Lena

On the advice of the corporals, Lena continued to keep the sapient monsters in isolated cages. She made an extra room above the ceiling of the Entrance level's main floor and another one under the floor, then divided these rooms into individual cells. Candy suggested using the force fields to create vacuums around their cells to keep the prisoners from talking to each other, so Lena let her take over shaping the under water prison floor.

In the upper prison, Lena made the rooms more comfortable, though still bare. Aaron had pointed out that, without knowing what the harpies and hemat wolves had been through, they had no reassurance that they would not turn suicidal when unbound from the Sun elves. It sat wrong with Lena, but Aaron had shared some of his uncle-the-prison-guard's jail house stories before and made a convincing argument for caution over comfort.

Lena used the force fields to bring each occupant to their temporary quarters, using a structure construct that Candy came up with for force wall elevators. Unlike the Sun elves, the two remaining harpies, the noct, and the hemat wolves, while individually caged, were able to see and verbalize at each other.

Under the waters, Lena provided a day/night cycle and a chamber pot moulded up from the stone floor.

Fallan had still been waiting to be put through to Talon Commander Muglibaum, so Jason, Rob, and Aaron had removed anything that could possibly be used for weapons while Candy watched over them from a distance, holding a menacing looking pipe on a stick. The end was copper infused with yellow crystal shards. There was a bit of bronze tooling between the copper and the dowel that looked too fancy for Candy's usual style.

The caster remained unconscious for several hours. Silent Sun elf, a.k.a. Number 3, had cooperated, stripping down to his skivvies and seeming thankful to be permitted to keep that bit of dignity. Stabby, on the other hand, grew belligerent. He proclaimed himself to be Sha'vord of the Diving Falcon clan as if that should matter to the Studio crew. Instead of risking her friends, Lena evacuated the air in Stabby's bubble, waiting for a slow count of twenty after he appeared to pass out before letting the guys near enough to strip him.

Caging the noct and the harpy with it had been as simple as wrapping them in force fields. Lena had used her skills to make the force bubbles opaque so that the two creatures of the sky didn't have to see themselves being dragged up through the water. Upon being ordered to divest themselves of gear, the harpy had stripped off even the long tunic preserving her modesty. Just in case there were magical enchantments in the garb, Lena provided her a duplicate made of cotton. The noct had at least kept on its tunic, but obediently handed over its medieval utility belt. Only the Sun elves had had weapons.

The invaders belongings were put in separate tubs made from bronze. Lena included the weapons that Stabby and the caster had dropped. Deciding not to emulate a DnD villain, Lena had the elves gear stored in a sealed room on the Entrance level, as in she opened a hole in the wall and then closed it with stone wrapping around the bronze tubs. No need to make escaping with their gear a simple prospect.

With prisoners tucked away, Lena threw herself into building and sculpting, anything that would distract her from the sick horror of the caster crushing the harpy's head. That sight played out in her mind on auto loop.

Never before had Lena thought she would miss the ability to cry.

When the Research core finished reverse engineering the harpy's body the results announcement listed new class designs available of Caretaker, Cook, and Dancer, along with the first status design Lena had seen: Enslaved Mind. That did not give Lena any peace.

Art did not distract Lena from the conversations occurring within the Studio.

*~*~*

Jason

Jason had to resist the urge to go beat on the Sun elves when he realized just how hard Lena was taking the death of the harpy. Worse, he couldn't even touch her, hold her, give her the chance to punch him if that was what she needed.

Rob suggested going down to talk with the corporals, milk them for the locals' take on the Sun elves' actions. It beat sitting around feeling impotent so Jason agreed.

They brought down the lunch pots Jason had set to baking earlier in the day, along with steel soup spoons, forks, and chop sticks.

The corporals were in the sand table room, gathered around a glowing stone. Rob knocked on the archway frame leading back toward the living quarters. "Hello again, gentlemen. We bring rabbit stew to share."

The corporals straightened up and Fallan took hold of the glowing stone. Muglibaum's voice came from the stone. "What's that?"

Fallan said, "Our hosts just brought a meal."

Jason asked, "We're interrupting your call, aren't we? My apologies. We'll just leave the stew."

Muglibaum said, "Actually, I was hoping to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

Jason said, "I may not have answers, but you're free to ask your questions."

Muglibaum chuckled, then asked, "What are your plans concerning your prisoners?"

"Before I get into that answer, was Lena able to share sound with you, corporals?" Jason asked.

Tremshur and Fallan shook their heads.

"No," said Baline.

"The harpy that the staff user killed was a thinking being. The fellow calling himself Sha'vord knocked her unconscious when he could as easily have allowed her to pass and flee up the tunnel. Her death was completely unnecessary. Where we're from, that is murder. Our emotions are running high right at the moment, so we're going to wait for a day or two so that we're not acting from outrage. We will give them an opportunity to convince us that they saw no better option. If they can talk us around to their point of view, we'll see from there. If not, due to the callous disregard for life we witnessed, we will execute the two directly involved in the harpy's murder. Regardless of which goes what way, we do not tolerate slavery, and they forfeited any claim of ownership to the others as soon as they brought them into the dungeon."

"Would you execute someone for hunting?" Tremshur asked.

Jason said, "Assuming their prey was of animal intelligence, no. If their prey was smarter than that, capable of being reasoned with, then it's not hunting, it's premeditated murder."

"Even if you're at war with what you're hunting?" Tremshur asked.

Jason shook his head. "Execution is state sanctioned murder, and war is a broad scale state of mass execution edicts. If we had the resources to create a rehabilitation facility, we'd do that in a heart beat. We don't, so we're left with the options we do have, and letting that kind of evil walk free in the world is not an option we're willing to choose."

"Roberto Garcias, do you agree with Jason Kline's statement?" Tremshur asked.

Rob finished setting down the bowls he had carried in. "I'm not as much of a bleeding heart as Lena or Jason. Those pricks set up the situation so even if they had a legit reason for their actions in the moment, they're responsible for an unwarranted death. It's man slaughter at least. Civilized beings have a responsibility to try for peace before they engage in war."

Baline shook his head. "But, how could the Sun elves have sought peace when the harpy started rampaging?"

Rob, hands now free that he had set down the platter on which he had carried the bowls, said, "That wasn't a rampage. That was pure panic. They could have easily let her past them, given her the space to retreat."

"And when do you think the harpy would have stopped running?" Baline asked. "She was bound to one of them, at least. If she got too far away, when the bond snapped she would have been even more dangerous."

Rob, a glint of anger sharpening his gaze, opened his mouth. Jason cut him off. "You're dangerous. If you panic here in the Studio, should we kill you?"

Baline's scales lifted, but Muglibaum spoke up from the stone. "I hope that wasn't a threat," the Talon Commander said.

Jason shook his head. "No, it wasn't, because we don't subscribe to the theory of kill it before it can hurt us. We are not that weak. We are ignorant; I'll certainly concede that. The harpies may not be capable of vocal discourse with us, but they are quite obviously capable of complex communication with each other, and they recognize the value of tools and clothes. What makes their lives less valuable than the Sun elves'?"

Muglibaum, settling into a lecturing tone, said, "Mon-saps are still monsters. They are not responsible for their actions the way an Aware being is. They are not on our level. You can only reason with them so far, and with pretty much the same kind of tactics used to train a war dog or a horse. Even if your horse could speak with you, that wouldn't make it Aware. There are skills and spells that will interpret animal speech; that doesn't mean that animals are capable of being responsible for their actions. When instinct is the overriding directive of a creature's life, their ability to shape the world is as good as nonexistent."

"So you use the ability of an individual to effect changes in their environment as the meter stick by which you value their lives?" Jason asked.

"That's one way to put it, yes," Muglibaum said. "This is Rhofhir, after all. If we let the patterns get too stale with repetition, we invite an Unraveling, and that kind of catastrophe has so far ended up with the deaths of most of the creatures living at the time."

Jason looked at Rob, both of them surprised out of their anger. "What's an unraveling?" Jason asked.

*~*~*

Brad

Dibbs rubbed his face and leaned forward in his chair. "We're in the Eleventh Age, which means there's been ten Unravelings so far. The signs of an eleventh Unraveling have been getting more and more prevalent. Stagnant weather patterns seem to be especially worrisome predictors. There has been a sharp increase in the numbers of monstrous sapients at the same time as the declining birth rates of Aware races, and the Aware races are becoming more susceptible to demagoguery. We need to break out of the pattern stagnation that's going on in the Grand Tapestry, or safety measures in the Grand Tapestry will kick in and start jettisoning the most stagnant of the patterns, which are usually the ones most people rely on to go about their daily lives."

Brad, coiled up on the workbench across from where Dibbs was seated in the reading chair, glanced up from scroll box he was using to record his notes. "How does that even work?"

"Say, for instance, that corns are the staple diet of a species. During an Unraveling, the corns will mutate. A lot, if not most, will revert to simple grasses without seed heads. Some will become monstrous plants. Some will turn into new types of corn, and many of those new types will have undesirable consequences for the people eating them. Regardless, that staple food supply is now gone and the people who relied on it are starving while they look for new food sources."

Brad nodded and wrote a few more notes on the exposed portion of the scroll in the scroll box. "So, widespread regressions and mutations. Now, why are you 'summoning' demons to deal with this?"

"Ideas, mostly," Dibbs said. "A bit of hope for some lucky answer falling into our laps. I know I've said it before, but the universal plane you're from has progressed much farther without the kind of resetting that occurs during an Unraveling. You were one of the clearest voices I could find that actually understood enough of the structure of your universe to be worth listening to. We've already begun an analysis of material objects to see whether there are the 'atoms' and 'molecules' of your universe present in our own, though discovering ways to see that small are presenting their own challenges. You wanted more insight into translation spells, especially those focused more in physiological translations. I never realized that you weren't conscious during our communications. I certainly did not intend to receive a complete pattern for you, sapient mind and all."

"Then why put me into this … golem body?" Brad asked. He was highly miffed over the whole thing, but Dibbs at least wasn't acting the sodding ass. Feltz, though, that imperialist cunt was a bloody ass hat. Highly intelligent, Brad had to give him that, but his morals were beyond skewed.

Dibbs refilled his mug from the pitcher sitting on top of the bookshelves. He swirled the contents a bit as he stared into them, then took a sip. Then he answered Brad.

"It is beyond rare to get the full pattern of a demon. Attempting to integrate demons with incomplete patterns usually leads to their violent, painful deaths and the destruction of the incomplete pattern. Using a golem for the structure to graft an incomplete pattern on to has had the most successes in recovering the information contained in the demonic patterns.

"I used my highest quality memory stone to record our last communication. I did not expect to get enough of your pattern to even attempt a golemization, but the clarity of our communication was so strong I hoped to be able to use the memory stone to replay it to get as much nuance as I could. The rituals are exhausting and expensive. The memory stone is cheap in comparison.

"Feltz recognized the patterning caught in the stone. While I was sleeping off the exhaustion from the ritual, he created your golem body. Your pattern was too strong in the stone for me to replay the conversation, so the only ways to get at the information in the stone was to proceed with golemization or to attempt to integrate you as a full pattern. Golemization is usually the safer choice, but with a golem's scaffold under the grafted pattern, so far as I know the only results have been at best monstrous sapience."

Brad reflexively rubbed at his temples. It was a weird reminder that his form was more lizard than human. "I have to admit, I don't understand this distinction between Aware and monstrous."

Dibbs took another swallow of his drink. He sighed, set down the mug, and got up to pace. After a few circuits between the door and the wall, Dibbs stopped and looked Brad in the eye. "Sapience is a combination of intelligence, acuity and wisdom. Awareness requires the ability to apply one's acuity and intelligence to oneself in a way that allows one to recognize their own patterns and to influence them.

"Monstrous sapients are often capable of seeing and recognizing patterns, but their intelligence is limited to the refinement of existing patterns. They are unable to create anything new to the Tapestry. In many ways, they are like the artifacts of intelligence that you spoke of. They can be taught patterns outside of their instinctual ones, but they cannot diverge from what they are born knowing or taught."

Brad made a few more notes. While he was formulating his next question, Feltz entered the workroom.

He took down a small chest, about half a meter long and maybe a third of a meter wide and deep. "I have been assigned to investigate a group of Traveler demons on Malta. Pack your bags, Dibbs, and bring your demon along. From the sound of things, it may be worthwhile to bring your lab, too."

Brad watched in growing disbelief as Feltz packed more items into the chest than it could conceivably hold.

"And why are you asking for my companionship?" Dibbs asked, looking only slightly put out by Feltz's actions.

"One, you don't want Vorbolinsh to use your petition as grounds to seize your demon, and your golem would definitely find that a disagreeable situation. And, two, I repeat: a *group* of Travelers. Third, I hadn't gotten to yet. There hasn't been a legitimate sighting of even a lone Traveler lately, let alone a confirmed-by-status Traveler in an Aware integration. This is just up your line of research." Feltz had finished packing up the workbench and begun on the books.

Dibbs nodded. "Good points. Brad, would you accompany me while I pack?"

Brad set his pen in the pen holder on the scroll box and nodded. He gathered the scroll box containing his notes, and had a brief moment of panic when Dibbs, using a telekinetic spell, gathered him and headed out the door.

*~*~*

Lena

After seeing Rob and Jason head down to talk with the corporals, Candy invited Aaron into her Physics Lab. Presently, she was acting like an interpreter between Aaron and the Tapestry. Most of the answers were separated from the questions by slight pauses, no more than a count of twenty.

Aaron: "What are the capabilities of a harpy in a panic?"

Candy: "Clawed wing-hands, taloned feet, beak made for piercing, sonic attack, innate wind magic. The Adventurers Guild maintains some kind of ranking system for threats, and uses some kind of a short cut through the Tapestry system to share that information. I'm getting the understanding like DnD style challenge ratings - that has to do with the Aspect of the Gamer. Individual harpies are considered something like CR 5 or 6."

Aaron: "What would the Sun elves sit at?"

Candy: "Their stats are higher than mine and Aware races aren't part of the CR system the Adventurers Guild maintains."

Aaron: "So, harpies aren't Aware? Where do they stand on the Tapestry's scale?"

Candy: "Monstrous and monstrous sapient. Looks like as they age they break through a stat level threshold, barely getting into the sapient range as adults."

Aaron: "What's this about a sapience range?"

(longer pause)

Candy: "There are two thresholds. One is about base stats and the other is about enhanced stats. Base-stats sapience seems to be the big determiner for Aware versus monstrous sapience. There's something more, but I think I need to complete another Aspect to get the nuance. … Yeah, something like a Scholar's Aspect. Anyhow, the base-stats benchmark requires a minimum of 7 points for Acuity, Intelligence, and Wisdom, with a combined total of 25 or greater. The enhanced-stats threshold requires a minimum of 100 stat points, with no less than 30% of those points divided between Acuity and Intelligence."

Aaron: "Would dragons be considered Aware?"

Candy: "Why would you think there are dragons?"

Aaron: "I don't know. It'd be cool. Are there dragons?"

Candy: "Huh. Yeah, there are. I'm not a biologist, so maybe when you get up to speed on this Tapestry Sync stuff you'll understand it more, but there are dragons like there are primates and felines, but there are also more hybrid mixed family things. Species here seems to be more about breeding true than only breeding like to like."

Aaron: "That's cool, I guess. But, back to the harpies: can you determine if the one that died made it past that sapience threshold?"

(longer pause)

Candy: "No, I can't tell."