"Fascinating. Right. That implies there must be some sort of connection between us and whatever fragment of us remains in the world we left behind--some bit of our consciousness, even the memory of us." He begins to write, sketching out something not so different from the theorems he created for the Contingency years ago. It isn't a perfect parallel, but it's a place to start.

He grins a little. "Camilla said she thought you were used to a two-hander. When I asked her what that was, she said, and I quote, 'A giant fuck-off sword.' Which seems appropriate."