...Tanglanah and Laspetosyne stood before the image of Greckoh. Tanglanah said to Greckoh, “The deed has been done. Subadwan is elevated to Lord Archivist of Gaya.”
“Good,” Greckoh replied. “How tractable do you think she will be?”
“I wouldn’t like to guess,” Tanglanah replied. “Her elevation will change her perception of Cray and everybody in it. For a while there will be shock.”
“Shock,” Greckoh scoffed. “The defence of weaklings!”
Tanglanah said nothing, as if considering some abstract point. After a considerable silence, Laspetosyne said, “Our test showed Subadwan to be unusually imaginative. Humans are difficult to work with, Greckoh. Do not expect the plan to run without problems.”
“The plan must succeed! For five hundred years we have waited for a suitable moment to begin our rescue. We must save ourselves. I will not countenance failure.”
To this Tanglanah said, “We will succeed. But we will need time. I cannot go to Subadwan and continue where I left off after the test. She must settle into her new role and acquire all the accoutrements of her position. Only then will she be ready for the next phase.”
“You sound in awe of her,” Greckoh said. “I trust your embodiment as a pyuton has not dulled your intellect.”
Again Tanglanah hesitated, and Laspetosyne looked at her, then back at Greckoh. As if to fill an embarrassing void, Laspetosyne told Greckoh, “Living as a body presents certain difficulties, but our intellectual capacities have not been reduced.”
“Our enemy must be defeated,” Greckoh insisted.
At last Tanglanah spoke, and with intensity. “Greckoh, listen to me. Our enemy is as brilliant as we two. Something exists in the Archive of Gaya that bears the mark of our enemy, and that thing I believe will lead Subadwan, now she has access to all of Gaya, in the direction we wish. But you must have patience. We are in a delicate situation. The gifts Subadwan possesses made her our choice, but they may also work in her favour. I will not have haste ruin everything. I will take my time. I will cajole Subadwan. And then, when she is where we want her, the mark of Gaya will lead her to our enemy. You need not doubt that it will happen. Subadwan will lead and we will follow.”