[ nobody would have blamed heine, kaveh thinks. except heine would have blamed himself. this is the only reason why kaveh would agree, that it's a good thing that heine was spared. this, kaveh keeps to himself. instead, he considers the train of logic. it would make sense. the city has escalated all this time. it isn't what kaveh would have hoped for, but he also knows that hope is not the basis of decision-making, not here. the city had no room for it.

that is the reason why hope exists, however - to make room, and light.

kaveh tips back the rest of his drink. immediately, his gaze casts over to look for another. but his shoes are on the ground, and the sprawl of the couch is a little too comfortable. it's with a groan that he pulls his feet onto the couch proper, and nudges heine's legs gently to the side so that he can slip his onto the upholstery. ]

Something like that. But could you blame the experimenters? They have their proof of concept; the participation rate, if you can call it that, would have been much higher this experiment round. [ kaveh's grim as he leans his head against the back of the couch. the world seems altogether too bright, and too fast. ] ... sorry, I shouldn't use those terms. I sound almost like one of my old Herbads. Am I bringing back terrible memories for you?