James is, of course, expecting further argument in return; perhaps the airing of a different grievance, or zeroing in on the fact that James had avoided the topic of the tins. But then Hickey starts speaking again, and the words are so unexpected that it takes a moment for them to process, and then several more to actually sink in.
He shouldn't be surprised, really, that Hickey would do something like lie about his identity to accomplish a goal, and ultimately he isn't. He just hadn't put any thought into this possibility, never really questioned that Hickey was who he said he was aside from hiding what he's capable of, and so this is a bit of a shock.
It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that some of those admissions were--with minor changes--ones that James could've made himself.
Hickey is right that James has a lot of questions about this, both from actual curiosity and as a continued attempt to stall the dread that's slowly settling in. He too felt the change in the pressure of the room, and knows that Hickey's side of the deal has been fulfilled, but hasn't been enough.
"How is that possible? Did you fake your entire service record?" James had been the one to choose the vast majority of the Expedition's crew, although he'd never met most of them; he isn't jumping immediately to the idea that Hickey isn't actually Cornelius Hickey, but rather that he somehow faked his qualifications, something that is perhaps unintentionally telling.
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He shouldn't be surprised, really, that Hickey would do something like lie about his identity to accomplish a goal, and ultimately he isn't. He just hadn't put any thought into this possibility, never really questioned that Hickey was who he said he was aside from hiding what he's capable of, and so this is a bit of a shock.
It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that some of those admissions were--with minor changes--ones that James could've made himself.
Hickey is right that James has a lot of questions about this, both from actual curiosity and as a continued attempt to stall the dread that's slowly settling in. He too felt the change in the pressure of the room, and knows that Hickey's side of the deal has been fulfilled, but hasn't been enough.
"How is that possible? Did you fake your entire service record?" James had been the one to choose the vast majority of the Expedition's crew, although he'd never met most of them; he isn't jumping immediately to the idea that Hickey isn't actually Cornelius Hickey, but rather that he somehow faked his qualifications, something that is perhaps unintentionally telling.