“We thought you fell down a hole and died somewhere.""Close. I was with Blackburn.”

“Die slowly, Tom.”

“Whenever he closed his eyes, he still saw her flying, fighting with ferocious genius. He still remembered that kiss.”

“Is that the only way?" Tom asked her. "Vik and I tried net-sending with a thought interface during Programming once, but I couldn't concentrate on just one thing at a time."Vik nodded. "His programming questions were always like, 'Vik, how do steak boobs function?”

“Tom became distracted by the sight of his own boobs. He reached down to grab them. Wyatt cleared her throat."What?" Tom said defensively. "They're mine.""You aren't seriously planning to just sit there groping yourself in front of me, are you? That's kind of rude."Tom dropped his hands, a bit sheepish. "What, come on. You've got some new equipment, too. You're not curious?"Wyatt's armor clanked as she shifted awkwardly in her seat. "It's not like I haven't played sims as men before.""Right." Tom grinned. "So you've already done the groping thing.""That's not what I said! ”

“Come on, Beamer! I beheaded you for your own good.”

“There really was nothing firm, nothing certain. Even here, even at this place where he thought he’d found something permanent—everything could change in a day. Everything could be lost so quickly.”