Professor Malcris chose a room with two chairs and no table.
That was the first manipulation.
Tables created boundaries. Documents. Objects to look at when silence became too sharp. A table allowed a person to place evidence between himself and the man smiling like concern had been invented for him.
No table meant only distance.
Three paces of it.
Measured.
I entered with Veylan behind me, Seraphina at my right, Ren with the Support Witness log, and Valeria carrying a contract mirror she had named "anti-nonsense glass."
Malcris looked at the group and smiled.
"Strategic counseling usually involves one student."
"Then this will be educational for you," Veylan said.
He inclined his head. "Instructor."
The counseling chamber had been assigned by the board after the interim verdict. Pale walls. One window sealed from the inside. Two chairs. One shelf of harmless books chosen to look intellectual without being useful. An observation crystal above the door.
