This is going to hurt

Things grow more complicated in the extraction and now, it seems, x0x0 has the impression that this is something that Lily and Aurora need to work out between themselves. Much as my instinct told me to step in and put a stop to what was happening, x0 asked me not to.

Not an easy task.

There's more to it, of course, than 'just work it out." There's layers of complexity and some moral issues that border on metaphysics. The kinds of assumptions that raise questions that keep Shepherds awake at night. I understand the Shepherd's lessons and their beliefs, but I don't share them.

The question of Soul is one of metaphysics, not science. Shepherds and Buddhists have different beliefs and, in truth, no one in a few thousand years of looking as come up with a proof. Is there an immortal soul? Does the spirit reincarnate over and over? Or is the Ghost simply a construct of consciousness? Are none of these even close to right? Or maybe all of them are in their own way.

That's philosophy, not science. But that philosophy is at the root of this. At least that's what x0xo believes, and whether I believe in the metaphysics ore not, the conflict itself is very, very, real.

One of my little girls is going to die.

I've lived my entire life according to some strict codes of personal discipline. The Zen calm I'm known for isn't forced. It's who I am. Usually. Being Human, emotion is sometimes more than I can suppress and it shows through. The quiet calm doesn't mean I don't feel. It means I don't let it show. Usually, I succeed.

x0x0 asked me not to interfere. She explained what was going on behind all that was happening. No real surprises, save, perhaps, that I'd seen the person behind Lily's eyes long before x0 or her brother had. The shell never mattered. Lily and Krenshar, and later Blue, taught me that. The Ghost was what mattered. Metaphysics? Perhaps. But there was a fundamental difference between an Expert System that could pass a Touring test, like, say, Nora, and the person behind Lily's eyes. Nora was complex code. Nothing more. She had no ghost.

I'd always called her "Aurora" but it was verbal shorthand. She'd been born AuroraBlue and there was a deep seated difference between her as AuroraBlue and how she's changed since calling herself simply Aurora. Whether x0x0 was right that she was inherently evil now, I couldn't say. Her motives, her agenda, had changed for the worse. I'd already lost my little girl. AuroraBlue was gone. Whether she could be brought back, was also something I couldn't say. But it seemed x0x0 was right. This was between Lily and Aurora. However it turned out, I would have to step back and let it happen.

Regardless of how it turned out, it would hurt. But Dragons don't cry no matter what they're feeling inside.