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With everything in place, there's nothing to do now but wait. But it isn't a passive process. You are the only other Jaxtian who has ever been inside this machine; you know what it's like. It's like a deep body tissue massage; every part of you laid out to bare, like you're on an autopsy table for some foreign malevolence, but free from all judgment, and zipped back up again like it was a dream, only half remembered. In a weird way, it was a bit like a conversation. Like something went inside and all around you and said “this is all of you?” and you would say back “yep, that's me” and it would say “that's okay. Don't be upset.”
Without a mind, or a “presence”, as Tetak calls it, Cijan won't be able to talk back. That's why you have to stay here....
Radjo, Tetak, and Jale are united as one. They are separated by light years of space and time- the dilation of light speed unaffected by the speed of their thoughts. The “interfacing” of the machine, handled by Tetak through the powers of Starsight, guides it along its restorative process.
<span class="mu-i">Jale</span> knew Cijan as an adult, and knew him the closest today. He knew the man under the robes and imperial medallion. He was a battle brother to Cijan- and he knew Cijan as a loyal and level-headed friend and commander.
<span class="mu-i">Tetak</span> knew Cijan as a child, and has many shared memories between them. There are still many memories that Cijan does not share with him, and that causes the mystic some small concern- if the machine cannot repair his damaged brain, then much of him would be incomplete. Despite this, he presses on.
<span class="mu-i">Radjo</span> didn't know Cijan at all. All he knew was the man's social presence- the way a stranger would know him. He knew him through broadcasts and hearsay. In some back corner of Radjo's mind, he wonders how much influence he has on Cijan in this vulnerable state- perhaps he could sabotage it. Perhaps he could harm the dead-undead man in some petty way, to save his ego after he saw Cijan dance and tough and take Kima away from him... but no, he won't do that. He is over it.
It took almost four hours for the machine to finish its work. Jale never left its side once. Concentration was the key- but it seemed to lessen its burden the longer they went. Near the end, the machine barely seemed to need the trio at all; like it understood now and could apply the finishing touches...
