[ The question throws him off, and it's obvious. He's been keeping a brave face, an optimistic one, for the crew. If Holden had asked the opposite, 'what's so bad', he would have been able to say something about how it wasn't the worst place he's ever been, or that they could be in a lot worse.
But that's not what he asks.
And Alex flounders. ]
... There ain't any protomolecule. [ It's the only thing he can think to say. There are people here he likes, that he wouldn't have met otherwise, but he wishes they didn't have to be here, either. ]
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[ The question throws him off, and it's obvious. He's been keeping a brave face, an optimistic one, for the crew. If Holden had asked the opposite, 'what's so bad', he would have been able to say something about how it wasn't the worst place he's ever been, or that they could be in a lot worse.
But that's not what he asks.
And Alex flounders. ]
... There ain't any protomolecule. [ It's the only thing he can think to say. There are people here he likes, that he wouldn't have met otherwise, but he wishes they didn't have to be here, either. ]