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'Same,' said Voreese. 'Plus, I don't think I'd trust any new tech that could supposedly help us like that. You're gettin' into the territory of miracles there, and historically, those are pretty fuckin' few and far between. And I definitely don't wanna be some technological guinea pig, either.'

The reapers kept talking, but Hector returned the majority of his attention back to the book in his hands. He had to interrupt Garovel privately in order to ask what language it was.

Garovel gave it a look while Hector held it up and turned the pages for him. 'Ah, I see two languages, actually. Old Mohssian and Nykeirian.' Then publicly, he said, 'Hey, Voreese. You're Nykeirian, aren't you?'

'Sure am. Why? Got something for me?'

'Come have a look.'

She floated over and spent a few minutes directing Hector to flip past certain pages before ultimately landing on what seemed to be a later chapter. And while she kept reading, Garovel went over to help Roman out.

'Holy fucking shit balls,' Voreese eventually said. 'Garovel, this thing's a Fusion Forge.'

'Oh, please, tell me you're not just messing with me.'

'Nope. Says it right here, clear as day.'

The reapers both started laughing.

Hector, Roman, and Hanton all merely exchanged looks with one another as they waited for an explanation.

'That is some magnificent luck,' said Voreese.

'Assuming we can get it working again, that is,' said Garovel.

'Oh, yeah. It must still work, though, right? I mean, it doesn't look damaged at all.'

'Sure, but Forges tend to all look different, so we don't really know what damage would look like for this one, either. And given how valuable these things are, there's probably a reason it's just sitting here, seemingly abandoned.'

'Aw, don't say that. You're really bringing down my mood.'

'Just trying to temper our expectations here.'

'Yeah, yeah. We need a skilled integrator to inspect this fucking thing.'

'More than just one, probably.'