Chapter 239 : Railing talk

Techlord rolled his neck as he finished installing a little surprise for any would-be intruder on the Shadow Den's roof. The security system upgrade was taking some time away from his Tech Mech Mark Two project, but he figured it was still better to do things that way. Besides, the new Tech Mech was already operational enough to serve as a mobile artillery platform. Not quite the fighting suit he envisioned, but still sufficient to be effective for base defense, and even on the field, so long as it had proper support. His latest technological work was shaping up to be quite the monster. He'd called it his greatest creation, but that title would fall to Junior, even if their birth was an accident.

Still, as much as he wanted to get back to work and show that pompous robot that he was better than him, even this workaholic needed a bit of a break. He let him lean down and rest his arms on the railing of the small roof terrace he'd turned into a weapon platform, looking down at everyone else as they went about their lives and afterlives both in and outside the old orphanage. The Grafted - the term they had come to agree on as an alternative to Patchees - were all making progress in their recovery, even those who were still in a funk and lacked the drive that the others got from seeing the world was willing to give them a chance.

Joe was working overtime to help the others get back their writing skills. Even if his handwriting would be considered poor by human standards, it was readable, and he had experience getting used to new limbs. Perfect to mentor others still struggling with their motor skills and claws. They sadly still lacked a proper healer in Shades of Penumbra, and while word on the street was that the Union would soon endorse and support their program - just as planned - at the moment, they just lacked the proper reeducation staff they needed.

The Commando did their usual shtick, with the veteran training the recruits. It had been a surprise to see the tight-knit group welcoming new members, and for a moment, Sam dared to hope they would increase the general IQ, but sadly, the nexus of stupidity prevailed. It was almost impressive, frankly. He could still distinguish the old from the new, they were a little more shy about their idiocy and not as confident around the many, many entities in Silhouette's orbit, but the integration was still surprisingly smooth. Mesker sounded intrigued enough that he even considered studying the phenomenon, in case this was a genuine case of a hivemind-adjacent scenario. Sam suspected it was just like attracting like.

The ghosts were... Doing ghost stuff. Well, that was unfair. The nuns and Mother Greenheld still had these lessons, both studying from the living adults and teaching the various dead and alive children, trying to get the living, Guy's former network, and other assorted orphans collected in the slums in the Sunken City, to be ready for life in Zalcien proper one day. The Shadow Den had become an orphanage of sorts once more, and Silhouette planned to use the success from the Grafted plan to start a new campaign to clean up the slums and give the kids new lives. Sam wasn't as confident as his boss, he knew that growing up alone in this cutthroat place did to you, but Silhouette had surprised him so far, he was willing to give it a shot. Besides, if this failed, they would still be able to support the kids, so they weren't losing much trying to get the city to care, too. Nothing impossible to get back, at least.

The ghost kids couldn't exactly do the same thing, they couldn't grow up after all, and truth be told, everyone was still wondering how to handle it. The idea of trying to have a peaceful exorcism to help them pass was brought up, but... Well, they were sane, doing well, and just as happy and eager as the living kids. Nobody really had to heart to banish them to the afterlife when they were smiling like that while playing with toys and their living counterparts. Mother Greenheld had been consulted, and the old undead tree had expressed no preference either way. So long as they were happy, be it here or in the world after, she was pleased. So, the ghost matter was permanently on hold, at least until every other emergency was dealt with.

"Ah... Wonder what the next mess will be..."

"So do I, Techlord. So do I."

Sam glanced over his shoulder to watch as a figure emerged from the ambient darkness of the Sunken City, slipping and growing out of a shadow until the vaguely humanoid entity stood beside him. 

"Hmph. You could have just sent Solvent if you wanted a chat, no need to come yourself. And I told you, when it's just the two of us, you can call me Sam."

Silhouette chuckled at his remark.

"Sorry, I didn't want to assume. And don't worry. I don't have anything important or urgent to handle at the moment, so I figured a little walk down here would be nice. Besides, it gives me an excuse to train. If I can get faster at transporting myself through infused matter like this, I'll be able to functionally teleport soon enough."

"I'd say it's already teleportation, just long to pull off and only via restricted paths."

"It'd be fast travel, then."

Silhouette bent down and formed arms to join Sam in leaning down, crossing the new limbs on the railing as he too started looking down at the many souls beneath. Well, Sam knew his boss could see everything around him, so he was watching everything in range, but he appreciated the social mimicry all the same. Still, he had to do a double-take when he saw Silhouette's posture.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"Nah, it's just... It's weird seeing you like this. Usually, you're straight as a pole and barely move, not to mention armless. Like a tombstone with tentacles at the bottom, just sliding everywhere. Seeing you do actual people stuff without your more human look is... Odd."

"Uncanny, maybe? Human enough to work, but still too off and thus distressing."

"I wouldn't say distressing. Just... Different from the usual living scarecrow shadow thing."

"Sam, you saw me do far worse than that."

"I know, I know. I'd say that's kinda the thing. Usually, you're either stoic or doing crazy stuff. This is... Too animated and relaxed for your usual form. It's weird because it's different from usual. Say, have you ever thought about changing it? Not having arms has to be annoying sometimes."

"Oh, there's nothing hands can do that tentacles can't, and as I can grow them as I please, there really is no issue. Besides, at this point, it's too famous to change. Silhouette is recognizable by his wide shoulders and the way his body forms out of the ground. If I started adding things, then I'd be unrecognizable. Ah, the downsides of being monochrome."

"So, Mesker confirmed you can't change that."

"Indeed. We had a little test, he borrowed a tentacle for a bit. Even curses couldn't change my colors. I'm stuck being pitch black. I don't particularly mind. It took some getting used to in the beginning, but now it's natural. Besides, compared to others in the world, I'm quite lucky with my form. Free to change and shift as I please. I may have lost my sense of taste, but... Well, if I lose anything, I can just grow it back. If I want a break, I can just stop being Silhouette for a bit. I feel the positive outweighs the negative in the end, even if the change was jarring at first."

"Yeah, I kinda get that. I'd probably drop the flesh and bones if I could get better stuff, even with a few quirks."

"Considering becoming a cyborg, then?"

"Nah, cyborgs are just asking to get hacked. Honestly, the slime body thing doesn't sound too bad. And I could make some crazy suits if I had a body as malleable as yours. All the wasted space to accommodate a human body could be put to use serving as storage for more gadgets and features."

"Careful there, Sam. You'd almost make me want a suit of my own at this rate. What would you call it, the Silhouette Armor? The Tech Silhouette?"

"The Tech Obscura, actually."

James paused for a moment, surprised Sam had actually thought about it, and more importantly, that the name actually made sense and was at least decent.

"A reference to the Camera Obscura, then? Clever. A box containing shadows, letting light in through a small opening so it can recreate an inverted view of what's outside. Well thought. I'd be the shadows inside, the opening would be the small space I'd occupy to puppeteer it, and the light... Hm... Something about mimicking humanity more than I can? Hiding the shadowy being inside?"

"I just picked a random fancy name that sounded close to Penumbra and was related to darkness."

"..."

"..."

"You're messing with me, Sam. You're a street urchin, but you're not stupid. Although, now that I think about it, you do have a terrible naming convention..."

"Anyway, yeah, I've thought about it. I mean, we know people can come up with anti-shadow defenses, so making you a mechanical armor you can use against those? Only makes sense. It's a low-priority thing, though. You can handle yourself already, and I don't think I could make something as strong as your natural powers yet. So, upgrading my stuff and our defenses feels like a better use of my time for now."

"It doesn't need to be as strong as I am. Merely having the option to fight without relying on my shadows or picking up improvised weapons from the environment would already be a great boon, even if it is only as effective as your armor would be if someone other than you were using it. I doubt I'd have the natural affinity for playing with gadgets you do."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You do a lot of things too. Shapeshifting, throwing spells, controlling shadows... Hell, that time you used those darkness soldiers in our spar the other day, that was just playing dozens of roles at once, all on your own at the same time. In comparison, switching gears, pulling levers, and pressing buttons isn't as daunting. You're multitasking on a level beyond the human baseline, whereas I am still all flesh and bone and squishy brains."

"Oh, now you're the one downplaying your achievements, Sam. I suppose we'll have to agree that we're both skilled men with expertise and experience in different domains and fighting methods. Still, that Tech Obscura is a good idea. You're right to say it isn't a priority at the moment, but when you're done with the new Mech and the defenses, I would be happy if you could find the time to study the question. Maybe you could even collaborate with Doctor Decanov? Your combined skills should be able to make something impressive even by your respective standards."

"I suppose I could work around his ego. There's a flicker of genuine intelligence under all that arrogance. Still a pompous jerk, though."

"I understand you have your differences, and I appreciate you two being willing to work together for now. Still, I wish you two were... Well, asking such large egos to be friends may be too much, but healthy rivals could be an improvement. Say, have you two considered working together to create a miniaturized eternal reactor?"

"I already made my own version and have it everywhere in our tech, boss."

"I'm not talking about the infinite batteries. I'm talking about making a proper reactor, with a far larger energy output. A way to power more powerful weapons beyond simply putting larger crystallized batteries. If you could make something that's even just a quarter the size of the engine up in the Zalcien, that'd be something you could use in future versions of the Tech Mech, even if they would require a larger frame. Imagine a Tech Mech wielding a quarter of the power of an entire facility of ours, defenses included. You're already building miracles, with even more energy, they could do so much more."

"And you think I can't do it myself?"

"I think you'd save time working with him, time you could put to use building new things or being with Junior. Save yourself a few headaches and work with others. You're a genius, Sam. Far smarter than me, that's for sure. But I think you could learn a few or two about delegating."

"Hmph. Is that how you plan to run your big evil shadow empire? Letting everyone else do the job, O great overlord?"

"Ah, my nefarious schemes have been discovered! More seriously, Sam, in the past we had a manpower issue, but now? If you need assistants or exterior help, please don't hesitate. You're the head gadgeteer for a reason, you're allowed to have minions of your own."

"And Decanov?"

"I'm planning to have a similar conversation after. The man is a genius, too, and he'd benefit from having a few colleagues and grunts to help. But I also understand you both are lone characters, you from your childhood, and he from the world betraying him repeatedly. I also understand science isn't something you can always just throw more people at to make it go faster or better, but I do know you two on your own aren't enough. And while our recruits for the proper business are good, I don't trust them with anything related to our dirtier business yet."

"Who do you plan to hire, then?"

"People like you. Wannabe Vigilantes, failed Villains... We have plenty of people in the territory we've conquered who show some talent, we could always take them in for this. And, for those of dubious morality and loyalty... Well, I'm sure our goblin and wolf friends would appreciate some elite members for the Infused."

"Can they appreciate things? They don't seem like they have much going on up there."

"It depends on how the transformation happened. Solvent is... There's nothing there but the inherent loyalty to me. Polisson? Mostly the same as he ever was, just with more intelligence and vocabulary. Fluorine is the same as they were. Loedycan went out of his feral state and... I'm not sure if I'd consider it proper personhood, but he can hold a conversation now."

"Huh."

"The willingness during the transformation matters, along with the base intelligence of the mind. They will always be upgraded to at least a baseline human level, so animalistic minds get upgraded. The more opposed to me the person was, the more pieces of who they were are... Altered to fit their new role. Fluorine just saw me as an upstart before they became who they are, whereas Soluble absolutely loathed me before they turned into Solvent."

"What about the basic guys? The grunts seem pretty hollow, too, and I don't think many of them hated you."

"Either people with strong personalities resist better, or those with powers have more resistance than baseline humans."

"Makes sense. Say, did you ever... Go searching inside their heads?"

"I prefer to interview them. I'm not proud of what I did to them, and pulling their minds apart looking for knowledge feels... I understand that from a practical standpoint, I should do it, but... It feels like desecrating graves I'm responsible for, in a way. There are already enough bodies in my wake, both physical and spiritual. I don't need to start bothering those who are dead or gone."

"You're still counting, then."

James stayed silent for a moment.

"I am. I'd rather keep the number to myself, if you don't mind."

"No problem. You're the boss, boss."

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Draskian to talk to. Oh, and Sam? We've got word from Mesker that Wicked Witchcraft is making waves again. Prepare the anti-magic measures and equipment first."

And with that, Silhouette retreated into the shadows once more, melting into the darkness quite literally. Sam just stared at the last spot where his employer was.

"Did you give me more work AGAIN?"