The Absolute's shift changed everything.
Not for the Absolute alone—for Kaine's entire understanding of transformation. If rest and recovery could move an Absolute from impossible to difficult, what did that mean about other "permanent" failures? What did that mean about the 40 Absolutes Emma and Keiko had encountered over thousands of years?
Kaine returned to Emma and Keiko with questions.
"The Absolute shifted," Kaine reported. "Not transformed. Not integrated. But moved. Changed from permanent-impossible to temporary-difficult. Changed from Absolute to maybe-not-Absolute. My rest and recovery created new capability that moved impossibility. That changes everything. Question: Have you tried returning to your 40 Absolutes after periods of rest? Have you tested whether recovery changes impossibility? Have you attempted revisiting after restoration? Have you? Or did you accept permanent failure without retesting? Tell me. Have you revisited? Have you tried again after rest?"
