He'd been at this a long time, on this Earth longer than he'd managed to stay put anywhere else. That made him invested, and while he was trying to keep up appearances, he hoped maybe things would change soon.

"I haven't talked to a lot of people, but even back before, getting here tended to be a surprise. I didn't expect it, but the government was sure willing to step in and take advantage of the situation," Bart said. And that was as close as he usually would come to expressing disapproval, because you never really knew who was listening.

"I think the higher-ups just want answers, and they assume that if they keep pushing, someone will figure it out. It's like the patrols and everything else. We do enough of whatever, it's supposed to bring results. Just try not to be a squeaky wheel in this big machine. That's my job."