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"I can certainly understand your attachment to this marvelous device," Dovin said, running a hand over the invention's intricate metalwork. He understood its purpose now—it was designed to fabricate thopters. Clever. Of course, its many flaws also became immediately apparent, but this was not the time to enumerate them. "Truly amazing work. Your application of Dujari's principle here is ingenious." It was; he made a mental note to examine the device further once it was safely stored in a laboratory. After the dangerous aether leak, sure to attract gremlins, was closed. "Tremendous potential."

The inventor's scowl softened, and his shoulders straightened with pride. "Thank you."

"I do assure you, sir, that your device will be treated with the utmost care while it remains in Consulate hands."

"But—"

"Of course you are familiar with the process of submitting inventions to the Consulate for safety review and careful inspection. And surely you recognize that under such extraordinary circumstances as these"—he made a vague but sweeping gesture that could be taken to mean anything from the Inventors' Fair itself to this moment of Consulate confiscation—"the process must be altered somewhat. But the result will be the same. And your work might very well be the foundation for the next breakthrough in fabrication technology. The Consulate is grateful."

Without waiting for a response from the inventor, Dovin turned to the enforcer, who had been watching the exchange with a scowl. "Now, I recommend that you secure the services of at least one more automaton to move this device with the care it deserves. If you wait, I will send them to you."

The dwarf enforcer looked as though waiting were absolutely the last thing she wanted to do, but Dovin fixed her with a stern eye to clarify that his polite phrasing should not be taken as permission to refuse.

This was the kind of finesse that Ranaj's enforcers lacked, and Dovin very much feared that the result could be disastrous.

Similar exchanges slowed his journey from the Aether Spire all the way to the storage facility where the inventions were being taken. He calmed a half-dozen inventors, dispersed another three groups of renegades-in-the-making, and helped a containment team deal with a clutch of gremlins that had descended on the lifecraft elephant when it started leaking aether from its severed cable.

***

A Grateful Consulate