Needing help with her problem unlocking the science behind the descolada, Wang-mu approaches her former mistress. Han has asked her to ask Qing-jao for help but Wang-mu knows Gloriously Bright will not help them in their "revolt against Congress." So she presents Qing-jao with her papers and passwords and lets Qing-jao assume Han fei-tzu is unaware that Wang-mu has asked her for help. Qing-jao immediately dismisses the information as rubbish, asserting it cannot possibly be true. Evolution, she explains, would have created a much wider variety of species on Lusitania than the number which actually exists. Not only that, but since the virus continually corrects mutations in its host's DNA, it prevents evolution. Were the data valid, Qing-jao points out, the species on Lusitania could not evolve, which is necessary for any species.....
