"...but is it true?"

"I don't want to sound philosophical when I say truth is relative. The world is what it is, but there are different ways of facing it and interpreting the truth while still accepting it, and some of them are better than others for our health and to get the things we want. Does that make sense?"

"...I guess?"

"And one way of facing the truth I sometimes find is not very productive is feeling guilt. People often tell me it's justified, that they should have done better, or that it motivates them. In my experience, it tends to do more harm than good. Or, at least, more harm than alternatives."

"I'm gonna resurrect people somehow and then it won't matter if it's my fault they're dead."

He mentioned that before. She thought about it some and—it would really be very good, and she can't think of a good reason why it wouldn't worry.

"You really think you'll be able to? Bring people back?"

"Not yet but I'll figure it out. Somehow."

"That's an admirable goal."

Bounce bounce.

"So your current plan is bringing São Paulo back, and then trying to figure out how to bring the dead back?"

"Yeah."

"And have you thought of what you'll do if you can't do that?"

"Keep working on it."

"Suppose you find it's impossible."

"...then I'll keep working on it until it's not."

"Not all problems can be made possible by work alone."

"If you have long enough and enough powers."

"And the right powers."

"People get powers all the time. Hopefully someone'll get the right one."

"What sort of power do you think would be necessary for that?"

"When I make people they're just - not awake. So something that - wakes them, don't know how it'd have to work -"

"It would probably be good to understand why they fail to wake, then, before hoping a power can fix it."

"Yeah. I don't know how - maybe making brain scan machines?"

"You have a way to get rid of things you make?"

"Yeah, I can just - unmake them? I guess?"