“And what do you want to do?” Frill snapped. “Have a formal adjudication? That’s even worse. A cohort of—you’ll pardon me, but—seven healthy adult Vails, standing meekly in line for an adjudication because our child got kicked around by some fringe-clinging . . .”

“Adjudication,” Smistria said, sitting up very straight, “is just a formalization of—”

“Oh, I don’t want to hear your theories!” Frill cried.

“Frill,” Squell said, vir brows furrowed.

“I wonder,” said Arevio, “if, I mean, before we take any drastic action, we should check with the cousins—with little Chalia Rigorosa’s parents? Because any effect on our reputation is going to rebound on vem, too.”

“Exactly! Thank you, Arevio!” Nupolo said.

Pip got to zir feet. Everyone stopped talking.

“My beloveds,” Pip said. “I am warmed by the fire of your passion.” Ze drummed zir fingers lightly on the table. “Our dear Fift has had some trouble. We are all concerned. We are excited by the opportunities. I wonder if I might—”

“Pip,” said Thurm, “get to the point already.”

Pip smiled a thin, tolerant smile. “With pleasure. Our beloved Thurm was correct when ve said that we cannot coddle Fift. Fift cannot climb back into the womb. Ze needs to win zir own stake. But it is also true that we must take seriously the consequences of the riot—for the reputation of this cohort, and for Fift’s own emotional health and wealth.

“We cannot seem to condone what has happened. We cannot allow suspicion of involvement in destabilizing activities to rest upon us. We must react, and show decisively where we stand, show that we have raised Fift well.

“But it also cannot be that zir parents rush in to save zir, dignifying the fringe-clinging wasters who assaulted zir with adjudication or the mats. No. If I may speak as a humble banker-historian: It is Fift who has engaged them, however inadvertently, in a transaction. It is Fift who must emerge as Younger Sibling.”

Ze cocked an eyebrow at Fift and zir smile became a degree or two warmer. Fift felt, and saw on the display, zir amygdala afire with dread.

“We will go see them, Fift, and you will confront them, and they will apologize. Publicly. No adjudication will be needed. And it will be clear to the world, and to you, dear Fift, that nothing whatsoever is unraveling in Iraxis cohort. It will be clear that the child of this cohort is able to vanquish these cowardly malfeasants, these pitiful enthusiasts of obsolete ideologies, very simply, just by force of will.”

There were glances around the room. Thurm smiled; Grobbard nodded; Frill leaned back; Smistria chewed vir beard. Squell’s expression hovered between worry and relief.

The house consensus framework was forecasting a 92% chance of full convergence within the next three hundred heartbeats.

Fift cancelled the neural access privileges and zir brain became thankfully opaque. Ze breathed deeply, then breathed again.