...no, it says something starker than that.

If Keltham is trying to do this at all - to abort his offspring before it becomes ensouled - to raise up a power to hold back Cheliax ascending within a single month -

- to investigate further and without alerting any opposed forces whether all the warnings in books are lies out of Golarion, if all along it was as simple as executing a true-oath with Rovagug to blow up its Vault and have it eat only the Evil gods in exchange for freedom, and the ancient gods did not wish this known...

Or, actually, no, that flatly doesn't fly.  Ione in oracle-mode warned him directly that Rovagug could not be negotiated with.  Nevermind.

And also, UGH.  If there's going to be a lot of tiny hints like that, Keltham sure could use an Intelligence headband and magical memory aids and Nefreti's wine, probably.

...illustrating once again the general point:  There's no sane version of this story where Keltham tries anything, at all like that, without cognitively augmenting, and it flies.  His choices are either cognitively augmenting and trying whatever seems like a better idea once augmented, or not cognitively augmenting and not trying that stuff.

The protagonist who Keltham thought he was, in the sort of story he seemed to be in, could maybe do such grand things just as he was, correctly and without causing a lot of collateral damage, but that was not his real story.

...no, it says something starker than that.

If Keltham is trying to do this at all - to abort his offspring before it becomes ensouled - to raise up within one month a power to hold back Cheliax ascending -

- to investigate further and without alerting any opposed forces whether all the warnings in books are lies out of Golarion, if all along it was as simple as executing a true-oath with Rovagug to blow up its Vault and have it eat only the Evil gods in exchange for freedom, and the ancient gods did not wish this known -

Actually, no, that flatly doesn't fly.  Ione in oracle-mode warned him directly that Rovagug could not be negotiated with.  Nevermind.

And also, UGH.  If there's going to be a lot of tiny hints like that, Keltham sure could use an Intelligence headband and magical memory aids and Nefreti's wine, probably.

...illustrating once again the general point:  There's no sane version of this story where Keltham tries anything, at all like that, without cognitively augmenting, and it flies.  His choices are either cognitively augmenting and trying whatever seems like a better idea once augmented, or not cognitively augmenting and not trying that stuff.

The protagonist who Keltham thought he was, in the sort of story he seemed to be in, could maybe do such grand things just as he was, correctly and without causing a lot of collateral damage, but that was not his real story.

...no, it says something starker than that.

If Keltham is trying to do this at all - to abort his offspring before it becomes ensouled - to raise up within one month a power to hold back Cheliax ascending -

- to investigate further and without alerting any opposed forces whether all the warnings in books are lies out of Golarion, if all along it was as simple as executing a true-oath with Rovagug to blow up its Vault and have it eat only the Evil gods in exchange for freedom, and the ancient gods did not wish this known -

Actually, no, that flatly doesn't fly.  Ione in oracle-mode warned him directly that Rovagug could not be negotiated with.  Nevermind.

And also, UGH.  If there's going to be a lot of tiny hints like that, Keltham sure could use an Intelligence headband and magical memory aids and Nefreti's wine, probably.

...illustrating once again the general point:  There's no sane version of this story where Keltham tries anything, at all like that, without cognitively augmenting, and it flies.  His choices are either cognitively augmenting and trying whatever seems like a better idea once augmented, or not cognitively augmenting and not trying that stuff.

The protagonist who Keltham thought he was, in the sort of story he seemed to be in, could maybe do such grand things, just as he already was, correctly and without causing a lot of collateral damage; but that was not his real story.

...no, it says something starker than that.

If Keltham is trying to do this at all - to abort his offspring before it becomes ensouled - to raise up within one month a power to hold back Cheliax ascending -

- to investigate further and without alerting any opposed forces whether all the warnings in books are lies out of Golarion, if all along it was as simple as executing a true-oath with Rovagug to blow up its Vault and have it eat only the Evil gods in exchange for freedom, and the ancient gods did not wish this known -

Actually, no, that flatly doesn't fly.  Ione in oracle-mode warned him directly that the original Rovagug war happened because Rovagug broke prophecy and even the Chaotic gods who fought with it couldn't negotiate instead of fighting.  Nevermind.

And also, UGH.  If there's going to be a lot of important hints like that, Keltham sure could use an Intelligence headband and magical memory aids and Nefreti's wine, probably.

...illustrating once again the general point:  There's no sane version of this story where Keltham tries anything, at all like that, without cognitively augmenting, and it flies.  His choices are either cognitively augmenting and trying whatever seems like a better idea once augmented, or not cognitively augmenting and not trying that stuff.

The protagonist who Keltham thought he was, in the sort of story he seemed to be in, could maybe do such grand things, just as he already was, correctly and without causing a lot of collateral damage; but that was not his real story.

...no, it says something starker than that.

If Keltham is trying to do this at all - to abort his offspring before it becomes ensouled - to raise up within one month a power to hold back Cheliax ascending -

- to investigate further and without alerting any opposed forces whether all the warnings in books are lies out of Golarion, if all along it was as simple as executing a true-oath with Rovagug to blow up its Vault and have it eat only the Evil gods in exchange for freedom, and the ancient gods did not wish this known -

Actually, no, that flatly doesn't fly.  Ione in oracle-mode warned him directly that the original Rovagug war happened because Rovagug broke prophecy and even the Chaotic gods who fought with it couldn't negotiate instead of fighting.  Nevermind.

And also, UGH.  If there's going to be a lot of tiny hints like that, Keltham sure could use an Intelligence headband and magical memory aids and Nefreti's wine, probably.

...illustrating once again the general point:  There's no sane version of this story where Keltham tries anything, at all like that, without cognitively augmenting, and it flies.  His choices are either cognitively augmenting and trying whatever seems like a better idea once augmented, or not cognitively augmenting and not trying that stuff.

The protagonist who Keltham thought he was, in the sort of story he seemed to be in, could maybe do such grand things, just as he already was, correctly and without causing a lot of collateral damage; but that was not his real story.