Distilled. It’s an elegant way of putting it, though Stephen believes diluted might be a better term, if what he’s hearing is correct: what’s an individual, if not shaped by memory?

Still, not the point.

“Existentially troublesome,” he says, acerbic. ‘Impossibly vulnerable’ is a close runner-up, but his interest doesn’t wane. “So since any and all explanation is going to be forgotten upon entry, a better question is this: I assume I’ll have the privilege of actually remembering with more clarity eventually, otherwise a return trip’s a moot point, right?”