Ganaxavori’s acid rain pattered against the escutcheon spell like the angry marching of an alakastian infantry. His vision swam as he tried to focus down at his broken appendages--tentacles scorched and mangled down to the ligula. The quiescence of his end was heavily corrupted by a maelstrom of fear and anger that pulsed in his chest. Struggling, his field of vision drifted back up towards his murderers. A host of mirror-masked figures faced him reflecting only the distorted reflection of his disfigured form. The centerpiece of this gathering stood unmasked for all to see in his divine glory: a large mantoid individual that anyone in the system would recognize. Ec-Shavar. With labored breath he addressed the governor not only with his defense, but also his scorn. “You… you are a lunatic.” He could feel the tyrant’s invisible gaze settling upon him. The governor’s victim choked, “You cannot do this. I… am a cizran! I am not to be exterminated like your worthless kukulls. The empire entitles me privileged!” One of the mirror-men interjected like a knife in the back. The voice spoke in an electrical monotone voice that reverberated as if it were spoken through a fan. “You have and are nothing. Your claim to Act 35, Section Ö, Subsection S has been repudiated. Ec-shavar, Ascender of Mortality, Claimer of Galaxies, Razer of Armies, and Subjugator of Societies. Of Shal-anar, and the Emerger from the Qol’Vitrol, Banisher of Ghot, the Last Xo’Xan, and Slayer of Na-L Aktor, first of the New Breed, and Bringer of the Galactic Dawn, is the only god, and does not recognize any other authority.” Looking up, the cizran beheld the ever decaying escutcheon border above him with muted chagrin. [Center]***[/center] The kukull’s vision ignited a renaissance within its developing mental faculties. The soft pattering of acid rain, the swimming of its sight, the sense of self. The feelings of sadness, of shock, of humiliation, of anger returned to it. Its expanding consciousness processed the demise of… him? Someone else? Though the golem hadn’t yet advanced enough to understand the concept of past lives, the anual’budai did claim these feelings for itself. The stoneswallower’s furious stampede slowed to an absent traipse through the forest as the memory flooded its consciousness, expanding the boundaries of its psyche. [i]Ec-Shavar. Danger. Ec-Shavar. Murder.[/i] With no understanding of the concept of death, the golem had attributed qualities to the governor. It didn’t like Ec-Shavar because “murder” and “danger”. Internalizing its feelings and fears, the kukull took a second to assess its surroundings. Quilled stems columned the canopy in a sundry of different sizes, some smaller and some larger than the stoneswallower. Glimpsing backwards, the golem observed its demolition with naked indifference. A path of uprooted trees, aerated soil, upturned stone, and shredded underbrush. Some of the larger trees were still unfurled into spiney pillars, though little difference had that made. Glancing forward, the anual’budai sensed motion. Through its knuckles it could feel the cascading rush of eddies, the choppiness of rapids, and the churning of a fall. Though the foliage obscured its vision forward, it could sense the distance through feel. The stoneswallower ventured forward cautiously, parting bristling trees with as little effort as if they were curtains. Some time passed until the stoneswallower reached the stream. The unimpressive frothing brook snaked through the dense foliage of the Veldt. The kukull could feel it rush around stones, tumble over falls, empty into larger bodies, like it were rushing over his own body. This sensation reached much farther than his sight allowed. Approaching the water, the kukull peered into the shallow depths. Regarding its own reflection the golem took in the details: a furrowed brow which beetled tiny, glowing, turquoise beads, and a rocky underbite that added to the overall countenance of a grimace. [i]Me.[/i] Its face didn’t appear like the distorted hyakume that reflected in the masks of the murderers.The golem raised its three-fingered hands and clenched them into powerful fists. They didn’t look like the tentacles in the vision. Befuddled the golem dropped its hands and looked to the skies, as if searching for answers. A brief moment of contemplation passed and it carried onwards on knuckles and stumps through the woods. [center]***[/center] metadrive actuation: ╤ → ƒ → ╞ → ╖ Initializing auto analyses actuators... 15Ti → OK §drive → OK … Scan BiSiId for override of cognizance program … Booting Cognizance Initiative. Acclimitizaton: Location→Gereza The deep sockets of Model §3 flared to life with faint turquoise light. Somewhere, within its tarnished cylindrical chassis, cooling fans whirred with vexingly tenacious stridence. With a forward pace every bit as automated as one might expect, Model §3 took its first step. At least its first since it had finished its previous investigation, and its owners had forgotten about it in Gereza. A large amount of information transmitted to Model §3’s antenna from Cizra Su-Lahn, information that would establish the android’s prioritization protocols. Model §3 marched its feet and arms ambulating in perfect 90 degree motions. As per usual, the motto of the auditing section of the Hall of Records was “the budget we shall abide”. Model §3 was substantive proof of directive number one. Its joints creaked, its gears grinded, and the awful whining of its fans were not relegated solely to initialization. The investigator got about forty feet from the scene of Eal’s escape before it received seven hundred and thirty six backlogged optional optimization updates that would total a net time of three days of constant improvement. Model §3 ignored them all as it was programmed to do. Another mantra would come to mind, one practiced by the middle management of the auditing department, “run it until it dies”. Opening the cell, the investigator went to work, immediately scanning the residual tachyon emissions, eldritch patterns, and biosignatures left behind. Its findings were compared to the Hall of Records Cizran Erudition Syllabi (HORCES) for matches on recognized heretics and criminals. The robot immediately verified one biosignature as Prisoner 3091, formerly known as Eal Sermonde. However, the investigator discovered a second genecode that it could not verify. Standing statuesque still, Model §3 engaged routine validation protocols while emitting a screeching modem sound that everyone could hear because the door was open and that’s his ability. Then, it turned in search of the warden. WARNING! MANDATORY EXTREMITY UPDATE! → Cancel WARNING! EXTREMITY SUCCESS CONTINGENT ON UPDATE! → Ignore When Model §3 finally arrived at the warden’s office, it no longer had the luxury of walking. Instead, the investigator now wheeled around on its auxiliary treads. The warden, Sinclair, was suspiciously absent from his duties, instead he left the dull-witted Mado-Keno as his replacement. Taking a moment to survey the room, the robot addressed the slim, sleepy replacement with a deafening monotone. [h3]“INTERROGATIVE: WHERE IS WARDEN SINCLAIR?” [/h3] “He was leaving for some shrine. I don’t know, he didn’t file a time off request!” The ensuing moment of stunned silence was interrupted only by one of Model §3’s loose bolts clinking to the floor. The substitute’s nervous twiddling renewed with doubled urgency. A moment passed by as Model §3 searched for a law to implicate the two of them in. [h3]“INTERROGATIVE: HAS THIS ABERRATION BEEN DOCUMENTED AND REPORTED?”[/h3] “He mentioned it was on order of a super-” [h3]“EXCLAMATORY: UNACCEPTABLE! YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE CANONICATE OF REDEMPTION’S SUBSTATUTE 32 OF THE µÖ’LOK INITIATIVE AS PASSED AND STANDARDIZED IN 3214-65-32. THE PROPER AUTHORITIES WILL BE NOTIFIED UNLESS YOU COMPLY WITH REGULATION 7: THE IMPLICATED MAY SUSPEND INCARCERATION IF COACTIVE IN AN EXTANT INVESTIGATION!”[/h3] “I, uh, I dunno. I can’t explain it. I mean--no.” Mado-Keno driveled. [h3]“INTERROGATIVE: NO?”[/h3] “I don’t want to go to jail.” [h3]“IMPERATIVE: YOU WILL REMAIN HERE, THEN. DECLARATIVE: THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AUDITS WILL CONDUCT A FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION. IMPERATIVE: YOU WILL ACQUIESCE.”[/h3] Mado-Keno’s multitude of eyes nictitated irritably--the only external sign of retaliation against Model §3. Then, the warden gave a rigid nod of compliance. With that, the robot investigator whirred about with the turning radius of a Ha-Ren’il freighter. With inhuman patience, the automaton crashed, reversed, and collided again no less than three times before it departed. However, Model §3 was better off than Sinclair when it came to traversing the desert moon. With a blast of plasma, the robot’s low-altitude short range boosters activated. It would push itself to the limit reaching the shrine of Tsathoskr this way, but if it broke down on the way, everyone at the department of internal audits was sure to breathe a sigh of relief.