[ The first reply Abel gets doesn't come in words. Instead, it's something jagged, bright and faceted as fragments of a mirror. On his bed in the Citadel, tears are pricking at Matt's eyes ... again.

When he finally does speak, it's even fainter than before. Tinny and distant. ]

I love all those things too.

[ A pause. ]

But I don't want a perfect world.

I want a better one. If we really do have the chance to form a version of existence that doesn't have--cancer, or mass shootings, or people dying just because somebody didn't want to see them as a person--I think I have a responsibility to help that happen. If I have to let go of things I love for that, in the form they take now ...

If I have to let go of my own life.

Then that's fine. It'll be worth it.

[ Another pause.

Then, one last pale whisper: ]

I'll talk to you later.

[ Before the connection severs. ]