Not many parents would be actively considering modifying their offspring. Granted Envoy is not a normal parent and Icarus is hardly a normal offspring. Coupled to that if it is successful, that Icarus will be significantly less-threatened by his own biological systems. So, this means Envoy needs to talk to Daedalus. A few finger-posed questions to the twins, and a lot of them dancing her around the room, and Envoy learns she's in the medical bay. Of course that would probably have been easy to figure out given her background, but hey, Envoy rarely does anything the easy way.

Silent-One Medical Bay
The medical bay is a room perhaps twenty by twenty feet with two examination (or perhaps operating) tables bathed in bright light. Along each wall are arrays of monitoring machinery made from metal and crystal. One machine is some sort of tube that the patient stands in and the hand-symbols marked on it translate roughly as 'deep tissue examination probe'.

The doctor has procured the use of one of the computers in the chamber and is looking over what is probably complex genome sequences.

"Am I interrupting anything important, Elsa?" Envoy asks from the doorway. "I was hoping to discuss some things with you that involve Icarus."

"Nothing that important," the lizard-woman remarks as she closes out the datafile she was looking over. "I was merely looking over Walter's bio-print. For ... reasons." She spins her chair around to face Envoy, then asks, ""Is there something wrong with him?"

"Technically.. yes," Envoy says, and pulls up a chair as well. Chairs with wheels! She wonders if the inventor was insane or just lazy. "It's about the integration of his crystal and neuro-biological systems."

"The lest-understood part of his physiology," Elsa says and steeples her fingers together. "It took thirteen tries to get a configuration that seemed reasonably stable. The last few were the hardest to cope with. When the result wasn't terribly aware it was easy to look at it as pure research. When they started to cry and ask questions it became ..." There she stops and rubs her forehead. "Sometimes you wonder if some sins can be forgiven," she says to herself quietly.

"Whether they can be or not, atonement is the best option I think," Envoy notes.. to the woman who revolutionized the treatment of children's illnesses. "The crystal control node also doesn't understand Icarus. It has the ability to reconfigure his brain to be more in line with the interface it needs, but that is more on the 'problem' side than his inability to directly access it as a result. The actual issues deal with data corruption and energy efficiency. After Theseus.. Number 12.. used the drive system at full power, there was a catastrophic failure. Those functions are locked out in Icarus, which at least means he can't accidentally burn himself out. In order to fix any of that, he needs to have a quantum foam energy extraction lattice installed. So what I need to know is.. uh.. do you think it is safe to add a new component to his Sifran systems?"

Elsa leans back in her chair and closes her eyes. "Why would you want to fix it? If he can't burn himself out, that is good, isn't it?" she inquires. "While the original goal was to build a functional weapon, I would rather he just be a child. I mean I don't want to see him just become something people keep fighting over. So ... what would he benefit from this? Would it make his life better?"

"Right now if he uses his abilities, the energy is coming from his body," Envoy says, and does sound worried about it. "He reacts emotionally of course, and has no feedback system to warn him when he's pushing himself too far. I would feel better if what he does have isn't drawing energy from his body. I've taught him to fly, and even though he can't directly control his systems he can still make them perform. I've shut down as many unnecessary or dangerous parts that I could, but he can still reactivate them if he really tries. And he's acted to protect me a few times now, and others. As long as Victor von Bronson exists, he's going to keep coming after Icarus and I want him able to defend himself without hurting himself."

Elsa rubs her face and sheds a few scales in the process. "Well, I can say he was originally designed with specific points in the lattice to allow for linkage into other Sifiran systems, based on what we had learned about how their interface points worked," she says. "So, yes, in theory he can be ... upgraded with another component as long as it isn't large or cumbersome. And that's also assuming his lattice hasn't reconfigured itself in the seventy years of being in semi-stasis." She looks to the ceiling for a bit before continuing along that track, "And ... it was stupid, but I did keep his original design plans, genome sequence maps, and original lattice design. He was my child, I couldn't destroy them, even though I should have. It's also the blueprint foe something very dangerous and powerful ... but all I could ever see when I looked at it was an innocent child. So, if it hasn't changed too much since the original layout, I could modify him using the original design as the map for how."

"The implant would be the size of a human fingernail," Envoy says. "And I would want to test it out myself first, to make sure it will work and that I understand how it works. I have exposed crystal that makes it easier to attach.. and potentially remove. Also to make sure there isn't a booby-trap installed. I have to have the Sifran gateship in the old base make the things, and I don't know if it holds a grudge against me."

"That's more than small enough. If it's still there, the interface point in his sternum should work for that size. The sternum is the safest point; it isn't near any nerve clusters, like his spine. Every vertebrae was actually designed as an interface point, but tapping there would be risky. Nerve damage," Else says as she looks back to Envoy.

"Given his heart is near his sternum; if it had been hit enough to cause damage, it would have destroyed his heart," Elsa points out.

"I don't know how much damage the bullet actually caused," Envoy admits. "Wherever he has the hybrid Aeolun cells I assume. At some point I'll need to make sure his vital systems get the same treatment."

"Well, I can examine him and see if the lattice has changed or that point is too damaged," Elsa suggests. "I'll just need to go through the original design during the exam for comparison."

"The network may be off-model by now," Envoy notes. "It's expanded considerably. The examination won't be invasive, will it? The Silent-Ones scanner is pretty powerful after all."

"An alternate and reasonably safe point would be his forehead. The interface is on the outer surface. No need to risk reaching nerve," Elsa says, then licks over her scaled lips. "And no, it wouldn't be invasive; this scanner will allow me to see each level of the network overlay. If I had this back then I could have designed a better system and gone through fewer prototypes."

"Don't let the Silent-Ones know that," Envoy advises. "They are generally against genetic modification of themselves, but they welcomed Icarus pretty quickly so I don't know how faithful they'd be to that rule. We also don't want Victor to have another item to steal. I'm really hoping he doesn't know you're still alive."

"Hah, I don't know how he could possibly know. My genetic signature is ... well, look at me," Elsa comments wryly. "I wouldn't pass any biometric lock that worked for me back then."

"He's pretty unrecognizable himself now," Envoy points out. "Even I don't understand the circumstances of your 'death'.. but he also had the same idea." After a moment, she then asks, "Do you have any regrets about extending your life?"

"Plenty," Elsa admits as she looks at her own hands. "I became ... this. I read the papers and saw those I knew in life die, one by one, over the years. Each time I felt a little more alone. But, I had to try and fix the damage I caused. Well, not fix; I can't bring back those who died in the experiments. But, I can try to atone for it. This body is my own purgatory; to look like the monster I was inside during those days."

"You don't look very monstrous," Envoy notes. "When you examine Icarus.. could you find out if he's aging at a normal rate?"

"I can tell you he won't be. Not quite. He was designed to go into metabolic lock once he reaches full adulthood physically. After all, what good would a weapon be if age caused decay?" Elsa admits. "His biological components have self-repairing helix structures to counteract the effects of free-radicals on DNA and RNA replication."

"I suspect that Silent-Ones don't have mitochondria.. the sequences for energy production are safe inside the nucleus?" Envoy asks, but also seems a bit relieved at the news. "I'm not even as old as Icarus appears to be, but I worry about losing people. I want him.. and you.. to meet my adoptive father on Sinai before he succumbs to age. You have a lot in common."

"Age can be ... compensated for," Elsa points out. "In most species anyway. The problem with doing it on any large scale is population control."

"It's sloppy," Elsa remarks with a sigh and rubs her forehead again. "May I ask you a question?" she asks.

"Several months," Envoy says, smiling. "I met him in another universe. He was my ride back to Abaddon. He's a gentleman, from a society were that mattered. And also a genius. You like him, don't you?"

"A little, perhaps," Elsa admits and looks away. "But we are not compatible. Not physically anyway. Not unless he became like me and I cannot imagine anyone would want that."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what is possible with Life Magic," Envoy claims. My father, Barabbas, created dozens of hybrid life-forms while trying to unlock the mysteries of his unique species, the Nohbakim. No two of them are alike, you see. All appearing as mixes of different species. He's got a turtle shell, an insect head, arms and tentacles, and he's a few hundred years old, but he technically wasn't alive for all of them."

"I'm not even sure Walker knows I exist," Elsa comments, then shrugs. "And it isn't important. There are things to be done."

"Oh.. he's very aware of you, Elsa," Envoy assures. "Your appearance isn't monstrous to him. He spent his first hundred days here living with the Celestials."

"I imagine he found that unnerving," Elsa says and shakes her head. "Aside from how we reptiles smell, there it the matter of our dietary needs. Were I still human I would have found it unsettling. The first few months like this were ... trying."

"If he isn't overly disturbed by my biology, he won't have issues with you," the Exile claims. "After all, you're an actual woman. And you can always be changed back to a human on Sinai, I think. Spirit and morphic fields have a powerful influence there."

"Oh, I'm sure I can find a way around that," Envoy says. "Or you could. You can have samples from me - if you can figure how I work then you should be able to reverse-engineer immortality."

Elsa hisses a laugh at that. "Is there anything else?" she inquires now, "Or shall I go collect the old files on Icarus?"

"I think that's all.." Envoy says, and stands up. Then she pauses, and asks, "Do you think my horn looks silly? Icarus doesn't want one."

"No, I don't think it looks silly," Elsa notes. "Were you wanting to give him one?"

"He seems to think that I do," Envoy says with a grin. "And the gateship maybe tried to give him a crystal one. I'm just wondering if I should make a fake one and attach it to him as a prank sometime."

"A glue spell," Envoy says. "I can attach anything to anything with magic, pretty much. I'm going to be using the same technique to make fossilization limpets to use against Victor's cyborgs."

"How do you know he still has them?" Elsa asks. "And what will you do if he ends up liking the horn?"

"I don't know if he still has them, but I want to be prepared," Envoy says. "They'll work on regular people too, and then I can turn them back later. He might like the horn if Violette flatters him over it! But then it shouldn't be too hard to get him a real one."

"How? None of his donor species are known to grow horns," Elsa points out, sounding curious.

"I could use Sifran crystal," Envoy suggests, and taps her own horn. "Technically this is part of my brain, but his wouldn't need to have a function."

"Looking 'cool' is a function, I suppose," the Aeolun admits. "It isn't a good time for a prank like that however. I need to kill Victor first.. and try to fix the rest of my brain. I imagine things will be easier when my own 'node' is working again."

"It's not quite that simple," Envoy replies. "The part I need to reconnect is technically a tiny universe." She pinches her fingers together to indicate something rice-grain sized.

"Right, so you need to correct insanity," Elsa says as she bobs her head sagely.

"More or less!" Envoy confirms. "I messed things up when I had to evict a goddess from my head. And the last brain surgery I had was when one of Victor's goons shot me in the forehead. I don't think he vivisected that part but I can't be sure. Still.. Inala wasn't the worst goddess to try and get into my head. Also, don't mention Inala to Walter unless you want to see him blush very hard."

"I don't believe in Gods and Goddesses," Elsa comments as she turns around and turns the monitor she was using back on. "And if I wanted Walter to blush, I have other ways for doing that."

"I imagine you do," Envoy agrees, and heads for the door. She pauses again there and asks, "Elsa, are you human still in your dreams?"

"No. I've been this way for a lifetime now. So, this is how I appear when I dream," Elsa notes and looks over her shoulder. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I think Morpheus could set you and Walter up on a dream date if you wanted," Envoy notes. "And good policy on not believing in Gods and Goddesses. It just gives them swelled egos."

"I would rather have a real date," Elsa comments, quietly. She returns to her work, adding, "Good luck with getting the device built by that crystal contraption."

"I've named it Bucephalus," Envoy notes before closing the door. "Of course that horse supposedly ate human meat.. still, I think it's fitting."