"Welcome to Flawless Life, sir! How may I h-" A raised finger from the gentleman silenced the young man at the reception desk.
"You know who I am. Spend your breath summoning Allidius." Senator McLanoler had a mutable charisma to him. Warm-hearted were his campaigns, but he had no qualms abusing his presence to bend people to his whim. The receptionist hesitated a moment. Then his hand moved over to a simple smooth plastic box laying on his desk, and he transcribed some eldritch symbol into the air above it. The box hummed to life, a glow eminating from within the plastic device, followed by a mechanical click.
"Allidius. Senator McLanoler to see you." A silence hung in the air that dragged on....five seconds....ten seconds....Click.
"Sennnnnd himmmmm uhp." The man who spoke wrasped like a carpenter's tools trying to torture a confession out of an oak board. Without any prompting, the Senator turned and strode across the room to a simple platform, detail-less aside from a ring of small flourescing sigils. He stood upon it crossing his arms, and waiting until the glow came over him. And then the pristine lobby was gone, replaced by a sterile, stone dungeon. And the hunched form of the dungeon keeper himself.
"Sennnnaturrrr." Allidius was clad in a white robe, but more notably, his face was hidden behind a corroded metal mask dotted with thick rivets. A hold over from the old days. Allidius was cursed to wear that mask until the end of his days because he had been a servant. The mask was a universal symbol: I am beneath you, you do not need to know my face. He was a servant no longer, having made unbelievable breakthroughs in genetimancy. Genetic diseases were no more. Designer children filled schools the world over. A generation of beautiful geniuses thanks to his research. But all of those modifications were mere cantrips compared to the task Senator McLanoler had set before him.
"How is she?" The senator stepped off the platform and into the room as though it were his own parlor. Allidius fell into step behind him.
"She willll be rheady..."
"She must be perfect. Absolutely flawless. Just as I described."
"I ammmmmm awarrrrre. Talllll. Blonnnnde. Grrrrracefullll. Beautifffful." The Senator whirled around and grabbed the specialist wizard by his robes.
"Never dismiss me so. You take your work too lightly. She is not like the harlots you are used to crafting. Strong. Agile. Intelligent. Charismatic. She must be beyond human. She must be your masterpiece!"
"Againnnnn. I ammm awarrrrrre. You wishhhhhh a demmmmmmigod. I willlll sculllllpt her evvvvvvery nucllllleic accccccccid if I musssssssst. Shhhhhe willllll be withhhhhout equalllll." A silence fell between them. Finally, the Senator's grip released.
"I'm glad we understand each other now, Allidius."
"Plllllease. I unnnnnderstannnnnd the task. The ressssssst of your psyche is beyonnnnnd my unnnnnderstannnnnding." The Senator glared harshly, but the rusted mask just glowered back as it always did. Perhaps a horrendous smirk was hidden away under there. The servant's gift. Your emotions were your own, and no one else's to witness.
"Why do people collect art, Allidius" A replica would do just as well."
"I wouldddddddddn't knowwwwwwwww."
"It's to possess perfection. To own it. To parade it about to your associates, to lord it over them that something they could never even dream of is your property." He smiled calmly. "And to keep the perfect woman as a personal servant, to have her at my beck and call....To make that most beautiful face wear a mask..." He smirked spitefully to Allidius.
"...I have wwwwwork to attend to." Allidius turned and retreated deeper into his lab. Senator McLanoler nodded, unable to wipe the smirk from his face. He strode back to the transportation pad, swept a mystic sign with his hand in the air, and vanished in a warm white glow.
"You know who I am. Spend your breath summoning Allidius." Senator McLanoler had a mutable charisma to him. Warm-hearted were his campaigns, but he had no qualms abusing his presence to bend people to his whim. The receptionist hesitated a moment. Then his hand moved over to a simple smooth plastic box laying on his desk, and he transcribed some eldritch symbol into the air above it. The box hummed to life, a glow eminating from within the plastic device, followed by a mechanical click.
"Allidius. Senator McLanoler to see you." A silence hung in the air that dragged on....five seconds....ten seconds....Click.
"Sennnnnd himmmmm uhp." The man who spoke wrasped like a carpenter's tools trying to torture a confession out of an oak board. Without any prompting, the Senator turned and strode across the room to a simple platform, detail-less aside from a ring of small flourescing sigils. He stood upon it crossing his arms, and waiting until the glow came over him. And then the pristine lobby was gone, replaced by a sterile, stone dungeon. And the hunched form of the dungeon keeper himself.
"Sennnnaturrrr." Allidius was clad in a white robe, but more notably, his face was hidden behind a corroded metal mask dotted with thick rivets. A hold over from the old days. Allidius was cursed to wear that mask until the end of his days because he had been a servant. The mask was a universal symbol: I am beneath you, you do not need to know my face. He was a servant no longer, having made unbelievable breakthroughs in genetimancy. Genetic diseases were no more. Designer children filled schools the world over. A generation of beautiful geniuses thanks to his research. But all of those modifications were mere cantrips compared to the task Senator McLanoler had set before him.
"How is she?" The senator stepped off the platform and into the room as though it were his own parlor. Allidius fell into step behind him.
"She willll be rheady..."
"She must be perfect. Absolutely flawless. Just as I described."
"I ammmmmm awarrrrre. Talllll. Blonnnnde. Grrrrracefullll. Beautifffful." The Senator whirled around and grabbed the specialist wizard by his robes.
"Never dismiss me so. You take your work too lightly. She is not like the harlots you are used to crafting. Strong. Agile. Intelligent. Charismatic. She must be beyond human. She must be your masterpiece!"
"Againnnnn. I ammm awarrrrrre. You wishhhhhh a demmmmmmigod. I willlll sculllllpt her evvvvvvery nucllllleic accccccccid if I musssssssst. Shhhhhe willllll be withhhhhout equalllll." A silence fell between them. Finally, the Senator's grip released.
"I'm glad we understand each other now, Allidius."
"Plllllease. I unnnnnderstannnnnd the task. The ressssssst of your psyche is beyonnnnnd my unnnnnderstannnnnding." The Senator glared harshly, but the rusted mask just glowered back as it always did. Perhaps a horrendous smirk was hidden away under there. The servant's gift. Your emotions were your own, and no one else's to witness.
"Why do people collect art, Allidius" A replica would do just as well."
"I wouldddddddddn't knowwwwwwwww."
"It's to possess perfection. To own it. To parade it about to your associates, to lord it over them that something they could never even dream of is your property." He smiled calmly. "And to keep the perfect woman as a personal servant, to have her at my beck and call....To make that most beautiful face wear a mask..." He smirked spitefully to Allidius.
"...I have wwwwwork to attend to." Allidius turned and retreated deeper into his lab. Senator McLanoler nodded, unable to wipe the smirk from his face. He strode back to the transportation pad, swept a mystic sign with his hand in the air, and vanished in a warm white glow.