A name. It was the only thing I could give me. Because I had nothing else.” He raised a finger. “In the years since, I’ve come to understand, no . . . to know . . . through the hundreds of people I’ve rescued, that nothing matters more than a name. It’s why it’s always been the first thing I’ve asked them. Because no matter what hell they’ve endured, a name can call them back out. A name establishes a record. Drives a stake in the ground. Shouts across the stratosphere, ‘I’m here! I matter! I’m not invisible!’
