[ It's habitual for Hei to be reticent. But if she presses, he'll grudgingly share details. There's no need to make this a repeat of South America -- all the misunderstandings and resentments and vendettas burgeoning because no information was offered. Both Amber and Pai have said, one directly, the other in so many words, that they'd withheld the facts because he was human. Because they wanted to protect him. But it'll be awhile before Hei's psychic bruise fades, or before he swallows the bitter sense of loss. ]

[ She says Truth, and Hei considers for only a moment. ]

Are you happy in the City?

[ Happiness is just a state of mind, true. It's not an emotion Contractors put stock in. Most would argue it's not one they even experience. But Hei knows better. Pai takes after him in feeling everything more, perhaps, than she lets on. They're both extraordinarily driven people, and Hei recognizes himself sometimes in Pai's loaded questions and careful looks, and in her ability to stew silently for hours without deviation. ]

[ A pause, before he rephrases himself, ] If that's too abstract ... then what's one thing you wish you could have, out here? Anything at all.