Igor in Ghat…..
Inspired by one of the first successful transplants of entire limbs, an operation performed in India on a young woman who lost both arms at the elbows. While her new arms work, the donor was a male who was rather larger than she was, giving her forearms and hands a massively oversized look on her petite frame. She is philosophical about this.
Meanwhile, the first Igors have reached faraway Ghat and one of the first Ghatians to receive an Igoring service has expressed her satisfation with the service, but is puzzled as to the fact her new hands do not quite match and that there are some surprising side-effects. Igor at the Lady Sybil, and Matron Igorina at the Assassins' Guild School (a location with more need than most for a resident Igor) have both pointed out that the mind and the body effect each other in some surprising ways that Igor science has so far only incompletely worked out. Miss Siddanagowda also said that while she appreciated Igor-sahib's attention to cultural sensitivities, she respectfully turned down the offer to add a second pair of arms as this really wasn't necessary, and she suspected the Great Goddess Kay-Li might express concerns about merely human fan-girls with a wannabee streak. Miss Siddanagowda would like to express thanks to the Goddess in her role of Great Mother of the Ghatian people, and has made thanks at the Ashram just off Gods Street, on general principles.
Elsewhere, Mr Eric Robinson of Dolly Sisters found himself regretting describing Mrs Enid Robinson as his "domestic goddess", in a manner that might well have been interpreted as somewhat patronising. And it was for about the three thousandth time, which Captain Angua von Überwald accepted could be taken as mitigating circumstances. Our Theological Affairs Correspondent, backed by the Strange and Eldritch Crime Investigation Unit of the Cable Street Particulars(1) , has established that every so often, every Goddess has to manifest in the world in order to keep belief levels topped up. It's in the job description. And while the great Ghatian Goddess Kay-Li (2) is indeed Nurturing Mother Goddess and can indeed be described as a Domestic Goddess... well, in Ghatian religion she is also the Destroying Goddess, who manifests with a tulwar sabre in each of her four hands and a long tongue with razor-sharp edges. When Mr Robinson inadvertently invoked the Domestic Goddess, he caught her on a bad day, and got the wrong one. No action is to be taken against Mrs Robinson, who was indeed quite pissed off with her husband, as the Patrician has ruled that being possessed by a deity for just long enough is not actionable, and the Gods do indeed move in mysterious ways. The Ghatian Ashram just off Gods Street, at Lord Vetinari's prompting, has taken in Mrs Robinson as a novice Priestess and will undertake to ensure she does not leave the premises save under escort. Mrs Robinson has expressed remorse at the sad passing of her husband, but is thankful for her new life, and considers the extra pair of arms bestowed by the Goddess make things a hell of a lot easier about the house, especially in the kitchen. I her opinion, it's an aceptable trade-off, especially since she really is a Domestic Goddess now, or at least an earthly avatar of one.
(1) That Code Twenty-Three again, dreaded by watchmen as it very often involves Tentacles. The Theological Investigation Unit, set up with the greatest reluctance on the part of Commander Vimes, deals with those events on the fringes of magic and religion which may or may not be interpreted as crimes depending on the context. The TIU is based in a former monastic house near the river – well away from the rest of the Watch at the insistence of vimes – and their base is called The Priory.
2 (2) At home in Ghat she is Kali. But a name bestowed by believing humans can shape form. The Goddess is resigned, in the biggest city on the Disc, to her name being pronounced, and often spelt as, Kay-Lee or even Kayleigh. Belief is belief, after all.