Rose's thoughtful smile fades at Joshua's gentle rebuke. "I get that a lot," she says softly. She doesn't bother splitting hairs about who does or doesn't constitute an oracle. It doesn't seem like the right time, and besides, Joshua doesn't seem to be enjoying the simple categorization of real people he knew and respected. Rose can relate, though she doesn't have much choice in the matter.

"Fate is a structure to which we are all subject, but it isn't apart from the gods, and it always has an agenda. It serves and suborns the gods, as a book binds its own writer." Maybe Joshua is religious and Rose is blaspheming right now, but from his tone she doubts it. She hazards a guess based on context clues: "But if your goal is to slay a god who claims dominion over fate, it's only wise to second-guess its mouthpieces."