“Well, yeah.” Sharif looked at her, obviously bewildered.
“What does he want?”
The look warped into disbelief.
Nadika reminded herself that the professor's skills in Timefold Perturbation Mechanics left him significantly lacking in people aptitude. Like her occasional blindspot, it was a shortcoming she guessed had plagued him most of his life. “Did he return your subspace emitter?”
Sharif wilted. “No,” he admitted grudgingly, frowning.
“Of course not. And he's lacking the one component that makes it work. So of course he's going to be nice to you.”
Sharif nodded, pursing his lips. “I wonder why I didn't think of that.” He brought out the manufactured crystal.
Seeing the object, Nadika also knew its history: How the Professor had manufactured it, diverting the electrical power for t
