"- I'm really upset that He's dead," Iomedae admits after a bit. "I know that it will still be good and help a lot of people, but - He would've been so proud of us, and He's the person who explained - that you ought to do it, if you could - 

- and this is very silly but I think His church would've been more pleased with us. These people don't really seem very pleased, just - is that what I'm like as a person -"

"They really don't - it's not what you're like at all, you told me I did a very good job when I really wasn't sure - I think you did a good job too - I think you're great and your, um, original copy? made a country that - everyone important wears army uniforms, it's like some kind of military dictatorship - so I'm not sure I like Her very much at all." Alfirin's probably being faintly ridiculous in how sure she is that she's got the better of the two Iomedaes, when the other one went on to become a god, but the other one never brought all of America's science knowledge to Golarion, so there.

"That's exactly it, I couldn't put my finger on it but you're right. It's a military dictatorship. And not one that - I mean, not one that opened with ‘we know this looks really bad but actually it's the only way to stop Asmodeus who is ruling half the Empire'. What do you suppose they mean that they choose their President on merit."

"They said 'on merit, not by blood' and sounded a little smug about it so - I don't know. The president names a successor? Their top generals vote for one of their number to be president? Their priests do? Some so-called 'impartial panel of experts'? Maybe the god Iomedae picks. I bet military dictatorships don't look as bad if everyone else is still doing monarchy - real monarchy, not queen-of-england monarchy."

"I guess maybe if no one has ever tried democracy you do some kind of ‘we choose a successor through deliberation' thing and if it doesn't break down into civil wars as often as Taldor you feel very pleased with yourself. That doesn't explain the all being very grim and cold but I do feel kind of silly being mad that people weren't being more flattering - if we'd been Raised in Oppara I expect there'd have been plenty of praise but who knows how much of it real-"

"...A military dictatorship doesn't really seem like the kind of place that'd let you leave, if you decided you wanted to, or let you not teach them how to make nuclear bombs, if you didn't think they should have nuclear bombs and they thought they should."

"It really doesn't - we could ask to leave, and see if they let us. I think we shouldn't mention nuclear bombs any more, even here." They could probably kill themselves again, right now, but not with any expectation that there'd be anyone better than Lastwall interested in raising them again.

Iomedae nods. "I think the god Iomedae would have made sure we made it to people who were real enemies of Asmodeus. But I don't know enough about the god Iomedae to guess if She would have made sure we made it to people who would treat us fairly, or who it would be a good idea for us to trust… I guess now that I think about it I didn't know those things about Aroden either - I don't think paladins can betray people even in a complicated way, it feels like the kind of thing you'd fall for if you took advice from some time travellers meant for beating the Nazis and then used it to fight communism in Vietnam or something, but Sir Cansellarion was the only paladin in that room -"

"He's the only one who said he was a paladin - He might not have been the only one, I bet most of them were wizards, but the President looked like he might be a very grumpy paladin. I assume grumpiness is allowed."

"None of them were Evil at least…unless there's a way to hide it. I have the intuition that paladins ought to fall for complicatedly betraying people who help them and no intuition that they ought to fall for being incredibly grumpy."

"You'd think he'd be more cheerful but maybe as President he doesn't know very much about iron furnaces and lathes and doesn't understand why it's all so important - that might be part of it, I tried to explain and you tried to explain but maybe it doesn't work, saying it with words, and we'd have to show them America before they understand why it's such a big deal and are impressed with us."

"Or even if some of the wizards understood, maybe they felt like they had to match the mood of the President, and if he wasn't jumping for joy then nor would they, so as long as he doesn't see anything to be cheerful about it'll feel like none of them understand. You could do an illusion, in the morning, and show them Costco and satellite imagery and the space shuttle and Times Square -"

"I can't. I don't have the spellbook anymore, and I never figured out how to hang a spell without it - Maybe one of their wizards will share. Also illusions aren't very good - maybe it's just that I'm comparing them in my head to photographs and video. Maybe an illusion of those will do it."

"You'd really think that even if one ran a military dictatorship and wasn't Arodenite at all and didn't care about curing the plague and tuberculosis and smallpox or making food cheap or letting all people talk to each other, one would get cheerful about guns. I guess we'll see if that's what happens with the President."

"It's good stuff. I'm just not sure how much of it we'll be able to do secretly, and it's of a lot less use if our enemies can do it too."

"I'd expect the demons won't be able to pick it up, at least."

"Sure. I think we can consider holding a Worldwound fort likely to get vastly easier inside five or ten years, maybe sooner. Holding Belkzen, too. The timeline depends on weapons details, which were pointedly not on the day 1 agenda."

"She doesn't trust us?"

"She shouldn't trust us. Her god's dead but conveniently there's a new god, who is her, and we promise we want the weapons to fight Hell, which rules her homeland? I wouldn't trust us. So she gives us - the things that you'd begrudge very few people. But, Heaven someday heal us, I don't want to teach Cheliax how to fix smallpox."

"So tell her more about the strategic situation, get her on board with talking about weapons. She knows what a paladin is; Alexeara can confirm you're telling her the truth."

"I'm not exactly disputing that, but I'll note that she is very very young - younger than you're imagining - knows less than would be ideal about what a paladin is, and spent the whole day terrified. If it wasn't Her I don't think we'd be doing as we ought, if we were to pressure her into giving us weapons. It is Her, and I think we can be pretty sure she'll be glad she did, but even so it doesn't sit right."

"Terrified? - did the Goddess not pick up where Aroden had left her -"

"Where Aroden had left her was 'not strong enough to lay on hands'. Like I said. Younger than you're imagining."

"At sixteen she -"

"This one didn't. This one was in a library memorizing facts about how fertilizer works."