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Singing Butterfly
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>Making a Memory Trace of her daughter would not be the same as saving her. It would just be a replica. Nobody wants to treat their loved ones like a broken old sofa.
You'd be surprised by how far some people would go. Ever see people taxidermy their pets? Still, I'm going to have to be careful with that situation.
>So tell me, who are we warring against? And why?
Like I said before, too many to name. Feels like every week we hear of some new conflict happening out there in the wider world. Supplies have been dwindling, you know? Five species, all branching out and expanding - we always figured that it would get to a point where there's simply no space left, but actually living through it's a whole other thing. In particular, the Third Flight of the Keletzar stand out as one of the main opponents - much like the Empire, they've set up their own coalition to deal with us - and in particular, the Seventh Flight.
>Is it the larger multiverse?
I think that's far too much science fiction on the mind. It would be interesting to write a story about other worlds, but I think right now, we should be worrying about the world in front of us instead of daydreaming about other worlds that don't exist.
>[FRAGMENT ACCELERATION RATIO - 48 HOURS]
>[PLAYING NEXT MEMORY SEQUENCE]
>[ADVANCING TO NEXT AVAILABLE SPLINTER]
>[INITIATING PLAYBACK.]
"Whup, don't mind me - and here we are, at the foundry! The pride of site 70, besides that new cloning facility we've got going on."
Four days till the cloning starts, and things are in high gear. Can barely get the approval to go in and just have a chat with the leads like this.
I can smell the fresh scent of manufacturing in the air.
"State of the art technology, dreamed up by one of Linharja's finest. We've got enough material shipments from the mainland to last us for ages!"
Ahh, there he is.
"And here's the genius behind the damn place - Doctor Teagan Graph! But we tend to call him Silicagraph, after his famed polymer that revolutionized the industry. The Democracy of Linharja handed him an award and everything for his efforts.
What's more, this guy's multi-talented! He's not just a regular engineer, but a genetics engineer too!"
He gives a casual wave. He's occupied.
"Whatcha got there, Teagan?"
"Ice cream. Standard issue."
...I never know where he gets those from.
"You know, I always thought that you would go crazy eventually, Patz, but talking to yourself? Maybe I should start making bets."
Oh right, the monologue. Gets a bit hard doing that - Wickerknell told me that I'm the 'type' to talk to myself anyway but that's just plain ridiculous.
"I'm afraid that's one you'll be losing, Graph! Just doing some rudimentary SAI testing, having it record some Splinters of the most important folks around!"
"Hah. I suppose we're all eccentric here in our own way. Well, what'll it be?"
There's a crunch as he finishes the cone in one gulp. Ironic for a species that comes from the generally snowier parts of the world to love frozen treats. But maybe it reminds Teagan of home. And now I want one. Asking about the project can come a bit later.
"Say, Teagan - where do you even get those cones from? I thought we didn't have much for sweets on this island."
Given how besides the scientists, most of the people here are soldiers, it's weird that he has something that you could buy from a convenience store. Except sometimes I see him putting... strange things into his own cones.
Have you ever seen a man use a salt shaker on a soft serve? Either he's actually putting sugar in there, or it's really salt - either way, it's just... strange.
"Imported 'em. Special orders. There's nothing in the rules to say that I can't requisition some whenever I feel like it."
That's... true. Huh.
"How about you, Patz? Where'd you get your sunglasses from?"
...Hah. About damn time someone asked.
"Only the highest grade lenses, put together by the finest artisans under the sun can produce these things. You know, I had initially been on a waiting list for them, because they're only available to the most PRESTIGIOUS of individuals and-"
"Cool, cool, I can see that."
For someone with questionable taste in eyewear, he should be picking up some tips from me. Though his current visor's way better than that bone mask of his from his old photos - apparently it's a cultural headwear, but I don't know enough about Linharjans to say more besides how jarring it was with the rest of his outfit.
He's... pulled out another ice cream when I wasn't looking. Guess I'll have to save it for another time when he's... not interrupting me with that.
"Can't I have one?"
"Sorry Patz, all out."
Great.
...Well, I should move on to asking more tangible questions with him. Koilo raised some fears about the project, so I should probably press him on it - must be good for the SAI, seeing the problem solving process in real time, right?
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