Robert B.Wintermute - The Quest for Karn

“Father of Machines,” Glissa said, her voice as smooth as the oil dripping out of her eyes. “We have council with you today.” She snapped her fingers at the minion, and the little creature scrambled over with the book, which it popped open and held up before Karn’s wide-eyed face. The silver golem looked down at the book, his face jumping to an expression of pain and then to one of anger and then to tears.

Geth could clearly see the rivulets of black oil popping out on his brow. Glissa noticed it too, Geth was sure of that. More fuel to the fire for those that said that Karn was not the true Father of Machines, no matter how much Glissa wanted to make him thus.

His body was fighting the oil, that much was certain. More times than not Geth found him that way at their councils. He found him raving mad, teetering between clarity and instability.

The oil could do that as it was moving through the pathways of the chosen’s neurological workings, Geth had been told. But that period in the transformation only took a couple of days at most. Karn had been volatile for months. His body was simply not accepting what they all were offering. At least that was what those in command said of Karn, when nobody was listening.

Glissa would not hear of it. Brothers had lost their hands and then heads. Sisters had disappeared. Since Glissa had become fully Phyrexian, with a right hand wrought and strong, and a dull scythe for a left, she listened to zero backtalk. She even refused to allow Karn his tantrums, if she could help it.

The minion, all silver and sculpted smooth, snapped his book closed and skittered away into a shadow. Glissa sauntered over to Karn and helped him stand straight. He looked down at her arm before peering around. “What is this place?” he bellowed.

“This is your throne room, Father,” Glissa said.

“Who is that?” Karn pointed.

Tezzeret stood at the end of Karn’s pointed finger.

“Father,” Tezzeret said. “It is I, your Tezzeret. Here to counsel you away from these bootlickers.” Tezzeret smiled and flexed his arm.

Geth wanted to look away. Truth be told, that arm with its bonelike claw caused him great worry. He imagined it crushing his skull when he was trying to sleep.

“Oh look, the toady of Bolas calls us bootlickers,” Glissa said. “You are late as usual.”

Tezzeret bowed slightly. “Guilty as charged. Please accept my most sincere apology.”

Karn fell to his knees with a clank. “Machines,” he said. “Machines.”

“I can see that today we have filth,” Tezzeret said. “This is Karn’s weakness leaving his body.”

“Father of Machines, I think you mean,” Glissa said. She watched Karn kneeling on the floor. Then she turned to Tezzeret. “Your contributions on Father’s well-being, one-arm, are both useful and valuable. Thank you.” Glissa said icily.

“Only trying to help.”

“What is a machine,” Karn was whispering. He reached down to the floor and as easily as Geth might tear a human’s skin from his body, Karn pushed his finger into the metal of the floor and tore out a head-sized sheet. He held it up before his face.

“This is flesh,” he said. “But where is metal?”

“He is not himself today,” Glissa said.

“Really, do you think not?” Tezzeret said.

Glissa ignored him. She bent down to help Karn to his feet, but he would not cooperate, and Glissa could as easily lift Karn as she could the Oxidda Chain. He remained on his knees regarding the flat metal piece.

“How do we fix him?” Geth said.

“He is not broken, dunce,” Tezzeret said. “He is not a machine.”

“But he is metal,” Geth growled, his own exoskeletal framework swelling with anger.

“So are you, and nobody’s been able to fix what’s wrong with you.”

Geth moved to swipe Tezzeret’s neck with his huge claw. Tezzeret merely grabbed Geth’s claw with his etherium hand and in a moment the claw was bent into the form of a five-petal flower.

Geth bellowed and raised his other claw.

Tezzeret held up one finger. “Attention. I will turn your other hand into something more, shall we say, anatomically correct for where I will insert it if you continue this.”

It took Geth a moment to piece through what Tezzeret said. His anger seemed to swell even more when understanding bloomed on his face.

“Are you both done?” Glissa said.

“I have always dreamed of being flesh,” Karn said. “Metal is cold. Flesh is a meat machine. Flesh is metal.”

Tezzeret smiled at Geth, who was looking down at his one good claw.

“I have received word of a totally flesh being,” Glissa said. Karn suddenly looked up at her.

“Flesh is a cage too,” Karn yelled.

Glissa ignored him. “Would either of you have any idea how we could use such a freak?”

Both Geth and Tezzeret shook their heads.

“You’ll have to be creative,” Tezzeret said. “I would have no idea what to do with such an anomaly.”

“You lie too well,” Glissa said. “It gives you away. Your master sent you here to assist, I believe.”

“That is what he said,” Tezzeret said.

“I believe there is a certain caveat to this endeavor. She cannot be infected by our gift.”

“Really?” Tezzeret said. “Perhaps she should be released to the rebel settlement.”

Then Karn began bellowing. “Maybe what we think makes us free is nothing more than a symptom of our cage,” he said.

All three stopped and turned. Karn was regarding his own steely hand very closely.

“I like that,” Tezzeret said suddenly. “What he just said.” He swept his arm toward the throne. “What if all this is holding us back?”

Glissa put her hand to her head and closed her eyes.

“I will give you more experimenters,” Glissa said. “Find why this flesh creature refuses to be infected.”

But Tezzeret did not acknowledge what she said. He stared keenly at Karn.

“We make our own cages,” Tezzeret said.

“Did you hear, creature,” Geth said, stepping forward.

Tezzeret raised his eyes slowly until they met Geth’s. Geth stepped back.

“If there were worms on Mirrodin,” Tezzeret said, watching Karn sink onto his knees and hands, and then begin walking on them on all fours. “He is at the point where he would begin eating them.”

But Glissa would not be ignored, and she clearly had not the slightest fear of Tezzeret. “Do you understand your assignment, or do I need to have your arm taken off so you remember it?”

“You will need to have my arm taken off,” Tezzeret said matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes off Karn as he spoke.

But then Karn straightened and stood. He looked down at Geth, Glissa, and Tezzeret. “Why do you torture me so?”

“You are changing, Father,” Glissa said. “We are not torturing you. We have made this change ourselves already.”

“Speak for yourself, oddity,” Tezzeret said.

“But who am I?” Karn said.

“You are the Father of Machines,” Geth said.

“I have known that name before, from a dream,” Karn said. “But he was not me.”

Tezzeret yawned. “He’s you all right. Just ask either of these two.”

“Who is this?” Karn said lucidly-pushing his chin at Tezzeret.

“That is Tezzeret, Father,” Glissa said. “He has been sent to help us.”

“Help how?”

“Help us finish our work here, I don’t know,” Glissa said, suddenly frustrated.

Karn looked from one to the other of them. “You are all three mad. I am leaving this place.” He began walking toward the wall. Glissa did nothing to stop him.

Karn reached the nearest wall and tapped twice on it. Nothing happened. He tapped twice on it again. Still nothing happened. He turned back. “What have you done with my portals?”