"Next. Regarding the fascinating rumors, I find myself in the fortunate position of being able to clarify some of them. 

The Church of Asmodeus has declared it a heresy to say that my followers will be granted mercy in Hell. Some heresies are tolerated on this Project, but that one, I think, might cause a great deal of drama, of which we have enough. The truth is this: I intend that my followers be granted power and glory in Hell. I intend that they become devils better than any existing devils.

No other details of their future are, as of yet, settled, and you should not recite heresies about it."

"And finally. What punishment is warranted for those who, for their own reasons elaborate or simple, stupid or clever, wasted precious time in the fight for our nation's life on stupid infighting? Some of you I will speak to of this individually. But there is one punishment that I think ought to be meted out while we are all assembled. Researchers. Is there any Security whose presence on the Project - because of his conduct or because of his stupid face, I don't really care - is on an ongoing basis making it harder for you to do your best work?"

Pilar waits a few seconds, to see if anyone will speak up on their own, and then flicks a small wrapped candy at one relatively younger lad (INT 18).  He's not the only one with an ongoing issue, but he's one who won't be unhappy about being prompted to speak.  "Rejoice, young man, for your wish shall be granted," Pilar says, in case she can get Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Points off that.

"Ah - I don't think it was particularly political, what happened, but - I do tend to still lose concentration whenever he," he points out one particular Security, "is on oversight."

"And does any researcher say that that specific Security is particularly useful to them, and has actively aided them in hastening our important work?"

NOPE.

"Right!" she says cheerfully. "Kill him."

There's sort of a confused moment while people try to figure out who she's referring to, and then they get it.

Nobody uses ranged spells or area spells, obviously, because that is a kind of stupidity that everyone understands as stupidity.

He dies before even a quarter of the crowd gets a chance to prove their loyalty by getting a hit in.  Security wizards don't have that many hit points, relative to anybody who feels too weak to get in a hit that matters at all without a dagger strike or Acid Splash.

She didn't do anything, but her heart is pounding fiercely. 

Well. That went as well as could be hoped for, really. 

"Are there others," she asks Pilar quietly.

"It's complicated.  Most researchers were reassured by seeing, just now, that they've regained power.  I can't predict who'll still be disturbed tomorrow.  I can give you more Security victims on the basis of somebody feeling disturbed yesterday, if required."

"One's enough to make the point, if there's no one else anyone's itching to mention.

I hope this meeting has been informative," she says again to the room. "It is dismissed."

Now, why Maillol didn't do that at the very beginning -

- is a question she will now have the opportunity to put to him.

Maillol is no ilani, and by now thoroughly believes the version of history where he definitely really totally wanted to do that a month ago, but Subirachs said that the slaves needed to let off some steam.  He clearly failed, even so, but he's not due that much punishment, surely.  He's not Subirachs.  Nobody could possibly blame him for the Asmodia business, the conversation was documented and it's obvious he did the commonsense thing.

"Sir."

"Explain when and how the decision was first made to let the Project staff have a power struggle."

Decisions to allow self-unfolding events are not usually made in that legible a fashion.  Illegibility means that whoever has less social power can end up with blame shifted to them if something goes wrong, which serves the interest of those who have more social power, who are usually the people who make decisions about how much legibility to have.

"Sir.  If I had to point to a single moment in time, it would be during shift change at temple when I said to Subirachs that people were being idiots and couldn't they wait a few weeks until you got back, and Subirachs said that the slaves here had been cooped up under unnatural conditions for too long and it'd do you good to come back to a situation you could correct with fire and lash, sir.  That was a deniable feeler from me which Subirachs rejected.  Had Subirachs instead said something about how it was understandable but seemed inefficient, I could have offered suggestions.  Pressing the issue would have meant that she'd say no and made me look stupid for asking when she'd say no, costing me further political power."  This sounds too much like trying to avoid all responsibility, which will not fly, as that would make Sevar herself look stupid.  "Subirachs evidently did not expect things to escalate to where she'd be held accountable by Church and Queen, rather than you personally being annoyed with her.  I likewise failed to predict this outcome, and so failed you."  Incompetence obviously not in one's own self-interest, in the course of attempted good service, rather than betrayal or failure to care all that much; that's the ticket to an endurable punishment.

There's - something about that answer she wouldn't get in dath ilan, but she isn't actually sure what it is. "If you'd expected things to escalate, what would you have done at that point."

"Had I possessed information permitting me to know that Asmodia would disappear as she did, I would have ordered better treatment for her before she came into my office requesting Ione Sala's deal.  Had I known that project tensions would reach only the point they did before then, I would not have expected Subirachs to heed any request to do things differently; she would have been pleased to see you come back and order a Security officer torn apart."

Because - the Project, defending Cheliax, not being annihilated in a war with Osirion - she didn't believe in any of that. Just in the project as a way of making Carissa eviller. Abrogail might have thought that too. It'd be worth killing tens of thousands of people, Aspexia said, if it permits you to master proper Asmodeanism. She feels dizzy. 

"Did you think to do anything that would establish when I returned that this was not of your will, such as, say, making a prediction, or writing down at the time 'I disagree with Subirachs about the decision to let the Project descend into chaos', or revising downwards project projections with a note that this was due to project chaos."

"No, sir, had such a thought occurred to me it would have seemed to me like insubordination towards Subirachs.  Up until Asmodia's disappearance I - do not think things were going not as she predicted, sir."

"Which is to say, they were catastrophic for the Project, and this fact was not communicated to anyone? Don't you, rather than Subirachs, report to the crown on Project progress? You understood loyalty to her to oblige you to not mention in your daily reports that the Project was going to be doing much worse than planned?"

"There - were not projections for any project timelines other than for Avaricia's expansion of existing chemistry work, sir, and that section of the project was mostly not a target of Security harassment and stayed slightly ahead of schedule.  Asmodia chose not to escalate by requesting your Security loyalists to harass Avaricia, and to instead document what she considered instances of harassment to be charged against Avaricia as her responsibility, which I - thought at the time was a doomed political gambit, and which I now acknowledge to be, perhaps, true service to Cheliax by her, at least at that time, perhaps always if her disappearance was not self-arranged."

"So there was nowhere in the daily report to put 'Asmodia's project is doing poorly' and it accordingly did not get reported?"