"Wouldn't you think that'd make people not want to bother you?"

"People are kind of dumb."

"And you want to keep it a secret even from me?"

"Yep."

"Could you be wrong about whether it'll work?"

"No."

"That's very confident."

"I know. It's possible I'll be wrong about the timeline, but I really don't think even that, and there's no way I'm wrong about the outcome."

"Can you at least share why you're so sure?"

"I figured out how to do it and it's just a question of getting it working and I've made some progress."

"And imagine I were being told this by any other parahuman?"

"You could probably trust some and not others."

"Yes. And many things modulate trust, like how long we've known someone, how often they've been right in the past, and how likely they are to be overconfident."

"I don't care if you believe me."

"I know you don't, but the problem is that, from my position, it looks like you might be making promises to children that you will not be able to keep, and that will be deeply upsetting to them."

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that."

"But it's still impossible to confirm and I have to work with what I have."

"So you can tell me to stop telling children that and I will ignore you."

"I don't want to just tell you to stop, I want you to understand why it's not a good idea even when you're confident you're right."

"I understand why you would advise me of that but I don't think I am obliged to act in a way that would be the right way for me to act if I were wrong, when I'm not wrong. It makes sense in your position to try to get me to stop but it makes sense in my position to keep doing it."

"And not to try to find a compromise where we are reassured and you can keep doing it? If you'd like, you could tell me in confidence what your evidence that this will work is, or some of it, and my word that it is sufficient will be enough to keep others from prying."

" - I could maybe do that but I would have to really trust you."

"Regardless of how much you trust me, I am required by oath to not inform anyone of anything you tell me in confidence."

"I will think about it."

"Thank you."