Page 437

~~Holiday Special (Day 4/7, Page 1/6)~~
Hector listened to the wind howl past his riding helmet. He’d offered it to Lynnette, but she said she didn’t need it. For anyone else, he would have insisted. ‘I guess you, uh... you don’t agree with those reapers who think death is fated, huh?’

‘Correct,’ said Garovel, ‘though that’s beside the point. Even if I did believe in fate, why should I think that reapers exist outside its influence? If I had you save someone, then why should I not consider you to have been fated to save them?’

‘Uh... I dunno...’

‘Me neither. I don’t understand reapers who think that way. I suppose that’s why I think fate is a useless concept. You can make it conform to anything you want, which is just generally counterproductive to the learning process.’

‘Huh...’

‘You disagree?’

‘No, I... have no opinion, really.’

Garovel let the matter lie.

It was a ways to the bunker yet. Grassy plains gradually transformed into barren, dirty badlands. Eventually, though, they arrived. Hector opened the door in the ground. Lynnette went in on foot, and he wheeled the bike in after her. There wasn’t much gas left in the tank, he realized. Hopefully, the bunker would have a supply. For the moment, however, he had a fresh question for Lynnette.

“So, ah... how much can, uh... ah...” He faltered, but Lynnette was patient with him. He had to avoid looking her in the face. “H-how much can you tell me about, um... about aberrations?”

“How much do you know about them?” she asked.

“Not much, I guess... Judging from your, uh... your gauntlet, I’m assuming they all have those... death-taffy things...”

She gave him a bemused grin. “Death-taffy?”

“Y-yeah, they’re stretchy like taffy, but... deadlier?”

She laughed faintly, as did Garovel. “Yeah, all aberrations have one of these things. Roman talked about them while we were traveling together. Her Highness had all sorts of questions for him. I mostly just listened.”