His anger frightened me for a moment and I stayed silent. Then I said, ‘I’m Homo sapiens, Bob. And I’m not like that. And you are nearly human. Or more than human.’ He turned away from me, taking his hand away from my shoulder. ‘I am human,’ he said. ‘Except for birth and death.’ He walked back to his ladder. ‘And I am sick of life. I never wanted it.’ I stared at him. ‘That’s the name of the game. I didn’t ask to be born either.’ ‘You can die,’ he said. He began to climb the ladder again.
