Chapter 555 (1/2)

Henrik wasn’t in his quarters, so Randidly left his new creation with one of Henrik’s assistants with a note. Randidly was filled with confidence in regards to this new Porpoise model that he had designed. He suspected that Henrik would miss some of the more deft usages of Randidly’s new runes, but even the more obvious side effects of his new model would undoubtedly win Randidly enough attention to begin working on more interesting applications of the runic system that Randidly had created.

Idly, Randidly wondered whether Ghost would be shown the creation. Undoubtedly he would. Would it be a simple thing to copy his runes? After some thought, Randidly decided that the details could be copied, but the execution of creating them was not something that many would be capable of.

Randidly was aware that there were other drone creators working, but they were all scientists who were trained towards mass production. Their transition to hand making all these different drones was not a smooth process. They simply couldn’t understand why these drones would behave so differently based upon how much attention they received. It wasn’t scientific, it was an art form. To them, this was almost disgust-inducing.

But it served to make “Baloo Erickson’s” accomplishments that much more impressive, so Randidly didn’t mind.

After three days of hard work, lost in the runes, Randidly felt he had calmed down quite a bit and had considered a lot from his previous interactions with Neveah. With a placid mind, he opened up a communication with Neveah.

Neveah, I was thinking. First, thank you. I cannot deny that you assuming my identity has freed me up for some things. You are also right that people will gossip about things I may or may not have done and there is little I can do about it. But that doesn’t give you a free pass to do whatever you want.

Neveah seemed to sigh. I know. But I want this.

Randidly almost chuckled. It’s a selfish thought. One of the first selfish thoughts I have heard from you. Which is why it struck me so strongly when you asked.

...Yes. It used to be… us. Now… Neveah seemed profoundly sad, and Randidly responded by flooding her with his impression of their connection.

Don’t go severing us too quickly, Randidly sent over mentally. How about this; honestly, I don’t give a shit whether people think I’m marrying someone. If it becomes a problem later… I’ll just burn my way through any obstacles to get what I want. But… you cannot use my identity to lure the girl in. If you tell Tia you are fake, I don’t care if the two of you decide to go through with the marriage.

Shaking his head, Randidly continued. I would think that it would be best to be completely honest, but considering your physical form… I’ll leave that decision up to you. If you refrain, I guarantee it will cause more trouble for you down the line. Still, as long as all parties close to the issue know that the real Randidly Ghosthound is not getting married, you may enjoy the spectacle of it.

Neveah sent her assent to his request, and then she brooded for several seconds. Finally, she asked. Should I tell Mr. Firefly I am a fake?

If possible, don’t do that. Randidly thought back. He walked out of his workshop and looked up at a small camera installed at the corner of the roof. If he knows… others will know too. If they know, this ruse is meaningless.

Neveah understood, but before she let go of the connection, she said. Also, you have been working, so you likely haven’t heard. Something happened late last night. You should check a news feed.

*****

Ghost watched the humans in the room dispassionately. Alan Howard leaned forward, rubbing his arm. Likely because the technology was new, some of its implementations were still rough. The point where the needle had been attached to his skin for the past half hour.

Alan looked up sharply at the doctor. “Was it a success?”

After consulting some readings on the medical devices around Alan, he nodded. “It will take some time for your body to acclimate to the serum, but considering your prior physical stats… you will likely experience a 20% increase in ability.”

Ghost’s six fleshbags hummed beneath him. The serum was finally some fruit borne of research Ghost had started due to looking at some of Dr. Karman’s old notes. Still, he wouldn’t have been able to push it so far or so fast without the discovery of Randidly Ghosthound’s Elixirs. They weren’t able to get a sample, of course, but by studying the effects on Ezekiel’s and Affina’s body with nanobots, they were able to get something with an approximate effect.