Conklin snorts. "I don't buy that line, either. I'm ninety percent convinced I've finally snapped and am entertaining myself in a rubber room right now." Not at all unlikely. And probably better. "I've got places to go and people to see back home, too, if that is the improbable truth. Occam's Razor's less reliable than Gillette, I've found."

He smiles. "And no. I'm not easy to bore. But I need to get back to where I need to be rather than sit around playing political checkers with the locals, so I have my priorities in order."