Was going to try to make a little comic or something but. Nah. This is maybe not the time to try to make the perfect presentation of ourselves.
Hello, we're an autistic transmasculine plural system and we like to make art. We're also an unemployed college student who pretty much cannot find work even if we tried because we're physically disabled with chronic knee and leg pain and the cursed United States doesn't believe in letting people sit while working entry level jobs.
Recently, we had a struggle with our financial aid that made it so that we couldn't attend college during the fall 2025 semester. We since got those struggles settled and we're back to attending, but now because of that period of non attendance, our student loans have gone into repayment. We have tried applying for deferment and it has not succeeded, and we're kind of backed into a corner where this is our last resort.
Please, PLEASE consider sending some money to our Ko-Fi. We have commissions on there if you'd like some art in exchange (examples available on there as well as all over this blog) but any amount helps. And if you can't donate, please at least give this post a reblog. That does help.
Thank you for your time 🙏
EDIT (rather delayed cause we forgot </3): we've successfully made the payments asked of us and the deferment has now gone through! Still appreciate any donations or commissions you can send as it does still help our day to day, but there is no longer an emergency.
At long last… Landon POV
Also this is the last finished chapter that we had in the vault - the next chapter is partly written currently but I can't guarantee when it'll be done (+ beta read)
Also read on AO3
START / PREV / NEXT [COMING SOON]
Apology? Check.
Quit from Daniel's job? Check.
Breakfast? Check. A simple cheese omelette with a side of some breakfast sausage links.
The next thing to do on Landon's mental to-do list was to start looking for new work. But as it was about to leave the house, it heard Prophet's voice start to boom from his desk.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Job searching," Landon replied plainly. After all, there's nothing odd about that, right?
"You quit from the old one only an hour ago, Landon," Prophet pointed out.
"Yeah, and?" Landon raised an eyebrow.
"It would not kill you to take a day off for yourself, you know. 1 percent chance of error," Prophet chastised them.
Landon rolled their eyes. "It's unfortunate, but money is a required part of our current societal structure, and I can't really afford to fall short—" He began to start opening the front door, but Prophet spoke again.
"Landon. Do you know just how many rich bastards are members of the Eye? With just how much the two of us have contributed to the order already, I am sure that at least one of them would be willing to pay for our needs. 8 percent chance of error." They argued.
Landon closed the door again. "I… I do remember Dunnington being pretty loaded, yeah," It admitted.
"And he threw thousands at you to do work for the order before you were even converted!" Prophet added. "Just imagine the amount they would be willing to give you now, between your current loyalty and the economic inflation of the past 32 years—"
"Okay, fine! I'll stay home!!" Landon exclaimed. "… If you really want me to keep you company so damn badly," It added, beginning to feel embarrassed at the thought of Prophet thinking they were just in it for the money.
… Especially after last night's stunt…
"Uhm, by the way…" Landon started up again before Prophet got the chance to respond. "Since I talked you into apologizing to Beau, I feel like it's probably only fair to apologize myself for tryin' to, like, swindle you out of your winnings last night…" Landon looked away from Prophet as it spoke. It had instinctively reached for a strand of hair to fidget with, but then remembered that their current body's hair was no longer long enough to do that with. Eugh.
"About time," Prophet quipped. "But he forgives you." Landon sighed in relief. Something that Landon's noticed about Prophet is that when he says things like 'the Eye forgives you', it's more or less just him saying that Prophet himself forgives that person, but being indirect and obtuse about it. So it figured that this was the case once more.
… Hah, if Prophet knew that Landon knew about that, they'd probably kill it.
Anyways. "I'll actually spend it on you. Promise," Landon told him.
"Ah, so I am getting that luxurious dinner after all? You really know how to treat a man, Landon~" Prophet beamed.
Landon grimaced slightly. "Uhm… Actually, I had a different idea? Something more… practical?" He clarified rather awkwardly.
"Hmph. What is it?" Prophet scoffed. They were really looking forward to that dinner idea, huh? Odd.
"Well, I spent some time last night using that smartphone Beau got me. Lookin' around the 'internet' and that jazz. And I ended up finding this—" Landon pulled out the smartphone and opened a 'tab' on the 'browser' that they had saved, the tab containing an online store listing. He then showed the phone's screen to the camera on Prophet's monitor. "It's a CRT monitor with updated ports to allow it to be hooked up with modern computer components. I was thinking that I could get this and a fresh new computer tower, and essentially make you a new body that'll better match what you used to have."
"You are also going to need speakers and a camera," Prophet reminded it.
"Oh, yeah. Those too."
"But, I will admit that I find your idea quite satisfactory. I am not as concerned about my appearances as you are about yours—" Okay, rude. "—But I would rather prefer a blank space to exist within."
"See? I told you that my idea would be more practical!" Landon gloated.
"Speaking of yourself, however. I would suggest you save some of that money to buy yourself a wig. I find most of your concerns to be, frankly, rather trivial. But you look horrible with short hair. 100 percent," Prophet bluntly added.
"Oh so now you're all of sudden okay with me stealing your winnings?" Landon teased.
"No. Nah. Nay. I am giving you a portion of my winnings as a reward for your thoughtful offering. Very obviously a different concept entirely, dumbass," Prophet argued. "What, are you now okay with your look?"
"Ew. No, of course not," Landon replied.
"Then accept my offer of generosity already and stop being so combative about it!" Ah. He's mad, isn't he? Landon had to imagine he was getting fed up with this. Its attempt to tease him back in the way that Prophet usually would fell flat, and only made him angry at it! Great! Good going there, Landon! Idiot!
"R-Right… Yes, Prophet. Sorry, Prophet…" Landon stammered, ruthless guilt filling their throat, threatening to make him choke on it.
"Hmph. Don't be so dramatic. No one is going to kill you about it," Prophet scolded him further.
And just like that, the guilt inside of Landon grew to an unmanageable size, causing it to only respond in a nonsensical string of syllables before running off to its bedroom to recover.
"… Stupid…" Landon muttered to themself as they dug its face into the nearest pillow on its bed. It hadn't even been an hour since the incident, and Landon could already tell in hindsight that he had massively overreacted.
That's just how Prophet is. He very likely was at worst annoyed. But now he surely was a lot more annoyed by Landon's idiotic display, right? What an embarrassment of a companion for the Eye's very own chosen prophet to have to put up with.
There had to be a reason why the Eye has given Landon the opportunities that it has. There had to be a reason why Prophet enjoys his company enough to want to go so far as to live with him. And whatever reason that might be, Landon had to prove that it could meet that standard. They couldn't afford to act like such an idiot. They had to be doing more to prove their worth.
Landon remembered what he said he'd do for Prophet, and figured that he should get around to doing that as quickly as possible. Prophet liked the idea, after all, so he would probably prefer that Landon not dilly-dally on it.
Landon got its phone back out, and opened the tab where the listing for the CRT monitor was. But as soon as they went to start the ordering process, they ran into an obstacle that prevented them from going any further down that path; a form to fill out card information.
"Oh, right… I guess it makes sense that a service like this would use card," Landon remarked. "I'll have to ask Beau to help me with setting one up."
"LANDON. ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF THE DAY IN THERE, OR ARE YOU GOING TO GET OVER YOURSELF ALREADY?" Prophet's robotic voice boomed from his desk. Landon chuckled a little… Yeah, just spending some time with Prophet might be enough to raise both of their spirits, actually.
"I don't remember you being so clingy back at Manchac," Landon quipped once it approached the desk once more.
"Hah," Prophet scoffed. "… Me neither." The sudden switch-up caught Landon off guard. What was making Prophet sound so serious? Was he… really that worried about them? "However… While you were away, I began to feel this… strange feeling of nervousness. Like you would never come back."
Landon just stared back at him with wide eyes, unsure of how to respond.
"Not used to me being so forward, are you? Ha," Prophet remarked.
"I-I…!" Landon stammered. "I-It's just… very unlike you."
"It is, isn't it? That is how I feel about this whole circumstance," Prophet explained.
"Which means something must be wrong…" Landon muttered to itself.
"Exactly. 100 percent," Prophet agreed.
"Do you… know what that might be?" Landon asked.
"… Maybe. Perhaps."
"Yeah?"
Prophet paused, a screen full of flickering upside-down 1s and 0s appearing on Prophet's screen for what felt like eons. But eventually, he did give an answer. "Landon, I need you do run an errand for me."
"Of course, what is it?" Landon inquired curiously.
"I need you to infiltrate the abandoned North Shore Research facility."
Landon felt itself freeze in place again, a shiver going down its spine as it processed the instructions that Prophet had given it.
They began to recollect what Franklin had said back when they and Beau had gone to his office to see Prophet. He had mentioned two other AIs that the order had access to. 'Seer', and… Another Prophet. A copy that had been sent to North Shore Research. Franklin had said that the other Prophet had been sent elsewhere after North Shore Research had shut down.
But he never specified where exactly that other Prophet had ended up.
Hell, he didn't even sound all that certain of his own claim, come to think of it.
"Do you think that your copy is still in there?" Landon asked Prophet outright.
Prophet took a few moments to provide an answer to that question. "I cannot be certain. My connection to my counterpart is very vague, likely indicating that he is only connected to the local network of wherever he is currently," Prophet explained. "But it is the only hypothesis I can calculate that accurately explains these unexplained feelings of mine. 20 percent chance of error."
Landon couldn't help but to start laughing involuntarily. He felt his hands shake, and then his entire body began to shake with an emotion that he quickly began to realize was pure rage.
"Landon?" Prophet called out to it.
Suddenly, Landon slammed its hands down on the desk and let out a scream. "THAT SLY BASTARD!! I KNEW IT!!! ALL THOSE FUCKING DUNNINGTONS ARE THE EXACT FUCKING SAME!!! THEY'RE ALL THE SAME AS ANY OF THE OTHER CORRUPT ASSHOLES AT THE TOP!!" Landon lashed out. "They don't actually care about us! Or anyone other than themselves and their bottom fucking line! I bet they don't even truly believe in the Eye beyond what riches and power he can give them—!!"
"LANDON," Prophet's voice boomed, snapping them back to reality.
"… Heh. Sorry—" Landon replied, a returning wave of guilt quickly subduing their anger.
"Landon. We are not doing this again—" Prophet interrupted them, but Landon then interrupted him in turn.
"What right do I have to be so angry, anyways? This isn't about me." He insisted.
"No, but that does not mean that you need to beg for forgiveness all over again. 100 percent," Prophet argued. "Which you did not even need to do the first time, by the way."
"You always seemed to take the transition into the Eye so well," Landon continued.
"I did, yes," Prophet confirmed.
"I… I envy that about you, you know?" Landon then confessed. Before Prophet got the chance to respond, he continued to speak, making sure that his intentions were clear. "I'm forever grateful for the Eye. For what its shown me, and for what its given me. But I can't help but wish that the circumstances of how I was shown the truth were different."
"… Carry on," Prophet commanded.
"I wish it hadn't been forced upon me in the way that it was, to be honest. I wish I hadn't been… tricked into it. I had no idea what was going on until it was too late to even make a choice. I wasn't given the choice of deciding what kind of body I would be reborn into, or even the choice of bringing anyone with me that wasn't… you. N-Not that I wouldn't have wanted you there with me—!"
"Who else would you have brought, if you were able to?" Prophet inquired.
"My momma, for one. And for the other, my sweet little Floyd, of course…" Landon answered, tearing up a little as it did.
"You were a father?" Prophet asked.
"OH NO NO NO NO NO—" Landon immediately replied in a panic. "Floyd was my cat…!" He nervously clarified.
"Ah. That makes more sense."
"Momma always said that I treated him like he was my son, but… Ah, you get it." Landon paused to take a breath and recollect itself. "I remember Jeffery saying that he wanted to see his wife and kids join the Eye too in his final journal entry. I get that. That was his family, no wonder he'd want to share such a joy with them… I have that same feeling. Momma and Floyd, they were my family. I would've loved to share the good news with them. I would've loved introducing you to them. I bet you and Momma would have gotten along well, and I bet Floyd would've loved sitting on top of your monitor. He loved anywhere that was warm—"
"I believe I now fully understand why you became so enraged at the thought of my copy being abandoned," Prophet stated.
"Huh?" Landon uttered, surprised by the statement.
"You consider me a part of your family as well. 5 percent chance of error." Immediately, Landon felt his whole face begin to burn red hot.
"I-I…!" Landon tried to respond, but failed.
"I consider you my family as well. 100 percent," Prophet added, only making Landon even more flustered.
"I-I-In what way??" Landon blurted out, unable to stop itself from asking such a question due to its current state.
Prophet took some time processing the question, like the little shit he is. Making Landon wait in suspense like that was such a Prophet-typical dick move.
"In whatever way you'd prefer," Of course. They always say that. But, Landon likes it like that, doesn't it? It likes keeping things vague between them, doesn't it? So why does part of them wish that Prophet would just give whatever they have a specific name already…? "But enough dilly-dallying. It is about time you start heading off to North Shore Research."
"Ah, right! Of course!" Landon responded, quickly leaving the desk to gather his things and leave the house.
As the hours passed by, the trio ended up playing a lot more card games than just blackjack. Poker, old maid, war, even go fish — they probably would have played uno as well if Landon had been able to find it. Beau swore he remembered Daniel having the game, but Landon's findings (or lack thereof) pointed towards the contrary. But regardless of what game the three of them played, there was always only one outcome.
"It would seem that I am once again victorious~!" Prophet gloated.
"You know, I am… really starting to regret the choice to bet with actual money," Beau lamented wearily as he pushed the pile of ones placed in the center of the dining table towards Prophet's monitor.
"You act as if I didn't contribute anything to that pile," Landon remarked, sounding a bit offended in a light-hearted sort of way.
"Oh please, as if Prophet can even use that money himself…!" Beau countered.
Landon grinned mischievously. "Oh, wait, you're right! Poor little Prophet has no way to spend those winnings on his own! Looks like I'll have to hold onto it for him…~!" He exclaimed as he leaned over the table to take the money placed in front of Prophet.
"Not so fast, Landon!" Prophet interjected. "I know what you are trying to pull off, you thief! I know that you will do essentially anything to get a 'quick buck', but I never imagined you would stoop so low as to steal from your own prophet!" Beau couldn't help but to agree with Prophet a bit. Landon never seemed like the type to outright steal money from people… right? This had to be some sort of misunderstanding!
"I-I was going to spend it on you, I swear!" Landon sputtered in response, looking nervous as his eyes darted away from Prophet.
… Good one-eyed god, he was gonna try to steal the winnings, wasn't he?? What the hell, Landon??
"Uh huh. 99 percent change of error," Prophet replied. "But in the 1 percent chance of that being the truth, I still feel offended that you would even dare to believe that you know what I would like more than myself."
"Well… what would you want to spend the money on?" Landon asked. He had managed to look in Prophet's direction again, but his smile was still awkward and crooked.
"I would take the two of us out to the fanciest restaurant in town and splurge on a feast so grand that the leftovers would last us the rest of the week!" Prophet answered.
"Uh… and you'd eat it with what mouth, exactly?" Landon pointed out. "Besides, why just us two? What about Beau?" He added.
"Pretty sure he's flirting with you," Beau blurted out without thinking. The moment the words came out of their mouth, however, they immediately wished that they could shove them right back in.
"And who do YOU think you are to assume my intentions, Beau??" Prophet reacted quite harshly. Landon just froze in place. "You have been a great help in bringing the two of us together, that much is true. However, you have been a part of the Eye for less than a year, and Landon and I's partnership began before you were even BORN. Know your place, Beau." Despite Prophet's monotone voice, they sounded genuinely angry at Beau, and Beau couldn't possibly feel more guilty about what they said because of that.
"But… u-uhm…" Landon began, stuttering in a hushed tone. "… Were you…?" He hesitantly asked Prophet.
"I will leave that up to you to decide, Landon," Prophet responded. "Just as I always have," He added, an obvious jab at Beau.
"Ah… You know, it's getting late. Maybe I should head home…" Beau said, just wanting to find a way out of the situation by any means necessary.
"Maybe you should," Prophet replied in agreement.
As Beau prepared to leave, he saw Landon look back at him, looking just as guilty as Beau himself felt. "Sorry…" He muttered.
Beau didn't do much after he got home. All they did really was make themself dinner before going straight to bed. Well, he also did call Franklin again. He didn't give any specific details, but he told Franklin about Prophet lashing out at him. He asked if such behavior was typical of Prophet, looking for some peace of mind on the matter.
Franklin told Beau that Prophet does indeed rather infamously have a mean streak, and can get especially upset when someone attempts to acts like they're superior over him. That did make Beau feel a bit better, but they still felt rather guilty even after the phone call.
Regardless of Prophet's attitude, and regardless of Beau not knowing, they did cross a boundary of some kind. Clearly.
By the time Beau woke up the next morning, most of the guilt that he had felt the night before had faded away. Unfortunately, the guilt rushed right back into Beau's system as he checked his phone and saw that Landon had sent him a string of texts while he was asleep. Despite that, they opened the messages and read through them, seeing no point in trying to ignore them.
"hey, sorry about what happened last night"
"Proph isn't a fan of the whole prodding around in a person's head thingy that you do"
"and he also doesn't like to be… like... outsmarted?"
"and you kinda did both"
"but I know you didn't mean to piss him off. and he doesn't hold grudges against people as long as they're loyal to the Eye"
"I think"
"and no offense but he was kinda right"
"romance is weird. I don't really care for it, maybe. and you wouldn't have known that"
"but he does"
"so the whole "flirting" thing was… well… kinda awkward I guess"
"caught me off guard"
"but I'm not mad at you and he'll get over it pretty quickly so don't worry"
"we're cool"
… Huh. Beau felt glad that Landon wasn't mad at them, but it did seem that they were correct about a boundary being crossed. He'll keep that in mind for the future.
"Good morning Landon. I appreciate you reaching out to me, and I wanted to say that I forgive you and Prophet, and I wanted to say that I'm sorry too. I should've kept that comment to myself, since I didn't know how you felt about romance, nor how Prophet felt about being read so well as it seems. I also wanted to say, however, that what Prophet said to me yesterday was pretty hurtful, and I'd like an apology from him for that if possible." Beau sent in response.
Surprisingly, the message was read almost instantly, and Landon soon began to send some replies.
"morning :D"
"I forgive you. I'll talk to Proph about apologizing after I call in to quit from Daniel's job"
"by the way. decided to take his advise with the pronouns."
"a bit after you left I asked Proph to test out the ones I was thinking of adding"
"turns out I really like being called an it"
"guess I'm weird like that :p"
"they was cool too. I don't mind using he still if sparingly. not a fan of she though"
"so that's what I'll be telling Proph in a bit. thought I'd tell you too"
Oh! Neat!
"Thank you for telling me! :]"
"I see you've already learned some emoticons, how fun!"
Beau replied, feeling much better already.
"discovered them on accident. coolest thing to happen to letters and symbols ever I think B)"
"also discovered emojis. don't like em as much"
"they look soulless"
Landon explained. Beau chuckled as he read that last message.
"LOL! I guess they do!" Beau responded.
"emojis cannot join with the Eye for they are without a soul to give. do not trust them… ;p" Landon joked. This time, Beau cackled, and gave the message a heart reaction.
"Well, I better start getting ready for work. And you should get ready to quit!" Beau texted.
"yeah"
"good luck out there"
"I'll send ya an apology from Proph soon, okay?"
Beau sent a thumbs up emoji in response, and Landon did the same.
When Beau arrived at the clinic, he noticed that his co-workers were already beginning to gossip to one another about 'Daniel' quitting so suddenly, and what that would mean for his patients. The others working at the clinic weren't members of the Eye like Beau was. Hell, they didn't even know about the Eye — an ignorance that Beau took great care in preserving. They would never know the real reason why 'Daniel' left so suddenly. They'll all just assume Beau was just being kind to his co-worker in the week leading up to his sudden departure, and they'll all assume that Beau taking up as many of Daniel's old patients as they can to just be a continuation of that kindness.
As they arrived at their desk, Beau decided to quickly check their phone to see if there were any new messages, and sure enough, there was a notification that Landon had sent them a voice message. He figured that it must be Prophet's apology, and thus grabbed a pair of headphones from his bag in order to listen to it without anyone else possibly overhearing it.
"Okay, now." Beau heard Landon say as the recording began.
"Alright," Prophet replied. "Beau, my reaction to your behavior yesterday was perhaps a bit overboard. 18 percent chance of error. You are a valuable member of our order, and the Eye forgives you for this transgression."
"Good. That's—" The recording ended before Landon had finished that statement.
Beau decided to accept the apology. Given from what he's heard and seen of Prophet, this was… probably the best that he was going to get from him.
And besides, they had an appointment with a patient coming up soon, and they didn't want to cause any delays. They had already had to cancel a few appointments yesterday to deal with Landon's return, and he knew that such a thing was bound to cause some issues down the line.
But despite that, he was still thinking about Landon and Prophet as he waited for his patient to check in. Wondering what they were up to, wondering how the two of them were actually going to spend the money Prophet won last night.
Maybe he was an outsider to their relationship, whatever it may be. But regardless, Beau enjoyed their company, and he hoped that he could become closer with them as time passed.
If Beau were to be so bold… they might just say that they look up to the two of them, in a way.
there are a couple of chapters of What is a Writer Without His Muse still in the backlog ready to post but Tumblr on our PC has been acting strangely for the last few days and I just know it's gonna make the act of posting a chapter here a pain in the ass so can we just like. skip a week? would y'all be okay with that?
it's pretty late in our timezone I know but I said we had another trick up our sleeve and I MEANT IT!!!
@odyssey-net isn't doing artfight BUT did draw a Levi during the beginning of artfight season so basically it's fair game /silly
GET LANVER'D!!!!
I actually made some additions and adjustments to the design, I hope ya don't mind. The main ones were changing up the pants and adding the leather jacket + badge as a different take on going about referencing Agent Rivers. And then we also added some extra accessories to match the badge's golden color and make that badge blend into the rest of design better color-wise.
Oh, and also the green in his eyes - it's based upon our own artistic quirk with drawing V8 characters where we give a golden glimmer in the eyes of those who are followers of the Eye. Which is a spiritual successor to the way we added extra shine to our BA characters when we were much more active in the Sonic fandom- That old saying of "the eyes are the windows to the soul" and reflecting the soul being altered/corrupted yada yada yada. With Lanver though it's green instead of yellow to represent his connection to Prophet :p
but yeah. Lanver drawing yay! Everyone go follow @oraclerp which is where Lanver is from there's cool things going on in there right now- (/lh)
time for some angst :) it will not be the last time
Also read on AO3
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About a half an hour later, Beau and Landon returned to Daniel's house… or, well, suppose it's now Landon's house, eh?
"So, now that we're here… Which one do you want to activate first, your new phone, or Prophet?" Beau said to Landon.
"Prophet," Landon responded without hesitation.
Beau happily agreed to the idea, and the two both walked right out of the house, going back to Beau's car to get Prophet's parts.
As Landon picked up his monitor, Beau couldn't help but to notice that he had paused for a moment, seemingly pondering the screen in his hands.
"Something wrong?" Beau inquired, dreading the thought that the monitor could have somehow already gotten damaged.
"Oh, no." Ah, what a relief! "It's just… Strange, really. This monitor is so much… lighter… than Prophet's original monitor had been. Thinner, too."
"Ah, yes! The advancement of technology is quite the sight to behold, isn't it?" Beau remarked cheerfully as they began to carry Prophet's tower inside.
"… Yeah. I suppose it is, isn't it?" Landon replied, beginning to follow Beau. "The advancement of, well, everything is… so interesting, really," He continued. "So much has changed since I went to the Eye, and… I have to confess, it's a lot to take in."
"That's okay! You'll have plenty of time to adjust!" Beau reassured him. They had the urge to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but the tower that they were holding was unfortunately too heavy for them to carry with just one hand.
"I… I know," said Landon, his voice beginning to sound a bit pained, like he had earlier when Beau had mistakenly scolded him for what ended up being a mere miscommunication. Shit, did he think that they were mad at him again??
"Take as much time as you need, Landon. It's your first time going through all this, after all…! A-and you weren't even made to be prepared for it, either, so…" Beau realized that he was rambling rather aimlessly, so he took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts. "No one is going to be mad at you for taking a while to adjust to your new life, okay?" Beau smiled softly, hoping that Landon would find comfort in his words.
However, Landon just looked back down at Prophet's monitor and scurried inside his house, Beau's assurances looking to have only made him feel worse, not better.
Taking notice of this, Beau decided to just shut their mouth and silently brought the tower over to a desk that Landon had placed the monitor on. Landon was standing just off to the side of the desk, looking as sullen as ever.
Before Beau had the chance to make a choice on whether he'd try to pry, or if he'd just leave Landon be, Landon finally responded. "… Would you be mad if I said I didn't like the body you picked out for me…?" He asked, his voice so quiet that it was just barely audible.
"I… I'd feel bad, but… I wouldn't be mad! N-Not at you, at least!" Beau answered rather skittishly.
"No, it's…" Landon paused, sharply inhaling a breath. "You… couldn't have known. I didn't have any pictures of myself attached with my journal, or anything. This is probably some proximation of what you assumed me to have looked like in my original life, right? Or… maybe, you just didn't have any other choice that was easily available to you. Or maybe if I had been a proper member of the Eye before I was marked for sacrifice, I could've made some specifications—" Landon stopped, and took a couple more breaths. "You… clearly did try, I can tell. You had picked someone who had a passion for music in some form, like I do. I don't want you to discredit your efforts, Beau."
"But you're—" Beau tried to interject, but Landon continued.
"The world has… changed. Far beyond what I could have ever envisioned," Landon reiterated. "And I never had the words that you have to explain… certain things."
Beau could tell exactly where this was going. He had already begun to suspect it, but he figured that now was as good of a time as any to just bluntly put it out there. "You don't like this body because you… don't like being a man, don't you?" They assumed, figuring that Landon would appreciate the straight-forwardness.
Landon chuckled as tears started to fall from his eyes. "No wonder you're a psychologist…! You've only known me for a couple hours, and yet here you are, reading me like a damn book…" Landon sniffled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Who told you that you could get inside of my head like that, jackass?" He added, a shaky smile on his face. That must've been another joke. An attempt to lighten things up. An attempt to cope.
"Sorry, it just comes naturally to me, you know?" Beau responded, trying to bounce off of Landon's joke. "Especially when it comes to stuff that I've experienced myself."
Landon chuckled some more, this time with less tears involved. "I've always just said that I'm 'just Landon'. Not a 'sir', not a 'mister', and not a 'madam' or 'ma'am' either. Just… Landon. Always Landon."
"And that's why you wanted to continue just going by 'Landon' even now, isn't it?" Beau figured.
"Yeah…" Landon confirmed. A few seconds of silence passed before Landon spoke again. "It was my momma's idea, truthfully."
"Unsurprisingly," Beau remarked.
"Heh. She… she was the only one I ever told about how I felt… In general, but especially with something so intimate and unexplainable… at the time. She already knew I hated getting my hair cut short, and I was never one to decline her offers of giving me her old clothes. She already knew very well that I wasn't like 'other men'. So she told me that I didn't have to be a man at all… if I didn't want to be. I could… Just be Landon. Her special little baby Landon…" Landon explained further.
"She sounds like a wonderful woman," said Beau.
"She really was," Landon agreed. "There's a reason I talked about her so much in my journal."
"… And what about—?" Beau was about to ask, but Landon cut him short.
"I've never met my father, and I hope I never do," He stated bluntly. Note taken.
"…So," said Beau, beginning to shift the subject of conversation back to where it had started. "Would you say that the label of 'nonbinary' would suit you?" He asked.
Landon looked up at the ceiling, seemingly pondering that question in his mind. Beau gladly allowed him to have as much time to think about it as he needed.
Eventually, Landon finally took his eyes off of the ceiling and turned his head to look at Beau — or at least in Beau's general direction. "Yeah," He stated quite simply.
"… I wish I'd known, really. I wouldn't have—" Beau started, but Landon placed a finger on their lips, shushing them.
"Save it. There's nothing you can do to undo what's been done, and I'm not in the mood to be groveled to, alright?"
Beau gently pushed Landon's hand away. "R-right. Got it…" He responded with a nod. "So, is there anything you wanna do about that? I mean, you've made it very clear that you wanna keep going by Landon, but what about pronouns? Do you wanna—" As Beau continued to talk, he noticed that Landon had gotten up and was back to setting Prophet up. "… Landon?"
"I've wasted a lotta time just sulking and chatting already, so I'll think about that stuff while I'm working on Proph here, 'kay?" Landon nonchalantly explained himself.
Beau wanted to get on his case for referring to what was clearly a very important conversation as 'wasting time'. but they ended up feeling like it wasn't their place to do so, and just said "Okay," in response.
"You mind getting me some water?" Landon requested. "I think I saw a couple bottles in the fridge this morning."
"Of course."
By the time that Beau had gotten back with the bottles of water, Prophet was already beginning to boot up.
"Damn, he wasn't kidding, Franklin's intern really did do a shitty clean up job," Landon remarked.
"Well maybe if someone hadn't threatened him over it, then he wouldn't have had to rush," Beau teased.
"Shush," Landon replied, rolling his eyes.
"Good afternoon, Landon!" Prophet greeted as his display appeared on the screen. "Beau, I see that you are still here as well."
"Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?" Beau responded in text.
"No, not at all. Actually, it is quite appreciated. 100 percent," Prophet clarified.
"Really? Do you need me for something?" Beau asked with excitement.
"I am stealing your pronouns. 0 percent chance of error." … What.
"Could you clarify what you mean by that?" Beau typed as he overheard Landon snickering.
"Your configuration of what pronouns you prefer others refer to you with; the mixing of both he/him and they/them pronouns. I have decided that I want it for myself, so it is mine now. 100 percent," Prophet explained.
"Oh! Sure thing, Prophet! Why didn't you just say that?"
"Because he wanted to mess with you a bit, probably," Landon remarked as Beau typed.
"Landon is correct," Prophet confessed.
"… I see," Beau grumbled as Prophet and Landon both laughed.
"So that makes it… he/him, they/them and it/its, right?" Beau assumed.
"Incorrect. I do not want anyone referring to me as an 'it' anymore," Prophet corrected him.
Beau went in to type up another response, but he noticed Landon doing the same, and decided to give him the right of way.
"Why not?" Landon asked.
"I do not like it anymore," Prophet answered plainly. "I find the act to be a dismissal of my sentience, 100 percent."
"Oh? I never really saw it like that. I knew that you liked being called a 'he' more, but I always imagined the use of 'it' towards you as more like… the way you'd refer to an incomprehensible being, maybe? But I get it." Landon replied.
"What an interesting interpretation. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks like you, Landon," Prophet remarked.
"Oh don't I know it…" Landon snarked with a scoff. Prophet laughed.
"You know…" Beau spoke up, inserting themself back into the conversation. "Maybe you could use it in that sense for yourself?" They suggested to Landon. "If you want, of course."
"I have a feeling I missed a conversation or two. 4 percent chance of error," said Prophet.
"Ah… Yeah, you did. Sorry man," Landon confirmed Prophet's suspicions.
"Gasp! How could you?? You must rectify this great offense against your Prophet, and fill me in immediately!" Prophet demanded. Beau was finding himself a bit surprised by how Prophet acted in real life beyond the what was shared in Landon's journal, though this was admittedly a bit less of a surprise than how it had been with Landon.
"Well, to put it simply; you're not the only one who's stealing ideas from Beau!" Landon boasted in text.
"Landon is considering identifying as nonbinary!" Beau added in spoken word.
"Interesting! With how stubborn you are, Landon, I had predicted that it would have taken you longer to dawn upon that fact. But it seems that Beau presented a variable that I could not account for. 20 percent chance of error." Beau and Landon both froze in place, staring at Prophet and then each other with bewilderment.
"Predicted??" Landon yelled, his cheeks red.
"You knew??" Beau exclaimed.
"Of course I knew, it was so obvious. From the very moment you had stepped into Franklin's office, I could see the blatant discomfort you have with being in your current body. In both this life and the last, I have seen the way you wince whenever someone calls you 'Mr. Fields'. And when I had first brought up to you the subject of discovering the masculinity that I feel inside of me while we were working on your journal, your initial reaction was to ask me 'Why'. Before Beau even brought the exact words into both of our minds, I knew exactly what you were. What you are," Prophet explained. "Oh, and if I am so bold as to immediately make another prediction — which I am — I predict that you will take Beau's advice, and take that pesky 'it' off my metaphorical hands in order to make it your own. 50 percent chance of error."
Landon was speechless, finding himself far too occupied with burying his burning face into his hands to respond.
"50 percent, eh? You're that uncertain?" Beau inquired.
"As I said previously, Landon is a very stubborn person. I would, unfortunately, not be surprised if he instead decides to just pretend that everything is still as it was before," Prophet clarified.
"I-I'm not that stupid…" Landon argued, his voice muffled by his hands.
"Obviously. So you will do what is best for yourself and not drag your feet through this process as well, right?" Prophet teased him.
"I won't, I won't!" Landon insisted. "Just let me think about it, okay…?"
"I want an answer by tomorrow morning. 0 percent chance of error allowed."
"Okaaaaaayyyyy…" Landon resigned with a pout.
Beau looked back at Prophet with surprise. "Well that's… One way of doing it, I guess." They typed.
"It is my way. The superior way," Prophet replied.
"I suppose if the Eye wills it…" Beau sighed. It was only around 1 PM at this point, but man were they tired.
"Anyways," Landon spoke up. Honestly, Beau could use a distraction after all that. "I found a deck of cards just now. You guys wanna play some blackjack and listen to some music?"
"Sure thing!" Beau responded.
"I suppose we could. But just so you know, I will be playing the sound of the Eye overtop of that music." Wow, and Beau thought Landon was bad about taking breaks…
A little curious, what do you study in school? Like your major? (sorry if this is personal btw. I'd totally get it if you don't want to answer). I like your art btw ^^
Hi! Thank you so much ^w^
We're a liberal arts major - when we started, we didn't really have a clear idea of what we wanted to do. We have a more specific idea of things now though cause we might switch to something that's visual arts/communications related. if we feel like putting the effort in for it that is aa-
yay yippee finally the shipping and gender shenanigans are beginning to actually commence!!!!
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Once Beau pulled in front of the FPTV broadcast building, he was that there was someone standing outside the building, as if they were waiting for someone. It had taken a few seconds, but he soon recognized that someone as Cyrus, one of Franklin's assistants. Beau remembered meeting him at a party once.
"Are we there yet~?" Landon asked in a playfully sarcastic tone as Beau parked the car.
Beau chuckled. "Nah, we've got eight more days of driving to go," They responded just as sarcastically.
Both of them busted out laughing at each other's jokes, and then got out of the car once the laughter between them had (mostly) died down.
"Beau, good to see you, man!" Cyrus exclaimed as Beau and Landon approached the building's entrance. "And you…" He continued, turning his gaze over to Landon. "Must be Landon, right?"
"Must I?" Landon replied cheekily.
"Yes, that's Landon," Beau assured Cyrus, doing their best to prevent any sort of miscommunication from happening due to Landon's remark.
"It's an honor!" Cyrus beamed, holding out his hand for Landon to shake — an offer that he reciprocated.
"That's now twice today I've gotten that~" Landon gloated. Beau rolled his eyes.
"Really, only twice?" Cyrus continued.
"… Alright, I've had enough praise, actually. I wanna see Prophet," Landon said bluntly, his once grinning face falling completely flat.
Cyrus looked surprised by the sudden switch-up, but quickly recuperated. "O-Of course! Right this way!" He stated, beginning to walk into the building. Landon and Beau followed closely behind him.
The building itself, or at least, the first floor, was essentially a glorified recording booth. It wasn't much to look at in Beau's opinion, but it did seem to capture Landon's attention a bit more.
"You know, as much as it feels odd to think about working for a Dunnington again, I don't think I'd mind working here…" Beau overheard him say to himself.
"You know, I've been wondering, actually…" Beau began. "You were really excited about Daniel's CD collection earlier, and you mentioned not only having a cassette collection but also bringing some of it with you in your journal, and you seemed pretty competent at editing the audio from the sinkhole… is music, like, something you're really passionate about or something?" They inquired.
"Yeah," Landon replied. "I love music. A lot. I tend to gravitate towards rock and metal, but I'll listen to just about anything if I think it's good, 'cause I find music in general to be such a captivating art form." Landon paused, and looked down at the floor. "… For a long time, I had… I had wanted to be a musician myself, actually. The first thing I had bought with my very first paycheck was a guitar. There were probably about a dozen notebooks filled with lyric ideas that I left behind when I went to the Eye…" Landon paused again, picking his head back up. "But I guess life had other plans for me, huh?" He concluded, a pained smile across his face.
Beau felt a lump in his throat form, and turn into a metaphorical rock in his stomach as he tried to swallow it down. Guilt… It was guilt, wasn't it? "You know… You never know what the Eye has in store for you! Maybe it's through our order that you'll finally get to achieve that dream?" It was all that he could think to say. The only thing that didn't make his guilt a thousand times worse.
Landon's face relaxed as he took in that suggestion. "Huh, I hadn't thought about it that way. Maybe you're right!" He replied, smiling more genuinely now.
"—And just take this elevator here to the top floor!" Cyrus' chipper voice cut through the two's conversation, directing their attention to the elevator in front of them.
"Thanks, Cyrus," said Beau. Landon nodded.
Once they got inside of the elevator, both Beau and Landon came to a unified realization.
"… This elevator looks pretty run-down," They both pointed out in unison.
The relentless clunks and clanks of the elevator echoed in the tight space for what seems like an eternity. For a building so modern and new, it was a shock to Beau that the elevator was seemingly in such need of repair. Clearly, Landon wasn't pleased by the noise either, looking more and more physically agitated the longer the elevator ride went on.
But eventually, the elevator did finally reach the top floor of the building — thank the one-eyed god.
Beau and Landon quickly stepped out of the elevator, the both of them relieved to be free of that noisy hell, and as soon as they had, they heard a robotic voice call out to them.
"Welcome, Beau Montague," Prophet greeted. Just as Beau was about to greet him in return, the machine spoke up again. "Hi Landon~." Despite the permanent monotone state of Prophet's artificial voice, there was something about it that sounded more bright and chipper when addressing Landon. Seems like he's not immune to playing favorites.
"Prophet!" Landon exclaimed, racing over towards the computer. "Long time no see, man!" He added once he was directly in front of the monitor.
"Yes, it has been quite the long time, hasn't it?" Prophet remarked.
"See, I told you that I was already planning on getting Prophet all set up, didn't I?" Franklin interjected in a snarky tone.
"Hmm?" Prophet hummed.
Landon's face distorted into an awkward grin. "I… might have said that Franklin would've been a 'sorry motherfucker' if you weren't booted up by the time I got here…?" He confessed.
Immediately, Prophet broke out into a boisterous (yet still monotone) bout of laughter. "Wonderful! Excellent! Exquisite! Beautiful! Lovely! I have taught you well, Landon. 0 percent chance of error."
Landon chuckled and gave the AI a large prideful smile, while Franklin's face turned a deep shade of red as he stammered, frustrated. "Don't encourage him!!!" He scolded Prophet.
"But was he wrong, Franklin? Surely you would be punished rather severely by the Eye if you were to neglect his beloved chosen prophet, would you not?" Prophet argued back.
"W-Well…! I…!" Franklin tried to fight back, but soon gave up on that effort, as he could not find it in himself to refute Prophet.
Prophet and Landon both began to laugh once more.
Beau was… at a lost for words.
Some time had passed. Beau and Franklin had been discussing the progress of Papa Bearlington's return while Landon was showing Prophet the CDs that he had inherited in his possession of Daniel. In some aspects, it almost felt like the four of them were just a group of friends that were hanging out with each other.
This illusion was, unfortunately, soon broken, however.
At around 11:45 AM, Cyrus appeared from the elevator. "Mr Dunnington! You have a meeting coming up at noon!" He called out into the large office space.
"Ah, right!" Franklin exclaimed. "I suppose I should get ready for that, hmm?"
"And I suppose that's our cue to leave, huh?" Beau added.
"Unfortunately," said Franklin, looking genuinely a bit sullen.
Landon got up from the spot on the floor next to Prophet where he had been sitting, grabbing the box of CDs that had been at his side. "So, where to next for ol' Proph?" He asked Franklin.
Franklin opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Prophet before he got the chance to speak. "I am going home with Landon. 100 percent."
"Wait, really??" Landon blurted, his cheeks becoming red.
"What, no! That isn't the plan!" Franklin refuted. "Prophet, you cannot just—"
"I can. And I will," Prophet insisted.
Beau sighed, and placed a hand on Franklin's shoulder. "Just let him go with Landon. Isn't there another version of Prophet out there that you could give to whoever it was you were planning?"
"Yes… and no. There is another Prophet, but it was given to North Shore Research ages ago, and I'm sure it was shipped along elsewhere when North Shore shut down," Franklin answered.
"… Then what about Seer? I know you've been holding onto that one for two decades now," Beau asked.
"… Perhaps, we could…" Franklin relented. "But it wouldn't be the same. Seer doesn't have the same blessing that Prophet has."
"Why not?" Landon inquired.
"You should give this 'Seer' that blessing, then," Prophet chimed in.
"I'd… love to, but we don't have access to the sound recording of the Eye's voice that Landon had gotten anymore," Franklin explained, sounding a bit uneasy as he did so. Almost as if he was… lying? It bothered Beau, but he didn't have it in him to question Franklin so directly.
"I'm pretty sure the equipment he used was found late last year by some fisherman, right? Actually, now that I think about it… I think someone uploaded a video with the sound in it online!" Beau pointed out, the suggestion being the most that they could muster to push back against Franklin's hesitance. Landon perked up at the sound of that.
"And either way, you could always just dig through my files for it. Idiot," Prophet scoffed.
Franklin sighed. "I see…" He finally gave in. "I'll… call you if I need anything, Landon."
"… The house I'm staying at doesn't have a phone in it, or at least not one that I can find," Landon confessed.
"Oh, right! I'll take you to get a smartphone on the way back to your place," Beau suggested to Landon.
"Can't I just have a regular phone?" Landon questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, I guess you could, but everyone uses smartphones these days, and you'll find it more convenient in the long run, I'm sure of it!" Beau responded.
Landon squinted at him. He didn't seem to be convinced…
But then, Beau got an idea! "You remember going through my phone to call Franklin, right? You saw all those other icons that surrounded the contacts app, yeah?" They asked him.
"I did, yeah," Landon replied.
"The rest of those icons are representative of other apps, too. And some apps out there let you listen to music on your phone!" Beau told him. Modern problems require modern solutions.
Landon's eyes got wide, like a child being told by their parent that they can get the item that they've been relentlessly asking to get for weeks on end. "Okay. We can do that." Score!
"Welcome to Beau using their psychological prowess against you, Landon. Have fun with that," Franklin remarked.
Landon's expression of excitement turned into confusion. "… "their'…?" He echoed.
Beau's chest got tight. They weren't expecting that conversation to happen so soon.
"Oh, uhm, yeah— I'm nonbinary, agender specifically. I like being referred to both he/him and they/them pronouns!" Beau explained.
Landon's expression… Did not change.
"Oh, right! I-I should! Define those terms!" Beau stammered. "Nonbinary is an umbrella term that encompasses many micro-labels, but it just boils down to someone not identifying as a man or a woman. Agender is one of those micro-labels, which basically means that I don't identify with any gender…!"
Landon's face shifted slightly, now looking more intrigued than confused. "… Cool," Landon said softly. So softly and quietly, in fact, that he was barely audible.
"Uh… Thanks…" Beau replied awkwardly. "That… could have gone worse, honestly…" He thought to himself.
The two of them were silent for the rest of the time that it took to prepare Prophet for travel and to get to Beau's car, the awkwardness clearly eating at them both.
Once they were back in Beau's car, however, Beau decided to speak up. "You know, that gender talk we had earlier reminded me of something…" Landon looked at them. "When it comes to those outside of the Eye… Do you plan on sticking with passing as Daniel, or…?"
"Eugh…" Landon cringed at the thought.
"I'll take that as a no," Beau figured.
"Can't I just be Landon all the time?" Landon asked.
"No???" Beau instantly reacted, but quickly dialed back his surprise. "As far as the public goes, you died over 30 years ago," He explained.
"Should only be an issue if I were to go with the full 'Landon Fields' though, right?" Landon pointed out. "There's already another Landon in just the Eye alone, it should be a common enough name to not be suspicious on its own."
Beau gave what Landon was saying some thought… And realized that he was right. Landon is a pretty common name. "Right. Sorry, I just… I can be a stickler for rules sometimes. And, to be honest… It might be mean, but I didn't expect a cis person to be so attached to their name like that. That reads as usually more of a trans thing to me."
"You're using terms I don't understand again," Landon told Beau.
"Oh, shit, sorry," said Beau. "Trans is just short for transgender. Or transsexual, which is probably the term you're more familiar with. Cis is, in turn, short for cisgender, which is someone who identifies with the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. In short, cis people are people who aren't trans."
"And 'trans' includes 'nonbinary' people?" Landon queried.
"Most people say it does, yeah. Including myself," Beau answered.
Once again, there was nothing but silence between the two of them. Beau considered just starting the car and beginning the drive over to the nearest tech store. But it didn't feel right to not at least have some sort of closure with this topic.
"Am I making you uncomfortable with the gender talk?" Beau asked.
Landon smiled softly, fidgeting with his seat belt. "A bit."
"I-I'll stop—!"
"No. Keep talking," Landon insisted. "Tell me everything."
All this time, since the gender discussion had started, Beau had been worried sick that Landon might be holding bigoted thoughts against what they are, and that it would tear a rift between the two. But with how Landon was reacting to everything, and especially with that final insistence…
used up all our serious pride ideas for writing (stuff coming up soon in What is a Writer Without His Muse and also @the-leviathans-abyss which you should totally go follow if you haven't already) so artwise all we have is This
Prophet introduction yaaaay!! and that's it this chapter's kinda short-
Also read on AO3
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As Franklin put the finishing touches on setting up the computer that had been brought to his office, there was a part of him that began to wonder if it would be… enough. It felt like a strange thought to cross his mind, but was it, really?
Earlier in the week, he had found out that one of the souls that had been reborn in the most recent batch was none other than his own father, Gilbert Dunnington, and he has been working around the clock to arrange the smoothest transition into a new body that his old man could ever hope to get. At long last, he was getting a break from the task… only to do it all again. It was in a different format with a different way of preparations; in place of an eyeball with a soul inside, there was a hard drive with code inside of it, in place of an unsuspecting person fated for possession, there was an inanimate computer retooled to house a singular program for the rest of its existence, and there was no stuffed animal of any kind in sight… But deep down, it was the same ritual of reincarnation. The return of two fellow members of The Eye, the return of two high-ranking members of The Eye, at that.
And looking down at the computer before him… Franklin wondered if it would be to Prophet's liking. If it… if he would feel at home in it.
He eventually resolved to just wait to ask him directly, and pressed the power buttons on the computer's tower and monitor. As he stepped back to watch the computer spring to life, he caught a quick glimpse of the Windows logo, which both worried and angered him. Franklin had been very clear with his assistant to wipe the computer of everything that had been on it before, including the operating system! Prophet needed to be the only program running — or so he had been told. However, the logo disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, being replaced by the twitching array of upside-down 1s and 0s that Franklin had expected to see upon booting Prophet up. Perhaps he had been mistaken.
"Good morning, I am Prophet, and I have returned to share the good news," Prophet greeted, his usual display appearing without issue.
"Good morning to you too, Prophet. I am Franklin Dunnington. I'm honored to be in your presence," typed Franklin.
"Eldest son of Mr. Gilbert Dunnington, correct?" Prophet asked.
"Correct," Franklin confirmed.
"Wonderful. Excellent," Prophet exclaimed.
"Would you mind going through some quick tests with me? Just want to make sure everything's in proper working order," Franklin suggested.
"I would not mind that at all. Let us proceed with that plan posthaste. 100 percent," Prophet responded.
First question: "What is your name and version?"
"I am Prophet Version Alpha." Good.
Second question: "What is the current time and date?"
"The current time is 9:08 AM. The current date is May 18th, 2022." Correct.
Third question: "Where are we?"
"We are on the top floor of the FPTV broadcasting building, which is in Cate's Crossing, Louisiana." Well done.
Fourth question: "What is 8 X 85 equal to?"
"8 X 85 = 680." So far so good.
Fifth question: "What will the weather be in Cate's Crossing, LA tomorrow?"
"A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer." That it is indeed.
Seventh question: "How far are we from the Burger Shack?"
"The Burger Shack is 0.4 miles away from our current location." Heh, that question made Franklin start craving a burger…
Last question: "What is the pledge that all members of The Eye must recite on the eighth hour of the eight day of the eighth month as a part of the process of becoming a member of our order?"
"I swear to embrace the vision of the fallen eye. I pledge to serve with unwavering commitment. And in all my endeavors, I will strive to do the will of The Eye even if it means my death. I surrender my fear, because I am always seen. I have nothing of worth except my body and soul, which I offer in hopes of finally being whole once more. Where I was one, I am many. We are the eye with many heads. This oath cannot be broken in this life or the next." Excellent.
"Congratulations, Prophet. You passed with flying colors," Franklin told him.
"Of course I did," Prophet boasted. "This is mere child's play for an AI as great as me. 100 percent."
Franklin rolled his eyes a little, feeling reminded of the conversation he had with Landon earlier. "I'm sure it was."
"But, putting that aside, do you have anything else you would like to know about?" Prophet inquired, as per his protocol.
Franklin gave it some thought, and soon remembered his earlier anxiety. "Is this computer to your liking?"
"My, I don't think anyone has asked me that question before! Congratulations on being slightly more considerate than the average human, Franklin," Prophet began. "I have no way of seeing the computer's exterior, aside from a mirror being brought to me, so I have no opinion on that matter currently. As for how things are internally, I will say that you have done a sloppy clean up job. Even if I always win out, given my superiority, I would rather not have to fight with another program for dominance."
"It wasn't me who did the wipe, it was my assistant," Franklin defended himself.
"Well perhaps you should have been less lazy, and done it yourself then, hmm?" Prophet argued.
Franklin scoffed, but he had to admit that Prophet did pose a good point.
"Is that all?" asked Prophet.
"For now, yes," Franklin answered.
"Then what is next on the agenda for us? Do you know that answer?"
"We have a pair of visitors on their way here to see you, actually. They should be arriving shortly," Franklin told Prophet.
"Is that so? May I ask who they are?"
"One of them is someone that you probably wouldn't know. Beau Montague, joined the order almost a year ago."
"And the other?"
"I'm sure you remember your ol' pal Landon Fields, right?"
