“Hm,” Stephen says, thoughtful, weighing it over. “I mostly attended this lecture as a personal favour to the professor’s sister — she’s been helpful to the Research budget — but if you’re genuinely interested in this field, we could stay in touch with him. See how it goes. Maybe chip in. I mean, it’s not my strength,”

he knew blood vessels and nerves and tissue, the workings of meat and animal organism rather than plantlife,

“but our division has a broad umbrella. And Riftwatch travels often enough, and works with esoteric artifacts often enough, that we’re probably a good port of call in terms of arcane influence.”