Lords of Creation: In Character #2

[Lagren]

Westin, Bird of Hermes, Teppelin

"Hmm. Yes, yes, detected a core, didn't think you'd integrate it. Ambitious design, hmm, but also lazy. Mechanical parts shortcut, recommend replacement. Looking harmless also definite drawback, against humans in particular - perceptual reality application yes? Look like harmless slip of a girl, they can break you like harmless slip of a girl - makes no sense, quite mad, but there you have humans in a nutshell."

"Hmm, also, seems impractical in places. Difficult to reproduce. Still, good start, good start. Prototype. Also, from your words, half of a whole. Much depends on other half, hmm? Quite interested in seeing, myself - one of two halves I've seen, and it isn't that half that needs a fishy destroyer to maintain. But must ask - why Bella? Terrible name, Bella. Knew a Bella once, bloody irritating girl. Always complaining. Also, dead now."

"The mechanical parts were early on, before we has progressed to more sophisticated methods. If I were to rebuild her now, I'd do it differently - but I was not and am not going to remove an arm I've already installed. It's part of her body now - replacement would involve major and unnecessary surgery.
Therefore, her right arm's metal, while the rest of her bones are merely the density of it. As you say, a prototype.

As for her appearance being a disadvantage against humans... Yes, they will destroy a harmless Tiefling woman easily. They will kill that woman. Not Cecile. Cecile will survive. If she is attacked outside her Knightmare, that means it has been disabled or she has been ambushed. In either case, survivability takes precedence over combat effectiveness.

As for reproduction of her particular set of enhancements; It is highly unlikely that all of her enhancements will be possible as a package without major invasive surgery or scratch construction. Cecile is one-of-a-kind; her body has been my testbed for every major advance I have made so far.

However, the individual enchancements that are built into her are all reproducible. I have pills in my medicine cabinet that can replace the need for all food and sleep for up to a week without side-effects; I can integrate a neural connection into any Knightmare and pilot with a week's work and a year's training. I can engineer powerful muscles, incredible reflexes, and regeneration based on metabolism into anyone willing to undergo drug treatments for several months while their body is reshaped. All of these, I can do without invasive procedures, working with normal Tieflings as my materials; and every one of them can be done in such a way that the modifications are invisible or nearly so.

With surgery or working with beings I created myself? Then I can do more than that. Then I can create beings like Bella.

You ask, why do we call her Bella?"

Lloyd shrugs.

"Why don't you take this one, Cecile?"

Cecile smiles. It's a warm and honest smile. It's a smile that you might have when thinking of a friend.

"She is Bella as in beautiful, because she is an elegant and peerless piece of bioengineering.
She is Bella as in Bellicose, because she is a machine built and grown for war.
She is Bella as in Isabella, because she is the result of a promise I made a long time ago.
She is Bella as in Belladonna, because she is the poison of despair that will make the humans give up.
But mostly, she is Bella because she is a demon. Her true name, the official one, is Belial."

The smile is now a ferocious grin.

"Lloyd! Take the Bird out of Teppelin, please. I want to put Bella through her paces for this sack of meat, and if I do it here there will be rather a scene."

With that, she leaves the cabin, clearly heading for the lab.

Lloyd watches her go, then shrugs.

"Some parts are harder to work with than others. People are generally complicated that way.

Want to go on a little sightseeing trip to nowhere? I promise it'll be worth your time."

Spoiler

Show

I meant to show Westin Bella in this post, I swear! But then Cecile went and got all... something on me. I'll get to it! I will!