j(A)de: Mary's a bit of a mystery to me. I'm not sure how to pin her down... I mean, I like the way she takes the boys down a notch, brilliantly sometimes, and is always returning our attention to the ways that history is important, and has been written by the winners... but I can't quite get a sense of who she is under all the academy-speak. 'Course, maybe that's why I don't hang with "doctors" much. Seems like all the good juice in their lives went to their heads, and got stuck there.

Nelt: Well, fair enough, but you gotta remember how hard it can be in the Academy, for women especially. I mean, it's like a permanent pissing contest in there sometimes, and I mean that literally: inherently biased towards men for no good reason.

Jax: Not to be arch, but there's sommat to be said for the life of the mind, comrades. Hail Mary, anyday. Even, maybe especially, when she knocks me down a peg or three.