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Wow. Somehow, Hector felt like he’d just received a lot more information than he’d expected. And he’d expected a fair bit.

And it wasn’t just in regard to Abbas’ personal history, either. That certainly interested Hector, too, but there was something else. Something in the underlying philosophy that the man had just espoused. The way Abbas described the world.

A neverending struggle against human extinction.

One of Hector’s background thought processes had held on to those words. Brought them close. And now he couldn’t stop examining them.

Why?

Why did they feel so relevant to him on an intimate level? They were summoning two contradictory feelings at once. They made him feel as if he’d never thought that way before. But also as if he’d always thought that way.

How did that make any sense?

It was enough to make all of his thought processes converge together, and he couldn’t help remaining silent for a while, even after the Lord Saqqaf seemed to finish his story.

Thankfully, Garovel was there to keep up the conversation in his stead. ‘Heh,’ the reaper laughed. ‘Thank you for sharing all of that with us. Especially that last part. Think I felt my cold, dead heart warm up just a little. And truthfully, I’m also incredibly relieved by what I’ve learned of you here today, Lord Abbas.’

Abbas tilted his head. ‘Relieved? In what manner?’

Worwal snickered, but didn’t say anything, drawing the Sunsmith’s glance.

‘There is a certain amount of... shall we say, “historical justification” for worrying about powerful integrators. Inventors, in particular. Strange and brilliant minds. Far too often, with people like you, your work consumes you. Until you lose all connections to the world. And of late, you have been exhibiting some... troubling behavior in that regard, specifically.’

Abbas opened his mouth, then closed it again without retort.

‘But I see now that your family does indeed mean everything to you,’ said Garovel. ‘Until now, I feared that, perhaps, all of these children and grandchildren you have might’ve merely been the result of some societal obligation that you felt. And that you were still at great risk of becoming lost to us all through your work. So yes, I am relieved and happy to get a glimpse of your deeply held emotional ties.’

Worwal decided to chime in again. ‘To be clear, he IS still at risk of that. I worry about it constantly.’

Garovel chortled. ‘Of course. I didn’t mean to imply that there was no risk at all. Just that there was less than I feared. Which is a comforting thought.’