"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game.  You need to plan out all the moves like that explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy this week.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."

"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game.  You need to plan out all the moves like that explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy, possibly a temporary one.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."

"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game, not all of whose considerations are known to you.  There are gods playing that gameboard, and stranger things there haven't been time to explain to you.  You need to plan out all large moves explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy, possibly a temporary one.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."

"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game, not all of whose considerations are known to you.  There are gods playing that gameboard, and stranger things there haven't been time to explain to you.  You need to plan out all large moves explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy, possibly a temporary one.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we check implications you don't understand, we approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."

"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game, not all of whose considerations are known to you.  There are gods playing that gameboard, and stranger things there haven't been time to explain to you.  You need to plan out all large moves explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy, possibly a temporary one.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we check implications you don't understand, we maybe approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."

"Those are harder to kidnap, excuse me, rescue than the Taldorian refugees we have in the Facility.  I'll file a request to see if the Crown has any captive Taldorian nobility on hand anyways that I could try talking to."

"I'm afraid, Avaricia, that we still have a problem with respect to you and my wall.  You seem to think that you can say what ought to work and then argue me into agreeing.  Problem is, the one who has to believe your story isn't me, isn't reality itself, it's Keltham."

"Keltham does not know all these things that you know.  They are - complicated, like saying - not just that a ship comes in, but that it comes in from Absalom - and if Avaricia seems strange enough to him, if her perfectly reasonable and even true arguments ring wrong to him, the way he doubted that masochists really existed -"

"You believe that you're in the right and what you're doing is safe and fine because the arguments for it are so right.  You're not getting it.  We are fighting a precarious pitched battle in which we are outnumbered and there is no margin at all for error, because what is at stake is not whether we win but how fast we lose.  We are desperately trying to lose slowly enough that we can get enough Law from Keltham before he leaves us, or maybe, even, bring him all the way over to Asmodeanism first."

"Oh, that reminds me, you may want to check in with Sevar at some point about what Keltham ought to end up thinking is Asmodeus's concern of pride.  Keltham getting really unpleasant associations about that off you seems like it could interfere with Sevar's game and not just mine."

"To return to point.  We're playing an absurdly complicated and delicate game, not all of whose considerations are known to you.  There are gods playing that gameboard, and stranger things there haven't been time to explain to you.  You need to plan out all large moves explicitly, spelled out, to me, carefully, in advance, as you take your first steps onto this gameboard; not argue to me afterwards about how your moves were the clearly correct ones after it's too late.  Unless and until you prove to be better at my job and able to take over running my Wall; and if you think that's terribly likely I'd invite you to start a prediction market about it.  You'll outbid me, I'm sure, but I won't mind taking your money and I expect a lot of Security will want in on the action too."

"You're currently a limbless torso propped up fetchingly against a wall because Sevar is running an experiment about mercy, possibly a temporary one.  Blundering in here like this on an ordinary Asmodean project, throwing your pride around and expecting others to follow in your wake afterwards, would ordinarily get you a much more severe reminder.  I am considering recommending for that at this point because you do not seem to understand how to coordinate with others on this Project.  You don't make huge moves like that with a hundred implications, and then explain to me afterwards why they were clearly the right moves because sure nobles are like that in Taldor.  It is not your place to decide that the win condition for your idea is the fact that nobles are like that in Taldor.  You come to me or Sevar with the idea, you politely sell it to us, we check implications you don't understand, we maybe approve it, then you do what we expected you to do and nothing more surprising than that."

"Avaricia's an asshole, fine, it's maybe too late for alter-Avaricia not to be one too, but she can't be a revealing asshole.  Talk to me about what alter-Avaricia hoped to gain by offending her classmates in front of Keltham, keeping in mind that if she was just lashing out blindly then maybe alter-Asmodia and the other tier-1s would logically recommend to Keltham that alter-Avaricia not get hired or not be given a tier-1's authority."