The rodents who are done with active testing can be released into the main areas of their enclosures now. They will not get immediate treats. Sorry, rodents.

The rodents suspect this is like when they are put into the big tubes, where it doesn't hurt, but they are kept from moving. Except with more poking. This is novel, but not very interesting.

And now for Diagnose Disease! This doesn't require touch.

The rodents, like the chamomile, also have more extremely minor diseases than Griffie is used to seeing, but are, again like the chamomile, overall healthier than any other animals who don't receive magical care that Griffie's previously seen.

Griffie reports this to Cornelia.

Cornelia nods and writes this down.

Griffie administers various precise doses of undirected positive energy via Stabilize and Cure spells, and directed positive energy via Remove Disease, as instructed. They then release the rodents into the main areas of their enclosures.

Very little happens to the rodents given low doses of undirected positive energy, and the positive energy involved mostly expends itself ineffectually, a little bit partially healing up some minor scratches from play.

What happens to the rodents who received higher undirected doses is more complicated. The positive energy applied again seems to learn, first doing simple repairs very slowly, then accelerating and doing more complex repairs. Griffith is watching this time, and the acceleration occurs around when a complex positive energy construct forms throughout the body of the rodents, most concentrated near the prefrontal cortex. The complexity of the construct varies based on the positive energy dose.

Remove Disease once again targets the rodent genome in addition to dealing with pathogens, but isn't very surprising compared to the plant example.

Griffie reports this, noting that the positive energy constructs look plausibly like souls, if rather unusual compared to other souls Griffie's seen. Griffie also mentions that it's unusual for souls to anchor to the brain in regions with significant function besides anchoring the soul, so if the area the rodents' souls anchored to also performs other functions, it would be interesting to know what.

Cornelia sends an unlabeled three dimensional model of the rodent brains, and asks Griffie to indicate where.

Griffie indicates the prefrontal cortex.

"…that would be where a lot of planning and personality are done. Humans and mercurials have quite a lot of important extra things there, it is a large part of what makes us able to be the sort of species we are. Can you tell what it is doing?"

"Not just by looking, no."

"I see. It seems like we should let it settle and then begin the personality testing as planned?"

"That works, though if you can assess their physiology enough to determine the safety of giving them treats I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

Cornelia smiles a little. "All right. I'll do that first then?"

"Sounds good to me. Though, to be clear, there will not be a political problem if you do things in a different order, I am not trying to make that kind of demand."

Cornelia nods, and begins sending various devices into the quarantine box to examine the rodents. After a bit, she declares that she can't find any reason why they shouldn't be able to eat treats safely.

Griffie would like to give the rodents treats, then. (It's good to be liked by entities you are sharing a space with.)

Cornelia sends in treats and instructions for how much the rodents can have.

Griffie administers treats in accordance with the instructions and compliments the rodents on their bravery. (Words don't matter, but tone does.)

The rodents like treats!

Well, it's good to give one's roommates positive associations with oneself. Is it time for lightning tests now, while someone else tests the rodents? Griffie would try Speak with Animals, except the rodents' souls still are pretty weak, which could make speaking difficult, and talking to them might contaminate psych test results.

Cornelia says it is time for lightning tests, if Griffith is ready to go to the lightning tests room.

Griffie is ready to go to the lightning tests room! Griffie is excited to find out how they are going to go from their current on-ship quarantine location to the lightning tests room.