Iku Quest Sedem: A Z-Machine Adventure

[DracoOmega]

>"Strongly divided? Do you mean between the part of her that was there, and her body in this world?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Strongly divided? Do you mean between the part of her that was there, and her body in this world?"

>She nods. "Inanimate things split more cleanly, because they're so much less complex."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I suppose that makes sense. Oh, another thing: she told me that, from her perspective, she had a body, with normal limbs and such, although from mine, she was just a shadow. Is that normal, too? Was that just her consciousness finding a way to interpret what and how she was, at the time?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I suppose that makes sense. Oh, another thing: she told me that, from her perspective, she had a body, with normal limbs and such, although from mine, she was just a shadow. Is that normal, too? Was that just her consciousness finding a way to interpret what and how she was, at the time?"

>The poltergeist nods. "I think so."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm curious; could you talk with her, yourself, if you chose to? Or communicate with her in some fashion, anyway?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm curious; could you talk with her, yourself, if you chose to? Or communicate with her in some fashion, anyway?"

>"Normally, no," she says. "They shouldn't even be active at all."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"So, I shouldn't have been able to interact with her, either, and get a response back?"
>"And this is part of what you felt start to change after taking Bhava-Agra's shadow?"
>"She did still have memories of her time in the void before Bhava-Agra appeared there, though."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, I shouldn't have been able to interact with her, either, and get a response back?"
>"And this is part of what you felt start to change after taking Bhava-Agra's shadow?"
>"She did still have memories of her time in the void before Bhava-Agra appeared there, though."

>"I'm not sure," says the poltergeist. "Maybe. She's supposed to be dormant, not dead."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"It is possible this is just something that happens over time? You've never held onto a person's shadow for so long, before, have you? Nitori's friends have been trying to reach her since they found her on that hill. She sometimes responds to them, just a little. I think she may be becoming ever so slightly more aware of her surroundings in the physical world as time passes."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It is possible this is just something that happens over time? You've never held onto a person's shadow for so long, before, have you? Nitori's friends have been trying to reach her since they found her on that hill. She sometimes responds to them, just a little. I think she may be becoming ever so slightly more aware of her surroundings in the physical world as time passes."

>"That shouldn't matter," says the poltergeist, shaking her head.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I understand that your knowledge of how this process works must be largely instinctive, but might it not be possible that there are some differences between theory and practice? That some things might not be as absolute in practice as they are supposed to be? Clearly some factor that the knowledge you were born with cannot account for is at play, here. Whatever that might be."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I understand that your knowledge of how this process works must be largely instinctive, but might it not be possible that there are some differences between theory and practice? That some things might not be as absolute in practice as they are supposed to be? Clearly some factor that the knowledge you were born with cannot account for is at play, here. Whatever that might be."

>"Maybe," she says, "But some things are just unrelated."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I'll trust your judgment on that one. As for unrelated things, you feel comfortable that none of this could be caused either by the shadows active attempts to free themselves, time passing and your hold on them weakening, people attempting to reach out to these people from the outside, or the shear size of Bhava-Agra's shadow stretching the limits of your own capacity to hold them, correct?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I'll trust your judgment on that one. As for unrelated things, you feel comfortable that none of this could be caused either by the shadows active attempts to free themselves, time passing and your hold on them weakening, people attempting to reach out to these people from the outside, or the shear size of Bhava-Agra's shadow stretching the limits of your own capacity to hold them, correct?"

>"Time shouldn't have anything to do with it, or the size," she says. "Outside interference shouldn't either. But maybe it is... But it wouldn't be the cause. Nor would the shadows themselves."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"I know the properties of the shadows you hold can affect you, at least when you're manifesting them. I saw it happen earlier, with that rock. Is it possible that holding Bhava-Agra's shadow has affected you in some way, and that might be what's causing this?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I know the properties of the shadows you hold can affect you, at least when you're manifesting them. I saw it happen earlier, with that rock. Is it possible that holding Bhava-Agra's shadow has affected you in some way, and that might be what's causing this?"

>"That would only happen when I'm using it," she says.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Can it never have lingering effects?"
>"And am I correct in inferring that, on reflection, you don't think that all the shadow objects I found in Bhava-Agra are necessarily part of the problem, either? Or a symptom of it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Can it never have lingering effects?"
>"And am I correct in inferring that, on reflection, you don't think that all the shadow objects I found in Bhava-Agra are necessarily part of the problem, either? Or a symptom of it?"

>"It shouldn't," she says.
>"I don't know," she says as you ask about the lingering objects. "It shouldn't matter. I'll look into it, though."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Is this feeling of 'not fitting' still growing stronger? Do you think it might cause any other problems if left unchecked for a while? I don't mean to pry, and if you don't feel comfortable answering, that's ok. I just thought it might be helpful."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Is this feeling of 'not fitting' still growing stronger? Do you think it might cause any other problems if left unchecked for a while? I don't mean to pry, and if you don't feel comfortable answering, that's ok. I just thought it might be helpful."

>She frowns at the ground for half a minute or so, then glares at the spellcard. "...Maybe." she says at length.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give a sad, empathetic face.
> "I'm sorry. I hope we can find the solution quickly, then."
> "May I presume you've been doing your necessary introspection for this crack this entire time? Or is it something you'll want me gone first before you attempt?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Give a sad, empathetic face.
> "I'm sorry. I hope we can find the solution quickly, then."
> "May I presume you've been doing your necessary introspection for this crack this entire time? Or is it something you'll want me gone first before you attempt?"

>"It will take me some time," she says. "What are you planning?"

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "There's not much I could plan in my current state, is there? But it's mostly thinking through idle curiosities. There are a billion and one things I want to ask you, but that I also think might offend you, so they sit caged in my head. Some of it is also thinking about potential goodbyes to both Tenshi and yourself, as you still seem unconvinced on the matter of a need for social interaction, even given some of the things both of us have said in this conversation."

[Hello Purvis]

> "There's not much I could plan in my current state, is there? But it's mostly thinking through idle curiosities. There are a billion and one things I want to ask you, but that I also think might offend you, so they sit caged in my head. Some of it is also thinking about potential goodbyes to both Tenshi and yourself, as you still seem unconvinced on the matter of a need for social interaction, even given some of the things both of us have said in this conversation."

>"You're plotting something," she says. "You always seem to be. Might as well say it."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Give a soft chuckle.
> "You give me too much credit. But very well. I've been thinking about what we've discussed, and a couple of things have occurred to me. Now, of course, if I ask anything too personal, I apologize in advance, as I'm still not completely clear on what I am and am not allowed to ask.
> "Anyway. The first thing is that you told me my information wasn't useless to you. Would you have been able to discover what I had told you on your own?"

[Hello Purvis]

> Give a soft chuckle.
> "You give me too much credit. But very well. I've been thinking about what we've discussed, and a couple of things have occurred to me. Now, of course, if I ask anything too personal, I apologize in advance, as I'm still not completely clear on what I am and am not allowed to ask.
> "Anyway. The first thing is that you told me my information wasn't useless to you. Would you have been able to discover what I had told you on your own?"

>She nods. "Fine, ask."
>You do. "I would, eventually," she says. "I hadn't looked into it yet."

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Would you have not even needed the knowledge gained from the spell card in your hand right now?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Would you have not even needed the knowledge gained from the spell card in your hand right now?"

>"I don't think it's that important," she says.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> "Mmm, I see. Curiosity the first, then. When you took Bhava-Agra's shadow, did that process itself happen exactly as expected, or did you have to work harder than normal for it? Did it resist at all?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "Mmm, I see. Curiosity the first, then. When you took Bhava-Agra's shadow, did that process itself happen exactly as expected, or did you have to work harder than normal for it? Did it resist at all?"

>"It took longer," she says, "But it wasn't any harder."

>_