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Kids always exaggerate the age of adults. She probably wasn't that old.

Across the whole universe, it is humans that actually end up being the unnatural ones.

The only explanation is that the delegation is not what it seems. There is another motive behind the ceremony.

So not technically zero. Cool.

He's really broken the intellectual 'bank' with that one.

There's something you should be doing, but you're not.

It finds you wanting, but how?

That wasn't too difficult to spell out now, was it?

Highly suspicious, warrants further investigation.

Of course! Reread the cipher using the book as a new key.

Ah, ah! Maybe something like...

Easy? So, like... alphabet but reversed...

This is old news. You've cracked his stupid cipher.

You are very lucky that the maestro has your back.

He has most likely had between one to seven drinks.

You extracted a small lump or organic matter. You did not extract the brain.

No. There's nothing to consider. Your brain cells rebel at the thought.

This is exactly what sane people do.

The old man was kidnapped for what he knew or had discovered, and you know nothing.

Spared from catastrophic error by your own incompetency.

Ignatz said she's been huffing photo chemicals.

The aggressive man said she's been huffing photo chemicals.

Important? There's only one way she could assess that...

He's already turned once. He could just as easily do it again.

You'll only know it's gone wrong when a body shows up on the other side, punctured and bloody.

Or, perhaps, a genuine techno-fascist.

Even more daunting than collecting such a set is the task of arranging and displaying it.

Did she put her feet up on her desk?

Except that's the only reason she talks to you.

Why the interest in space? Look at it! What's it doing up there? What if it's just a big painting?

Intense skepticism. She's worried you're developing a logical framework to apply to your own assignment.

This is wrong. You shouldn't be here. This should be happening to someone else.

One door closes, another opens -- there must be another way in.

Both of those things can't be true.

Checks out. No discrepancies detected.

Sterile, discreet, professional. This is who you call in when you're paranoid that 'regular help' might molest the contents of your apartment.

Objectively true. She is all but a professional narc.

No one else knows about the disc, how could your attacker be looking for it?

Mind: profoundly confused.

A deranged fan... or a representative.

Organisms that freeze under stress are organisms that die quick.

If you're wrong, that means you're talking to an oblivious civilian -- you can just hang up.

What is it it going to cost him?

The concern might be well placed -- he is a master spy and you are a mere sub-lead on his assignment.

Translation: They have no ideas and no money.

He has no idea how many parts of his life bear your fingerprints.

And demand is high. Higher than it's ever been.

His father directed a whole city-state -- he wants to do the same, minus the hassle of elections, or governance, or approval ratings.

He knows without a doubt that you are not a real cop, and is playing along solely for his own amusement.

309 skill checks - ZERO PARADES field manual - Page 4 of 7