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Inner Sanctum | 3:51 PM | Second Day
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Very well," she said instantly, bowing her head. "As the overseeing secretary, I declare that this, the 708th Conclave of the Universal Panacea, shall now commence. May a great exchange of knowledge take place today. Let us be the last."
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Let us be the last," the council members repeated. It would''ve been creepier if they didn''t all sound so bored.
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The subject of today''s conclave is: An introduction of the members of the Exemplary Acolyte''s Class of the Old Yru Academy of Medicine and Healing to the assembled members of the order, along with a series of presentations displaying their achievements of innovation. I shall state the planned agenda for the meeting," it continued. "Firstly, there shall be an opening statement by companion-legionary Amtu-Heddu-Anna. Then, there shall be a class introduction by Kamrusepa of Tuon. Then, there shall be a presentation by..."
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Oh, gods, I thought, trying not to yawn. Is it really going to go through them one by one?
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there shall be a presentation by Utsushikome of Fusai. Finally, there shall be a closing statement by companion-legionary Linos of Melanthos. This concludes the agenda." The golem lowered its head once again. "The estimated length of the conclave is 3 hours and 20 minutes. I shall now yield the floor to Amtu-Heddu-Anna."
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Oh my god, I thought. Did she forget her notes, or was that just it? Is she going senile? There are thousands of people watching!
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it, Aruru spoke up once again. "Thank you, companion-legionary Amtu-Heddu-Anna, for delivering the opening speech," it said. One advantage that golems had over human beings was that they had absolutely no capability for irony. "The floor shall now be yielded to Kamrusepa of Tuon for her introductory speech on behalf of her class."
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Oh gods, this again.
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indignity of it all - the drawn-out nature of illness, of slow physical and mental degeneration that stripped people of their humanity, piece by piece, in a manner that was the antithesis of grace."
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Help me.
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something there. An entity, a... Pressure, that I could feel was there, and perhaps glimpsed in the corner of my line of sight. Something stark white and heavy, with an inhuman shape... Like a spider, maybe. But broader, stretched out.
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Thank you, class representative Kamrusepa of Tuon," Aruru said. "We shall now commence with the presentations. Ophelia of the Glass Fields, please step forward."
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Well, here we go.
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me looking. Fuck, this sort of thing was uncomfortable.
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As you wish," it said. It stepped over to a cabinet by the window, retrieved a white sheet of fabric, then placed it over the table, Ophelia lifting up the box as she did so.
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opened the box.
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unfolded, like a tongue, and pressed against the substance, sucking it up. It seemed to struggle with the process, its whole body tensing and oscillating repeatedly.
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Flesh-Weaving Arcana, taking anima script from a variety of sources... Primarily the human body, and the helobdella modesta, which served as its base. My working term for it is a Proxia - um, from the word ''proxy''." (Familiar, in case its not self-evident, was the biological version of ''artifice''; that is, an animal created by the Power.) "It''s a lifeform designed to be able to mimic the functions of a human organ. In this case, a liver. It''s also able to sustain itself with minimal human intervention, so it''s easy to keep around... Though, I''m still ironing parts of that out. At the moment, it only has a quasi-functional digestive system, so it can only really consume glucose in its raw form. Other nutrients have to be injected directly, but that''s, ah, a problem I''ve made a lot of progress on, which you''ll see in the documentation."
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Is this safe, so soon after this morning?
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considerably painful. Several similar tendrils followed, worming around awkwardly under her skin. Blood started to trickle down, which she stopped with a handkerchief.
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captivated by the scene unfolding before his eyes. (I wanted to believe this was for wholesome reasons like professional curiosity, and not... Other ones.)
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injured animals home to nurse them back to health, like some fucking fairy tale protagonist.
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with that health, as you''ve seen multiple times already.
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liver replacement, here.
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fascinating," Zeno said, now far more animated than previously. "I''m incredibly impressed that you managed to make it work."
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helobdella modesta," Neferuaten chimed in. "A leech."
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Thank you, Ophelia of the Glass FIelds," Aruru said. "Next shall be the presentation from Bardiya of Tuon. Bardiya, please step forward."
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all of Neuromancy was more complex than most disciplines.
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Thank you, Ezekiel of Ilaadbat," Aruru said. "Next shall be the presentation from Jia Fang. Fang, please step forward."
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...Jia Fang, please step forward," it repeated.
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Ohhh." They laughed nervously, looking genuinely kind of embarrassed. "Wow! That was fast! Shoot, the Ysaran alphabet, huh?"
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Yes, master Hamilcar," it said. "Kamrusepa of Tuon, please step forward."
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