"Far as we can tell. There were already a lot of other minds and experiences to reach for when I started existing, and they all felt new. It could have been done in batches."

"It seems like if it was simultaneous you might know if the Valar were hivemind sorts of things."

"No, because people come together to share thoughts a lot, and even more back then, and there were so many. I didn't have a conversation with a Vala, but that's not particularly strong evidence."

"Fair enough."

"Worried that if you just bring all the Maiar back that'll bring all the constitutive-elements-of-Valar back too?"

"Little bit. Might have to go off a list or something."

"Well.

I hope you pull it off, it's a bit lonely as stands."

"Yeah."

"Do you feel the same way about all the people who stopped being instantiated on our servers when Valinor went down? Or are you just figuring their lives were worse than oblivion? Or is it that you have someone forked from them subjectively-centuries earlier so it's not really like killing them?"

"Mostly the second thing, a little of the third. If someone wants rescue simulations done of their Angband forks I'd at least think about it."

"It's probably a bad idea, but then I don't have, like, a principled issue with minds ceasing to be."

"Yeah, it's probably a bad idea but I'm not sure it's a bad idea I personally should try to obstruct."

"You can't do, like, minds in Angband, filtered by ones who'd choose to exist if they were asked?"

"No."

"Kay. Not sure why I'm talking right and wrong with you. That all you need to maybe bring back the deserving dead?"

"Don't know for sure, can I come back if I have more specific questions?"

"Next time buy me dinner."

"...do you require this to actually involve purchase or just food?"

She waves a hand. "Or magic me dinner, sure, whatever."

"Noted. Thanks." And he flies away.

Endore is buzzing with the news of interdimensional travel. 

Well, it's pretty exciting. Anybody turn up an ex-Man or ex-Dwarf demon to pass messages yet?

Yep, got one; he's flying around Himring, apparently. Ex-Man, died in an accident two years ago.

Cool. Cam will go ask him how he prefers to receive correspondence care-of-him.

He looks vaguely awed when he sees Cam. "Hi!"