Wednesday, August 18

not an angel when I die

A brilliant design I made for Mr. Qork, if I do say so myself. I watched through my frequency visualization helmet as Kane drew in his wings and plunged, opening his talons and snapping them closed again around my brother's shoulders as he tumbled. Once he was secured, Kane curved back to a steady altitude.

Marcus was captured in such a way that his face was staring up at Kane. My assistant turned his avian head sideways to stare back though an optic sensor.

"Your brother is rescued, Doctor!" he chirped as he banked in a long arc back towards New Babbage.

"Another one of your toys sent to murder me, Darien?"

I took a deep breath and addressed him through Kane's audio system. "I've finally figured out what you are, Marcus. You're a walking virus. Alive, you can merge on a cellular level into any organism and control it with but a touch. Even dead you are still dangerous, as your spirit you can possess any machine. Every device I've built since you stole my body before have subroutines installed, just to prevent you from using my work against me again. That includes Mr. Qork here."

"So you'll keep me in a brain jar, trapped between life and death?" He chuckled as he shook his head. "A Prince of Erebus has the right to choose..."

The camera's view of his indignant face dissolved into static, but was cut short by a scream. I shuddered when the picture became clear again."

"Doctor Mason!" cried Kane with alarm, "my talons snapped shut! I couldn't stop..."

Of course. I designed those subroutines to kill him.

"LET GO! LET GO!" I was screaming as I ripped the frequency helmet from my head and smashed it into the tea set on the carpet that I had already overturned. Wren backed away, cleaning rag still in her hand. She looked up at me with a slightly frightened look on her face.

"M--more tea, Father?"

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