06/26/2025 Snippet, CALL OF THE MOON-BEASTS.

So bloody close.

…

Tobias Marsh had long since gotten sick of the idea that doing his duty could require that he stand by and watch other people… Clean up, the stubbornly rational (and rationalizing) part of his mind insisted as the three of them jump-ran through the passage. They’re just cleaning up. They never said they were going to mutually ‘conserve resources,’ did they? It didn’t help that he now had plenty of practice in doing exactly that. Just the opposite.

I think you need to speak with someone about your guilt complex, Commander. Asenath sounded preoccupied, somehow. It cannot be good for your long-term mental health.

We’ve gone over this, Asenath. A psychiatrist will just try to convince me you’re not real.

At this point, I doubt it will have any effect on the mission. You would still succeed, even if I am revealed to be a manifestation of your ongoing psychosis.

No! Tobias grimaced at how his own mental voice sounded. …No. You’ve kept me functional this far. Hell, you’re my best damned friend, AI or not. I’m not going to delude myself otherwise, just to feel better.

Even if that means you will continue not to reach certain conclusions about our situation? Because that is causing you undue pain.

“Life is pain,” he quoted aloud, without realizing it. “Anybody who says differently is selling something.”

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