeoning [Telepath]. She could not sense

The Second Mind was about to put this down to paranoia when Geneva Scala spoke.

Nothingmajor, Second Mind. Just one thing.

(Tell me. Anything.)

Geneva looked up with a huge frown. She spoke as if this were all silly and in an embarrassed tone, but she did say it.

Ive been having a dream. The same old dream. Its justme, on the first day of me being a First Responder. Iits stupid.

(Go on. Tell me. Dreams are a part of thought.)

The [Doctor] shook her head. She spoke, feeling stupider by the moment, as the Second Mind hovered in silence.

Its just a lucid dream where I can sort of tell Im sleeping. But it happens the same wayIm at my job as a first responder, going to investigate aa suicide. Some poor person shot himself. Im the last one there. The coroners already been there, and my friendno, hes more like a college classmatehes freaking out. Because the bodys in the body bag. We dont even have to handle it, just carry it to the van. But my classmate cant, and he actually throws up. So the coroner and I have to take it out of his bedroom. Outto the car. I didnt remember all of it, but Ive been remembering how I threw up and what the coroner said. It was the first time I touched a dead body. Thats all. I guess its a kind of parable or maybe my subconscious is warning me as well? What do you think?

She laughed and looked up, slightly embarrassed because in her entire rambling retelling, not once had the Second Mind interrupted her.

Contradiction floated in the air, and Geneva Scala thought she saw the mass of Selphidstwitching. Writhing, as if every single one of them were moving. It was contained, thoughand the Gathering Citadel was dark, the shadowed veins of the fortress still.

That statue loomed in the Second Minds thoughts as it sent one thought back to Geneva. One thoughtand the fortress changed. One thought, and the Second Mind feared.

(Geneva Scala. Your dream is strange.)

Because I have it every night?

The Second Mind projected a shaking head into her mind. A thousand Selphids, slowly shaking their heads and staring at her with worried, dead eyes. The world began lurching as it projected something into her head. Unease. Fear. It showed hera [Doctor], sitting warily in a padded armchair and speaking with it, just like Geneva was doing now.

One of the first times theyd met, when it had made contact to upset the Third Mind. The Second Mind showed her this memory it had.

(Geneva. You told me the first body you ever touched was when you were fourteen. It was your father. A heart attack. You tried to resuscitate him. Dont youremember?)

Geneva Scala looked up. Her eyes opened wide, wideand she had the memory of her first day as a first responder.

Touching a dead body. Vomitingbut being calmer than she thought. The coroner, her classmatethe crunch of gravel under her feet.

Her father?

She couldnt remember a thing.

Authors Note: This chapter is shorter. I have adopted a new strategy. Write less than 10,000 words per day. Alsoedit a chapter from Volume 1 if I can.

I need to get it edited. I know this must sound like an obsession, and a poorly-managed one at that. But I have learned to edit the current chapters better. The problem isits stressful, trying to do Volume 1 at the same time. Its been taking a toll on my energy, and its also just exhausting having it hang over me.

The benefits of finishing Volume 1 are great. So I think I need to work hard on editing it, because its too much on the plate. So Ill try to economize each regular chapter down to under 20,000 words and edit fast.

Always something new. Always another challenge. The point is not to let it get overwhelming. There are good days, and bad days to writing.

Thiswell Halloween is coming up around this chapter and the next. But these arent Halloween chapters. Thats a coincidence. Halloween chapters are spooky but generally, I regard the holiday as cheerful. These are probably darker chapters. I dont know how many Ill do, but heres the first one. Wish me luck for the rest.

Medical Note: Yeah, thats right. Im writing two notes. This one isnt medical per se; more about the science mentioned here. If anyone finds scientific inaccuracies (bearing in mind this is a magical world), please describe them.

Geneva is actually looking at a strange magical cross between biology and magic here, and her microscope can see all kinds of weird things, but I lack the terminology to explain it because biology class was a long time ago, and I have not the background. So terms will also help. She can see muscle fiber, but not the pure cells that make up the muscles yet. Of course, its also not a cross-section, but thats for reference. Your expertise may be needed later.

Are there practicing microbiologists reading this story? I should consult the survey if we had that kind of question. Sort of personal, but you get all kinds of readers. Anyways, the point is that science is hard.

Science is hardbut dresses are harder. Food is stupid. These are all highly technical fields to write, let alone describe someone dancing properly. Its why writing often captures the mood, rather than technical elements of how you hold your body. Thats called writers sucking at describing things and faking it. Just a note to say that I will try to correct any bad science but sometimes stuff is also stupid to our understanding. Like almost all of Dullahan anatomy.

Toren Pumpkin by Ashok!

Sad Niers by /buttsarts

Hill Erin, [Grandmaster of Scales] by /cmarguel