Paxti goes off to her room to think about what alter-Paxti would think.  It's too hard, and she asks if Asmodia is available to tell her, but Asmodia isn't available and won't be for a while.  She taps herself with a Fox's Cunning and the main thought that comes to her on Cunning is that Owl's Wisdom might let her get this right and not die, but when she leaves her room to ask, Security either doesn't have one available, or doesn't think she's a priority anymore.

She goes back into her room and wonders if alter-Paxti would cry right there when Keltham tells her, if people in alter-Cheliax are more pathetic than those in true-Cheliax.  It's not a decision she'd be authorized to make even if she was still a full member of Project Lawful.

She files a request with Security for an Asmodia alter-Cheliax consult as soon as Asmodia is available.

She files a request with Security to still be part of the Nap Stack so she has longer to solve this problem.

She goes to look at Keltham's seven problems, which, if she was smarter, she should've done before the Cunning wore off.  If she could solve them all, if she could solve any of them, maybe Keltham would want her to stay on.

After a while she thinks she can get #2.  That's enough, right?

...she's pretty sure it's not.

She wonders if Keltham would have kept her if she'd been more proactive about having sex with him.  Probably yes.  Her own stupidity for thinking she was safe to take her time.

Paxti goes off to her room to think about what alter-Paxti would think.  It's too hard, and she asks if Asmodia is available to tell her, but Asmodia isn't available and won't be for a while.  She taps herself with a Fox's Cunning and the main thought that comes to her on Cunning is that Owl's Wisdom might let her get this right and not die, but when she leaves her room to ask, Security either doesn't have a Wisdom available, or doesn't think she's a priority anymore.

She goes back into her room and wonders if alter-Paxti would cry right there when Keltham tells her, if people in alter-Cheliax are more pathetic than those in true-Cheliax.  It's not a decision she'd be authorized to make even if she was still a full member of Project Lawful.

She files a request with Security for an Asmodia alter-Cheliax consult as soon as Asmodia is available.

She files a request with Security to still be part of the Nap Stack so she has longer to think tonight.

She goes to look at Keltham's seven problems, which, if she was smarter, she should've done before the Cunning wore off.  If she could solve them all, if she could solve any of them, maybe Keltham would want her to stay on.

After a while she thinks she understands #2.  That's enough, right?

...she's pretty sure it's not.  It's the simple one that Keltham included so even the dumber students wouldn't feel disappointed about getting zero right, because that's how Keltham thinks.

Paxti wonders if Keltham would have kept her if she'd been more proactive about having sex with him.  Probably yes.  It's not that he's firing her for reluctance, it's that, if she had slept with him faster, he'd feel too guilty now to do this to her.  Her own stupidity for thinking she was safe to take her time.  Sevar was smart.  Asmodia was smart.  Meritxell was smart.  Ione was smart.  Paxti should have paid more attention to what the smarter people around her were doing.

Paxti goes off to her room to think about what alter-Paxti would think.  It's too hard, and she asks if Asmodia is available to tell her, but Asmodia isn't available and won't be for a while.  She taps herself with a Fox's Cunning and the main thought that comes to her on Cunning is that Owl's Wisdom might let her get this right and not die, but when she leaves her room to ask, Security either doesn't have a Wisdom available, or doesn't think she's a priority anymore.

She goes back into her room and wonders if alter-Paxti would cry right there when Keltham tells her, if people in alter-Cheliax are more pathetic than those in true-Cheliax.  Someone else will have to instruct her about that.  It's not a decision she'd be authorized to make even if she was still a full member of Project Lawful.

She files a request with Security for an Asmodia alter-Cheliax consult as soon as Asmodia is available.

She files a request with Security to still be part of the Nap Stack so she has longer to think tonight.

She goes to look at Keltham's seven problems, which, if she was smarter, she should've done before the Cunning wore off.  If she could solve them all, if she could solve any of them, maybe Keltham would want her to stay on.

After a while she thinks she understands #2.  That's enough, right?

...she's pretty sure it's not.  It's the simple one that Keltham included so even the dumber students wouldn't feel disappointed about getting zero right, because that's how Keltham thinks.

Paxti wonders if Keltham would have kept her if she'd been more proactive about having sex with him.  Probably yes.  It's not that he's firing her for reluctance, it's that, if she had slept with him faster, he'd feel too guilty now to do this to her.  Her own stupidity for thinking she was safe to take her time.  Sevar was smart.  Asmodia was smart.  Meritxell was smart.  Ione was smart.  Paxti should have paid more attention to what the smarter people around her were doing.