*Author's Note:* *This is a textual copy of a clipping of a newspaper taken just after The Lady was publicly slain, I believe for The Codeal Times. Despite the name, its issues are released in Townfolk primarily, as Codeal is a lesser used language even within Synth City.* # The Lady Is Dead! Just yesterday, in a shocking twist of events, The lady was forced outside into the streets, and publicly executed by her once useful strategist, Era. This has put an end to the aeons-long war against the Cybers, now officially renamed to Cyborgs by the new ruling state of Synth City. Era himself has undergone some changes - she prefers to be called Ika, now. We reached out to Ika for an interview, to which she accepted. We had our lead editor, Wave (he/they) conduct the interview. ``` Wave: So, Ika, right? Ika: Yes, that's correct. I assume you have a lot of questions? Wave: That would be correct. Firstly - how did you do it? The Lady's defenses are usually impenetrable. Ika: I ask myself that very question sometimes, Wave. It's Wave, right? Wave: Sure. Ika: Right. Anyways, yes, the how. Despite my reformation, I still know how to strategize, I still know how to fight. I took advantage of the chaos in The City, as The Lady was unguarded. Wave: There's conflicting reports, though. Some say that a shadow of yourself did it, others say you sealed a rift, and yet others still report a dragon being slain. How do you respond to that? Ika: Ah, I think that would be Yalvol. I met him during the final showdown with The Lady. I think he was outside the world in some sense - at the time, anyways. He saw it differently, which allowed him to figure out the best path to the end. It's like writing a book - taking all the best parts and mashing them together. Wave: So you had extraneous help from... someone outside of reality? Ika: At the time. You tend to disassociate when you read, after all. Wave: Interesting. The second question I get asked a lot is, *why?* Why did you go through with a public execution, and so forth? Ika: I think, if you ask one of my allies, Edgie, they'd tell you that it was because we were told to. They're not entirely wrong - do you know about On High? They directly contacted my team and I to get the job done. But, in a sense, I also did it because I kind of wanted to put the whole situation behind me. Wave: What kind of situation? Ika: I guess you weren't there... uhm, when I was under The Lady's rule, I wasn't exactly treated the best. "Do this, or you're dead", is what the understanding was. It's because of her I don't have a childhood, and that I don't know my mother, Mazki. Wave: Mazki's your mother? She's *the* face of missing people. Ika: Yeah, it's a little bittersweet. I try not to think about it. Wave: Alright, next question, this one comes from my bosses. How do you feel about... okay Ika, I'm sorry, but I don't think they like you. Ika: Hey, I didn't like me either until recently. Go ahead. Wave: They ask, "How do you feel about getting away with murder?" Ika: Oh, well, honestly? It *does* eat at me. But I think they're probably asking - "Ika, how *did* you get away with that?" - am I wrong? Wave: I'll be honest, I just ask the questions. Ika: Sure. The Lady trusted nobody to enforce her rules, so she created robots and disguised them as people. Wave: Are robots not people...? Ika: No, I don't mean it like that. They weren't Cybo Synths, they were, as far as I could tell, dead metal. Pure function without cause. Inperson. In any case, they were pretty easy to take down - if you punctured their image, they would cease to work. Wave: But what about other places? Did you not get charged with a crime? Ika: Just the Dwarves' Hobble, but because they couldn't get anyone to agree with them, I'm just banned from entering. It's alright, though, I have a Dwarf friend and he lives in The Human Residence, so it's okay. Wave: As for The Residence, why did they forgive you? Ika: I was just honest with them, Wave. I told them the whole story. I was expecting to be held captive, but they pardoned me. The Residence doesn't want much bad blood with Mages, I believe. Wave: Excellent, excellent. This last question is from me, personally - how do you feel after all this? Ika: That's a good one. I've been getting therapy, as well as lots of help from my partner. Things have been a bit strenuous ever since that fateful night, but we're getting there. It's patience, really, that does it. ```