“I don’t want to dissect them. I’m not that kind of a scientist. That’s not even what I’m talking about.”

What he is talking about is complicated to put into words, and his feelings are too hurt to try. Once, long ago, he believed in things he’d never seen, but life had beaten that out of him. His only belief now is in science. He’s an atheist and a skeptic who rolls his eyes at people who talk about psychic abilities and seeing ghosts. It’s not for science that he cares about the existence of what amounts to supernatural creatures. It’s for him. To believe that maybe there is a little bit of mystery left in the world after all.

There’s no winning this fight. He knows why Bruce did what he did. He understands it. So he shakes his head and lifts a hand in dismissive gesture.

“But yeah, you know what, fine. You’re right. It is their secret to tell. I won’t say anything else about it.”