Rotaros knew that Szeras had removed certain trace elements essential to maintaining the body, reducing the legs to a liquid state. From the floating chunks of bone-stone and iron nearby, it was already clear what elements the two legs lacked.
The dissected Aeldari was still alive. Szeras did not enjoy wasting effort on unresponsive dead flesh. He already understood the principles of neural function; what he needed to understand was how the soul participated in controlling the body.
"Lord Szeras." Rotaros stood behind the busy Illuminor and softly called his name.
Szeras turned around without pausing his work, continuing to dissect the Aeldari's flesh. Noticing that this Aeldari could no longer respond to his actions, he used an instrument to restore her mind and strength, allowing her to scream energetically as she was taken apart.
"My lord, do you enjoy hearing screams?"
"No, I simply do not wish to miss even the slightest reaction. Stimulating these lower creatures' bodies makes my thoughts more agile." Szeras adjusted his sound receiver. "Though it can be rather noisy at times. What brings you here? Don't tell me you found a few more Aeldari craftworlds? If so, that would be wonderful. The materials from these two craftworlds are only enough for a dozen or so experiments."
"Actually..." Rotaros had barely begun when Szeras enthusiastically pushed him along, and the two strolled through the laboratory.
Szeras excitedly told him how many samples the two craftworlds had provided, making much of the muddled data in his mind suddenly clear.
Szeras opened the laboratory walls. Long, crystalline blocks floated along both sides, each containing a sliced and sealed Aeldari.
Scarab constructs and Szeras's biomancers moved among the floating blocks, inspecting the sealed Aeldari's vital functions to ensure they remained healthily alive.
Every Aeldari slice was marked with