[The illusion snaps clear to Miles' eyes. The people he saw collapse are actually pausing in their shopping stroll, looking over with curiosity. The buildings and street shift back to where they had been, and the air clears of its lung burning qualities...
And there is Aral, holding what is suddenly a small child by the back of the neck.
Bartimaeus was only vaguely aware of a hand on him at all. Human nerves were inefficient, erratic, and lets talk about processing. All of this useless mucking about with all of these coordination properties and silly things like breathing. Chemicals and electrical pulses everywhere, surrounded by all of these delicate bits of meat and tubes, growing and dying and rotting around him all at once. He would be horrified on several simultaneous lines of thought if his vast intellect wasn't shoved down into a tiny little human container.
The sound that came from the uncoordinated child was, frankly, of pure horror.]
no subject
And there is Aral, holding what is suddenly a small child by the back of the neck.
Bartimaeus was only vaguely aware of a hand on him at all. Human nerves were inefficient, erratic, and lets talk about processing. All of this useless mucking about with all of these coordination properties and silly things like breathing. Chemicals and electrical pulses everywhere, surrounded by all of these delicate bits of meat and tubes, growing and dying and rotting around him all at once. He would be horrified on several simultaneous lines of thought if his vast intellect wasn't shoved down into a tiny little human container.
The sound that came from the uncoordinated child was, frankly, of pure horror.]
No, no NO!