Supreme Magus novel Chapter 683

Phloria thought about the apartments they had visited. Some of them hosted more than one person, but always adults. There were enchanted photos in each room, but none depicting children.

In the meantime, Quylla and Lith studied the skeletons in the old-fashioned way, with magnifying glasses and picking samples to analyze later.

"It’s indeed odd." Quylla said. "Even discoloration streaks on the bones seem to have developed the same way for all same-sex Odi. Another thing that I noticed, is how well preserved the corpses are despite centuries have passed.

"Do you have a theory to explain all of this?"

"I have. It’s farfetched and creepy but I think it fits this place perfectly." Lith replied.

"Let’s consider what we know. The Odi first defeated all illnesses by dramatically altering their bodies, correct?"

Both women nodded.

"Then they moved on altering their physical appearance to achieve perfect looks, but doesn’t that mean they were basically copies of the same mold?"

"Oh gods." Quylla had no concept of things like DNA or cloning, so she managed to grasp what Lith was saying, but her mind needed some time to consider the implication of such practice based on what she knew.

"Okay, what?" The discussion was way above Phloria’s head. Her confused expression made Lith chuckle, creeping both of her friends. They hadn’t seen him laughing ever since he had lost the Gatekeeper.

"I’ll make it simple. Imagine that to achieve perfect health, all of the Odi subjected their bodies to the same, identical alterations." Lith said.

"I got that. I’m not stupid." Phloria pouted.

"Never even thought that." Lith gave her a soft smile, making something in her stomach flutter. "Then they wanted to have the same looks, maybe changing just their hair or skin color, but can you picture a society like that?"

"Gods, it would resemble a world full only of purebred dogs." She said.

"Exactly, and what happens when you inbred often to keep the so-called purity of any race?" Lith asked.

"Are you saying that the Odi were sterile? All of them?" Phloria asked.

"Well, if he’s right being sterile was the least of their problem." Quylla said.

"Madness, reduced lifespan, and congenital diseases are all things that would require even more Body Sculpting, with easily predictable consequences. Yet it seems a bit rushed conclusion to me. What makes you think their situation was so dire?"

"Lack of children, identical bodies..." Lith wanted to use the term clones, but Mogar’s language lacked such a term. "...and your earlier observation, Quylla. This is not medical research, it’s too random and desperate.

"As you said, they were hammering rather than chiseling."

"Why aren’t we telling this to the Professors as well?" Quylla asked while putting together the various pieces of the puzzle.

"First, mine is just a groundless theory. I’m afraid that after hearing it, their judgment of our future discoveries might be biased. I want to see if they reach the same conclusion on their own.

"Second, I don’t trust them. They are facing the same problem the Odi had. They are old and they know they are going to die. Flawed or not, this technology would allow them to prolong their existence and keep their physical appearance."

Lith’s paranoia was contagious and suddenly Quylla was almost happy that Professor Phesta had died. Each Professor had conveniently arrived with a talented Assistant/spare body, according to Lith’s idea.