He asked the director about the Archivist General before doing anything else.
The director was at his desk with the folder Kai had brought—the one from Rael, with the Archivist General's institutional history. He read it the way he read everything: without rushing and without showing what he thought about what he was reading until he had finished reading it.
Then he set it down.
"I dealt with that office once," he said. "Eleven years ago. I needed access to pre-Guild archival material for the oscillation research. The Archivist General at the time was an old woman. She knew more about the deep roads than I've learned in twenty years of Division work." He paused. "She didn't offer to share it."
Kai looked at him.
"That was eleven years ago," the director continued. "The position has a long tenure. The same person may still hold it." He looked at the folder. "She left you a four-word note. That is more than she gave me in a full meeting."
He looked at Kai.
