（ i defense those who get left behind. it's a sentiment he can appreciate, even if it isn't something he has had much occasion to put into practice in the way sam does — with decency and righteousness, a sense of what is just and fair. he understands well what it is like to make yourself a bulwark against the world for the sake of those most vulnerable to its cruelties, but he went about it in the wrong way, diametrically opposed to sam's approached. he was misguided, then.

he leans back on his hands, face tilted up to the sun. ）

There is a balance to be struck. I do not know that we found it.

（ it's neither agreement nor denial of sam's expression of desire. he cannot say that he would do the same — failing these missions is not something he considers to be a viable option, given what he is working towards.

the happy shriek of a child draws his attention, and for a moment his expression is something other than placid stoicism — there's a faint upwards quirk at one corner of his mouth as a young boy races down the length of the pier. part of the simulation, but it speaks to the love and care that went into building it. ）

'Better' is also subjective. What it looks like to us, what it looks like to the residents of the worlds we visit, these things will always differ.