"Eating gnats?" Ellery says. "Eating Pats, more like. I shouldn't even say that. I'll jinx it. Anthea let her back in?"

"Madrigal asked her."

"Fucking Maddie did. Okay. Cool. That's cool. Not like I can do anything about it."

You lace your hands behind your back. "Could you be in a good mood before you test your scary copy machine on my brain?"

"This is the mood you get. I got one. Would you put that thing on your head already?"

The burgeoning horns are making it complicated. You shut your eyes, place your palms atop them, and press them flat to your skull. "Your one mood is grumpy? Have things gotten way worse in here?"

"Things are fine in here, Charlotte. Things are great. Everything's chugging along smoothly. Everyone's one big happy family. Nothing to fucking complain about. How long has it been out there?"

"A month and something," you say.

"A month and something. Do the math for how long it's been for me?"

Richard would do the math for you, but he isn't here. He has trouble with the goo. "You already know. Just say it."

"Okay, then. It's been over a year. Honeymoon's over. I'm no longer needed. I got my one project— put that on straighter." (You sigh and wiggle the head thingy.) "I have this, and when this is done, I have nothing. You're still going to be God, right? That's still happening? You know perfectly well what to do."

"I thought this'd fix you," you mumble.

"No fixing this kind of broken. Did I go over what the test will be? I need to go over that. Uh, let's see. You see the body in there? That tube?"

You've been trying not to look at it. It's creepy. And unclothed, but smooth everywhere, like a doll. It's floating in water. "...Yes."

"It's a blank for a Friend. Not conscious. Don't worry about the specifics. We are going to try to copy you into that. There's sensors on the tank that'll scan the string signature, so we can run comparisons. Maybe you can use your freaky God stuff to talk to it, too, check if it seems like you. If it is, that's really, really good. All we need to do then is stress-testing and rigging it up in you permanently."

You're still not sure about the creepy body, but you suppose you won't need one of those with the Wyrm. You won't have any body then. Or it'll be a snake body, or a magyck God body, and it's not like Ellery can do one of those. So you assent.

Ellery flips some switches, there's a terrible stretching feeling, and the body in the tube twitches. "One sec," he says, and as he presses a button the body opens its eyes. It looks at its hands, then moves them up to feel its face. Then its attention turns outward: it tap-tap-taps on the glass, grins, and waves. Then it points at itself. Then at you. Then it waves harder.

That could've been enough on its own, but when you meet its black eyes, it's like you're chewing gulfweed: a doubling-redoubling, the feel of water, and your own voice in your ears. HI!!! HEY!!! IT WORKED!!! I'M IN HERE NOW!!! TELL ELLERY IT WORKED!!!

7/8