"I honestly think you're better off not knowing," I told him. He accepted that with a nod. "Now I've got one more question for you. Is there any similarity at all between this, what did you call it, second-generation booster technology and 2XS?" Bent was silent for a moment. "Sometimes I despair of the scientific mindset," he said finally. "We learn to pigeonhole things, and because of that we miss connections and correlations that are obvious to other people." He looked me square in the eyes. "In answer to your question, yes: the two technologies could be very much alike. Could be," he stressed again. "The effects are very similar. Until now, it hadn't occurred to me just how similar. The actual technologies might be light years apart, you understand."