"Did he react like this the last time you gave him a truth potion to ask him about maleficing?"

"No! I give him small dose. It makes him more coherent but it's easier to think around and be deceptive. I think high dose be more reassuring to you and then he can do lower dose for public event. --I thinked it, it doesn't seem reassuring now."

"That makes sense. I think - we are not getting very far with this, though. Is there a way to take it off him, so we can just - talk to him - I'm also not sure we can do the public version now, because Jaipur is here. Which is very reasonable of them." Deep sigh. "I need - I need reason to think he's not a loose cannon, and the truth potion is not helping with that. Maybe when it has worn off he'l be able to display more of, uh, what you see in him." Because Annaka sees an impulsive emotional wreck who declares his sympathy for rats and men alike, but kills rats whenever he needs to, and thinks that the reason you shouldn't malefice is because seniors will kill you if you do, which - is understandable, really, she doesn't actually feel very much judgment for the kid at this point, but clearly makes him an incredible danger to geopolitical stability and every student around him if he's cornered and doesn't expect anyone to be powerful enough to retaliate.

"It wears off in time, not very long I think. --Also I suspect he is incoherent because he's afraid he's going to die, which I think we rule out? Since he doesn't kill anyone."

"Yes, we can tell him that." Should she be explicit about - well, he can't have gotten this far by being an idiot. "Though realistically if the most reassuring thing I can say to worried Anglo enclaves is 'he says he won't do it while Lan Xichen is around to stop him' then at some point someone's going to take matters into their own hands. It won't be me, it won't be my people, I don't want - the look of New York fighting Shanghai about this - but if we actually want him to live we need something better."

"Yes. And it's hard because-- most people under truth potion say they pull malia from a rat to survive, if they have to? Especially people who have to think about it in past. Enclavers are more likely to say 'no, I never pull malia' because they are never in situation where they pull malia or die. But this is not reassuring to Jaipur as answer. If my judgment of character is good I can set up incentives so he doesn't pull malia, I can kill him if he does, but I can't make it so if incentives are not arranged just so he doesn't pull malia from rat to keep Wen Ning alive. --Which is thing I want, you know, makes absurd sacrifices to keep useless person alive."

She feels cold, suddenly, and very very tired. "Yes. I get why you want that. 

A former maleficer that would not make me afraid when he joined an enclave, would not make me expect war even if I don't start one, would have to be a very unusual person. Probably that kind of person doesn't survive as an indie in Africa. Probably anyone who survives as an indie in Africa is ruthless and dangerous and willing to do whatever it takes and maybe a little bit insane. Probably all of them trust the powers that be about as far as we've earned it, which is not at all, and when we tell them not to malefice probably they all hear 'we'll kill you', not a moral argument.

But I think it is very bad for the Scholomance if Shanghai has associates who are former maleficers, ruthless, dangerous, willing to do whatever it takes, and a little insane. I don't see a way around how bad it will be, not really, not from here." 

"--I wish I talk to New York six months ago because I always want to say 'here is why I think it works out' but you have no reason to trust me on any of this? As far as you are concerned I am nonentity for six months and then almost start war by being very confusing and hiring maleficer who is impulsive unstable person with very strange priorities. No reason to trust me at all.  Also much of my thought process requires relying on my judgment which you have no reason to trust at all! I have been only having bad judgment from your perspective." He sighs. "Perhaps in future I earn your trust now that I see this is important. If it does not become war that neither of us want, if people do not die for stupid reasons."

"That....seems like a good summary of the problem. I wish we had talked six months ago too." STALIN, she adds in her head, because it makes her feel better though she doesn't actually have any reason to think it's an applicable metaphor. 

"I think this is maybe why they do not normally put fifteen-year-olds in charge of important geopolitical entities."

This feels like a concession but Annaka...doesn't know what to do with it? And maybe the culture barrier is getting in the way again? 

"What do you think your parents would do?"

"--Not be in situation because they are in prison since before I am born."

- wow awkward. Possibly she also needs to be spending more time knowing what exactly is going on in the SInosphere. 

She's pretty sure at this point that her parents would've just assassinated Masozi, and that she'll hand them all the transcripts and they'll tear up and say she did so well and not tell her that they would have just assassinated Masozi, because they can't interact with the fact that she had to decide. Maybe that's unfair to them. She hasn't seen them since she was fourteen. 

She rejects the first ten things she wants to say for being escalatory and probably counterproductive -

"I think if I were in your situation, I would go around saying, New York was stupid and wrong, they thought he killed someone but he didn't. And it is a good thing Shanghai is monitoring the situation closely or they would have killed him, which would have been wasteful. But - not because New York objects - we should not ally with someone who doesn't know what he's doing. We should keep monitoring closely, we should invite Jaipur to monitor closely as well, but we should make it clear that he doesn't work for us, that he doesn't work with us, that he is a freshman indie with a lot to learn before it's safe to have him at the table."

"--Problem is that I try very hard to be person who keeps my word and I make promise to Masozi that he is our ally and we take care of him. And to be person who is trustworthy you have to keep promises even if they hurt you, or no one will be able to trust you keep promise at all. If I say to Masozi 'you don't work with us anymore,' how do you trust me when I say 'I kill Masozi if he malefices'?"

I don't trust you on that anyway! she thinks but does not say. 

"I think-- best we can do is buy time? Three months, six months. More time for seniors to prepare for graduation, for freshmen to learn spells. If all goes well, Masozi is old news, is boring, and everyone gets distracted by studying and interpersonal drama. 'Shanghai has former maleficer' is like 'Pisa is maleficers.' I appreciate if you do not try to assassinate Masozi but we do not hold it against New York if he dies. Maybe I am trustworthy to you by then. Maybe you go to war with me with stronger position, more time to prepare, and stronger alliances from rest of Sinosphere because you gave us every benefit of doubt."

" - okay. Thank you. I'll think about that. It sounds better than a war."

"We do not hold it against New York if he dies" was probably the best she was ever realistically going to get. 

"--In Sinosphere we apologize a lot and give gifts when we are not so sorry in reality and it makes it difficult to apologize to someone who has no reason to trust apology is sincere. I kowtow but I think you do not take it in sense it is meant."

"It does not really seem like it would solve any of my problems, no."

"If you think of apology that helps I am happy to give it. I like to speak with you more, also? I think we avoid problems like this in future if we have better sense of each other. --Not saying you should trust me? But you should have better sense of how you don't trust me."

...maybe there is a better epithet than STALIN. 

But -

"Right now I am very angry. I feel that - you are putting the school in danger for this idea of yours, and maybe I just need to be more understanding, but maybe the exact opposite, maybe it was a mistake trying to be understanding and I should have moved farther, faster, instead of looking for a good reason when I knew deep down there wasn't one. Maybe I let 'I don't want to die' and 'I don't want to be the person who started a war' win out over knowing what's right and holding this place to it, and if in ten years the school is too dangerous to send kids to it'll be my fault."

"Yes. That makes sense. I-- do not think I make the school more dangerous, although you have no reason to believe in my good intent or trust my judgment. Normally I solve this sort of problem with mind magic-- at least intent, if not judgment-- but I think you maybe have enough of mind magic for today? I want to give many of Shanghai's resources to provide reassurances but I don't know what is reassuring and don't want to make assumptions, and-- I can't make reassurances that make myself less trustworthy, that goes against whole point."

"It is not very like me to turn down resources that might help my people but I think 'Shanghai paid New York off' is not a thing I want people to say. Even if they'll say instead I lost my nerve."

"We tell Masozi he is not going to die. It's cruel to make him worry longer."

"Yes. Sounds good." He's totally going to die, though.