Godclads

Chapter 34-2 The Great Deception (II)

Chapter 34-2 The Great Deception (II)

I have always dreamed of creating a Heaven of Mind. Mind, or perhaps a Domain analogous to it. Alas, with the construction of the Nether—a wonder in its own right—the world has been granted a “public use set of canons” in a sense, while we of the Highest Art have been denied of what could have been.

A pity. Such a Heaven could have changed a great many things. Including for us. Especially if you consider all you might be capable of doing with consciousness or intelligence. As Agnosi, doubtless you might have already started thinking about how great your artistry could be if you knew everything—if you simply never forgot.

Now, I wish for you to consider what if you can pull solid matter from your memories? Or even conjure essential materials. But on top of that, what if you could stack minds upon each other, create a perfect harmonious system? Such things would have revolutionized our world beyond description. Indeed, if we were granted such understanding, we, augmented ephemerals might actually be able to stand as direct equals against the minds themselves by the metrics of processing, memory, pattern recognition, and creativity. We would uncover connections and patterns few others could ever conceive.

Yet... I find myself also treading into trepidation, for so far, my considerations remain the realm of the thinker, the tinkerer, the maker.

What will happen when a Guild desires a new weapon? A completed Hell of Mind like the Nolothi were trying to finish? What then?

Our self-reference and awareness are all that truly make us “alive” in the sense that matters. Such is what I believe. But what happens if consciousness itself is shredded?

What kind of death will follow that?

-High Agnos Jakuta A’jayi

34-2

The Great Deception (II)

—[Avo, The Hidden Flame]—

[FUCK YOU! AND FUCK THE HUNGERS OF NOLOTH! YOU ARE—YO—BRAINS ARE BAD! BAD! LIKE A BADLY... GROWN NU-DOG!]

[Y-b-yo-yo—Shut the fuck up, you dumb cunt! Talking to me about my b-b-brain while your fucking lips can’t work well with your mind. If you’re the best Agnos New Vultun has to offer, then I need to ask the fucking Dreamer to kill me, because you helped Avandaer fuck us up the ass. We got fucked! By a pack! Of subhuman! DUMBFUCKS!]

[I’m not the dumbfuck! You—you are! You are twice the dumbfuck you... fucker! You, and the other priests.]

[Yeah? Well we sure broke your life pretty good, didn’t we, Kusanade?]

[I—You—fuc—CHAMBERS! CHAMBERS! I NEED YOUR HELP! ATTACK HIM! ATTACK HIM, NOW!]

Trying to have templates of Kae Kusanade and the Famine of Peace work together was proving to be a highly amusing mistake. What started as a cold and terse exchange of expertise and theories about the nature of warminds had devolved into curses and slurs as other templates had to be called in to keep both sides from getting into an active brawl.

The Kae were the ones to lose their tempers first—something that proved to be her own fault as she started criticizing parts of the warminds’ designs. Peace, meanwhile, lived in a perpetual state of misery and loathing and was all too happy to insult the Agnos for offending him and insulting the hidden weapons that kept the City Eternal safeguarded for all these years.

And then Chambers entered the fray with the loud declaration: [Hey, half-strands! Lick the gangrene from Dannis’s barb-wire whipped taint! The only reason why any of you are still around is because of Defiance! And he left you as soon as he fucking could!]

Which caused things to devolve further into anarchy and chaos as the Famines of Peace suddenly turned their bemused hatred from the outraged Kaes, to Aedon Chambers—far better at trading insults and mocking someone’s failings than the both of them.

That, and Avo was helping Chambers with the insult crafting. Because Peace was indeed a half-strand, and just because he was a part of Avo now didn’t mean the Hidden Flame regarded him higher than that whitish substance that leaked from a joy-fiend’s mouth while they were choking to death.

So it was that the glorious task of “completing” a warmind fell by the wayside as the Soulscape veered toward conflict and violence. Naeko looked on with a slight frown while Zein yawned beside him.

Peace snorted. It was as close as an expression of pride on his part. [We had to make due. And we had to be fucking efficient. Without thaumaturgy—and with the Silver-cocksucks hunting us, we had to be calculated. And so we found ways to bridge the gap. Joy—miserable shit that he is, was meant to serve as our equivalent of a sacrifice. Every material needed from a mind, he provided, and he did it by being the perfect little fuck-puppet of misery.]

Avo recalled how the Famines of Joy functioned. Yes. Sacrifices. He should have realized before. Noloth was operating closer to the old rules, back when the gods still were and the Godclads were but a shadow on the horizon.

The Agnos continued her observations, and her attention fell upon another detail. [Avo... the ghosts... are they filling with... thaums.] Her mind whirled with startlement and disbelief.

“Yes. Weight building. Think they’ll be capped at a thaum each. The Nether’s collapse caused this. My theory at least. Mind and will are merging back together.”

[Then... what does that mean?]

He considered that. “You might become a self-moving ghost soon. Something with capacity to make choice all your own. Maybe. Not sure. Templates were developing accretions with Hysteria before. Missing that now so... so you’re not consciousness on your own. Too many unknowns. Even for me. Even right now. But...” His voice trailed off as he felt a part of himself drip into the deepest structures of the warmind, and there, he felt something connect to a part of him, connect to Ignorance.

What’s this?

INCOMPLETE ONTOLOGIC FRAGMENT DETECTED

->[FORGOTTEN] DOMAIN (ERROR/ERROR/ERROR/MEMORY/AWARENESS/PERCEPTION)

[Error?] a Kae muttered. [Oh, dead gods. That means the structure of this warmind—well, it can be recognized by your Frame, so it’s close enough in structure to a Heaven, but... it must be extremely unstable. This... this isn’t actually a Hell, Avo! This is an unfinished Heaven a single use away from collapse.] She wheeled on Peace. [You—did you even know what you were making here?]

The priest only sneered. [The fuck do you think? How did we escape earlier? Who managed to get this thing to fucking work you dumb sow? How the fuck are you an Agnos with these obvious questions? I wouldn’t have you breed with my dogs—the litter would be too stupid to breed—]

Whatever else that version of Peace had to say turned into a shrill scream as Draus—slowly creeping behind him—drove a frequency blade up someplace deep and sensitive. A shudder ran through the other templates of Peace while the Kae’s clapped and cheered. Meanwhile, Avo continued watching on with amusement.

[FUCKING! FUCK!] Peace roared in agony. Draus levered the frequency blade lodged in his rectal cavity higher as she looked up at the warmind.

[Shit, Avo, what are you doin’ now,] the Regular looked on, studying limbs of flame slowly drilling deeper and deeper into the warmind.

“Was trying to figure out the basics of warmind creation? Now. Now might have the potential to do something more. Much more.”

GENERATING COMPLETED DESIGN FOR [FORGOTTEN]...

ADD FORGOTTEN TO EXISTING HEAVEN?

Avo considered that, and a thought occurred to him. An experiment that would see him pleased, but also train in him a new habit of sharing his boons and powers. “Woundmother.”

The Heaven of Blood stirred in the parallel timeline. “Yes, master?”

“I want to see if I can integrate the Forgotten into your structure. After that... Want to see if I can have you carry the Deep One across space and time using the temporal bridge and memetic matter. Without anyone remembering anything.”

The Heaven of Blood quivered in delight. “Oh, master. I have missed you so, so very much.”