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| 08. wastelands: 151 | I agree, but I wish I didn't; / and she smiles, as if she understands. / 'Golems do not live,' the Serpent says, 'so they cannot die... Right?' / He is cut off abruptly by two voices shouting, 'Juno, don't--!' from either side. (They glare at each other, afterward, but it is too late, they have managed... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/151.html |
| 08. wastelands: 152 | 'He's not your brother,' Valentine says, 'he's a /copy/.' / 'There are rules,' Ganymar says, stubbornly. 'What has been ended, cannot be remade...' / I am afraid they will argue forever. But a soft voice interrupts them, gentle as a knife falling on sand: / 'They are only rules,' she says. 'And rules... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/152.html |
| 08. wastelands: 153 | 'So my brother's not the only fool who recalls the dead,' the Serpent says. 'What happened, with the others?' / 'I only know of one,' Juno says. 'It is an old story. Two fools were in love, / 'and one was foolish enough to love the other, long after he had died. / 'Foolish enough to learn about golems,... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/153.html |
| 08. wastelands: 154 | 'to believe that you could just make an effort and pay a price, and have what you wanted. / 'But the price of bringing a golem to life / 'is paid by the golem, forever.' http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/154.html |
| 08. wastelands: 155 | 'And though dead friends and lovers can be resurrected, / 'love cannot, / 'not through human trickery, / 'nor even the power of the Baroque lords. / 'What makes something important to you, Lightbringer?' http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/155.html |
| 08. wastelands: 156 | 'Once, I too had something important. And it was taken away from me. / 'And I cried because it was something /I had made/ important, that no one could ever make again--' / No. I disagree. Let me tell you, / that person you knew, and made your friend, / I agree is definitely not me. / But! http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/156.html |
| 08. wastelands: 157 | even if I completely forgot you right now, / we could always meet again, / and become friends again, / and then life would always be interesting. Don't you agree? / But, 'Just a moment,' the Serpent interrupts. 'I want to hear the end of Juno's story. / 'How, Juno? Does your story end happily?' http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/157.html |
| 08. wastelands: 158 | '/All/ stories end in death,' Ganymar says. 'But if you're asking for an epilogue, / 'the gods took pity on them, and made another golem, and gave it her name. / 'And perhaps one day, two fools will fall in love again.' http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/158.html |
| 08. wastelands: 159 | 'Well, you won't turn my brother into a golem,' the Serpent says. 'I won't stand for it. And our Mum would kill me.' / 'My lord agrees,' Ganymar says, 'though not the part about your mum. / 'We are only asking for what was stolen from us, / 'and if it pains you to give it up, then that is the price... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/159.html |
| 08. wastelands: 160 | 'We have about ten minutes before they reconstruct themselves,' the Serpent says. 'They're terribly powerful. It's frightening. If a human ever managed to control a golem, / 'I am sure the Baroque would destroy both golem and master immediately. / 'I know this golem means a lot to you, Val, and I know... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/160.html |
| 08. wastelands: 161 | ?You just rescued a duck!? / ?Animals are people too,? the Serpent says. ?If they love you, then even if you set them free, / ?they?ll return to you. / ?They could fly away any minute. But they don?t. And that makes them special to you. / ?But if you create a golem, and it obeys you, and stays with... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/161.html |
| 08. wastelands: 162 | 'Val? You're not listening. If you stay, they'll-- and I can't--' / 'I'm not listening,' Valentine says. 'If I do, you'll make sense, and I'll stop listening to myself! I mean that's just bloody annoying! / 'You always made sense, and I always used to listen to you. You said we were a normal family... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/162.html |
| 08. wasteland: 163 | That's not right, I think. As long as you choose to make something special to you, it will always stay special to you, / and your brother and sister remain your brother and sister, no matter how far they fly away from you. / So it seems to me that you will always have something special, as long as... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/163.html |
| 08. wastelands: 164 | and if you think of them always as the little brother and sister you used to love, then / no matter how monstrous they become, you will always be compelled to use all your power, and protect them. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/164.html |
| 08. wastelands: 165 | 'That's unfair, Serpent,' says Ganymar's voice, through the sound of scales shattering on metal. 'You're only supposed to protect humans.' / 'People,' the Serpent corrects him. 'Demons are people too. We've made spaces, between us...' / Even as he speaks, a great flood of brilliant scales descends... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/165.html |
| 08. wastelands: 166 | within the circle of scales, there is only one danger left that Valentine or I should worry about. / Or is there? / 'There is a door here,' the Serpent says. 'I meant to open it for you, and make sure you got home safely, / 'but I've had a long thought about it, / 'and I think you're old enough to... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/166.html |
| 08. wastelands: 167 | 'Hey,' Valentine says. 'If I go through this door, / 'you won't have anything left here to protect. Will you still be invincible? / 'I just wanted to say, I've been a real shit to you, since forever. And I'm sorry--' / (I lower my eyelids to blink; as they go down I hear a dull impact, smell blood.... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/167.html |
| 08. wastelands: 168 | 'Will you just let me apologize!' Valentine says. 'I have never done anything for you and you have always done /everything/ for me, / 'even stupid dumb stunts you /know/ you can't do--' / 'You're my brother,' the Serpent says. 'I'll always do dumb things for you. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/168.html |
| 08. wastelands: 169 | 'And whatever I choose to do, you owe me nothing. / 'That's all you ever need to know, when you think about it.' / For a moment, the reflections of Valentine and the Serpent seem smaller than they should be, and the echo of the Serpent's voice seems higher, softer-- / But light floods my eyes through... http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/169.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 170 | A voice: Hey, open that door! Open up that door! / A voice: /Please/? http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/170.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 171 | Four young men: Thanks so much! It was getting /really/ cramped in there. Say, did you also come here for the concert? http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/171.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 172 | Valentine: Maybe. What's this all about? Where's this concert thing? / A young man: Is it down there? / Another young man: I don't know. Hey, are we all having the same dream? / A third young man: Don't you guys know, everything is made from a dream! http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/172.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 173 | The fourth young man: Actually, he's right. We are all dreaming that we are on tour, in some foreign summer. / The fourth young man: "Summer's ending again, it's goodbye--" / The first three musicians: Not yet! That?s our last song. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/173.html |
| 09. a city of deight: 174 | The fourth musician: Of course, even in a dream I have to take care of these three guys. It's really troublesome! But it seems to me that
/ taking care of them means I'm not alone. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/174.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 175 | The fourth musician: Ah, that's not for kids! Be careful while you're here, / don't dream someone else's dream. / A musician: Ah, the 'scenery' is beautiful. / Another musician: Oi! What are you looking at! / The fourth musician: Sorry, I have to go! Do come for our concert, before you wake up! http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/175.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 176 | Valentine: Hippies. This is /definitely/ a dream. / Valentine: Hey kid, don't touch that! It might have fleas. / The boy: But this is all a dream. So I choose not to dream of fleas. / The boy: I wonder, what would a cat dream of? http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/176.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 177 | Valentine: Never never /never/ trust a cat. You do all kinds of stupid things for a cat, and it never loves you back. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/177.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 178 | Valentine: but dogs find you and love you forever http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/178.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 179 | Valentine: Thinking about it, it's nicer to have a dog, but it's safer to be a cat. / Valentine: I always thought, it's better to get, than to give, / Valentine: I was always sure of this http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/179.html |
| 09. a city of delight: 180 | Valentine: yet cats are always grumpy and dogs are always happy / Valentine: secretly I wanted to love someone, as much as I was loved / Valentine: I regret that it was never you. http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/180.html |