"Not everyone is concerned with the deep future,” Manfred interrupts. "It's important! If we live or die, that doesn't matter-that's not the big picture. The big question is whether information originating in our light cone is preserved, or whether we're stuck in a lossy medium where our very existence counts for nothing. It's downright embarrassing to be a member of a species with such a profound lack of curiosity about its own future, especially when it affects us all personally! I mean, if there's going to come a time when there's nobody or nothing to remember us then what does –” "Manfred?” He stops in midsentence, his mouth open, staring dumbly.