She had another shot at joining the Knowledge Society, and dressed in her fine new sash. She'd also decorated the tips of six feathers on her right wing with dye, by accident, but it looked fashionable at least. It'd eventually wash out.

She showed off her feathers, held together and then spread wide, as part of her lecture on calculus. "A continuous ink stain can in fact be separated into many small points..."

It got a laugh, as planned, and her math lecture went over well. Most of the Society wasn't sure what to make of it but she explained as clearly as possible, hinting at applications to engineering and alchemy and many other fields. Zahar had cleared time for her to then launch into her Alchemist work, in case that didn't impress the group enough.

So, she bounced a ball on the table, amusing everyone. She talked about her method of producing the rubber, but she was also feeling out how much trouble she might get into with the Alchemists' Guild. Those guys hadn't even sent anybody to this meeting.

Zahar the foxy Engineer said, "I'm interested in the price of this material. I've tried a different version of it and found it useful, but expensive."

"I'm onto something, then," said Selen. "I'd make more, if I can do that without some years-long apprenticeship."

"We can speak to the Alchemists' Guild about it."

"Why haven't they got anybody here in this meeting? Do they not care about knowledge and innovation?"

The Mage rep who'd given her teaser-level training spoke up for the Alchemists. "There are traditional formulae, well-known types of equipment..."

"But they could do better."

Zahar said, "Probably. But it's up to them how much they want to change their industry."

"Why?"

There was an awkward pause. The Mage finally said, "Young Selen, there was a rogue Alchemist a few years ago in Grandbridge. He sold 'healing potions' at remarkably low cost, becoming something of a folk hero. But it was cover for his real business in poisons and his enthusiastic hobby of vivisection and amateur necromancy. My own guild had to get involved, after a string of disappearances. In the end, he and his associate hung on the city walls. That's the sort of problem we each regulate in our own fields of study. I'm sure Guildsman Zahar could tell you stories of his own."

Zahar stalled, nibbling on a pastry and flicking his ears backward. "Ours is a younger tradition."

"But you will have problems if you don't keep track of the people involved."

Another of the attendees changed the subject to something about boats. Selen fumed quietly. There'd be trouble if she continued her experiments and didn't sign up for yet another group, that one less interested in hearing from newcomers like her. In fact, she'd gotten the impression that half the respect she had was due to being from a "good family" if not noble. Which brought her back to the notion that there ought to be more education around here, which didn't look likely to happen unless she pushed for that. Arrgh.

She had to push sometime, though. When the meeting was close to breaking up, she raised one hand. "I'd like to petition for Knowledge Society membership." It hurt that Zahar had once again not brought it up himself, probably judging that she'd put her foot in her beak again.

The group's chatter stilled. "With what field of study?" asked an Elf woman who specialized in geology and mining.

"Mathematics," Selen said, trying to move that foot to get in the door instead. It wasn't at all what she wanted to do long-term, but the value of "her discovery" so far was undeniable. If they wouldn't acknowledge her value in alchemy and other fields... well. They didn't recognize it yet.

Zahar brushed back his ears with one hand as though hiding the way they wanted to flick and express his mood. He said, "I nominate her for the group. Her perspective will be valuable to us all."

The other members kicked her out of the room, leaving her to pace and grumble in the hall. The math wasn't even hers, just something she'd scavenged. The things she really valued from her past didn't seem relevant or wanted here; this world had its own gods and kings and traditions.

She took a breath and shut her eyes. No one else would ever really understand her. Still, she could do valuable service for this world just by relaying what she knew. She was a courier by trade, after all. Anything she accomplished in terms of new discoveries was just a bonus.

Zahar finally stepped out with his ears high. "You pass. Congratulations."

"Thank you!" she said, a little surprised.

"You deserve it. Do try to lay low a little, for your next few meetings. My ears are burning; I know the others are now talking about me behind my back."

"You're worried they don't really approve?"

Zahar said, "We're not disciples of pure reason. We represent various groups with their own agendas, and you seem determined to step on everyone's tails." He sighed. "But that's the way of innovation, isn't it?"

"I think so, yes."

Her sponsor was an Engineer, part of a field that only existed as a formal discipline because the System had declared it so. Maybe the more established scholarly groups had some resentment.

She added, "I think a lot of big discoveries are out there, waiting. The questions are when, and who benefits."

"Then you understand the situation better than I thought," he said.

#

Selen continued doing too many things, including her actual job duties. The nice part was that she was trusted now to do some longer-range delivery trips including one to the east, out to a farming town in the middle of an autumn gourd festival.

She got pulled into a silly dance and offered something like pumpkin pie, the closest thing to proper spicy food she'd had in too long. She got a little choked up.

"You all right?" asked the old lady who'd shared a bit of the party food with her.

"Thinking of home," Selen said. "Thanks. I've been too caught up lately in trying to be a wizard and other things that I hadn't thought about my old family much."

She patted Selen's feathery shoulders. "Keep them in your prayers, if you're distant. If it's magic you're interested in, maybe you should go to Summerhearth just east of here. The wizard Ralator is usually willing to spend a little time with students, if they're polite." She frowned, though. "He's a Kobold, though. Is that a problem?"

"Why would it be?"

The lady laughed. "That takes me back. I have some hope for your generation."