Page 54 of Skyn
The library is incredible—rows upon rows of leather-bound books lined up beside sleek transparent cases holding holographic info discs. It’s a dream.
We dive deep—into Iku rites and rituals, property law, and finances. We leave no stone unturned.
After a few hours, the Aluminum librarian taps me on the shoulder. “Dr. Iku mentioned that you never received a Diamond Ceremony?”
“No, I…” Life fell apart before that milestone could even get penciled into my calendar.
Someone hits a button, and tinny orchestral music starts playing from a radio.
“Excuse the rather impromptu decorations, Your Illuminance…”
Whew. I have to admit, my full title sounds pretty damn good out loud.
“What are you—Whoa?—”
A pushy bot sweeps in and stuffs me into a heavy green robe. Curtains swing back, and a choir of children—appear with angelic faces and impossibly perfect harmony.
These weird little cherubs are singing like the rent is due.
For me.
At that, a crowd of librarians—ranging from modestly modded 30 percenters to the full-body augmentation set at 70 percent—surges toward me like a congregation ready for communion. Their chrome glints under the soft library lights, sleek and seamless on some, but welded on in a hurry for others.
As the choir sings whatever ancient hymn they’ve been programmed with, I catch Ben’s gaze beside me. He raises an eyebrow, just the slightest tilt of his head—his version ofwhat the hell is happening right now?
I look closer. They’re not children. Just small bots. Adult models, just scaled down.
But beneath that shared look of bemusement, there’s something else. Something unexpected.
Pride.
He’s proud ofme.
And it does something to me. I didn’t appreciate what this meant the first time around.
“An honor to meet a Diamond,” they say. “Your Illuminance,” they call me. Over and over, like maybe I’m still that girl who clawed her way up from nothing.
Like maybe I’m a myth come to life.
“Now are you sure you can pull this off, my Diamond?” Ben asks.
I’m holding my belly because that’s where I hear his words, and I nod. More to myself than to him.
But I can’t think of anything now except his mouth, his body, the way he grunts when he pushes into me and closes his eyes.
I can’t leave this library without a taste of him.
So, I smuggle Ben past the main floors, through grand halls lined with velvet and flickering data streams, past the marble busts of scholars who would absolutely not approve.
The Diamond-only section of the library is sealed off by an invisible barrier, its threshold guarded by nothing but exclusivity and arrogance. No one questions me. No one stops me.
Ben walks beside me, stiff, wary, but thrumming with curiosity. “I’ve never been this deep,” he says.
I don’t stop until we’re past the rows of pristine ancient books that have never been touched.
Ben turns to me, brows furrowed, a question forming on his lips. “You had something to show me?”
But, before he can say anything more, I drop to my knees.
