"Various. I don't think it will be hard, why?"

"I suppose it's easier the more inventive one is. I haven't the faintest idea how to take best advantage, personally."

"I don't think I'd be much good at dispensing advice under the circumstances, sorry."

"I should probably just meet everybody and figure out what the terrible secrets being kept from us because we're too fragile are, and so on."

"I wonder if it has to do with your amoral alt."

"Yeah, I'm wondering how bad he is. I mean, we killed a lot of people."

"I think it might be a difference of type rather than magnitude?"

"Unless he actually worked for the Enemy on purpose, it's almost impossible he did more harm than we did. Suppose it's possible he has a less palatable attitude about it, but..."

"Or did less than you but uncoerced, or...I'll ask about it."

"We weren't coerced into the oath."

"Yes, and you really should have taken ten minutes to come up with something less usable to yank you into that kind of thing, but you did not in fact understand what it was going to mean when you did it."

"There were a lot of things we didn't understand."

"Yeah."

"So what were you up to, before all this started?"

"Oh, starting college."

"Cool! Studying what?"

"Mechanical engineering! Did you notice I came in with Curufin?"

"I figured you had to be in the area. You're at MIT? And he didn't notice?"

"I'd only been there a few months, and he's...himself. I'm not surprised we hadn't crossed paths yet."

"He is very himself, isn't he. Congratulations. Think you'll go back there once - whatever this merry adventure is - is settled enough?"

"Depends on how it's settled, I'm sure."

"They seem to have a pretty clear answer for worlds which require conquering or which'll sign on in exchange for their goodies. Our Earth, less so."

"I'd rather have you--a you who has fewer problems--as emperor of the multiverse than, well, not that."

"I would sort of have expected the news that the normal course of the war involves us becoming monsters would dissuade him, but I suppose his world's sufficiently different from mine that perhaps he can believe he wouldn't have."

"Or he figures it doesn't matter whether he would have, as long as he won't."