E. M. gave Mr Henchard, whom she had barely noticed so far, a sharp glance. What was his problem? There was something… odd about him. That haunted-looking empty stare… ah yes. No way to be absolutely certain, of course, but she’d bet her dessert that this man had only recently sold his soul; and she’d bet tomorrow’s dessert that he did it to get rid of some kind of severe emotional trauma. She did not judge him for that, though she privately opined that, if her postulations were correct, he had made the wrong decision. The human psyche was far more complicated than most people assumed, and getting rid of one’s soul did not solve all one’s problems. She’d seen it before, unfortunately, and hoped no one was going to trust this guy with making important decisions.
"The time for doubt is never over, Mr… Henchman? Henchard! I hope you’ll excuse that. I’ve always been terrible with names. Anyway, as any true scientist knows, one’s plans, just as even the most established-seeming theories, need to be checked and re-checked, tested against new evidence and unforeseen developments, all the time. Doubt, not blind faith, is what keeps people alive in this world - what keeps us moving forward.
"That does not rule out the concept of trust, of course. While I’ve never worked with Mr Stormstrider before, I’ve heard about some of his recent exploits, and trust that he will prove a more than capable leader of this venture.
"As for the Gant Pole, I’ve never been there myself, but I have it on good authority that it does indeed exist." She did not elaborate on the nature of that authority, nor on her lack of surprise about any of Gideon’s words.
When a renowned visionary inventor invites one to go to the surface with him, one does make a few guesses on how he plans to achieve that. She’d have been surprised if Dawn’s Law had not been involved somehow. And the Gant Pole, well - she would keep that to herself. No one needed to know that her reasons for joining this expedition included anything besides scientific curiosity and a melancholy yearning for the sun. After all, these things were very much among her reasons, no need to pretend anything. But human beings were complicated creatures, and rarely had no hidden motives - which was precisely why she’d brought along her daughter: to learn the hidden motives of her companions. Better safe than sorry.
To her left, Squidley Johnson had been nodding along vehemently during her short speech. Apparently she had made a friend already.