Ephrim is silent. This explains a great deal about Rosinante in ways that were puzzling to Ephrim before. He finally looks down at the water again, watching the starlight warp along the waves.

"I shall not disavow you of your beliefs, and I would hope that your world still exists," Ephrim says, "but my home is certainly not among these stars. Or if it is, it's so far away that, should I choose to find it, I most certainly wouldn't remember the purpose of my search by the time I arrived, nor why it was of any importance." He shakes his head. "And that would truly make thoughts of my own world truly irrelevant, would it not?"