"Should've guessed. What do you want to live in while you are here?"

"All I need is a suicide trigger and five months of the things that should have been crossing my desk."

"Regardless of whether you want that in paper or electronic format," Cam says, handing him the latter, "you probably don't want it rained on."

"Little stone lighthouse, dark grey? It has to be pretty, I can pull up a design if you need one -"

"I think I can pull off pretty working freeform."

He does in fact pull off pretty. Little stone lighthouse.

"Fantastic, thank you. I shall sit here not interacting with anyone until we decide you don't need the secret, though if that's a long time it'll be hard on me."

"What I need is another even more stupidly nitpicky oath-drafting session and your father's opinion on contingencies like 'will the summoning prohibition outlast the Valar' and 'is there any way to save the Maiar'."

"That is not the sort of span of time over which a lack of socialization will begin to impair me. My father's convinced I'm back and exasperated that resurrection was so easy, and wants his father back but I explained myself on that, and I'm sure he's happy to talk with you."

"Okay. Is he going to yell at me about his father or does you having explained yourself mean all is magically well."

"All is magically well. If you want to know exactly what was said I can expand on that."

"Might be useful."

"I said 'hey, remember last time the Enemy was trying to manipulate us to create divisions and we figured out the precommitments that would make him look foolish? I need that again.'

And my father said 'go ahead.'

And I said 'I've identified something that I think should be done that I expect you'll countermand me on and that I'm accordingly inclined to keep from you, can you promise that I wouldn't be better off doing that, you're welcome to convince me I'm wrong but if I'm unconvinced you won't go ahead and do it?'

And he said 'yes, all right'.

And I said 'Finwe's chip at the parley would probably have worked fine. It would have given us back a version of your father designed by the Enemy to harm us as much as he could, but a breathing one'.

And he said 'so you lied and said it was broken'.

And I said 'I thought you'd want to bring him back and take the chance. But - father, if the Enemy'd given you a chip of me that he'd chosen, I wouldn't want you to bring it to life, I want to win this war. So would the King. Doing right by us is doing right by our goals, not our persons. Don't bring him back yet. After the war we can apologize.'

And he said 'I miss him. I miss you. I'm less effective. I am utterly terrified of dying and terrified of letting my father down and you down and I cannot endure knowing I am failing you'.

And I said 'I love you so much, thank you for doing this for me, I don't think I do know how hard it is but only because you are extraordinary at managing it.'

And magically everything is all right."

"Useful sort of magic. Is this going to be a three person conversation and if so in which location should I be?"

"I don't see what I have to add. He might enjoy a trip to the surface if it's safe."

"It is only probably that."

"Then go talk in his office, he can reach me if I'm needed to consult."

"Okay."

And off Cam goes.

Fëanáro is working. Fëanáro's stacked a dangerous number of blessings and sleeps about as much as Cam, which is to say not at all. "Hello. Thank you."

"...you're welcome."

"I am assuming you picked a recovery point before anything happened and he's fine?"

"Yeah. Chip's from right before he died."

"Someday when we have no more pressing issues we shall have to figure out ethics as applied to lots and lots of versions of people existing. I think most ones that have been in Angband we don't want to retrieve but - doesn't feel terribly principled - and then what if I'm tempted to see what kind of person I'd grown into if I'd had loving parents? You should probably set out guidelines or you'll waste lots of time refusing things. After the war.

Today's topic should be more immediate."

"Yeah. I only get to commit genocide for the greater good once."

"I'm sorry. We can try other solutions. If you think you could conceal enough server banks I could try to have FTL by tomorrow and then somehow get all the Dwarves and Men and then hope he's bluffing that a black hole won't kill him. The math is pretty obvious, though."

"It may not be worth the risk but he wouldn't find servers in Hell."