Page 380 of Light Leech

“For, or against.”

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

He shook his head. “Not as much as you might think. This isn’t a simple corporation or club. Even for those there are often plenty of disagreements. Just look at the world. Plenty of countries and conglomerates claim to fight for the proliferation of humanity while they end life in pursuit of that very thing. Humanity is illogical.”

“And that’s why you’ve betrayed it?”

“Humanity betrayed itself first.”

“And that is an excuse for this?”

He glared at her. “Just tell me what you want and we can move on. I’ll–”

“Fine, I’ll start. Who are the Eclaines to you?”

“Those dead zealots? What would an elite like you want with their filth?”

We needed to be blunt. I was already tired of receiving his opinions where I was seeking facts.

“Are you a Beacon?” I asked.

“Who are you besides some hitman for her?”

“Answer him,” she demanded.

“Why? Tell you so you can kill me after? I’m done with this guk.” He closed his eyes. The light lines on his body faded.

Naoma and I exchanged panicked glances. We ran to his seat, looking for anything to repower the body as it slumped towards me. I pushed Zhou back up, then ripped his silk robes off as I felt around his body for a reset button.

The seat’s charging light continued to glow.

Naoma pulled me back. Her hand started to glow with white light. She held it out, just above Zhou’s chest.

“Close the door!” The orca obeyed her command. I could still see the sea-mech’s presence through the crack of the door, but we had enough privacy.

“No one to see me now, right?” she asked.

I nodded.

She grabbed his face, nails digging into his cheeks like talons. Her hand pulsed and white filled the light lines throughout his body. His head shot up, mouth agape, with only white in his eyes.

White pulsed down the center of his chest from a previously unseen line. The line separated a crack, then let out a gust of steam before opening wide.

If I hadn’t already grown used to the abomination that was David, I would have vomited.

It looked up at me and turned its head towards Naoma, pivoting on its neck like a frog.

“What is it?“ I asked.

It focused back on me. Multiple tubes and wires connected to the back of its naked body. Cradled like an infant and looking like one, it was about as large as my head. Though I wanted to call it human, its infantile form was aged much more than any human child. It was rather smooth and free of wrinkles–save the folds in the skin–but its gaze had an uncomfortable sense of knowing. I could see the veins though its pale skin and the subtle pulsations of a heartbeat. It had neither nipples, nor a naval. There was a small, phallic shape in its groin that looked like it had not yet developed into complete genitalia, though it was enough to call it a male. I mustered up the courage to look at his face. Two slits showed the beginning development of a nose, right above his lipless mouth. He had baggy eyelids rimming too-large eyes with widely dilated pupils, making him appear almost cartoonish. He had no hair, nor was there any hint of growth. He wheezed out what sounded like a laugh. His voice was childlike, though with an uncomfortable distortion, like a sign of nature refuting its hands in creating this thing.

Naoma cleared her throat. “It’s a Predecessing Homunculus.”

The thing wheezed. “Water.”

Next to its head a tube leaked with blue light-infused drops. Naoma pinched it between her forefinger and thumb. She moved it close to the thing’s mouth but pulled back as it leaned over. It didn’t have the energy to fight her for it.

“Water,” he asked again.