Time

Prologue 19

Sherll typed away at the keyboard.

-Log- -72-

Test subject 1-R responded negatively. Rat disintegrated when FORS aspect applied to inert immediate response genome (IIRG). Cat and second dog responded positively to FORS aspect. Failed to obtain child. Next test: Find child and/or try heart/brain regeneration for 1-C (cat) and 2-D (dog).

Sherll shut down the computer and went to the cage. The dog was pacing around nervously and whined. The cat was sleeping. Sherll dropped some food into the cage and the dog nervously ate it. It had seen what Sherll had done to its brother. Sherll smiled viciously and turned out the lights, getting into bed. She'd perform more experiments tomorrow.

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Death swiped the scythe down on the numerous victims of a plague. He was in a good mood. He had gotten here early enough so that he could have a quick chat with Pesilance before he had to go oversee a new strain of fever in Zflopor. Pestilance had said that War had been here, but Death would see him in a few days for a poker game. Death thought about Travis. He was turning out fine. At this point, it was uncertain whether or not Travis was going to- well, it was certain to Death. He could see what will happen or had happened for infinity. Death quickly severed the rest of the souls and snapped his fingers. The landscape melted into his room. He had to work on his new sword. He had been using his plain old scythe. Death went down the hall and opened the new door to his forge. It had a golden hammer as the symbol. He stepped inside and grabbed his apron, draping it over his cloak. He took a dark steel hammer from a rack and placed the piece of metal he had worked on onto the anvil.

As he hammered, he thought. Travis is fine, he assured himself. Then who was he thinking of? An immediate thought was Sophia. When had he seen her last in person? Was it a universe? He needed to go and see her again. She was probably lonely. She had asked him telepathically to look for Currence, so Death was looking for the boy wherever he had business. He had thought he caught a glimpse of a confused, blond haired boy under Centre, but another boy had pulled him away. When Death traveled further down the pipe, he had found dead Aesfresser with burn marks. That little encounter had prompted Death to travel to Centre more often.

Death started thinking about the dead Aesfresser, and sighed as he thought about him having to sever animals as well as humans. He had to get an apprentice to sort out that. He kept hammering at the piece of metal and eventually got the metal to bend a quarter inch. He was making good progress.

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Sherll took the dog by its neck and dropped him onto an operating table. She restrained him with straps and took out her tools. Sherll took a scalpel and started cutting the dog's chest. It started howling, so Sherll gave it anesthetic. She continued cutting, and eventually peeled a flap of skin over. Inside were muscles and organs. She reached towards the heart and cut it in half. The dog stopped whimpering. Several moments passed, and Sherll didn't see any change in the dog's life. Sherll frowned and unstrapped the dog. She phased out of the lab and was in Centre. She opened up a manhole in the alley and tossed the dog down. She closed the manhole and phased back into her lab. Sherll cleaned the table and grabbed the cat. She strapped it in and took out a scalpel. She started cutting, but the cat didn't make any noises, but did wince. She peeled away the flap of skin and looked inside. All of a sudden, the skin completely regenerated. Luckily, Sherll had pulled the scalpel out in time. Sherll was amazed, the cat had regenerated at twice the rate as before. Sherll noted that the time the cat rested had allowed for the regenerative functions to blossom.

She tried again, but met with the same result. The third time, though, the skin did not regenerate. Sherll noted that the cat was able to regenerate at will. She found the heart and cut it in half. She gasped when the heart was instantaneously regenerated. This was a breakthrough. She noted that down in her head.