“Neither have I,” says Palamedes with a small shake of his head. At least Darlington seems to be taking this all well—with concern, certainly, but not with horror or disbelief. Comforting, too, is the fact that while his vocabulary may be different, the concepts he speaks of are awfully similar. Taken together, it’s enough to spur Palamedes on.

“That’s been my experience with the captain in general,” he continues. “I can mostly trace the potential mechanics of what he does, but it’s all at a scale that should be impossible. Which leads to all sorts of interesting questions.”