[ That was me. What are the odds, that the one person he meets here who seems to be from his own home also happens to be the one person Esquie named in that first meeting? They must be astronomical. ]

That's... incredible.

[ But he can't get into the nuances of statistical likelihood just now; he has some unfortunate news to impart to this man who has been nothing but kind to him. ]

I wish I could tell you things had changed much since Expedition Zero set out, but... no one else has ever made it back to the Monolith.

[ He gives Verso a small, crooking smile, exhausted and tight with pain, but still sympathetic. It seems he isn't the only one who's finding out some unhappy truths. ]

But you should know that sixty-seven years later, Esquie is still talking about you.