The touch to his hand calms him, and he is able to take another deep breath, and then another. He smiles.

"It won't surprise you to know that I agree with Lieutenant Little," he says. "Practicality will allow a man to survive, but it is kindness and goodness that allows him to live, I think."

Something he has to remind himself of every day.

"And this would not be the first time Mr. Hickey thought he could find favour with a being that does not want us here. As I said—he believes himself unique, or somehow ... blessed, or chosen."