Erin's ears twitch faintly. "Were, and are, and maybe will be. SecUnit sent some information first, and then it got backed up by the people I met. They had their own voyage. A hard, cruel voyage, run through the gauntlet of misery, presumably to fuel our creator. You know I'm the second time Erin Peters has had her soul copied? Two fucking nickels."

"...They said they don't know how to give the bodies back even if they wanted to. That they don't know how they got in them even. They rhyme a bit with the host but they're playing the wrong song, if you'll excuse the indulgence. That's. Why I'm so worried, right now. I'm prepared to accept that the friends I've made here might be gone. To welcome those who have returned through no fault of their own."

A small, shaky sob. "I just. Want to know if I need to mourn them or not."