“Fascinating,” An said, walking around the tank as she inspected Blob Kano from every angle while Kano waited off to the side, watching. “How long have you existed like this?”

“I’m not sure, exactly,” the multicolored Kano said from within her enclosure, “but probably a few years at least.”

“You don’t remember? Is there something wrong with your memory?”

“No, nothing like that. But after spending so much time sleeping and being only partially aware, my sense of time has gotten kind of hazy.”

“Is there a particular reason you were sleeping so much?” An sounded eager, yet there was a detached air to her, as if she wasn’t talking about another person. Particularly not a person right in front of her.

“The details of it were never explained to me, but”—she tapped the glass where Kano had used to the controls to revive them in the first place—“these switches control some aspect of my enclosure. Without whatever they provide while on, my body and mind become dormant.”

“So the reason for your enclosure is to keep something inside with you, rather than keep you away from the outside environment?”

“I believe so. Were it not for that, I should be able to survive outside just fine.”

“Best that we not jump to any conclusions at this stage,” An said with a tight smile. “Wouldn’t want there to be any accidents, if we can avoid it.”

“So,” Kano said, “can you help her or not?”

“Possibly. It’s hard to say at this stage. I’ll need to examine the mechanism connected to these switches. Once I figure out how all that works, I may be able to assist her. But I can promise nothing. She may very well be confined there regardless of what I do.” Despite her warning, she sounded optimistic.

“But you’re willing to try?”

“Absolutely. Even if my efforts don’t succeed, it should prove an enlightening experience.”

Watching the other her in the tank break into a smile, Kano found herself wearing the same expression. The thought of this weird blob being free of their prison was oddly thrilling. Maybe just because it would be something Kano wouldn’t have to worry about. Such events seemed few and far between as of late.

Pretty much ever since she’d met Urick, as a matter of fact. Not that she could remember their first meeting, owing her to her inebriation/poisoning at the time. As tempting as it was to pin her troubles on him, she could only blame him for so much. He’d had little to do with the events that followed. If anyone was to blame, it was the two necromancers she’d killed, which didn’t exactly speak favorably of An.

How different was she really from the other necromancers? It still felt hard to say for sure. They all seemed to share her enthusiasm for their own work as well as going to extreme lengths to accomplish their aims. Was there any other difference beyond her supposedly good intentions?

Kano wished she could ask her copy about it to expand upon their previous conversation, but there probably wasn’t much point. Blob Kano’s only frame of reference was Karen, someone who Kano knew almost nothing about. It was unlikely she could offer much more insight about An, especially when they’d only just met.

“What would you want to do if you got out, anyway?” Kano asked as she watched An try to examine the mechanism the controls were linked to without disrupting its functions.

“I don’t really know. See the outside world, I guess. I don’t know enough about it to have much in particular in mind.” Spreading their arms, they gestured to the room around them. “It must be more interesting than this place, though.”

“Meh. It is more varied, I guess. And there’s obviously a lot more people.” Kano couldn’t muster much enthusiasm. She didn’t especially want to go outside as it was, though she imagined things might be different if she’d been trapped inside for years like her other self had.

“How many?”

“Maybe a few hundred.” Kano didn’t have a good grasp of the population of Shorinstown, but that sounded about the most she was likely to encounter in any one place.

“Wow. It’s hard to imagine seeing so many people in one place. And they’re all intelligent like you and me?”

That was something she could answer with confidence, even if her response was largely negative. “No, not like us. They’re pretty much all just stupid ghouls, though there are a few slightly smarter ones.”

“Oh, that’s disappointing. Still, I’m sure it must be interesting to meet so many different people.”

Kano shrugged. She didn’t find it interesting, but she imagined the other her would. It made Kano wonder if she’d ever had such enthusiasm for meeting people or for life in general. Try as she might, it was hard to even imagine. Maybe she never had and instead the blob had undergone some process that made them like this.

That made more sense. Kano could certainly see the benefits of having someone positive and proactive like this mound of colorful gunk appeared to be. Though their attitude would likely change when, if ever, they had to do some actual work for once. Kano found that she actually envied her a little. At least she didn’t have to deal with all the nonsense that went on outside this little bubble.

“Is going out to see the world and meeting new people the only thing you want to do?”

“Well, I would like to try to find Karen and see what happened to her.”

“Why? Isn’t she dead?”

“Most likely, but I can’t know for sure. And even if she is, I’d still like to see her one more time. You should come with me, if I ever get out of here.”

“Maybe.” Kano could do with some closure as far as her supposed creator went, but it was pointless to think about now. They still had no idea if she could leave her tank, and Kano had more pressing matters to attend to. She stared hard at the black-robed back of the necromancer beside her.

It occurred to Kano that if they really did search for Karen, she’d be chasing after yet another necromancer. She could only shake her head at the foolishness of it all. Would she ever be rid of these wretched creatures?

Though given that the choices largely boiled down to necromancers or ghouls, it was no wonder she didn’t care for the company of others. Not that all ghouls were worthless; some of them could surprise you at times. Maybe the same could be said of necromancers, though that remained to be seen. So far all that had surprised her about necromancers was the strength of their rabid self-interest.

Kano watched as An pulled a vial from her robes and filled it with something from inside the complex network of cables and mechanisms behind the switches. But as the necromancer held it up to the light, Kano saw that it was empty, and yet An seemed like she was looking at something inside of it.

“Did you find something?” Kano asked.

“Yeah, can’t you see it?”

“No. What am I supposed to be seeing?”

“It’s hard to describe, but I suspected you might not be able to perceive it.” She pocketed the vial. “I think I have all I need for now. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Both of the Kanos stared after her as she left.

“Do you think she’ll be able to figure out a solution?” the blob asked.

“Maybe. She seems optimistic, but it’s hard to say if there’s any foundation to that. Necromancers don’t exactly have the most grounded expectations in my experience. What about you, what do you think?”

“I’m not really sure if she’ll be able to either, but I hope so.”