"Possibly. Ice's witchery might have a solution, but obviously she doesn't have it now, or she'd have offered it."

"Yeah. Pity they didn't come with perfect solutions to all our problems. Although I suppose if we didn't have to do anything I would not have much ability to improve my number."

Edarial tilts his head. "Your - oh. The number I gave you. That makes sense."

"It does? I thought I might have to explain."

"Yes. Though I do hope you're not going to get into a competition with other Bells over it?"

"They're refraining because they expect it would hurt my feelings and Spring couldn't play."

"... Huh. I foresee that going badly with my alts. If they decide to start."

"Why? Why would it go badly, why them and not you?"

"Well, because it would be putting an aspect of their head up on the spot for - competition purposes, which it wasn't really meant for. Mine, too, but - I think I understand the 'why' better than they would, and informed you of it because you were distressed about having a poor number."

"I don't think I understand why the numbers oughtn't be repurposed."

"Well, it also introduces a sort of - bias to our internal system, as well. Because rather than being honest about the number, we might be slightly more inclined to force it higher than it would be normally in order to make our partners happy. Or feel guilty, if we don't."

"But that would make it worse for competing about, we wouldn't want you to do that."

"Yes. But - I also want to make you happy, and if an option to do that is 'poke the number until it is slightly friendlier'..." He shrugs, a little.

"But that's not an option, I don't want you to do that. It would make the number useless for the repurposing."

"Right, but - technically it already is, it's hardly an objective measurement."

"The point isn't that it's objective, it's that we have these convenient matching evaluations that seem to use the same scale and measure some of the things we're inclined to compete about."

"That - makes sense. I still don't see it going well with my alts, though. I can see them being fine with comparing numbers if it's for a specific goal in mind, especially a helpful one, but if it's just pure competition, I don't see them - er, getting it. Cypress is of the opinion that we are all working together towards a mutual goal we all want, and who cares who does the most to get there as long as it's done, Max is likely of a similar opinion, and I don't know Adana well enough to guess. But Max and Cypress would have trouble seeing why a competition is going on at all. Prime would be annoyed at the entire affair no matter what happens."

"I'll discreetly tell the other Bells before it comes up, I guess?"

"Sure. Thanks." Nuzzle, nuzzle. "I'm - actually kind of glad this came up. If you're curious, I'm pretty sure my alts would be okay with helping with some other matching evaluation item that's not attached to the inside of our math problem heads. Just not the one that is the part of the system we're using to silently judge everyone."

"I doubt that this will be nearly as tempting."

"Alas. There are other ways to judge competition, at least?"

"Nothing good comes to mind. I think we'd probably do without direct comparison if there weren't the enticing Adarin-numbers."

"Enticing Adarin-numbers. I - am flattered? I think?"

"If you like. They're just so comparable, is the thing."

"Ha. Do I need to set up an Adarin support group to make wonderfully comparable numbers that are not attached to the inside of someone's head?"