"So you're asking permission to simulate me in arbitrary situations."

"I'm willing to narrow it down, just not tell you outright.  Probably.  We could test whether steering works, I guess, and if it doesn't then I would."

"It occurs to me to wonder if your simulations are by any chance sentient."

"Uh.  Gosh.  How would you - tell - "

"I don't know! Presumably if you ask one it'll say it is!"

"Presumably, yeah!  Um.  Wow I wish this had come up before I apparently maybe tortured like six Alassëos."  She puts her elbows on her knees and clutches her head in her hands.

"Oh, yikes, I should have thought of this sooner. I can't even say 'at least Melkor had some Alassëos and it was an objectively small fraction of the amount he's been tortured' because he did not personally happen to be captured."

"Well, are you thinking you're going to torture any simulations of me?"

"No!!!  It would be - something you'd be glad of, I think.  Most people probably would be and I really don't think you're one of the ones who wouldn't."

"Well, if my simulation doesn't like it please simulate apologizing before you terminate that fork of me, I guess."

"I could try and think of something else - I didn't ask if it was alright while unwilling to take no for an answer - "

"I can't stop you, I can't tell if you do it, I am accordingly trying to cultivate some equanimity about the prospect."

"That makes sense.  . . . I'd need more blood to do any more; you could just not give me any and confirm with Bar that I haven't gotten any from her, if you wanted to.  You'd have to take my word on some of that, but, y'know, less - "

"Remind me why you wish to simulate me doing anything at all?"

"I am pretty much all the way convinced you're a good person but you could still be pulling some sort of ridiculously long and convoluted con, and - well, it seemed like a cheap test when I thought of it - "

"Uh-huh. What's your plan B?"

"I said I'd try and think of one, not that I already had one.  I could - see if it lets me run me, poke at that a bit, see if any signs of non-personhood fall out; I - could try and just accept that you're probably not running a ridiculously long and convoluted con, at this point - "

"I have not asked you for anything! Please feel free to be very suspicious of me if I should suggest you take up selling Amway products."

"Okay."

"I'm glad that's settled." He resists the urge to suggest she offer Alassëo eyeliner.

"I guess so."

"What's next on the agenda, then?"

"I have no idea.  I guess this is the part where I apologize?  I'm sorry I tried to kill you and I'm glad it didn't work.  Even though that didn't actually have anything to do with this.  And I'm the other kind of sorry about the war and what you had to do to end it; and you can cash in that non-murder-attempt hug about it now if you want to though understandably you might not.  And I'm the first kind of sorry again about maybe torturing Alassëo and definitely not being careful enough about not doing that.  I mean, I guess I mostly didn't have the concepts to be able to think of that before today?  But still.  And I'm sorry for - generally being a paranoid nuisance who probably has done much more harm than she's prevented."  She pauses, considering.  "And I'm the second kind of sorry about you thinking Ancora would be able to solve the Maiar resurrections and then not having that be the case anymore."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I'll pass on the hug."