Patricia Smith
Stories
8
Chapters
5,309
Words
3.0 M
Comments
0
Reading
10 d, 6 h
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"Are you satisfied with this backstory, then?" Crucis asked Fahiz, with a light grin that faintly bared his canines. "Yes, a good show. It's quite long and elaborate, and would probably answer any questions that I could ask," Fahiz replied. "From reading it, any dilettante could pluck out the heart of your mystery, and then play upon you, sounding from the lowest note to the top of your compass - except that it is slightly obscure. And its arrangement, too, is unfortunately obscure. But I account it a…-
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As the group prepared to leave the room, there was a loud, grinding noise as Ibis finished writing. "Looks like your poem is done," Fahiz said to Crucis, before walking over to Ibis to pick up a stack of paper. Crucis stayed behind in the room, to check on what Ibis had managed to write. "Well, I did tell you that Ibis' poetry was crazy," Fahiz said, looking up from the page. "Now you can see for yourself." As Crucis took the papers, he scanned them quickly. "You have a point. This seems to also veer…
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As the group shifted to accommodate DicingDevil and Sharak, Crucis found himself standing next to Deep Afterglow. While Fahiz carefully placed DicingDevil's text as a prompt for Endymion, Crucis glanced over a piece of writing that Afterglow was busily working on. _by WILLIAM KIDD_ _ed. by L. FINCH_ KING EDWARD. ...But I fear for Elyssa's affections. HENRY. She mingles only among your court, how then Should she dissent from the lord of the court? Fear not Elyssa's spite! Even in the mighty arch That…
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Fahiz rummaged through a small file next to Ibis, and pulled out a couple of pieces of paper. "Ibis' poems are quite strange, in fact its first poem just consisted of the phrase 'How dare you!' along with the stage direction 'screeched incoherently.' The title was 'Hypocrite Lecteur.'" "It used stage directions in a poem?" Crucis asked. "Yes, when it writes poems it often switches haphazardly between poetry, play, and novel. Among other things. While it can write at greater length now than before, it's…
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Fahiz hesitated for a moment, seemingly uneasy about the question of these automatons' history. However, he soon recovered, and gave a facetious counter-request. "I can answer that. However, first, I will ask you a question. You aren't in DeathGang, but you still assist them in doing, so I'm told, 'evil.' So how did you become so evil on your own?" Crucis laughed. "Surely you jest. Do I need to give a sympathetic backstory every time I use an offensive word as well? I'm told it's also evil. Anyway...…
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The group immediately clustered around Deep Afterglow, surprised at how much the automaton's head resembled a human's. Its metallic head was softened by a coating of something like clay, which was formed on the right side into the likeness of a pale beige human face. The face looked almost hopeful or awed, with its painted eye widened and its chin dropping slightly. Unlike the others, its posture sagged slightly, making the large cape on its back droop convincingly onto the ground. It was also more mobile,…
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Crucis continued reading the book about Sobhraj, occasionally writing in his notebook to keep track of anything interesting. As Sharak roamed the room to check on the other books, Crucis overheard his conversation with Vladimir and Konstantin, who had been given one Russian book to pore through together. Vladimir raised the book, with a hint of reverence. "This book is named тре (trre)- um, 'Third Empire.' It is about Kingdom of Russia, I think 'fiction'? But not only." "Yes, has also people from…
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Sharak handed Crucis a dark-green, hardcover book. Its cover was thick and quite heavy, and the pages seemed slightly worn out. It creaked lightly as it opened. The front page had no title or text, but scrawled in the lower right corner were the words, 'Carefree path of dreams.' They were written in a thick black ink. On the top edge, there was an even smaller piece of writing, in blue ink and a much more organised cursive style, saying, 'I have launched my life to flow upon the river, but the river was…
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"There is another automaton that we haven't mentioned yet," Fahiz said. He paused, as the group turned towards him in surprise. "It is known by the name Deep Afterglow," Fahiz said. "It's mercurial, and only rarely will respond to a prompt. In this it acts like a temperamental human — in this and other ways. Anyway, enough prelude, here is a poem which it wrote earlier today, so you can see for yourself." He held out a long, thin sheet of paper. ALEXANDER: Aye, there, What light brags to the world,…
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After reading the first sheet that Fahiz had handed over, Sharak handed ito to Crucis. "This is somewhat similar to the bookmark, I suppose. Since the war earlier, Adonais has been drawing on Hamlet often — a bit of a surprise, we would be expecting it to draw on, say, Tamburlaine, Coriolanus, but it has been insistent on its choice. Well, it must know what it's doing." "This has quite a title," Crucis remarked after a quick glance. "Well. It helpfully describes the scene in which the poem is set. I…
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