There was no need to read the contract. Adam merely set his eyes on it, and the signatories, witnesses, binding clauses, punitive measures, and everything else became clear in his mind.
"Agree, or refuse." An ethereal yet perfectly clear voice sounded in his mind. After Adam chose to agree, the contract's light shone into his soul, then dissolved before his eyes into motes of golden radiance.
Mage Victor said to the two of them, "The contract is established. Mage Moder, from today on you will remain in the tower as a participant in the experiment. Keep its terms firmly in mind: everything belongs to Adam, belongs to the tower. You hold no shared rights whatsoever over the core knowledge or the experimental results."
Mage Moder bowed deeply to Headmaster Victor. "I will obey the will of the contract."
Mage Victor nodded to him, then gave Adam a long, meaning-laden look. He said nothing more and left the laboratory.
Once the headmaster had gone, Mage Moder dropped his solemn manner. He seemed to let out a breath, and said to Adam easily, "So, when can you begin the modification? Before that, may I take a look at your alchemy laboratory?"
Adam was still turning over the meaning in the headmaster's parting look—was that a warning, or a hint? When he heard Mage Moder's voice, he pulled himself back from his guessing. "Of course. This way, please."
After they reached the room set aside for the alchemy equipment, Mage Moder's face filled with disdain. His eyes swept over every instrument, and he said, "Too crude. Too low-level. How could anyone build a good mechanical body with junk like this?"
Adam was about to speak, but Moder waved a hand and announced loudly, "I know the standard of alchemy in Moldo Tower, but I will not use this equipment." Before he had even finished, he moved every piece of alchemy equipment out of the laboratory. Then he waved again, and a great mass of far more high-end-looking instruments appeared neatly before Adam. "That's more like it."
The devil's voice suddenly sounded in Adam's mind. "Master, something's off about this guy..."
Mage Moder gazed at the now-familiar equipment in the laboratory with great satisfaction, an indefinable look in his eyes. "How do you like my babies?" he said to Adam. "Don't worry, I'll teach you how to use them. With these, our experiment will move along very quickly."
The devil went on, "He seems to be plotting something."
Seeing that Adam said nothing, Mage Moder assumed the high-end instruments had stunned him and laughed loudly. "Like them? These things are worth a fortune, so I can't give them to you. But if your hypothesis really is that valuable, one day you'll have all of this and more."
Adam was noncommittal. "I hope so, Mage Moder. If you're willing, we can begin the modification right away."
Mage Moder nodded gladly and gestured for Adam to get ready.
Once they were out of the laboratory, the devil appeared at his side, still speaking through their telepathic link. "Master, he's definitely up to no good. I can smell the greed on him."
Adam felt the same, but he had no idea what method Mage Moder meant to use. That high-grade contract from the Spire was, in theory, inviolable; nor could a second-rank Mage, with his strength, pull any murder-and-plunder tricks under the tower's very nose. Unless he has some way to get around the contract?
His guesses led nowhere, so Adam kept his suspicions to himself and became a little more guarded around Mage Moder. Before bringing Frank into the laboratory, he changed the soul-sensing device from critical-point alarm to full monitoring, in case Mage Moder decided to risk everything.
Mage Moder knew nothing of this. He watched Adam and Frank with keen interest. "Are you going to separate him from the current mechanical body?"
Once Adam entered his experimental mindset, he grew even more silent and rational. He merely nodded at the question, then ordered Frank into the life-support pod. The pod looked like a space capsule; using their own particular knowledge, mages converted energy into life force to keep the protected occupant's vital signs going. Frank's life force was too fragile, and Adam had to make sure he would not simply collapse and die once separated.
Frank looked nervous. After several deep breaths, he took an injector from inside his clothes and inserted it into his artery. His flesh-and-blood body went numb at once, and his neural responses grew sluggish. He lay down in the life-support pod with difficulty and said to Adam, "I'm ready."
Mage Moder stood to one side, watching Frank intently.
Once Frank's neural responses had slowed to a crawl, the connection holding the mechanical body and the flesh body together began to loosen. The various simulated tissues extending from the mechanical body showed signs of coming loose as well, but even apart from the life-support pod's effect, the mechanical body was still running an internal circulation through a medium.
"Psychokinesis?"
Adam paid Mage Moder no attention. He poured all his effort into controlling the current's output and maintaining a high-intensity magnetic field. Seconds later, five magnetic beam electro-scalpels appeared before him, floating in the air under the control of his psychokinesis.
This was also why Adam had Frank inject the suppression potion. Originally, Adam could have controlled Frank's magnetic field to make him temporarily forget the pain, but because his theory was still incomplete, he could not yet control two different magnetic fields at the same time.
What followed was a full-body surgical operation performed by one man alone, targeting every blood vessel, every nerve, every tissue in the human body.
Mage Moder said not a word throughout that long stretch. Only after Adam had completely removed the mechanical body did he speak. "How will you modify him? Do you need help?"
Adam sealed the life-support pod, then looked at Mage Moder. "Sir, does this mechanical body contain any unpublished knowledge that belongs to you?"
Adam had to ask. According to the materials he could access, the technology for manufacturing mechanical bodies was open, meaning any mage or apprentice could freely disassemble, assemble, and study them. But Frank's body had been purchased from Mage Moder, and there was no guaranteeing it contained no proprietary techniques. On the Mage Plane, prying into knowledge without permission was a grave crime.
Mage Moder laughed loudly at the ceiling. "Now that you mention it, there is." Inwardly, he was cursing. I never thought an apprentice would be so familiar with mage law and so cautious. Adam's question had shattered his most direct means of obtaining Adam's techniques.
He took the mechanical body from Adam's hands, ran a finger over one of its intricate structures, and said, "This neural conduction circuit was built with a rune group of my own invention."
In Adam's mind, the devil suddenly saw it all. "Master, that's his scheme!"