I think they're trying to get her killed. It seems callous, but a competitor like her would have been really dangerous back then, with those smarts, so either they befriend her, or they make sure she doesn't have any power to begin with. Though once #8 started paying attention to her they really should have backed off.

Mmm. Well, Saran is the hospital director (Rara's adoptive dad)'s illegitimate daughter through the chief cook, so once they figure it out things ought to get more interesting. Esp because Rara is set up to fail in so many different ways.