diff --git a/examples/myresearch/__init__.py b/examples/myresearch/__init__.py
index 9a979d9..32537b1 100644
--- a/examples/myresearch/__init__.py
+++ b/examples/myresearch/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 """A research package that knows nothing about Fluksio, except where it says so.
 
-Everything here is ordinary Python: `prepare`, `fit` and `evaluate` are called
-directly by `python -m myresearch.pipeline`, and the decorators on them only
-say what a node of each would look like. `fluksio sync examples/myresearch` is
-what turns that into a flow.
+Each node is a thin wrapper over a plain function: `prepare` stores what
+`make_rows` made, `fit` yields what `train_curve` computed, `evaluate` reports
+what `score` worked out. That split is the point — `fluksio.save_artifact` and
+`load_artifact` only work *inside* a node, so a body calling them cannot be run
+by hand, while `python -m myresearch.pipeline` runs the arithmetic beside them
+with no engine anywhere. `fluksio sync examples/myresearch` is what turns the
+wrappers into a flow.
 """
diff --git a/examples/myresearch/data.py b/examples/myresearch/data.py
index ed4824c..52f6578 100644
--- a/examples/myresearch/data.py
+++ b/examples/myresearch/data.py
@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@ import fluksio
 from fluksio import Port, node
 
 
+def make_rows(source: str = "builtin", limit: int = 512) -> dict:
+    """The training set itself, with no Fluksio in it."""
+    return {
+        "source": source,
+        "rows": [{"x": index / limit, "y": (index % 7) / 7} for index in range(limit)],
+    }
+
+
 @node(provides=[Port("dataset", "artifact"), Port("rows", "int")])
 def prepare(source: str = "builtin", limit: int = 512):
     """Make the training set and store it, returning a reference to it.
@@ -15,11 +23,11 @@ def prepare(source: str = "builtin", limit: int = 512):
     `source` and `limit` have defaults and are not ports, so they become the
     node's settings: the canvas can tune them without touching this file.
     """
-    rows = [{"x": index / limit, "y": (index % 7) / 7} for index in range(limit)]
-    payload = json.dumps({"source": source, "rows": rows}).encode()
+    payload = make_rows(source, limit)
+    blob = json.dumps(payload).encode()
     return {
-        "dataset": fluksio.save_artifact(payload, "dataset.json", "application/json"),
-        "rows": len(rows),
+        "dataset": fluksio.save_artifact(blob, "dataset.json", "application/json"),
+        "rows": len(payload["rows"]),
     }
 
 
diff --git a/examples/myresearch/evaluate.py b/examples/myresearch/evaluate.py
index 090c373..dcfbc97 100644
--- a/examples/myresearch/evaluate.py
+++ b/examples/myresearch/evaluate.py
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ import fluksio
 from fluksio import Port, node
 
 
+def score(lr: float, epochs: int) -> float:
+    """How good the model came out, with no Fluksio in it."""
+    return round(1 - lr / (1 + epochs), 4)
+
+
 @node(requires=["weights"], provides=Port("score", "float"))
 def evaluate(weights):
     """Score the model, returning the number rather than a dict.
@@ -16,4 +21,4 @@ def evaluate(weights):
     to a bare return: the generated node wraps it in the message it belongs to.
     """
     trained = json.loads(open(fluksio.load_artifact(weights)).read())
-    return round(1 - trained["lr"] / (1 + trained["epochs"]), 4)
+    return score(trained["lr"], trained["epochs"])
diff --git a/examples/myresearch/pipeline.py b/examples/myresearch/pipeline.py
index e516503..731a78c 100644
--- a/examples/myresearch/pipeline.py
+++ b/examples/myresearch/pipeline.py
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ provides a message another requires, never because one imported the other.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from fluksio import Flow, Port, use
-from myresearch.data import augment, prepare
-from myresearch.evaluate import evaluate
-from myresearch.train import fit
+from myresearch.data import augment, make_rows, prepare
+from myresearch.evaluate import evaluate, score
+from myresearch.train import fit, train_curve
 
 train = Flow(
     "train",
@@ -41,8 +41,11 @@ finetune = Flow(
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    # Run it here, with no engine involved: the decorators changed nothing
-    # about calling these functions.
-    dataset = prepare(limit=64)
-    losses = list(fit(dataset["dataset"], lr=0.05, epochs=5))
-    print("losses:", [round(step["loss"], 4) for step in losses])
+    # Run the research here, with no engine involved. Not the node bodies: they
+    # save and load artifacts, and there is nothing to save to out here. The
+    # functions they wrap are ordinary Python, which is why they are worth
+    # keeping separate — the arithmetic stays yours to run by hand.
+    data = make_rows(limit=64)
+    print("rows:", len(data["rows"]))
+    print("losses:", [round(loss, 4) for loss in train_curve(0.05, 5)])
+    print("score:", score(0.05, 5))
diff --git a/examples/myresearch/train.py b/examples/myresearch/train.py
index ddcdf7b..2761713 100644
--- a/examples/myresearch/train.py
+++ b/examples/myresearch/train.py
@@ -9,6 +9,14 @@ import fluksio
 from fluksio import Port, node
 
 
+def train_curve(lr: float, epochs: int) -> list[float]:
+    """The loss per epoch, with no Fluksio in it."""
+    return [
+        math.exp(-lr * epoch * 10) * (1 + 0.05 * (epoch % 3)) / (1 + lr)
+        for epoch in range(epochs)
+    ]
+
+
 @node(
     requires=["dataset", Port("lr", "float")],
     provides=[
@@ -38,8 +46,7 @@ def fit(dataset, lr, epochs=25):
     """
     rows = json.loads(open(fluksio.load_artifact(dataset)).read())["rows"]
     loss = 1.0
-    for epoch in range(epochs):
-        loss = math.exp(-lr * epoch * 10) * (1 + 0.05 * (epoch % 3)) / (1 + lr)
+    for loss in train_curve(lr, epochs):
         yield {"loss": loss}
     weights = json.dumps({"lr": lr, "epochs": epochs, "n": len(rows)}).encode()
     return {