"Certainly." Siobhán has no sign of Salem's magic.

A set of gears built into Ozpin's staff begin to turn, with a single soft clack. He touches the base to Siobhán's arm, gently. There is no other visible sign, but he blinks in surprise a moment later. 

"You are not flesh and blood." When Glynda tenses, he hastily waves her down. "Not Grimm, definitely not...but you have no Aura, not even an unawakened one, and despite outward appearances, your body bears more resemblance to an Atlas machine than a human or Faunus. Is this usual for people of Starlight?" 

"About half our population doesn't have bodies at all. Of those that do about seventy percent have flesh and blood bodies."

"How...exactly...does that...work?" 

"People are patterns, a bit like a picture. You can draw it in ink or draw it in pencil and the picture is much the same."

"That is...not a description I have heard before," murmurs Ozpin. "And yet, it seems fitting. We certainly do not know all there is to know about Auras." 

"But...if they have no bodies, how do they interact? Are they...disembodied Auras, or something?" 

"Oh... I meant no physical bodies, most of them live inside simulated worlds within computers. They have bodies that seem physical to them. Though there are a rare few who embrace non-physicality more comprehensively."

"I think you broke her." 

"I suspect we will all have some...adjusting to do, when meeting entirely new kinds of people. But I trust no one will be forced into an existence they find unsatisfying." 

"If you mean with bodies, we try to ensure everyone can have a body that's to their liking. Biological bodies take longer to make than robotic ones but they aren't actually more resource intensive for the most part. And nobody is forced to live in the dreams without very good reason. More generally, we bring change and different people are more comfortable with it than others. We can't offer health to one person without that having some impact on those around them."

"Admirable goals indeed. Well, I was going to ask for a few examples of what you plan to offer Remnant, but conveniently enough it seems you have already shared quite a few. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to your proposed methods for rolling out these changes, and for handling possible political fallout...?" 

Siobhán has a lot to say on this topic, mostly Starlight tries to make everyone feel heard and put as much as possible in the hands of the people living on a world. In the long term, Starlight also gives people who want it representation in their legislature.

Ozpin has many, many questions. He listens with rapt attention to the answers, taking notes with delighted focus. His only pauses are to sip from an oversized mug of coffee - which remains steaming longer than should be strictly physically possible - as though his brain itself were clockwork gears and the coffee its oil. 

What realms are most similar to Remnant? How were first contact established with them? What issues arose, and how were they handled? What is the initial assessment of Remnant? What does Starlight judge the highest-priority technologies to share? How will they determine where to assign resources? How does Starlight solve the following common social coordination problems...? 

A discerning mind will note that not all of Ozpin's questions are strategic in nature; there is an immense, genuine curiosity in his discussion, and a tendency to be sidetracked by technical details - but only briefly, before regretfully returning to the larger picture. 

A very discerning mind will see past this first layer, and note a slight pattern to some of his questions. A few - and only a few, carefully and innocuously interposed with the rest - taken together, the answers paint a picture of organizational philosophy; who are Starlight? what do they want? What are they gaining from this altruism? Is it as genuine as it seems? 

An extremely discerning mind may see one layer still further, and notice that Ozpin is playing the game of diplomacy with the wisdom of someone well older than Remnant's life expectancy should allow. 

Glynda listens intently, but eventually excuses herself to resume the daily tasks involved in running Beacon. Robyn simply watches the interplay with fascination (and, perhaps, a touch of envy). 

Siobhán is not as skilled as Ozpin, she's only eighty years old and while this is far from her first negotiation she doesn't have millennia behind her. What she does have is a perfect memory and cognitive and sensory aids that let her pick up on microexpressions and see in infrared, all told she has a very good idea of what Ozpin is feeling moment to moment.

She notices that Ozpin seems quite experienced but she isn't quite sure if he's too experienced.

Starlight is a group that bears the scars of losing a lot of people. And one that has taken the words never again to the core of their being. Despite that they're also a group with a lot of curiosity and a good measure of optimism. Their main priority is getting people backed up but where that's infeasible or meets resistance they shift easily enough towards healthcare and education. One of the first things they're offering is satellite communications because it works towards education and towards offering backups to as many people as possible.

Ozpin gives off every sign of being genuinely excited - or else is very good at feigning it. But there is a very faint undercurrent of worry. It's not entirely clear, though, whether this worry is caused by the discussion at hand, because as far as normal and extra senses can discern, it's been there since the start. 

During a lull in the "business talk," Ozpin asks, "What about you, Siobhán? What drew you personally to the work of an ambassador for Starlight?" 

"I didn't live through the worst of the crisis, but I was alive before we got magic and things improved rapidly. I want everyone to have the things we have because I understand how awful life can get without them. I'm also a pacifist which rather narrows the roles I'm able to take. Envoy is one, the others are generally in healthcare aid. I've done work as a therapist as well but being an Envoy is where I'm most needed."

"Having seen my share of loss and crisis, I understand why you would strive to avoid it. But not everyone emerges from suffering resolved to save others. I applaud your choice of calling, Siobhán, and I hope Remnant will benefit greatly from it." 

Ozpin sips his coffee. 

"I have heard enough to conclude that Starlight knows what it's doing, and has adequate procedures for handling hostility, whether from Grimm, human, or Faunus. I would be delighted to share my own recommendations, including my assessment of which methods will minimize blowback from the population at large - and thus avoid drawing Grimm. My open support of Starlight's mission, and that of the other Academies, will go a long way toward smoothing tensions. Huntsmen and Huntresses command significant influence in the popular imagination. 

"I have one request to make of you, Siobhán. It will be hard, and I would not ask it without good reason. 

"Robyn - I am sorry, but this must be between Starlight's emissary and myself. I must ask you to wait outside." 

"I don't like being left out of the loop, sir." 

"I understand. You have my sincere apologies for the necessity. Nevertheless, Huntress Hill, I must insist." 

Robyn departs, frowning. 

When the clockwork door to his office has closed, Ozpin turns his gaze back to Siobhán, his expression grave. 

"I have reason to believe that all life on Remnant may in some way depend on the cycle of life and death, including the deaths of humans and Faunus. A rollout of mass immortality has the potential to permanently disrupt this cycle, triggering a series of changes whose new equilibrium is unpredictable but potentially catastrophic to all life on Remnant. Evacuation from this world alone may not solve the problem, as I suspect it is tied to Aura itself. 

"For obvious reasons, this possibility is not common knowledge. It must not become so, until Remnant is sufficiently well-armed to deter a planetwide assault by Grimm on every major population center, drawn by the panic of an impending apocalypse. 

"I do not know this for a fact, but the possibility demands attention. I hold out hope that Starlight's superior analysis technology can help us gain an answer quickly, perhaps through the study of Aura. 

"I must ask that you delay the rollout of mass immortality until such time as we are able to verify its safety." 

As he speaks, Ozpin watches Siobhán intently. 

Siobhán frowns and looks thoughtful as Ozpin speaks. As he continues the frown gets deeper then smooths out into neutrality as he admits he doesn't know this with certainty. She frowns again at the request to delay rollout of immortality.

"I would be very interested to know why you believe this and what specifically you mean. I'm willing to delay the rollout of re-embodiment technology if this is based on strong evidence. Snapshots are not to the best of our knowledge magically significant and they're the important part."

"The current species of human on Remnant is not the first to evolve here. The last time humans reached for immortality, everyone died. I know this because I was there."