Hi!
v0.9.x is a bit slower than v0.8.x not due to added rules in NAL.h, but due to higher allowed term complexity and more recently, with v0.9.1, the removal of the FIFO structure.
But the reasoning abilities (NAL-5 support) are worth it, as it gives the system more inferential power, it can learn more general hypotheses than before, some of which in traditional FOPL-based reasoning systems had to be handcoded by humans.
With the coming releases v0.9.x will be as fast as v0.8.x again, or faster, especially when multithreading will be utilized properly.
Best regards,
Patrick