Valeria
The helpful version of the request would take her whole morning.
Valeria read Cedric's note again, then turned it over to see whether the back contained a second morning she could use.
It did not.
He had given her the council's question without trying to disguise it. That was considerate. It had also left her with very little room to pretend she hadn't understood what they needed.
Could an immediate repeated display give a misleading measure of an entrant's ordinary ability?
Yes.
Could she demonstrate that within the limits of the records she held?
Probably.
Could she do it before her next laboratory period without losing something else?
No.
Mara came to the table carrying the sample tray.
"Which set first?"
"The small one."
"You said the second comparison."
"Yesterday I had a different plan."
Mara glanced at the open note.
"Valdrake?"
"The council. Through Valdrake."
"That sounds slower."
"It is."
