Kael spent some time staring at the last two lines, waiting for the First Archive to add anything that would make the situation less absurd.
It did not.
The page continued floating in front of him, perfectly satisfied with stating that the original subject was dead while, at the same time, the current subject possessed exactly the same identity.
After everything they had just done in the Garden of Bones, after hours spent separating person, body, function, record, and continuity, it almost felt like a deliberately irritating response.
Edras moved a little closer to the page.
"Can the same individual remain after death?"
Kael looked sideways at him.
"You picked a great time to start asking philosophical questions."
"It is a technical question."
"That's even worse."
Sylphie gently took the page by the edges.
The inscription did not react to her touch.
