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| | ==Background== | | ==Background== |
| − | ''There was a manic smile on his face as he walked down the sidewalk, a heavy backpack slung over one shoulder. You could practically see the electricity in his eyes. Those who took notice tended to give him a wide berth.''
| + | Henry Blueriver knew there was something unusual about the girl he kept running into. He had no idea just how unusual she was, however, until the day that curiosity got the better of him and he followed her home. There, he met the girl's "father": Gerald Waterford, a retired genius who once went by the name of "Dr. Cogwheel". He opened Henry's eyes to the world of wonders: the girl, Cherie, was an Automata creation of his, brought to life by Inspiration and Mania. The revelation was too much for Henry and he resisted his breakthrough, running from the house instead. |
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| − | ''It didn't matter to him. None of it. Here was a man on a mission.''
| + | Months later, Cherie came to him with news: her father was dying. On his deathbed, Gerald told Henry to "take care of his legacy": Henry tried his best to, although truth be told, it was more as if Cherie was taking care of him. She tried to teach him the basics of mad science: he stubbornly refused his breakthrough, but the resulting Mania kept her and the old man's wonders from falling into disrepair. |
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| − | Once upon a time, Henry Blueriver was a man without a purpose. He made a living through odd jobs, paid his bills, saved up towards some nebulous future dream. He didn't expect his life would be changed forever through a simple act of chivalry.
| + | A year and a half later, Gerald's old life came back to haunt Henry and Cherie. Three Geniuses arrived demanding to know where Gerald had hidden a Larva they had created together: a soul bound to clockwork. It came to light that Cherie was made using that Larva, and a fight ensued: two of the Geniuses were defeated through luck and chance, but when the leader of the gang fired his clockwork cannon at Henry, Cherie jumped into the line of fire and was blown to pieces. |
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| − | "Excuse me, I think you dropped this..."
| + | It was this that finally triggered Henry's breakthrough. Consumed with grief and rage, he created a makeshift weapon and killed the leader of the group with it. The emotional trauma of the incident led Henry to devote his newfound powers to the twin causes of repairing Cherie and fighting those who would abuse their Inspiration. |
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| − | The girl was brown-haired and green-eyed, wearing a peach-colored sleeveless top and jean shorts. Normally Henry wouldn't have given the encounter a second thought; his thoughts never strayed into the romantic. But their eyes met, and Henry found himself enraptured by something he couldn't describe.
| + | For some time afterward he tinkered alone, largely unaware and untrusting of the world of Geniuses. It was by chance that he was discovered by a member of a collaborative, a band of Geniuses working under the leadership of a Neid Director named Lars Bennett. Realizing that his self-taught approach would take years to bring him even close to fixing Cherie, he decided that perhaps he could study under the tutelage of a more experienced Genius. So Henry joined the collaborative, unaware of what Lars Bennett's goals were. |
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| − | "Ah...thanks."
| + | Henry was a fast learner, improving upon his haphazard principles at a surprising rate. Recognizing the prodigy for what he was, Lars decided to indoctrinate him fully into the collaborative. |
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| − | The girl took the proffered can and returned to checking out. Henry had still more things he needed to pick up, so he didn't follow her in line. He imagined it would be the first and last time he'd ever see her.
| + | He was horrified by what he discovered. Lars was no better than the three thugs who had murdered Cherie. Henry had heard of the works possible through the axiom of Epikrato before, but he had never imagined the uses they could be put to. Lars' goal was total domination through Epikrato: his magnum opus, still in the planning stages, was a monstrous wonder that could control the minds of an entire city. Henry was aware that a direct confrontation with Lars and his insane goals would have been suicidal - only a mad burst of Mania had made his first victory possible - so he resorted to a more indirect approach, secretly stealing the funds that Lars had amassed through his Epikrato abuse and fleeing in the night. As far as he knows, his plan succeeded, though this means he now has an insane Epikrato master bent on revenge after him. |
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| − | He was wrong.
| + | Henry Blueriver knows he's far from his goals, but he's learned much about the strange world of the Peerage and how to live in it. Rather than sink into depression, as would be expected of a Klagen, he's snapped back violently in the opposite direction, adopting a reckless, manic approach that made him perfect for the Navigators. |
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| − | It was a bookstore the next time: Henry was surprised to find the girl looking for the same book he was. Then there was the electronics store: he went there to look for a new game release and found her browsing the titles. Their encounters grew more and more frequent, though never more than a casual acknowledgment. Still, there was a feeling there that Henry couldn't shake.
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| − | One day he spotted her not far from his apartment building, a bag of groceries in hand. Curiosity overtook his common sense, and he followed her. She saw him just as she reached the door to her house; he made to run, but her smile caught him off-guard. "Hi there," she said. "I'd been wondering when you'd come."
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| − | The girl invited Henry inside. Against his better judgment, he accepted. The house was well-kept, if somewhat spartan: the furniture, upon closer inspection, was covered in a thin layer of dust.
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| − | The girl led Henry towards a room in the back. "I'd like you to meet my father."
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| − | Henry was surprised to see the old man seated in his wheelchair; he could easily have passed for the girl's great-grandfather. The room itself was strange and antiquarian: shelves lined the walls, filled with old photos and strange trinkets, some of them elaborate gadgets that seemed to glow with a strange light.
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| − | "Welcome," the old man said. "My name is Gerald Waterford, although back in the day I believe they used to call me 'Dr. Cogwheel'." He smiled at Henry, as if expecting some sign of recognition. All he got back was a blank stare. He resumed speaking. "Cherie you know already," he said, gesturing at the girl. "She speaks highly of you."
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| − | Henry wasn't sure how to respond. The old man seemed to expect something of him, and the gadgets on the shelves were making him uncomfortable.
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| − | "Listen, er...I barely even know her, so I'm not sure what exactly you think is going on between us," Henry said, trying to diplomatically defuse what he saw as a potential powderkeg. "I mean, I like her, she's cute and smart, we have a lot of the same interests..." He paused, realizing he had probably said exactly the wrong things.
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| − | "...Just what is this all about?"
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| − | The old man's smile grew wider. "Cherie," he said, "show him."
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| − | "Show me what?"
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| − | Cherie broke out into a grin. "This," she said.
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| − | She reached up, grabbed her head in both hands, and ''lifted''. There was a ''click'', like a catch unfastening, and Henry saw.
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| − | "That...that's not..."
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| − | "Possible?" Cherie said, still grinning. Her head had come off, and she was playfully tossing it from one hand to another. "''Everything's'' possible. It just takes the right mindset."
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| − | Henry looked at Gerald. "What the hell is going on here? What ''is'' she?"
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| − | "She," the old man said, "is a Wonder of Automata. My pride and joy. And I...am a ''Genius.''"
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| − | Henry continued to stare, as if he was certain the old man had gone insane.
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| − | "It's not a boast," the old man said, his expression stern. "For many years, I have been something...not quite ''human''. I have been a vessel for ''Inspiration'', its tool, its guide, its master, its servant...I have done things both incredible and monstrous...seen the world in all its glory and horror...I have wielded ''Mania'' and been consumed by it...and here, today, I live surrounded by my work."
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| − | A strange smile crossed his face. "The things you see around you aren't what most people would think of as 'real'. They don't work like clocks or flashlights or radios or laptop computers. They work simply because ''they are meant to.'' They behave by principles that make sense only in a world of my own devising. Even Cherie, my beloved daughter, is but a trick, a product of my own very special kind of madness."
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| − | Henry stepped back, as if the old man's smile was physically pushing him away. His grasp of reality felt like it was crumbling in his fingers. He instinctively clutched at his head, frightened by how much sense everything was making. ''Everything is possible with the right mindset''...he had said the same thing once or twice before, but he had never meant it like this. You couldn't make a robot that looked and behaved identically to a human; the technology simply didn't exist. But what if you could ''force'' it to exist?...
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| − | "Are you all right?"
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| − | Henry turned. Cherie was holding her still-disembodied head right in his face.
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| − | "It's all right," she said, her concerned expression turning into a smile. "You're just taking your first step into a bigger world."
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| − | "I can't," Henry choked. "I have a life...I have things I want to do...I can't ''be'' this. I'm sorry..."
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| − | He ran. He ran out the door, down the street, all the way back to his apartment. He locked and bolted the door behind him, and slumped against it. He had glimpsed Inspiration, all its wonder and terror, and his instinct was to flee.
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| − | It would come looking for him soon enough.
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| − | Weeks passed uneventfully. Cherie had vanished from Henry's life, and he felt the worse for it. He had given up something strange, terrible and yet full of promise. But then he would think back to that day, back to that room, and shut his mind.
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| − | ''Sometimes he wondered if the old man had seen the signs. He had always been good at putting things together. If you gave him the right instructions, he could make just about anything. And that was what unsettled him about the things he had seen on the shelves. He had seen that same glow in his own work: it was like comparing a lit match to the sun, but it was unmistakably there. He had paid it little heed before, but now it had taken on a terrible new significance. Had Cherie been watching? Had she been reporting to her father that she had found a Genius in the making? Was their strange connection just the product of Mania and machinations?''
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| − | ''If Cherie was a lie, then everything had been a lie. And that was not a possibility he would ever accept.''
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| − | If Henry hadn't been expecting a package that day, the message might never have been received. He thought nothing of the cardboard box as he brought it into his apartment, carefully cut open the tape, and looked inside...
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| − | "Hello again."
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| − | Henry sank to his knees. "Oh God."
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| − | "Is that any way to greet an old girlfriend?" Cherie's head chirped in her bed of styrofoam peanuts. "I would've thought you missed me."
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| − | "I do, but..." Henry stopped himself midsentence. "I'm not going to be involved with all this Genius nonsense, you hear me?" He began looking around for the duct tape. "I'm mailing you back, and you're gonna tell your dad to leave me the hell alone!"
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| − | "He's dying."
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| − | "Excuse me?"
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| − | "I said he's dying and he wants to see you."
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| − | Henry lifted Cherie's head out of the box. "What, you couldn't have sent me a letter?"
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| − | "He wanted to," Cherie said, "but I thought this would get your attention better."
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| − | "Attention gotten," Henry said. His mind was racing. "But why me? Isn't there some other Genius he'd rather talk to?"
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| − | Cherie glanced sideways. "It's...complicated," she said.
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| − | "I can handle complicated."
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| − | "My father can explain it better," Cherie said. "You have to talk to him as soon as possible."
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| − | "And if I don't?"
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| − | "Then...I'll probably die."
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| − | Henry's response was a confused expression.
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| − | "Or worse."
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| − | Cherie's usually buoyant expression had turned serious; even slightly pleading. Any impression that she was lying was swept away.
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| − | "Fine, then," Henry said. "I'll see what your father has to say."
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| − | And so, carrying Cherie's head in its box, Henry Blueriver made the short trip to Gerald Waterford's house. Cherie's body answered the door; a disconcerting sight, but one Henry had a feeling he was going to get used to.
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| − | Gerald had been moved to another room. Lying in bed, he looked even more pale and skeletal than the last time Henry saw him.
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| − | "I'm here," he said.
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| − | "Good, good," Gerald replied. He hadn't opened his eyes. "Cherie...is she with you?"
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| − | "I'm here, father," Cherie said, her head back on her shoulders.
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| − | A pause followed. "I am Gerald Waterford, once known by the name of 'Dr. Cogwheel'. In my youth, I was a toymaker; I crafted intricate little clockwork contrivances meant to delight and amuse children. I had a wife and a young daughter, named Cherie..."
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| − | Cherie's eyes went wide. This was apparently a story she had never heard before.
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| − | "This life was taken from me, my work and my family consumed in fire. And in my despair at the world, I catalyzed as a Klagen - a Genius born of sorrow."
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| − | Henry felt the weight of ages settling on him as Gerald continued. "My breakthrough was...''liberating.'' It was as if all the rules I had believed were ironclad were nothing more than mere suggestions. Gerald Waterford died in that fire, and Dr. Cogwheel, a being free from the chains of human society, emerged in his place."
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| − | Gerald coughed. "I was blind back then. So blind. I lashed out at the world, a toddler handed a loaded revolver. Dr. Cogwheel, for all his posturing was...a ''cartoon villain.'' He made himself a monster, thinking he had made some great discovery about the world, and in the end...in the end the Peerage smashed his clockwork men, destroyed his secret lab, and chased him into the darkness. A page in the history books? He would be lucky to earn a footnote."
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| − | He chuckled to himself. "In that darkness, Dr. Cogwheel was forced to confront what he had become. The experience almost destroyed him. But in the end, he truly ''saw'' for the first time, recognized his own folly, and turned his Inspiration towards making things of beauty, as he had done before. Dr. Cogwheel perished with his lab, and Gerald Waterford finally rose from the ashes of his old shop."
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| − | "And then you made me," Cherie said. "Do I...do I look like her? Am I like...the real Cherie?"
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| − | "It's as if the fire never happened," Gerald said, his voice trailing off. "And my wife is here, and we are all happy and prosperous, and we live in a world where things like Inspiration and Mania don't change men into monsters..."
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| − | "''Father!''"
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| − | "I don't understand," Henry said. "What am I supposed to do? What did you bring me here for?"
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| − | The old man's lips moved. Henry had to lean in close to hear his last words.
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| − | ''"Take...care...of...my...legacy..."''
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| − | And with that, the life of Gerald Waterford ended.
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| − | A year and a half passed. The old man had left everything to Cherie, including the house; pure pragmatism made Henry accept her offer of moving in. Gerald had taught his daughter much of what he knew of mad science; not being Inspired herself, she was unable to use this information, but she tried whenever possible to pass it on to Henry. He began to understand the theory, though his resistance to his breakthrough continued: sometimes the Inspiration would try to force its way in while his mind was unguarded, but he had convinced himself that becoming a Genius was not for him. The precious trickle of Mania these lessons produced sustained Gerald's wonders, though: she had been careful not to tell Henry about the dangers of wonders starved of Mania, and actively feared the transformation being an Orphan might bring if she wasn't careful - feared what she might have done to Henry in such a state. Feared what Henry might have done if he knew the risks. It was selfish, but she carried on the deception.
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| − | Henry gradually began to find life in the old Waterford house pleasant. On occasion he'd try to convince himself that he'd imagined the more bizarre aspects of his experiences with Cherie, but then Cherie would do something like leave her head in an odd place for him to find. It was a strange and almost magical time: they would talk, they would laugh, they would watch movies and read books and never a hint would show that they hadn't known each other all their lives.
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| − | And then the magic ended as abruptly as it started.
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| − | There was a knock on the door. Cherie looked through the peephole; the faces on the other side weren't familiar.
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| − | "Hello?" she called through the door. "Who is it?"
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| − | "Lord Grindgears, Sir Pendulum and the Earl of Mainspring," the reply came. "We're here to see the Doctor."
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| − | "Who's at the door?" Henry said, passing by.
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| − | "I don't know, but it sounds like they knew my father."
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| − | A moment passed. Something told the two of them that this could only mean trouble.
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| − | "Be right back," Cherie said.
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| − | The two huddled. "Those are Geniuses out front," Cherie whispered. "They all gave funny names and dress like something out of a Dickens novel."
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| − | "Do ''all'' Geniuses do that?"
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| − | "Not ''all,''" Cherie said defensively.
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| − | Another knock, harder this time. "We know you're in there," Lord Grindgears said. "We can hear your voices. Tell the Doctor we've come to collect on his debt."
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| − | "Debt?" Henry whispered. "Did your father tell you anything about owing a debt to somebody?"
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| − | "No..."
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| − | "Open up in five, or we're opening it for you! ''Five!''"
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| − | "They're coming in," Henry said. "Did Gerald keep any weapons around? Did he have any ''enemies?''"
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| − | "''Four!''"
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| − | "My father wouldn't hurt a fly," Cherie said. "I mean...''after'' he got better, I guess. And you know as much as I do about who he used to be..."
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| − | "''Three!''"
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| − | "We have to run, then," Henry said. "To the back door! Hurry!"
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| − | "''Two!''"
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| − | "Right!"
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| − | "''One!''"
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| − | The front door exploded in a burst of concussive force; even as they ran, Henry and Cherie were caught by the shockwave and knocked off their feet. Lord Grindgears stepped through the door, an improbable clockwork cannon in his hands; he was a tall, gaunt man in a black top hat and suit straight out of Victorian London. Sir Pendulum was a mustachioed man in yellow with a bowler hat, holding an ornate cane with a vicious bladed edge, and the Earl of Mainspring was a short, fat man in gray carrying a hammer made out of gears.
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| − | "My apologies," Lord Grindgears crooned. "I always had a terrible sense of timing."
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| − | "Where's the Doctor?" the Earl grunted. "I got things I wanna do to him."
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| − | "Not yet," Sir Pendulum said, swinging his cane idly. "We need to find out what he did with the Larva."
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| − | "Who the hell are you three?" Henry said, standing up and brushing himself off. "And what do you want with Gerald Waterford?"
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| − | The Earl burst out laughing. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you," Lord Grindgears said. "We of the Peerage have no use for...''common'' names. The man we're looking for is Dr. Cogwheel, and we have spent a lot of time and effort attempting to find him. We know he still lives here; the question is, are you two willing to risk your lives to protect him?"
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| − | "He's dead," Cherie said, picking herself up off the floor. "My father died over a year ago."
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| − | Sir Pendulum and the Earl began mumbling incomprehensibly to each other. Lord Grindgears' face froze in a rictus. "You're lying," he said, his voice wavering. "You have to be."
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| − | "Here, now," the Earl said. "She says she's his daughter. Maybe the girlie knows."
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| − | Lord Grindgears quickly composed himself. "Er...of course, of course. Now then," he said, leveling his cannon at Cherie, "I imagine you will be useful to us as either a source of information ''if'' you are telling the truth, or otherwise an important bargaining chip. If you don't cooperate, well, I'm afraid you're going to look very much like this ''door'' here, you understand?"
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| − | "M-my father's dead," Cherie said. "A-and I don't know anything about a...whatever it was..."
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| − | Lord Grindgears rolled his eyes. "''Please'', we're beyond playground theatrics now. And remember, my dear: if Dr. Cogwheel has indeed taken his secret to the grave, then I'm afraid there's really no reason to keep either of you alive."
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| − | "What the hell is it you're after?" Henry said. "A larva? A larval ''what?''"
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| − | "A ''Larva''", Lord Grindgears said, enunciating the "l" as if to reinforce the capital. "And all you need to know about it is that it's a piece of clockwork the size of a grapefruit, very rare, very valuable and ''very important to us.'' Now that you know what it is we're looking for, perhaps you've seen such a thing?"
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| − | "I-I have," Cherie said. Henry gave her a look. He had carefully inventoried all the old man's wonders himself; there was nothing matching that description among them.
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| − | "Oh ''really'' now?" Lord Grindgears chuckled. "''Show me.''"
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| − | Lord Grindgears kept his cannon level with Cherie's chest and prodded her forward. The Earl took up his position behind him, while Sir Pendulum urged Henry onward with the tip of his cane.
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| − | Cherie led the group to the back room where Henry had met Gerald the first time. As they passed through the door, Henry could have sworn he saw a wistful look cross Cherie's face.
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| − | "Here we are," Cherie said. "I saw it in here."
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| − | The wonders hadn't been touched apart from dusting. The three mad scientists looked around, trying to spot the wonder.
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| − | "Well?" Lord Grindgears said. "Where is it?"
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| − | There was a tension in the room, as if a crowd of onlookers were waiting with bated breath. Then, a voice pierced the silence.
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| − | "''Attack!''"
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| − | The wonders on the shelves sprang to Orphaned life; the tiny amount of Mania they received was enough to keep them docile but not nearly enough to keep them from mutating. At Cherie's command, the three mad scientists were set upon by hundreds of clockwork toys and dolls that revealed hidden fangs and claws.
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| − | Lord Grindgears and his companions swung their weapons wildly, howling in pain as they tried to shake off the tiny machines.
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| − | "''Now'' we run," Cherie said, grabbing Henry and leading him towards the door.
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| − | "Come back here!" Lord Grindgears screamed, firing his cannon blindly at the fleeing pair. "You'll pay for this with your lives!"
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| − | "So what do we do now?" Henry said as the two of them ran.
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| − | "I was thinking maybe we should move to another state," Cherie said, smiling. "Or maybe another country-"
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| − | Cherie was cut off in midsentence as a burst of kinetic energy sailed past her. There was the sound of tiny pieces of metal clattering to the floor, and then she stumbled and fell.
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| − | "''Cherie!''"
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| − | She had been hit. The grazing shot had torn apart her right arm, most of which had fallen to the floor behind her. Henry immediately dropped to one knee, trying to help her back up.
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| − | "Cherie, are you all right? Your arm..."
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| − | "It's not bad. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself..."
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| − | "''And so the mystery is revealed.''"
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| − | Lord Grindgears and his bloodied accomplices approached the two. Sir Pendulum casually flicked a scythe-armed ballerina to the floor: it struggled briefly before turning into a pile of clockwork.
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| − | "What a splendid work of art you are," Lord Grindgears chuckled. "You had me quite fooled."
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| − | "Didn't fool me for a second," the Earl grunted. "You can see it in her ''eyes.''"
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| − | "That Larva," Lord Grindgears continued, "is no doubt inside ''you.''"
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| − | "Wait," Henry interjected, "what are you talking about?"
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| − | "It was to be our crowning jewel," Lord Grindgears chuckled. "The perfect simulacrum. A wonder of Automata that could function as a sleeper, so convinced of its own humanity that it would never raise even the slightest hint of suspicion. For this project, we - that is, ''Dr. Cogwheel'' and his three associates - decided that the thing we needed...was a human soul bound to clockwork."
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| − | "You can't be serious!" Henry said.
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| − | Cherie broke down in tears. "Father...made such a horrible thing?"
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| − | "''We'' made such a thing. And the simulacrum would have been completed if the Peerage had not decided our work constituted a threat to...''stability''. The ''Doctor''," he spat, "took the Larva and ran, leaving us to face the Peerage ourselves. And now we know what he did with it."
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| − | | |
| − | "The Larva's not just ''in'' her, it ''is'' her," Henry said, horrible realization dawning.
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| − | | |
| − | "That's right," Lord Grindgears said. "And I'm afraid that means we'll have to take her apart. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
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| − | | |
| − | "''No!''"
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| − | | |
| − | Henry leaped at Lord Grindgears, oblivious to the danger. He grabbed at the madman's cannon, and sparks began to fly.
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| − | | |
| − | "You fool!" Lord Grindgears howled. "Don't touch that! You'll play Havoc with it!"
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Sounds good to me!"
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| − | | |
| − | He caught the weapon in a death grip, refusing to let go even as the mad doctor flailed wildly. Sir Pendulum seized the opportunity, charging at Henry with his blade at the ready while his back was turned.
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| − | | |
| − | "Let ''go...''"
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| − | | |
| − | Parts of the cannon broke loose in Henry's hands and he was flung away, out of the line of fire as the cannon went off. Sir Pendulum hung in midair for a moment before he was ripped apart by the force of the blast.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Hey now! You shot Sir Pendulum!" the Earl exclaimed.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Quit your whining and ''kill him!''"
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Heh. You got it!"
| |
| − | | |
| − | Henry found himself dodging and weaving as the deceptively fast Earl came at him, swinging his hammer with the ease of a rapier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lord Grindgears approaching Cherie.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Now then, dear," he said, "just where did the good doctor put that Larva in you?..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | Cherie's leg came around. In a flash, she had knocked the man to the floor and gotten to her feet.
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| − | | |
| − | "You owe me an arm."
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| − | | |
| − | Henry's understanding of his strange effect on wondrous weapons was rudimentary at best, but he recognized the damage his very touch seemed to do. On instinct, he swiped his hand at the Earl's hammer and was unsurprised to see machinery slough off under his fingers. The Earl was thrown off-balance; he recovered, but his next swing was slower despite his slightly-lighter weapon. This time, he grabbed the hammer in both hands; the handle broke, and the Earl was left staring in shock.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Bugger this," he said, and he ran out the door.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Two against one now!" Henry said, charging at Lord Grindgears. The madman had recovered and was now swinging his cannon like a club; Cherie didn't seem to have Henry's unInspired talent for destroying wonders, but she was holding her own with her three remaining limbs. As Henry approached, he whirled to face him, took aim, pulled the trigger...
| |
| − | | |
| − | Cherie jumped between Henry and the cannon. Henry was thrown backwards by the blast, which turned Cherie's body into a cascade of flying clockwork, shredded clothing and pieces of artificial skin. Her head landed on the floor beside him, eyes wide and mouth open.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Slowly, as if in a dream, he got to his knees and picked up her head. "Cherie. Cherie, can you hear me? Talk to me...''say something...''"
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Bother and bother," Lord Grindgears muttered. "That damn-fool girl better not have damaged ''my'' Larva. Now, hand that worthless little thing over and maybe I'll be satisfied with ''maiming'' you..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | His threats fell on deaf ears. Henry's inner world was being torn and twisted; his miracle, his dream had been rent asunder by three men, three Geniuses, and their diabolical contraptions. Being a mere mortal meant he could break their toys, shattering them with nothing more than his stubborn ''normalcy''...but even at best, it made him a mere inconvenience. He couldn't play on their level, only watch as they steamrolled over everything he had grown to hold dear.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Familiar feelings began to well up inside him. The terrifying splendor of the Inspired world beckoned. The scattered debris of Cherie's body formed patterns in his mind: he could link the gears, axles and springs in his head, picture them turning, fueled by Mania, producing their incredible simulation of life. The things around him were all changing, organizing themselves as he watched. He realized his perceptions were being altered, and the horror he had experienced once before briefly overtook him...but then he looked down again at poor Cherie's head, gazing up at him in a silent plea, and he pushed beyond.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The Mania exploded through him, and his world transformed.
| |
| − | | |
| − | He looked around. No longer was he surrounded by walls and furniture: everything he saw was a resource, a potential wonder in the making. Equations and schematics flashed through his mind. It was so clear now...
| |
| − | | |
| − | He knew what had to be done.
| |
| − | | |
| − | He scooped up Cherie's head in his arms and ran. Not with escape in mind, but retribution.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "Come back here with ''my'' Larva!" Lord Grindgears hissed, firing another wild shot.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Henry stopped when he reached the living room. The AV equipment, the computer, the game console...he could work with this. He set Cherie down on a table and rubbed his hands.
| |
| − | | |
| − | It was time to work.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "You can run, but there's really no point," Lord Grindgears said, firing another blind shot around a corner. "I'll find you, I'll catch you, and I'll take ''my'' Larva back..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | He paused in the doorway of the living room. Armed with only a screwdriver and his fledgling Mania, Henry had ripped apart several thousand dollars' worth of electronics and made a contraption resembling an outsize tuning fork. Electricity crackled between the tines.
| |
| − | | |
| − | "But how?" Lord Grindgears said, distantly. He saw his future in that vicious arc of current. "You're not one of us..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | "I am now, thanks to you," Henry said, a grim smile on his face. "Born in sorrow, just like the old man. I guess that makes he his successor or something."
| |
| − | | |
| − | "''You're not Dr. Cogwheel!''" Lord Grindgears screamed. "Dr. Cogwheel was our master! We could have ruled the world, if it wasn't for sentimental fools like you!"
| |
| − | | |
| − | "You're right, I'm not," Henry said. "I'm not going to make the same mistakes he did."
| |
| − | | |
| − | There was a crackle of thunder as Henry released the trigger. The arc shot forth, burning out the wonder instantly: it struck Lord Grindgears full-on and kept going until it hit the wall behind him, reducing the mad doctor to a statue of ash and charred bones that quickly crumbled to dust.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Henry threw the ruined wonder to the ground and fell to his knees. He took Cherie's head off the table and hugged it to his chest. "I did it, Cherie," he said. "Just like you and your father wanted. I'm a Genius now, a Genius...I can make wonders...I can make you better..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | The tears began to flow. "Wait and see, Cherie. I'll fix you, even if I have to keep fighting to make it happen...I'll make you and the whole world better...just wait for me, Cherie...wait for me..."
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''He was still a long way away from his goal, he knew that. Walking the streets, unnoticed by most and invisible to others, he watched for the telltale signs of fellow Geniuses at work. He had learned, slowly but surely, who to trust, who to fight, and who to run from. He knew how the old man worked his magic, even if duplicating it was as yet beyond him. But it didn't matter. He had hope. When all his wonders failed, when the world turned its back on him, he still had hope.''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''And one other thing...''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''The apartment he had rented was small and somewhat messy. It was only temporary accommodations; it would be spotless by the time he left. It would have to be. He was using it as a makeshift laboratory.''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''He opened his backpack and poured out a pile of spindles and gears onto the makeshift worktable. There was a number of partial assemblages among them: a finger, a knee, a few vertebrae of a mechanical spine. Henry knew how they all fit together. It was instinctive. It was purely a matter of time and effort.''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''Finally, he unzipped the secret compartment and pulled out his hidden treasure, the thing that kept him going even through his darkest days. He set her on the table and brushed her hair back, studied her lifelike features, gazed at her angelic face. Her eyes were gently closed, her lips parted in a smile. Henry smiled back.''
| |
| − | | |
| − | ''"Just a little longer, Cherie..."''
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