"And, again, you are being literal, and not talking about - like - accumulated physical evidence on the plants about things that have gone on around them."

"I'm talking about telepathic conversations in which they show me visions!"

"Okay, uh, plants don't... do that... where I'm from... even when they have not been created by demons, to be clear, like, demons do have a specific deficit in creating things with minds that work right but this is not normally an issue with plants at all."

"Huh. Well, maybe they'll get more talkative as they're exposed to eco or maybe they'll have seeds that are better. I should have paid more attention when you said you didn't know plants had feelings but I thought you were just being prejudiced."

"The seeds should be fine, animal eggs made early enough in the developmental process are fine."

"I won't worry, then. At some point when we're both less busy maybe we can find out what happens if plants you make send out runners."

"I do not know how to make them do that but I would be mildly curious to find out."

"I do know how. You'll probably have to remind my older self about it later, though, I don't think I'll get to it before I leave - speaking of which, what's the holdup with the Stone?"

"With what, hatching it?"

"Yes. My older self thinks the kid will be necessary for it and if it's all the same to you I'm impatient to take him somewhen he won't be recognized."

"Yeah, okay, I'll check in with the metal heads, make sure they won't freak out, go drop a jewelry store on the oracle and ask some last minute questions, and then we can track it down and hatch a baby precursor."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll call Kor; I think it'd mean a lot to him to witness it."

"Sure, why not, we can have a whole baby shower about it."

Cam goes to the oracle first since it's closer and its replies take more time. "Hey, we're about ready to locate and hatch the baby, is it going to need anything? Are there special procedures besides people who might be pure of heart giving it a pat?"

A Precursor writes him a reply eventually.

It will be very new and would appreciate access to the rift gate to get it out of the immediate path of the dark makers. It will not kill any metal heads on the way into or out of the gate if we must agree to that to secure safe passage. This is for its safety, but not necessary for its hatching. For that, the pat will suffice.

"It's not supposed to kill any metal heads even if that isn't an express prerequisite of safe passage, we've been over this."

Its path may cross those of metal heads who are not yet party to this agreement.

"If you could be more specific about that I could go talk to those too."

You have. But you had not.

"- oh, it's going to the past. I guess that makes sense. I'm not going to say it can't defend itself if absolutely necessary but I'd rather it avoid fighting them in the first place if possible."

As would we all. Ideally it will pass unnoticed easily.

"Do you happen to know, since it's going to happen in the past, whether it succeeds?"

It provoked no alarm and escaped alive. I do not know for certain if anyone was silenced to facilitate this, though I suspect not. I could find the answer eventually but it is probably not in local storage on this planet and may never have been set down in a form you could conjure.

"I'll ask the metal heads."

He goes to the metal heads!

Their leader is for whatever reason not at the nest right now but Billy and some others are available to talk.

"It's getting to be about time to hatch the Precursor egg. It will apparently need to go into the past, and it's going to try to sneak past everybody in the past from before we had a truce, do you know if it does that successfully?"