"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."

"Yeah, that's about where I'm at. There's also the possibility that I can make her exist but can't merge with her even if she's up for it. Shell Bell has no native opacity; I do."

"And of course, we can't consult any of the available fortune tellers."

"Do we trust the crystal ball? I am inclined to trust the crystal ball."

"In the absence of being able to ask Mary or Alice, or even consult Glass or Lazarus about how my opacity works, I think trusting the crystal ball is the best bet." She looks up at Mercury's sky; during the day it's a pleasant lilac but right now, where she is, it's nighttime. "It'd be a big change, though."

"Yes, I suppose it would."

"I should probably get to know Soph. As just-me. That'll help. Do you know how she's holding up, have you been talking to her?"

He shakes his head.

"...Has anybody been talking to her? She probably needs someone to talk to at least as badly as I did."

"She claimed to have collected an adequate supply of hugs, last I heard."

"Not so much a talking-through-her-feelings person? What's she like?"