[Okay, the joke is funny, though, and Kadoc snorts at it openly—though he's glad he's not a more effusive person right now, because he can also easily recognize the heavy quiet that comes along with the topic. Well. They'd come out here partially for this, hadn't they? Exactly this kind of talk.]

Yeah, the pyramid guy. The point is that it's impossible to even think about, much less fulfill, the higher objectives on the pyramid when the base of the pyramid goes unfulfilled. Literally all of the Yagas' energy went to the most basic human needs, to survive just one more day. No one who lives like that has enough left in them to begin thinking about "living" beyond pure survival. But I believed that if something changed—if society there changed enough that those people had a pyramid base to build up on—their strength could've been turned to great things instead.

. . . Not that I was fighting for their sake. But I think you know that. Don't let me make myself sound like some benevolent freedom fighter when I'm not that type at all.