I am. Because you did not strike, because you were too busy looking for the perfect and letting it be the enemy of the good. And if you're obvious about not being willing to do it, they'll find someone else. They can always find someone else.

[There's a little frustration in his voice now despite his best efforts.]

There will always be someone willing to go further than you in any direction. There will always be someone willing to compromise and bend more. You could make a difference here, you could thwart them in a permanent way if they are convinced that phylacteries do not work on Rifters, whether they do or do not. You could say it has something to do with the lyrium in their blood, anything along those lines.

There is no perfect solution here. Telling them that they're wrong will not be enough because it never is enough.