>Continued from >>5722706"Fine!" you say. "I'll take him with me. So there."
"Excellent. I appreciate your cooperation, Charlotte. Now—"
"Now you tell me about—" You cast a look at Richard. "—about the worm thing. 'Worm' with an 'o'. What are the secret cult methods for worm, um, revival?"
"Worm revival," Henry says.
"Yes. For when the worm in question is... perhaps... deceased in some way...?"
"You would like to bring a worm— worm with an 'o'— back from the dead?"
Does he have to make that expression? And say it so plainly, when Richard's right here listening? "Perhaps it could be something of that nature. Potentially speaking."
"Well, Charlotte, God doesn't typically deal in... it's the overriding philosophy that dead things should stay that way, I'm afraid."
You cross your arms. "But <span class="mu-i">could</span> it revive a worm? If it wanted to?"
"Er... yes. But that 'if' is playing a major—"
"So it's possible."
Henry sighs. "Kiddo, do you want my answer, or are you just going to substitute your own?"
You scowl. "What if the worm was previously infused-eth with mystic powers? Perhaps it supped of a— of a cursèd spring, overflowing with the energy of God itself?"
"What?"
"And then it got really big and turned red?"
Henry is looking at you like you've sprouted an extra eyeball. Is he seriously so unversed in the knowledge of worm transformations? Pah. "I'm sorry? Are you saying you... infused a worm with..."
"And then it got really big and turned red. Yes. I just said. Would that make it easier to revive?"
"Um," Henry says distinctly. He keeps looking down at the ground, like he dropped all his worm-revival notes down there. "...Potentially? This isn't something commonly done, Charlotte, or done at all."
"So it's novel!"
"...Yes. Novel. I— firstly, I don't think you're going to be able to get the complete worm 'back from the dead'. I think that's out of the question. I think that, even if you were to get God's attention, demanding such a thing would make it... testy."
You frown.
"If you're willing to take my professional advice, though, I think you could do with a reframing of the question. Say you're not resurrecting this... worm. Say, instead, that all you want to do is create an <span class="mu-i">exact</span> living duplicate of this now-deceased worm. Suddenly, kiddo, doors open up. Would that be an acceptable alternative?"
"...Would we still share a special bond?"
"Uh..." There's a lot going on behind Henry's eyes. "Yes. Again, this is an <span class="mu-i">exact</span> duplicate."
You glance at Richard, who nods good-naturedly. "...Okay."
(2/3)
