This time, there was actually a rather substantial delay in Roth’Orsa’s reply. She was almost unnaturally still while consumed in her thoughts, before continuing just as if nothing was amiss. “We believe it is important to understand the origins of this Institute and its members. Stories may simply be…stories, but their actions are too strange for us to ignore. The capabilities of the Cradle are an unknown. It may be able to rewrite minds, it may not. It could have established agents in the physical world through simple, mundane persuasion. Or, it could have done none of these things, and all could be as it seems. It has been long since the Rahn’Saki have been forced to act through such uncertainty.”

Roth’Orsa brought up a holographic representation of the device under Rothia between them. “With the information currently available, we now calculate that studying the device ourselves in greater detail, as you suggested, l is the most likely path to a positive outcome, by a margin of 2.86%. However, by the time we made that determination, it was too late to change our recommendations without arousing suspicion. Given what you know about the Cradle, and what you know you do [i]not[/i] know, do you believe it is possible that any or all members of the Cradle Institute could be acting in the interests of another entity aside from Outremer’s government? Are there any who can account for its members’ history or backgrounds? Indeed, we do not have a complete picture of how the Cradle Institute came to be a part of Outremer’s leadership. If you do not know the answers to these questions, then who in your government might, in your opinion?”