[Virtually identical,] he says.

[I guess the spell was trying to be conservative about making changes and sacrificed a little realism, if not enough for you to notice it.]

[I invite you to argue with your proposed fork about how realistic she is.]

[Do you not have fabricated memories of hearing me talk about - I mean, I would've compared and contrasted with Aurora, did I counterfactually say anything about that?]

[You did. Apparently your parents picked favourites and that was the key difference.]

[I guess that'd do it. I don't like it, but at least it's not what Aurora got.]

[Which parent now remembers liking me noticeably less than Soph, or didn't I say?]

[Your mother.]

[Okay then.] Bella sighs.

"Hi."

"Do you want a hug?"

"Yes. Please."

Hug.

"Suspending a lot of reactions until things have settled out a bit."

"...Why?"

"Because it's easier that way."

"Does that mean you don't have advice for me?"

"Advice about what, specifically?"

"How I should handle Soph. I haven't definitely decided to fork. It might not even work."

"If you can fork and then merge, I think that will probably end up being the best outcome."

"...I am not one hundred percent sure my fork would want to merge with me. It's not like Shell Bell where one of the forks was clearly not capable of managing alone."

"My best guess is that she would, but it's only a guess."