Pen-pals

A letter arrives from Robert. The paper is crisply folded, and clearly calibrated to be suitable for delivery to a Baroness. The handwriting is firm, bold, the swelling up and down-strokes carrying a dignified elegance.

All of which is in sharp contrast to the signature at the bottom of the letter, which looks like it's been formed by a drunken chicken. Yes. He totally hired someone just to make this thing legible. It reads as follows:

To Baroness Wake-

I hope this letter finds you well, and your castle repaired enough to keep the chill out. Though I suppose if it isn't, it's always nice to have an excuse for bonfires.

I am writing to you with a quick update on the longitudinal studies. They can be discussed in more detail in person, but I thought to offer a quick overview. Briefly, after consulting with the Hunter's Guild, it was decided that the most suitable place for a pilot study is a site prone to developing quests. I've identified one such site, located near an eccentric alchemist who tends to be...overzealous with his experiments, but is also responsible for manufacturing critical potions for the local townsfolk. The purchase and sale of these potions is typically facilitated by a local merchant by the name of Farnesby. As such, many of the clean-up quests also come from Farnesby. In contrast, Farnesby's helper, a young lad--very simple indeed--of approximately fourteen years of age, tends to be kept in the back room where he has minimal interactions with visitors. I suspect I can convince Farnesby to let the boy handle business, of course under close mentorship, given sufficient compensation.

I am greatly looking forward to the results, and your insights. Please give my best regards to Miss Tae.

Yours,
-Robert Lutjens (in drunken chicken scratching)

    Wake's reply takes some time to arrive. Matters of state, but also considerable thought is put into her response. When it comes to the object, it is on a fine scroll, bearing Wake's personal seal: the Rose of Eas, complete with falling petals and an ever-perfect blossom.

    Her writing is as one would expect of a noble. Each letter has been carefully formed and is of uniform size. She addresses it Robert, and substantial effort has been made to surround the R with elegant designs made of rose stems and petals.


Dear Robert,


I apologize for the delay in my response. Your suggestion of working with the helper has given me much to ponder. I might do many such experiments here, once we have appropriate foundations and population to achieve it. I am curious if you have considered carrying on several similar studies simultaneously. Certainly there is a steady flow of military development as Lander soldiers are regularly in need of replacement. It would be fascinating to see if officers are made or born.


I feel compelled to suggest a focus on military as it was in the world wars that psychology in our world enjoyed its largest studies. Mobilization of millions of soldiers from the general populace required exams, such as what was called the Army Alpha, to determine the right work for a soldier. These were effective enough to be brought back and improved in World War 2, as well. I would direct you to research papers, but sadly they are unavailable in this world. In lieu of them, we must make our own.


How will you analyze the results of your work? Have you put together an exam for the young man to take now? I have attached some suggestions that may spark some ideas if you have not yet had time to turn your mind to this. These are based on examinations used by the Central Intelligence Agency and other government organizations with which I have some familiarity.


I look forward to hearing back from you. I trust you are well. Tae sends greetings and wishes of safe travel to you! And an invitation to return when you may. It will not be too long and I shall be sending you a different kind of invitation. I have started to put together estimates for proper furnishing of the Dome of Stars.



Your Friend,


Baroness Wake of Eas


** Attached: Wake's exam spans three pages with each question presented on an adjusted, 7-point Likert Scale.

Dear Baroness Wake of Eas,

You do have way of making a chap's heart race. The company you keep...or kept...might send others running for the hills. Luckily, your kind letter found me digging a trench and my boot appears to have frozen in a puddle of...I'm honestly not sure what; so I am quite firmly stuck in place. Baroness, your audience is quite captive.

First, data collection and analysis: I had been keeping the assessment entirely unscientific--not even quantitative, though I could certainly whip up a scoring system if necessary. This was due to the proof-of-principle nature of the preliminary experiment. Similarly, the readout was to be simple. Obtain a baseline level of memory complexity for both distant and recent events, then see if the complexity changes over time. That said, you are completely correct that a large-scale, properly powered study would require considerably more stringent levels of rigor.

I read your suggested questions with deep interest. I think the content is in many cases spot-on, but I admit some reluctance towards using a formal questionnaire. It has been my experience that such things tend to result in the subject telling one what they think one wants to hear. Or, in the case of jury duty, the last thing they think one wants to hear. As such, I was hoping the assessment would come in the form of casual conversation, and am trying to repackage your suggested questions in a manner that might be less formal. I would love to discuss this with you in more depth, should your schedule allow it. Regrettably, this approach does have serious scale-up difficulties, though I am sure you may find a way around them if you should deem this approach useful.

Second: Regarding the military, while there is considerably attractiveness from the standpoint of an easily monitored population that is used to following orders, I would nonetheless urge caution. In my opinion, there are too many careers that would hinge on the outcome of your studies, and whenever interest comes into play, data and insights become warped. My frank assessment of my field has been that more than half of publications were either exaggerated or outright bunk. I suspect the same may be true of your field (though I happily note that your questions seem to have been thoughtfully customized and curated; the most objectionable questions that stick in my memory appear to have mysteriously vanished from your list).

Lastly, and I suppose this is relevant to both of us, I would strongly urge caution when trying to improve others. It is and always has been a loaded proposition, which I am certain you can fully appreciate.

I greatly look forward to visiting Eas and your family (if you are free) in a couple weeks after I finish digging around in an undead problem up in Ninetails. Apparently they're becoming enough of a nuisance that even Scale is concerned.

Ever yours,
Robert

P.S. I don't think my name has ever looked quite so nice before.

My Dear Captive of Frozen Boot,

I hope that the racing of your heart was sufficient to free you from the icy grip of whatever fell thing had you stuck fast. I have been in similar situations and found it most challenging to get out again. The worst of which required considerable intervention by my superiors, friends, and perhaps the divine. Come to think of it, a speeding heart was what set me free as well.

But I digress.

Your single test should prove effective in determining if there is a greater value in broader testing. There are many questions to delve into. One of the attractive aspects of proper scaling with effective staff is that those being surveyed do not know what they are truly contributing to. Of course, a large scale also drowns out the few bad actors.

I look forward to your return visit. Not only for the results of your studies, but for the engaging conversation. I am surrounded by many great people who keep me company, but academic discussions are dreadfully boring to them! It's a true pleasure to find someone who enjoys such topics.

Depending on when you return, you will find a new addition completed. I also am dedicating my attention to getting the Dome of Stars furnished. It would be quite pleasant to have a proper chamber for meeting my people and, quite frankly, to sleep in the castle proper.


Your Colleague,


Baroness Wake

P.S. Calligraphy and other arts are a great exercise of the mind. I have worked out many a difficult situation writing flowing script. I'm rather fond of taking beautiful song lyrics and spending hours turning them into a visual work that represents my feelings.

P.P.S. Do not wait too long to return, Robert! Time moves swiftly here. I have a growing sense of urgency.

Dear Baroness Wake,

It is unfortunate that correlation is not causation; as much as I would like you to have been the inspiration for my freedom, regrettably the direct causal credit must go to a large squad of very agreeable, if rather unwashed colleagues.

I must admit that I've never understood those who find academic discussion to be boring, though I can certainly understand why -specific- academic discussions may be boring due to poor execution. It is baffling to me that attempts to understand the most critical questions of our time should be met with a complete lack of curiosity. Surely there must be some link between curiosity and competence? Or is it that competence is so often excellence in a narrow field that anything outside that field is of little interest?

As for the rest, that is, I think, best handled in person. I've hit a bit of a dead-end out here in Ninetails, and need to settle my thoughts. I'll be by Eas within the week, if you still have an opening in your (very busy) schedule.

Yours,
Robert

P.S. If your visual work represents your feelings, do you ever worry when others may see them for what they are? It is my experience that art does respond well to censorship, whether internal or external.