"On the margin, yeah, definitely." Sigh. "I was going to say something about the safety levels of enclaves versus independents but I assume you've heard about Chicago by now."

"Yeah, poor Chicago. I guess in a year they'll probably have some idea what the fuck. I hope the gates are smart enough that any Chicagoans who graduated this morning land in the city and not in the void."

"...Well that's a question I doubt anyone's had reason to consider before."

"I was speculating before that they could all be in fact fine, and just unanchored in the void. They could magic up their food and be okay for generations. So I suppose it would be all right if their kids went home where they expected in that case."

"I have no idea if somebody'd have noticed Chicago was gone if it was before graduation. They'd stop being fine eventually, I assume, like...I mean, Chicago's not a small enclave, but it wasn't going to send much more than a dozen students this year I think, that doesn't scream to me 'sustainable gene pool' but then what do I know."

"I mean, losing half your kids to genetic defects is arguably more humane than getting to know them all as individuals and then losing them to monster attacks."

"Yeah, definitely, I just mean it seems like they'd probably die out before they could evolve away all the birth defects. Which is, you know, better than some of the possible outcomes of being dropped off into the void."

"We will probably never know how they fare. Alas."

"It's not like we can't ever get things from the Void...it should be possible in theory, although I suppose it might require more cooperation between people who know critical bits but live in different enclaves to ever be practical."

"...I guess that might be an interesting project. Investigate the feasibility of void-ships."

"I should write it down somewhere someone else'll find it if we don't make it. Just in case." 

"Send your mother a letter out with a few graduating seniors, maybe. I'm sure some of those will want baby spiders for last-minute malia."

"Good thought. I'll still scribble it in the margins of a spell I'm copying down or something, just to be safe."

"Won't hurt."

"I wonder if the religious kids think this is all," she waves a hand around as though to encompass not only the Scholomance but all of wizard society, "going to get better someday." 

"It has been more than forty years in this here desert, but I try not to underestimate the logical creativity of religious people."

"I'd like," I need, "to think things can get better. I just don't particularly have any patience for nebulous beings who 'work in mysterious ways' to get around to it."

"Well, I hope you're right."

"We'll see what happens. Good luck with acquiring useful minions."

"Thanks. I'll see you around." And that seems to be that.