Wrench doesn't have it in him to look surprised by the news. Both the matter of his transition from one reality to the next and the fact there are others besides this one are things that have been confirmed by others. More and more, he finds there is mounting evidence to support the fact that he might not be alive either. That whatever it is that's sucked them up might have done so at the instant of his death, as with so many others he's met since his arrival.

He's not quite sure what to make of it. There's no reality that Wrench is wanting to return to. But if this is the afterlife after all, it's sure not as it was billed. He considers the young man and the matter-of-fact way he approaches his own death. After years of adjustment, it just makes sense. But why here, and why now? Other people will surely have a better grasp of what it means. For his part, it's something else entirely that sparks his interest.

Do you regret it? he types. This time, there's no automated voice. The words stay on the screen, and Wrench shifts enough to let the young man read them silently. It may seem foolish, but it's a question that's been on his mind a lot lately. Was where you ended up better than life before it?