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<span class="mu-r">“Is Siena the original’s name? I’ve always referred to her as ‘Silvertongue’ in my mind, but now there are two of them.”</span>
Pandora nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off of Warren. <span class="mu-b">“She most likely kept it secret so that she could use it as a bargaining chip while you held her captive. Knowing a name can give you power over someone if you’ve got the right mojo.”</span>
Good to know.
<span class="mu-r">“And the other one?”</span>
<span class="mu-b">“We all call her ‘Letty’, because she made it very clear that she doesn’t want anyone other than Siena to know her true name.”</span> Pandora explained. <span class="mu-b">“I suspect she wouldn’t tell you, no matter what you offered in return.”</span>
Smart <span class="mu-i">and</span> cautious. You were beginning to like this “Letty”.
<span class="mu-r">“Did you buy Siena’s name off of her with another secret?”</span> you asked, turning to face Warren.
<span class="mu-g">“That I did. I think she was satisfied with what I offered.”</span> he said with a self-satisfied grin. <span class="mu-g">“And I must say, the economy of secrets maintained by your people is most fascinating. I wonder how sustainable it really is, though. Secrets lose their value the more they’re shared, and some are bound to die with their owners.”</span>
<span class="mu-b">“That’s where necromancers come in. Extracting secrets from the dead is a specialty of theirs. If done properly, it’s relatively harmless, but some of the more sadistic and desperate individuals might resort to torturing souls to get what they want.”</span> Pandora said, a slight sneer to her demeanor. <span class="mu-b">“Part of what we do here is punishing those that would condone or partake in such behavior. Necromancy isn’t exactly illegal, but it’s heavily regulated for obvious reasons.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“And what about laws on cloning?”</span> you asked.
She and Warren exchanged a look that told you they probably visited this topic often.
<span class="mu-b">“We’re still working out the laws on that one.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“I think you’d be better off if you stopped cloning sentient beings, Warren. There are less risks involved that way.”</span> you said, returning your attention to the robed scientist.
Judging by Pandora’s body language, she seemed to agree with that sentiment.
Warren scowled at that. <span class="mu-g">“I was told that I would be allowed to progress my research in cloning sentients via your notes on homunculi. Are you trying to change the deal now that you’ve gotten what you want?”</span>
If you were being terribly honest, the only real reason that you still tolerated Warren’s bullshit was because you still needed him to fix the genetic degradation that was inherent in his clones. It sounded like he was real close to making a breakthrough in that field, and you didn’t want to alienate him just yet.
(Cont.)
