Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Again, Beryl knocks on Edwin's door. No response. "I'm here to return the telescope you lent me," she offers, not truthfully. "Edwin? Are you home?"

And again, no response. It's been this way for a week, and some of the folks up and down the hall aren't answering their doors either, or so she hears. Tugging at the strings of her hoodie, she looks around the hallway. No one to see her if she does anything worrying! Alright, that's great. Testing the doorknob, just to be sure, and-

The door swings open. It's not locked. Peering into the dim room, she flicks on the lights, enters the apartment, and closes the door behind her. "You in here?" Dead silence. Alongside the unlocked door and theoretically missing neighbors, an incredibly unpleasant picture is being painted right now. She doesn't smell anything rotting, though, so either there isn't a body, or something weird is happening. Bathtub embalming, that's right!

Beryl laughs to herself, nervous. Okay, time to poke around. Maybe she isn't about to find a corpse in a tub. It doesn't look like there was a struggle in here. There's all his furniture, all in the normal places. Edwin never had the all of the group over at once, but he never minded one or two people dropping by for coffee and a chat, so she's been here before a bit. Friendly guy, if you don't mind how strict he is when it comes to his equipment. Beryl can't blame him. It's pricey stuff.

There's a note on the table in front of the TV, though. She picks it up. Not even dusty, that's weird. Reading it over, she grimaces. He looked at the Visitor, then? And changed, in some way. That would explain why he's been harder to reach, wouldn't it? Dealing with whatever's happened to him all alone...

First Sybil, then Jasper got a glimpse, and now Edwin? They're dropping like flies. Okay. Bathroom! A peek inside, and nothing. No bodies, no loose paper. Probably good? She'll save his spare room for last. Just in case he's done anything weird in there. She's getting more and more wary of outside walls and sky access. It might be irrational right now, but when the end comes, she'll be glad she was so careful. Hopefully.

Is this how conspiracy theorists feel? It's awful.

Bedroom! Bedroom. Okay. Normal room, no exterior walls. That's just great. The door creaks behind her, and she jumps, but nothing is there when she turns to look. There's a note in here, too, though whenever this was written, Edwin seemed to be having some trouble keeping his hands steady. Or, she thinks as she reads, maybe he ran out of hands. She feels nauseous.

What can she get from this? Edwin kept looking. He can see ultraviolet light, that's nice. This wasn't a single transformation, it was a bunch of them, so looking once might not protect you from mutating further? That's... Okay, she'll have to tell Jasper that. Sybil's changes implied that, but it's good to have more data. Should she keep the notes? Yeah. Yeah, actually. This one folds up nicely and goes in her pockets. Wherever the rest of it is, it's not in here.

Back in the main room, taking that note too, Beryl realizes. If Edwin can't see in bright light anymore, and can't be seen in bright light, then... Just don't think about it, alright? Maybe he won't be upset at her poking around his things.

"If you're here, I'm just tryin' to make sure you're safe, alright? I don't want to hurt you on accident. Sorry if the lights are doin' that, by the way."

The door to the spare room re-opens behind her and closes again. She'll take that as confirmation that Edwin's around. This is not pleasant. The room is mostly as she's remembered it being in the past. Telescope turned to the sky, poster with the solar system and moon count annotations. Couldn't just look them up? The desk is empty, which doesn't really account for the torn-off end of the second note.

"Did you flush the rest of the note?" She laughs. "There's no chance you can respond to me right now, is there? We'll get you something to help write with, I guess..." His life is going to be different, isn't it? It strikes her suddenly that no one is going to get out of this impending event with the Visitor okay. Maybe everyone will get Jasper's luck and just end up a little strange. Some extra eyes, maybe that's it. Not the worst thing that could happen.

At least, if it all goes to shit, Jasper and Edwin will be able to walk around in public without people freaking out. That'll be nice. Beryl takes a final lap around the room, glancing at the trash can. There is paper inside, wadded up and shoved deep in there, now that she looks. Here's hoping there's no food in there. The notes smooth out well enough, and she reads them.

...He's been killing people. Abruptly, Beryl feels very unsafe in this apartment. He could leave at any time though, right? Step out into the halls and follow anyone home? Hell. She needs to talk to him, doesn't she? Whatever makes people wrong, maybe she can talk him out of it. The note goes in her pockets with the rest, and she takes a second to pull her hood over her head and breathe.

She's good until the lights are out. Turning the lights on when she came in might've saved her life. It's a lot to think about. She just has to be ready to leave if it goes south. No one else needs to get roped into this if she can help it. Quick chat, turn the lights back on if it goes poorly, tell the others to avoid the place and that Edwin's gone if that happens, it'll be okay. Deep breaths. It's a workable situation.

Out in the main room, something's smearing blue paint on the ground. It has to be Edwin, as it slowly spells out the word "FRIEND?" and draws a sharp line to the light switch. Breathe, Beryl. He knows you.

"Yeah, it's me. Beryl. I've still got to return your telescope. Workin' on it." No more paint shows up, so she obliges and walks up to the switch. Shaking a bit, she looks out to the room, and turns the lights off.

A few feet away stands a thing. She doesn't realize what it is until it gets closer, walking on a dozen legs with a dozen more telescopes peering at her, all held within a cloud of fog, thick with stars. She can recognize the constellations spread across his body, in his lenses. Cygnus stares her down out of Edwin's largest lens.

"You, uh. Alright there, man?"

The thing Edwin's become stares her down for a moment longer. Keeping her hand on the light switch, she pulls back her hood.

"Yeah. We're friends, right? You know me."

Edwin doesn't move for a moment, then he lunges, legs outstretched. Beryl flips the switch and jerks out of the way. The lights don't come back on. No time to work out why! Edwin is in front of the switch now, and she's already too far from the door to try to make that work. Okay! Great! Where else can she go! Edwin doesn't turn, but stands up from the heap he was in, and approaches her again.

"I'm okay! I'm not going to hurt you!" Beryl holds up her hands in surrender. Edwin doesn't slow down. Not great! Okay, okay. Ways out. The spare room? There's a window. They're way too high up for that to go well, but her other option is being crushed by telescopes, so she'll have to make it work. She turns to run and finds, a little too late, that there's a gap in the floor that wasn't there in the light.

Making a pathetic jump with her misplaced momentum, she catches the ledge on the other side of the gap and painstakingly hauls herself upward. Edwin, across the gap, seems to look at her. He enters his room. Maybe he gave up? No, she knows him. He's got some way over here. Beryl opens the door to the spare room. Coming out of a hole in the wall is Edwin, and he's absolutely already spotted her.

She slams the door shut and bolts to the bathroom instead. It's not good. She should've tried to jump the gap again. Too late now! She's going to die- Hole in the wall. Sure! Maybe wherever this goes can get her somewhere bright again, safe from whatever Edwin thinks he's doing!

Through the wall is almost worse than waiting around to be caught and killed. There's piles of meat, arms and legs sticking out of them, and they're breathing. Eyes turn to her as she steps away. A dozen mouths make awful noises, and the limbs jerkily reach out to her. This is too much. Beryl puts her hands over her ears and barrels through the nearest door she finds that won't lead right back to Edwin.

It's a living room. She doesn't recognize it. That's fine. Someone's walking around, though. Short, messy hair. He's standing almost perfectly still over the stove, cooking something or other.

"Pardon me?" Beryl says, a bit hysterical. Nothing. "Did you know about the-" She gestures wordlessly, pantomiming a lump. "In your bathroom?" Still no response.

"He won't hear you," a dry voice calls out. Beryl spins, trying to find the source. "He never does."

In the strange red light, she doesn't see it for a moment, but once it moves, Beryl just stares. A long, skinless thing peels itself off the couch in the middle of the room, staring at her with one wide eye. Its spine opens wide, bones like teeth glistening wetly. It moves towards her, spider-like, and Beryl backs up. It stops.

After a moment, she regains herself a bit. It's frightening, but it's talking. That's better than Edwin was. Maybe it'll be safe to talk to. "Hello? You're not going to try to-" She can't complete the sentence. Shaking her head, she backs up into the wall and collapses, pulling her knees up to her face. "'m sorry, 'm sorry," Beryl apologizes aimlessly. It's too much. Just a minute to catch her breath, she'll be okay.

"I won't hurt you," the thing says. "Not in the way the neighbor would." Beryl nods, and uncurls a bit. Still too much. She pulls her hood down over her eyes again. The thing walks closer to her, and reaches out with a single, bony hand. It's slightly damp where it rests on her jeans, but the comfort is nice, even if it's from something that's a little horrifying to look at. Maybe it's like Jasper.

"Are you," Beryl coughs. "Are you a person? Still you?"

The thing tilts its head further along its impossible angle. "I was multiple, I think. Pulled from the raw material and remade. Now, I am this."

Great! That's just dandy. Beryl offers her hand in a handshake, and the thing, the person, takes it. "Nice to meetcha, then. I'm Beryl."

"I call myself Spine. It is good to have company."

Ah. Well. "I'm not stayin' long. I need to get home, sorry."

Spine sighs. "Must you?" It- she? She turns to look at the apparently unaware man. "It is lonely here, without someone who knows I am here. Someone who will talk to me."

"I mean. I have an apartment too? I can't stay here."

"I understand." Spine turns and climbs back onto the couch, re-settling. "Come back, sometime. We could talk again."

Beryl can't just leave her here. Not with Edwin nearby, not without an actual person willing to talk to her. She makes a snap judgement. "You could come with me, maybe..?"

"Outside? To your home?"

"Yeah."

Spine's eye unfocuses. "It would be nice. But I must decline. The light would burn me away, should I leave this haven."

"Maybe there's a way around that?" Beryl hesitates, then pulls off her hoodie, standing up and handing it to Spine. "This won't cover everything, probably, but might help?" She feels worse, having her arms exposed to open air like this. She's glad to have her gloves, at least.

Quietly, Spine takes the hoodie. She struggles to pull it on, but once she has it on, two of her arms emerge from the sleeves, and the final pair settle on the couch. The tip of her tailbone just barely emerges into the light. The hood is pulled over bare skull without issue.

"This might work," Spine admits. "I am honored, in a way. Thank you. We'll have to test this."

"Yeah, of course." Beryl tests the apartment's door, unlocking it. It swings wide open. The hall itself shines brightly, but none of the light finds its way inside the living room. Spine, barely visible under the hoodie, moves awkwardly on four limbs towards the door. Stretching a covered arm into the light, nothing happens. She retracts it back into the dark, nods, and steps outside.

"Lead the way." Beryl nods too, and does as she's asked.

Chapter Text

Beryl flinches under the bright lights of the halls nearly as much as Spine does. As the door opens to what is, presumably, Beryl's apartment, both present relax a bit. Spine leaves the hall right after Beryl, and basks in the comfortable dim. This is much better.

Still, what a marvel, to travel so safely! If she'd had anything to go back to, she would have tried this long ago. Sam wouldn't have missed a couple older articles of clothing. Then again, he never gained new pieces. It would need planning. She might not have been able to interact with his clothes at all. The mechanics of her home still confuse her. She will have to return and visit, some day.

Behind her, still next to the door, Beryl makes a cut off noise. Spine looks at her. Her hand is over the light switch, but rapidly falling. And, thankfully, the lights are still off.

"Um," Beryl turns around, arms around herself, slouching. "Make yourself at home? I'm gonna take all the lightbulbs out."

"Thank you."

As Beryl unscrews the living room lightbulb, Spine removes the hoodie. It's an annoyingly lengthy process, her fingers catching on the fabric, being overly large for the piece of fabric. It's comfortable, and warmer than she is used to being, but it traps half her arms. Moving is substantially harder with only four arms to work with, unbalanced. She doesn't know how any of her ever managed with only two limbs to stand on.

The hoodie lands in a heap on the floor. It's been helpful, but not the most convenient. Beryl hums and walks over, lightbulb in hand, and picks up the discarded fabric.

"I'll put all the lightbulbs in my room, I think?"

Spine just inclines her head.

Beryl retreats into a room embedded in the far wall of the room, presumably her bedroom, leaving Spine unsupervised to roam as she likes. Apartment 15 is very alike to Apartment 33. There is a large living room, with a slightly offset kitchen, a TV and a shelf full of DVD cases on the far wall, a couch in the middle of the room. It's familiar, but in a way that is just close enough to home to leave her unsettled.

Where is the rug? The coffee table is different. The carpet is cleaner. She believes this could be called uncanny valley, were it a person and not a room. She'll get used to it, or she'll go back to living invisibly in Sam's home. That is an option. It isn't a horrible prospect, but she'll see this through before giving up. A week, maybe. Longer, if it isn't terrible. Being addressed specifically is nice. She'll have to remember that Beryl can see her.

There is a window. She'll avoid that. At least the curtains are thick. Strangely, there is no furniture near it. It might be a pleasant place to read, if one were the sort to stand much light. As it stands, just enough light gets through to keep the room lit up enough with midday sun for those with unaltered eyes to make sense of the shapes within.

The door to the room in the far wall swings open silently. Spine looks inside. Beryl leans over a desk, positioned in front of a window with the curtains shut tight. The room itself is darker than the living room. To the right of the desk is a small bed. Next to it is a small dresser, the surface of it bearing a basket of unfolded clothes, and assorted knickknacks. They're hard to make out from the angle she's at.

Beryl turns around and flinches at the open door, but relaxes as she looks down to see the intruder Spine has made of herself.

"Heyo. I don't mind you pokin' your head in here, but could'ja knock, in the future?"

Spine nods. "I will. Apologies for the intrusion."

"It's alright. Just a mite private, here."

"I'll be out of your way, then."

Another room off the main one. The door creaks as it opens, and along the sill, slivers of paint from the door have transferred. She doesn't quite know what to make of that. It's not important, so she moves on. The room is a clean white, fairly small, and smells faintly of cleaning fluids. It's comfortable enough.

Everything except the sink and cabinet beneath it are situated firmly against the wall to her right. The bathmat in front of the shower is fuzzy, but tamped down in a way that suggests it's been present for a very long time. Spine adds to the compression as she opens the shower's sliding door. The drain is slightly dirty. It smells, if possible, more clean in here.

She wonders if she'll shower, now that she's in a place that tangibly exists. Surely she will. The idea does appeal, feeling more human after so long without basic human maintenance. She could even stand, braced against the walls. Then again, it might be unpleasant, having hot water against her bare muscle. A lukewarm shower is hardly a shower at all, really.

Backing up into the living room, she keeps thinking. She does tangibly exist within the world. Can she eat? Hold people who will hold her back? Experience the world like anyone else? What a dream this has all been.

Leftovers are a distant memory. She'll hold out hope regardless. It might be nice to eat something again. Spine cracks open the fridge and flinches back at the light pouring out, shutting the fridge as soon as the burning stops distracting her. She inspects her scorched fingers with a sigh.

Beryl leaves her room, wearing a new hoodie. She seems more comfortable until she finds Spine, still holding her injury close to her chest.

"...You okay, there?"

"The fridge lights up when it opens."

Beryl hisses sympathetically. "I'll take care of it. Sorry about that."

Spine makes her way to the couch and obtains what would be her usual resting position, were she at home. "It might be unreasonable for me to expect the world to adapt to my needs."

Shuffling in place, Beryl shrugs. "Doesn't mean you should have to put up with the stuff that ain't. I know some folks that might be able to help. A few friends of mine, and me, are expectin' an odd celestial event soon, you probably wouldn't believe the full explanation-" She clears her throat, giving Spine a meaningful look. "Maybe you would, actually."

Spine tilts her head, indulgent. This is nice.

"We think the event will be safer when there's a minimal chance of light bein' able to touch our bodies, so we've been makin' clothes to keep the light off of us. We might be able to get somethin' like that cooked up for you?"

"That would be kind of you." She taps her uninjured fingers against the ground. She'll heal. If a normal piece of clothing could keep her safe, surely something specialized will as well.

"Might be needin' some measurements for your arms, though. Do you mind if a couple of 'em come over at some point to meet you?"

This is all moving very quickly. "I don't mind." The connection to other people is worth it. There is a concern, though. "Will they question what I am?"

Beryl's expression is hard to read, but she seems mostly unconcerned. Mostly. "They might. I can't say for sure that they won't. But we've seen some strange things, changed from them. They trust me, and they've got experience in the matter. I'll make it work."

Spine nods, and Beryl heads out the front door. A click as it's locked, and Spine is left in silence. She turns to the fridge. The lightbulb is still inside.

Chapter Text

The deadlock on Beryl's front door slides shut with its usual grating click. She walks away, at a reasonable pace at first, calm smile still plastered on her face, and then she speeds up and starts freaking out a little more openly than it'd be polite to do in front of the reason for that panic.

She's got indirect proof of the Visitor's effects on people living in her home! It's not pretty! It's proof that observation doesn't have to be direct, if it happens at all, for people to be changed! In short, it's terrible news. Edwin was directly changed, and could change others. Would this hold true of more that change?

Maybe Sybil...

Don't think about her right now. Aurelius's place is nearby. Not exactly just a few doors down, but close enough. He's got a little sign on the front door, with his last name and a little sheet saying to write if you need him and he isn't there. It's got sunflower stickers peeling off of it, but it's still cute. It's still her friend, quintessentially.

He'll probably be home. Everyone probably will be. She knocks on the door, hears the customary chair screeching, and waits in view of the peephole. After a moment, Aurelius opens the door.

"You're back? Did it- Did it go well?"

Beryl shrugs. "Look, uh. We all need to talk."

Aurelius steps outside, locking up with his usual speed. "Bad, then? Was he upset, or?"

"No? Maybe? I'm not explainin' this multiple times," She stalls. "It'll be a lot to cover. Let's just all get in one place and I'll tell y'all what happened. Ain't just Edwin that's botherin' me right now."

"...Okay. You're not hurt, though, right?"

"Nah. I'm okay." Beryl draws Aurelius into a brief side-hug. "Just a mite shaken up." Not exactly true, but Aurelius is jumpy. Best not to worry him too much before she can get everything out.

They take the elevator. Beryl leans against the corner as the rattling old thing climbs up a floor. Aurelius shuffles in front of the buttons, eyes held firmly on them. He's a little funny, sometimes. Beryl closes her eyes before she can see how the elevator keeps rising for another second after the doors open, and steps out of it, eyes still shut until she's back on solid enough ground.

"I'll get Aster, if you get-" Aurelius pauses, curses under his breath. "You get Jasper?"

"Works for me. Thanks."

"Not a problem." He smiles and heads down the hall. Beryl keeps her hand close to the wall as she heads to Jasper's place. Plain door. Knocks.

"Just a minute," he calls. Getting his mask, probably. The door unlatches, then a chain rattles, and then it all opens up. Beryl waves, one of the small waves with just her fingers. Jasper smiles very slightly, and waves her in. "Good evening, Beryl."

"Hey," she greets in return. "Aster and Aurelius are followin' me in in a moment, so keep an eye out for 'em."

Jasper nods and stands at the door for a bit longer, holding it shut. Beryl makes herself at home, picking at the couch until she's found the firmest seat. A couple minutes later, Aster and Aurelius are finally walking through the door, taking their own spots around the apartment. Jasper, as always, drags over a stool from his kitchen and maintains excellent posture despite the backless nature of the chair.

Everyone's looking at her. She clears her throat. Jasper looks aside. "I can get everyone a glass of water, before we start," he offers. "Would I be wrong in assuming that this will take some time to speak about?"

"I'll take the water," Beryl grasps at the lifeline. "Kind of you to offer."

Jasper makes trips between the kitchen and his coffee table, tall glasses full almost to the brim of water laid atop his cross-stitched coasters. Colour-coded, because of course they would be. Sap. The brown and silver coasters rest at the bottom of the stack. Aster picks up the brown one and fiddles with it. Beryl drinks enough of her water to keep it from spilling if she picks it up again, then puts it back down and fiddles with the edges of her hoodie.

Aster, watching her hands move, asks, "I take it something's gone wrong, regarding your visit to Edwin? How is he?"

Wincing, "Bad. He's very bad right now." She takes her hands away from her hoodie, keeping the hood firmly where it is over her head. "Got in his place. Wasn't locked, so I kinda thought he'd been," she waves one hand, as the other goes into her pockets for the notes she took. "Robbed? Or killed? But, uh. Got somethin' of his." Beryl holds out the notes, folded and a bit crumpled.

Jasper reads them, shuffling the order around. He takes off his mask once he's done, and hands them off to Aster. Beryl glances at him and Aurelius as they go over what she's found, but mostly keeps her two eyes on Jasper's many, all shut tight. He might not have been the closest of their group to Edwin, but this is clearly hitting him hard.

Aurelius lays the notes on the table once he's done, and leans against the back of the couch, breathing deeply. "What do we even do about this?"

"I dunno," Beryl confesses. "I tried talkin' to him. Turned off the lights and got a good look at him. He's..."

"Why? After reading these, why would you risk it?" Jasper.

"I still care about him. He's my friend, and I hoped I could," she cuts off. "Didn't work. He seemed fine for a second, but somethin' I did must've ticked him off, because he attacked me. I couldn't get the lights back on and had to go deeper in." Thinking for a moment, she clarifies, "I don't think things work in there like they're meant to. Things that existed in the light didn't with the lights off. Bits of the floor, mostly."

Beryl pauses, thinking over the next stretch of things. She doesn't know how to say it in a way that gets across how awful it is without driving the others to some drastic conclusion. Her glass makes her way back to her hands, and she takes a long drink from it.

"Beryl?"

"Yeah? Shoot, sorry. Trailed off there."

"That's fine. Take your time." Oh, that's Jasper. Half his eyes are pointed at the others. Doesn't that get disorienting?

"Okay." Breathe, nothing gets done without that. Another sip of water. All good. "He hasn't been killin' people. I know what the note says, but they're not dead."

Aster sucks in a breath between his teeth. "I don't like where this is going." Jasper glares at him.

"Yeah, well. Not exactly a fan either. Not dead, but... Piles. All the parts of people, mushed together into piles. Still breathin', blinkin', and I think they knew I was there because they just stared-" Bile. Beryl sets down the glass with a bit more force than she needs to.

Aurelius reaches out. She grabs his hand, holds it tight. Bit better. Little bit better. Distantly, Aster and Jasper talk to each other. Her heartbeat drowns them out for a while, but as she gets back to herself, they're still going.

"-precedent for that?" Aster.

"There's no reason not to try, if we can." Then Jasper.

"If Edwin can be reasoned with, shouldn't someone have succeeded by now? Someone should have survived, come back to tell someone else."

"Like we should be telling others?"

"We speak of an oncoming event, something that can be proven but only very specifically. This is ongoing."

Aurelius nudges her, shoulder to shoulder. "Feeling better now, I hope?"

Beryl squeezes his hand. "Little bit. Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

She nods, and interrupts the duo still talking away. "There was someone in there that wasn't... Y'know." Jasper starts to say something, but Aster motions for him to cut it out. "She isn't human anymore, and couldn't leave on her own. Light hurts her. She's a person, though. Talked to me. Nice as could be." Maybe not strictly true, but everything Spine said blurs together right now, and Beryl wants her friends to not freak out.

"Couldn't leave, you said?" Jasper winds his fingers together. "Did she get out?"

"I helped her. She's at my place right now." At the quiet, she justifies herself. "I couldn't just leave her there."

Jasper nods sharply. "I know. As much as I would like to be cautious, I don't think I could stand to leave anyone behind in that sort of situation either." Yeah, she bets he wouldn't. "Would it be possible for me to meet her?"

Aurelius half-raises his hand. "What's her name, act- actually?"

"Spine." Beryl does grin a bit, fully aware of the possibility of a horrible reason for the name change and choosing to ignore it. "Probably 'cuz of her spine bein', frankly, the most strikin' part of her appearance." Turning her attention to Jasper, "Kinda figured someone would want to meet her, so I made sure she knew folks might be comin' over. Probably fine."

Jasper picks up his glass of water, almost entirely empty. "Does she need more warning, or would today do?"

"Today'll do. Do have to say, though, that I might've told her I'd get my hands on one of our robes? Theoretically? On account of the light blockin' they do."

Aurelius nudges her. "How sensitive to light, precisely, is she?"

Shrugging, Beryl drawls, "My fridge lightbulb burnt her- And I forgot to take it out. I'll... Do that later!"

Making an untranslatable noise, Aurelius drags his hands down his face. "Yeah. I'll make the robes."

"Thanks. She's got, eh, different limbs, though. You'll probably have to see her to figure that out."

"We've got a couple weeks until the Visitor arrives," He frowns. "It'll be tight if I want it done in time."

The room falls into an uneasy, but mostly comfortable quiet. Beryl closes her eyes. It's good being with friends, and not the immediate aftermath of her impulsive decisions. She'll have to go back eventually, live with what she's chosen, but it all feels a little more bearable now that other people know. She's not alone, she's got friends to help her through this.

Oh, right. "Jas, Edwin's changes were cumulative."

"...Yes?"

"So you might not be immune to further mutation, like we'd hoped."

Jasper blinks, and then grimaces. "That's unfortunate. I'd hoped- It doesn't matter. About Edwin, however, do you think he's possible to reason with?"

"Maybe. He could definitely hear me when I said stuff to him, and writin' stuff down is a good sign. If we could be completely sure it was safe to talk..? Dunno. I don't want to leave him alone." She doesn't want him to keep doing what he's doing now, either, but that's a little harder to come to terms with.

Aster sighs. "I just hope we'll all come out of the full exposure period alright. What with communication and all seeming difficult to do."

Beryl just nods. If this is repeated distant exposure, and it changed Edwin so thoroughly, gave him the capacity to change others so much, she doesn't want to think about what direct exposure could do to an enclosed space like this one.

Absently, she wonders if professional astronomers are having problems right about now.