"How does that even work, if uploading is destructive? Does he also keep prisoners conventionally? Why?"

"I don't know, gratuitous evil? Psychological warfare?"

"We do not get less effective when we are really really angry."

"I haven't read the transcripts yet. Want them? They should be in the complete works of Doriath -" He relays the title.

And he looks them up. 

"This is in fact fairly effective as psychological warfare, I think that's a plausible explanation."

Cam makes some and has them translated for an idea.

There are more orcs on this planet than Elves. There are a lot more orcs on this planet than Elves. And now Cam can have lots of detail on the Enemy's process for making them. 

...okay.

"We don't know," Maitimo says, "why they listen to him. They're people. They apparently had nice developed mid-industrial civilizations. There's - ancient distrust, but that's it. I suppose if he has copies of all their heads he can just filter for loyalty."

"...I mean, maybe there is an obvious reason he's not forcing them all to give him oaths?"

"Or that.

In theory forcing an oath wouldn't work properly but there are probably satisfactory workarounds."

"What stops it from working?"

"Intent matters. Swear at gunpoint and your intent is 'avoid being shot'. It'll still work but - partially, it'll have latitude for reinterpretation..."

"At Doriath they suggested I catch an orc. I couldn't talk to one but osanwë works, apparently."

"Want to give it a go?"

"Odds the orc can telepathically report in? Is there a way to block that, by the way, what kind of signal is it using?"

"There's no way known to us to block osanwe, but it's an easy experiment to run if you want to just make a wall of various materials that block some things, I can get someone to stand on the other side."

"Wall won't do it if the signal bounces intelligently, it'd have to completely surround."

"Okay. Put me in a bubble of everything you think might do it, and I'll just see if I can reach anyone."

Cam looks some things up, and then, bubble.

And Fëanáro says. "Oh, excellent, that works."

"Narrow it down or save it?"

"You can do bubbles with half the materials, narrow it down quickly, unless you think they're interacting..."

"Yeah -" Cam interpolates a hole in this bubble so he can get out, makes another when he has.

There are three different materials that do it. "Wonder if any of them block a Maia," Fëanáro says, "they're much - louder. Tyelcormo, could you come bring Huan by, please?"