Oz chuckled. "I don't think anyone other than the patent clerks would consider that a big move," he pointed out. There was a reason the office had been allowed to get to its present state, after all; no one was much harmed by it being inefficient. It wasn't something the average citizen cared about, like crime or disaster relief. The only people who cared about patents at all were inventors and their lawyers.

"I certainly don't patent until I'm done tinkering," he agreed. "I don't know how the Prophet even knew about those abandoned projects. Rumor, I suppose. They're not much better than Witch Weekly, when it comes down to it."

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