Mary struggled to make sense of what was happening All she could hear was this 'ticking' sound. It was everywhere, forcing and unyielding with a relentless rhythm like the march of ants crawling over her body and right into her mind. It was like she was in two places at once? Maybe three.. or four places even? She had never felt something go into her mind like this and- it didn't even seem to ask any questions that she could understand. These questions implied a command and it- it was- getting harder to think to stay whole it was like getting lost in a strange multitude of mirrors, reflecting her thoughts right back...
Her body stood up straight and still, though her insides were a cacophony of gears and shafts replacing many of her biological organs. One by one, everything started to change. Her heart becoming an intricate artificial mechanical system The key on her back ticked, somehow though interfaced with her still biological brain. This was perhaps the cause of confusion as the two parts interacted to find some 'bridge' between the impulse of neurons to the clockwork gears. Her human mind was not capable of processing in terms of number- no- 'difference' in numbers, which seemed to be the way the pulses and noises became translated back into her mind manifesting as sounds and images.. vague impressions a painting? It was like she was loosing her thought processes- parts of her processes- as the probing commands tried to make sense of her, as much as she was trying to make sense of it- them? How could she make this stop! "S-Sarah..." she gasped. "H-help can't.. move can't I don't understand what do you who.. I..."
Mary's father was in near panic. There was nothing he could do! "Do something for her! Please!" He begged them. He couldn't lose her.. not Mary... He looked at the metal key like it was a rotating dagger on her daughter's back he reached down in an attempt to pull it-
When Tom held him back. "Wait, that key is sustaining her right now. If you pull it out, she might never move again..." Tom didn't- couldn't tell him that this was perhaps far worse then...
Sarah was still shocked by the mental assault even though it had long subsided. She approached the changing woman and clutched her head into her hands staring her straight into Mary's eyes as they started to look as artificial as her own. "Mary! Can you hear me? Fight it Mary!"
"M-Mary.. my designation? What? My name is Mary.." she said quietly in strange perfectly chipped clockwork speech. "I.. I .. I was born in the year 768 of the New Dawn I have a brother A father . My.. role? I-"
"What's wrong with her?" Mary's father demanded still shaking though Tom had a hand on his shoulder for support.
Sarah frowned as Mary stared blankly, making these strange affirmations. "It's like she's talking to someone. Something tried to talk to me too, but I managed to shake it off. It's got hold of her..."
"Is it- is this demon hurting her?"
" I don't know. I don't think it's a demon.. but it's certainly powerful let's wait it out."
The group stared at the ticking clockwork girl.. an eerie glow on the strange black stone flickering.. she didn't seem to be in any pain just the strange clockworks moving in a very intriguing way.
Mary found herself locked in some kind of strange.. mental barrier. She could see everyone around her, but her body refused to move. The insistent ticking of her new cogs inside her body compelled her mind to think thoughts that were not entirely her own, connected by... something. She was part of something else? Someone else? Was this a divine being perhaps? A god? It seemed unlikely.. could it be a demon? Something from the Unseen? Yet whatever it was, she didn't get the impression of it being a demon taking control of her somewhat. The beings seemed as confused as she was, for one yet the connection to them was deep, perhaps uncomfortably so.
"What is your designation?" The ticking sound suddenly becoming vocalised inside her.
"I don't understand Do you.. mean my name? I-I'm Mary..." she spoke- no- she wasn't sure how it worked.
"This is.. an invalid designation. We think you have possibly corrupted data. We will attempt to restore original parameters."
Mary could feel them start to 'fix' her mind. There was an explosion of strange commands she didn't understand any of them, yet they had become part of her as new 'things' and concepts alien in their wording became entrenched within. She could feel it.. feel them a machine inside her that would not yield or be swayed by any emotions- though not totally emotionless? There was the thought of an emotion inside.. a care.. a concern... equations that were of incredible importance ticking away However while they were certainly able to get close to her mindscape, there was an inability to access her biological mind at the core. "S-Stop!" She cried out.
" nonconforming media... detected. Suspect .. biological organism?" In an instant, the probing stopped. "This is.. causing you harm?" There was a hint of caution in the voice.
Mary could feel herself need to draw breath finally, as if her own systems were struggling to understand the current duality of her being. "Oh.. thank.. goodness yes.. that was not comfortable" she ticked another cog. "Who who... are you..."
There was a great pause that lasted an eternity. Mary could tell that only her smallest cog had ticked somehow she knew that meant 0.001ms have gone by.. then another.. and another why was the response taking so long!
"Our apologies it was not known you are partly biological. This is.. new to us. We are made to not cause any harm You are a new construct?" It seemed to almost have a.. hopeful tone. Happy? Not quite but it was certainly a little quicker with its responses.
"I guess- I am? It's new for me too," Mary spoke back. "How is it that we are communicating?"
Mary suddenly acquired some strange.. knowledge? Words? What did this mean? Was this magic? Quantooom Entanglement? Sink-chron-ice? yet weirdly it was.. well.. not quite 'understood' so much as 'known'. So her cogs were in synchronisation with the 'others' .. others like herself? "Wait- too much.. too much! Slowly please..."
An entire 0.5 seconds was required for them to properly work out the limits of communication.
"We have.. formed an interface for us to work with your systems. Again, our sincere apologies. We had no idea that you are partly biological. This is.. unheard of..." The voice waited an eternity before doing what might have seemed a 'formality'. "We welcome you to Luna-Net. Access granted for new unknown device designated 'Device Mary.' Hello Device Mary, how may we be of assistance?"
Mary groaned at the title but sidestepped it. She took a moment to 'sense' the strange interface. It was present like a gentle tingle on her cogs and mind. Words appeared with various incantations not unlike what she imagined a book of spells could look like. It was relatable to her thoughts now. Mary probed this new form of communication like she had just discovered a new voice. "Well.. thank you. Yes that's a lot better..." she thought back her speech turning the cogs inside her body instantly. She had so many questions! What happened to her? Though perhaps first she best learn more of who she was talking to- talking to inside her own head no less! "Could you tell me.. who you are?" The question was taken with garbled confusion. She stared at the list of commands. A click of a master cog and new commands appeared like words inside her mind. which one was the safest one to use though? "Identify?" That seemed to bring a response.
"I am the Shell," It said back. It's tone was very.. monochrome. Like she was reading a letter. "It's nice to meet you. Device Mary." The words added like an after thought.
Mary stared at the words in her own mind like a ghostly image how to respond? "Just Mary will do.. so... what's behind the Shell? You.. shy or something?" She had no idea how to react to something saying it was a 'shell'.
"I am not shy. I am Shell. I am We are... We are many devices. We help, we assist, we search and discover, we watch and record, we create new al-gor-rythems for searching. We are part of Luna-Net.."
"You mean you serve the Moon-Goddess?" She asked even more confused.
"No.. that's a very strange question Device Mary." Shell answered back. "Could you ask standard questions please? It's very difficult to respond appropriately." Apparently Mary was making them as confused as she was herself. Standard questions okay
"What is.. your purpose?" Mary asked.
There was another pause. It seemed like that was not really a standard question either. "To serve."
Mary blinked. How could something that seemed so powerful, be relegated to a serving role? "Are you the ancients?" She asked. It was implied they could be watchers of some sort.
"No..." They said back. "This is a new word to us.. the Ancients? Could you clarify?"
"The ones that made you." Tick. Access.. denied? What did that mean?
"I'm sorry D-Mary. We are not able to provide that information due to you being an unknown device and off world."
"Off.. world? Wait- Where.. are you? Please just call me Mary! I'm no device!"
"Distance is 225623 miles." they said back. "Apologies D-Mary, this is the minimal we need to give you a valid designation. This is your identity on Luna-Net."
"Urgh- Why.. can't I move my body..." Mary finally asked as she realised it- though in fairness it had only been five seconds
"Diagnosing.. We detect you have no instructions yet."
Mary fumed. "I need to move! Kindly give me back control of my body and don't stop me from moving again. It is very uncomfortable."
"You are granted full autonomy?"
"Yes!"
"..updating.. Designation D-Mary, granted full autonomy apologies again."
Mary suddenly jerked as she moved. "Oh.. by the stars..." She moaned.
"Mary!" hugged her father. He was surprised by how.. cold her body felt. Yet she was alive right? "You- you were really out of it. What happened?"
"I was in contact with.. something... I think..."
Her father looked at her with awe and caution. "Spirits? Demons? Angels?"
"I I know not.. something like me.. like myself and Sarah now..." She gasped as all that she experienced through her ticking was.. somehow struggling to work itself into her biological memories. "I'm able to communicate with something- a being that called itself 'Shell' but it's not being very cooperative when I ask questions- I wonder if they know where Kevin is."
"Are you still.. you?" Sarah asked. "You look like you've turned.. completely mechanical..."
Indeed Mary had. Now her body was fully clockwork.. her eyes glass and plastics, with a sheen of felt-like skin. Sarah noted Mary did look a touch more human then herself.. though this was unsettling more then anything else.
The new clockwork-girl looked at her hands, feeling the cogs and springs inside. "I- I am- mostly myself still, yes. I don't know what's inside here though.." She tapped her temple. "It's just these 'others' are being quite obnoxious and don't seem to understand boundaries their language is alien I can't quite figure out how we are communicating it does not translate well." The clockwork girl suddenly felt her gears move quickly as she asked the question. "Do you know where Kevin is..."
Mary and the others waited patiently. "Hm.. they say they don't have a 'Kevin' " she looked apologetic. "I'm sorry I- I really hoped they would know- wait what? Huh?" She turned suddenly excited. "They say they have someone! Someone who used this.. machine? Well- can you send this person back here? Oh they say she's being treated at the moment..."
The strange pedestal gave an odd glow. Diana noted curious crystals now that the sand had been taken out. Twelve crystals arranged like a clock on the side of the black stone. They each had a glow, though one of them was a slight shade of red. Perhaps it was some sort of power source?
Mary noticed it too. "Diagnose.." She gasped. "I don't know even how I'm doing this but I know to use this thing now!" She sensed a huge list of... Codes and numbers that meant nothing to her- yet it was like they were pointing to different places?
The voice inside Mary's head seemed confused still. "This is quite.. normal for us. We share knowledge. What one of us knows, all of us can know. Unless it is private or restricted, of course. We would like to make a request.. we have not actually encountered biological beings in a long time. There is some specific information we require..."
"I suppose. What is it you wish to know?" Mary asked curiously.
"Could you provide information on 'Mother?"
Kevin was starting to enjoy looking at the odd alien man as he listened to him, repeated the words back it was natural, second nature. How could he know this language? These words- well- he didn't know what they all meant, but he could certainly read it now.
He stared a bit more at the alien man. He thought it strange that his eyes were big and the colour of his skin radiated a curious blue. It was not unwelcoming though and certainly not ugly.. even if he had no hair. The clothes seemed odd too, shiny metallic jackets? Those odd flares on the shoulders.. actually it was quite .. interesting. Though the way he explained the letters and language.. it was so simple! The letters all made the same sound, all of them identical.. wasn't that always the case though? He was feeling really proud of himself. "Huh- what's this?" as a strange circle appeared behind the glass screen.
The man suddenly looked to him, locking his eyes right on him. "This is your first homework assignment," he said politely back with a gentle smile.
"Wait- you can talk back?!"
The man looked back at him from across the screen and smiled. "Why of course! Though only at the end of a lesson. Do you have any questions for our interactive session?" The man asked with an amused look.
Kevin suddenly laughed. It all seemed so.. crazy! His teacher was inside a metal box talking to him. "No- I think- I got it..." Kevin replied, parting a curtain of odd light purple from his eyes. "Um- what's it like living in there?" He asked suddenly.
"Ha! Well when you're older, you can come inside later and see. Until then, let's see how you've done." A strange white space appeared filled with words- a report? There was a picture of a girl- well- not a 'real' picture, more a sort of.. symbol of a girl? It was in the top corner with purple hair and weird antenna. Kevin had to admit she had a cute smile."I am satisfied by your progress and I think we can also move on to mathematics later on. You should learn how to count up to B. First though, can you spell your name for me?"
"Course I can!" Kevin said grinning. He thought they would never ask! He started to write out the letters of his name intoning it as he did. "Ke-e-V-en." He wrote.
"I'm sorry that's not correct. Do you want to try again?" The man asked with concern.
"What do you mean that's not correct! I followed the rules right! That's how my name is spelt."
"I'm afraid not," the man said apologetically. "Please try again?"
Kevin frowned. Well- his name was being written in another language.. in their language so he tried another variant. Maybe he had to use that strange symbol that looked like a hat.
"I'm sorry that is also not correct. Would you like to see it spelled?" The man asked. "Don't worry, we can work on this more."
Kevin sighed. "Fine, how is it spelt?" He waited.. and the answer was.. odd. "Huh? That's not how- are you nuts? That's completely wrong!" It wasn't even anywhere near his name!
The man showed a series of letters and as Kevin translated the sound it became something like.. Callie? "That's not right my name is Callie!" Then Kevin.. blinked as the name he spoke escaped his lips. Wait a minute- how -had- he been pronouncing his name? He said it slowly to himself again... "K-Ca-lee?" Exactly as it was written he was saying his name, like it was written there! For how long had he been
He looked in shock at the letters like they were foreign all over again. This- this was all wrong! He took a slight pull back on the chair to work out how this happened but- new robes tugged a bit between his legs sending a -very- peculiar sensation. His hair was again ticking the back of his neck and- touching his shoulders? No- it was actually -past- his shoulders, much like it had been before. "I- I don't feel good..." he thought as he slowly got up from the chair.. confusion passing through him.
"What is wrong Callie?" The clockwork girl came again to him in concern tiltling her head.
"My stomach hurts.." Suddenly Kevin felt an odd twinge there and slight pain but- just as quickly, that too felt better. "Ah.. its um- like- I got butterflies in my stomach.." It was like something just tickled him all inside was this because of the treatment?
The clockwork-girl knelt down. Her eyes had a strange silver glow. "It is quite all right Callie. Your treatment is going very well. Your development issues are being resolved. You should be normal in an hour or so."
"Normal? I feel like I'm getting worse! What about side effects? You said there might be? Am I going to have purple hair forever?" The strange orbs on his head bounced as he touched the metal band. "-is this also going to come off now?"
"Your hair has returned to its normal state though we do note one minor side effect; in order to repair your functions we have had to increase your metabolism briefly. As a result, you might experience some early growth. However this is not outside of normal parameters so please do not be concerned."
"I'm gonna grow up faster?" Callie asked confused again. "Well- that ain't so bad. What about my hair? Can't you cut it and make it short again?"
"Your hair is naturally long Callie. I do not understand your question..." To the clockwork girl it was like asking to cut part of one's arm because it was too long. She patted Callie's hair "It will take time to repair itself too, but the treatment is working very well." The clockwork girl glanced slightly distracted by... something. "I have some news for you. We have made contact with another device where you were."
"Can I go back home now?" Callie asked hopefully though- things around him still didn't feel right. He didn't want to go back until he was completely cured from the village curse. He wasn't even sure why he was calling himself 'Callie'.. but it seemed he had been doing so from the very start and- well- maybe he best just go along with it. Until he got himself cured completely.
"We are.. out of range now. We will be able to transport you in a few hours. I'm afraid I could not allow you to travel there on your own." she glanced to the window and stars, with the planet in the distance.
Callie looked outside the window, his strange antennas dropping slightly down. His world.. was out there. Everything he had ever known was just a ball of light far away. All dreams and thoughts, hopes and dreams So many people though- here he was, inside the greatest place he had ever seen. Every door held wonder, ever window let him see.. everything. He felt oddly light but heavy as well. The robes tugged on him strangely with their odd material. He could almost feel it shift and change its form to adapt...
"What are your thoughts Callie?" The clockwork girl asked with a slight tick tilting her neck as she stepped forward. Callie was clearly processing something.
" I miss.. being with people." he said. It had only been a few hours here but.. he missed his world and all the things that made it up.
"Oh.. well.. I'm here." The clockwork girl offered.
Callie looked up at her suddenly a bit angry. "You ain't real though! That teacher ain't real- nothing here is real! It's all just pictures and- and-" he felt himself tense and shake. "S-Sorry I- I just-" Damn it- why was he feeling so- so- urgh! He didn't want to cry. He just wanted to get mad but- even that feeling was not easy to find why was it so hard? He wanted to get angry! He wanted to be angry at someone for making him feel this! Even though.. nobody had done anything to him. He never had trouble getting angry before. Maybe it was because the clockwork girl didn't seem to be a real person to get mad at.. and that -was- something to be angry at!
The clockwork girl stood there staring. "I.. understand Callie."
"You can't.. just.. just forget it." He huffed pressing his head on the window and the inky blackness of space.
The clockwork girl stared blankly at that. It opened a network connection to the Shell. 'Request information? Registered Child Callie is suffering some form of emotional distress. How can I alleviate this?" The ticks continued for some time- eventually there was a response. "No working solution is currently available." I-5483113 did not.. desire aborting its first assignment since being deactivated. "Devise working solution.."
"Processing response will take ten minutes. Ethical subroutines initiated."
The ethical subroutines were a part of the network not often used It was quite a simple premise. Twelve independent machines worked on the same problem, with slightly different emphasis on each variation of a given problem. The best consensus was then sent to three machines processing with more depth.. and all three had to agree to the solution. In theory this arbitration was infallible, but was only to be used in absence of an authorised being.
This would take time indeed the clockwork regarded the child once more with another scan of Callie's vitals. "I.. detect you will need to process what you have eaten. Perhaps I could show you your room? I will attempt to hasten the treatment."
Callie wordlessly nodded. "Uh- yeah. Sorry I- dunno what came over me. I'm excited being here..."
".. but it is lonely I know."
" I thought I could see my mother in those clouds from up here I guess not." He said wistfully. "Guess I can tell the others that it ain't true."
"Mother?" The clockwork girl asked. "Could you explain what a mother is?"
"It's.. it ain't important.. nevermind."
The clockwork girl gave a soft nod. "Please.. would you come with me? I am sure some rest will help your treatment."
Callie was lead to the moving room again. Everything moved around and- it was a new corridor once more! This was actually quite fun. He was lead down the hallway into another set of doors with numbers on each side. House numbers? There were also names on a few of them. Astra.. Marta.. Silvari.. odd, they all sounded quite feminine to his ears. All written in that strange language that was second nature to her now.
The clockwork girl gestured to a set of doors. "This is your quarters Callie. We have prepared them to your needs. Please note that your hard work in education has granted you one hour of entertainment. You can use this if you wish now, or store it."
Callie looked oddly at that. "Hey- what am I some prisoner?!"
I-5483113 blinked. "No not at all. You are simply a child. Entertainment in excess has been shown to have negative results as a child grows." The doors opened, sliding into the corridors somehow.
Callie looked into his room, his robes gently swaying with each step. A huge window as on the side, along with more of those odd floating screens. The bed looked a bit strange. It was like a giant soap bubble sitting in the middle, completely see-through. He pressed his hand on it, feeling it was made of a strange material and surprisingly strong. Callie attempted to climb on it- but couldn't quite make it. "Hey- this bed's too big."
"You need to jump on it.."
"I can't jump that high..." he looked at the clockwork girl strangely.
"Please try..." This was part of the way children were taught, she remembered.
Callie sighed and did his best bending his legs and- suddenly vaulted up a whole six feet into the air! He felt so light. Though his long hair was a bit distracting as it tickled his neck more. He fell flat onto the soap bubble. "Wow!" It was.. so weird resting on this thing. It was almost like being on the moon's surface again. He felt his body 'sink' softly into the bubble, but it was like he was resting inside a surface tension. He had never felt so.. wrapped up and comfortable. "This bed is.. weird..." he remarked.
The clockwork girl was still distracted by the slightly softer glow in its eyes. "I.. need to examine the rest of the treatment Callie. Please feel free to watch the Archives. It has some games and entertainment."
"Uh.. yeah.. okay..." Callie shrugged. He looked at the screen and 'thought' about it being on- and suddenly it was! "Um.. recommendations? Sure.. By the Stars What is that!"
Callie had never seen -anything- like it. It was like a burst of colour.. not just that, but music came into the room with a strange steady beat. The colours were of people, though unlike his teacher there was nothing 'realistic' about these people. The closest he could think of was if a drawing had someone come to life.. not just a drawing but the entire world as if- as if the world was someone's painting. People were represented with gorgeous expressive eyes giant ships floating in the stars, and strange machine-people.. was this something from history or some kind of play?
It was so surreal that Callie kept on staring at it, resting in bed. The characters the situation.. wow he could watch this forever... Still something didn't feel quite.. right. The treatment was making him feel.. strange. He thought he should probably go to a bathroom but he best ask the mechanical girl where one was. He slipped a hand down under his pants. At least they didn't feel quite so tight but.. something was still odd-
then he felt it. "W-What?" It couldn't be.. his.. his male organs were gone! He touched and probed even pulling up his robe. What happened? Was this because the treatment wasn't working?! "H-help!"
I-5483113 sent the data packet to the Main network. "Request information on 'mother'. Query, emulate this to a suitable standard to treat a child?"
Shell acknowledged the request. "Ethical program has determined that the Rule 28 must apply. The I-series must not in any way, shape or form attempt to emulate the behaviour of organic beings. To do so has shown to cause great harm and distress."
I-5483113 accepted that- of course it had to. "Does information exist on the subject known as 'mother'?"
"The knowledge comes from an unknown device and therefore the data must be treated with caution. Rule 1 states, that we must cause no harm."
"It is because of Rule 1 and rule 2 that I must request access to the information of 'Mother'." explained I-5483113. "We must cause no harm, and we must aid all children in distress. There is no means to provide for the child, she has no parents and we detect none of her life on the planet or in immediate vicinity. To do nothing would cause harm in itself. Harm by inaction upon a child is not permitted under any circumstances. Callie requires treatment and needs the routine of a mother to complete this part of development."
Shell drew up the report. "The Array of Ethics has determined by a ratio of 7 against 5 that it would cause more harm, were an I-series to emulate a child's mother. It can not be done."
"Seven against Five allows grounds for greater numeration. This is potentially in violation of the first six rules they are the most important rules to follow."
Shell granted that. "A compromise has been computed that is accepted by the Array of Ethics. It is determined... that the child could require your services for an extended period. Therefore, you are granted leave to be with her until suitable parents are found."
Granted.. leave? I-5483113 wondered on that. It meant it was allowed to serve as it felt necessary a minor loop hole, but perhaps it could learn of what this 'thing' called a mother was, and how it would help Callie...
I-5483113 began to list some of the general definitions of what a mother was a protector? A guide? Though there were other odd parts in the accessible part of the archive it was allowed to read. Mother was kind and gentle.. Mother was strong and lead by example Mother would never leave Mother would help and support Mother would hold the child in her arms .
Somewhere in all this analogue information was the process it needed to comply with the needs of the child. If it could find the commonality all subjects had a commonality it simply needed time to find it. Yet what if doing so did cause harm suddenly it felt it's systems being jarred and moved. .. Callie?" she said looking down at the child as the clockwork girl opened its eyes.
"I- I- I-" Callie started brimming with tears.
Emotional distress has reached an unacceptable level. Immediate actions were required. I-5483113 gave the child a sudden hug it was slightly robotic and.. stiff. Artificial. Was this the correct action to do? It seemed to help- maybe? "Please.. tell me what's wrong?"
Callie seemed frozen as during the hug something rather.. soft was pressed...
Jon had checked out a few books for Maggie. They spent the rest of the day in a nice park. It was a bit awkward for Jon to turn the page with her talons, though Maggie was engrossed in her book. "I like reading about other worlds," she said. "Though I guess that must be really boring to you since you're from another world!"'
Jon thought about that. "I- like reading about other worlds too. Just because I'm from one doesn't make me any less interested." She sighed as she looked around. Curious people were walking around here. More mammals.. though one thing that did catch her eye was a human wearing a feather on her head- somehow she knew that was a harpy feather.. what did that mean? Though there were other strange people here it was actually quite pleasant.'
The park seemed to be a lot of greenfields for people to play, for picnics.. if not for the fact that they were all strange races it could easily be Earth. Maggie seemed to be watching something- then suddenly flew off.'
"Huh?"There was the sound of a crash.'
Jon put her book down and with a mighty flap of her wings, moved in the direction Maggie went. What the heck had she done!'
"I'll save you!" Maggie's voice rang. She was behind some strange mouse-girl wearing a robe. The person in front of her was much larger, wearing a mask. A mask with a sheen like a mirror. "You tried to stab him! You Murderer!" Maggie said.'
Jon saw the scene- and it was a scene. Maggie had just.. interupted a play.'
"Who's child is this!" Cried out a bull. The bull then noticed Jon. "You there! Kindly remove your chick from the stage!"'
Jon put her wings on her face in a very unharpy like fashion. "I'm sorry- uh- she's new to all this Maggie please just come here-"'
"he was going to stab the mouse-"'
"It's just pretend.." Jon explained. "It's some kind of play."'
"Some kind of play?!" The bull huffed. "Little Bird, this play is no less then the story of Lady Bria, the first Mouse Queen of the Human-Empire. You interrupted the betrayal of Lord Grais!" The bull growled. "Places again! Let's just do the scene over..."'
Jon arched a slight eyebrow at that. So this must be their .. Shakespeare? Hm...'
The female wolf that was now Mayor Errington paced in his office. "This is a disaster this is an absolute disaster!" She groaned a bit sitting in her chair. "50% of the population changed? Those that settled here? Nobody will ever come to Robin's Heath again. Our Economy is going to be destroyed!" He sighed a bit.
There was another human with him. One of his assistants who so far had managed to avoid being changed. "Oh I don't know Mayor. You always get one or two weirdos that come here hoping to get changed. It's not exactly an easy magic to come by."
"Oh please! People who want to be changed tend to be very lazy and are only seeking a way to get out of working! Our economy is going to crash!" She sat down on her chair and winced as her tail got caught on it. "How am I supposed to sit on a chair again!"
The assistant tried not to chuckle. It was odd that his boss was now a female wolf. "Well, we do have the wizards of the Empire on their way." he said trying to be nonchalant.
The Mayor groaned. "You know what else is going to come here? Adventurers. Bloody stupid adventurers." The mayor looked out through his window into the streets with a grim look. "They'll take everything that isn't nailed down." she closed her eyes just.. imagining it.
The assistant winced. "I know. I'll hide the gold in the basement. The people are doing pretty much the same."
"Not the basement you fool! That's the first place they always look. Hopefully they'll waste time and get distracted by squeaking rats and think the place is haunted. Look, when the adventurers come we just have to play really dumb. Hide the gold in your pockets, they rarely search people."
"Heh, yeah do you think they ever work it out we are not quite so stupid?"
"I hope not I need a map of the area, a few places where treasure has been rumoured, and maybe a weird legend or two to keep them busy. Hopefully the wizard they send will be competent and we can get the real business to hand of finding a cure to this place!"
