"I know you've already been over this and it might be exhausting to rehash it again, but would you mind going over some of the details of what happened inside the IKEA? This could be a chance for your husband to hear too, now that he has proof it's real."

"He's heard it, but I don't mind rehashing it for you if you don't have access to the contents of my prior interview."

"Not at the moment, no."

So she goes over everything again.

He listens attentively.

"Thank you. You've clarified a lot of things for me. I can't tell you everything, but I can try to give you a general picture of what's going on right now, if that would help."

"Yes please."

"Right now, most of what's happening is politics. There's a strong divide in the Foundation on the practical use of skips. Hiring you, someone with anomalous properties, would set a strong precedent. I fall very strongly on one side of the divide and I have become something of a tie breaker in recent years.  Unfortunately, the circumstances of your discovery provide a ready made excuse to completely remove me from the debate."  

"Does the other Kyoya cast doubt on you somehow?"

"Not exactly, but the O5 council is the group responsible for holding most of the Foundation's secrets. As such, any sign a member might be compromised is taken very seriously and they are prevented from doing anything until all suspicion has been cleared. I don't think anyone is actually concerned about Kyoya. Alts are a known phenomenon and we actually have several emergency protocols that involve intentionally sending alts to other versions of the Foundation. But, he's a convenient excuse."

"I see. - How are alts intentionally moved around?"

"There are a few skips that can manage it."

"I was hoping for more details but perhaps this isn't the time or place."

"Unfortunately I'm not at liberty to share those right now."

"Fair enough. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Be non-threatening. A lot of what happens next depends on people's opinions of you. How valuable they think you are, how much of a potential threat you seem to be to the Foundation. And make no mistake, you are a threat. Your resistance to amnestics makes you extremely dangerous to the Foundation. Your general resistance also makes you an extremely valuable asset. I, and I think you, want the latter to win over, but right now both sides of this debate are unwilling to back down." 

"I don't think I've been particularly threatening. I study infectious diseases and go home to my husband."

"One of the Foundation's problems," he says, "is that we are very good at making enemies. You might not be a threat now, but you could be, if sufficiently motivated."

"I suppose. And only a small faction are interested in trying to make sure I'm not sufficiently motivated?"

He nods.

"It's counter to the Foundation's normal way of dealing with threats."

"Uh-huh."

He doesn't try to justify it further. 

"You could also try to make a breakthrough before they come to a decision, prove yourself invaluable. But, anything that would give you enough leverage quickly enough is also incredibly dangerous. Whether or not the Foundation chooses to hire you, it's not going to end in your death."

Ned flinches.

"What kind of breakthrough?"

"Memetics and anti-memetics are your comparative advantage. If you want to minimize risk, the memetic division has a lower fatality rate. But the anti-memetics are where we've made the least traction and possibly has the problems you're more likely to be able to make progress on quickly. Anything that would help us understand them or their origin or how to contain them in the future would be enough to prove that you're far too valuable to throw away."

"I don't have a great angle on improving state of the art there, since I can't look at any of them without Foundation access or even see how they're currently being handled. Are you suggesting I can get an in on some kind of probationary basis?"