this didn't go as well as Eastwood's escape

[longlived]

A back alley in London. Body parts fall to the streets. Two hands. The forearms. Feet, legs, a hollowed torso in several pieces, internal organs. A human head. Each of the parts is light enough that a falcon could conceivably transport it from one place to another in its claws, and the blood is all clinging. Altogether, these parts would make a full human being--short one eye.

Huey has only done this once before, so it takes some time before his body reassembles. Like cells of an organism, like a well-coordinated swarm of ants, his flesh and bones and organs pull themselves back together, joints locking in and blood flowing once more. He is now as whole in body as he was that day he was made immortal, minus an eye and a ponytail. Huey Laforet looks around him, and in a calm, quiet voice, calls for his youngest daughter.

"Leeza? ...Hilton?"

But there is no answer, and the streets beyond don't sound like 1930s Chicago. Nor did this place seem to have any connection to Alcatraz. So. Something didn't go to plan. (Again.)

"Ah."

But at least he has the clothes he had asked the Poet to fetch. He may as well dress and go looking for answers. He places a hand over his empty eye socket and wishes Renee the best.

[blah blah spam or prose, I don't care which, apologies for his lack of social, you know the drill]

Comments

[longlived]

Yes, I've observed it tending that way. [His head tilts.] I should clarify. The year is 1934 where I was from.

[Huey's eyes wander, as they sometimes do, past Fran's head, and he speaks as he sometimes does like he is only thinking aloud.] The Twins have always been the link of communication between myself and the Lamia. It has been a few years now since I have seen any of the others in person... I had been hoping to make contact with at least Sickle and the Poet today. They have all been less cohesive since Christopher's disappearance.

Ah, it's quite remarkable. Each should be able to handle most humans without any difficulty; in respect to physical ability, they were designed to be superior to humanity. Yet in several separate incidents recently, a human has been able to match, if not exceed, their combat abilities. A young woman against Adele, a young man against Christopher--and on their last mission, the whole team fell to a very strange human with a wrench in Chicago. Well, perhaps the results would have been different if Christopher had been with them... Even so, humans have exceeded my expectations. It seems to have quite shaken Rail.

[forbioethics]

My, that must be something all of them are aware of? Most of Dr. Madaraki's creations are more obviously inhuman and treated that way. They know it. But my little sister doesn't seem to have any trouble blending in... Her only issues are social. [She sighs and sips her tea. How she worries about her.]

But you say 1934? I'm from 2010! Medical science will really dazzle you when you get to see it! I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[longlived]

Ah, not too long to wait. Observing the advances has been--interesting. I'm very difficult to please, but every now and then a human comes along with something truly brilliant.

[forbioethics]

Yes, it does help that the advancements I'm most familiar with come from top-tier scientists...

[longlived]

It isn't entirely [at all] as worthwhile to pursue the lower levels of pursuit. No... that's a kind of arrogance. Those build slowly into changes that completely reconfigure the scientific world. Perhaps immortality has made that progress seem even more like easy gradations. [Paying attention to Fran again.] Your creator must have been among the best scientist of the era.

[forbioethics]

[Oh Madaraki fangirling time.] He is the greatest scientist of my time! Even though it seems most people who know his name fear him... I'm really still not sure about that. He helps anyone who comes to him and they in turn help him advance his work. I'm proud to be his greatest creation but I know my skills are still much less than his. Sometimes, humanity just makes it difficult to progress... I found a wonderful way to make pregnancy easier once but it really wasn't practical for how humans behave, I guess...

[longlived]

[He reads the subtext there but.... doesn't care. Because SCIENCE = GOOD.]

Oh? How did it work?

[forbioethics]

After the embryo formed, I injected a specialized RNA to stop the fetal stage from occurring. After two months, the woman would give birth to the specialized embryo. At this point, it acts much like a larvae, so keeping it in a small, contained area with some food like jelly was sufficient enough for care. After eight months, it would form a chrysalis. This is the only point in which the parents would need to pay attention since a chrysalis can be easily damaged. But then after ten days, a healthy, normal human child is revealed when it molts! My basic goal was to allow women to have more freedom while still having children. They don't need to take a work leave or have limited physical capabilities this way. It also eliminates the normal risks and complications associated with pregnancy since the embryo can pass from the body with perfect ease. Everything else is easy enough to handle.

[Fran sighs deeply.] Unfortunately... the metamorphosis birth method was still in the trial phase. I hadn't had a chance to test it in various conditions yet. People were too careless and ignore the new risks, especially those in the chrysalis phase. The natural predators that preyed on caterpillars and the like began to prey on these as well.

[But then she shrugs.] It was an interesting experiment but I suppose in the end, it was for the best. Maybe pregnancy evolved as it did simply because it truly was the best solution. Either way, I only use it for certain creations now who wouldn't be able to give birth easily otherwise.

[Sips her tea.]

[longlived]

[Huey calmly takes in the information.] It neatly steps over the difficulties cloning has with the production of children. Perhaps some time I'll go into detail about how the homunculi are created without a host body. You may be able to skip the embryonic state altogether.

[forbioethics]

I would love to exchange information. My reports aren't here, so you would need to settle for what I remember. But my duty is to further scientific advancements, so helping you would fill that.

[longlived]

I can work from your memory. [It's a nicer? smile. Of course he can work from her memory. Genius thanks.]

[forbioethics]

Wonderful! Feel free to ask anything. As long as you're working towards advancements, I'm happy to help.

[longlived]

[a light chuckle] I'm hardly working towards regression.