"--I mean, it's better than the alternative, right?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Sorry, I'll try harder." 

"Xander is just being a pill, Lucy, it's not on you."

"--Anyway. Do you have any particular advice on avoiding mob bosses. Or, like, what needs fixing."

"Fixing?"

"Well you have here this city that's full of awful stuff in the air, so I know some stuff needs fixing." 

"Uh...greater political equity for the Rim? Better protections for poor people against big companies? I guess?"

"And how would you go about fixing that?" 

"Well, uh, empirically, I wouldn't, I would just be a history professor, but I suppose you'd want to go to the Core Worlds..."

"And... do political activism? Does that work reasonably well here?"

"I guess? I'm not really sure how things work in the Core, aside from 'better than here.' But I know nobody listens to us." 

"I guess we have the distinction of being possibly very attention-getting."

"Especially if you want to prove you're, like, yourself, and alive and stuff, to people." 

"Yes, that...is a question," he says. "--I wonder if they've replaced me at the University yet." 

"Your obituary didn't say."

"It would be a bit tasteless." 

"Is there a - university cortex site you could check?"

"Yes, there is," he says. 

"I assume you're more enthusiastic about figuring out how to be legally alive again if you can have your job back," Lucy surmises. 

"Yes, quite." 

"Do you have plans for if you can't?"

"I do not! This is extremely unexpected and I mostly have no idea what to do with it."

"Well. Sorry about that."

"I am not complaining about not being dead," he assures her. 

"I'm going to resurrect everyone eventually, you could reasonably complain about being not-dead now instead of when there was a procedure for it."

"Well, someone had to be first," he shrugs.

"Someone did, and we appreciate your rolling with it. You have family here so probably you don't want to come with us to the core?"

"I would like to see my grandchildren," he agrees. "I suppose that rather settles it in terms of getting my identity back, it would be all kinds of awkward to be in all my old haunts and not admit to being myself, somebody who's known me since I was this age the first time would recognize me eventually." 

"Do you have an angle on doing that?"

"Go to the University and let people prod me until they're sure it's real, I suppose; if nothing else I know the University employs at least one lawyer." 

"Cool. Can we join you?"

"Why not! I'm sure they'll have all sorts of questions for you, so, if you don't want to be flocked by curious people with more book learning than sense, that would be why not." 

"I'd skip it but this might get me kidnapped, so lead the way, professor."