Nod.

"It fits none of what we understand of evolution or heredity."

"Not a bit."

"It's so weird." Sigh. "I hope all the yous everywhere you might be are happy."

She kisses him.

Kiss!!

Red Shasali indeed declines to have her children put through the cleaning procedure, or herself or her husband. "I can understand how it would have been a necessary fiction to accomplish anything in your version but I don't have nearly the incentive to buy into the framing. If you'd like to come visit and do whatever you feel necessary to yourselves afterwards you're welcome and if you wouldn't that is your prerogative."

Shiver. "Not super helpful to go around calling it a necessary fiction."

"I assume she isn't saying it publicly."

Sigh.

Pat pat.

Heavier sigh. "Someone'll say it publicly."

"The only reason Miolee doesn't take that stance is because they depend on trade."

"People'd lose faith in it - not everyone, but someone says to a judge 'they admitted it doesn't even work, they're still red' and how many of your colleagues will -"

"I know. I'm not sure how to contain the opinion."

"Me neither."

"They will want to see Miolee safe but after more than five years on a planet where they're accepted without any preceding rigmarole it will be a serious blow to their - framework - to use ours."

"Funny how - path-dependent it all is. Raised on Elf planet I apparently think it's horrifying that anyone might care - on Endorë some of the same reds who are happy blues here wouldn't accept the cleaning approach for anything -"

"Yes."

Hug.

Aitim reviews Earth court procedures extensively and then decides the thing that'll improve the error rate most is just paying lots of money for Veritaserum for all interviews. A market can be found among Earth wizards for advanced technologies, especially once Minor helps them get computers working in magic areas, and then the judges can have their jobs simplified by the ability to drug their interviewees.

That's really very convenient.

Yep!!

Some chip Elves and magic Elves hook up and to the bewilderment of the chip Elves sometimes get magic-married and to the bewilderment of the magic Elves sometimes don't.

"That's, um, weird."