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The grownups are all very busy, but the children are all bored.
Bored or having nightmares. But Tasárinon was not on a ship and did not see the people dying and has only heard it thirdhand and can't exactly have nightmares about the look in his mother's eyes - well, he probably could, but he hasn't - so he's bored, and he is drawing on the floor. It is an absurdly intricate drawing. He has been embellishing it for three days.
"I think everyone else is staying to learn Thindarin and aid as best they can," he says, looking at the President, "unless you think the notes will create to great a barrier to trust."
"I have announced your explanation," the President says. "We'll see. They can stay."
"Okay, you'll fit in the shuttle I was using," Cam tells Maitimo. "We in a scale-of-minutes hurry?"
"I don't think so, we have three days and the Enemy probably won't escalate before then, he asked us not to evacuate before then." He starts walking.
"I doubt this is at all strategic," Cam says, "but he didn't ask for me by name and I can give somebody else wings. ...I can give humans wings. You guys would be more complicated."
"I'm very annoyed we don't have the same physiology. That does not seem wise, though. The only conceivable reason to do this is that we think we could handle whatever force he bothers manifesting and without you we definitely could not. Though if we hadn't heard that he can escalate at will past rockets, we might have been tempted to try it."
"I don't know for sure that he can but... it's suspicious. Especially if you had nuclear power on Valinor."
"Best case scenario is he thinks the Valar would intervene if he pulled out toys above the local tech level but running uploads is way above the local tech level so I do not like that explanation." Shuttle?
"Honestly I'd avoid talking to them until we know the original language backwards and forwards and the exact wording of every oath they've spoken, intent matters and can sometimes be realized weirdly - I know you've already spoken with them, and also these are only seven arbitrary orcs as undeserving of Mandos as everyone else on both sides of this catastrophe, but if you want to keep them safer -"
Dinner tonight was going to be pasta and garlic bread and peaches and salad, the other adult orc volunteers.
Sounds delicious. Bon appetit. He can copy their home cooking and hopefully this is more comforting than creepy.
They seem comforted. Maitimo is amused by Cam swearing to things. "The Enemy might not even know that you can't, Maiar and Valar have binding oaths and seem the obvious referent."
"Well, if he does figure out I can't he might pretend to think I can, so better not make that a load-bearing hypothetical. I did swear to the orcs I wasn't an Elf, that's more universally credible - the voice is synthesized though, I don't know if that's relevant."
"That would make it not valid. Might be enough for them to decide they needn't treat you as an Elf, though. Oaths have to be spoken aloud. A good illusionist Maia might in fact be able to fake them."
"Most Maiar can't do illusions, let alone well enough. And I've never been in a position of needing to trust one. I think the Enemy must have faked some oaths somehow in Valinor, while he was setting himself up for this."
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