Melt down

The back of Doctor Falcon’s neck errupted outwards during her brief final fight with the cloud angel.  Quinn couldn’t help but admire the horrific damage that had been her deathstroke. The Professor examined the hole in her back with awe despite sweating profussely in this sweltering forge.  He dwelled instead on the power that was contained in a form smaller than his own.  A child shredded, melted, and exposed the metal and gears hidden underneath her skin with a simple movement of their hand.

 With one last exasperated sigh he pulled the lever and the conveyor belt activated.  Dr. Falcon’s form began to move along the path as Quinn followed.  The clockworks and a handful of people had been invited to this, but few could bring themselves to watch.  As the frame of the deactivated scientist approached its fiery destination, Quinn considered how close Dr. Westbridge had come to his own funeral.

The attempted assassination of Westbridge was far outside of Quinn’s influence.  The official investigation only said the suspect was taken away by the monster.  This was expected from an ongoing inquiry, but off the record he knew the Dean’s were livid.  The spider was keeping the captive to herself and there was no guarantee he was alive and he was still unidentified.

Though he waited for more information, the Professor needed to focus on local situations, such as locating Unit 6.  Every piece of Doctor Falcon had been recovered except for her damaged horn, and that was likely in Unit 6’s possession.  Searches for its particular aetheric signature were met with inconclusive results.  

Quinn could have found the slow talking unit if he could have devoted every available resource to the search.  Captain Heinrichs missing person case temporarily required his expertise and the equipment in the facility.  The adventurers were among the few citizens in Babbage to know of Dr. Falcon’s imminent melting down.  Tales of their exploits were extraordinary enough, but they claimed to have seen the apparition that Unit 6 was describing.  

However, instead of a ghost they suggested she appeared as a cloud of energy.  Clockworks did not have the means of creating an ectoplasmic manifestation, but Doctor Falcon’s entire form had flowed with aetheric energy for years.  Could that energy be attempting to retain the form it held previously?

He dismissed these thoughts as the frame approached the edge.  Quinn watched the metallic body plummet to its molten death respectfully, though the heat prevented him from getting close.

The Professor thanked everyone for coming as the last physical particle of Dr. Falcon disappeared below.  After the brief ceremony, and it had been brief to prevent potential heat stroke, he considered what would be impossible for a clockwork might be possible for the aether itself.  There was no evidence that the energy could be destroyed or created by the angel’s attack.  Perhaps the energy Doctor Falcon contained in her body could have a new mechanical form constructed for it, or perhaps it could be put to another use.