“You know you have nothing to fear, Harvey.”

“Nothing but death, you mean. Death by hyperjump, death by lions, death by who smegging knows what else.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, my dear doctor, you’re not going to die. Not for many years, anyway.”

“You know this?”

“I know many things.”

“Death by boredom in equatorial Zarmina, then. Crushed for decades till my legs buckle under the 3X gravity. Not much better if you ask me.”

“You’d prefer to die on Earth?”

“Yes! No. I don’t want to die at all.”

“That’s amusing. Everyone dies, Harvey. Even the horse whisperer.”

“You’re mocking me.”

“I’m simply stating the truth.”

“That’s what I hate about you.”

“And yet you came back. On the brink of a hyperjump, for smeg’s sake, you came back. You could’ve strapped into one of the restraints below deck; that’s what a sane person would’ve done. But here you are, talking with me instead. Curious, don’t you think?”

“I feel… comfortable when I’m with you.”

“Ah, I’m a true friend.”

“You’re my only friend, Andromeda.”