[There's a small chuckle at Kim's reassurance. He liked to avoid trouble where he could and one of the things he'd picked up quickly was that some people were picky about that sort of thing. So, he'd just say whatever he felt like, and only adjust it if corrected. That was a lot easier than watching his tongue.]

[The condolences get a brief moment of surprise and something like sheepishness. Since it was normal for him, there was the part of him that wants to respond- it's not like I was saying it for pity or anything- but at the same time he knows it's not necessarily pity the other man's conveying. I'm sure you don't need an outsider to tell you how inhumane that sounds, more like, if even an outsider can immediately tell how inhumane it sounds, why was it normal?]

[That was the bubble. He got to live at Rhodes Island and work for them. He got to be totally open about being Infected. He got to be treated with some kind of respect and work towards something better for people like him. Then you step outside the bubble and see someone you can't save and a wave of fresh helplessness and indignation rolls over you. It was painful but it was part of the package of being one of the ones still alive.]

[The world he's described doesn't exactly sound like a place you want to run back to. Still,]

Yeah. Yeah, I gotta play nice and be a hard worker, then that contract payment will be my trip back. It seems pretty unbelievable but what else are we supposed to do about it? I don't think we get any sorta legal status if they're screwing us over.