[Stephen’s smile is wry, and he shakes his head. Castiel’s logic is sound if they were talking about something functioning at its normal capacity, but that, too, is an assumption.]

That’s the equivalent of saying it’s alright if someone has a minor heart attack every year because it eventually resolves itself. Assuming it’s going to resolve at all is a gamble, and preventative measures are better than reactive ones.

[Unless Thorne is overplaying their hand, which doesn’t make any sense with the context he has. But that’s part of the frustration, too, not knowing every cog that turns in this political machine, certain motivations utterly obscured to him beyond what the general public is told. Stephen is aware of that; thus, Castiel’s argument isn’t wholly dismissed.]

But it could be that moderation works best. A blessing in disguise that everyone decided to swoop in and take a few, though don’t tell the Thorneans that.

[He scoffs at the compliment, though, humorless.]

What you call reasonable, others would call treasonous. But we do need to keep communicative lines open with one another. We need to make an effort to talk because what happens with that monolith will ultimately affect us all.