Anyway, it doesn't take very long for a genetic engineer to spend his life savings on Ferengi transport to their planet.

They are delighted and are happy to acquire things a genetic engineer might need to do work here.

The genetic engineer is delighted. Some of his customers might be taking more discreet routes out.

Are they screening for Federation spies? How are they doing that?

Well, the genetic engineer is probably not a Federation spy, although it's possible he traded his way out of prison by agreeing to turn spy for them - not a characteristic tactic but not that unlikely. They can do background checks - they can do this really thoroughly with science-ethernet-connected crystal balls - and they can invite people to be mindread before they are offered access to anything sensitive?

Seems reasonable. The Quendi are picking up all their espionage instincts from spy media and will trust T'Mir about what's actually a warranted security level.

Well, she doesn't want to let spies in and they might really try to come in but she also doesn't want to abuse mindreading, and besides, if they want a large population they can't realistically run all of them past Bella, who is the only person who'd be able to suss out a spy determined to hide.

Material has not sent them any other subtle artists? Though of course those wouldn't be inherently trustworthy either.

Yep, that's the issue, and they wouldn't know as much about what to look for until they too have absorbed spy media.

Well, spy media for everyone is pretty easy, what with improving compatibility between different kinds of magic and science systems.

Fëanáro's parents are in touch every day, but Valinor remains Valinor-paced. They are debating three candidate sites for the city in the Outer Lands.

Wow, Valinor pacing is kind of amazing.

Isn't it just.

"The debate over whether to accept the invitation to Valinor lasted thirty years," Rúmil says.

"...that's not even Valinor pacing, then, is it..."

"It may in fact just be Quendi pacing."

"I suppose I have been exposed to an outlying sample."

"Fëanáro hated it so much he left. I - well, I advise rulers, I am currently wedded to Bella's pace. I suppose otherwise I'd have been happy at Finwë's."

"Is there much variance apart from Fëanáro?"

"Yes. But people who are faster-paced just take on more things simultaneously; you don't mind a debate going on for thirty years if it's one of a dozen projects of yours, some of which come together much more quickly."

"Huh. I think I'd rather work sequentially."

"Lots of the projects of building a city take long enough to come to fruition that doing them sequentially means a very leisurely pace."

"Sure, that makes sense, you want to work in parallel for anything best done that way if you have the labor available, but when the tasks themselves don't get handled better for it..."