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Marcos looked over the assortment of junk food another time. He was starving, but somehow, he still didn’t have much of an appetite. He supposed it didn’t really matter. He grabbed something without even looking at what it was and then went to stand blankly behind Emiliana. It would be easiest to put his brain in autopilot and follow her around. She stuck out like a sore thumb with that black mask of hers.

His eyes glazed over as he let his mind wander. A question occurred to him. ‘When will my ability manifest?’ he asked.

‘It varies from person to person,’ said Shenado privately. ‘Give it time.’

‘It’s been a month. And Emi’s manifested after only a few days...’

‘Hers was stress-induced.’

‘So I should be more stressed?’

‘That is not what I am saying.’

‘Then what are you saying?’

‘I am saying be patient. We’ll worry about it after we reach Moaban.’

He took a long breath. Really, he was just trying to keep his mind busy. ‘What do you think my ability will be?’

‘It could be anything.’

‘...Could I get the same ability as Pa?’

‘It’s not very likely, but it is certainly possible. Servant abilities are determined by genetics.’

‘They are? I thought it had to do with personality. Or just... brain... stuff.’

‘Well, there’s some debate about that, I suppose,’ said Shenado. ‘But “brain stuff” is genetic, too, you know. As are personalities, to an extent. So there might well be a link there, but it is probably a case of correlation rather than causation.’

‘I’m not sure what that means...’

‘It means that genetics might make it LOOK like servant abilities are determined by personality, even though they aren’t necessarily.’

‘That’s confusing...’

‘Most things are. As much as we might like the world to be simpler and easier to understand, it usually isn’t. And that can be good. Sometimes, complexity is wonderful. Usually, though, it sucks big time.’

He spared her a cock-eyed glance. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Have you ever heard the old saying that the more complicated your plan is, the more opportunities it’ll have to go wrong?’

‘Uh, sure.’

‘Well, it’s the same for everything else in life. For example, the thing we were just talking about. Genetics. DNA is extremely complex. And rather predictably, all sorts of things can go wrong with it. People can be born with so many different kinds of genetic deformities or diseases. And they all suck. Apart from the very occasional one that is actually helpful, maybe offering the person an immunity to something terrible.’