Silhouette

Doctor Decanov didn't have any apparent reaction when he saw James accompanied by the infamous bank manager and his celestial guardian. Not even as the pale being gracefully contorted its body in various ways whenever it passed by a place far too narrow for its large form, easily twice as tall as a human. James had to congratulate the mechanical man, he genuinely didn't know if the robot was that blasé or if he was a great actor. Thinking about it a little, considering both his personality and the ease with which a non-organic being could control their body language, both possibilities were equally likely.

The factory part of the Penumbral Palace had drastically changed since James and Blake first visited it. In the past, the duo had been welcomed by either hollow space or broken machinery. Now? Now the doctor's work had turned this silent and abandoned tomb of industry into a buzzing hive of activity and progress. Conveyor belts rolled, pistons went up and down, presses hammered, and gigantic arms connected to the ceiling slid everywhere while putting their joints to the test.

Notably, nothing was currently being made. Though the arms mimicked picking up items, slicing and dicing, and various other things, it was nothing more than a mime act.

"Silhouette. I see have we have guests."

"Doctor. Allow me to introduce Blake Black and Nanyet. They helped me begin this venture, so I saw no harm in letting them satiate their curiosity."

"It is a pleasure to meet one of the greatest of our dear city, regardless of their explosive personality."

"I see. Before you force me to give you a tour, there is something I would like to address."

"Yes?"

"I was hard at work when I received a call from Adam."

"The young man who lives in your home, yes? I remember him."

"Yes, I took the boy in since he had some trouble. Regardless, he told me something very interesting. He informed me about your apparition on TV following this Nightsnatcher business."

"Oh?"

"What gave you the bright idea to announce we were opening in two weeks? Preparations aren't finished yet."

"You told me you'd be ready before the end of the week, I trust a man of your talent to uphold this promise. It leaves us close to a dozen days to produce enough to cover the opening week and finish the last few details."

"I think you are mistaking boldness and idiocy. I won't fail, but the same isn't as certain for the rest of your employees. I have yet to meet your future shopkeepers, for instance. Unless, perhaps, you plan on having one of your mindless guards try their hand at this highly personable profession. What of accounting? Of Marketing? Customer service?"

"I know who will run the Penumbral Palace in my absence. They will arrive as soon as their work elsewhere is done."

Blake interjected in the dialogue, stepping forward with a smile on his face.

"Your intermediaries in the slums, right? I can't deny Larry and Barry have done a good job so far. Not only that, they're loyal. However, I ask you to reconsider. While they have proven capable on their home field, I fear they are too disconnected from this more civilized place. Might I recommend someone else I have in mind instead?"

James scoffed. He might be green on this topic, but he wasn't an idiot.

"No. I trust them, I do not trust whoever you might want me to hire instead. I won't deny they might struggle at first, but I do not doubt after a period of adaptation they will prove their worth."

Even if whoever Blake sent played nice, they would still be loyal to the banker before James. This would be the perfect opportunity to grow his influence over James' projects. The fact the Penumbral Palace technically belonged to the bank was already giving them more power than he felt comfortable with. Sure, he signed a contract that essentially made the place his until he left eased those worries, but that was still a huge favor. They were allies for now and he'd do his best to trust them a little more, but he would rather give the man trained by the fae more ammunition for his strange equivalent exchange powers.

"Alright, I see your point. What about a tutelage, then? I lend you Nanyet to monitor and teach them for some time."

That already sounded much better. Nanyet was likely a powerhouse given everything surrounding them, but they also proved to be rather passive and obedient. Their abysmal charisma outside of customer service wouldn't let them influence the employees, and if they chose to resort to violence for one reason or another... Well, James had killed a very similar demon when he was less experienced. If worst came to worst, he'd try and repeat the feat.

"Can you truly afford to let them go for any period of time?"

"What Master Blake meant to say is for me to form an instance to assist you."

"An instance?"

He could remember something like that being mentioned in his presence before, but they had never clarified what they meant. He had a guess, but no certainty.

"A copy, if you will, but one still connected to my singular consciousness."

The phrase lit a bulb in James' mind. In practice, he had successfully multiplied himself in some ways. It wasn't truly cloning like what the celestial seemed to imply, rather just James shapeshifting himself multiple selves from a single root like some demented eldritch tree. Solvent seemed closer since they were truly separate, but the fact the infused slime and James had two distinct minds meant it still wasn't perfect. But could he theoretically combine the two? So far whenever part of him was separated it simply mindlessly tried to rejoin his main mass where his consciousness was located.

Could he change that? If he managed to successfully split himself into more than one body all sharing a single mind... Well, he wouldn't be struggling to be everywhere at once like he was now. He already had instructed Mischief to look for potential wild slimes to collect for him to infuse and repeat Solvent's success for the same purpose, but being able to do it himself would be a game changer.

"A perfect way to multitask. I suppose it explains how Blake can afford to be so carefree."

"Yes, Master Blake does rely on this ability to lighten his already nigh nonexistent workload."

"Hey!"

James chuckled, and though it seemed Nanyet was heavily emotionally stunted compared to a human, he had a feeling the celestial was amused too. Maybe because he too was featureless outside of what he shaped his silhouette to be, but he felt like it was getting easier to discern what the blank doll-like otherworldly entity thought.

"Yes, that does appeal more to me. What about you, doctor?"

"Do as you wish so long as it doesn't interfere with my work."

"Understood. On that topic, would you have any requests?"

"It depends. Testing is going well so far, we're at about fifteen hours of uninterrupted activity with no hiccups to report. This isn't demonstrative of what long-term use will be like, but it shows we're ready for test number two, the actual production of items. For that phase, I'm going to need the necessary materials, and so far, I have yet to see a string of spider silk."

"The Shadow Den sent me a message earlier, everything is going well. Mischief will bring us the first few spools before dusk."

The robot grunted, seeing that as the end of this part of the conversation. Blake, on the other hand, was very interested.

"Spider silk, you say? I assume this has to do with those reinforced vestments you mentioned."

"Yes. I had the idea to take advantage of the size and placid nature of the arachnids in the sewers to turn them into cattle. Spider silk is a wonderful material, but very difficult to produce in large quantities with mundane animals given their size and tendency to eat one another."

"Yes, yes. Most major spider silk producers similarly use larger insects-"

"Master Blake-"

"Eight legs, I know, hush. But yes, giant spiders are the norm in the industry, though usually they benefit from a much more glamorous pedigree. You should consider selling untransformed spools alongside whatever you make from them. A product roughly equal in quality to what big companies available at a much lower price can grow popular quite fast."

"I'll keep this in mind. On this matter, I'll admit I may need your advice when it comes to pricing. I am local to the area, and while my employees in the slums were able to advise me there, the same isn't true here."

The Draskian raised one of his prominent eyebrows.

"You could have asked me."

"Do tell, doctor: are you familiar with the current rate of any of the items we plan on selling?"

The indignant curiosity on the robot's face turned into a frown.

"Do not misunderstand, doctor. Your input is highly valued, and I am always grateful for your presence. It simply is the truth that it isn't always relevant. You wouldn't appreciate my opinion on matters of enginery, for instance."

The scientist crossed his arms and grumbled as he looked away, though he didn't argue further. The banker watched the interaction with a shine in his eyes.

"Oh, how fun. Who would have thought all it would take to reign one of the infamous Ivans was basic respect."

"Ivans? Plural? I'm afraid I'm quite confused."

The Draskian rolled his eyes before stepping in.

"My father created me and my siblings as an experiment. He wished to study what could breathe true life into machines. He created a hundred rudimentary bodies, the Ivan line, perfect copies of one another, and programmed them with minor variations to see which ones would successfully awaken with a soul."

"Let me guess: all of them."

"Yes. He expected only half a dozen, perhaps a full one if he were in luck, and instead, he found himself with a regiment. Wholly unprepared, you can understand why he struggled quite a bit in our early days. Going from zero to a hundred children in the span of the night is something very few could be ready for. Not all of my siblings understand this. There are some whose feelings I understand, others..."

Adopting only five ratlings had already drastically changed James' life, he dreaded to imagine what ninety-five more would do. He loved with all of his non-existent heart, but multiplying the charge by nineteen would kill him.

"My father's charge was not made easier by his problems with the law. He had to resort to dubious means to gather everything he needed to construct us. By the time he was arrested, most of the others were already gone, either in a search for independence or to try and weasel out of possible consequences that might have befallen them."

"How is he now?"

"Still jailed, though he is doing well. I and some of my other siblings visit regularly."

"I hope things turn out better soon."

"They likely won't, but thank you anyway."

"What about your siblings?"

"We each live our own life. Well, mostly. Some stick together in small groups, such as how Centurion is Prime's little bootlicker. Some of us stay in contact. Some more than others."

Blake cleared his throat. Decanov answered with a deadly stare before continuing.

"Since father never expected so many of us to activate, he didn't prepare names. We were all parts of the Ivan line, so we're all Ivans. Each of us found a way to personalize our name to make it easier to distinguish for those outside the family. Some changed their name altogether, others slightly altered it, some took on nicknames, a handful decided they didn't like being masculine, and the rest like myself chose to keep our first name and instead design a last name. I think we all incorporated our serial number in some way."

"Prime was the first and Centurion the last. So Decanov..."

"A way for me to embrace my Draskian heritage while also displaying I was the nineteenth. An elegant choice, to be sure."

"Of course, of course."

The relatively normal human chimed in once more.

"What the good doctor failed to mention is the reputation his siblings have accrued. As a group, they are known to be quite the troublemakers. His tendency to leave explosions behind after being fired is not the worst thing his family is known for. Prime especially is officially considered a Villain, though a minor one. It's quite amusing to watch a Hero's or police officer's grimace when they learn an Ivan is involved in any situation."

"The crows told you so?"

"In a way, but I also had the pleasure of watching the spectacle myself."

The richest man in the room chuckled once more, and James could swear he could distinguish something akin to exasperation emanating from Nanyet. It was much easier to see on the doctor's face, who made no effort to hide how utterly done he was with Blake. Considering this, James took it upon himself to get them back on track.

"While the anecdote is appreciated, let us continue. Aside from the silk, is there anything else you need?"

"When our guests are gone, I'll need you for some tests. Our final touch still needs some fine-tuning you'll need to oversee."

James nodded. He appreciated the doctor's relative discretion. He had no doubt the two invitees were intelligent enough to guess what their little secret project was. The automation of the transformation process would save a lot of time. It'd also spare James from needing to travel back to the slums regularly to infuse what Techlord made for the shop. Speaking of, he should get to devising a plan to ease transport between it and the Penumbral Palace. With the miracle of automation at hand, he could stop wasting Techlord's time on mass-producing goods.

He couldn't wait to tell the teen genius he would be getting less work for once.