They threw her in a pit. This barbarous act was not the first time she suffered an injustice. She was keenly aware of the many reasons why, and being punished was no surprise. Outsider perspectives are prone to venture a variety of guesses as to the cause of such treatment, and some would think the punishment was due to her heterochromia and crooked, wilted frame, or ragged brown clothing and sparse, stringy hair. Another might think it was her warty nose and affinity for tha

It was, in fact, a homunculus. There were elements of the creation that resembled an orangutan, primarily in the shape of the head and shoulders. It had the lurching and striding gate of a primate as well. This synthetic creature did not trigger the disorientation of the uncanny valley, but was nonetheless disturbing in a deeply unnatural way. Mrs. Airis paid handsomely for this prototype and even had its “skin” custom-designed into a green and white, almost tartan color patt

Short intro sample from book: Eye in the Sky: The Horus Cycle

To say nothing of the atmosphere, despite the late spring haze.