"They're your alts! They're you! They're answering the question 'what would I want done for me if I was addicted to Felix' -"

"You promised me enough time to end slavery."

"Did not, I just - didn't argue with you."

"I have things in motion because I trusted you. You can't do them and you will break them. Go persuade my alts to wait until when you said you'd wait -"

"I can't go on like this, I can't - you could die -"

"My life is mine, Timothy, to take risks with as I judge them worth it. And I'm not going to get hurt while on Felix. And if you wanted me to be indestructible you could just make me indestructible -"

"I can't -"

"Then take a step aside and let me finish this."

"Your alts really did say -"

"I believe you. Talk them out of it."

He makes a face.

"Please."

Sigh. Pop.

He gets back to work.

I'm sort of curious if I could beat Felix in a fight, Sibyl remarks on the channel dedicated to fretting about Fredrick. Metaphorically, I mean.

It might be good to know. 

I can get you transcripts if you can get me transcripts.

Sure. I am inclined to drop it until we are done with slavery, he has a point there - or Felix does -

Jokes about roles aside you realize you weren't that far off from when Earths normally find slavery ending without help, right?

Fifty more years in the Americas and the thing that replaced it did not involve vastly more mobility or freedom. I did look it up.

Yeah, but close enough that if Vanda Nossëo shows up and does the Vanda Nossëo thing it's not going to be a huge disaster, this is not a super difficult needle to thread.

Fair enough. 

Give me warning before the next time you bug him about it and we'll see what we shall see.

Will do.

They buy out slaves, zip around to have hard-for-anyone-but-Fredrick-to-parse interactions with the indigenous Americans, invite over Vanda Nossëo to make the Caribbean a member state. Some of the Vanda Nossëo representatives are reds; Fredrick sets them to greeting and acclimating arriving ex-slaves. And Timothy writes Sybil "what happens if I bring it up with him now -"

She looks.